I Am Not Responsible for Jesus

It all started out in a good place. I loved Jesus with all of my heart, soul/mind, body, and strength. When you love Jesus like that, it makes a huge difference in the way you live, the way you think, the way you breathe, and it spills out into the lives of those around you. A lot of people enjoyed, appreciated, admired, and were thankful for the spillage while others... not so much. 

I have tried to figure out over the years what went wrong and where. Am I like the seed cast among the thorns and the cares of the world choked it out (Matthew 13)? I have determined that is not the case for I have born fruit and I continue to bear fruit even if seems to be less flourishing than it should be. However, the question remains. What went wrong?

This morning, I was thinking about someone I grew up with. (I was informed yesterday that he is very sick with COVID-19.) When I think of him, a whole lifetime of memories cascade through my heart and mind like a waterfall. They are too many to write here today, but once again this question of what went wrong came to mind. I realized some things.

I have loved Jesus from my first memory. In my heart of hearts, I wanted to do what was right because I wanted to please Jesus and not disappoint him. I didn't want to bring him shame by my words and actions. He was my everything. As persecution arose and gathered strength from those who did not like the spillage, the pain mounted. Confusion mounted. I fought bitterness, because I knew that would defile me and others around me. However, fear crept in the back door and with every episode of persecution I became more fearful and more confused. One day I realized that people expected me to be Jesus-like to the point that I wasn't allowed to be human. If I messed up in the least little way, those who knew about it acted shocked and horrified. On the flip side of that, if I tried to establish boundaries or express needs, I was ignored because I was too rigid in my efforts to please God. Eventually, a belief took root in me that was absolutely false. It is a belief about my responsibilities as a child of God.

Over the years, I grew to feel responsible for others and their choices regarding Jesus. I felt responsible for the consequences of their decisions. I wanted them to have the same sweet fellowship with Jesus the I had and I didn't understand why anyone would fight such a thing. I also grew to feel responsible for Jesus's reputation. I felt that the way I lived and the choices I made had such power over others that I could cause someone to turn from him if I did anything to tarnish his name. 

I wanted to be Jesus' defender and shield 

when it was his job to be mine. 

As this realization opened to me this morning, I began to comprehend the enormous weight I have been carrying all these years. No wonder I burned out! No wonder I sought refuge in someone who seemed to want to defend and protect me. Jesus seemed to have become impotent in that department when he allowed nominal Christian peers to torment me, when I believed that I had to take up the sword and shield to protect Him. Granted, I did not do all of this knowingly. It was a process over time, a chipping away of my person by allowing others to run over me, believing that turning the other cheek, forgiving, and covering a multitude of sin with my love was the right thing to do in a situation in which it was not the right thing to do. I was burned out and I didn't even know what I was or how I had gotten there. 

So, this morning I have come to realize for the first time that it is not my job to protect and defend Jesus. He is God. He is strong. He has overcome. My job is to love him with my whole heart, soul/mind, body, and strength. And even that, I confess, I cannot do this on my own. I can only love him as he gives me the strength and the grace to do so. As my past choices have so plainly revealed, I can only love him and give myself to him because he first loved me and gave himself for me. 

Please, Lord! Help me to love you better!

Confessions of a Prodigal Daughter, 1

I walked into the counseling office, barely holding my heart together as, little by little, I felt it shredding inside my chest. When had things gone so wrong? How far do I travel back in my history before finding where the pain all began? And at what point did my heart start to go off the rails? 

Now that imminent danger had passed, I had space to explore my past – all of it. 

Psychologists have fought for years over what molds a person into what and who we are. Is it biology? Is it environment – home or otherwise? Is it traumatic experiences or over-sheltering of parents? Is it our own sin-filled souls? There are so many things that contribute to who we are and who we become. The honest answer is that it is all of those things and more. 

As I sat in the chair and thought of my past, I saw the pain stretch out before me, daunting and unending.

