Tell Them What They Can Do

    Have you ever been asked if you are a religious person? I have. It's a hard question to answer. I think that's because most people think of Christianity as a religion; and, in the eyes of the world, it is. But Christianity is different from any other religion. It is different because we don't just have religion we have relationship.

   Religion means rules and don'ts. It means you have guidelines for what you can and cannot do. And, yes, Christianity has parts of that. Like we should follow the ten commandments which tell us things like don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't lie, etc. But Christianity is mainly about the relationship between you and God.

   God sent Jesus to die on the cross so that he could be with us. When we sin, we become unholy, and God cannot be with anyone unholy. Jesus' blood makes us holy. When we choose to accept him as savior, he becomes the sacrifice needed to make us holy. Now we can have direct access to God. We can pray to him, and he hears us. He also can communicate with us, if we listen. 

   This whole principle reminds me of how in my education courses in college we were taught to have rules that told the children what they could do instead of what they can't. For example, rather than having the rule "don't run" have the rule that you should "walk." Most of us don't like to be told what we shouldn't do. We'd rather be told what we can do. And that's what relationship does. Christianity tells us we can go to God. We should show love to others. We should spread the gospel. Christianity is a relationship more than a religion and I'm so thankful for that.

   So, do you have a relationship with God? What are you thankful for about Christianity?

Take on the Day with the Holy Spirit

    You know, there are many times where I watch something and then it hits me that there is some sort of way to connect it to a spiritual discipline. That happened one day when I was watching an orange juice commercial. 

   The commercial starts with a lady drinking a cup of orange juice. There is a table and many people sitting around it. The lady asks them what is going to happen to her that day. The people go around and tell her exactly what is going to happen at the exact time it will happen; and none of it is good. The lady takes each event in stride. At the end she says, "good thing I had my orange juice."

   Well, that commercial is a lot like us and the Holy Spirit. There have been many days where I feel like almost everything is going wrong. But then I feel a nudge from the Holy Spirit, a God coincidence happens, or a verse or song comes to mind at just the right moment. Without the Spirit, I'm not sure I would make it through days like that. 

   God is a good father. He is three in one for a reason. Jesus came to complete the work on the cross. Then he told the disciples he had to leave but he wouldn't leave us alone. He would send a helper to be with us and guide us. That is the Holy Spirit. While we may not be able to see him, he is there. And it's nice to know that he is there, and we can take on each day with him.

   So, are you taking on each day with the Holy Spirit? How can you grow closer to God so you can feel the Spirit's leading more?

https://youtu.be/x-l-DEsFFGY?si=RNujcfnr3GjQcRBb 

What We All Need

    If I were to ask you the question: what is one thing, and only one thing, that everyone in the world needs, what would you say? You may think logically and say food, water, or air. You may think extravaganza and say a mansion with servants. But the answer is actually very simple: it's love.

   Oh my goodness, she is really saying all we need is love? Yeah, the song is right. Think about it: if someone loves you, they will give you what you need. See how I said what we need, not everything we want. For example, if you are a parent, you will work to give your child food, shelter, clothing, and water. You may even work to give them some of their wants. Because you love them, you provide for their needs.

   If all we need is love, and that's what we as Christians are called to give others, then why aren't people getting what they need? Are we actually spreading the love of Christ or have we lost that? What is our focus? If our focus is on conversion, then we drop off the face of the planet for that person is that love? 

   Love means we show the love of Christ. We lead others to the love of Christ as Savior and Lord. Then we stand beside that person as they grow in Christ. We continue to show them love as we do that. Then those people show that same love to others. 

   So, are you giving others what they need? How can you show love to everyone today?

In the Fire

    I've talked about feeling sukkerpunched before. Well, those times when everything seems to be going wrong or there's a lot of problems or changes can also feel like you are in a fire. Like you are getting burned.

   I've felt that way before. I feel that way now. There's a lot going on in my life right now. There are problems in almost every area of my life. But there is hope. We only need to look at the Bible to see the hope. Story after story tells us about people who had faith and hope in God.

   One specific story about faith in the fire is about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abbendago. They knew it was wrong to worship a graven image. If they chose not to worship it, they could lose their lives. They would be thrown in the furnace. That was the literal fire they were facing. They didn't know what would happen, but they trusted that God would be with them. They had hope that God would save them.

   They chose to follow God even though it was hard. They chose to do what was right even though it would impact their whole lives. Because they did that, God was with them in the fire. He saved them from death because they chose to follow him.

