Here in the United States, this is the time of the year when we stop for a day to give thanks for all of the good things in our lives.

This year is especially meaningful to me. You see, one year ago, on November 11, the doctors told me that I wasn’t going to live to see another day.

I was told to get my affairs in order and I stopped and looked back at my life. There was only one relationship that needed mending and I was able to get that accomplished.

My children wanted to come to the hospital and visit me but the doctors thought that what I had was airborne contagious. It took all my strength to tell my kids that I was okay and that they didn’t need to come to see me. I was concerned that they or my grandchildren might catch what I had, so I didn’t wanted them anywhere near me. Of course, I found out later, that I had not been as convincing as I thought. My younger daughter and her husband dropped everything and headed to Dallas.

The thing I remember most was searching my heart to see if I was afraid to die. The blessed thing was that I had no fear. I knew that if I died, I would be in heaven with Jesus and the family members who were Christians who had proceeded me. I was sad to be leaving my husband, my girls and my sweet little grandchildren but I thought if God wanted me home, then it was the right time to leave.

With that assurance to comfort me, I settled back into my bed but continued to battle whatever it was that was trying to kill me. You see, even with the assurance of heaven waiting and the pain of fighting a hard battle, I still chose life instead of death. I wanted to live but would gladly leave if it was God’s will.

When the day dawned on November 12, I was still alive. For me, that is the day I will consider a new life day. A second chance at life. I knew that I wasn’t going to die. I was given an opportunity to finally put God first in my life in all things. Something I should have done decades ago.

The nurses weren’t so certain. I heard later that they would start their shifts and then come to see me even if I wasn’t their patient. They were willing me to live and I was so appreciative of them. Nurses are a wonderful comfort. They are in the trenches with you all day long.

Not only did I live, I actually sprung up and started talking (and talking and talking.) The results of their steroids working. I made a really quick recovery to be moved into a regular pulmonary unit and was talking and eating and talking and eating. I was beginning to walk and made sense of my days. Though it was against my pulmonologists orders, when she went home for the weekend, the doctors released me and sent me home. That day was November 19.

Once home, I was weak but happy. I could get from my bed to my living room and back with only a little bit of help.

I’ve come a long way over this year. There have been ups and downs along the way. There are times, like now, where I’m battling enormous pain and trying to find my peace and joy in life.

No matter what, I am thankful to still be here. To still be alive. I get to spend time with my husband and kids and grandkids. I can spend a little time each day reading when the pain levels are down. I can even do a little bit of my hobbies to keep my mind active.

This is a wonderful week for my husband and me. We consider it one of the best Thanksgiving we have had. Our thanks are to God for the great life that we have. For family, friends and country.

Most of all, though, my thanks are to Jesus. It was through his sacrifice that I have peace of mind. He died for me while I was still a sinner and his enemy. He loved me and wanted me to be his own. When I discovered that love and gave him my life, I experienced a new birth. The new birth was in my spirit. God now lives in my heart, thoughts and mind.

It is because of this, I could be willing to leave this world without fear. As you give thanks, whether it be on our Thanksgiving or just on your own, consider whether you have this inner knowledge, this peace, this love in your life.

If not, please look to Jesus. He is waiting for you and he loves you more than his own life. While he was dying on the cross, he looked across time and saw you. He saw everything you have done or said or thought. He saw all of this and said to his Father, I will give everything up for this one. If only this one will come to know me as their savior, I will be happy to made this sacrifice.

As I give thanks for my new life, I’m also giving thanks for anyone who reads this and comes to know Jesus today. Please be the one that I am thanking God for. I hope to see you in heaven one day.

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

God is so good to us. He provided a paradise for us to live in. He wanted nothing but the best for us. He wanted to walk among us, to live with us and care for us. He gave us only one rule. He also gave us free will. With free will, we broke the one rule. Yes, each of us did so when Adam took the fruit from Eve and ate it without question.

Today, we continue to sin without question. Both Christians and non-Christians alike. If it feels good, looks good, seems okay or simply that we want to, we do it.

Is it any wonder that the entire universe is spiraling out of control? First there was global cooling with a new ice age coming, then global warming, then climate change and now we have cycled back to a space age freeze. Whether you believe the scientists or not, there is something going on. While I believe the cause is man-made, I don’t agree that it is something that is happening because of fossil fuels or cars or cows or anything else of this nature.

From the perspective of a Christian, I see the world and the universe breaking up because of man’s sin. That which was beautiful and perfect is now imperfect. It’s like a beautiful, hand-made bowl. It worked perfectly and functioned great. Then the elements worked against it and found a man-made flaw from which it developed a crack. It started leaking and eventually fell apart and became useless.

That is how I see the world. The beauty and perfection was in Eden, then the crack first developed with Adam and Eve. Today, we are coming apart. Everywhere you look, there are more cracks developing and it is only a matter of time before the whole thing crumbles into uselessness. Nothing more than refuse where perfection and paradise once was beheld.

God does not mean for that to happen. His son Jesus stepped into time to give us a way to be saved. He lived for us and died for us and gave us an eternal pardon. All we have to do is accept it and repent of our sins that he died for, then ask him as God to live in us and to guide our steps going forward.

It is so easy and yet, for many, so difficult and for some, seemingly impossible. We live in an age where admitting you are wrong is unacceptable. It’s better to stake your spot and be unwilling to change. Yes, that’s the answer. As long as you say it is so, then, for you ,it is so.

That’s a fancy way of saying you are sticking your head in the sand. You don’t see anything beyond your point of view.

This is true of many Christians, too. They fix on a point or two of the Bible and will argue themselves silly. Some of them gang up on others in social media groups to ambush them. One will post and the other will answer and then they wait for someone to disagree with them and then comes the battle. They argue mostly with other Christians and that seems a poor use of their time.

Rather than spreading the good news of salvation, this comes across at best as wrong-headed pride in your skill as a debater or at worst, a form of bullying. There is also more than a tinge of setting yourself up as the definer of Christian behavior and then as judge when you do this. Remember Matthew 7:1-2, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Non-Christians visit Christian sites and pretend to be part of the group. They then dig in and ridicule beliefs of others. The Christians there try to talk with them and change their minds. It can go on for hours. Christians – at some point, shake the dust from your shoes and move on.

