Preventing Progress

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." Philippians 2:3

Pride prevents progress.

It's really pretty simple. Put yourself aside and get God's work done. Christians shouldn't be working for themselves anyway. Everything we do is for the Lord. -- We know this, but yet it is so difficult for us to practice this at times.

A lot of people in our nation and world are turned off from Christianity. Christians are confused by this and wonder why this is happening. The answer lies in our own prideful behavior. When Christians act out of pride it can destroy the work that the Lord is doing in someone else's heart.

Let's remember who's team were on and bring our humble attitude so we start chalking up some points for Team Jesus!

Gotta give a shout out to our newest member! Hey Stacie!

Uncommon Sense

Common sense is not so common anymore. Why is that? Maybe we should start calling it uncommon sense to generate a greater awareness of the lack of common sense in our communities, nation and world.

Whenever we have questions like these that provoke discussion and debate within society it is our job as Christians to turn to the Ultimate Textbook which is our source for answers. Yes, I am talking about the Bible...

Listen to this verse:

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." James 1:5

It kind of seems like our answer is right here in this verse. We aren't asking God for His wisdom and discernment anymore. Christians and non-Christians alike are trying to go about life using their own finite logic. Christians should know better than to be doing this because we have God's instructions on what to do when our common sense meter is lacking. -- ASK HIM!!!

All we have to do is ask and God will help us. He will not turn a deaf ear to our plea for help because we are His children. Let's give common sense a comeback because we start going to God for that provision instead of ourselves.

Pictures Update

P.S. I have added some pics from Luke's birthday on My Pictures Page!

Understand This...

When we finally understand that we are not supposed to understand everything we will be much better off...

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" Proverbs 3:5

There are so many unknowns in our lives. We don't know what the future holds, but God does. I find myself becoming impatient and discouraged because I do not understand everything that goes on in my life. However, I have the choice to let God be God and trust Him to take care of me and everything in my life.

Sounds pretty simple, right? Let's not fool ourselves because we know it is not! We are not wired to trust God by default. Trusting God has to be a choice that we make and relinquish our human nature to over and over. Thank the Lord we have the Holy Spirit to help us!

The Paperboy

"For the word of God is living and active." Hebrews 4:12

My pastor called himself a paperboy yesterday. This was something I have never heard a pastor say, but I thought it was a wonderful analogy. He said he is like a paperboy because he is throwing out God's word to other people. My pastor didn't write the Bible just like the paperboy didn't write the newspaper.

People are so quick to give pastors grief when there is something in God's word that makes them uncomfortable. Our pastors did not make the rules! Would we run out and berate our paperboy when the newspaper headlines made us uncomfortable? I don't think so... If you did your neighbors are going to call the police.

Here's another thing to think about today... If you are a Christian, you should be a paperboy or papergirl yourself. Pastors should not be the only ones delivering God's word to the world. So hop on your bicycle and loosen up that arm a bit before you start throwing those papers.

The Tongue

"When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts." James 3: 3-5

The human tongue is very small when compared to the rest of the human body. The body consists of many other larger and more necessary parts to sustain life. Consider the heart... It is about the size of your fist. (That makes it larger than the tongue.) The heart pumps blood continuously through our body to keep us alive, which makes it absolutely necessary for staying alive. We could live without our tongues, but we can't live without our heart.

Isn't is interesting how the tongue, which is so small and not absolutely necessary for life, makes such an impact on a person and his or her life. The tongue is either going to make or break us. What comes out of our mouth reveals what is in our minds and heart.

This scripture illustrates the power of the tongue. We often let our tongues get out of control and get us in trouble. I have fallen into that trap many times. However, reading scriptures like these gives us a healthy awareness of areas in our lives we need to focus on and give to God.


Side note: Today is my Mama's birthday! (I won't tell how old you are, so don't worry.) Happy Birthday Mama! You have preached some mini-sermons to me in the past about my tongue so I guess this should prove that I was listening!

Bible Believers

Are you a Bible believer? Don't tell me what denomination you belong to... That's not what is really important. What is important is whether or not we are believing the Bible and making its word come to life in our daily lives. When we die God is not going to ask us what Christian denomination we belonged to. God is not going to need proof of our church membership. -- God is only going to need to know one thing, which is whether or not we made His Son Jesus the Lord of our lives.

