NEVER LOOK DOWN

I would not consider myself to be totally accident prone by any means but I must admit that I’ve had some embarrassing episodes of falling down in public.  Several times I’ve managed to somehow lose my balance by twisting my ankle, tripping over the edge of a rug or by running into someone because I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. Falling in a more private setting really doesn’t bother me.  It is those public displays of embarrassment that I try to avoid at any cost such as the time I ended up on the floor with an audience of a few hundred people.

I won’t go into too many specifics here, but a few years ago I tripped and fell flat on my face in front of the entire congregation during a worship service.  This particular morning while ascending onto the platform to sing in the choir, I happen to be sporting some rather high heels.  I somehow caught one of my heels on the leg of a choir chair. In spite of all of my efforts to regain my balance, I ended up not so gracefully on the auditorium stage.  If that was not horrendous and humiliating enough, I somehow managed to knock over several choir chairs on my way down to meet the floor.  I am thankful however that I was wearing a longer skirt at the time and was able to keep a modest appearance.

Forever etched on my brain will be the priceless stares I received as a result of my unfortunate mishap.  I witnessed many concerned expressions which were somewhat comforting; however there were a handful of parishioners who were smiling and even laughing at me!   Oh if this could only have been a wretched nightmare instead of blatant reality!  I seriously contemplated crawling into the nearest dark corner where I could die.

Call me slightly dramatic, but after our choir special was finished I promptly limped as quickly as I could to exit the church building and hurried home.  My emotions went wacko as I proceeded to laugh and cry uncontrollably all afternoon under the covers in my bed.  Replaying this upsetting experience over and over in my mind in slow motion did not seem to comfort me whatsoever.

I also informed my husband that I would soon be withdrawing my church membership due to utter embarrassment.  After spending some time in much needed prayer, some semblance of my sanity slowly began to return as I confessed my pride to God.  I felt totally sorry for myself but finally resolved no longer to linger in my sin of self pity.

Suffering that kind of mortification made an indelible impression on me, BUT what I will never ever forget is the reaction of the young lady who was walking behind me when I fell down. She graciously reached out her hand and helped me back up to my feet, then carefully straightened up all of the chairs I’d knocked over.  Her warm smile and reassuring hug granted me a glimmer of hope that everything was going to be okay.  Her Christ like example served as an extension of the loving hand of God and was a reminder of how we should all be helping others who happen to stumble physically as well as those who fall spiritually.

Never once did I see that young ladies finger waiving in my face telling me I needed to be more observant of my surroundings or stop wearing high heels.  There was no implication that I was a terrible person for falling and that I deserved to suffer the consequences for my situation.  Grace, mercy and love were poured out to me and I will never forget the healing that came to my soul as a result of her simple yet compassionate response to my dreadful circumstances.

Is this the very same response that we have with other Christians that fall down spiritually around us?   Or instead do we simply choose to point our fingers in judgment and disapproving condemnation at the plight of the fallen?  It is crucial for us to remember all of the times when we ourselves have desperately needed assistance and what kind of response from others has helped us to heal spiritually.

We are reminded in Galatians 6:1 of what to do when others fall down around us,“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.”  Why does God instruct us to handle things this way instead of looking down at others with a prideful gaze of judgment?  We go on to read in verses 2 and 3 that give us a warning from God that we must always keep at the forefront of our minds.  “Keep watch on yourself unless you too be tempted.  Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.  For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

Bearing the burdens of others means to lift them up and humbly encourage them in love when they have spiritually failed.  God is our ultimate burden bearer, but He desires to work through us to help others bear their heavy loads.  All the while we are helping the oppressed we are actually fulfilling the law of Christ.  We’re told that the same mercy that we extend to others will also be shown to us when we fall.

Many Christians get tripped up on verse 3 because of our nasty sin of pride.  We’re warned stop deceiving ourselves about our sin and keep watching and discerning our own spiritual condition, unless we too fall down. 

We begin to believe that since we haven’t fallen down recently that we are invincible and immune to stumbling.  Watch out!  Possessing this kind of arrogant attitude will most assuredly lead us to suffer another embarrassing fall.  How can we expect others to want to help us up when we've only acted in prideful judgment toward them instead of love?

We all need hugs and kind words of encouragement when we have fallen but there are also times when we do need someone else to speak the truth in love to us when we are in error.  In the spirit of humility we must be willing to make some changes in our spiritual lives so that we can become more conformed to the image of Christ.  All of us need spiritual guidance from those who have gone through the valleys we are currently facing.  We must all possess a teachable spirit and be willing to share the lessons God has taught us with others in the spirit of gentleness.  We’re all sinners and will continually need others to help us up in times of troubles. 