Arguing never solves anything. We are generally speaking, the creatures who stick with our ways through thick and thin. An argument won’t reach anyone. Only God can reach into their hearts with love and compassion.

It’s time to reach out to the world with love. Yes, it will be thrown back in our faces time and time again. There will, however, be times when the love of God reaches through to even one person.

I truly believe that there will come a time when no matter what, no one further will come to believe in God and accept Jesus as their savior. It is at that point that the end will come.

However, that time isn’t now. How do I know that? Well, the end hasn’t come yet. It might come tomorrow or it might not for a thousand years. I have to behave as if time is short and that God needs to use me and other Christians to reach those last souls who will accept salvation.

The wonderful promise we have is that someday the heavens and the world will be made new. That perfection and beauty will surround us once again. Once again and forever, God will walk among us. He will live with us and care for us.

This time it will be forever. Brothers and sisters, I hope you will be there with me.

Revelation 21:1-8

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new! ”Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars — they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Sometimes it is difficult to know what to say to someone who has not yet accepted Jesus. It feels like sharing religion is intrusive and it is easier to take a live and let live attitude.

The problem with this is that by letting someone walk away without hearing about salvation is not letting them live, it is letting them die. Without the saving power of Jesus in their lives, people will not experience eternal life.

Sharing is easy once you start. Of course, you have to pick the appropriate time and place. Shoving religion in anyone’s face is a sure way to turn them off. They can be so offended that they won’t see the truth of what you speak.

Sometimes, all you need to do is mention that you are a Christian and the people around you will scatter. They don’t want to hear what you have to say. That’s okay. You can’t force the story of Jesus on any one. It’s up to the Holy Spirit to give them the desire to hear more.

But if you hold back because you don’t know what to say, just tell them your story about how you came to know Jesus. It will be the most compelling story you can tell to anyone. No one can say that you just don’t understand. That you misinterpreted the facts of a situation. It is your life and your story.

I know how hard it can be. When I first became a Christian, I tried to share my faith. I didn’t know much really about it. The other person was interested and starting asking questions that I didn’t know the answer to. I wrapped up with discussion quickly and said I would find someone who knew more to talk to him. I did do that and I don’t know what happened beyond that because I never checked back.

For almost fifteen years thereafter, I didn’t share my faith with anyone else. I was afraid that questions again would surface and that I wouldn’t have answers to give. Certainly circumstances came up when I felt the draw to share but I pushed those feelings aside and kept my story to myself.

I now realize how selfish I was all that time. I had an answer that people were waiting to hear and kept it hidden away. It’s kind of like being in a burning building. You know the way out but it seems no one else does. You could just head on out and save yourself and leave everyone else to die in the blaze.

The other choice is to make yourself heard above the noise, above the fear and the panic that is happening. You would shout, “I have the answer that will let us all escape from this disaster. Follow me and I will show you the way.”

I would hope that most of us would chose to share the way to safety. That we would not want others to die without trying to help. It is exactly the same with sharing the love and saving power of Christ.

The people around you are in the midst of a dying world. Things are starting to come unglued. They are looking for a way to be safe in a world that seems to have gone mad.

If you look at the news on a regular basis, you will see the hate mongering from all sides. Sometimes, you want to identify with one group or other. But the truth is that as a Christian, there is only one group you can belong to. You are a child of God and part of the body of Christ. Nothing else can approach that in importance.

We are told to be in the world but not of the world. That means we have to live in the midst of the chaos. However, we are not to join in the fray. No politics, no social issue, no cause should ever come before Jesus.

Remember, too, that Jesus told us to love one another. Especially those who despitefully use us. It’s easy to love someone who loves you right back. But to love someone who is intent on hurting you and destroying your life is not easy. But it is what we are supposed to do.

So, if the opportunity comes up and you feel the leading of the Holy Spirit, you should share that you are a Christian. Sometimes, people are amazed at how calm we are in the middle of turmoil. Telling them why can lead them to more questions.

Then again, maybe it won’t. It isn’t your job to save anyone. All you can do is make sure that they know that there is a way. They may ask questions or not. You may simply have planted a seed. Let God do the watering and watch for the growth. You will have done everything that you really can do.

Seizing the moment is important but there are times when you must follow the rules. If it is not allowed in your workplace to discuss such matters, respect that and know that God knows that as well.

Once I was willing to share my faith again, I would sometimes ask a co-worker out for lunch or dinner if I was feeling led by the Holy Spirit. While the time out was definitely social, if the opportunity came up, I would take it.

Most of my co-workers knew my history and wondered why I was still happy and at peace with my life. It was very difficult to do this after my son passed away, but I knew that it was that time or never.

When he became ill, the first thing I asked him was if he knew Jesus. He was shocked that I didn’t already know. I admit I was not living the Christian life well but such a catastrophic illness brought my priorities straight. Once he told me he was saved, I then asked my other two children. Once I knew that they knew Jesus, I was able to relax.

I knew that no matter what happened, it would only happen in this life. Someday, we would all be together again. It is something that I think about often. Sadly, there has been enough loss in our family, that there will one day be a big reunion. We will then be brothers and sisters and live with Christ forever.

The peace that I have from that knowledge is something that I want everyone I know to share. I want those I don’t know to have the same peace. My desire, like God’s, is that everyone will be saved.

Because of that experience, I am now brave enough to talk to people. Quite often, when someone comments on my life, my response is that I am at peace because I am a Christ-follower. You would be surprised at how many people then ask for more information.

In a day of easy access to knowledge and information (via the internet), one might think that everyone would already know the story of Jesus. That isn’t the case. So many people, and not just those in third-world countries, have never heard the truth of the Gospel.

They don’t know that God sent his Son. That the Son was also God. Jesus came here to die for us, to give us a way to undue the death sentence we have because of our sins. He came to defeat Satan, sin and the grave. He lived a sinless life so that he could be the perfect sacrifice. He took on the sins of each of us upon the cross. He took our place. It is his sinless blood that was shed that day to provide us a cover and a cleansing of our sin. On judgement day, God will only see the sinless blood and will not condemn us for our sins.

