Are You Saved?

We are doing a wonderful series at our church called The Story. The Story is a book that simply tells the story of the Bible in a chronological, easy-to-understand way. I really enjoyed the sermon our preacher taught on Sunday titled Jesus, the Son of God.

The Bible is absolutely filled with revelation about who Jesus is. God tells us at least twelve times himself who Jesus is. He doesn't just speak up during that one lonely account of Jesus' baptism.

Jesus also tells us at least 20 times who he is... and these are just the examples given to us by our preacher. I assume there are more than just 20 revelations of who Jesus says he is in the Bible.

Our preacher went on to challenge us if we knew who Jesus was. So many people believe that they are right with God, but that they don't really need Jesus. People say they don't know who Jesus is, but that they are very spiritual- God speaks to them in many ways, except through his Son.

People believe that the story of Jesus is a good one, but that it doesn't really apply to their lives. I like the story of the Chronicles of Narnia. I want my children to read it, and know it and love the characters in it, just like me. But their love for the story does not change or effect their lives. My love for the story does not change or affect my life, and your love for the story does not change or affect your life either.

At what point are we saved? When we love the story of Jesus Christ coming to die on the cross for our sins and resurrecting as our perfect atonement, or when we allow that story to transform our lives forever?

1 John 2:23a says, "No one who denies the Son has the Father." 

Do you deny the Son? Is Jesus Christ a real, contributing, essential part of  your life, or is he just part of a good story? Does his presence in your life change the way you live? Loving Jesus should change the way we live every day. It should be the guiding force in every single daily decision we make.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, ' I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." 

Matthew 7:21-23

Who do YOU say that Jesus is?

Are YOU Rapture Ready?

A week or two ago Josh and I were headed out of town and we left about half an hour later than I had originally wanted to, but I felt extremely satisfied while we were pulling away from our house because I felt like our house was "Rapture Ready." If we were suddenly caught up in the clouds with Jesus while we were away, every room, every closet, and every drawer was perfectly organized. All the floors had been cleaned.

I told my mom about my silly since of pride about having the house "Rapture Ready" while we were away. She laughed and asked why in the world I cared what my house looked like if I was GONE with Jesus if the rapture really did occur while we were away.

Well, pride. Who knows how many strangers would go poking around through our things scavenging what they could if the rapture really did happen while we were away. I, at least, wanted those strangers to think, "Wow, this woman really had her stuff together! I wish my house was this clean!"

And then I thought... even though my house is ready for a rapture, is my heart? If the rapture really happened this week, would I be one of the ones taken up into Heaven with all the other believers? Maybe I should spend less time making sure my  house is "Rapture Ready" every night before I go to bed and more time making sure that my heart is.

But concerning that day and  hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only... Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming... the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Matthew 24:36, 40-42, 44b (ESV)

Not only should we make sure that we are ready for Christ's imminent return, but we need to make sure that we are sharing the gospel with others on a daily basis. We cannot save people; only God has the power to change hearts. Our job is simply to tell people about Jesus, God's plan of salvation, and our future in Heaven for eternity. Our job is to answer questions about the Bible.

What if every single believer shared the gospel every day... What if we all lived a life that resembled Jesus... On that glorious day, how many men would be left behind standing in the field, and how many women would be left behind standing at the mill? It is our job to make sure we are "Rapture Ready," and it is our job to make sure that every other person on this earth is equipped with the opportunity to become "Rapture Ready" too. It is not somebody else's job to witness to the people YOU know and come into contact with daily. It is your job. It is my job. God bless you believers who are living out this call.

On Memorization

I wanted to write a post about the importance of memorizing scripture in our Bibles. So many of us complain about how hard it is to memorize anything, let alone verses or chapters from our Bibles.

Are we aware that Jewish children memorize the Torah by heart? This is a tradition that has lasted thousands of years. The Torah is not just five verses from the Bible. It's not just five chapters; it's five BOOKS. It is everything written in the first 213 pages of my Bible.

Memorize THAT.

