I Won't Give In and I Won't Back Down

I have found over the past few years that the more I read my Bible the more I have to take a stand for what I not only believe is right, but for what I know is true. Too many times as Christians we cower down to what the world wants us to believe is "right" and we go along knowing in our hearts that God said that all these things are "SIN". My Bible says in Proverbs 21:2 that "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the hearts." If every way of man is right in his own eyes, then who is my focal point, my center, my core if I look to the world for advice? If God is all these things to me shouldn't it show in ALL that I do, say, think, and respond? Love covers a multitude of sins, but it doesn't give me the right to continue to live in perpetual sin. That is not a true relationship with God.

I'm going to make a bold statement: The Bible is my handbook. It directs my paths, it heals my hurts, it fosters love, and it grants me wisdom. I will stand on the truth come whatever the consequences. I will not stand up for what the world believes to be right anymore. I will choose to love people in spite of the lifestyle that they live, but no longer will I say that everything you do is okay because it's not. My fight is not with people. Ephesians 6:12 states, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." My concern is to warn people of the dangers that result from sin without a relationship with Jesus which is Hell, as much as it to tell people that God forgives and welcomes them if they will humble themselves and repent of their sins. 

When I think of standing up for God and His principles, I think about the years when I was raising my children. As they were growing, I had to protect them from danger: Don't stick that in an electrical outlet, don't cross the street without an adult, and never play with matches. As they got older, the warnings became more about values: Treat others as you want to be treated, don't lie, don't steal, and work hard to make good grades. It was a standard that I had for my kids and when they broke the rule/standard then they got punished for it. So why is that we think that we can break God's standards and not be punished. Matthew 10:33 proclaims, "But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven." If I profess to be a Christian and I stand against the principles of Jesus He will deny me before God. Deny that He ever knew me! He has that power! My salvation is a gift and I won't desecrate the gift by choosing to be liberal with my thoughts and actions.

So in closing let me say, that I will stand against abortion-no matter the reason, I will stand for marriage between one man and one woman, I will do my best not to lie, to steal, to cheat, to covet my neighbor and his belongings, to seek justice, to love mercy and to love my Lord my God with all my heart soul and strength! I will treat all people, regardless of their lifestyle, with respect and love and let God in His infinite wisdom, take care of the rest.

Think about it!

Are you standing up for something that is against the Word of God? If Jesus were to weigh your heart today would He deny you to His Father? Is it time to start reading your Bible and taking God at His Word? Don't be fooled by the world. All things are not "right".

Why Won't They Come to Church?

I remember when I was growing up, I was probably about 9 years old and the First Free Will Baptist Church bus used to come through our apartment complex. I would get up and get on that bus all by myself on Sunday mornings. I remember coming home one Sunday with anticipation because I had heard the story of Jesus! I went into my bedroom later that day and knelt next by my bed and asked God into my heart. It's funny how when you are an innocent child you can comprehend the simplicity of the Gospel: God sent His son to live as man, he was crucified, died for our sins, resurrected, and now lives! So why as adults do we find it so hard believe that, live like it's true, or even attend church?

The truth is there are too many of us that claim to be Christians, but nothing in our lives reflects a change in any way. We stroll into church every other week, ask God to forgive us for some broad spectrum sins, toss a $20 in the offering plate and live the rest of our lives like God never came as man, died on a cross for our sins, and left the Holy Spirit to comfort us and live through us! Sure you don't have to go to church to be a Christian, but what are you doing in place of the time you would be spending at church? Are you helping the poor, the widows & orphans, the homeless? What are people seeing in you that makes them think that you are any different from them? If we are truly saved shouldn't we want to be with other Christians praising God for all He's done for us? The Bible says in Hebrews 10:24-25, " And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." If Christians who are saved won't go to church than why would somebody who is lost go? God is coming soon. "The Day approaching" is the coming of Christ. Are we going to be found in Christ when He comes or will we be doing our own worldly thing?