He then rose on the third day after defeating death and sin. In doing so, he also gave us the way to eternal life. He promised we would be with him forever and that he was going to prepare a special home for us where we will be together forever.

Before he left us, after raising from the dead, he told us what he wanted his followers to do. He told us that we were to spread the good news of salvation, which is known as the Gospel, over the entire world.

So, the next time that God leads you to speak to someone, remember what Jesus told you to do. By sharing the love of Jesus, you are doing what you were told to do. Some people will try to argue to tell you what is wrong with your religion. Don’t give in and argue or somehow try to convince them on the basis of your intellect and knowledge.

Just tell them your story. You don’t have to be a Bible scholar to do that. You should be reading your Bible daily (even just a verse or two.) That way you will have the knowledge in your head and the Holy Spirit can make use of it.

If you are a member of a church or a group of Christians, and someone asks questions you cannot answer, don’t leave it at that. Tell them you will either find the answer or find someone who can answer it for them.

With practice, you will be surprised at how easy it becomes. While some people turn and walk away, many more are willing to at least listen. Even just asking someone if they would like to go to church with you and maybe have a brunch or lunch after can be a way of sharing. When people see and feel the love of God in a spirit-filled church, they will be astonished and may want to experience it more.

This turned into quite a long letter. Not really surprising for anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis. It was a long way to say, follow Jesus’ last commandment. Spread the Gospel to the world. That is the extent of the job he set before us. Everything else is secondary to this.

It’s taken a long time for me to understand this and this blog is one of the ways that I share. I’m pretty much housebound but opportunities still arise to tell others and even invite them to the church that I attend (watching the sermons streamed live.) I follow the prompting of God because I’ve seen firsthand what happens when I ignore it.

I want others to have the same peace that I have. I want them to feel the same love from God that I feel. I hope you have the same desire to share the redemptive power and love of Jesus as well.

Matthew 28:18-20

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

We’ve all heard the children’s rhyme. I suspect we all wish it really was true. The truth is words are powerful. It’s easy to be hurtful or flippant or simply cruel. It’s even easier these days to do it in social media or texts or emails. You don’t have to be face to face with the person you are trying to tear down. You just do a hit and run and off on your merry way you go.

I was physically abused by my mother and older brother when I was younger. I didn’t fight back but I learned to have a terribly sharp tongue. I could reduce a person to anger or tears fairly easily. Sometimes, they wouldn’t even realize that I was mocking them even controlling them with my words.

It has been a very difficult habit to break. I’ve been working on it since I became a Christian and that was over forty years ago. Most of the time, I can control myself but every once in a while, those hateful thoughts and words tumble out of my mouth in sharp and hurtful ways.

I know when I am saying something that I shouldn’t. I wish I could claw those words back into my mouth. But, I can’t. Once they are out there, they have the ability to damage or even destroy someone. All because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.

I’ve talked about my chatty behavior from steroids. That’s a whole different beast. I simply can’t stop talking at times and any filter I have had in the past seems to be gone. Thankfully, as the steroids are tapered down, this crazy talking spat is calming down as well. I look forward to the day when I can simply be silent and not feel that I have to share everything I am thinking about.

Hurtful words, though, are not chatty. They aren’t informative or any good thing. They are meant to hurt. To tear someone apart. To make them hurt, too, the way I am hurting inside.

I’ve found that when I do this, it is usually in retribution. Something I do when someone has done or said something that hurt me. I smack back with my mouth and say terrible things, which even if true (and they generally are), it isn’t up to me to point out.

Sadly, I know I am not alone in this. It seems we all have problems controlling our words. With the venues open to us, the vitriol gets spilled out to the world. The hurt grows, the hate grows, and then some individuals take action.

It happened this week in Pittsburg. Who knows where it will be next week? It seems that these awful and unimaginable events are becoming the norm. So much so that in less than a week, the news reporting of this heinous act has moved on.

How can that be?

Words produce emotions and emotions produce action. Those words can be uplifting and the resulting emotions and actions can be good. Too often, it is the opposite. The words are mean and destructive and the emotions and actions wreck unbelievable damage.

We need to walk ourselves back from the brink of disaster. Not just as a country but as a member of mankind. These events, while highly publicized here in the USA, are not limited to us by any means.

There is so much hate in this world. Simply pick a country and you will see the divisions within are mounting. Politics, religion, caste systems, social orders and more are the basis for hating your neighbor. For wishing them dead and gone. Wishes can turn to words and words to emotions and emotions can take action.

It’s easy to say it is the crazy people who do this. At some point those individuals let their hate craze their minds. I don’t want to try to get into their minds. I just want this type of behavior to stop.

I don’t know if it is because I am a Christian or if it is because I am simply a human. I do know that Jesus did not want us to hate. He wanted us to love one another, even if the other person was the opposite of me.

Without Jesus, that might be hard. For those of us who are Christ-followers, he promised that his yoke was easy and his burden light.

We could and should learn to love one another. We should not look at others and scream “Sinner!” just because those others sin a different way than we do. Because we are all sinners, even those of us who are saved.

Hate the sin and not the sinner has become a catch-phrase. Something people say out loud but rarely practice. Whether it is towards another Christian or an unbeliever, it is really the way we should view them. And don’t forget that you are a sinner, too.

Jesus didn’t forget. He knew all about you and me. He saw us at our worst and knew the full amount of the sins we would commit throughout our lives. He still loved us. He loved us more than life. How many of us can claim to follow in his footsteps with regard to this particular command?

I’ll keep trying and I hope you will too. Each time I say something hurtful or mean, I’ll repent and ask God to help me from making that mistake again. Left on my own, it will never happen. It’s only with God’s help, I can do this. So can you.

Ephesians 4:29-32

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

It seems that I take two steps forward and then one step back. At the rate that I am going, it will take much longer to walk my path. Thankfully, I’m not walking alone. When times are hard and I feel tired and weak, God takes over and gives me strength to carry on.

I’m not the most careful of people except when I try very hard. I do things that I have always done before without thinking that I am not the same. I’m changed and I’m different. I’m weaker and less self-sufficient. I need to learn the caution that will help keep me from getting knocked down again and again.