Sometimes I look at my husband shocked when he starts singing along with a new song on the radio that I have never even heard. How does he have some song memorized that I've never even heard before!? Well, he listens to the radio any time he is in the car. I don't. But look how quickly those songs on the radio become engrained in our memory. We don't TRY to memorize them, we just do. It is effortless, an achievement of the subconscious.

In America, Bibles are extremely readily available. If a Bible isn't available, there's an app for that. Google searches find scripture in seconds; there's not even really a need for a good concordance anymore. So why put scripture to memory?

There are several reasons why I think scripture should be put to memory. First, it is the only tangible thing God has given mankind that is eternal. Everything else in this world will perish and burn up in the end days, but God's holy word will remain forever. Our bodies are part of this world, but if we are Christians, our spirits are part of an eternal world. The Bible offers our spirits the spiritual food they need to survive: God's eternal word.

Second, I do not believe Bibles are always going to be available in this country. Why would Americans think that our religion would never be attacked when religion is banned in so many other countries around the world? It is only a matter of time. I believe it is important to have as much of the scriptures committed to memory as we can before we are no longer allowed to own them.

The following is a list of countries where Christianity is restricted, and the owning of a Bible could have an individual arrested, tortured, or put to death. Christians living in these countries hunger and thirst for the word of God and it is the biggest request rising out from the members of the underground churches that exist there.

Mexico
Cuba
Columbia
Mauritania
Morocco
Mali
Nigeria
Tunisia
Libya
Egypt
Sudan
South Sudan
Eritea
Ethiopia
Somalia
Comoros
Yemen
Oman
United Arab Emirates
Qatar
Bahrain
Saudi Arabia
Kuwait
Iraq
Jordan
Gaza and the West Bank
Lebanon
Syria
Turkey
Belarus
Azerbaijan
Iran
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
Kazakhstan
Afghanistan
Pakistan
Tajikistan
Kyrgyzstan
India
Maldives
Sri Lanka
Nepal
Tibet
Bangladesh
Bhutan
China
Burma
Laos
Malaysia
Vietnam
Indonesia
Brunei
Mindanao (Philippines)
North Korea

When owning even one verse of the word of God is punishable by death in so many of these countries, why would we ever think for a second that our great America would not come subject to this type of persecution? Why are we not preparing ourselves for the spiritual battle at hand when the only sword God has given us is his word. When society takes his word out of our hands, how are we to defend ourselves against the evil one? It will only be the verses we commit to memory now that will defend us in those days.

So I encourage you now to make a new commitment to yourself and God. Stop easily memorizing songs, jingles, slogans, and useless  pop culture facts when that memory could be better used for retaining real spiritual food that will defeat the evil one.

My Chidren Are Not My Own

Isn't it amazing to think about how our children are not our own?

You and I have very little control over what happens in our lives. Weather a person believes in God or not, it is God who allows them to be blessed and allows them to endure hardship. It is God who decides who has what children and who does not. Without God, man can do nothing.

Without my God I would not be alive. He knitted me together in my mother's womb (Psalm 139:13). Even before I was formed in the womb, it was the Lord who knew me and set me apart (Jeremiah 1:5). What choice did I have in being born? What choice did I have in the parents God gave me? I could not have made any of these things happen of my own accord.

In the same manner, my children did not have a choice in their creation. Josh and I did not have a choice in their creation either. Josh and I had no power over weather God would make us fertile or infertile. We had no choice over weather all of our children would miscarry or be carried full-term. We had no control over what sex children God would bless us with, and we have no control over how many children God will allow us to have.

God has entrusted Josh and I with His children- His creation for a short time on this earth. I did not know my children before they were born, but God did. I did not choose which children God would allow me to raise, but my Father chose; their Father chose.

I believe we all have two specific reasons we were put on this earth. To become like Christ and to win others for God's kingdom (1 Corinthians 11:1 and 1 Corinthians 9:22 respectively). This calling starts at home. 

It is my job to make sure my children meet, get to know, and love their real Heavenly Father, eventually even more than they love me. It is my job to make sure that my children understand that they are not of this world (John 15:19).

