Allow Him.............

My heart is heavy tonight as I just received word of a drunken driving accident that killed two people on the Navajo reservation this evening.  Who is exempt from this evil?  What horrible consequences will come for this drunken driver?  Where can one run when the addiction of alcohol is pulling at their soul?  When will the destruction end?  Why does this have to be? 

So many questions, so few answers…..but there is one answer; one answer that can make a difference in the lives of those hurting tonight.  There is one answer that can push back this darkness.  There is one answer that can stop this destruction.  There is one answer and that one answer is found in God’s Word.  That one answer is a personal relationship with Jesus. 

A personal relationship with Jesus brings life, not death (II Corinthians 5:17).  A personal relationship with Jesus brings purpose to life, not hopelessness (Colossians 1:27).  A personal relationship with Jesus brings Joy, not despair (Psalm 33:21).  A personal relationship with Jesus brings power into your life, not weakness (Acts 1:8).  A personal relationship with Jesus brings eternal life, not eternal damnation (John 3:16). 

Everyone reading this Blog has tragedy in their life that brings so many questions.  Please, please, please, run to Jesus, not to alcohol.  Allow Him to give you answers.  Allow Him to give you hope.  Allow Him to give you joy.  Allow Him to give you power.  Allow Him to give you eternal life.  Just please, allow Him……………….

Encouraging You In Christ!

All Praise, Honor and Glory to God!

Life's Instruction Manual

I had to purchase a new phone this past month. I really hated to give up my old phone because I had grown very fond of it, but after 6 years it was no longer meeting my needs . I was not looking forward to figuring out how the new phone worked. When I got my new phone I immediately began pushing buttons trying to figure out how the thing worked. One of the buttons said, “Update now.” So I thought, “OK, why not?” and pushed it. Well, to make a long story short, that little button didn’t know what it was talking about (or I didn’t know what I was getting in to when I pushed it) and that little button caused my phone to completely shut down. After pushing that little button, I couldn’t get my phone to do anything!

Now I really had a situation on my hands. Not only did I have a new phone that I didn’t know how to use, but I had a new phone that was not usable. It was at that point that I knew I needed help. This situation needed more knowledge than I possessed. In other words, I didn’t have a clue what to do. So, I did what a lot of wives probably do when they are in over their heads…..I said, “Honey, can you help me with my phone?” I could have, should have, gotten online and looked at the instruction manual but I chose to take the easy way out and ask my husband for help.

And, of course, my sweet husband promptly took the phone out of my hand and began to investigate what I had done when I “pushed that little button”. At that point, my husband could have gotten online and read the instruction manual but he didn’t and, after about 45 minutes of not being able to figure out what I had done to that phone, he decided he now needed help. To make this long story short, 3 hours later he got off the phone with the manufacturer of the phone and handed it back to me, all fixed…..ready to go again.

As I held the phone in my hand, I realized how frustrated I had become over this situation and the fact that I now held the fixed phone in my hand, but I was still no closer to knowing how the thing worked than I was 3 hours ago when I caused it to stop working. It was at that point that I wondered, if I had read the instruction manual before I even began fiddling with the phone, would I have avoided that 3 hour mess? Uhhh, probably!

I don’t know about you, but I typically disregard instruction manuals and dive right into using the product that comes with the instruction manual. This mentality has gotten me into trouble more times than I can count. After this phone fiasco, I began to think about life. I realized that when I dive right into a situation in life without reading the instruction manual, I can make a mess of things just like I did with my phone. But when I have read (and memorized) my life instruction manual, my life seems to fall into place better and I have a better attitude when things get rough.

I am so thankful that God chose to give me the Bible, my life instruction manual, so that I won’t have to bumble through life like I bumbled through learning to use that phone. He taught me a long time ago that if I read my instruction manual every day and commit it to memory, my time here on this earth won’t be a mess like my phone was. My time here on this earth can be filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.

Over the years, as I have dug deep into my instruction manual, the Bible, I have found that God has used His instructions for my good, and through my obedience to those instructions, I have attained a deep abiding peace and joy in my life that I know I would not have had without them. His instructions have given me guidance through my life struggles, along with direction and comfort in the midst of those struggles. No matter what situation I have found myself in, I have found instructions in the Bible that speak to my situation.