The most recent event was in moving the rolling stand that my notebook sits on. I had just switched from a light weight stand to a much more heavy-duty one as I needed the larger work space.

Well, I’ve pulled and pushed that table with ease until last week when it seems to have been caught on the carpet. I pulled hard and got it to pull into place but it was difficult. What I didn’t realize at the time was that the rolling feet on the cart had been set to lock and I literally pulled more than a hundred pounds.

When I has younger, that might have been nothing to be concerned about. But older and with my health issues, I should have known better. So I severely pulled my right abdominal muscles. That, in turn, pulled muscles on my side, then my lower back and, finally upper back.

The pain was pretty incredible – I’d take one step and then the spasms would make me stop and cry out in agony. I determined to go to the doctor to get medicine and see if anything further needed to be done.

While at the doctor, I showed her a rash that had just broken out. She knew immediately what it was and could guess why it happened. I had a case of shingles which had been brought on from the stress of the pain of the muscle pulls.

Shingles have their own kind of pain – like fire on the end of your nerves. We found out that there is a new vaccine for people 50 and older. One shot and then a second one two months later, and you won’t have shingles – period. My husband got his first shot and they told him I can start when I am off steroids so long as I don’t have an active case at the time.

That may be never as I am taking anti-rejection meds in place of steroids but they effect the immune system as well. When I see my fancy schmancy pulmonologist in December, I’ll ask him what he recommends.

So, I’m on a bunch of new medicines, none of which are pleasant and all of which have lactose in them. I’m severely lactose intolerant, so the cure is carrying a reminder that I don’t want to have to take these again, if possible.

I’ve had to scale back my arm exercises to only ten reps and not all of them at that. No weights instead of two four pound weights. I’ve also stopped carrying a weight when I walk. All of these things were making the abdominal pull stay in a severe state.

I’ve lost much of my progress but have learned a lot about myself and trying to take more care. To look before I leap and to think before I take action.

I’ve thought about the various set-backs I’ve suffered this last summer and realized that they were all brought on by my careless and, frankly, stupid behaviors. While I have had to stop and then start to move forward again, the way I have moved forward was in a new and better way. For instance, when I walked on a sore foot and had to stop walking, when I restarted I walked only two times instead of six or seven times a day. I walk now for an hour each walk but that leaves me the rest of the day to rest, exercise, craft, read or even write.

I also had to stop my standing leg exercises but with my easier, sitting ones, I am now doing the exercises without oxygen on. I will progress to standing leg exercises again at some point but it will be by using my own lung capacity without additional oxygen required.

When I dropped a four pound weight on my foot (I didn’t realize the table I set it on wasn’t stable), I had to put my foot up. Since I can’t use an ottoman in my chair (hip issue from the earlier issue), I started having a rest on my bed in the afternoon. That turned into a much needed nap time, something I haven’t done since I was five years old. It’s not long, maybe a half hour of sleep with an overall total of an hour for resting my foot.

With this new injury, so far the improvement has been with my arm exercises. While not doing weights and reps reduced, I am doing what I can but without additional oxygen. That would have have been a huge undertaking to try to accomplish at the rate I was going before.

So, good has come from each of the instances where I goofed up. I’m in a different place, it’s true, but there is a higher goal to reach and these new ways of exercising are the ones that I need to work on to reach that goal.

As I pondered these thoughts, I realized that the setbacks in exercise I have had could be compared to the times in my life when I have intentionally sinned and done so on an on-going basis. I would think life was going swimmingly and that I was responsible for everything good. That I had my cake and could eat it, too. Then I would do something I knew that I shouldn’t do and then my wonderful life would crash down on the ground in pieces.

Just like with the Israelites from the Old Testament, when my pain and suffering from my sins caught up with me, I would cry out to God to save me. And he did over and over again. Each time, he would pick me back up. He would set me back on my path. What was interesting to think about was that each time this happened, I would start my path on from a new and different place. A better place then were I was before.

Each time, I learned a new lesson. Each time, I’ve learned to rely more on God. Each time, I started from a spot that will bring me to the ultimate goal that God has for me.

There is a lot of I and me in this entry. But all you have to do is insert your own name and circumstances. God is there waiting for you. He’s ready to pick you up from your sins. He will set you on the path that he wants you to walk. He will give you tasks he wants you to do. If you sin again, like me, he is ready and willing to forgive you and to pick you up once again.

Our God is loving and forgiving. He loved us so much he gave his own son to die for us. Jesus came to earth to love us and show us how to live. Every follower of his, since he came to this earth, has been a sinner who still continued to sin even after they were forgiven.

Those sins won’t cause you to go to hell but they will stop you from doing the work that you were made to do. They will take you out of God’s protective hands. You aren’t here by accident or by chance or even because you were planned by your parents. You are here because God thought of you and knew you in all your sins even before he created this world.

There is something for you to do. Now is the time to do it. If you are Christian and sin is in your way, take your true repentance to God and ask him for his help. Learn from your sin and don’t do it again. You’ll start on your path again from a new and wiser place.

If you are not yet a Christian, Jesus died to save you. He knew everything about you. The worst thing, that secret thing that no one can know that you do or think about – he knew it. He still loved you. He loved you when you thought you were the worst and most unlovable creature on this earth. It was at that point, he said: I love you so much, I will give up my life so you can live eternally in heaven with me at your side.

All you have to do is accept his gift. Acknowledge that you need saving, that Jesus was God providing himself as a sacrifice. That because he rose again, you will live eternally beside him. Ask him to guide your path. To keep you from sin. But, if you do sin again, repent and ask for his help again and he’ll pick you right back up. His love will never leave you. He will never disown you. His love is forever and ever. Even when you goof up.

He has a plan for you as a follower. Something that no one else can do. His plan is right for you. It is what is best for you. Please accept him as your savior. That way you will be saved to eternal life and you will begin walking on your new, heaven bound path.

Jeremiah 29:11-13

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

The world looks at the church and isn’t too impressed by what they see. They see people who say one thing and then do the opposite. They laugh in scorn and accuse us of being hypocrites. What’s more, they are correct. We are all hypocrites, including those who stand and accuse us. Those who aren’t Christian don’t care about the label, they aren’t being held to a higher plane.

