Friday, December 21, 2012

Tis the Season.....

I have come to really look forward to my Saturday and Sunday mornings. We don't ever really "sleep in" anymore but 7:30 is a treat at the end of weeks when we've had late nights and early mornings. I mostly enjoy that we don't have to hit the floor running. Even on Sundays, we still have 2 hours to make it to the 9:30 church service. But some weekends....I need the sleep! This past Saturday night, I stayed up past 3 a.m. finishing up some online shopping. So, I was really planning to savor every minute of sleep until my alarm went off at 7:30. But, shortly before 7, I had that mommy sense that someone was up and in the room. I was right. There was Jude standing on her daddy's side of the bed....with a tambourine, just waiting on our eyes to peek open so she could really cut loose. I said, "good morning baby....watcha got there? A tambourine?" Jude says, "Yes, mommy...see??" And cut loose she did! A few short minutes later Doc, Peter's 60 lb Australian Shepherd, heard the performance and decided it must be time to get up and play. So, he came barrelling into our bed along with his toy dinosaur. A very few short minutes after that, all 90+ lbs of Peter was in the bed with us too. Steve laughingly said, "This is what we always dreamed of isn't it?" All I could do was laugh. There was a time when I would've tried to make Jude lay back down with us for a few minutes or told Peter and the dog to go play somewhere else because I needed my 30 more minutes of sleep!! Maybe I was laughing due to delirium from sleep deprivation but I don't think so. I think this past Sunday, I was just so thankful that I had them all here with me, that Jude is always with me and that I picked my boys up from school, safe and sound on Friday.

On Friday, I started my day with a mom's meeting that I go to at church twice a month. Our speaker this time gave us all a bit of a reality check. Her topic was on raising our children to be generous. After all, I think it can be said for most all children that they don't come into the world that way. Furthermore, just scolding them for not sharing does not make them generous at heart. She shared some really good ideas and made some really good points that are certainly worth sharing: We need to study our kids and see where their hearts are tender and then be intentional about giving them opportunities to learn to give in those areas; We also need to be intentional about our giving as well. Let them see us care for someone else. Better yet, let them get involved.....let them put the cookies in the bag and hand them to the sweet elderly lady. Let them see the smile and feel the joy; When our little one comes to us and says, I want to draw a picture for so and so.....try not to say, "Not right now, mommy's busy." If at all possible, drop what you're doing and help them. Let them know it's important and just how wonderful it is that they are so thoughtful. Then put their picture in an envelope and go straight to the mailbox with it.

All were great ideas and she had many more things to say about teaching our children to see needs of others and to give back to God. Her message was not to make us feel like bad parents....it was one of hope; Hope that they would one day be adults who are gracious givers with generous hearts... who make a difference in their world because they know the joy of giving all of themselves to God. As she said, Just as David from a young age had a heart and monumental trust in God that empowered him to pick up that one stone, face a giant, and make a difference in his world.....we need to teach our children how to pick up a stone too....equip them with the knowledge of God and then let them experience Him as they learn to give more and more of their time, money, and themselves.

Boy does our society need that message. A few weeks ago, as videos and headlines of the chaos that was Black Friday shopping in America came across our newsfeed, my husband said, "humanity has hit an all time low." Sadly, I had to agree. Now, I know there were plenty of dignified, smart shoppers out there trying to save the family money, too. But in a few instances, it was quite sickening to see the chaos and fights among grown people over saving $50 or the shooting over a parking space, to name a few. And all in the name of Christmas shopping?! Quite a stark contrast to the picture of hope we had drawn for our children as adults one day. Whether you're celebrating Christmas as a believer or not....I'm sure it still bids in your mind the age old question, "What is this world coming to?!" Maybe instead we should ask ourselves a better question.....what kind of world have we created? Who is to blame for the downward spiral we find ourselves in? Is it government? Is it parents? Teachers? This group? That group? This generation? That generation? In my humble opinion, I'll just say it's been a work in progress for decades and the ultimate mastermind has been pulling all of our strings like puppets with ever increasing finesse and I bet he is beginning to really enjoy the show. As a matter of fact, he's done such a great job that, in addition to pulling puppet strings, he has robot like souls now who blindly and willingly promote his agenda. Yes, he is having a good ole time right about now.

