Category Archives: Christianity

October 13 – A House Divided

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Matthew 12:22-50; Luke 11

When I was in college in the early 70’s, a girl in one of my classes sneered at something I said. “You’re one of those people who thinks America is still a melting-pot. That’s an outdated way of thinking that strips people of their identity. I’m glad things are progressing,” she told me in no uncertain terms.

I don’t know about progressing, but things have changed since then. We are no longer Americans. We are African-Americans, Native-Americans, Italian-Americans, Mexican-Americans… And our country is divided to the point we don’t know or like each other. Politicians are using this division to further separate us and perpetuate the hate.

Jesus said, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a house divided against itself falls.” (Luke 11:17)

Is it too late to make America great again? I guess that depends on Christians uniting across cultural and denominational divisions, praying, repenting, and begging God to heal our land. Because whether it’s the United States or the Church:

A house divided against itself will fall.

 

October 12 – Burdens

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Matthew 11

How can some people go through trials and hardships with joy while the same experience destroy others? I think of Corrie Ten Boome, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Joni Erickson Tada, Steve Saint. You many know people like my friend Sherry at the end of a long battle with cancer, yet singing God’s praises with joy in her heart. You probably know other people losing the cancer fight angry and bitter.

We all have burdens. Why don’t we all carry them the same way? I believe the difference is Jesus who says:

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (vs 28)

God doesn’t promise to take away the burden, only to lighten it, only to give us rest in the carrying. Joy isn’t something we have to manufacture when we are going through trials. It’s something He gives out of His great love for us, for our good, and His glory.

Are you carrying a burden? Go to Him. Let Him be to you exactly what you need at this time in your life. Confess your sins, lay your burden at His feet, and let Him give you rest.

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I am actually sitting on my back porch this morning. The hurricane damage is evident on this island but it amazes me how many trees are down around houses instead of on them. In my own back yard a neighbor’s tree fell without touching his house, my house, or the house behind me. It’s like God directed that thing to fall in the only safe place it could have fallen. My windows are intact, my roof is undamaged, my house still stands. We prayed. God answered.

Praise God. I give Him all the glory.

 

 

October 10 -Who, me? Anxious?

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Matthew 5-7

I have to confess that I am getting frustrated about not being allowed back on the island since Hurricane Matthew. I have not seen my house and have no idea if windows are intact or if my things are exposed to the elements, the animals, and looters. I don’t know what to expect, and according to the rumor mill, we may not get home for days.

So this afternoon, as I sit in a hotel room, I read the chapters from my Bible reading plan for October 10: The Sermon on the Mount. As is often the case, God used His Word to speak the exact words I needed to hear today. This is what I heard Him say:

“Don’t be anxious, Connie. Isn’t your life more than the things you own? Have you seen a bird recently? What about the flowers at Gibbs Gardens you saw the other day? Or the grass in the lawn outside your hotel window? I take care of nature,” He reminds me, “and I love you so much more than that. Seek Me and you’ll have everything you need.You’ll have Me! Don’t waste a minute today worrying about tomorrow. I’ve got this covered.”

I am reminded to cast all my cares on Him because He cares for me.

So, Lord, Here are my cares, my concerns, the unknown of my situation. It’s all Yours. You know my heart, and I trust You to provide in the perfect way You always do. Thank You for loving me and caring for me. Draw me close to You and let me rest in the knowledge that You know exactly what I need.

October 9 – There are storms, and there are STORMS

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Matthew 12:1-21; Mark 3; Luke 6

Hurricane Matthew has done its worse. From the Caribbean Islands to North Carolina houses have been battered, businesses destroyed, lives lost. My own home received the torrents of the storm. You’ve probably seen pictures of the devastation the hurricane inflicted on the coast.

It amazes me that any building is still standing. I’m not an engineer, but I’m pretty sure a building’s foundation has an impact on the durability of the structure in a storm. A house well-built, can endure the force of heavy storms much better than one poorly built.

Not only was my house’s foundation tested these last few days, so was the foundation of my life. My house of only a month, with three boxes still unpacked, contains some of the things I hold dear. My mother’s china, my piano and clarinet, pictures of family no longer with us, my dad’s trifold flag and purple heart. Some things just cannot be replaced.

But they are things. And if I die today, none of that would go with me anyway.

I will tell you I prayed almost without ceasing for my place, for my friends’ homes and their safety, our church, our island, people I don’t know in Haiti and Florida and the Carolinas. I can honestly say my faith and trust in God did not waiver for a moment, even in the uncertainty of what was ahead. God, who does all things well, is able to be whatever we need in good times and in bad, in times of joy or great sorrow.

I learned through this storm that my foundation is secure. My life doesn’t depend on easy living or in storm-free days. God is not my God just when I’m healthy and things are looking up. He never left my side and will be my strength in the cleanup after this storm.

I learned that God is faithful in the little storms of life as well as in the face of life-changing events and challenges. He has proved that over and over in my lifetime and will continue to reveal Himself today, tomorrow, and in the future.

I have not built the foundation of my life on relationships, on money or success, or health, or church attendance.

I’ve built my foundation by devouring  God’s Word, by spending time talking to God in prayer. So I’ll continue to talk about Him and walk with Him every day. Because I am the person Jesus talked about in Luke 6:48:

(Connie) is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

October 8 – Is Jesus God?

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John 5

Yes.

I know some can read these verses in John and twist the words to say Jesus never really identifies Himself as God. But Jesus calls Himself God’s Son, One who gives life like the Father gives life. One who judges, is sent by God, and who affords equal honor with God.