The thing is, that by being followers of Christ, we are expected, by our accusers, to be better somehow. That means better than they themselves are. That we are all hypocrites doesn’t matter. They see it in Christians as “proof” that there isn’t a God.

There have been at least three Christians I looked to for leadership who ultimately proved to be hypocrites of the highest order. For a time, I felt crushed but then I looked to God and realized that he was my leader. I had made the mistake of trusting these three individuals and looking up to them rather than to God.

Christians know that we aren’t better, just that we have already come to realization that we are sinners. We know that we have no way to dig ourselves up from the morass of our sins.

When we become Christians, in our thankfulness to Christ, we try to follow his ways. Some days we are more successful and other days we fail. It’s not that we have to always become better (much less perfect), its our efforts that Christ looks for. We are still doomed to sin because we are sinners in a fallen world. When we realize what we have done, we repent and confess those sins to God and then, with God’s help, leave that sin behind.

Sometimes, it is that easy. Other times, Christians continue to struggle. The sin may be addiction of some sort or other. It can take time to overcome it and, on the way, we may fail time and time again. The thing is that we continue to try to overcome with the help of Jesus and, over time, we can leave that sin behind.

The label hypocrite is really painful because it is undoubtable true. Each person in a church will admit it as it pertains to everyone but themselves. But, to some extent, we are all hypocrites if we say we act like Jesus. We are learning and one day, in heaven, we will completely overcome all sin.

Until then, we will probably continue to say one thing and do another. It won’t necessarily be about being Christian. It may be about work. It may be about our kids. It may be about how we spend our time or spend our money.

It is important to recognize this about yourself and correct it, especially with regards to Christianity. Otherwise, you are in danger of becoming hearers of the Word and not doers of the Word.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t study the Bible. You should read from it everyday. It is God’s message to you about how you should act, what you should do and what you should say.

Just be careful of becoming someone who merely studies the Bible. God didn’t intend for us to store up his message just for ourselves. He wants us to share his message with the whole world.

As Christians, we know that mankind was made in the image of God. We are his special creations who bear his likeness. As Christians, we should be reflecting God to the world. That should be shown in how we act, what we say, and what we do. People should look at us and wonder why we are different from everyone else. They should want to find whatever it is that we have and have it for themselves.

If you look in a mirror, you should see God reflected back along with your own image. If you see only yourself, then it isn’t surprising that you would walk away and forget your true image – that of being a child of God, created in him image. You might want to ask yourself if you have become someone who listens and then fails to put action to what you have heard.

Jesus had a particular disdain for those of his generation who fell into the category of religious individuals who merely study and who do not put it into practice. The Pharisees were the religious group who studied the Law of Moses and yet did not put the intent of those laws into their everyday lives. The danger is in becoming “religious” where you can talk about what Jesus said and did but never try to do what he said and did yourselves.

James 1:22-25

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it — not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it — they will be blessed in what they do.

Temptations abound around us. Everywhere I look, I see something new or different that I can try. Some things seem harmless and others seem the opposite. There is just so much out there that one can do or buy or watch or read.

It’s almost as if all of it is being provided as a distraction. If you are kept busy enough, you won’t notice the emptiness you feel inside. You will try to fill it with things or people or words or anything but what that void is actually made for. It is a God-shaped hole and only he can really fill it.

But we endeavor to find other answers. I have called my temptations by another name – collections. Yes, I have had many “collections” in my life. Unlike some people who focus on one thing, such as toys, or pottery or clothes or what have you, I have had mini-collections of many different sorts.

For a year or two, I will be obsessed with one thing, such as books, puzzles, dolls, fabrics, etc. I will look for and buy all that I am tempted by. Then I lose interest until the next thing catches my eye. Like other individuals, I have rationalized my put aside “collections” as something I will do when I retire.

It’s funny how life gets in the way. I became ill and was told to get rid of those collections as they were what was hurting me. As it turns out, after I got rid of much of them, the doctor who told me they were harmful wasn’t quite right.

Actually, in the end, in a totally different way she was correct. The burden of all of those temptation collections were dragging my soul down. Each time I thought of the total amount of them, it would make my head hurt. It also make me wonder what in the world I had thought I was doing when I was so intent on tracking each item down.

You see, I now understand that in giving into those temptations, I was actually giving in to sin. I was putting those “collections” above everything else and devoting my whole attention to looking for and buying them. It’s really not any different from the first temptation, when Eve was enticed to try the fruit of the one forbidden tree. Something different and out of reach suddenly becomes the one thing you really must have.

That the items in my collections were ultimately unsatisfying isn’t to be surprised. Sin may feel good for a time but, in the end, you are left in worse shape than when you started.

I know that many others go through this same cycle. I see it every day. It is like an addiction run wild. I have seen people fall apart emotionally, go to the brink financially, and lose connection with reality just in trying to fill their collections. Since only God can satisfy that empty place, their collection and filling it becomes a burden. It can also become something that isn’t used such as mine. You see, it becomes the visual of the unhappiness we feel inside.

For some, their collections are actually put to use. They buy what the will use and use what they have. That’s where I am at this point. I gave myself a more reasonable amount of hobby supplies. I am finally spending my time enjoying working with them rather than the endless search of looking for more.

At the same time, I have re-connected with God. Not that he ever left me. No, I was the one who looked every other way but to him. Having been stopped cold in my tracks and tethered to my house, I have been able to sit and think rather go and do all the time. Thinking has led to praying and praying has led to a renewed relationship with God.

The collections and their temptations have dropped away from importance in my mind. Things that I thought meant a lot suddenly seem trivial and not worth my time. I still love to craft and probably always will. However, crafting falls so far behind things of true importance in my life, that I have to schedule a time for crafts.

God is first in my life, then my family and extended family come next. My country is third and then the rest of the world rounds out the list. By putting God first, many other things come floating to the top. Sometimes it relates to family, sometimes to others but mostly it has to do with dealing with my own life.

You see, as Christians, we still are tempted. We still sin. It seems like it happens, in one way or another, every single day. By having my relationship with God first, I am able to go to him and ask for help in resisting temptation or to confess my sins to him.

It reminds me of the Israelites in the Old Testament. They were given blessings from God. They then started pursuing the worldly things. From their it was an easy step to start worshiping the “gods” they made with their own two hands.