   So, when you are facing the fire what do you do? How can you trust God more in the fire?

https://youtu.be/AeBaS_w67Ak

Don't Settle

    A few years ago, I began the journey of online dating. I was older than most people were when I started dating. I knew it may be possible that I find someone who was following Jesus but wasn't quite what I had in mind for a husband. I wasn't expecting perfection, as no one is perfect, but I was hoping for someone who could walk through life with me and who was following God.

   As I began the journey, I talked with some guys who called themselves spiritual but didn't believe in Jesus as their personal savior. I stopped talking with them fairly quickly as I knew that I needed someone who would follow Christ. Then I talked with some who were believers in Christ, but something still didn't feel right.

   See, I knew that there wasn’t one perfect person out there for everyone. What I was looking for was someone who could lead our family in a biblical way. Anything else was a bonus. The guys I was talking with were Christian and some were even leaders in their churches so I knew they would be good as a husband. But something kept holding me back from agreeing to be their girlfriend.

   Then I met Nate. He believed in Christ and was a humble leader. In no way was Nate perfect, but he was following the same path I was, and I felt equally yoked to him. And, as a bonus, he had many of the same interests I did. 

   He was more than I could have hoped for. Because, for years, I thought something was wrong with me. I thought no one would want me because no one had shown an interest in me. But that was a lie. God wanted me. He wanted me to trust him. He wanted me to grow in him, lean on him, and love him before I could love another the way God loves. 

   He also wanted what is best for me and it was better than what I was expecting. I was ready to settle. When I say settle, I was ready to find a man who was following God. And, yes, that would have been enough and fine. But God had more in store for me. He had a different plan. And it was so much better than settling.

   So, are you where you need to be in your walk with God? How can you trust in his plan more each day?

Slipping Down the Cliff

     Sometimes I feel like Cliff Hanger from the show Between the Lions. I am holding onto the cliff, trying to climb it, but it doesn’t seem like I'm getting that far. Worse, there are times where it feels like I am slipping.

   What I mean is, when I am in a close relationship with God I am holding onto the cliff and climbing just fine. God's showing me which handholds and footholds to use. But when I miss spending time with him in his word or in prayer I begin to slip. I miss a handhold, and it feels like I am falling.

   These are times when life gets busy. You know the times I'm talking about. When you have school, work, activities for you or your family, church, vacations, bills, etc. And time just gets away from you. That's the time the Devil seems to love the most. He loves poking at your hands and feet to try to get you to slip away from God.

   But here's the thing, even though it's not always easy we do have a choice. When we begin to slip, maybe fall back into sin, we can choose to hold on. We can choose to reach up to God's hand that is right there to grab us.

Follow the Spirit's Leading

    Have you ever had a time when you felt the Spirit leading you to do something, but you chose not to do it? I know I have. One of the times that sticks in my brain the most is when I was in sixth grade. I was in a fight with my best friend. We had not been talking for at least three months.

   Then one day I got off the bus to walk home. My friend lived on my street. I felt the Spirit leading me to talk with her. To try to reconnect with her. To ask for forgiveness. But my pride got in the way. She was the one who wronged me. She should be the one to say sorry. She should make the first step toward reconnecting. 

   I didn't talk with her that day. The next day she wasn't on the bus. The cars that were normally at her house were gone. I had known they were moving but I had no idea it would be so soon. The spirit knew. The spirit told me to reconcile with her, but I chose not to listen. Now, later I did try to say sorry, but she was not receptive to it. Who knows, if I had tried to reconcile that day, maybe she would have been my friend again. I felt sorry and ashamed for not listening to the spirits leading.

   Another time I was at a church event. I was running the sound system. I had just turned the lights down for prayer and began playing a prayer playlist. The person up front was praying. Suddenly, I had a vision of someone I hadn't talked to or heard from in over a year. I saw her talking at the microphone in front of everyone. I heard her ask for prayer.

   I'm not going to lie, part of me didn't want to text her even though that's what I felt the Spirit telling me to do. I didn't want to because this was a girl who had been after my boyfriend. A girl who told me she hated me. And she had cut us off when we tried to help her. But I knew I should listen.

   I texted her that I felt the Spirit leading me to pray for her. Then prayed for her to grow in God and that she would be blessed. I heard back from her. She thanked me and asked me to pray for some more specific things and I did. I felt such peace and joy after I did that. And I don't know what me choosing to do that did for that girl, but we are called to follow the Spirit's leading. We may not see the outcome but it's our job to plant the seeds.

   So, are you following the Spirit's leading? How can you grow closer to God so you can know what he wants you to do?