May each of us keep in mind the forgiveness, grace, love and mercy that God and others have granted to us.  May we also extend those same Christ like virtues to others who have fallen.  The next time we witness that someone has tripped up spiritually, may we remember to never look down on them unless we are helping them back up to their feet again.

DISTRACTED

I must admit that one of my biggest downfalls is that I have a tendency to become easily distracted.  I find myself making excuses for my inability to concentrate for very long at a task.  Even though I do have a lot on my mind at all times with kids, grandkids, homeschooling, church activities and trying to minister to others, this is definitely one of the biggest areas in which I desperately need improvement. As a result of my failure to stay completely focused at times while driving, I’ve had the pleasure of being introduced to several very nice law enforcement officers. Even though they all were quite pleasant and I haven’t been issued any tickets thankfully, I’m always embarrassed at the predicaments that could’ve been easily avoided if I’d only been more attentive. 
 

One such incident occurred several weeks ago while riding along in the car with my daughters.  My oldest daughter was still becoming familiar with driving in some of the areas of the town where we live.  Everything seemed to be going along great until I got the brilliant idea to show her a beautiful old home that I had driven by the week before.  I enjoy looking at the architecture and design of homes and especially admire landscapes and gardens.  Instead of driving all the way around the block to get to this gorgeous mansion, I thought it would be easier to take a short cut.

I had not realized before that the road in front of this home was a one way street.  She began questioning my driving instructions as she noticed the “One Way” sign, but I was so enamored with staring at the amazing gardens and grounds of this home that I was not paying attention to the signs.  I told her to go ahead and turn down the wrong way on the “One way” street!  Against her better judgment, she began to go around the corner just as a police car pulled up on the opposite side of the street.

Once I saw the police officer, my attention was immediately engaged in what was actually taking place.  We were just a few feet from hitting his nice shiny car as we rounded the corner.  I’ll never forget the angry surprised look of disapproval on his face as long as I live!  He was also making a rounding motion with his fingers but we didn’t understand what he was trying to communicate.  We then proceeded to climb up over the curb and thankfully missed colliding with him.  I then realized that we must’ve served as some sort of comic relief for him as his look of horror and anger turned to laughter and a huge friendly smile.

We stopped, rolled down the window, and informed him that we had realized our mistake and asked for forgiveness.  Thankfully he was a kind hearted forgiving sort of person.  He allowed us to back up, turn around and be on our way without a ticket or warning of which we are eternally grateful.  Always striving to find the positive aspect in these embarrassing situations, we were at least thankful that we had brightened someone’s day with laughter.

Right away the Holy Spirit was convicting me of my lack of attentiveness in giving proper driving directions to my daughter.  I was wrong to allow myself to become enticed by the pretty flower gardens instead of keeping my eyes on the road ahead of us.  Spiritually speaking, this whole ordeal caused me to realize that I need to be more focused on the most important things in life and not allow myself to be so easily distracted by the temporal.  I’m often led away by my selfish desires instead of focusing on what God has me here to do.

We’re all distracted by little things every day that channel our focus to the temporal instead of the eternal.  As I think of all of these distractions I’m reminded of Jesus’ warning in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.”  If Satan cannot kill us or destroy our lives through sin we get involved in, he will attack us by tempting us to divert our attention to things that don’t matter and steal our time.  If Satan tried his best to distract Jesus Christ from fulfilling God’s purposes for bringing salvation to the world through the cross, we had better be on guard to how he attempts to lure us away as well. 2 Cor. 2:11, “Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

There are a plethora of distractions in Satan’s arsenal that He continually uses to get our eyes off accomplishing eternal things for God’s kingdom.  Maybe you yourself can relate to how I have fallen prey to some of Satan’s devices concerning distractions in my life?  Have you also involved yourselves in all of the “good” things that steal your time away each day instead of us focusing on the “best” things?  Will all the time we spend on social media, hobbies, sports, music, leisure or entertainment last for eternity? Even educational pursuits, family functions or church activities can all be things but are these all the very best ways to spend God's time? Isn’t it just like Satan to use what is “good” to keep us from doing what is “best”!

Too often we allow the Devil to continue to throw our past sin in our face.  He whispers the lie that because of our past sin we have no business doing anything for God now. God makes it clear however in I John 1:9,“If we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

When He forgives our sin, it is forgiven as “far as the east is from the west… When Satan tries to torment us with our past sin, we need to stand firm and quote the Truth that refutes his lies and shuts him up. Our downfall comes only when we act helpless and forget about the power we have in Christ through His Word.  Our ultimate goal is to emulate Philippians 3:13, “…forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.”