While in those days they actually made physical idols, today we worship idols that are mostly in our minds. We create a “god” of someone or something and then we look to that god to give us the comfort, validation and fulfillment that we seek.

Of course, that will never really happen. We’re doomed to disappointment. Just like in the days of old, when the Israelites turned away from God, the world will crash in and try to destroy us. When that happens and as the Israelites did, we cry out to God to save us. For a time, God answered the Israelites and saved them from the doom they created for themselves.

But, in the end, he let Israel be ransacked and dispersed because their sin had become too great. Still, even in doing so, God promised them that in the last days, he would gather their remanent back together. That he would be their God and they would be his people once again.

Because of the unending cycle of the Israelites, I give a lot of thought to things I do these days. Even the things that seem good and fun and right. Sometimes those things would be okay but my motivation is what is wrong. Why do I want to do something? Why do I want to buy that thing? Those are the types of questions I ask myself these days. If the answer doesn’t line up with the Word of God, then it is something I need to pass on.

If you are like me and struggle with temptations, whether they be for things, people, feelings or otherwise, you need to know that you will never find an answer in the things of this world. These temptations are really addictions and the result of giving in is really to sin.

Ask God to help you with your feelings and desires, Ask him to guide you, hold you and keep you strong. Ask him to give you the strength to say no and to move on. To help you to spend your time in the ways that God wants for you.

This is something that I do now constantly. It seems like an unending process but I am finding it easier to say no each time. I hope this is true for you as well. God gives me strength to resist and will do so for you, too.

John 2 15-17

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.

For everything in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — comes not from the Father but from the world.

The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

Whenever I attempt to do something on my own, it either fails miserably or, worse, if it is successful, it fails to bring me any joy. When I take God out of the equation, there is little left there to be good. It may seem, for a time, that things are going great. But when push comes to shove, I find myself coming up lacking… again and again and over again.

We humans have a tendency to think that we are what the world revolves around. That everything we think, do or say are pearls of wisdom to pass on to the next generation. We say things like, pick myself up and dust myself off and go do things my way. There’s of a whole lot of me in that sentence and absolutely no God. Some people even “quote” the Bible to justify their stance by saying that God helps those who help themselves.

Only one problem… that quote isn’t in the Bible. God doesn’t look for people who are strong and don’t need his help. Good thing, too, as no such man or woman exists or has ever existed. Even Jesus needed the Father.

God is looking for people who know that they are broken. People who know that they need help. People who are looking to him and crying out in their need. He wants people who see their flaws and their sins and who know that they need a savior.

So, why do we think that we know better? Why do we think we can do it on our own? I think it is the same sin nature that caused Adam to eat the forbidden fruit. At some level, we think we are the gods of our own destiny. That through our own efforts we will be able to make our path straight, our future bright, and our life peaceful and true. Sadly, this is true of Christians as well as those who have not yet met Christ.

It’s easy to forget how much we once needed God. How we broke down and confessed our sins and asked for Jesus’ help. We forget we once knew we were so lost that God had to send his own son to willingly die to pay for our transgressions.

For Christians, that doesn’t mean we have lost our salvation. But it does mean that we are living out of the will of God. When we move into that territory, we are also moving away from the protective hand of God. We start living in the world and for the world and by the world. So we shouldn’t be surprised when the world knocks us for a loop.

We seem to forget who is the ruler of this world. He is out for blood. He is a liar and a thief and a murderer. He wants nothing good for us and only bad. For non-Christians, he wants to be sure they never meet Jesus and accept his gift of pardon.

For Christians, he wants to stop us from doing the work that God has planned for us to do. He knows he has lost the battle (when Jesus died and rose from the grave), but he wants to bring as many more down with him as possible. He stands in the presence of God and points out everything we do, think or say that is utterly wrong. I’m sure he laughs and jeers and mocks us all. Especially when we try to do things on our own.

Whether you are sick or well, whether you are financial secure or on the edge, whether you have it all together or things are breaking apart, it doesn’t matter. In all things and at all times, you need God to be leading you. He needs to be front and center in everything that you do.

That isn’t a magic potion to make everything go great. What it will do is give you peace that you are not alone. That the battle is not one that you will fight by yourself. That, at the end of it all, God will love you no matter what. Even if you fail. Even if everyone else mocks you. You will have done God’s will.

Who knows why he had you do what he had you do? Who knows the mind of God? That there is and was a reason, there is no doubt. You may never see the fruit of your labor but, if you followed the path that God set before you and did the labor he asked of you, rest assured there is fruit in the future.

So, for those who think that they have to do things on their own. Stop it. Back up and ask God to help you. Ask him if he wants you to do whatever it is. Ask him to heal you. Ask him to provide for you. Then ask, no matter what happens, that his will be done for you.

Even Jesus wanted something different from God’s plan. Just before he was betrayed by one of his own disciples, Jesus prayed that God give him a different way. He didn’t want to die. But, he was willing to let God’s way be his way and so he submitted himself to death.

Jesus showed us how we should pray. He showed us how to submit to God’s will and plan. If Jesus could do it, then we should all be able to do it as well. It is hard to learn to submit and each and every time, the worldly part of me wants to object.

For some people, it is their physical prowess that they think will save them. For others, like me, it is their mental ability. So, okay, you can either fight your way out or figure your way out. Right. Not right. Look at the world around us. All of it in shambles. It is falling apart more as each day arrives. Our sin is destroying everything and yet we think we can fix it. Right. Not right. No way.

Brothers and sisters against each other. Parents and children at odds. Turmoil in the nations, fights among the races, hate for each other. Nothing we are doing is working. It is only making it worse.

Think of that the next time you think you can go it alone. When you think you have the strength in yourself and of yourself to fix whatever is wrong.

Don’t get me wrong. God will use you to do his work and your work will be successful. When it is God ordained and directed, no matter what the outcome seems to you, it is blessed and correct and exactly according to plan.

Christians, look to the Bible to see what God expects from you. The Bible is the Word of God and the instruction book for us to follow.