There are many verses in the Bible that tell us how we should live and I have put them in previous blogs. Titus 3:3 says, "For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another."I don't want the lost to see that in me! I once was those things, but not any more! I am a new creation! I'm not who I used to be, nor do I want to be her again. We are to stand out from the world, not fit in.  

When you are visiting family and you are the only Christian, do you invite your family to go visit a church because you don't want to miss what's going on with God, even for one Sunday? When family comes to visit, do they understand that you and your family go to church on Sunday morning and Sunday night, no excuses and if they want to spend time with you then they can come with you? Do people see you and think, "Man, she sure loves God!"? We don't have to have perfect attendance and shouldn't feel guilty when we don't go to church every Sunday, Sunday night, or Wednesday night, but there should be a want to be at church, to talk about God to people, and show your family that God is the priority over everything. 

I got an email yesterday with a prayer for our country by Billy Graham. This is what he said, "Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable... We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from sin and Set us free. Amen!' With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we once again can be called 'One nation under God!'

I don't think I could even begin to add to this prayer anything other than an another "Amen!" 

Think about it!

Are you ready to be a stand up Christian? One that not only attends church but is the church? Is it time to be courageous and show your family and unsaved friends that God and church coincide and are most important in your life? Don't let "the Day" pass you by, leaving you behind wondering what it was you could have done. Get your relationship with Christ settled today and know that you know that you know, He is your Savior for real!

To My Chicky Baby: I wish you could see what I see

I Wish You Could See What I See

I wish you could see what I see when I look at you: a loving young woman, a mother, and a daughter too. 


The outside is just a shell of the real girl in the mirror. If only you could see what I see maybe you could see yourself clearer. 


The number on the scale is not a measure of your worth, no matter your size, you were wonderfully and fearfully made even before your birth.  


We believe the lies of world, that skinny is in. If you want to be happy, well then get yourself thin!


The devil is a deceiver and he will make you believe, that your outside is more important than the heart God perceives.


Stop beating yourself up with words that are unkind. Climb into the arms of Jesus...relax and unwind.


And when you get down and discouraged and sad, just say a prayer then live in victory! Because God made us in the image of Him, but He also made you in the image of me.


So from here on out, let it be heard, "That you my dear chicky baby, are the most beautiful girl in the whole wide world!"


Love you!
Mom

They Don't Know God

I recently joined another website to promote my blog. Usually this never turns out well for me. The reason is that I have a very strong convictions about my faith and when I see the comments that some people make about God being a superstition and how nature just magically appeared I get super hot mad!! The truth is I don't need to read those comments first of all, and second of all I have to love those people in spite of what they think. We all have had times in our lives when we were not connected to God and most definitely not in a relationship with Jesus. I personally remember a time that my feelings toward God were: as long as He was there when I was in trouble I was good with Him hanging around. It's funny, not LOL funny, that I used to be one of those people that didn't understand fully what and who God really was and the impact He could have on my life if I only surrendered myself to His will.

My pastor said this about the Bible, "The Bible doesn't have to be defended. It defends itself." If you have never picked up your Bible and read any scripture then you can't truthfully make a decision about whether it's contents are true or not. Many intellectuals have studied and read and tried to disprove the Bible only to find themselves believing the very thing they set out to disprove! God is real and very much alive! So what does the Bible say about these things? Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." This is how powerful the Word of God is for those who read it and hear it! It cuts to your heart revealing things to God that you had hidden from the world, exposing them so that He can provide healing. It goes to the bone, the very marrow of the bone, and penetrates even the hardest of hearts. It radically changes your behavior, your thought processes, and your attitude! 