I realized as I talked with my therapist that the further I went back in time, the further I needed to go. I felt an overwhelming sense of grief as realization struck me of the immense suffering I have endured throughout my life. How do you unwind a ball of twine so tangled and tightly wound? Yes, people have hurt me. Yes, people have betrayed me. Yes, people have failed me. And, yes, I have done all of those things to myself. How do any of us survive this world and what is the point, anyway? 

Don’t stop reading.

Truth is, we are all broken people, sin infecting our souls – every last one of us. We fail ourselves and each other every single day. Perhaps unwittingly, but we fail just the same. So who is to blame for all the pain and dysfunction in this world? We all are. 

But there is good news. 

Jesus never hurt or betrayed or failed anyone, and Jesus knows what it feels like to be hurt and betrayed and failed. Yet, his love is so deep, so full, so free, so powerful that he not only forgave all the wrong done to him, he died for all the wrong done to him. He loved us so much that he suffered in the Garden and suffered on Calvary and suffered excruciating separation from his Father. 

This is something I struggle to wrap my mind around. 

I confess that this is a hard concept for me to grasp and, even after decades of his faithfulness to me, the walls go up. The walls go up when I get scared. The walls go up when I feel threatened. The walls go up when I feel weak. The walls go up when life feels out of control. The walls go up when I’m tired of the battle. The walls go up when someone disappoints or hurts me. The walls are always going up. Yet, Jesus loves me through it all. Even when I can feel my heart beating hard and stubborn inside my chest, he keeps on loving me. Why?

Jesus knows what it is like to be human. 

He has suffered the daily grind of life. He has suffered humiliation and rejection. He has suffered the loss of loved ones. He has waged war against temptations to his limited human flesh. He knows what it is like to be hungry, tired, distraught, sad, loved, unloved, all the same emotions we struggle with in life on a daily basis. He understands our frame because he has lived in one. Sinless, yes, but it was a finite human body with human needs and limitations and emotions all the same. 

He was not born knowing he was God incarnate. 

He grew up being taught the scriptures, learning as he grew up that he was the Messiah, growing into the knowledge of what that meant for his future. He knew, because the prophets had written about him. 

So, what is the point?

I’m not really sure, other than it brings comfort to my pain-filled soul knowing Jesus suffered in life like I do, knowing he has compassion and unending, unfettered, unconditional, and too often unrequited love for me. And this is what calms the storm inside as I sit in that chair and stare at the unending stretch of pain threatening to consume my soul. Jesus tenderly holds all of my pain (no matter the source) along with all my tears (shed and unshed) in his gentle, loving, compassionate hands. When my heart is hard, he ever so gently massages it until it relaxes in his embrace, never getting frustrated with me, never laying my heart aside, never abandoning me to my pain. 

So what is this to you?

My friend, if you do not know my Jesus, he will do the same for you. If you do know Jesus, remember that he will never let you go. And whether you know him or not, never forget that you can trust him even when you can’t.  

Dear 20-Year-Old Self, Live Like You're Loved

Driving home from campus today, Hawk Nelson's song, "Live Like You're Loved," played on the radio. I was thinking through the lyrics as I listened and found myself so happy that I am so well loved by my Lord Jesus. I couldn't help but think of different seasons throughout my life and realize I have been "loved" in so many different ways by various people (all types of love, not just romantic love). But, what is love? How do people in our society think of or define love? How did I view love when I was twenty? 

What would I say to my 20-year-old 

self about love if I could? 

I would tell myself that "LOVE SETS YOU FREE."

"BE WHO HE MADE YOU TO BE!"

I would also say, "Engrave 1 Corinthians 13 on your heart! Hardwire it into your brain!" 

The Way of Love - 1 Corinthians 13

13 ... 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ... 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

(ESV, via BibleGateway.com, to see what else the chapter says about love.)

These verses provide a great tool of measurement whereby you can examine yourself and how well you love others. At the age of twenty, I did use it as such.  Where I failed was in not using it to measure the love of those who claimed to love me. If I could, I would drill this need into the brain of my 20-year-old self.

