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.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
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.
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.
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