It's really pretty simple when you think about it. Our answer is either going to be yes or no.

Two verses that I really love are John 8: 31-32, "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, 'If you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'"

The teaching that we need to hold to is in the Bible. We need to remember that the Bible is our text for life. It is truth and every word in it is designed to set us free from the sin and bondage of this world.

Plans

Have you ever heard the saying, "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans"?

I had one of those moments yesterday. I planned to spend yesterday baking Luke's birthday cake because his third birthday is today! Well, I ended up at the hospital with one of my 19 month old twins, Julia. After four hours of tests our doctors determined that she has compacted bowels and has suffered severe pain from the constipation. Please pray for her as we try to treat this issue.

I was trying to plan one day of my life, but God knew all along what I would end up doing. God knew that I would stand in a hospital and pray for Julia and her doctors when we could not figure out what was wrong.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "'For I know the plans I have for you', declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"

This verse is encouraging when life events deviate from our "ideal plan" because it reminds us that no matter what changes are thrown our way God is going to use it for our good and to pave the way for our future in Him.


(Luke can't read yet, but I have to give him a birthday shout out!) - Happy 3rd Birthday Luke!!! We love you!

Do You Know a Rich Young Ruler?

In Matthew chapter 19 Jesus speaks with a rich young ruler. Here is part of the conversation:

"Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, 'Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?'
'Why do you ask me about what is good?' Jesus replied. 'There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.'
'Which ones?' the man inquired.
Jesus replied, "Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love you neighbor as yourself.'
All these I have kept,' the young man said. (Matthew 19: 16-20)

Let's take a look at two big problems that the rich young ruler has (because many people have the same problems, thousands of years later). The first problem is that the rich young ruler wants to know what "good thing" he can do to get eternal life. So many people think that their "good" works are going to earn them a spot in heaven. Getting eternal life is not about what we can do, it is about what we will let God do in our hearts and lives.

Problem #2 appears when the rich young ruler tells Jesus that he has kept all of the commandments Jesus listed! Can you imagine some guy standing in front of Jesus (God's Son!) and telling Him that he has no sin in his life!!! The only person who has ever walked the earth that could make such a claim is Jesus. The rich young ruler has a distorted view of his own self-righteousness. He thinks that he is a good guy because he hasn't done anything terribly wrong, but he does not realize that small sins fall into these categories as well. Sin is sin no matter how our human society ranks it.

I also think that it is astonishing that the rich young ruler asked which commandments he should keep! Like Jesus was going to pick out a couple of commandments that this guy should focus on and not worry about the rest. You may think its funny, but how many people you know are trying to pick and choose where they want to be faithful and serve God and where they let sin rule?

Repentance

"I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes." Psalm 119:59

I have taught phonics to elementary school kids who are learning how to read. When you are learning how to read and how to pronounce the different sounds each letter makes you will ultimately talk about prefixes. Some of you may be thinking that you have been out of school too long to remember what a prefix is, so I will give you an example. "Re" is a prefix that is found at the beginning of a root word. The prefix "re" refers to an action that is done again.

Look at the word repentance. It has that little "re" prefix on it!!!! Don't you just love how God understands us so well that he knew we would have to ask for forgiveness again and again. Repentance is unique because you don't want to be repenting about the same sin over and over. That is not a good sign because that means that you have not truly repented and turned away from the sin.

Repentance is a two part process. 1. Ask God to forgive you for your sin. ---- 2. Turn away from the sinful behavior and do it no more.

People don't mind the first part so much. It is the second part that gives us a lot of trouble. That's when we say, "Thank you Lord for your mercy and grace to give me the opportunity to have a "re"pentant heart so I can come back to you again when I don't get it right the first time."

Did You Hear It?

God spoke to Elijah in 1 Kings in a "still small voice." The Lord told Elijah to go stand on the mountain because the presence of the Lord was about to pass by. Elijah was standing there and he witnessed a powerful wind, earthquake, and fire, but the Lord was not in any of those events. -- Don't you just love how God does not take the obvious route? -- After the wind, earthquake, and fire there was a still small voice which was the presence of God. This gentle whisper got Elijah's attention after all he had just witnessed.



God shows us in this passage that He doesn't always come to us in ways that we would expect. God can be very subtle, so subtle that we often miss Him.



We give God the credit for all of the big miraculous things that He does in our lives and in the lives of others, but what about the small ways He provides miracles in our lives? We often underestimate God and don't give Him the credit He deserves. The root of this problem lies in one of two forms:

1. We are too busy to identify the small ways God is working in our lives. ---or---

2. We realize God's provision but we don't think it is worthy of mentioning because it seems small to us.



Neither option is glorifying God and giving praise and honor where it is due. Let's ask God to help us start hearing and praising that "still small voice"!

Not Feeling Spiritual?

Ever have those days when you are not feeling spiritual? Sometimes God seems like He is so far away. Unless you are trying to push God away, this is normally when Christians begin to wonder, "What is wrong with me?" -- "Why isn't God close to me?"

The truth of the matter is that God is still there. No matter how you are feeling God is with you no matter what. We try to gauge God's presence and love for us based on our own "human-feelings-meter". If we allow the human-feelings-meter to guide our decisions and direction in life, we are in for some big trouble.

When we are feeling alone all we need to do is open our Bibles and read God's promises. God's promises are the wisest choice (instead of our fleshly feelings). Reading a verse like Joshua 1:5 tells us plainly what we need to know when we aren't having a super-spiritual day:

"I will never leave you nor forsake you" Joshua 1:5

That's all I need to know.

The Record

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs" 1 Corinthians 13:4-5

This verse makes us feel all warm and fuzzy until we get to the part that says, "it keeps no record of wrongs"... What?!? Last time I checked I had a mental notebook busting at the seams where I stored all of those wrongs! I have kept that notebook locked away in the recesses of my mind and it has come in handy when I needed to throw my fit and point out all the wrongs that had been done to me.

Why is it that we can become angry at someone and all of the sudden everything that person has ever done wrong comes to our attention? (Let me tell you, that sudden recollection we have is not from God, so that leaves one other possibility...)

We often feel that we need a record of wrongs to serve as our arsenal when times of trouble arise so we can defend ourselves in an argument. This may seem like a logical strategy when forming a defense, but I am glad that God does not use this human logic. Aren't you? Can you imagine what God's notebook would look like that contained our record of wrongs?

Let's burn up those old notebooks filled with wrongs and love people the way that God loves us!

The Dirty Eraser

Have you ever watched a school teacher erase the chalk board with a dirty eraser? The dirty eraser is caked with old chalk dust and as she swipes it across the board it makes an even bigger, dustier mess than before.

I saw a church marquise today that said, "God has a big eraser!" That is very true and I am glad that God's eraser is perfect and spotless.

When I try to erase my own sin or make up for it out of my own effort I am taking a filthy eraser and making an even bigger mess. But when I ask God to erase my sin He takes a big bucket of soapy water and washes every spec of filth away.

Psalm 51:7 says: "Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow."

Comfort for God's People

"All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field...The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the work of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:6,8

You have probably noticed that today's devotion is entitled "Comfort for God's People." Please note that I did not make that title up myself. It is actually the title that the Bible gives for Isaiah 40. The entire chapter is about comfort from God.

When you take a look at the verses I used from Isaiah 40 you may be asking, "Where is the comfort? These verses are talking about men dying and their glory diminishing."

Well, here's the comfort: IT'S NOT ABOUT US!

As God's human creation, we are going to come and go in the world, but God is not going anywhere. He was here before us and He will be here after us. Our lives, roles and achievements may seem so significant to us now, but they are nothing compared to what God has done, what God is doing, and what God will do. The comfort comes when you can let go of worldly pressures and expectations and look to God and say, "It's all about you Lord!"

Believe it to See it...

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists" Hebrews 11:6

Have you ever noticed that God does not do business the way that the world does business? The world tells us that we have to see something for us to believe it is real. We want proof. Proof that is tangible and obvious. Subtle details are not enough for us anymore. We want something to stare us in the face for us to feel like we can put some trust into it. Once we have that proof we then want it to be reaffirmed to us over and over to maintain that feeling of security that we have acquired.

The "seeing is believing" policy of the world that I have just described to you is the exact opposite of God's policy. God's policy says that you have to "Believe it if you ever want to see it!" God wants our faith. He wants our faith in His word and in His Son Jesus. God is not going to open a window to heaven so we can peek in for a second and say, "Oh good, it is real. I guess that I will start believing now that I know for sure." -- You may laugh, but who wouldn't love a peek?!?! Our faith, belief and unyielding trust is the greatest gift we can offer God. It is all He wants.

Wouldn't you rather have someone trust you simply because they believe in you, versus you having to prove yourself worthy of their trust before they will offer it to you. It is a pretty big insult when you have to prove yourself worthy of some one's trust before they will give it to you.

Age Doesn't Matter

"Even youths grow tired and weary" Isaiah 40:30

This is probably a verse from Isaiah that you do not hear very often, but I am sure that you are very familiar with the verse that comes after it:

"but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31

We all love Isaiah 40:31. It is a wonderful promise from God. Who wouldn't love that verse? But I want to talk about Isaiah 40:30... There is encouragement for me in verse 30. It says that no matter who you are or how old you are, you are going to have times of exhaustion, fatigue and weariness in your life.

Let me tell you that I am 27 years old and I consider that to be a young age. Despite my youth, I have days where I feel completely overwhelmed with exhaustion. Exhaustion not only affects the body, it affects the mind and spirit as well. There have been times in my life when I was younger, unmarried and had no children and I was exhausted mind, body and spirit as well. Life's circumstances can bring on an onslaught of weariness and fatigue no matter what stage of life you are in.

You are probably wondering why I find this verse so encouraging. Well, I am just so thankful that God does not expect me to be more resilient because of my youth. God knows our human weaknesses no matter what our ages are and loves us and wants to help us anyway. You've probably heard Paul's writing that said God is no respecter of persons. This verse proves that statement to be even more true!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

The B-I-B-L-E

The B-I-B-L-E, Yes that's the book for me!

Did you ever sing that song? My son loves that song. A few weeks ago Bart said something about the Bible and Luke said, "The Bible is God's word" (in his sweet little two-year-old voice). Needless to say, it was a proud moment for us! Now let me share a verse with you:

"My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge." Hosea 4:6

Are you reading your Bible? Do you have the knowledge that God wants you to have? God isn't demanding for us to be Biblical scholars. He simply wants us to be devoted to reading His word and shaping our lives to its instruction.

There are people in the world that will tell you that they believe in the Bible, but they have no idea what it says. Doesn't that just blow your mind? They have never read the Bible or may not even own one. And I am not talking about people on the other side of the world that live in a hut! These people live in our neighborhoods. So, if you confess to be a Bible believing Christian, brush the dust off your Bible and get educated. It will amaze you - trust me, I had a good layer of dust on mine at one time!

A Conversation with God

"I am the Lord, and there is no other" Isaiah 45:5

Take a look at this conversation a man had with God:

Man: "God, I have just let you down so many times."
God: "No you haven't, because you were never holding me up."

We talked the other day about how God does not need our help. And since the other day, He still doesn't need us to help him. I am glad that God does not need me to help Him do His job because I would fail miserably. So let's just pass the torch back to God and rest in the peace of His perfect will, perfect salvation, perfect forgiveness and so on for our lives.

Have a great Monday!

Carousel of Progress

"I planted the seed...but God made it grow." Proverbs 13:6

Have you ever ridden the ride at Disney World called the Carousel of Progress? If you aren't sure, it is the ride that people usually go on because it gets them out of the heat for about 20 minutes. It is not a thriller of an attraction, but it is a classic that Disney World will probably keep around. During the ride you rotate through a building that shows different scenes of how technology has improved over the past couple of centuries.

I was thinking about the Carousel of Progress today while I was folding laundry. It made me wonder what it would be like if the ride showcased my life as a believer in Christ. The beginning of the ride would start off with the excitement of knowing Jesus, but still being pretty sparse in terms of Biblical knowledge and power. However, as we came through to each subsequent scene of my life my faith would have grown and the Lord would have allowed me to reach new levels of progress and spiritual growth.

I would guess that most believers could ride their own Carousel of Progress in Spiritual Growth. Makes me thankful for the progress I have made because once you know that next level, you never want to go back!

I Know

"I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth." Job 19:25

These are the words of Job. Job went through a series of trials where God allowed Satan to inflict trouble upon him to prove that Job would not turn from God during hard times. Job's trials were intense. He experienced poverty, the death of all his children, and an illness of his own. In the end Job remained faithful to God and did not turn away from Him. Job's faithfulness was rewarded with a blessing that was double his original blessing before he lost everything.

Some people would guess that Job spoke these words that are recorded in this verse once his trials were over and he had received his abundant blessing. That is usually when people become thankful, right? Once everything gets better and God's provision is evident people start shouting their praises and thanks to God. -- Well, that wasn't the case with Job. Job spoke these words about the Lord and his everlasting faith in Him while he was in the midst of all his trouble. There was no light shining at the end of the tunnel that got Job excited and made him start speaking well of God. No, no, no, Job was talking about God's greatness and living power when he was at his lowest point. At the point that most of us would be grumbling and throwing a pity party Job was praising God.

Well, I don't know about you, but I am feeling a little ungrateful right now! I am not trying to condemn anyone. I just think that we should all take a good look at Job and model our own reactions after his. Job pleased God and we should be trying to do the same.

Wrong Fear?

"The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever" Psalm 19:9

Why is it that so many people allow themselves to experience the wrong kind of fear? People fear everything that the world can throw at them and let it control their emotions and steal their happiness. There is enough of that kind of fear to go around, but there is not enough reverential fear of God.

And the crazy thing about this is that if people will reverse this trend and start revering God for the power that He is, God will help people to overcome their fears of the world. Living in fear of the world is from the enemy. The fear the enemy offers will make you sick, trapped, scared and feel altogether helpless. Living in a reverential fear of God is cultivated through a relationship with God through Jesus. The reverential fear of God is comforting because it allows you to show God how much you love Him and are amazed at His power and glory.

We choose what kind of fear we will allow ourselves to feel. The choice seems obvious enough. Making this choice on our own is not easy (which explains why we have feared so much in our lives already), but don't worry Jesus will help us! Just ask Him.

Olivia Update

I wanted to let all of you know that have been praying for Olivia that she is doing much better! Thank you for your prayers and Thank you Lord! She is responding well to her steroids and breathing treatments. Last night was very worrisome, but she is a new girl today!

Mothering

"For this is what the Lord says:...As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you" Isaiah 66:12-13

Do you still want your mother when you get sick? Funny how you can be fully grown and still want your mommy to come and make you feel better. We have had some sickly children around our house lately. Needless to say, I have been in high demand lately because everyone needs some comforting.

As I was helping one of our children last night I was thinking about how comforting a mother is to her child, but also how much more comforting God is. As we grow older we seek God's comfort. Everyone in the world is wanting some type of comfort to make them feel safe and loved. The sad reality is that so many people are looking in the wrong places. God's comfort through Jesus Christ is perfect and complete and cannot be rivaled by any other, including your mommy.

Now I am going to ask you to do something special for me and our family. Bart and I need you to pray for our daughter Olivia. She is one of our twins who is almost 19 months old. Olivia was born prematurely and struggles with chronic lung disease. She has gotten some type of respiratory infection and her usual medications do not seem to be working as well this time around. This has developed suddenly since yesterday and has to be treated with all seriousness. I have included a picture of Olivia so you can see her sweet face when you pray for her! Thank you so much for your prayers! Olivia thanks you too!

No Help Needed

"Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit." Psalm 147:5

God does not need our help.

Do you like to help God occasionally? Do you like to give God tips on how something should be done or when something should happen? Do you give God a nudge from time to time when you think that He is not coming through for you?

Well, don't read these questions and act appalled... we have all done these things. I do not think any of us believe that God needs our help. We all know that He is the Creator and in control of everything. We know this, but we still act in opposition to this knowledge and belief at times.

Human nature can make us act really dumb. Our flesh wants us to take the wheel and put God riding shotgun in our lives. Or, for those of us who aren't comfortable driving, we want to sit shotgun and be God's navigator while he taxis us around. No matter how much help your human nature wants to give God, He doesn't need it. And it really reflects a lack of faith, trust, security, love, etc.. in your relationship with God. So, how about we stop acting so disrespectfully by trying to help God when He has already won for us?