Is the one who claims to love you patient and kind? Do they envy others or boast in themselves? Are they arrogant or rude? Do they insist on their own way? Are they irritable or resentful? Do they rejoice at wrongdoing or do they rejoice in the truth? Do they bear up under things? Do they believe in and hope in and endure all things in faith? Do they have faith and hope and love abiding in their hearts in such a way that the fruit of the Spirit is displayed in the day to day way in which they live? 

Do you expect this high and holy way of love from yourself? And do you also expect it from others - especially from the one with whom you think you want to spend the rest of your life? Do not let the temptation to settle for less EVER WIN! 

To my 20-year-old self I would say, 

"Live like you're loved, because you are!

Be Strong and Courageous...

The cover of this book tells a story no one knows but Jesus and me. I doubt I could ever tell the whole of it. Too much would be lost in translation. But I will tell the story of the day I found this journal.

It was the last day of finals of my Sophomore year at CIU, December 8, 2017. My last final being at 5:00 p.m. I met three of my boys in town for dinner. After a very long day of going in and out of the cold, wet weather, I wanted to go straight home. My youngest, however, wasn't ready to call it a day. He wanted to stop at one of his favorite shops on the way home: BAM (Books-a-Million) or World Market. BAM won out.

Perusing the inspirational book aisles, I decided to peek at the journals. This one caught my eye. I reached for it, and as I did the Word printed on it took hold of my heart. Like tossing a pebble into a pond, my mind and heart rippled back to a young girl of 13 reading a letter from a pen pal who had shared his life verses during a time of desperate need for her. Joshua 1:8-9. Paul had no idea the profound affect that letter and those verses would have on me. 

The amazing thing about ripples is, they are never in one direction and I found this verse rippling into my future, as well as my past, seamlessly connecting them by a beautiful thread called promise. At the close of my first Sophomore semester, it was as if God were saying, "Look! See everything I have brought you through? KNOW that the same courage I have given you throughout all your yesterdays is the same courage I give you both today and all your tomorrows. Be strong. Be courageous. Do not be discouraged. I am Jesus. I am your Father. I AM and I am yours. I will be with you wherever you go, every step of the way." 

There is power in the Word of God and I felt His power that night. With His power came peace that only He can give. I admit that I am not particularly looking forward to a Spring filled with difficult classes. I want to learn, yes. Learning in such a time crunch is another matter altogether. But, just as my Father has been with me through every other semester, I know he will be with me in this one, as well. He loves me. He is the one who called me to this path. He will not call His servant to a place where He does not go or where He will not provide all that is needed. 

"Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief." Mark 9:24

Part of my calling is to to become a professional counselor so I can help others in ways I have been helped. Another part of my calling is to share with others, through writing fiction, articles, or blog posts, what the Lord has taught me through my personal experiences. A question one of my dear writer friends put forth on her wall this week was, "If you could tell your 20-year-old self one thing you wish you'd known then, what would it be?" My answer to her question was this:

"I could write a book on things I would tell my 20 year-old self. The biggest thing would be to keep obeying God no matter how much pain it brings into your life because that pain is far easier to bare than suffering the consequences of even one disobedient choice."

I had no idea this would set my mind to listing several things I wish I could advise myself at the age of 20, but when I sent a list of seven things to her via messenger, she said, "That's a blog!!" And so here I am, blogging about it. There's a story behind the answer I've given here. It's the story I refer to in my opening paragraph. There's too much to tell and, if I told you, too much would be lost in translation. But, perhaps I can tell you parts of my story a little at a time. Are you game?

Linnette R. Mullin is the author of Life-changing Romance. Her debut novel, "Finding Beth," is a multi-award-winning novel which may be purchased at www.CrossRiverMedia.com or www.Amazon.com. It is available in paperback and Kindle. You can visit her full website by going to www.LinnetteRMullin.com or clicking the "Home" button. You can also find her on Facebook. Linnette is a mother of four amazing sons, the owner of one beautiful mini-rex bunny, and a full-time student working toward her Masters in Clinical Counseling. Jesus is her Hero!