So I challenge you, readers, to imitate God so that He can be reflected in your lifestyle so that your children might be saved. You cannot imitate God if you do not spend time with him or read his word. You cannot imitate God if you do not obey him, and you cannot imitate God if you do not serve others.

Our children are not our own. It is our job to be good stewards of these precious little gifts God has given us and to encourage our children's growth in Him.

Dancing in the Rain

I have never liked the idea of dancing in the rain. It's one of the big things they do in movies when two people love each other... it is usually portrayed as romantic, fun, and a thing somebody does when they're free.

I have danced in the rain by myself and with my man. It is not fun. It's wet and cold. When I've done it I couldn't help but ask myself what in the world I thought I was doing frolicking around in the freezing, cold rain pretending I was having the time of my life.

But as much as I hate dancing in the rain, I want to teach that skill to my daughter. I want to teach that skill to my son.

We all have storms in our lives. Sometimes God puts them there. Sometimes we do, and sometimes Satan initiates them.

The first thing I want to do when I hear a storm coming is snuggle down under my covers and hide. I don't want the windows open. I don't want to hear it, and I don't want to see it. I want to hide from storms. And I CERTAINLY do not want to go outside and stand in the middle of one and dance.

How often do we try do that with the figurative storms in our lives? It is much easier to preoccupy our hearts and minds than to deal with the storms in our lives. It's nicer to pretend they don't exist.

I believe God wants us to figure out how to dance in the rain of the storms in our lives. I believe he wants us to go out in the pouring rain with lightening flashing and thunder rumbling and lift our eyes and hands towards Heaven and spin around giving him praise for ALL of the things he gives and allows. We should give thanks for the storms we hate that ultimately bring new growth in our lives.

So how do you teach this concept to children? How do you make them understand what I even mean? Am I setting a good example? Do I practice this art of dancing in the rain in the midst of my life's storms?

How often do we curse God for the rain and storms that come in our lives instead of giving Him thanks? This week I challenge you to spend some time in thanksgiving for even those things in life that you would rather do without. I challenge you to be that weirdo out spinning around in the rain having people look at you like you're nuts. You can do it because you ARE free. If you have excepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you ARE free to dance in the midst of life's storms. No matter what.

What Do I Stand For?

FUN. Some Nights

The video above is not by a Christian artist. There's even a bad word in it towards the end, but I have  fallen in love with this song and some of the spiritual principals it makes me think of. (The real music starts after the minute-long intro.)

The first thing I noticed when I watched this video is how that little guy on there dances around. That's how I think we should all dance in church. That's how my soul dances before the Lord every day. Why does our flesh always contain the joy our spirits feel? This little guy does a silly, ugly kind of dance, that if he were doing before the Lord would be beautiful in his eyes.

The second thing I noticed when I watched this video was passion. You can see it all over the singer's face. He means every word he  sings... and, once again, it's not always the prettiest expressions he gives off!

I love having those times of intense prayer when I do more than my duty of praying for everybody on my prayer list. I love those prayers of passion, and I have to think that God does too. It's during those prayers when we finally let all of our defenses down and show God who we really are. We do not hide the good, bad, or the ugly... because we are never fooling God about who we really are. Only ourselves.

The third thing I liked about this song were the lyrics. The first set of lyrics were, "What do I stand for? Most nights, I don't know."

What do YOU stand for? Do you stand up for Jesus Christ within the context of your family? Do you stand up for him at the grocery store, at church? What about when you look in the mirror?

The next set of lyrics are a bit longer. They go, "This is it, boys- this is war - what are we waiting for? Why don't we break the rules already? I was never one to believe the hype, save that for the black and white. I try twice as hard and I'm half as liked, but here they come again to jack my style."

This IS it, friends. This IS war. You and are I soldiers fighting in one spiritual battle after another. This war may seem like a myth to some people, but it is real. Earthly "rules" suggest that we shouldn't be fighting it- they try to convince us that it doesn't exist, and that worldly desires are more important to fight for during our lifetimes. We need to break those rules and put on the armor of God. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

The fourth thing I liked about this song is that I can really grove to it. It gets stuck in my head for days, and each time I am reminded of the question: What do I stand for?

