zyoms ;pbrd zkrdid

zyoms ;pbrd zkrdid

Psalm 119:105 "Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."
 

I find myself on my computer a lot! In fact, I don't even have to look, most of the time, when placing my fingers in the right spots on the keyboard. It is almost as if I have worn grooves on the keys, and my fingers just fit.

Last night, I had to chuckle to myself. I was in a hurry, so I wasn't paying much attention, when all of the sudden I realized that something didn't feel right. I looked up and this is what I saw on the screen: zyoms ;pbrd kzrdid.(that is supposed to be "Tina loves Jesus") Yeah, I have no clue either! What happened was that I had gotten off of the home row. The crazy thing is that I was only off by 1 key!

Shifting even just a little, completely makes a mess out of things, doesn't it?

I find myself in this spot every once in a while with my life too. I get busy, or am in a hurry; I don't take time to line myself up in the morning and by the afternoon, I realize that I am making a complete mess out of my day! I have to quickly refocus and adjust, or my one day, turns into 2 or 3. Before I know it, I am months down the road, thinking that I have been doing o.k., but get slammed by a storm and know immediately that I was just "one key" off.

We all need Jesus. This is something that isn't even questionable. Our need is not based on what we are going through that day. Our need is based on the fact that we are human and simply make a mess of things without Him.

If I had shown you that phrase zyoms ;pbrd zkrdid there is no way that you would have known that I was loving my God! What turned out was something so unrecognizable that no one would have been able to understand it. This is exactly how it is with our lives too!

Are you living in a way where there is no doubt who you belong to, serve and love? Or is your life so much of a mess, that people see only jumbled letters? We have to daily align ourselves with God. We need to take time to deliberately place our hands on the right row. We can't expect to just stay on the right path forever just because that's where we've always been. Adjustments need to be made along the way, or you will find yourself looking at something that you don't even recognize.

Take some time right now to just be still before Him. Ask Him to reveal in you anything that needs realigning! Don't be like me and realize that there is a whole lot that you have to erase! You won't have many opportunities to retype your life! Allow His Word to shine the light on the path you need to take. Align yourself up right so that everyone around you can read you like a book and see exactly who you are living for!

Stink Sticks

Stink Sticks

I remember when I was younger, my grandma and uncle were pig farmers. We have a pretty big family that is really close, and every Sunday after church, our whole family would congregate over there for snacks and games. Most days it wouldn't smell too bad, but on occasion, something would be "just right" and as soon as you got out of the vehicle, your nose would start protesting!

As little kids, it just didn't really matter to us, we would run off together not caring about the smell at all. The parents would run the opposite way, into the house trying to escape it. We all knew, though, that if you just were out in it for a little while, you would get used to the smell. We would play for hours some Sundays, and as long as we were together, we would take on any odor that tried to run us off.

Now at this point in the story, it might seem pretty sweet. So nice that a bunch of cousins are that tightly knit that "nothing" will tear them apart. In one sense you are so right. (We still to this day have a really tight bond) But one thing stood out to me today as I was thinking back to those memories. We would march into grandma's house together, unified…and smelly! While we were getting used to the stink, the stink was attaching to us! Our parents would demand that we get back outside immediately or "the whole house" was going to smell. I kid you not; every part of us and everything we were wearing got washed when we got home!

As an adult, we can find ourselves in those same situations.

Do you have friends that have been friends forever, and even though they may do a few bad things, it won't affect you? Or you go to a college that doesn't stand for God, nor does it teach Him, but you won't let it change your mind? There are a million and one different scenarios that I could write about where you should run, but instead you allow yourself to get used to the stink around you. I have heard it so many times, that "I won't fall into that pit", only to later see that person trying to dig themselves out of it. It comes down to one thing, we don't think the stink sticks.

1 Thessalonians 5:22

"Abstain from all appearance of evil."

Such a simple verse, but packed with so much instruction! It is not just saying that we shouldn't do it, but also that we should stay away from even the appearance of it! God knows how we work. He actually knows, way better than we do. If He says that we need to stay away from even the appearance of evil, don't you think we need to stop thinking that we can be tough enough to withstand it?

God sees all the "pig farms" around us. He sees where the stink is coming from. We on the other hand, just decide to get used to it, so that we can continue on with our fun.

If you decide to not listen to God today, be very aware of the danger. Maybe you will be o.k. for a while, but eventually you too will be in danger of falling right alongside everyone else. Don't think that you are exempt from satan's schemes. You may think you are tough, but without God's protection surrounding you, you will for sure walk away stinking.

Trust Me

Trust Me

Have you ever went up to a complete stranger and told them a secret? Of course not! Most of the time, in fact, we don't pay any attention to people that we don't know, let alone give them personal information about ourself.

Think about someone in your life that you would have no problem what so ever just unloading everything on. Now tell me the difference between the two.

The difference is a 5 letter word: TRUST.

Years ago I had this really great friend. We did everything together. We were constantly on the phone, she knew everything about me and I knew everything about her. I really don't think that there was anything that I was keeping from her and her from me. I turned out to be the bad guy in this friendship, because I let slip some pretty private information about her that she eventually found out about (they always do). I can still remember her face when she confronted me with it. I knew immediately, that I had broken something that wasn't going to be easily repaired.