Does Jesus Really Give Abundant Life?

What does Jesus mean when he says he has come not only to give us life, but to give us life abundantly? I've pondered this question more times than I can count. Life is filled with pain and destruction and loss and so many tragic, traumatic things. How can your life possibly be abundant when you've just lost a son to suicide, or you find yourself pregnant and alone, or your daughter has entered into a life of substance abuse, or you find out your husband has a porn addiction, or your wife leaves you for another woman, or you suffer daily with chronic pain or fatigue or a strange illness nobody understands, or you've suddenly lost your home to flood or fire, or you have to forgo medical treatment in order to buy food, or you wake up one day and realize you're neck deep in an abusive marriage and wonder how you got there? I could fill a book with scenarios of evidence displaying lives seemingly filled with anything but abundant living. So why do Christians suffer such atrocities when Christ promises abundant life? 

In one of my sociology classes, we studied cultures all over the world. As my view of the world expanded, I began to see a very clear trend. In every culture void of the Gospel, a culture of domination and subservience, of abuse and death thrived. Sometimes the cultures were ruled by the matrons - the female heads of house. But usually, the cultures were male dominant to the point that women and children were possessions. (Bear with me. This is not an anti-male rant.) Women and children were not cherished. They were not respected. They were not protected. They were not human. They were possessions to be used up, abused, and discarded as garbage. However, cultures in which the Gospel was brought in and embraced, women and children were freed from slavery and domination. They became regarded, protected, and even cherished. The culture became safer for all to live. People thrived, communities were built up, and progress flourished. Could this be at least in part what Jesus was talking about? No longer does hatred and arrogance and the evils of men prevail, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ frees us all from such bondage. 

Jesus brings a culture of life where once there was only a culture of death. Jesus brings freedom where once there was oppression. Jesus brings fullness of heart where once there was poverty of the soul. Yes, we still suffer the ravages of sin. Yes, death still takes away our loved ones. Yes, people still get sick and deal with devastating illnesses. Yes, people still commit adultery and still abuse the ones they should love most. Yes, people still suffer hunger and deprivation. Yes, tragedy still comes through the ravages of nature. Yes, people still die at the hands of evil men and sometimes BECAUSE OF Jesus. But with Jesus there is the strength and ability to embrace life in the midst of all its devastations. With Jesus there is hope of a better day. With Jesus there is the ability to conquer in our adversities. It is the thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But in the midst of all our trials, distresses, tribulations, and persecutions, Jesus' love gives hope when we would otherwise have none. He frees us from the sin and evil of our own hearts. He gives us faith to believe when there seems to be nothing in which to believe. He gives us love to conquer when hate would otherwise destroy. Jesus gives us life and he gives it abundantly. 

I continue to ponder the mystery of it all. I must continue to remind myself:

what seems to be 

not always is.

I know the character of my Savior. I trust that he never makes empty promises even while I too often struggle to believe his promise over my circumstances. Do you find it difficult to believe Jesus gives you abundant life in the midst of your adversities? What does abundant life mean to you and how do you believe Jesus fulfills this promise in your life?

On the 4th of July

I always struggle to get clear shots of the moon when the clouds are so beautifully framing it. Tonight was no exception. I don't have a fancy camera that can capture glorious shots from such long distances - just my phone camera. This reminds me of when Paul said that though we look through a dark glass now, we will one day see Jesus face to face. Just like my camera phone can't begin to capture the glory of the moon shining through surrounding clouds, neither can my human mind see or understand God as clearly as I want and probably ought.

I've had a glorious four day weekend for the 4th of July, 2017. How I have loved just being mom and taking care of things around the house and cooking and providing for my boys and their friends. I miss being "just a mom." I ache to give my young son the nurturing part of me that I lavished on my older boys when they were growing up. I don't want to just be someone who provides for him. I want to be here for him - not just in body, but in my heart and in my thoughts. I'm weary of having a fractured mind - one that is split into so many directions that I don't have time to stop and attentively listen. However, while I cannot see clearly what God is doing any more than my camera could capture the moon tonight, I do trust and strive to trust more and more that he knows what is best for us and that he will provide all we need for life and breath in order to honor him.

