Freedom From

Good Morning,

It has been a long time since I have posted a blog.  I would like to say that I don't know why it is so hard for me to stay consistent but I believe God pointed out to me today that it is because I have a hard time staying consistent in my relationship with Him.  I am easily distracted by the things of this world.  Even the good things are a distraction that pulls me away from Him as my first priority.  Recently, my Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) teaching leader encouraged us to wake up each morning and ask The Lord to guide our steps.

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand. Proverbs 19:21

I took that challenge and have asks the Lord to direct my steps for a little over a week now.  I have noticed that I have had more time with Him.  I have been able to accomplish more and been less distracted by worthless endeavors. This morning I was reminded that I have neglected this blog!  Please pray that I will continue to ask God to order my steps and will be obedient to His guidance.

Today I want to share about a page that we did regarding freedom from things.  The Lord's desire is to free us from the slavery of sin.  He shines light on our sins slowly as we can handle it.  If you have been following Him for a while you realize that you may have felt like you were a good person when you first met the Lord.  We compare ourselves to others and we feel like we are pretty good.  As you spend time with the Lord He reveals our sins to us and helps us to release the hold that those sins have on us.  Without the Lord we are in darkness and are unable to recognize our sins.  Thankfully He does not shine that light on all our sins at once or we would be overwhelmed and we have many sins that we struggle with for a while as He is refining us.  He doesn't just point them out and then poof they are gone.

One of the sins that I have struggled with for some time is "food focus".  I am not sure exactly how to describe it except to say that I really like food.  I enjoy making it, I enjoy trying new restaurants,I enjoy sharing it with others.  These things in themselves are not a bad thing.  My struggle since young adulthood has been focusing on what the next meal will be, eating when I am not hungry, baking just to eat the surgery yumminess and then trying to see how I can get it out of my house so that I do not gain 100 lbs, prioritizing food over others and God.  I could go on and on.  I thought initially that my issue was with my weight and that I was predestined to be bigger than others.  I was really thin as a teen so that was obviously a lie straight from the devil. :)  Over the years God pointed out to me that my struggle with weight was a struggle with sin.  It was a difficult truth to grasp.  It is easier to think that it is in my genes, other people can eat worse and remain thin, its not fair.........blah blah blah

God has been refining me over the last 10 years and I still struggle.  Sometimes my struggle turns into prioritizing working out over God.  In the past several years I have learned that my struggle with weight is actually a blessing.  As I get older I feel as if I am getting stronger and healthier.  I do not take any medication or have any health issues.  If I had not struggled with my weight I would not have learned to enjoy healthy food and working out.  I am able to be more active and adventurous and enjoy God's creation more fully.  I am able to recognize when I get out of balance with my food and exercise.  During the holidays is hard because I do love to make sweets and eat them.😋  I am not even close to perfect even in this one little area of my life but God is working on me and I am forever grateful for that!  I can't imagine what life would be like if God was not working on me and how oblivious I would be to my sinful nature.

As I was doing my study this morning I was struck by the miracle in John 9 about the blind man who Jesus healed. 3“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.  I realized that God gives us freedom from our sins not only for our good and the refining of us but for His glory.  This is something that I have known but it struck me differently this morning.  As I am released from my struggle with food and weight have I glorified God?  Am I being selfish in my blessings or am I sharing them with others so that others are clearly able to see how God has worked in my life and how He has blessed me? How do I glorify God through this?  He has given me an opportunity to bless others, to join Him in His work, to glorify Him as all Glory is His.  Have I taken that opportunity or wasted it?

There are many other sins that we struggle with and sometimes we are freed from them more easily than others.  I pray today that everyone reading this will recognize the sin that the Lord desires to free you from and that you will accept His invitation to refine you and glorify Him through your struggle and your freedom.

God Bless.

Laurie

With Him

Last year we did a page titled "Without Christ".  It was a page looking at what I would be had God never reached out to me and helped me to see that I desperately needed Him.   At the same time I looked at the other side of that equation which is what I have "With Christ".  My friend, Megan, will tell you that I always like to do two pages.  I don't know why but it seems out of balance when I only do one and this time I felt even more strongly because of the subject matter.  We need to see what we are because we are IN Christ not only what we would have been if we didn't have Him.

One of the first things that comes to mind if you ask me how my life has changed WITH CHRIST is that I have a purpose that transcends this earth.  My purpose before I accepted Christ was to live my life, get married, have kids, have a fulfilling job, help others, get an education, blah, blah, blah.  All good things but all things that are at risk of loss and failure.  If my purpose is to be a good wife and I fail than what am I.  If I put all my worth into being a good employee and I get laid off than where does that leave me.    God has so much more planned for me!  He desires for my purpose to be to serve Him, to glorify Him, to fulfill the kingdom work He has planned for me.  I have to seek Him each day and desire to follow Him.  He knows I am going to fail sometimes but He has a purpose in that too.  He gives me my purpose not this world.