Many times we’re distracted with the injustice of how others have mistreated us.  I used to be so wrapped up with my wounds that I wasted God’s valuable time choosing not to forgive offenders and was plagued with the guilt of my unconfessed sin.  I finally realized that it was Satan who sent those people to be used as pawns to hurt me and distract me from God’s plan. Our example to follow is found in God's Word, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32 When we’ve been hurt we must readily forgive as Christ forgives us, learn what God wanted us to learn in allowing those hurts and get back to the business of fulfilling His plan.

Has the Enemy kept you distracted by your past or present sin struggles? Have you been so wrapped up in the hurts of how you’ve been mistreated by others?  Are you spending your time participating in the “good” things in this life and neglect to fulfill the “best” God has for you to do?  When we reach the end of our lives will we regret all of the wasted years we spent caught up in temporal distractions?  Jesus calls us to follow Him, focus on His plan for us and accomplish the impossible for Him. These are the ONLY things that will truly last for eternity.

TROPHIES

This week my husband and I have been celebrating our 25 year Wedding Anniversary.  We've now officially spent a quarter of a century together and I am astonished at how quickly the years have flown by!  As we have been nearing this milestone in our lives I’m realizing just how monumental this occasion truly is.  For sadly in our culture, these kind of anniversary celebrations are becoming more and more obsolete.  We certainly do not deserve any accolades for our long relationship, we are simply trophies of God's grace and goodness.


Some may have thought the odds were against us having a successful marriage.  After all, we barely knew each other 3 months when Richard asked me to marry him.  I was a teenage bride and remember being adamant about waiting until I turned 19 to say our vows so I wouldn’t seem so young. 

Besides being over seven years apart in age, my husband and I are both firstborn children who possessed a strong and stubborn will and a slight determination to have our own way.  If those weren’t big enough hurdles, our first few years of marriage were filled with many trials, which have the tendency to stretch us in ways we never dreamed.

 I came down with a severe case of mononucleosis on our honeymoon and slept an average of 21 hours a day for nine long months.  Our basement apartment flooded while we were out of town and completely destroyed many of our meager earthly possessions. Richard and I were involved in an accident and suffered some long lasting injuries when a ton and a half tow truck pummeled into the back our car as we sat at a stop light. During that time, my parents were divorced after 22 years of marriage which was very difficult for me, even as an adult child. We were also extremely heartbroken to lose three babies through miscarriage, all in one year’s time.  Each one of these circumstances that our Enemy intended to tear our marriage apart, we recognized that God meant for our good.  With each trial He was working on our behalf to polish away the dull areas of sin in our hearts in an attempt to someday display us as shining trophies of His grace and goodness.

After enduring all of those trials, I was hoping for a respite from any further tribulation.  But of course, God views the situations in our lives totally different than we do and has greater purposes to accomplish in allowing them. Our Father knows that sometimes the only way for us to truly grasp the depths of His love, mercy and grace is for us to witness it in action during difficult times.  Many times I have heard God whisper to me just as He reassured the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9 , “My grace is sufficient for you, my strength is made perfect in your weakness.”

Over the years we have experienced God’s grace and goodness through a wide variety of unexpected events. Richard lost his job three times and three of our homes were flooded, teaching us that money and material possessions were not the most important thing.  We’ve suffered through the death of close friends and loved ones, have experienced serious health problems and near death situations. We’ve gone through heart wrenching challenges with one of our precious children that nearly broke our hearts in two but with each new circumstance, God was always there beside us extending His love, mercy and grace for every moment.  God’s goal for each of us is the same desire He had for allowing Job's trials.  In Job 23:10 we hear the wisdom of Job's words, "But He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold."  All the while God's will for us was to emerge from our fiery trials shining like gold and to become glowing trophies of His grace and goodness.

Some may ask how it's possible today for a marriage to not only survive but also thrive?  We certainly haven't made it 25 years because we are so special and have it all together.  We don't have a long lasting marriage because we are such wonderful people who never have conflict.  We are both messed up sinners that have struggled greatly with stubbornness, impatience, anger, selfishness, and pride over the years. Time after time, as we’ve witnessed the example of our Savior's grace, love, forgiveness and mercy toward us, we have slowly been transformed more and more into the image of Jesus Christ.  Our marriage and family are without a doubt, a huge trophy of God’s unfathomable grace and amazing goodness and nothing more.

-Because of God’s unmerited grace, we are able to possess the most important key to enjoying a successful life.  Because of Jesus Christ’s shed blood sacrifice on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin, we can enjoy abundant, successful lives no matter what circumstances we face. When Jesus is our Savior, we can go through rough waters and still experience His unsurpassing peace that the world can never provide. We can't enjoy a truly successful Christ honoring marriage and family until we receive God’s free gift of eternal life. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

-Because of God’s unfailing love toward us, we are then able to extend a Christ like love to our spouse. We see in I John 4:7, “…let us love one another, for love comes from God.” I John 3:16, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” Vs. 18 says, “…Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”  I learned long ago that romantic “feelings” of infatuation and excitement may fade as difficult times come. It's the biblical love of responsible action flowing from an unselfish heart because of our Savior’s love that makes a marriage last.  We can’t always trust feelings and emotions that come and go, but when both spouses truly love each other with the genuine love of Christ, your relationship will survive and thrive.