So, brace yourselves cause It's been a while since I posted. Thankfully the Lord continues to work on me and my issues and I've had words just brewing in some of them so....here I go....this is my take:

Back to the question....Who is to blame? Here's a thought....let's stop blaming everybody else. Blame is a sickness in our country and it starts in the heart of each individual. Blame stems from the immaturity of avoiding responsibility and accountability, from the pride of not submitting to authority and of needing to be "right" always, and from the selfishness of justifying what we want or what we do, regardless of the consequences to others. To paraphrase my former pastor, Tim Bass (or as Jude called him..."the man"), "As goes the individual.... so goes the family, the church, and the nation."

We are quick to blame our parents, our school advisors, the friend who talked us into it, the husband who isn't doing his part, the ungrateful child, the company that doesn't work like we want, the government officials who aren't doing their jobs, the church that doesn't operate on our principles, and even at times...God for not fixing things the way we want. Exactly what are we blaming them for? For any ugliness that comes out of us. "If they had given me better advice....I'd have made better choices."; "If they would pay me more....I'd work harder."; "If this church member doesn't apologize to me....I'm going to have to go somewhere else."; "If my child would just listen and help out once in a while...I wouldn't fly off the handle so easily!", etc. See what I'm getting at? It's nothing profound and certainly not rocket science. In fact, it should be common sense that if we want change for the good, we can't defer the task to others that are deferring, too. We have to be a part of it. The problem is, though we say we want things to change, it's kind of hard for anything good to come out of a heart that won't take personal responsibility, is never in the wrong, won't submit to any authority....especially God's, and just simply wants what it wants. Oh, we can do some good. We can brighten a person's day. We can even help save a life. But, the world around us will never see lasting change for the better until we take a good look at ourselves and at our heart of hearts.

I love that movie "The Seige" with Bruce Willis and Denzel Washington. (If you haven't seen it, it's a great movie but watch it before you watch with kids....lots of adult content) It's an older, pre-9/11 movie about terrorism in America. There's a line that Annette Benning says to the good guy FBI agent, Denzel, when summing up her impression of him, "Catholic school, president of this, captain of that, work hard, make a difference, change the system from within...rarara." Well, that's exactly what I'm talking about. It's nothing new. Nothing profound. But it's hard and the concept of hard work has taken a beating over the last few decades, the last few years for that matter. "Change the system from within." Starting within us and within our families. Again...no lasting change will come though, unless there's been a true heart change.... Because it's HARD. It's hard to love people we don't love, think of others before ourselves, accept that some things aren't acceptable, admit that we were wrong, and ultimately.....go against our selfish nature and the flow of the rest of society. "Hard" is really an understatement. Therefore, any attempts we make to do good just to be doing good will prove tiring at some point and we'll eventually give up. So, how on earth, if we truly want one, are we ever to experience a heart change?
Ephesians 1:16-19  
16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might.
Sure, we may grow up and make better choices and be better people. But, there is only one way to experience the kind of true heart change as individuals that will redeem this country. That is by being honest with ourselves before God Almighty. Not by comparing ourselves to any other person, any church creed, any societal standards, or any of the latest trends that make us feel good about our place in the world. It's opening up God's living and active Word and studying His character, looking at the life of our Savior, and asking ourselves....do I look like Him? Do I love like Him? Do I love the things that He loves and hate the things that He hates? Can my kids believe I'm being real when I try to teach them something about Jesus or do they think I'm just trying to get them to conform to something that I don't want for myself? (because kids know when we're not being real.) Some days I think, "Poor God. He must really get tired of my thick head and hard heart." He has such a long way to go with me. Still, I am thankful for the ways that He has already succeeded in opening the eyes of my heart, in giving me a glimpse of the hope He has called me to, and in demonstrating the power that He provides me when I seek Him and His ways. He is faithful to reveal Himself if we are willing to open up our heart to Him.

If truth be told, we don't open up scriptures to examine where we stand but to try to find something that supports our stand. I've done it. We all have. Furthermore, we don't open up our heart before Him because we know it would require change and we don't really think we need to change. Yet, we have the audacity to look at the world around us in shock, pointing fingers, and even blame God for what we see or deny Him altogether.