It's easy to say that the Bible is not relevant, or old fashioned or even a myth if you have never even read one scripture. It's like going trying to be a doctor and never going to med school. How can you be knowledgeable about something you know nothing about? I fought for many years to allow God to change my Christian walk. I didn't want to be changed. I was "good enough", so I thought. But on that special day in March of 2000, not only was my heart changed, it was broken and today it breaks for what breaks God's heart. As hard headed and hard hearted as I was, God pierced my heart with His Word. If you have ever read the book of Job you know that not only was Job tried with trials, he was completely stripped of everything that mattered to him and when he was at his weakest and could curse God for even being born, he realized God's greatness. Job 9:2-13 says, “Truly I know it is so,But how can a man be righteous before God? If one wished to contend with Him,He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand. God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered? He removes the mountains, and they do not know when He overturns them in His anger; He shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble; He commands the sun, and it does not rise; He seals off the stars; He alone spreads out the heavens, and treads on the waves of the sea; He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south; He does great things past finding out,Yes, wonders without number. If He goes by me, I do not see Him; If He moves past, I do not perceive Him; If He takes away, who can hinder Him? Who can say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’ God will not withdraw His anger, The allies of the proud lie prostrate beneath Him."

Sometimes, we have to put our intellect aside and listen to what God is saying to us. I've heard this saying many times, "God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called." It is in knowing Him that we come to know the things that are important in eternity. The reality is, that without God, my life would leave no legacy.

Think about it!

Do you think God is real? That He is the creator of all things? That He loves you whether you believe in Him or not? Will you open your Bible and let God pierce your heart with His Word? What are you afraid to give up so He can change you? Let Go and let God!! Love Y'all!

I Love My Father...Most of the Time

Most of us have daddy issues(& mommy issues, if you asked my kids) for one reason or another. I often think back to how my life was when I was growing up and how my parents raised me. Was their parenting effective? Did I learn anything from the punishments that I experienced? Did the punishment fit the crime? Yes, I think their parenting was effective. I turned out pretty normal. I'd say I learned from most punishments what not to do. Do I believe the punishment always fit the crime? Not always. As a kid I didn't always think getting a spanking, being sent to my room, or having the phone taken away was very fair punishment for whatever "wrong" I had committed. My dad was usually the one to spank me and my younger sister if my mom had just had enough. We knew the belt was coming if daddy was coming! I was a bit of a hard head around the age of 8 or so, so I laughed and exclaimed, "that didn't hurt!" Of course that didn't help. After the spanking, I returned to my room and screamed and yelled and spouted, "I hate you daddy!" Did I really hate him? At the time, yes, but honestly no I didn't. I didn't want to be disciplined. My dad's love had not changed for me because he had to punish me. He had to do a very difficult thing. I now know he didn't enjoy spanking me as much as I thought. None of us likes discipline, but the truth of the matter is that is necessary and in most cases vital in order for us to grow and to learn.
I was posting the Jesus Calling Devotional online  and one of the verses was Hebrews 12:1-13. The devotional only referred to verses 1-2 but this whole chapter was so awesome that I had to put it all in here! 1"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.  5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us,and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed."

I don't know about you, but that humbles me! So let's break this down a little bit. The first few verses explain that because so many are watching what we do that we have to shake off our everyday woes and build our strength in Jesus by keeping our focus on Him. Remembering that Jesus endured the Cross for our sin, my sin, your sin, and we have not been persecuted to the point of death or even the slightest  bloodshed. This is where it gets interesting. Verse 5 speaks about the fact that we have forgotten God's strong urging against hating His discipline and to not be discouraged when He has to discipline us. Then the later verses go onto explain that because God loves us He has to punish us. (Wait, that sounds like my dad! That can't be right!) He does it for our benefit to prosper us and make us more like Him. (Remember this is going to hurt me more than it's going to hurt you?) Now here's where it gets good! Verse 11 says that while we don't enjoy being punished and we don't like the pain we endure from the punishment, afterwards we will benefit from the experience. Imagine that...being punished (spanked, sent to your room, grounded) and then learning from it (not being sassy, respecting your parents, and repenting). It sounds like a good plan to me! 

My favorite verses are 12 & 13. Keep your hands and legs strong so that you can stay on the right path and you won't have to worry about stumbling or getting weak because your focus will be on Jesus who makes us strong!! Punishment comes when we lose sight of what's really important and choose to do our own thing. Sound like your kids or you as a kid?