-Because of God’s continual forgiveness and mercy toward us, we are then able to show mercy and forgiveness when we are offended by others.  We can forbear each other’s faults daily when we humbly come to the realization that we have a few sin problems of our own.  Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” How dare we play the role of God and pick and chose what offenses we want to forgive our spouse for when we offend God daily far more than we could ever be humanly offended.  Each of us must then come to the point where we concentrate more on cleaning out our own filthy hearts instead of concentrating on how our spouse needs to change.  Pray and place your spouse’s heart into the capable hands of the One who can truly bring about lasting transformation. In the meantime our responsibility is to grant forgiveness and mercy because God gives it freely to us.

We are extremely humbled and thankful to be shining trophies of God’s goodness over the past 25 years. He has blessed us far beyond what we could ever have imagined. We're grateful for the five wonderful children and two precious grandchildren He has blessed us with.

 Through the prosperous times and the difficulties, our Father has been molding and shaping us more into the image of Jesus.  We have a long way to go, but we trust that God will continue to lovingly rub off the ugly smudges of pride and selfishness from our hearts little by little. We trust that He will allow whatever circumstances He deems best to produce results until we are sparkling trophies of His grace, love, forgiveness and mercy.

As you look back over the years, can you see how God has extended His unmerited grace, unfailing love and continual mercy and forgiveness to you during the calm as well as in the storms of your life?  May each of us regularly reflect on all of the instances where God’s goodness was revealed in spite of our circumstances.  May we testify of our Father’s goodness and become shining trophies and treasures that will give Him the glory that He alone is worthy to receive.

OBSESSED WITH FASHION

If I were to be completely honest about my sinful struggles in the past, I would readily admit that although I used to be a shopaholic, my BIGGEST obsession during that time was my fascination with clothes.  In this category I would also need to include my enthrallment with ALL accessories related to clothing.  The allure of shiny sparkling jewelry, the appeal of large designer purses, and of course we can’t forget all of those cute shoes to perfectly complete all of those outfits.  Looking back now at the infatuation I had with clothes, it almost became like a stimulant for me to get high from shopping.  Even though I always have appreciated a good clearance sale, there was a time when buying clothes at Thrift stores simply would not completely satisfy my needs.  My craving was for the latest and greatest and all of the newest styles and fashion.  It was the infamous mall with all of its sights, smells, lights and wondrous treasures that allured me and even seemed to call out my name when I drove by.  Since I wasn’t at all happy with my inner self at that time, I was driven by the need to feel complete so I tried to fulfill that hunger with my obsession with clothes.

When Richard and I got married, I remember already owning over 20 pair of shoes, upwards of 30 pair of pants, about 40 sweaters in an array of my favorite styles and colors.  My love for clothing started early, way back in grade school when my mom made me a new dress to wear every single day.  The attention I received with each new dress seemed to soothe some sort of craving inside me.  As I’ve gotten reacquainted with some grade school friends through facebook lately, some of them have mentioned how they remember all of the new clothes I wore.  Shopping for clothes at the mall was just what my mom and sisters and I did for fun every week.  It really didn't matter if we NEEDED something or not, shopping for cute outfits was a hobby for us.  As I got ready for college, my most important preparations were to make sure I had enough clothes so that I would not have to wear the same ensemble more than once or twice in a semester.  I would not and could not be seen in the same outfit within a 3 month span of time.  Sad to say that I placed more value and worth in what was in my wardrobe rather than what was going on in my heart.  

Thankfully the story doesn’t end there with my continued obsession with such shallow things.  I am so thankful that several years ago God opened my eyes for my need to humbly confess placing such a high priority on earthly things instead of valuing my relationship with Him.  When my heart changed so drastically, so did my closet.  The walk in closet that I used to have all to myself was once so overstuffed with clothes, jewelry, purses and shoes that I couldn't even shut the door all the way! (wish I had an actual photo, but I was too embarrassed to take one)  After God dealt with me, I went through and discarded many of the items I thought were so necessary to my happiness and have paired down to a more reasonably sized wardrobe as my family will all now attest to. I have also learned the art of putting more inexpensive outfits together by shopping at thrift stores and consignment shops for myself and our whole family.  I'm not too proud to wear used clothes that someone else bought at the mall and decided to get rid of.   I am not at all proclaiming that malls are evil or wrong, in fact my daughters and I are planning a trip with some friends to the Mall of America soon to look for some bargain clothes for them to start college with.  I now realize that buying clothes, shoes, purses or jewelry will never meet my deepest desires.  Buying clothes does not have the power and ability to quench my thirst for something awesome.  I won't ever be able to purchase in a retail store all my soul is longing for.  Don’t get me wrong, I am still obsessed with my wardrobe today, BUT it is a radically different type of clothing altogether. This clothing has great value for eternity, it is priceless beyond measure and it will never ever go out of style.