With Christ I have hope!  He gives me hope that I often cannot understand.  If I know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28) I can trust that things are going to work out.  Maybe not the way that I want them to work out but definitely in a way that will glorify Him and be beneficial for His kingdom work.  I trust Him and He gives me hope!

With Christ I have the opportunity to participate in His kingdom work.  It is glorious to see Him working through you as you are obedient to His leading.  I could never imagine before I began to follow the Lord how amazing it is to know that He is using you for the good of His kingdom and see people transformed, see people come to know Him, see Him working in your life and the lives of others.  Glory be to God!!

I have the opportunity to gain wisdom and guidance from the Lord through the Holy Spirit.  Consider this..  God created the world and everything in it.  He is all powerful and all knowing.  He knows what has happened, what will happen and what could happen.  He knows everything and if we ask he will give us the wisdom we need to make decisions, to parent our children, to be the wife that our husbands need, to take care of our parents, to live our lives to the fullest.  

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

Consider the ways you are blessed because you have Christ.  Do you have Christ?  Do you believe in Him but have not spent any time getting to know Him, relying on Him, trusting Him and praising Him?  He wants you to know Him not just believe He exist.  "You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror". James 2:19.  Just believing there is a God is not enough for salvation.  You must follow Him.  

I pray that you will desire to know the God of creation and that you will desire to follow Him and obey Him.  I pray that you would know the joy that comes from truly seeking the Lord and His will for your life. So many blessing come from being WITH Him.

Seeds of Faith

How many people have come and gone from your life?  I suspect if you are anywhere near my age it is several thousands.  There are some people that we meet once and never see again, some people who are in our lives for an extended period of time and then are gone, a few who are in our lives for the long haul.  We have people who teach us things, people who pour into our lives, people who say something that sticks with us but have no other impact on our lives and people whose impact they will never know.

Consider all the people who have not only made an impact on your life but have made an impact on your faith.

There are the preachers who have taught you from the pulpit and from their lives that God should be first and foremost in your life.  Through out my life I had one pastor who helped me be comfortable coming back to church and hearing about the truths of the bible and the Lord in a way that was non confrontational and safe.  He helped me come back to the Lord and begin to understand that God was more than just a moral guideline for my life.  I had another pastor who showed me the power of prayer and the importance of a relationship with the Lord that was more than asking for things and reading His word.  I had yet another pastor who showed me the importance of studying the Word in a systematical way and discipling others as I grow in my faith for the benefit of God's kingdom not for the benefit of me.

I had friends who shared their lives with me and helped me see how to walk in obedience to the Lord.  I had one friend who shared her faith with me in casual conversation and was confident in her faith and able to answer questions that I had that allowed me a safe place to question the faith that I thought I knew.  I had a friend that allowed me to walk with her through tough times showing me what it was to rely on the Lord for strength and wisdom and to listen for the Lord expectantly and obediently.  I had a friend that showed me what it looked like to be humble in spirit and have a servants heart.  Another friend who challenged my beliefs and what I thought I knew and helped me desire to learn more about what I believed.

I have had bible studies that have helped me to understand God's word, helped me to come to God expecting to encounter Him, helped me to learn to pray without making God out to be Kris Kringle.  I  was blessed with prayer partners, women and couples in my bible study who have shared their wisdom, walking buddies who loved the Lord and shared their walk with me.  

I have been blessed as God has put other godly people in my path, planned my steps, and gave me God ordained encounters that have helped me to grow in my faith and in my walk with the Lord.  I wanted to capture some of those "seeds" that have helped to grow me in a scrapbook page so I created the page below.

Take some time to consider who has made an impact on your faith and who you are helping to grow in their faith.  Consider this.....  If I have had twenty or thirty people who have impacted my faith by helping me grow in some way (I'm sure there are more) than how selfish would it be for me to sit back and not take the time to disciple someone else or share God's love with others on my pathway.

God desires us to share his love and wisdom to grow His kingdom.  It is the great commission!!!

Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

PRAISE HIM!!

How much time do we spend praising the God of all creation?  Nothing gives us a renewed perspective on life and our purpose as much as praise and worship of the One True God!   As I spent time in study this morning one thing kept repeating in my head.  "By the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony".  

We know that we are saved by the blood of Christ and not by works that man can do.  He saved us not so that we alone could be saved but so that we could share His word and light with others.  This is one of the main reasons I faith book.  I document my faith journey so that it can be an encouragement to others, so that it can help point others to the God of all, so that others can see how God has worked in my life and believe that He is God and God alone.  He saved us and it is our blessing and responsibility to share His truth with others so that they too may be saved and can live a life joyfully serving Him and His kingdom.