Happy Independence Day!

Inhale. Exhale. Repeat.

 There are moments, days, sometimes weeks when this is all I can do. Just breathe! Ironically, I don't do a very good job of that, either - hence the necessary steps broken down: inhale, exhale, repeat. It's kind of amazing how words affect us. In one day, this ring has reminded me to breathe several times. In the same way, God's word keeps me grounded by its truth. I ran across these verses the other day. The power in them left me dazed. Even breathless. If ever I ask myself why I am here, what is God's will for my life, I will always be able to find it here.

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works." Titus 2:11-14, ESV


Oh, what powerful words! As I reflect on them, I realize more and more how selfish I am, wanting my life my way on my terms. Yet, it is Jesus who redeemed me. It is Jesus who purifies me. It is for his purpose I am to live because I am a part of his people. Who am I to tell him how to do his job? I long to be able to submit to my Savior more and more each day, and I know by his grace I will continue to grow in this way. Not simply because I wish it to be so, but because my Savior intends to make it so. That doesn't make my effort to live a godly life any less, but it does make the outcome a sure thing. Oh, the struggle is real, but so is my Jesus.  ~Soli Deo Gloria

Discovering Patience Through Healing

Photo by Linnette R Mullin

We are all on a journey, are we not? The question is, what journey are we on and where exactly are we going? Is there a destination to which we look forward while we're on life's journey and, if so, what is that destination? 

For so many years of my life, my goal was simply to survive the tests, trials, and heartaches that came into my life faster than I could breathe. I am a survivor, but only because God saw fit to reach down and pluck me from the torrent that had grown to out-of-control proportions. I was dying - body, soul, and spirit. Am I being a little over-dramatic? No. I cannot tell you in a few simple words from where I came, but I can tell you that the deep, dark vortex witnessed only by those closest to me was all too real. Thanks be to my heavenly Father that not only am I rescued from the trajectory I was on, but I'm walking a whole new journey.

I'm traversing a journey of healing and patience.

As I press onward, its seems the more I heal, the clearer the reality of what my life had been becomes. The pit is too deep, too dark, too slippery for human feet to safely ascend. But my heavenly Father goes before me, comes behind me and surrounds me with his strength, guidance, grace, goodness, loving-kindness, tender mercies, and forgiveness. And with each step the way gets a little brighter. I'm learning so many things about myself and my God. I'm learning to trust his tender love and care for me. And I'm learning to be patient - to be a child who waits on her Father, who renews her strength and mounts up with wings like an eagle, who runs but does not grow weary, who walks but does not faint. I'm learning to establish my heart...

"... establish your hearts ..." (James 5, ESV) "Jesus 'set his face to go to Jerusalem' (Luke 

9:51). Jesus knew what was going to happen in Jerusalem. He knew that the pressures were mounting and that his enemies were growing in number and ferocity. He knew that ahead lay desertion, trials, blood, sweat, tears, torture and agonizing death. But he knew something else. He knew that beyond all of these lay the resurrection, the ascension and eternal glory at the right hand of his Father, so he resolutely set out, refusing to yield to the pressure around him.

"This is exactly the spirit in which the writer to Hebrews says we are to live the Christian life: 'Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God' (Hebrews 12:1-2). The Bible does not speak of patience as waiting for something to happen, but rather as resolute endurance while things are happening and pressing on regardless of what may happen. Biblical patience is not rooted in fatalism that says everything is out of control. It is rooted in faith that says everything is in God's control." 

~ John Blanchard in "Truth for Life," pg 397-398.

I have a vision of the work God has for me to do down the road. I can see that there is a lot of hard, exhausting work in route - to prepare me, to develop this kind of patience in my heart. I can already see the fruit of patience sprouting in me and I'm so thankful! I have so far to go, but I'm also encouraged to see that he who began a good work in me has not given up on me. He continues to work in my heart and in my life and I am grateful beyond words! 