The kind of clothing God desires for us to be obsessed with is found in Colossians 3: 12-14  “Therefore as God’s chosen people, hold and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.    Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

We are told in this passage to clothe ourselves with:  COMPASSION, KINDNESS, HUMILITY, GENTLENESS, PATIENCE, FORGIVENESS and LOVE which binds all of these virtues together in perfect unity.   God wants us to put on LOVE, which like a thread that sews and binds together all of the other virtues.  I am pretty sure these 7 virtues we are to clothe ourselves with need no additional explanation.  We all know the definition of each one of these words and why God desires for us to put emphasis on wearing this specific virtuous wardrobe.

In Colossians 3:13 we see that Jesus Christ is the ultimate example for us in modeling these essential items of clothing.  We are told that once we have clothed ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness and love, we will have peace.  Isn’t that what everyone is so desperately searching for in this life? Verse 15 says, “Let the PEACE of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be THANKFUL. 

I know for a fact that during those many years when I was obsessed with clothing, peace certainly did NOT rule my heart.   I was not at all focused on wearing the Biblical clothing that God tells us about in this passage in Colossians 3.  We must not forget to take heed to obeying the very end of verse 15 that reminds us to be THANKFUL.

I must confess that when I was obsessed with a more worldly wardrobe, I certainly was not a thankful person.  My cravings for the mall and shopping for clothes left me only wanting more and more.   The thrill and excitement was short lived and never seemed to satisfy.  While buying all those cute clothes, I thought I was buying peace and happiness.  Then I discovered that after a few days or weeks, the fulfillment was gone because clothes and material possessions will never have the ability to quench the longings that can only be met by a pure relationship with God Himself.  Popular styles, fabrics, patterns and colors are ever changing with each new season in the fashion world but the Biblical clothing God desires for us to model in our lives will NEVER cease to be in fashion.  Dressing ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love and thankfulness is the only clothing that can ever fulfill us and allow the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts.

 I also realized that my entire goal in being obsessed with the wrong clothing was to draw attention only to myself and how great I was at putting outfits together; but when we chose to put on the Biblical clothing that Christ models for us, we are then able to shine the spotlight on and honor Jesus Christ.  It is our pride that traps us into craving the approval and compliments from others, when our heart should be in such a humble state that our ONLY desire above ALL else is pointing the glory to our Creator God.  

How about you?  Have you been obsessed with clothing yourself with the wrong wardrobe?  I pray that those of you who read this post will truly search the inner most areas of your heart and weed out anything from your spiritual wardrobe that does not belong there.  Take it from someone who knows how God’s forgiveness can replace the emptiness that once filled your heart with unsurpassing peace and joy that I guarantee you will never be able to find at the mall.   

WRONG TURN

Are you one of those special people who at all times knows exactly which direction you are going and you never get lost?  I was definitely not born with the instinctive ability to tell the difference between north, south, east or west.  No matter how hard I strive to learn, I have resigned myself to the reality that I will always be directionally challenged.  For this very reason, my husband who is good with directions has been printing out maps and directions for me whenever I have needed to travel somewhere.  Recently, he has also installed a gps application on my phone but for some reason I continue to get lost even while using a map and gps.   

 Sadly, there have been numerous occasions when I’ve managed to get lost only a few miles away from home and this seems to happen to me on a regular basis.  Since we live in the country, I have a tendency to get preoccupied enjoying all of the breath taking scenery while driving and don’t always pay attention to where I’m going.  Making just one or two wrong turns can lead me astray for quite some time.  Many of you may be wondering why in the world my husband would let me out on my own, but believe me, I’m much more skilled at directions now than I used to be. 

It was my false sense of security in the fact that I hadn’t gotten lost in awhile that led into my most recent nerve racking predicament.   A few weeks ago, I ventured out to run some errands when my pride got the best of me.   It was on our way back home that I came up with the big idea to take a different road that I’ve never driven before.   I should have listened to the young voice of reason coming from the back seat as my son reminded me of all the other times we had gotten lost.  His gentle but firm warnings reminded me a little of how the Holy Spirit prompts us when we are about to go the wrong way, but of course I chose not to listen.  After all, I am the mom and  I assured him that since we'd been living at our home for over a year now that I knew the general direction that we should go.  I also couldn't resist the fact that it would be fun to take a totally different path. 

At first it was exciting and I felt like we were on an adventure to explore new areas that we had never seen before.  I was convinced that I had a pretty firm handle on where we were and which way we should take to get us back to the main road leading home.  I do believe that my underlying thought process was a bit haughty because I thought that if I could accomplish finding my way back home through another route, I could brag to my husband that I was getting better with directions.  As we drove down each gravel road, I admired the breathtaking landscape of farms and acreages we came across and the beautiful sun as it was beginning to set in the sky.  As it slowly grew closer to night fall and there were no familiar roads in sight, I began to question my reasoning for taking this unfamiliar way.   

Noticing the look on my face and sensing the fear resonating in my voice, my son strongly urged the importance of us finding the gps app on my phone so that we could get home soon.  We pulled over and I managed to find a map but I didn’t recognize where we were so I couldn’t type in my beginning location.  In my technological ineptness, I continued to try to figure out how to work the gps or find where we were located on the map.  The pit in my stomach continued to grow larger with each passing moment and I began to become more fearful and anxious.  This is about the time when I usually call my husband at home and ask for directions but he was out of town so that was not an option this time.  I finally did what I should’ve done in the beginning and stopped to pray for God to keep me calm and help us find our way back to the right road.  It didn’t take much longer until we came to a sign that told us we were about 1 hour away from our hometown.  This realization was surprising since our wayward journey began only about 15 minutes from home.  We continued to pray and I was so thankful to finally get to a highway that I recognized and we eventually made it home.    

So many thoughts scurried through my mind as I later contemplated the craziness of our evening.  What possessed me to think it would be fun to drive through the countryside blindly following roads that led us so far from our intended destination?  What was I hoping to gain by going off the well known path?  Why did I ever ignore my son’s gentle warnings of the fact that I know I should always stay on the right road?  Every single time I have strayed and gone my own way, I end up causing myself so many problems, not to mention the fear and anxiety I inflict on myself and others.   I don't know why I deviate from the right road only to end up wasting so much time and money driving around trying to find my way back to where I should've stayed in the first place.   

This whole situation reminded me of what it’s like when we as Christians willingly and consciously decide to make a wrong turn spiritually.  We purposefully stray away from the narrow path that God has laid out so clearly before us to follow.   Often times we rationalize our rebellion by feeling like we are harmlessly exploring the world and that there won’t ever be any negative consequences.  It may seem like an exciting adventure at first, but I assure you that following the wrong road will always lead us to become disoriented and disillusioned.  Once we have wasted the time and money that God has graciously given us to use for working in His kingdom, we are left only with regret and guilt from violating and turning from His perfect path and plan for our lives.
     

You may be like me and be prideful and stubborn, refusing to heed the voice of reasoning warning you of your need to turn back to the right road.  Maybe you even feel as if it’s too late for you to get back on track because you’ve been following your own way for so long.  You’ve made so many wrong turns you have given up and you’re lost, scared, hopeless and defeated.   With God, it is never ever too late to humble yourself and admit you chose to take a wrong path and humbly confess it.  We won't ever be so lost that we cannot make a right turn and find our way back to the narrow road that leads to blessing. 

To find the right road again, it is crucial that we acknowledge we have been lost and ask God to forgive us for our disobedience.   We can then be restored back into His loving arms and enjoy His sweet fellowship once again. I have found that the best way to never get lost, is to stay on the narrow route.  It is the only way to follow in life to be able to experience the full abundance of God’s blessings is to simply stay on the right course.  Psalm 119:1, “Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord."

The best way to avoid the heartache and destruction from taking the wrong path is to purpose to follow the road marked right no matter what the cost.  No matter how alluring, exciting, adventurous, inviting and appealing exploring the wrong road may seem, God warns us that the wide road always leads to death.  We are cautioned in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man but the end leads to destruction.”  Please remember my example of disobedience whenever you are tempted to go down the wrong road that leads to pain, sorrow and destruction.  May each of us seek God with our whole heart and be reminded of the importance of staying on the abundant path that leads to blessing.  May we never purposefully make any more wrong turns in the future.

QUIT BEING UGLY!

I believe there are many reasons why I've always been drawn to the southern lifestyle.  Maybe it's because I long to be one of those people who takes things at a slower pace and enjoys life's little blessings more. I adore it that in the south, front porches seem to be utilized more for relaxing, drinking sweet tea and sharing special moments with family and friends.  I could be partial to the southern way of life because I spent so much time while growing up with my Grandmother who was raised in the Florida.  With Grandma, sweet tea was a common staple at every meal, we showed our love by "giving some sugar" and several hugs each day were just a necessity of life.  She taught us by example the importance of investing in the lives of others by setting aside valuable time for fellowship with anyone who would come to her door.  We often spent many hours together just talking, laughing and building sweet memories that I will dearly cherish and treasure for the rest of my life.    

It wasn't until after I was married and we had our fourth child that our family got to experience living in the south firsthand.  I loved how people were so open with their feelings and weren't afraid to hug and love on everyone, all of the time.  They didn't worry about checking off all of their "to do" list in one day because visiting and enjoying each other was just more important.  Not only did we find that southerners were very kind, giving and hospitable, but who could resist their southern accents and knack for coming up with such colorful life analogies.

 A few of the sayings I especially enjoyed were, "things are flowing just as smooth as milk and honey", "Lord willing and the creek don't rise," and "well bless your little heart." There were times however, when I was a little confused by some of the phrases our southern friends used to say, because their choice of words definitely had quite a different meaning in the northern culture I grew up in. 

One such phrase that really threw me for a loop when I first heard it was when parents would sternly instruct their chi kids "Quit being ugly!" My initial thought was that it seemed kind of mean for a parent to tell their children that they were ugly.  After all, didn't God made each one of us special and beautiful in our own way?  And even IF a parent thought their child was borderline homely, how in the world could they expect their kids to "quit being ugly" all the sudden, right then and there.

 

After learning the true southern meaning behind this phrase, I soon realized that these were very insightful words and would forever become apart of our family's vocabulary, and for good reason.  You see in the south, "being ugly" does not at all refer to what a person looks like on the outside. What they are actually calling attention to is the unlovely condition of a person's inner heart when they are not doing right. This idea goes right along with what we are told in Proverbs 27:19, "As in water face reveals face, So a man's heart reveals the man."  I can't even tell you how many times I have used this analogy with my kids over the years.  It has definitely helped them see the importance of needing to get rid of an ugly heart and replace it with a clean and beautiful heart.  

 

Living in the south was an amazing experience and I'm thankful to not only have picked up on some of their vocabulary, but I have also adopted their down to earth, no "beating around the bush," slightly sassy attitude in parenting.  Southern people are extremely sweet and loving but also let it be known that they expect certain respectful behavior when it comes to their children.  I noticed that they do not make or accept any excuses for wrong behavior and disobedience, and they want it fixed as soon as possible.  Southern parents seem to nip disobedience right in the bud and make sure their child knows when they need to "quit being ugly" and promptly change their heart. 

We should all keep in mind the fact that it's our own personal choice every day whether or not our actions and attitudes are ugly or beautiful.  God tells us in Proverbs 4:23,

Everything we think, say and do flows from the condition of our heart.  If our heart is ugly because we are allowing sin to fester down deep inside, the evidence of that sin will eventually spill over into our thoughts, attitudes and actions.  We may think we're skilled at covering and concealing our sin, but if it's not taken care of and confessed, the ugliness will most definitely rear it's head sooner or later.  Our heavenly Father does not allow us as His children to make excuses for harboring and in pride trying to cover our sin instead of confessing and forsaking it.  1 John 1:8, "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us."

Maybe the next time we're in sin and are deliberately refusing to let it go, we need to focus on the fact that if our heart is ugly, we are not guarding it like we should be.  I believe this southern phrase "Quit being ugly!"is totally biblical and that the world would be a lot better place to live if we all took heed to the wisdom behind these three simple but life changing words.

 

 

 

NO MORE LIES!

Recently I have spent much time on the phone in an attempt to clear up a matter with one of our utility companies.  We were being charged for a service every week but soon realized that we were not actually receiving the service as promised. I am a very trusting person and I have had a difficult time comprehending why anyone would purposefully lie about something so obviously deceptive. Especially in dealing with a professional business, it is extremely exasperating when discovering you have been lied to and they refuse to admit any wrong doing.  

When this whole fiasco began, I just thought I had overlooked something in the situation and that this

company was telling me the truth.  After further investigating this aggravating dilemma over several weeks, my suspicions were confirmed.  We were not receiving the service every week that we were paying for and I was not crazy or mistaken as had been implied by this company. Although at times I really wanted to cry, my goal throughout the many phone conversations with their customer service department was to lovingly “speak the truth in love” and to be a calm and Christ like example.

I must honestly admit however I was slightly frustrated at this whole ordeal and had to confess my inner anger to the Lord.  Even though I realize that this was a minor ordeal in the grand scheme of life, I definitely did not like the feeling of being deceived and having it implied that their neglect was somehow my fault.  Thankfully now after a few months, it all seems to be resolved since we have switched to another company and have been enjoying the fact that we are now receiving the services we have paid for. Of course, I recognized right away that God had indeed allowed this whole situation to take place in my life to reemphasize the horrible effects that deception has on us.  I know He would want me to share with others what He’s been teaching me through this process. 

No one ever likes to be lied to but every one of us has been deceived by someone at some point in our lives.  We may even recall instances where we believed something to be truth only to find out later that we had been tricked.  No matter how serious the situation turned out to be, it is definitely not a good feeling to know that you have been taken advantage of.  Once we come to the realization that someone has lied to us and we’ve fallen for their deceptions, how does that seem to affect us?

1)  We tend to feel violated and used.  
2)  We realize that the one who deceived us may have NEVER had good intentions for us at all.
3)  We learn to be more watchful and purpose NOT to fall for any other schemes in the future.
4)  We put up our guard and purpose to stay as far away from that deceiver as we can.
5)  We warn those we love to be very careful not to ever trust the one who has deceived us.

When we've been purposefully deceived by strangers, acquaintances, friends, family members or even utility companies, there is always something far deeper taking place beneath the surface.  There is actually a more serious spiritual battle hidden beyond the obvious.  All around us every day we have spiritual warfare between the forces of good and evil battling for our lives.  Satan, the father of all lies knows he will lose the final war against God so he is trying every tactic under the sun in an attempt to bring as many people down with him as he can.  For those who have put their trust in Christ’s shed blood on the cross, our enemy can only but hope to get us distracted from making an impact for Christ’s kingdom while here on earth.  For this reason, believers must constantly be on guard to fight the battles we encounter every single day so that we will not become casualties of our enemy.

God lovingly warns us in John 10:10 of the MASTER deceiver whose plan for our life is destruction and death.  Satan is a thief whose only goal is to “steal, kill and destroy” believers and cause as many problems as he can for us.  Nothing has changed with the Devil and his intended path for us because He is pulling the very same destructive schemes on us today that he did with Adam and Eve.  In John 8:44, we are told that “…he is a liar and the father of lies.” God tells us that Satan is our enemy, he is the accuser, the slanderer, the deceiver and murderer.  We must take seriously the warning we are given in I Peter 5:8 to “Be sober, be vigilant because our enemy the devil roams around like a roaring lion, looking for those he may devour.”   

I have definitely seen people whom Satan has devoured.  I have personally witnessed the destruction that comes from choosing to believe the Enemy’s lies. Every one of us has experienced the heartache of our sinful choices and the destruction of the iniquities of those around us.  For many years, I made chose to believe SO many of Satan’s lies and I know without a doubt that my physical life would have ended early if God had not awoken me out of my spiritual slumber.  The enemy had specific plans for my demise and the destruction of my marriage and our family and believing his lies was playing right into his schemes. 

I’m thankful that God brought some serious trials into my life to get me to see the seriousness and reality of my sin so that I could confess it before it was too late! I was blinded by my sin, but when the blinders came off by comparing my heart’s condition to the TRUTH of God’s Word, I finally saw my sin for the ugliness that it was!  I'm done feeling used and cheated by someone who ONLY desires my destruction. I'm now more aware of all of the deceptions that the Evil one puts in my path.

We often wonder why we see so many Christians that seem to be going off the ‘deep end’ and throwing away everything that is truly ‘good’ in their lives and exchanging it ONLY for heartache and destruction.  Satan makes that which is "good" look bad and everything that is "bad" seem inviting, which is part of the deception that we too often fall for.  The devastating consequences from our sin are not always quickly seen. Satan uses a SLOW progression into sin to wear away at our defenses.  He always begins the battle by tempting us subtle lies because we are more likely to fall for believing the “little” deceptions first which eventually lead us way further than we ever thought we would go.  The progression of sin is often slow and gradual.

IF we CHOOSE to:  

      1)  We LISTEN to the lie, (then sooner or later-)
2) We ENTERTAIN the lie in our mind, (sooner or later-)
3) We will eventually begin to BELIEVE the lie. (sooner or later-)
4) We will decide to ACT on the lie.

Once we act on the lie, we not only bring devastating consequences and pain to ourselves but to everyone else around us. There are always other innocent casualties from our sinful choices!  Countless children, spouses, parents, families and friends also suffer needlessly because of our selfish decisions that begin from us believing the lies Satan tells us.  We can all recall examples of this very deceptive process in our own lives and the lives of those we love.

No one likes to be lied to! As a Christian, which lies have you listened to? Which lies have you chosen to believe? Which lies have you acted on? We’ve been warned by the God of the Universe about how Satan wants to destroy us.  It’s our choice to either heed God’s warnings or choose a life full of heartache, pain and regret. If you feel used and deceived because you’ve fallen for the Enemy’s deceptions over and over, you must not lose hope.

 God always offers a new beginning and His mercies are brand new every single morning.  As long as we are still breathing, it’s NEVER too late for us to humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness from our sin. Please take it from someone who knows and has experienced God’s forgiveness so many times.  We CAN live a blessed life from here on out and replace and combat Satan’s lies with the truths of God’s Powerful Word.