God knows me intimately and is always right there with a verse for me that ministers to me when and where I need it. God knows that I worry so He spoke Matthew 6:25-34 into my heart…..…”Do not worry........” God knows that I struggle with discontentment so He spoke Philippians 4:11-12 into my heart, “I have learned to be content no matter what the circumstances……..” God knows that I don’t understand so many things that happen in my life so He spoke Proverbs 3:5-6 into my heart, “Trust the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding……..” God knows that I can be fearful so He spoke II Timothy 1:7 into my heart, “God has not given me a spirit of fear……..” God knows that I am selfish so He spoke Luke 9:23 into my heart, “…if anyone would come after me he must deny himself……..” God knows that I have a weak mind so He spoke II Corinthians 10:5 into my heart, “…take captive every thought……..” God knows that I am impatient so He spoke Psalm 37:6 into my heart, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently on Him."

Do you struggle with anything like I do?  If so, do you run to your instruction manual, the Bible, for direction?  If you do, I praise God with you and encourage you to share what God is doing in your life with others.  If you don't, and your life is a tangled mess, it is my prayer for you that you read God's Word every day letting His instructions seep deep into your soul, allowing Him to untangle the mess.  It's not too late!  He can do it, you know, if you just let Him.



Encouraging You In Christ!

All Praise, Honor and Glory to God!

Living Like An Heir

During my recent Encouragement Trip, I had lunch with two lady friends.  During lunch, one of the ladies shared a very emotional story.   While she was in the waiting room of a hospital during a recent visit to a relative, a man engaged her in a conversation.  During the conversation the man told her that he was hungry.    Through this conversation, my friend was able to discern that not only was the man hungry for the food of this world, he was hungry for the food of the spiritual world. 

After purchasing some food for him, she sat with him while he ate and they continued their conversation.     My friend listened to the man’s problems and when he was finished, she began to share Christ with him.  He listened at first, but as she delved deeper into the spiritual realm of who Christ is and what He could do in this man’s life, the man’s persona began to change.  He became defensive and angry.  He began to speak in a very high pitched voice, like that of a little girl.   He began to verbally attack her.

My friend said the man became very intimidating to her and she realized, at that point, she was speaking to a demon that had taken up residence in him.   Upon this realization, my friend began to rebuke the demon in the name of Jesus as well as quote scripture to him.  You see, because my friend loves Jesus with all her heart, she knows the scriptures well.  Because she knows the scriptures well, she knows I John 4:4 which says, “greater is Jesus who is in her than the enemy who is in the world.”  Because she knows her scriptures well, she knows that when she asked Christ to be her Savior, she became an adopted child of God and that God gave her the same power and authority that He had given Christ (Ephesians 1:18-23).  My friend took all the authority that God had given her through Christ and used it to cast the demon out of the man in the waiting room.

When my friend came to faith in Christ, she was delivered from her addictions to drugs and alcohol as well as her compulsion to steal.  As a result of what Christ did in her life, she decided to totally surrender her life to Christ and follow Him, regardless of the cost.  And, as with this incident, she has found that cost can sometimes be high.  By the time she finished telling me her story, she was weeping.  Weeping over the emotion of it all.   Weeping over the man.  Weeping over the power that she has in Christ.  Weeping because God is so very real to her.

As I wept with her, I thanked God for our friendship.  I thanked God that He would use me, in all my weaknesses, to be a part of encouraging my sister in Christ.  I thanked God that I too have surrendered my life to Christ and have the same power that my friend has, which she used to cast the demon out of the man in the waiting room. 

If you have come to faith in Christ, you are an adopted child of the King (Galatians 1:1-7).  As an adopted child of the King, you are an heir with Christ (Romans 8:17).  As an heir with Christ, you have the same power and authority that Christ has.  It is my prayer for you that you embrace this truth and live like an heir. 

Encouraging You In Christ!

All Praise, Honor and Glory to God!