~ Soli Deo Gloria

A Humble Prayer

"O Lord, by all thy dealings with us, whether of joy or pain, of light or darkness, let us be brought to thee. Let us value no treatment of thy grace simply because it makes us happy or sad, or because it gives us or denies what we want; but may all thou sendest us bring us to thee, that knowing thy perfectness we may be sure in every disappointment that thou art still loving us, and in every enforced idleness that thou art still using us; yea in every death that thou art giving us life, as in His death thou didst give to thy Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen."

~ Phillips Brooks

Be Like Children

I've developed a love for reading my sermon journals. I tend to be thorough in my note-taking , so in a way it's like hearing the sermons all over again. Here is a quote about a passage that is very dear to me as it was this passage I heard when Jesus came to me. (Mark 10:13-16)

"We must come to Jesus like little children... Wholly dependent on the Father. We must say everyday, "Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross of Christ I cling."

~ Dr Derek Thomas

Comfort for the Brokenhearted...

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." 

~ Psalm 147:3, ESV

I'm learning that when Scripture says God does something, it's a promise. He does not need to say "I promise" in order for it to be so. If he says he does it, you can count on it. I don't always understand the ways in which God accomplishes those things (most of the time I don't), but they are promises nonetheless.

Here it is said that God heals the brokenhearted. This is not something we are called to do for ourselves. Not that we are not responsible for our feelings, our actions, or our re-actions, but ultimately the Father is the healer of our broken hearts. 

He not only heals, but he does it in a very personal way: "he binds up our wounds".  I can see it now. Jesus bent over someone's broken frame, gently wrapping every wound in order to stop the bleeding, in order to hold together what's broken, in order to protect the wounds from infection... in order to heal. 

Some wounds take longer to heal than others. They get bumped and bruised and torn back open or re-fractured. These are the kind that tend to scar. Some scars are nothing more than a visible reminder of the wound that had been and they no longer cause pain. Yet, some scars will forever be tender when touched, bumped, poked, prodded. Healing doesn't always mean every ounce of pain will be taken away. Some wounds will hurt until the day Jesus takes us home where the ultimate healing takes place.

I know these things in my head. To a large degree, my heart understands and knows the truth of it. However, sometimes the pain is too great to feel the truth. That's when I must go back to the promises of God's love and faithfulness, of his tender mercies. He will heal my brokenness. Your brokenness. Whether gently or aggressively, our Father will thoroughly, tenderly, lovingly bind every wound and heal our broken hearts. It's a promise! Do you believe it?

Don't be Afraid ...

... to walk in the light!

How can I hold my head up when I know they wonder? When I see the quizzical, skeptical look in their eyes, what do I do? I want to recoil. I want to go back to hiding inside my safe little shell. The shadows are lonely, but they feel so much safer. Nothing is more painful that to have fellow Christians doubt your sincerity and question your character even when there's nothing but false accusations to give credence to their skepticism. 

The book of 1 John has always been a favorite of mine. God brought this verse to my attention the other morning and ministered to me in such a powerful way! "Walk in the light, Linnette. Don't be afraid. Don't hide in the shadows. Just keep walking in the light as Jesus is in the light and you will have fellowship with your Christian brothers and sisters! That's a promise! Not only that, but you know all those pesky failures and the sins you fight against, repent of, and yet still feel so guilty over? The blood of Jesus has washed them clean. You don't have to try to justify yourself for I have already justified you. So, go! Stop being afraid and just walk in the light!"

What a beautiful and awesome truth! Does the weight of your circumstances or the guilt of your sin make you want to hide in the shadows? 

Is the Gospel Annoying?

Peter and John took Jesus' great commission to them and ran with it. They preached the Gospel of Christ with great passion and without apology. The promised Holy Spirit had come and set their hearts and tongues on fire.