For those who are still searching, know that God has a plan for you, too. It starts with accepting Jesus as savior. He loved you before you were born. He died for you then, too. Even in the middle of everything wrong you have done, he still loved you and loves you and will love you. If you want to feel this kind of love in your life, reach out to the one who died for you. He has a pardon waiting for you. All you have to do is accept it and him as your savior. No good works, no special cases, no extra steps. Now, don’t wait. You don’t have a promise of a future, only of today.

On our own, there is nothing we can do. With God on our side, there is the world to reach out to. While the world will continue to fall apart as sin rips the universe in two, we can still love the Lord and help and love one another. It’s what he wanted us to do.

Psalms 39:4-7

“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.

You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.

“Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be.

“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.

There is so much need in the world. There is so much that needs to be fixed. We seek God’s face and we ask that he provide answers and solutions. We pray and we pray and we pray. Sometimes he gives us the answer that we look for and, sometimes, the answer is not what we want. Then there are the times when it seems like he isn’t listening and isn’t giving us any answer at all.

Is it that God doesn’t hear your prayer? Sometimes, it feels that way. There can be problems at work or problems with a family member. Finances can have you at a standstill. There can be lonely times when you want to have friends. There are times when the events in the world are crushing down on you. You may be looking for how to live your life according to God’s plan without having success. Perhaps, worst of all, is when illness or death are at your door.

I know that all of these things have been issues for me. It’s when times get hard that we instinctively turn towards God. That’s when we cry out for help.

When things are going great, we somehow think that it is through our own efforts. That God didn’t have his hand on us and it wasn’t him raining down love and blessings. There may be a cursory “thanks” in our prayers (especially at mealtime) but otherwise, we pat ourselves on the back, give ourselves a mental high-five and congrats. Then we go about our way, continuing on with what we want and what we think and what we do without stopping to give thanks and glory to God. We don’t ask if what we are doing is what God wants for us because, hey, we’re doing great!

Then it all crashes down. The cry that is lifted to heaven is “Why are you letting this happen to me?” It suddenly becomes all of God’s doing and no longer our own. We then ask God to fix things so we can continue our lives as we did before.

Is it any wonder that God doesn’t answer?

We haven’t thanked him for the good times. We haven’t given him real praise. We haven’t asked if what we “feel” is good to us is what he wants for us. We blame him when things go wrong. We want him to fix everything just right.

It reminds me of a little child who expects their father to take care of everything. The child who expects Dad to give them a level field to walk without any obstacles in the way. Dad is there to fix the boo-boos and make sure no hurts come our way.

That works well for a toddler. But just like a child is expected to grow and start making good decisions and choices so, also, are Christians supposed to grow in knowledge and wisdom. We are to stop being little children and start growing and functioning as part of the body of Christ. We have the jobs that God wants us to do and we use our life experiences to do them.

But we want to act like the toddler. It is easier to be given everything and not have to do the hard work. I’ve recently heard of a phrase that is being used to describe this. It is called lawnmower parents. These are parents who make the path smooth for their children. Seems like a great idea until those times when the parent either can’t or won’t do what is needed. In those times, those over-protected children (adults or otherwise) will have no skills to work through their issues on their own. In effect, the efforts of the parent to create a smooth and perfect life for their child has, instead, ruined the child for real life.

God won’t do that for his children. He knows that we have to stumble and fall and pick ourselves back up. He gives us the support and the love that we need in order to learn. He doesn’t do everything for us. He created everything for us but it is our job to live our lives for him not the other way around.

So, when we cry out in prayer, he hears us. He sometimes answers what we want to hear. When it is something that we don’t like, it is time to pull out the Bible and find out where and why we have gone astray. Why it is that what we are want to hear isn’t what we have heard.

Then there are the times when it seems like God ignores us. When we ask and we ask and we ask and nothing seems to happen. I’ve found that in those times, I need to look at what I am praying for. It has generally been that I am praying for the wrong thing. I keep forgetting that this world isn’t really about me. It is about God and his love and his glory and his grace. When I get my prayer life together and I start to pray for the right things, then God provides the answers that I seek. The answers may not be what I want or think I need but it is what God knows is right and just for me.

This type of “unanswered” prayer happens to me all the time. I suspect that is true of all of us. It was when my 18 year old son was ill with a harsh and acute form of leukemia that I first learned this lesson. For fifteen months, I prayed that God would heal him. It seemed like God was answering prayer. My son was ill, when into remission, relapsed and had a successful bone marrow transplant.

When things seemed to be going right, my prayer changed to asking God to use my son to bring glory to Jesus. I was upset that my prayer changed. I wanted to keep praying for healing but I could not change my prayer. Then I thought perhaps it meant that my son would become a preacher and show the glory of God to the world.

Then my son died of a massive brain infection caused by the suppression of his immune system.

It seemed like God wasn’t listening. My son was gone from me rather than healed. He wasn’t there to preach the gospel or for me to hold him in my arms like I wanted to do. He was in heaven with Jesus and, thankfully, out of the horrible pain he had been enduring.

It took months for me to realize that David’s death would be used to bring glory to God. That it would be up to me and others who knew him to tell his story to the world. So, when I thought that God wasn’t listening, he was busy answering my prayer. The answer wasn’t what I wanted when I wanted it. It wasn’t anything like what I thought it should be. What it was, was the answer that needed to be provided. It was the answer that was just and true. I had to grow enough to understand it and, once I did, it gave me both solace and a new perspective.

Since then, I’m careful about what I pray for. I look to the Bible to see what it is that God wants for me. My prayers are for needs and even desires but with the caveat that, even so, God’s will be done.

I still get answers that surprise me. There are times when no answer comes through. I have to slog my way through my trial. The difference is that I know that God is listening. I know that he has answered my prayer. It may seem that I am facing my trials by myself but in truth God is holding my hand. Just that understanding makes what seems unendurable, something that I can endure.

I’ve learned to trust God in good times and in bad. To trust him through those times when my life isn’t going very well. You see, for God, all time is his time. There isn’t good or bad times. That is in my mind. I need to trust him regardless of how I feel or think or what I want or what I think I need.

He has a plan that is unfolding and I am part of it. He will use my life and then, at the end, I will go home to the kingdom he has prepared for his children. That is the promise that we Christians can depend on. It is the ultimate answer to all of our prayers.