So, my conclusion is that, yes, I love my fathers; the one here on earth and the One who sits at the right hand of God in Heaven because they both first loved me!

Think about it!
Do you feel like God is punishing you? Is there an unrepented sin in your life? What are you learning from this punishment? What can you do to strengthen your arms and legs to keep you on His path?

Will You Answer the Call?

Ring, Ring. "Hello? Yes, this is she. What? You'd like to go out on a date with me?"

That was the strangest call I have gotten in a while. But something about this guy's voice made my heart just smile.

I accepted the date and arrived nicely dressed. After all, I wanted my date to be highly impressed.

As I approached the table, he pulled out my chair. "How lovely you look: your dress and your hair."

"Have you been waiting long?" I heard myself say. He responded softly, "Yes, I have. Forever and a day."

We laughed and we talked, the conversation was endless! This guy couldn't be real, he was too selfless!

If anybody was watching, we were unaware. Time was fleeting quickly but we just didn't care.

We talked about everything under sun. I thought to myself, "This guy's the One!"

I opened up about things I had never told before, but he listened so intently waiting to hear more.

He never checked his watch or took his eyes off me. I was the center of attention! How could this be?

He never referred to me as "hot" or "sexy" or said how bad he wanted to have sex with me!

He never mentioned sports or even talked about himself at all or looked at another woman or took a cell phone call!

There was something wonderfully different about this guy and I knew that I wasn't going to question why!

He was Heaven sent, this much I knew and I believed that all the things he told me were definitely true.

It was then that I expressed my love and gratitude and apologized for my poor decisions and bad attitude.

If only I had known the power of His love I wouldn't have waited so long. I would have run into His arms so forgiving and strong, knowing this was where I belonged.

And then His eyes grew even softer and He leaned in to say to me, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." 

That's right girls, my date was with Jesus, you know the One that gave His life to save us?

That date lingers daily in my thoughts as I remember that He gave all. And to think, it all started when I answered the call.

Will you answer His call?

But I Want it Now!!

Ask any of my friends and family and they will tell you that I talk a great deal about church and God and all the things that go along with that: Christian friends, praying, Bible studies, and of course, Jesus. My purpose is not to push my viewpoint on anybody or to scare anyone off. My intention is to tell them what God has done for me and my family. I know what my life was like before God found me so I understand completely when people look at me like I'm crazy, but I know how my life is now and I want people to know that same feeling. So why wouldn't I want to tell everybody about Him?

The obvious answer we don't tell more people or don't talk about our new lives in Christ is because we are afraid of the reaction. I try to explain to people that salvation is like this. Imagine if your child, sibling, parent, spouse or friend was about to run out in front of a speeding car and you were the only person that could save them. What would you do? Duh! You would do anything and everything within your power to save them, right? Of course you would! Salvation is the same way. Jesus sees us in our everyday struggles, making poor decisions, turning our backs on Him and assuredly getting off the narrow path but He is calling each of us to step out of the way of the speeding bus and allow Him to save us. 

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4: 13-15, "But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, "I believed in God, and so I speak." We know that the same God who raised our Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself along with you. All of these things are for your benefit. And as God's grace brings more and more people to Christ, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory." This confirms that all Christians need to keep talking to people about God!

I've often thought that I could somehow be responsible for the reason that people come to Christ, but I know that I just plant the seed and God grows it. While I want salvation for the people I am talking to, now and my way, this is not Burger King and salvation is not a fast fix that I can just serve up to somebody because "I" think they need it. God invites each of us to accept His free gift of salvation but He won't wrap it in a tidy little wrapper and give it out to make it easier to accept. God doesn't need it your way, because His way is perfect! In the mean time I have to keep speaking of God because I believe in God! 

I found this verse today while I was looking for a different verse to use in today's blog, "Live wisely among those who are not Christians, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will have the right answer for everyone." (Colossians 4:5-6) I think this verse says it all. Talk about God, live your life the way He directs it, and at every opportunity give Him all the glory.

Think about it!

