Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘christianity’

What Is the Last Thing God Said To Me?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on October 15, 2024| 2 Comments »

Isn’t it interesting how fast life happens? As I sat down to put these words together, I realized how long it has been since I have offered any thoughts here. I get busy and priorities get bumped around like a pinball against the bumpers of an annoyingly loud pinball machine – if I allow. All of us get pressed into the rat race and we, once again, buy into the “do more, get more” mentality of the culture. Then a question comes along that stops us in our tracks – – “What is the last thing God said to me?”

Which immediately begs the question, “Does God still speak to us at all?” I believe that God does still speak – through His word, through others and through that still, quiet, inner voice. God is at work all around us each and every day. I have come to see that the issue of hearing from God is not that He is not communicating but rather that we are not paying attention.

When I slow down and consider what God is saying to me, it is intimidating. But it is an exercise that forces me to get serious about listening and reflecting on God’s interaction in my life. It should come as no surprise that as I have forced myself to pay attention and listen, what God has been saying to me for months now is, “Slow down! Breathe! Just trust me and be present with me.”

Even as I type these words, a mix of calm and peace and stress all swirl together. There is a true sense of relief and peace that comes when we slow down and become present with God. But, there is the constant nag of the pressure of getting things done that is incessantly calling for our attention. It takes effort on our part – discipline to slow down.

For me, I have committed to slowing down daily to listen. As you slow down and listen today, what is God saying to you?

Read Full Post »

Wake Up Sleepy Head

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on May 1, 2024| 1 Comment »

I remember as a child hearing the words, “Wake up sleepy head.” That was my mom’s way of beginning the process, gently, of waking me up. The process became less gentle the longer I hesitated. Sometimes we drag a bit getting ourselves up in the morning. But today, we need to remember that it’s time to wake up.

One of my readings earlier this week has continued to stay with me and on my mind. I have been reading through the book of Romans for some time now. On Monday, I picked back up in chapter 13. In this chapter, the apostle Paul reminds us that we should do our best to love one another. In fact, his words echo the words of Jesus in that loving God and loving others is the heart of the law. So Paul emphasizes that we are to love others as part of following Jesus.

And then he says this in verse 11:

“And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.”

Understand the present time – the hour has come to wake up. Those words have resonated through my soul like never before. Is it possible that I have gone to sleep? I am afraid the answer to that question is yes – I have at least been dozing off. It is time to wrestle with what it means to really love others and do some soul searching to make sure I am actually doing it.

As I look at our world, I see a lot of sleep walkers. The alarm has been going off for a while. It’s time to wake up and be about doing what Jesus called us to do – the deeds of the light, as Paul goes on to say. May we live today with the full understanding of this present time and wake up to the reality that our world needs Jesus.

Read Full Post »

The Easter Lifestyle

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on April 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »

I hope your Easter celebration was meaningful and that you were able to pause and truly consider the impact of the resurrection. There is no other event in history that so changed human existence as did the resurrection. It changed everything.

The writer of Hebrews (2:14-15) pointed out that Jesus came to live as a human being and then died and rose again to defeat death in order to free us from living in fear of death. We no longer have reason to fear. That fact changes everything!

We are free to live the life He created us to live. When we surrender our lives to Him, He offers us new life – real life!

So here is something for you to consider today: Are you living that life? Are you living in the power of the resurrection?

The resurrection should not be an event we celebrate on a special holiday once per year. The resurrection should be a lifestyle. When we place our trust in Jesus and surrender to Him, He raises us up to walk in a new way.

Go out and live resurrected today!

Read Full Post »

Who and What You Trust Makes All the Difference

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on December 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday, one of my readings was in the book of Psalms. Psalm 146 begins with a reminder that we are to praise the Lord each and every day – “all of my life” and “as long as I live,” the psalmist says. God is truly worthy of our praise and this season is a reminder of why. Because of His great love, God stepped into time and space and took on humanity – the Creator became part of His creation. And so we praise Him. Our gratitude and relief should spur us to praise each day.

The psalm then moves to a reminder of the importance of where we place our trust. Verses 3 – 4 of this psalm are the words that have haunted me since yesterday.

3 Do not put you trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. 4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.

“On that very day their plans come to nothing.” What a stark reminder of what matters in this life. We can easily fall into the trap of hustle to get more, to do more, to be more. We, in our humanity, are never satisfied with getting more and more. But at the end of our lives, none of that matters – it all ends in nothing.

There are two lessons I am processing from this verse. The first is as stated above, we need to make sure our striving is for what does not fade or rust nor for what thieves can break in and steal. Our striving should be for treasures laid up in heaven – striving to love Jesus and to show that love to others.

The second lesson is one of trust. Who do I trust? The “princes” of this world, we might use the word “influencers,” are not where we should place our trust. All human plans will come to nothing. All the scraping, working, striving and sweating will come to NOTHING. Placing our trust in people is trust that will always let us down.

The only one we can trust is Jesus. His love is trustworthy. His act of incarnation proves His love and the length to which He would go because of that love. Trust in Jesus is the only thing that will lead to all that matters.

So this Advent season, let your mind and heart move to a renewed focus on Jesus and the trustworthy love that He has for you. And let that focus result in praise.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts