In the hustle and bustle of the holiday season do you ever stop and ask yourself "What is this all about? What does it all really mean?" I believe that Thanksgiving as well as Christmas are totally a time to see God in everything. We see Him in the time of Thanksgiving being totally the reason we are so very thankful for how He has blessed our year throughout with His provisions of grace, mercy, forgiveness, blessings and love. And we see Him in the time of Christmas, of course, because it is centered on Him coming in the form of a baby to save us all. It also reflects on the gifts of sharing our love with those we love because He loves.
But, this Blog isn't really about what I think of Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's about knowing the Maker of Thanksgiving and Christmas in a personal relationship. I will say that most likely all my FB friends know Him in a personal relationship....but there may be just that one who isn't sure or doesn't know Him that way....and for that one I share the following.
Have you ever heard the question asked "If you were to die today and went to Heaven and God stopped you and said 'Why should I let you into my kingdom?' what would you say?" Many people have what they feel are genuinely perfect answers for this and many consist of them being simply good enough to earn their way in. Others may believe that a loving God could never send anyONE to such a horrible place as hell and therefore make their way in as well. Well, sadly...neither thinking is right. There is only ONE way and ONE way only....and that being through the perfect blood that Jesus shed on the cross for our salvation. Through His sacrifice for our sins, we receive the grace that He freely gives. We receive it through faith and faith itself is also given to us by and through God.
I could really draw this blog out with more lengthy discussions. But I believe that salvation is simple and therefore should be presented in a simple manner. That statement reminds me of a very special Christian kindergarten teacher I had a long time ago. I had asked Jesus into my heart at the age of 5 (also being the time of attending her class). She had ran into my Mom years later and had heard that I was struggling with doubts of my salvation. She replied to my Mom "Tell her to quit making it so HARD." Salvation is not a complicated thing...but sometimes we as humans tend to make it hard.
First, know that we ALL have sinned. If you have broken just one commandment...and we all have....then you are guilty of sin.
Romans 3:10 - "As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one."
Romans 3:23 - "For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Romans 5:12 - "Therefore just as sin entered the world through one man (Adam) and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because ALL sinned."
Second, the price has been paid!
Romans 6:23- "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord!"
Romans 5:8- "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Third, how we receive our gift!
Romans 10:9-10 - "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
It's as simple as ABC!
A= Accept that you are a sinner in need of a Saviour!
B= Believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead!
C= Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and call upon Him to save YOU!
Lastly, we know that when we call - He hears!
Romans 10:13 - "For EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord will BE saved!"
Ephesians 2:8-9 - "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that NOT of yourself, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no man can boast." If it were by works anyway...someone would ALWAYS be better than you. . . and whose to say where the line would be drawn?? Side tidbit there. :)
There are many more proofs of God's love, His forgiveness, His grace and His salvation in the Bible. If you have a question regarding this topic, I would gladly TRY and seek an answer and get back with you. So ask! I don't have them....but I know WHO does! :)
Thanks for letting me share something SO very important with you!
And remember.....you are never too far gone, too bad, too unforgivable for God to pick up, dust off and say "Welcome my son/daughter!" He loves you that MUCH!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
"An ant CAN move a rubber-tree plant!"
Have you ever stopped and watched ants? I don't mean watch it crawl up your leg and bite you. . .no, I mean really stopped long enough to observe them while they are working? They are such awesome creatures that God has so wonderously made....in my opnion anyways. :) They are SO dedicated to their task, they are there to work together and they are SO amazingly strong! This isn't a story really about the amazing ant and wonderful I think they are....though others would disagree to the latter statement....but rather just some awesome inspiration they gave me to share a blog with YOU!
The other day I was out with David, at one of our favorite spots in the woods, picnicing and fishing. I USUALLY don't fish if the fish aren't biting and this was one such day. I let David fish in solitude while I went to explore around. Would you believe I found an ant trail that went on forEVER?!? These were no small ants either. I know the trail had to be something like 66 yards long...at least if not more! It was an amazing trail too! I wasn't even aware that ants could make a trail like humans do! These ants had traveled this same path so many times through the brush and leaves working tirelessly to complete their task at hand. As I watched and walked alongside their path I noticed they were ALL carrying green leaves that were bigger than them at times. It appeared that one such part of their path led right up a tree and back down again. I believe they were taking down that tree bit by bit....henceforth my title came to be. :) Although not necessarily rubber it was indeed a tree!
I watched with curiosity as they all worked together towards one common goal. . .much like us today. We all are working towards a goal. What is your goal(s) in life? We have many. Some want a bigger house, more money, a better job. Or our goals can be more spiritual centered such as sharing God's love, His mercy, His forgiveness and His will with those we love and meet?
While still observing, I learned some different spiritual lessons that can be helpful no matter where you are at in life. 1.) Don't give up!! These ants were determined in their journey and no matter WHAT they met along the way. . .it wasn't going to defeat them. And we see that no matter WHAT God has allowed or placed in your life on your journey there is always victory at the end! 2.) God NEVER let's go of us!! As the faithful ant continued to carry his precious cargo (leaf) he never once dropped it no matter how hard and treacherous the terrain was. And this example gives us a thought of how God - being so very much stronger than an ant - carries us always - never letting us go - no matter how bumpy our path s of life may be. 3.) While walking around, I noticed there was an ant off in the woods and off the path. He seemed to be all alone and on his own path. After awhile, I saw that he was in fact not alone. He met up with others, who like him were tugging and chugging along though still not on the path as well. In seeing this it reminds me of the times I believe that we too feel like we are alone in our struggles-trials-burdens. . .but we are not. There are others who feel the same hurts, the same temptations, the same stuggles as us. Don't ever believe that you are the only one to feel the pain and struggles that you do. We would most likely be surprised at just how many there are that suffer as we do! In watching this same loner ant, I thought of how seemingly alone and so far from the others (though he soon found out he wasn't) he still trudged on with one main purpose in sight. I couldn't help but think to myself how much easier it would be if I could just pick him up and take him to his final destination instead of him struggling tirelessly over the rough terrain. But just as I was thinking that, I seemed to sense that maybe that is just how God feels about us. He is there always watching with a watchful eye - seeing us struggle- even falling at times. He must want to pick us up, dust us off and just take us to our final destination. But in doing that, He knows we would loose so much of who He wants us to become. Our character is shaped, our appreciation is increased and God shapes us into more of His own image through the rough terrain of "life".
And lastly, 4.) Just as the ant faced uncertainties and obstacles that were unknown ahead - we too face our paths of life with the same. But we have HOPE!! Isaiah 49:23c "Those who hope in me will NOT be disappointed." Psalms 54:4 "Surely God is my help; the Lord is the One who sustains me."
There is a saying that I find very helpful in times of facing the unknown and uncertainities of life and it goes like this: "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."
So......maybe those little faithfully dedicated creatures can teach us a thing or two in life! For even in the Bible it tells us in Proverbs 6:6-7, "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider it's ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores it's provisions in Summer and gathers it's food at harvest." We have something the ants don't.....and that's a Commander, Overseer and Ruler Who loves us dearly and has His very BEST for us. His name is Jesus Christ the Lord of all! :)
As always....thank you SO much for reading and allowing me to share something from my heart with YOU!
Be blessed my friend! :))
The other day I was out with David, at one of our favorite spots in the woods, picnicing and fishing. I USUALLY don't fish if the fish aren't biting and this was one such day. I let David fish in solitude while I went to explore around. Would you believe I found an ant trail that went on forEVER?!? These were no small ants either. I know the trail had to be something like 66 yards long...at least if not more! It was an amazing trail too! I wasn't even aware that ants could make a trail like humans do! These ants had traveled this same path so many times through the brush and leaves working tirelessly to complete their task at hand. As I watched and walked alongside their path I noticed they were ALL carrying green leaves that were bigger than them at times. It appeared that one such part of their path led right up a tree and back down again. I believe they were taking down that tree bit by bit....henceforth my title came to be. :) Although not necessarily rubber it was indeed a tree!
I watched with curiosity as they all worked together towards one common goal. . .much like us today. We all are working towards a goal. What is your goal(s) in life? We have many. Some want a bigger house, more money, a better job. Or our goals can be more spiritual centered such as sharing God's love, His mercy, His forgiveness and His will with those we love and meet?
While still observing, I learned some different spiritual lessons that can be helpful no matter where you are at in life. 1.) Don't give up!! These ants were determined in their journey and no matter WHAT they met along the way. . .it wasn't going to defeat them. And we see that no matter WHAT God has allowed or placed in your life on your journey there is always victory at the end! 2.) God NEVER let's go of us!! As the faithful ant continued to carry his precious cargo (leaf) he never once dropped it no matter how hard and treacherous the terrain was. And this example gives us a thought of how God - being so very much stronger than an ant - carries us always - never letting us go - no matter how bumpy our path s of life may be. 3.) While walking around, I noticed there was an ant off in the woods and off the path. He seemed to be all alone and on his own path. After awhile, I saw that he was in fact not alone. He met up with others, who like him were tugging and chugging along though still not on the path as well. In seeing this it reminds me of the times I believe that we too feel like we are alone in our struggles-trials-burdens. . .but we are not. There are others who feel the same hurts, the same temptations, the same stuggles as us. Don't ever believe that you are the only one to feel the pain and struggles that you do. We would most likely be surprised at just how many there are that suffer as we do! In watching this same loner ant, I thought of how seemingly alone and so far from the others (though he soon found out he wasn't) he still trudged on with one main purpose in sight. I couldn't help but think to myself how much easier it would be if I could just pick him up and take him to his final destination instead of him struggling tirelessly over the rough terrain. But just as I was thinking that, I seemed to sense that maybe that is just how God feels about us. He is there always watching with a watchful eye - seeing us struggle- even falling at times. He must want to pick us up, dust us off and just take us to our final destination. But in doing that, He knows we would loose so much of who He wants us to become. Our character is shaped, our appreciation is increased and God shapes us into more of His own image through the rough terrain of "life".
And lastly, 4.) Just as the ant faced uncertainties and obstacles that were unknown ahead - we too face our paths of life with the same. But we have HOPE!! Isaiah 49:23c "Those who hope in me will NOT be disappointed." Psalms 54:4 "Surely God is my help; the Lord is the One who sustains me."
There is a saying that I find very helpful in times of facing the unknown and uncertainities of life and it goes like this: "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."
So......maybe those little faithfully dedicated creatures can teach us a thing or two in life! For even in the Bible it tells us in Proverbs 6:6-7, "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider it's ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores it's provisions in Summer and gathers it's food at harvest." We have something the ants don't.....and that's a Commander, Overseer and Ruler Who loves us dearly and has His very BEST for us. His name is Jesus Christ the Lord of all! :)
As always....thank you SO much for reading and allowing me to share something from my heart with YOU!
Be blessed my friend! :))
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