What if...

"Do everything without complaining" Philippians 2:14

Let's play a game.

What if you gave me a gift. Let's say that you gave me a new computer just because you loved me. When you gave me the computer I was so excited. I thanked you over and over and over! I told you that I would think about you every time I looked at it and that I would use it to do some work you were needing done. At first I was busy getting that work done for you and telling you what a great computer it was and how it had changed my life. --But after a while I started doing less and less work for you. Then I stopped talking to you about the computer altogether. Some more time passed and I started calling you up and complaining about the computer. "The computer has a virus, it runs slow, it is outdated, if you were going to give me a computer I wish it would have had more memory." (I am sure that you are not happy with the way I am treating you about the gift you gave me for free!)

Now think about this: Don't you think this is how God feels when we complain about the gifts He has given us? Talk to me now... You were getting upset with me about that computer a minute ago, weren't you? I seemed like an ungreatful complainer, didn't I? How many times has God given us a gift that we were thrilled about, but once the newness wore off we started complaining about it to God?

Let me tell you, I did this tonight and it is why I am telling you about it. The Lord blessed Bart and I with three wonderful children. Luke is almost three and Julia and Olivia are 18 months old. Once you see their ages I don't think that I have to explain how tired I am at the end of every day! Tonight I was so exhausted and felt like I had been the warden all day long! I started complaining to my husband and he instantly rebuked me. I wasn't happy with Bart at first but he did what was right by redirecting my thoughts away from the enemy and back to God. I think we need to get a better perspective on how God feels about our actions versus how we are feeling. Seems like it would put a stop to a lot of complaining.

Hope your Labor Day was great and you got some extra rest!

Recession or Depression?

Some people argue whether our nation is in an economic recession or depression. Listen to what Ronald Reagan had to say about the two: "If your neighbor has lost his job we're in a recession. If you have lost your job we're in a depression."

No matter what you want to call it, there are many people who are struggling in our country today. -- You may be one of them. So, here's some Biblical truth for us to remember:

"But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth." Deuteronomy 8:18

Our nation's Biblical foundation is crumbling before our eyes. Our American history is filled with years of prosperity that were provided by the hand of God. Now we have strayed so far off base from our Biblical heritage and we are wondering why everything is going downhill. Christians should be able to see this for what it truly is because we should know that prosperity will suffer when we give ourselves the credit and not God.

Despite our economic woes there is still hope for us! If we seek God and his plan for our lives He will not let us down. This verse from Deuteronomy promises us that God will give us the ability to provide for our needs. However, if we are remembering only ourselves and not God, do not expect to see that provision increase.

Enjoy your day off this Labor Day!

Choose Friends Carefully

" A righteous man is cautious in friendship" Proverbs 12:26

Don't you just love the Proverbs? It is full of such practical wisdom that we all need.

When we are kids our parents tell us to make friends with other children who are going to be good influences on us. Every parent should know who their children's friends are because hanging out with the wrong crowd can lead to trouble. Parents are there to help their children with friends but who is there to help adults with friends?

The best resource I can think of for a Christian is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will lead us in knowing which relationships we should cultivate and which ones we should let go. Jesus was friends with all types of people living in sin. However, Jesus led them away from their sin into a life of righteousness. If we are friends with people who are struggling with sin we need to make sure that we are leading them into righteousness and that they are not leading us into sin.

Making decisions about questionable friends seems like a delicate balance, but what's good for us is that God masters delicate balances.

P.S.

P.S. I have added new pics to my pictures page!

What is it?

"The Lord said to Moses, "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.' " Exodus 16: 11-12

When God led the Israelites out of Egypt He took them through the Red Sea and into the desert. After some time in the desert the Israelites started to complain. Let's picture their situation: they are hot, tired, hungry and impatient. I know that when I start feeling these things I am not the most pleasant person to be around. My husband has even said to me, and I quote, "I guess I need to feed you so you will start acting nice." When I get hungry I get unhappy. (Let's just add that to the list of things for me to work on!)