Are you a Christian that talks about God? What are some things that keep you from sharing your faith? Do you live wisely in front of those that aren't Christians? Could it be that you are trying to do it your way and not God's way? Call on God today. He has all the answers!

Happy, Happy, Happy!

I find in my day to day life that it's sometimes easier to take the "Oh, poor pitiful me" approach when things aren't going my way. But I'm soon reminded of what's true because I will get an email, a prayer request, or somebody will post something on Facebook that makes me remember that I am so blessed! Remembering where my joy comes from helps me to understand that no matter the circumstances, I am loved by a Holy, all knowing God that holds every second of my life in His hands. So what do I have to worry about? That's right: NOTHING!

I had an experience last year that really showed me that God is speaking to me and I had better listen. I had to call a vendor and order something that morning. It was in July. The reason I remember the month is because the youth group at our church was in Daytona for a conference and we had these prayer bracelets with a child's name on it that we were supposed to pray for each day. The vendor that answered the phone was named Happy and she was so happy and laughing when she answered the phone. As her and I were talking I kept working on my computer stuff. Then I heard this little voice say, "Ask her if she has any prayer requests." I kind of blew it off thinking that the bracelet I was wearing had somehow caused me to want to ask her that. A couple of minutes later I heard it again, "Ask her if she has any prayer requests." This time the voice was more adamant than before. At this point I started arguing with the voice in my head that I most certainly was not going to ask this girl whose name was Happy and who was laughing and cutting up, but the voice persisted. At the end of the conversation, Happy asked if I had any questions. With my voice and entire body shaking, I said, "Happy, I do have a question and you are probably going to think I'm crazy." She said, "No, please ask." I asked her, "Do you have any prayer needs?" At first she didn't respond then she said "Excuse me?" So I asked again. Then she surprised me with this response, "I do. My life is falling apart around me. It's funny how life can change so quickly." I could hardly contain my emotions and I apologized for getting her upset and for crying but she insisted that I had made her day. When I hung up the phone and prayed for her I knew that God was pleased that I had obeyed. God gives us challenges that make us step outside of our comfort zone and this was definitely one of those moments. Proverbs 8:32-36 says, "Now therefore, listen to me, my children, For blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, And do not disdain(don't consider it unworthy, had to look that one up) it. Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates,Waiting at the posts of my doors.  For whoever finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the Lord; But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; All those who hate me love death.” 

Our blessings towards others won't always be like the story I've just told, but as followers of Christ we are bound to love one another and if we are truly saved He lives in us and we should want to love others. So today, let God use you to make someone's day. Drop a note to somebody that you haven't talked to in a while, give money to that homeless person, or just love on somebody that needs your undivided attention. Be sensitive to the Spirit of God. He could be speaking to you right now! 

Think about it!
What is God calling you to do? Are you listening? Will you obey? Trust in Him today to lead you to your ministry.

He Has Made Me Free

My pastor told a story about a young man that he was counseling. He said that this young man needed help and was very distressed about his life. So Pastor Stoney said something that rocked my very foundation, "I told this young man that God could not help or bless him if he continued to live his life the same way he had been living because if God did that He would have to rewrite the entire Bible." I never thought that the way I lived could affect how God could help me, but the realization is, it does.

I struggled for many years with this very issue. Back and forth I would go, trusting God, doing my own thing, begging God to help, doing my own thing, and so on and so on. But here's what I've realized in the last 3  years, I was allowing myself to participate in my old lifestyle and expecting God to bless me and help me when things didn't go the way I planned and He was saying "No!" He saved me and accepted me, but He never intended me to stay the same way as when He found me.