I am sure that every one of you has someone in your life that has, at one point or another, broken your trust. The sad part about it is that sometimes, all it takes is one person to ruin it for everyone else. Have you ever found yourself not trusting someone simply because you have put a wall up around your heart? Therefore not even wanting to take the time to get to know them? With those bricks piled up around you, you may feel safe, but soon you will find yourself empty and lonely.

I wonder how many of us, have allowed some sort of hurt that has come out of a human relationship to affect our relationship with God and how we view Him? Do you put Him in the same category as everyone else? Do you trust God?

As I was rolling this over and over in my head I began to realize without a doubt that to truly trust God, you have to KNOW Him! I don't mean that you know all the little kids' Bible stories, I mean that you KNOW Him.

John 10:14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—"

Those sheep will follow their shepherd everywhere. They know Him because they have spent so much time with Him. Through this, He has proven Himself over and over as the one to take care of them, feed them, water them, and lay down His life for them. They will go anywhere with Him.

So… are you being a sheep? Is Jesus your shepherd? Do you trust Him? Most people will have a quick "yes" to answer here, but I want you to take a second and quiet yourself and think about every area in your life. Is there just one that you have your grubby little fingers still tightly around or are your palms wipe open in surrender? One good test to see if there is a place that isn't quite released yet is to keep a check list of what you worry about.

Matthew 6:25-34 is an amazing passage that puts this all in perspective.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?"

And that's just verse 25! Go read the rest!

Don't find yourself in the pit of worry, which equals distrust, which equals walls, which equals a separation. Give God your WHOLE heart. Trust Him to come through on every single promise that He has ever made to you. Get to know Him! He is the ONLY one that will "never leave you or forsake you". Joshua 1:5, Deut 31:6 & 8.

He is waiting with arms wide open; wanting to be your shepherd…do you know His voice?

The REBEL

The Rebel

"To fight against the ruling power".

This is the definition of the word rebel. This pretty much sums it up for my life. I have become very familiar with this word, because it was a word that I was pegged with early on.
I was always the "2^nd" child. 

 I had heard this so often in my young life, that I was almost expected to be the one to break the rules. The crazy thing was is that I liked the title. It actually thrilled me a bit. Don't ask me why, it never led me to anything but trouble. Fighting amongst my parents and me was really common. In fact, if I remember right, it might have actually become an everyday occurrence for a while there.

I'm not sure exactly when I got started with loving this word. I used to be a really good kid. Never wanting to displease anyone, especially anyone of authority, I would find myself apologizing for everything. That began to change right around the time I started high school. I can't pinpoint really anything in particular. There were no big moments that changed my life for the good or the bad. I just slowly drifted to being the one that people could count on to be the black sheep of the family. It became an expectation that I was almost proud to wear around.

As I look back over my life, I realize that there have been so many changes that could have only been orchestrated by God. Only He could have ever changed my heart in such a tremendous way.

What dumbfounds me though is that to this day, I still love to be the rebel. Why didn't that change along with everything else God was changing in me? Surely God does not want me to be a rebel in the church, or in His family. Even more, He doesn't want me rebelling against Him. He has set the rules, and with Him, the consequences are just too grave for me to ever think that I can change His Mind!

So who am I? Can I ever be this person whom I have always felt I was? I realized this week, that the answer is a huge YES!! In fact, I even believe that God is calling His people to all put on that label.

I have been studying some verses this week: Revelations 3:15-16.

"15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!

16 So, because you are lukewarm— neither hot nor cold— I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

As I look around, I think I am beginning to believe that the norm these days, or the "ruling power", is to be lukewarm. I believe the statistic for Americans that would call themselves Christians was 75-80%. Now most of you have probably rolled your eyes in disbelief. I know I pretty much laugh at that stat. How can millions of people claim to love Jesus, and then choose to not live their lives for Him? It is like they want the prize, but not the work. Who wouldn't want Heaven as a prize? Pretty enticing to anyone, actually. Who would say yes to hell and no to Heaven if the question was posed to them in that form? Not too many. So we now find ourselves in a country where everyone wants to go to Heaven, but doesn't want to live their lives in a way that proves it: Lukewarm.

We have a choice. Some of the people that you love the most may live in this category. After taking a close inventory, you might even fall into that category. Please hear me when I say that you don't want to stay there! The verse says that God will spit you out. No one wants to experience that! I believe that the reason He is so harsh about lukewarm people is because of another verse with the same address.

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, will not perish but have everlasting life."

Lukewarmness makes God sick because of what He had to give up to give us Heaven. So you now have people that take the sacrifice for granted. They choose God in one moment, and then push Him aside in the next. Thankfully God is not a god that will bow to others. You will never find Him giving us Heaven just because we beg Him and whine and plead. He has set the boundaries and the rules, and they must be followed. Don't think that you are going to get in because you bat your eyelashes and give Him puppy dog eyes. It just won't work.

You are being asked to live a specific way. You are being asked to put Him first, always. You are being asked to repent, which always includes a change. It's about living a life about God, not you. It's about a life committed to making a difference for Christ.

Because God is amazing, He always leaves the choice up to you. He will never make you choose Him.

You are being asked to be a rebel. A rebel with a cause. A cause for Christ.

What's your choice going to be?