There are so many things to love about our God!!  I can't possibly list them all so we created a template just to put ten on.  It does not do justice to the love I feel for Him or the attributes of God but I am finite and my scrapbook only has so much room on each page.  Just know that there are many, many other things I love about our Lord.  

A few of the things that continue to come up in my life are:  1.  He is so patient with me as He works on all my sins and imperfections.  He consistently helps me to see those things in me that need to be refined.  He is gracious not to work on everything at once and to encourage me when I am struggling in an area of my life.  He helps me see when I am backpeddleing and gives me the tools I need or the words I need. 2.  He has a plan and a purpose for me and my family.  He doesn't need any of us to carry out His plan but He uses us because He wants us to be involved.  I love that He wants me!  I love that I can trust that He has a bigger plan for my kids, my husband and the rest of my family and friends.  I don't have to worry about them but I continually pray for them.  I can trust that His plan will prevail in my life and in theirs.  3.  I love that He created all things and that he was/is so detailed in His creation.  He is so detailed that we can never fully understand the universe and it's ways.  He created so much beauty for us to enjoy and we cannot fathom the depths of His love for us in all that He created.  

He is an awesome God!  We should not keep that to ourselves.  We should share it with everyone so that they can enjoy Him as He desires to have a relationship with each and everyone of us and He desires for us to be part of His kingdom.

I am going to put together a praise file in my Spotify so that I can wake up each morning and spend some time in praise before I start my day.  Help hold me accountable by sharing some of your favorite praise songs so that I can add them to my file.  I would love to hear how you are spending time in praise in worship.  I challenge you if you don't already to spend 5-10 minutes each morning singing praises to the Lord.  If you start tomorrow I would love to hear how it changes your life.  I know it will.  When we spend time praising the one true God each day we get a better perspective on everything.  

I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. Psalm 86:12

Seek first His kingdom and Righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.  Matthew 6:33

New Year.... Renewed relationship with Christ?

This year I have been studying the book of Revelations. It is a book that I think many of us, including myself, avoid. It's a hard book to study and a hard book to read. Going through the study of Revelations with Bible Study Fellowship (bsfinternational.org). I have been able to see that it is not only about the end of times but it also is about God's grace, patience and mercy.  He desires all of His people to come to Him and enjoy everlasting life, not the judgement and death that we deserve. 

I have been blessed by God in so many ways. He has given me wisdom and guidance in my life. He has helped me recognize my sin and my drifting from him. He has helped me get back on track and come back to Him. He has helped me work on many issues that I struggle with as I fall back into sin.  He has not done this primarily so that I may be a better person, nor has He done this so that I could be comfortable and safe and make good decisions. He desires me to share what He has done in my life so that others may believe and share in the joy of dependance on Him. He does not need me to save others. HE IS OUR SALVATION!! He can, however, use me to shine His light into the lives of others. I am thankful that he can use me. He can use me best if I know Him, if I spend time with Him, if I am obedient to Him.

Bible Study is a means to get to know Him but it should not be the only time I spend with Him.  I need to spend time with Him in prayer and in meditation.  Often I waste my time on so many other stupid things that I push time with my creator out of my life.  Is checking Facebook or email more important than God? NO  Is running errands more important than God? NO  Is watching TV more important than God? NO Is catching up with friends more important than God? NO  How can I let all these things that are so unimportant in comparison with God crowd out my time with Him? I have to ask Him to help me prioritize.

As we look at the year ahead I would encourage you to ask yourself a few questions about your relationship with Christ.   I will be!

1. Are you spending quality time with the Lord?
2. Are you desiring to know Him better or are you just checking Him off your list of things to do?
3. Are you studying His word in order to better understand Him and His Word?
4. Are you available for Him to use or are you working on your own agenda?
5. Are you listening to the wisdom He is offering you or do you depend on your own knowledge or the wisdom of those around you?
6. What do you plan to do differently this year so that you can deepen your relationship with the Lord and benefit from His wisdom and love?

Matthew 6:33  Seek first His kingdom and righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.

Promises from God

There are thousands of promises in the Bible.  We spend time memorizing scripture which include God's promises.  There are hundreds of books that are written specifically to share God's promises to different groups of people.  It is a popular type of book to buy for graduation or when someone is going through a struggle.  Just because you are familiar with the promises of God doesn't mean that you really believe them.  Sometimes they sound great until you really have to "Trust in the Lord your God and lean not on your own understanding".  It's a hard thing to do.  Sometimes we don't even realize that we are not trusting in the Lord and we sit around wondering why he is not "guiding our steps"

Proverbs 3:5-6 is one of my favorite verses in the bible and one of the few I have fully memorized...