Since the horrible school shooting in Connecticut last Friday, we've been doing a lot of finger pointing. Some say it's because we've taken God out of schools that this young man took the lives of so many. Some say it's because guns are too readily available. Some say it's because mental illness is not properly addressed in our society. It's likely to be a combination of all the above. I don't know why he did what he did. I had such respect for the dad of one of the little girls who spoke on camera and said he didn't know why it happened but that he was not mad. He went on to say that God gave us all free agency and he was thankful for his free agency to choose what to believe and how to act and he would never want God to take that away from him, even though others choose to exercise theirs for wrong.

Yes, taking God out of our schools has played a monumental part in the nose dive that morality has taken among our children in school and young adults graduating. The value of life itself has been lost on many of our young people as the value of self expression and actualizaton has taken root and taken over. School systems have thrown in the towel when it comes to issues that use to be basically nonexistent: disrespect for authority, laziness, foul language, blatant sexuality, etc because now they're combating drug problems, fights, weapons, and failing grades of children whose parents don't value education and hard work, etc. The God fearing teachers that are left in the system don't have an answer for kids as to why those things are bad for them because they aren't allowed speak to their hearts about the heart of God. Instead, discipline gets deferred to the home. There in lies the problem....back to the individual and their family.

[I really appreciated the link a friend shared on facebook of the Winthrop coach who used his time in the spotlight to share his heart....very interesting, blunt, and well worth your time to watch.
http://youtu.be/cfO2I7k9xtA ]

Could we use tighter gun control? Probably. I don't think the answer is to ban guns altogether, though. That would simply be blaming guns for the actions of people and that's beyond ridiculous to me. Yes, the availability makes it extremely easy to take the life of another. But, it doesn't fix the heart problem. It wouldn't have stopped a nurse friend of mine from being shot by her ex-boyfriend in front of her daughter. He would've gotten one somewhere. Or he would've made her life miserable until he came up with a way to act out what was in his heart.

Is the answer to provide more research and care of unidentified mental illnesses? I'm sure that is an area that should be explored further and support given to parents with unstable children. There are illnesses that we can not deny need treatment and continued research to improve outcomes. However, we need to be careful not to confuse lack of feeling, enormous temper tantrums when they don't get their way, or other seemingly odd behavior with mental illness. That again is blaming something, making excuses rather than getting to the root of the problem. We need healing.

As they always say, the first step is admitting we have a problem. I think it's clear to all that we do. Where we differ is on the root of the problem. I simply see all of it as symptoms of spiritual apathy. That's where the heart change comes in, though. That's the difference the Lord can make through a heart surrendered to Him and the difference it can make in our children and in the world they will enter as adults. Being givers is a huge component as it heals us of this obsession we have with self and into the awareness of needs around us as we become the hands of feet of Jesus. As our speaker reminded us Friday morning, we don't always understand giving because we don't need a lot here. It's hard for us to understand the hopelessness of mothers in other countries who hold their children as they die from dehydration from something as simple as diarrhea because they can't give them the clean water they need to live. It also seems to big of a problem for us to attempt to combat. But, the Lord can work through us and through our children as we allow Him to change and teach us and as we teach our kids to use their abilities, time, resources, and lives for His glory and His purposes.

Though not ALL sickness and brokenness we see will be healed until He returns, we can be the agent He uses to bring healing to many people and systems in this world. Starting today. Nowhere in scripture will we read anything that condones our pursuit of happiness while ignoring the tremendous needs of others. Our whole system is broken in this country. It's broken because we as individuals, families, and churches have tinkered with the foundational design He had for us, dismissing Him and His perfect ways as outdated and irrelevant. Now we find ourselves extremely weak in our self sufficiency. But, we have hope. Always. And if we're open to change....we can be strong again, this side of heaven.
Isaiah 58:6-11
"Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am. ’
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
11 And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.

Our pastor reminded us Sunday that with the shooting last week being so shocking and heartbreaking, that there are many right now without hope at all or questioning God......others feeling guilty for celebrating Christmas with their families in a few days. He reminded us how dark and bleak it was for God's people when He went silent for 400 years while sin and oppression just abounded. Justice was nowhere to be found. Through Isaiah, He had given them hope....the promise of a Savior (ch 59). Sometimes we get so discouraged that we forget what He has done....He has fulfilled that promise for us all and we need not ever be hopeless again. It might even be a good devotional for us this season to read prayerfully read Isaiah 57-59 and compare to Jesus' life, teaching, and heart. If we are ever to throw a big celebration for anything....should it not be the fulfillment of God's promise of hope....a Savior....to save us from chains of sin, oppresion, injustice, hate, and death....and ultimately from ourselves.
Isaiah 53:4-11
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Whether issues of the heart, mind, body, individual, family, church, or society.... there is nothing beyond the healing hand of God. 