This comment stayed on my mind all day, so last night I looked up the word "free" in the Bible to see what it said about being free and freedom. Here's just a couple of the scriptures that I found. John 8:32-36 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." Then later in Romans 6: 12-18 it says this, "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness."
When Jesus died on the Cross for our sins, we were set free, but we forget that while Jesus hung there, our sins on His shoulder, God turned His back. He couldn't look at the sin! So why do we continue to live as though God doesn't see us, as if he can look at our sin and still help us? He couldn't even look at or help His only begotten son, so how do we expect him to look at our sins and help us? As Christians, we have to be aware of what God sees us doing: are we keeping our eyes focused on what pleases Him or what pleases the world? The world condones all things. Granted, we live in the world, so we will still make mistakes but we have to remember who we are and who we belong to. Living Holy requires the mindset of God. If you are questioning whether you should do something, then the truth is, it's probably not Godly.  When I remember who I used to be and how I belonged to the world, my eyes look down in shame and suddenly I'm trapped, but when I look back and see all that God has done for me and what He uses me to do now, I look up to the sky because I know I am finally free!! 

Think about it!
Are you free? Are you keeping your eyes on God and not letting your life be a stumbling block to others? Who are you enslaved to, righteousness or worldliness? Maybe it's time to get real with God and repent from your sinful lifestyle and turn back to God and be Holy. Stand up for Jesus. It's not always the easiest thing to do, but the payoff in Heaven will outweigh this earthly reward.

Are You Attached to Your Bible?

Have you ever had the sinking feeling that you've lost something and you don't quite remember where it was that you lost it? Most of us have. A couple of years ago I had this experience. After carefully packing my clothes, jewelry, and all the other necessities that would be stored under the plane I began to think of the things that I would be needing on the plane. I grabbed my purse, my phone, and of course, my Bible and I was on my merry way, or so I thought.....

Picture it: New York City. The year, 2010. NYC got 24 inches of snow that year and so the stowaway for the luggage became the back of my uncle's pickup truck. My Bible was held captive at my feet and taken in and out of the hotel with no problem. I knew it's every where abouts, or at least I thought I did. The first night in New York I was so tired that I didn't even realize that my Bible was even missing but then I did. I had purchased this Bible several years ago and had accumulated many special letters from family and friends, including a letter from my mother, inside of its covers. I knew I could replace the Bible itself, but how would I ever replace those special letters? I was instantly distraught! What had I done with it? Where could it be? Did I lose it when we parked at the airport to catch the taxi? I couldn't hold back the tears. I had to find it!

Later, after getting back to the truck, I did find it. There, laying on the floorboard, was my Bible with all of it's contents held safe inside. I had worried and cried over the lost contents of my Bible and now here it was safe and in my hands again! My heart was at peace.

Later, for my New Year's resolution, I decided that I would read a different one year study Bible instead of my old faithful one year Bible that I thought I had lost. I mentioned that when I lost it, I remembered thinking, "I can replace the Bible but not the letters in it." Well, I was wrong. A couple of weeks ago, my husband mentioned that he would like to start reading the New Testament first instead of reading the Old and New together, so I offered him my old Bible. A couple of nights went by and I found myself looking for it and glanced over to see it laying on his nightstand. My heart longed to hold it in my hands, to read its words, to read the notes and scribbles in the margins, to remember the times when God spoke to me over the years. It wasn't just the letters inside that Bible that I was concerned about, it was the actual Bible that I mourned.

When I think of my Bible and all it has meant for me, I remember what the Bible says in John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." This Bible represents everything about Jesus that I have learned to love over the past 13 years since He saved me. It makes me realize that He is the Word, and He is with God, and the Word was, is, and will forever be God! His Word changes the reader, it edifies, it enlightens, it makes fools of the wise, it speaks to the hardest of hearts, it can reach the uttermost depths, it has no bounds, no limitations, no motive but salvation, it loves all, it conquers all, and it frees all, it is God inspired and God breathed, it is our handbook for living, and our reason for giving, it comforts and rebukes, it shines light in the darkness, and it's waiting for YOU!!

Think about it!

Today, take a second look at your Bible. Check out the pages, the notes you have written, glance over the pages, and remember when God spoke to you. If you don't have a favorite Bible now is the time to find one or let me know and I will get you one. Open the book and read the Word of God and let it penetrate your heart. If you have a favorite Bible, are you attached to it? Don't wait till you lose it to find out.