Then He told the Jews, who were well aware of Scripture, the law of Moses, that He was the One Moses spoke about. Jesus said they searched the Scriptures because they thought eternal life was in the Scriptures. Jesus told them those Scriptures testify about Him.

Jesus was not just another good guy. He was the physical Son of God, equal to God, eternal, and worthy of honor and glory.

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We can’t get on our island yet after Matthew’s visit. So I don’t know the extent of damage. Early  news is encouraging. But whether little or great, I will praise God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who does all things well.

October 7 – And They Were Following Him

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Mark 2

We might think that because Jesus called twelve men to follow Him that is all there was. Yes, there were twelve whose names we know, and who Jesus entrusted with the intimate details of His ministry. But there are many who followed Jesus. Mark gives us a glimpse of that in 2:15.

We know Matthew, that tax collector and disciple of Jesus. But Mark tells us Matthew wasn’t the only tax collector who was changed because of Jesus.

Sometimes, too, I think we get the idea that people like Billy Graham, or Beth Moore, or Bill Gaither have more important ministries than ours because everyone knows their name. That’s just not true.

A follower of Jesus doesn’t have to stand behind a pulpit. He can sit in the bleachers at a ball game. Or across the table at a coffee shop. Or over the backyard fence. Following Jesus isn’t about getting recognition, or limited to those who do. It’s about my obedience, and your’s. It’s about sharing the Gospel, a willingness to let Jesus be seen in us, even if no one else knows our name.

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So I’ve shared that I recently bought a house on an island in Georgia. Hurricane Matthew is headed straight to St. Simons and that entire area. God is faithful, and even though we have all been evacuated and are waiting for the storm to blow through, watching the weather channel and praying, I know that it all belongs to God anyway. My prayer is that the people will be safe, including those brave first responders who will do what they can to protect and care for those who are effected. I thank Him that the storm seems to be staying off shore and seems to be weakening. Would you pray with us? As always, may God be glorified even in this.

October 6 – My Food

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John 2-4

Jesus’ disciples went to get him something to eat. The fact that they “urge” Him to eat makes me believe Jesus was so intent on doing what He came to do, He might not have taken time for meals. His disciples knew he needed to eat.

I know, myself, that if I am focused on a task at hand, eating is the last thing on my mind. Jesus said something that made me stop and think.

He said, “My food, is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” (4:34)

Food. That which nourishes and strengthens, that which is necessary for life itself, that which is pleasant and anticipated. Something you just can’t do without.

Is that how I view my service to God, sharing the Gospel, sowing seed that leads to repentance? Is representing Jesus to a lost world as necessary to me as filling my belly?

It was that to Jesus. It ought to be in me.

October 4 – Fruit In Keeping With Repentance

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Matthew 3; Mark 1; Luke 3

When John was preparing the people for Jesus’ ministry, he told them to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” If you say you’ve repented of sin, your life should demonstrate a noticeable difference.

Be warned. Saying the words, “forgive me” are meaningless without a heart’s change. And when a heart is truly changed, what we say and do and feel change as well. It has to.

Paul, in Galatians, gives us a practical list of what fruit keeping with repentance looks like. Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. And self-control. If all of those aren’t evident in your life, I suggest you check the level of your repentance. Paul doesn’t say the Spirit gives 7 of 9 to a repentant heart. Notice the word, “and” in there. It doesn’t say “or.”

John told the tax collectors to quit charging more than the required tax. He told the soldiers to stop taking money from people by force. A repentant heart changes how we treat each other.

Bearting fruit in keeping with repentance starts with a change of heart, then it pours out in how we live our lives. Do your friends and family notice a change in you since you’ve asked Jesus to forgive you?

They should.

October 2 – Here He Is… And He Changes Lives

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Matthew 1; Luke 2:1-38

Simeon called the baby he held in his arms “A light of Revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” (Luke 2:32) God had given the old man a bit of insight. The Messiah was not here exclusively for the Jewish nation. Jesus was going to change the world.

We call today October 2, 2016 because of Jesus’ presence on earth. Holidays like Christmas and Easter are celebrated by believers and non-believers all over the world. When I was young, businesses were always closed on Sundays. The way these things are observed aren’t necessarily “Christian,” but they certainly are a reflection of the the impact Jesus made and continues to make on life.

And speaking of life, Jesus changes lives when people meet Him. The baby we read about today has meaning for everyone, including you.

Believe it or not. Accept it or not. Simeon held YOUR Savior that day in Jerusalem. Have you let Jesus change your life? He’s eager to do that very thing.

October 1 – Here He Is!

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Luke 1, John 1:1-4

John the Baptist began his ministry before he was even born. When his cousin Mary came to visit his pregnant mom, Elizabeth, shortly after Mary had had a conversation with the angel Gabriel and agreed to give birth to the Son of God, the baby John leaped for joy right there in his mother’s womb. Mary might not have even realized she was pregnant yet. But the unborn John recognized the Messiah growing inside her as soon as Mary entered the room.

John’s calling was to point people to the Savior, and he must not have thought it was necessary to wait to begin. Elizabeth felt her baby leap inside her. Then she recognized the Messiah, too. John’s first convert. And he still hadn’t been born.

We are also called to point people to the Savior. But it seems sometimes we think we need to take a soul-winning class first, or go to seminary, or rehearse a speech before God can use us. John demonstrates something different.

And it has me feeling guilty this morning. What am I waiting for? I know Jesus. Jesus is living inside my heart. I’ve confessed my sin and I am forgiven! God is my Father.

I want the world to know.

“HEY, Y’ALL… HERE HE IS!!! Let me introduce you!”