Thanks to the birth of that baby boy....we are always in a "season of hope". May it also be a season of change. May you all be blessed and may we all BE a blessing this Christmas and in the New Year to come!

And can I just clear one more thing up....it's Christmas....the Lord loves a celebation! So, it's ok to have 2 pieces of pecan pie. 2 whole pieces. Not just "slivers". I think that's in the Bible somewhere!:)

Merry Christmas y'all!!

Much love!!
Robin

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

"Here I Go Again..... on My Own?"



"An' here I go again on my own
Goin' down the only road I've ever known,
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone
An' I've made up my mind
I ain't wasting no more time.
Here i go again. "

If you have never heard this song....well you must've missed the 80's! I recommend going to YouTube and looking for it....I hate to think anyone missed 80's bands!


Yes that's right. I'm discussing White Snake in my blog. Just listen to those words....all the more effective with David Coverdale (lead singer) belting them out.
Why else would this song be such a huge hit and still so well remembered 20 years later? (Wait a minute...20 years later??? Oh my goodness. I guess it's actually 25 years!!! This blast from the past just momentarily made me feel like a time traveler or something. Wow!)
Back to the question. I think the better question may be, "Who CAN'T identify with this song??" We've all been "just another heart in need of rescue" lol! I know we have all, at some point, been the ones "searching for an answer".


I'm pretty sure it's a rule....you can't NOT like the song. Still today, 25 years later, it gets stuck in my head periodically. I know, I know. Enough of the blast from the past....Make your point.

So here's the thing:
While the song is (obviously) awesome, and while it does give mention to calling on the Lord for help....I wouldn't say it was written with the same intention as say, King David, would've written one of his sonnets! :) Yet, there are times that we can certainly feel the pain of White Snake here in this song.

In a way, this may actually be a follow up to my last post. If you read my very first blog, you are probably thinking at this point that I should've named it, "Robin's Ramblings" after all!:)

Almost every time I pull up my homepage here lately, there's more mention, perpetuation, and acceptance of the deception out there that we couldn't possibly have a Creator. As I mentioned before, I understand their doubt as one who has been through the questioning period myself. Many exercise faith and don't call it that.....it's faith in themselves, faith in man and faith in science. Many others take Darwin's approach and say, "I wouldn't say I'm an athiest, I'd rather be called an agnostic". Which, in my opinion, basically makes them, while incredibly smart, also incredibly confused as they don't believe He can be proved or disproved. And THAT makes me sad. But, I'm not going to re-write the entire previous blog. (You're welcome.) :)
The thing is, after looking at the multitude of unbelievers out there,
how can we possibly explain to them how it is we believe....so they will too?? We're at deadlock. They think we're ridiculous and gullible and we feel the same about them.


I've come to the conclusion that, many times, we look at it the wrong way and therefore, go about it wrong or maybe even take it personally. It's not something an unbeliever can understand. There is no need in trying to MAKE everyone believe with our arguments over creation Vs big bang or any other theory. That tends to lead to walls being put up. We would also do well to remember, we don't have to be "right"...Its not about us. And let's face it...we don't have all the answers and i'm pretty sure we will never know fully all the mysteries of God. Instead, why don't we just live the thing out. However small or big our understanding is right now...let's live....it....out. Why don't we just commit to simple obedience? Committing our hearts and lives to whatever He impresses upon us; Commit to trusting Him, even if it's at face value at first, so to speak (Not sure but this may be what He meant by "faith as small as a mustard seed").

Because, I can testify that He is faithful to the least bit of obedience from a heart that is turned back to Him.  It's not that we become perfect...still far from it...but, there begins to be a change in us that essentially....well, completely changes us.  I assure you, a person who has the Holy Spirit flowing freely will look different than the rest of the world. They should.
Lets look at one instance where He referenced the lowly mustard seed:


Matthew 17:16-20
And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

When the Holy Spirit is allowed to reign in our hearts and lives, we no longer have to rely on arguments of our own. He is able to do what we could not possibly do. From the simpleness of much needed restraint to  the building of a church to reaching the hardest of hearts. I'll give you a recent example from my own experience that I attribute solely to the intervention of the Holy Spirit!:

It was one of those days. My patience was wearing thin and my voice had steadily gotten louder as the evening progressed. We were all at the table eating a late supper. It was nearing bedtime and my disposition showed it. Jude had just "mommy'd" me to death that day. "Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy....and on and on". At the table, I was trying to converse with Steve and the boys while Jude insisted on being in the conversation, too..... "Mommy, mommy, hey mommy, mommy!" I said, not in a very inside/at the table voice, "Jude, you have GOT to be quiet!!", and I went back to trying to listen to the others and eat. Jude sat there for a few seconds quietly....got down, came over to me, started tapping me on the arm, put her little hand up to her mouth, and whispered, "psstttt, mommy....pppsstttt, mommy....hey mommy". I just put my head in my hands and, in a bit of a response that shocked me, burst out laughing. Typically, that would've been the point my nerves would be completely frayed and well....it wouldn't have been pretty. I'm pretty sure the Lord heard the prayers I'd been muttering under my breath that evening. Not only did He offer the restraint to not respond in a way I would feel bad about later, but He replaced that frustration with laughter.
 
I know the change in response won't seem profound to many reading this. But, it was to me and I am pretty sure it was to all at the table, too!
Peter talks about these changes as fruits of the Spirit and even says they are the assurance of our very salvation.

2 Peter 1:3-15
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self- control, and self- control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.

I've alway been one to love and be moved by music. But, even though not set to music, these words move me.
Peter is saying: don't stop with a profession of faith....to your faith..add virtue, to your virtue..add knowledge, to your knowledge..practice self control, to self control..learn to be steadfast under trials, to steadfastness..add godliness, to godliness..add brotherly affection, to brotherly affection..LOVE.

He's saying we should look different. We should BE different and that when those things are present and increasing, not only do they confirm our calling to others, but they assure us of our inheritance to the kingdom of God. And all of those things are essentially fruits of the Spirit, the Spirit that is flowing in the life of a believer. From the simple, daily aspects of life to the life-changing circumstances:

When we would ordinary lose it with someone, and we don't;
When we would normally worry, and we don't;
When we would not normally dream of doing that, but we do;
When we say something that we never would've said, but somehow our mouths open and the words come out;

When we open our mouth to speak (or our pen to write), and something comes out that we weren't even thinking;
When we pick up our feet (or our family) and go where we would've never even wanted to go;

It's not just those things....but the peace in those things...that is OUR confirmation of God's presence. That's a benefit only believers receive. It's not only the assurance of the variables in our present circumstance, it's the very assurance of our salvation.

I have to tell you, as mothers, we need Him. I need His assurance. I need Him to overpower me more and more. I need His direction, His peace, and I most definitely need His restraint. But, I also need to remember that others desperately need Him, too.

We live in a sad, fallen world. When we read the news, look at the government, and even the people around us, without the Holy Spirit, it would be easy to feel as though we're walking alone. Sometimes after reading the news or even Facebook I just want to scream, "Is there no one who fears the Lord?" and we can easily revert to "woe is me, I am alone" blah blah blah.

Contrary to the song I love, we were not "born to walk alone". If we are a believer in Christ, we are not alone. He is ever present. The issue becomes whether or not we make any effort to seek Him in our daily lives. And, as a bit of a side-note, He also instituted the Church. By His design, we are suppose to be plugged in so we can grow and help others grow. So we can share in joy, sufferings and accountability. So we won't be alone!! Often times, as an added benefit, it's in the lives of others that we see His power that grows and changes us, too. As I heard Priscilla Shirer say once, "it's like eavesdropping on the mercies of God". I firmly believe we are suppose to be involved in a local body of Christ....but I will have to save that for another blog.

I do love that line "I've made up my mind...I ain't wastin no more time".
We could waste a lot of time spinning wheels, arguing to be right with an increasingly unbelieving world, or even in our churches.  We waste a lot of time calling ourselves believers but showing no fruit. Now, I know I won't be called on by scholars to write a commentary on this....but this is my theory.....We don't show fruit because we don't really trust. We haven't fully committed OUR lives to the will of this God we say loves us and created us. Then, we wonder why no one believes us, why nonbeliever don't "get it".
I think that's the conclusion I came to several years ago, by the grace of God, that we're just blowing a lot of smoke and greying the issue a lot of the time. And I don't know about you, but, "I ain't wastin' no more time".