The Captain of the Temple and the Sadducees, however didn't like it. They were greatly annoyed (Acts 4:2) that these mere fishermen were preaching about Jesus in the Temple. Why? Probably because the people were actually listening. So, what did this Captain and the Sadducees do? They had Peter and John thrown into jail overnight. Did that stop the people from coming to Christ? Nope. Over 5,000 men (not to mention women and children) came to Christ in spite of their preachers being arrested.

So, since the Gospel is apparently annoying, here's the question. Is it wrong to annoy people by telling others about Jesus? Should we be concerned about offending others with the Gospel and risk being labeled "intolerant" or "radical" or "politically incorrect"? Or even "annoying"? What do you think?

~

"And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand." 
~ Acts 4:1-4, ESV

Stepping Away from Distractions

I attended a lady's luncheon at my church this week. Our speaker shared her testimony - how God took her self-sufficiency and chiseled away at it over the years through various trials, and how his grace is always sufficient. It reminded me of my high-minded dreams as a young woman and how God yanked it all out from beneath me in 1997. I became gravely ill, never to be a whole woman again in this life. At least not physically speaking.

I've been on a bit of a high lately from fellowship with dear friends that God has brought into my life. This evening I crashed. Fatigue slammed me and out came the grouch. As I was thinking of a devotional for this week, I reflected that this is probably the reminder I'm in need of:

"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." ~ John 15:5, ESV

I need to step back and take some time for myself and Jesus - away from the distractions of my wonderful family and their many needs... away from my writing world and the demands it brings... away from everything that distracts me from my focus on Jesus, my rock who never changes.

What about you?

Heaven Sent Help

I love the book of John. It's filled with so many wonderful pictures of Jesus. Of his heart. Here, he's getting ready to leave this world. The cross is just around the bend. He's preparing his disciples for his departure and he wants them to know that, even though he is going away, they will not be left alone. He will ask the Father to send them a helper that will never leave them - the Holy Spirit. Even the promise that he won't leave them as orphans shows the depth of his love for them. They are his very own - his children. 

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." ~John 14:16-18, ESV

This is the same Jesus who loves us, as we will discover later in John 17. He loves each of his followers with a love so vast we cannot begin to comprehend. 

Do you sense the love of Jesus for you in these verses?

This Same Jesus...

My senior pastor just retired and returned to his home in Scotland. Before he left us, he reminded us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The same Jesus who was born of a virgin, who taught in the Temple, who ministered with his disciples, who was betrayed and crucified, who died and rose from the grave, who ascended up into the clouds to return to our heavenly Father - THIS Jesus is the same today and will be the same Jesus for all our tomorrows. THIS Jesus will one day come again the same way in which he left.

Is he your Jesus?

Sing, Bless, and Tell Every Day!

Glory on Display

I'm sitting here on my computer as a storm rumbles and shakes the earth. It reminds me of how big and fearsome God is and yet how merciful he is, too. 

He could squash us likes bugs and yet he extends his mercy for the sake of his Son, Jesus, and what he did for us on Calvary. Can you think of anything that displays God's glory like a sky-lighting, earth-shaking thunderstorm?

Purpose in Life

Reading Psalm 96 on our nation's Independence Day proved to be rather eye opening for me. Perhaps if followers of Christ were to follow this edict, we would live less confused and more at peace in the providence in which our God has placed us... and more at peace with God.

I know I don't want to be like the Israelites in the wilderness whom God spoke about in verses 7-11, "...Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah... For forty years I loathed that generation and said, "They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways." Therefore I swore in my wrath, "They shall not enter my rest."

What do you think? Shall we sing to the Lord and bless his name? Shall we tell of his salvation from day to day? If so, what are some ways in which we can do this?

The Joy of the Lord...

The people of God had been estranged from the Lord for decades. 

Now that they had returned, they were eager to hear His word and worship Him. 

They were sad because of the disappointment they'd been to God, 

failing to keep him first in their lives. 

Have you ever felt that way? 

This was God's response to their discouraged hearts that day:

Is the joy of the Lord your strength?