Of course God heard all this complaining about lack of food and how the Israelites thought they were better off in bondage to Pharaoh because they could at least have a good meal back in Egypt. Can't you just hear the complaining? Shows us how much people haven't changed in thousands of years. I hear people talking like that all the time, myself included! We want to make such a separation between ourselves and people during Bible times, but the fact is that human nature is the same no matter what century you stick it in. - Thanks a lot Adam and Eve!

Well, God was faithful to the Israelites because he sent them quail and manna. In the evenings quail covered the ground for the people to eat. In the mornings there was a flaky substance they called manna that was spread on the ground. The Israelites were instructed to collect the manna and use it to make bread. The Israelites understood the quail because they were familiar with it. However, manna baffled them. The word "manna" actually means "What is it?" Isn't that funny? These people were gathering up basketful's of these flakes and saying "What is this stuff?" Well, their ignorance did not deter them from trying it because they got busy baking it into some bread.

I think that it could be concluded that the Israelites were not the fastest group of learners. Their grumbling, lack of trust and disobedience to God caused them to wander in the wilderness for forty years. However, one astounding benefit to the Israelites' trouble is that we can take a look at it and use it as an assessment for our own lives. If we are acting like the Israelites and walking in our own wilderness of sorts, then we probably should not be wondering why!

I Thought We Weren't Supposed to Say "Stupid"!

When I was growing up the word "stupid" was an ugly word in our house. Now don't get me wrong, "stupid" is an ugly word and I still don't think we should say it. I would probably faint if I heard my three-year-old Luke say it. When I was teaching school, saying "stupid" in my classroom would put you on the fast track to trouble.

Well, wouldn't you know that one of my most favorite verses has the word "stupid" in it! Here it is:

"Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone" 2 Timothy 2:23-24

This is part of what Paul was writing to Timothy. Paul's words were very effective in conveying meaning. I have to admit that using stupid in this sentence is very effective. Most arguments are stupid, but some are not. When I think of some of the things that Bart and I have argued about it is absolutely ridiculous. (Or should I say stupid!)

But we do not only argue with our spouses. We can argue with anyone anywhere, even people we don't know. These foolish and stupid arguments that lead to quarrels will shut the door for the Lord to work quicker than you can say the word "stupid." I know it is hard not to argue your point and stand up for what you believe in, but let's make sure it is not something ridiculous that we are using that energy to quarrel about.

Friday! Yippee! Have a great Labor Day weekend!

You Are More Than a Number

Identity theft has become a problem for people all over the world today. People in the U.S. guard their social security numbers with due diligence, and for very good reason. That nine-digit number can reveal details about your life, decisions and habits.

However, when God looks at us He does not see a bunch of nine-digit numbers walking around. God determines our identities when He creates us and then we determine how to use that identity once we are born in this world. I think that God is most concerned with how we choose to use the identity we are given. We can protect ourselves by creating an identity within Christ. Or we can throw that identity to the wind and let the world mold us however it sees fit.

Check out these verses from Psalm 139. If you have never read Psalm 139 in its entirety I encourage you to read it. This was the passage that a special person gave me to read right before our twin daughters were born three months prematurely. It really gives us a perspective on how we are God's creation and our identity (no matter how we choose to use it) is no secret to Him.

"O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar...your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139: 1,2 & 16

Job's Dumb Wife

Let me set the stage for the verse I am about to share with you. Job's account is in the Old Testament and it tells us about when God allowed satan to test Job's loyalty to God when faced with times of extreme trouble and loss. God allowed satan to have some of Job's property stolen, burned up and raided. Then Job's children were all killed by a mighty wind. - Job remained faithful to God through all this. Then God allowed Satan to inflict an infectious skin disease on Job. Now, that you have some background listen to this verse:

"His wife [Job's wife] said to him, 'Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!' He replied, 'You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?'"

Don't you just want to slap Job's wife when you read that. Her bitterness with God was off the charts for her to ever suggest for her husband to curse God and die! I applaud Job for what he told that crazy woman. Job had a good perspective that the righteous will experience trials and tribulations in their lives as well as the unrighteous. Job's faith is remarkable. God knew that Job's trust and faith were in him and that he had the faith to withstand the trials from satan.

Many people would have listened to the old wife and turned their back on God. I am glad that Job did not do that because God used him to be an example of trusting God while enduring.

Happy September!