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.

It comforts me to know that I can trust the Lord and that I do not have all the answers so that when things do not make sense to me I can know that the Lord may be working in ways that I do not understand.  I know that the Lord created all things and has a master plan that I cannot see or understand.  There are many things that will not make sense to me because I cannot see or understand all that He sees and understands.  

This does not mean that I should stand still and wait for Him to throw something in my lap to do.  I have to move forward in the way that I believe I am being directed.  I have to pray and give my life to Him and trust that He will help me to turn where I need to turn and stay straight where I need to stay straight.  If I hear a whisper that I need to stop or not take an opportunity then I need to be obedient but I need to continue to desire to be in His will and not mine.  I need to not waste time on things that I know He does not desire for my life.  I need to spend time with Him one on one so that I know when He is directing me and when I am going rogue.

If I am not spending time in His word and in prayer which includes praise, thanksgiving and repentance how can I expect Him to make my paths straight?  How can I expect to know when He is trying to redirect me?  If my world revolves around me and not Him that it will be most difficult to trust Him and to submit to Him.

We can't take these promises out of context and only focus on the part that we like..  Trust in the Lord... He will make your paths straight...  That version is not truth.  We do not trust in the Lord to give us what we desire.  We have to submit to Him and not lean on our own understanding...

How often do we take a memory verse and leave out important parts, even subconsciously, so that it suits our view of things?   

Do not be anxious about anything but by prayer and petition present your request to God. This is one we use all the time but we leave out "with thanksgiving".  It is critical that we do not leave out thanksgiving. 

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Look at your favorite bible verse again with new eyes.  See if the Lord doesn't show you something new to be thankful for.

Let me know what your favorite promise is from the Lord.

Lessons from Cuba

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Cuba with the High School youth group of my church.  My son was going and I had been praying about joining them for some time.  I didn't want to go if it would be a hindrance to his experience but I really wanted to go.  About a month before the trip was to take off one of the leaders was unable to go so I was able to join them.

Cuba was great!  The people were amazing!  We enjoyed the experience and there were many things that the Lord taught me through this trip. Below are just some of the things that I took away from my time in Cuba.

View of the city from the seawall

1.  We don't need to know each and every step of our journey all the time.  There were many times when we didn't know details about our day.  The Cubans would let us know the bus was here and we generally knew what was to happen that day but we didn't know the details like...  how long will it take to get to our destination..  are we making any stops...when/where will we eat...why are we stopping here...for how long...  I learned early on that it was way more stressful to try to answer these questions than to sit back and trust that the Cubans who were hosting us knew what they were doing and we could trust them.  It is difficult to trust others and to trust the Lord with the details of our lives but that is exactly what He calls us to do.  Trust Him even when you don't know what is going on.

2.  Reduce, Reuse, recycle-  The Cubans do not have a recycling program.  They use everything they have over and over again until it is impossible to find any more use for it.  They do not recycle plastic forks, cups, etc.  They wash them and use them again and again and again.  The do not buy dog food or chicken feed, etc.  They collect all the leftovers from meals and give it to their animals.  They find uses for everything as they cannot afford to waste.

a beer keg reused as a grill

3.  Everything you do should be to further God's kingdom - The Christian people that we spoke to were very outspoken about their faith and were quick to share their thoughts about Jesus and His word.  We even met people on the street that shared with us their faith.  At one point I was speaking with a leader at the camp helping him practice his english.  I was sharing with him some of the things that my husband and I enjoy doing with our time here in the States.  I mentioned that we were part of a running group. (I am a starter runner and not very good but my husband has run a few half marathons and enjoys running more than me).  The man that I was talking to asked if we joined the running group in order to share the gospel.  He assumed that this would be the primary reason for everything I did.  Of course, the primary reason that we joined the running club was to practice our running.  As I reflected on this conversation I realized that the primary reason for doing anything I do should be to further God's kingdom.  How can I change my mindset to be more like the Cubans to do everything for His glory?

4.  You can focus on the heat or you can focus on the breeze.  It was hot in Cuba.  We had air in our hostel at night but during the day in the bus, in the church, on our walks through the city the sun was bright and the humidity was high and the temp was hot...but... there were many really nice breezes that helped cool us off.  If you focused on how hot you were you could spend the day miserable but if you enjoyed the breezes and the occasional shade it changed your perspective.  I think this applies to much of life.  There will always be a combination of heat and breeze in your life.  You can choose what you want to focus on.  Focus on the hardships and all that you have to go through you will be miserable.  Focus on the blessings that the Lord provides you will find joy.  ALWAYS focus on the Lord and not ourselves!!