Treasures

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven....... For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.......No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."

Matthew 6:19-24

Treasure Defined

Noun

1)    Wealth and riches, usually hoarded

2)    Any thing or person greatly valued

Verb

1)    To retain carefully or keep in store

2)    To regard or treat as precious

3)    To put away for security or future use

So, everybody knows that God tells us not to store up for ourselves treasure on earth. I personally do not believe this means that God is against his people owning stuff… instead, I am learning that if we pay a great price for our stuff, our stuff begins to control us.

Our STUFF will control our emotions when we jump to anger any time our beloved STUFF is believed to have been damaged. It will steal our peace as we worry about the rust and moths and thieves that are sure to come during this lifetime. It will ruin our ability to be hospitable when our STUFF becomes more important than the people using it.

Consider the following personal examples.

I have bought very few new things for myself during my life. The short list includes my bedroom furniture, each of my children's bedroom furniture, and two rocking chairs.

I have always been the type of person who never really minded if a glass broke, a spill happened, or a stain set in. It just never mattered to me if STUFF didn't stay in perfect condition. I believe in living in my home, not treating it like a museum!

This has been an easy world-view for me to adopt since my house is decorated with furniture from resale shops, junktiques, and things that people have given me. I love it!

I DO believe in being good stewards of the things God has entrusted us with... my things are not riddled with filth or stains; I take care of them the best I can.

That being said, I do NOT believe in obsessing about my STUFF. If a spill happens, I just shrug it off. I know in my heart of hearts that it simply doesn't matter. It can be cleaned (and if a guest is present, it can usually be cleaned after they leave)... if a stain is left behind, it just doesn't matter. When you pay little to nothing for your belongings, it is very easy to let them go.

Oh, but I have been learning the meaning of, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth..."

The very same day Josh and I bought our brand new, expensive bedroom furniture; one of the dressers fell over in the moving truck and caused a huge dent. I was MAD. Mad at whoever secured the dresser in the first place and also mad at whoever was driving. My STUFF had gotten damaged.

A couple years after purchasing that same brand new, expensive bedroom furniture, our husky chewed up the bottoms of three of the four pieces in the set. I also noticed that the foot of the bed was all scratched up where our wiener dogs had made themselves at home jumping on and off our bed to be more comfortable. I was FURIOUS with those animals for ruining my STUFF.

Only a month or so after Micah was born I bought some scented oil for his room. I placed it on his dresser and the next week when I dusted his furniture all of the finish had been taken off of that brand new, expensive dresser where the oil had leaked through the jar I had decorated with. I was livid!

On the other hand, I have a piano that got all banged around when it was moved. I didn't care in the least. Micah has a toy box (my old toy box) that has been slammed shut and used as a crashing sight for his train, and it has never made me cringe. I have a leather couch that Tucker will tinkle on if company gets too loud, and he gets too worried. I have never gotten mad at him because of it (annoyed, maybe! but not mad)...

So, what’s the difference? In the stories where I was so angry about my STUFF getting ruined, my STUFF was more important to me than anything or anyone else at that time.

In the next three examples, my stuff was just not important because I hadn’t paid much for it. In those examples, the movers were more important than my used piano. I saw them straining to bring that heavy thing into my new house. They were trying their hardest to be careful, and I was genuinely just grateful that they had done such hard work for me, and not at all upset that a few bangs had happened in the process.

Micah's joy (and the joy of his little friends who slam the lid of his toy box closed) is more important to me than worrying if that old chest is going to get damaged or scratched. 

My wiener dog, and his worried little heart is more important to me than some old, stupid couch that can easily be cleaned, or just thrown away if it gets ruined.

I have been appalled in the past with my childish behavior regarding my stuff. I believe that Jesus told his disciples to go and preach the gospel without taking a “walking stick, traveler's bag, food, money, or even a change of clothes” because He knows what power our stuff can hold over our hearts. (Luke 9:3 NLT)

We cannot love both God and money. I believe this can easily be adapted to: we cannot love both God and STUFF.