It’s easy to love God but not so easy to give him our trust. It is time for us all to learn to trust God even when it seems like he isn’t answering our prayers.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

How do we know what God expects from us and what he wants us to do? Simply put, you should pray. You should also read the Bible. It is God’s plan for eternity. In it, you are included. Everyone is.

It’s always easy to find an excuse for not reading the Bible on any given day. I know that I have a number of excuses at the ready. It’s busy, I’m tired, I’ve already read enough today.

I forget that reading the Bible is like a breath of Life to the soul. Just like the unconscious action of breathing in and breathing out, so should the effort of reading the Bible be for the believer.

The thing is, we get caught up in the troubles of the day and try to sort things out on our own. If we took the time each day to read God’s word to us, we would find the answers that we seek. We’d find that sorting things on our own is hard work (and really rarely right) whereas having God provide the answer is easy and is always, always, always right.

My husband and I are reading the Bible in a year. We’ve found a plan that allows for five days of reading and adjusts to any week you wish to start. It also adjusts for those times when you fall behind. Instead of staring at a date that has passed (which shines like a huge failure sign), each week is consecutively numbered. That way, when we fall behind, it just adds at week on at the end. We may not finish in 365 days but finish it, we will.

We decided to use the Amplified Study Bible this year. That is a huge endeavor as some days there is more to the study portion than there is to the reading portion (though the Amplified is quite verbose compared to other translations.) We’ve found that we are getting more from this reading than we have previously. So, even though it takes longer, I recommend it if you can find the time.

In addition to reading the Bible, prayer is important. I start each day speaking with God and we end it together in joint prayer. Before I start writing, I always give myself to God. I ask that he use my past, my future, my words and my hands to bring glory to his name. Then I thank him for what he will do with me and through me and thank him for sending his son. I ask that the name of Jesus be lifted up and high and that he uses my words to draw others to Jesus.

You see, in the end, when Jesus left us to return to the Father, he left Christ followers with two tasks. One was to spread the good news of his sacrifice and resurrection and the other was to love one another.

If you are looking for what God wants you to do, measure it against these two tasks. If what you think you should be doing will accomplish one and/or the other, it is very possible that it is exactly what you should be doing. If it doesn’t do either, go back to God and ask that he remove you and your thoughts from the equation and that he set you on the path you need to follow.

Lately, I’ve seen more and more Christians spending time arguing points with other Christians. They seem to spend more time critiquing the nuts and bolts of what others teach than in reaching out to and teaching the non-Christian world of the love of Jesus Christ.

There is no doubt that false doctrine needs to be routed out. If that is happening in your own church, you should take your concerns to your elders to have them deal with it. If it involves the elders, then get them replaced. If the needed changes don’t happen, flee that church and find one that is preaching sound doctrine.

If it involves another church and not your own, let the members of that church deal with the issue. Stand aside and let God do his work. Just like in the Old Testament days, God can rain judgement down on those who are perverting his Word. He doesn’t need us to spent our time arguing about it.

It may be that you see yourself as a latter day Paul, preaching to and teaching the churches. That’s fine if you also started those churches as Paul did. He was their spiritual leader and it was his job to make sure that correct doctrine was being taught. If you didn’t start and/or attend a particular church, then you are not personally responsible for correcting it.

The church is the Bride of Jesus Christ. Think twice about statements that you make regarding his Bride. Just as an earthly husband would not take kindly to derogatory or inflammatory comments about his wife, Jesus will also protect his Bride from these types of attacks.

But when it comes down to arguing with other Christians, most of the points that are argued are debatable and are of little interest to the non-believing world. Except for one thing. When non-Christians see Christians argue for hours, days, weeks and even years, there is little of interest there to draw them closer. They are more likely to laugh among themselves at how disjointed Christians are and how little of the “love” of Christ really shows through. They will focus on the disunity and see little reason to want to join in.

We need to stop this. We need to stop taking one another apart. We need to focus on what Jesus asked us to do and stop finding busy work on our own.

If you are preaching Christ crucified to an unbelieving world, you are good. If you are preaching to the choir, you need to stop, back up and step back to when you first believed. Little points didn’t matter back then. What mattered was that God, as Jesus the Son, stepped into our world to save us. He lived here and died for you to be saved. Remember the joy of your salvation. When you do, know that there are so many others who need to hear of and experience the saving power of Jesus Christ.

The small points of debating Christianity don’t really matter. There is no way we can definitively answer these points because, frankly, we are not God. We don’t have his mind or his view of eternity. All we have is what we are and on our own, we are a mess. Perhaps, when we enter eternity, we can ask God for his answers. My guess is that we won’t care – just as we shouldn’t care right now.

Arguing among Christians is a tactic the enemy uses to divide us. He has lost and he knows it. All he can do is stop us from fulfilling our jobs. If he and his cohorts can keep us from spreading the news of salvation, he glories in each individual who dies without ever hearing of Jesus Christ.

Someday, I want to stand before the Father and hear him say, “good work, faithful servant”. That means more to me than winning points of argument twenty million times a day. Each day that passes, I feel time is even more short. We’ve been living in the last days for more than 2,000 years so, in a very real way, the end is coming ever closer.

Whether it is today, tomorrow, or thousands of years away, for me, the end can be today. I need to live my life as if each day is the last one I can put into service for my God. When I stand before him, I hope that my last day, week, month or year will stand the scrutiny of whether or not I was doing what Christ asked me to do.

For years, I didn’t pay any attention. It was when life and death confronted me and I chose life that I realized how unfruitfully I had been living. I was like the seeds thrown among the thorns. I let the troubles of life choke out any growth of my Christian life. God gave me a second chance to serve him and serve him, I will.

God has a job for you to do, my Christian sisters and brothers. The job is one that only you can fill. If you are not doing as he wants to spread the gospel of Christ and love to the world, you need to change your efforts. You need to look at what you are doing and make sure you are really serving God and not yourselves.

If you are doing nothing, then it is time to step up and step out. God wants you to do your part. What that is, I don’t know. Seek him in his Word and seek him in prayer. He is just and good to answer you, when you diligently seek him. He will always provide you with the right answer.

Matthew 7:7-8

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.