So, what does that mean for us? I hate using sales type analogies but.... would you spend money on a costly medicine that the doctor says would make you all better.....but the doctor is walking around with essentially the same ailments and it didn't seem to work for him?
No. Well, belief in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is costly in today's terms. Most people ain't buyin' without the product being successfully tested on others.

Yes, being a believer is costly in today's world. There will be more and more times we seem to stand out or walk alone. It's uncomfortable, even painful at times. But, when we allow Truth to take root (like the mustard seed) and allow His Spirit to rule in our lives, there is no greater comfort.....or results for that matter. And as Paul exuberantly declares, "the sufferings of this world don't compare to the glory that is being prepared for those who love Him and keep His commands." That's ultimately what we want for the unbelieving world around us. Not to know that we were right....but to know HIM!

So, I would suggest for those of us who call ourselves believers to stop wasting time (time that some may not have) and start living the thing. So that, through the Holy Spirit manifesting himself in a life surrendered in obedience, others may see and believe.

The wonderful thing is, in addition to the assurance of our salvation, which is priceless in and of itself, we find that we really are not alone. After all, that's why He created us...not to walk alone...but to walk with Him. In Genesis, He literally walked through the garden with Adam and Eve. That is, before the original deception and sin entered. Now, talk about a blast from the past! How great would that have been. Only, its not really lost. He may not physically walk on foot through our gardens, but He is still willing and waiting to speak to us, guide us, and be with us every step we make, anywhere we go.

I wrote 90% of this post, up to this point, early Sunday morning, before church. I had stopped at the reference to Genesis and God walking with them in the garden. I came out singing "And He walks with me and He talks with me....and He tells me I am His own..." I figured I would do a spell check later, maybe even post the song at the end and it would be ready.

So, we went to church where we had a wonderful worship service, then the preacher began his sermon titled, "A Time Without Hope". He began by saying that there was a time when the world was a beautiful, peaceful place; a time when God walked in the garden with Adam and Eve, could we even imagine that, etc. (I knew then my post wasn't as done as I thought). Then he went on to Isaiah 59 where the question of "where are you God??" had been asked by many. There was so much oppression, so much injustice, no peace, no light, no salvation....no hope in sight.  God again, through Isaiah, told them it was because of their own perpetual sin and blatant disregard for Him that He would not hear them. As Pastor Shawn put it, "When they called to Him, their sin answered back ." But out of His own steadfast love, to those who would turn from their transgressions, He promised them a Redeemer.

That Redeemer would later come. Some would still reject Him. Some would believe and be saved and finally know peace, joy, and hope. He is still the same Redeemer today. If we want this dark, increasingly unbelieving world to believe and be changed, we who claim to be believers have to start, in the words of Paul to the Ephesians, "walking in a manner worthy of our calling".

Let's just have a little confession time here... We all do it... We all pick and choose what areas we "agree" with God on and we let Him into those, but mostly on our terms. When the issue really isn't what we "agree" on. (Not that it matters to Him if we agree or not.) What we're really saying is we don't BELIEVE God on that issue or trust Him in that circumstance. Therein lies our problem. If we aren't walking as believers ourselves, adhering to some scripture but not others, praising God in some circumstances while not proclaiming Him in others, how can we fault unbelievers for their doubt in a good and sovereign Creator and Redeemer? Truth is, for many of us who call ourselves disciples of Christ, we are still that "faithless and twisted generation" that can't accomplish what we are sent to accomplish because we ourselves have little faith. The Redeemer was and is Jesus Christ. He took on ALL of our sins. He became all that He hated in order to restore fellowship with us. He desires us that much. The only sin He can't and won't pardon is our sin of unbelief.

Just as we wouldn't waste a lot of energy on fake, superficial relationships, He doesn't honor unsubstantiated professions of faith. But, the mustard seed of genuine faith, He honors and grows. We do not have to walk alone. In fact, if we lived with genuine biblical faith like that of Abraham, David, the Apostles, etc,  I have a feeling many unbelievers would see and be convinced. Its not about "having all the answers" for an unbelieving, ungodly world. Its about Him revealing Himself TO us in our daily walk with Him and THROUGH us in the life of a heart changed by and filled with the Holy Spirit.
I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on roses
And the voice I hear falling
On my ear
the Son of God discloses

And He walks with me and He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own

And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known

He speaks and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing

And He walks with me and He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known