I used to play-------

                                                   

How many people used to play a musical instrument?  I used to play the piano.  Now I am not saying that I played well but maybe when I practiced I played good.  I played good enough that when the pianist was not available I would fill in as a teenage and actually later on was the pianist for a small church, which was quite a while ago.   I must tell you though the more I practiced the gooder I got.  I don't think I ever got to the excellent level but I did get gooder!

Today for some reason I played the piano.  Wow, I am not even close to gooder. In fact it sounded quite terrible.  The dog even started howling!  I just told him to hush and kept going.  He eventually quieted down.  I probably played for thirty to forty minutes and I must admit that even though I didn't sound gooder,  the sound was a little better than when I first took a seat at the piano.


Then the thought hit me, I am only gooder through Christ!  I am not good on my own!  I am only gooder because Christ died and rose again!  I might get gooder at playing piano by practicing but I only had to accept Jesus as my Savior to know that when I die I will be in paradise with my Savior.

I also had the thought hit me that I did need to get gooder at reading my Bible, praying and listening to the Holy Spirit!  God will take my gooder and make it excellent!

Only through Christ can anyone be excellent!

John 3:16-17 (NIV)

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

The stuff that matters

                                           


I have spent several days going through my husband's stuff.  He used to get on to me because I
had too much stuff.  I must say that I think he had more stuff than I have.   Most of my stuff can probably be thrown away.  Most of Richard's stuff was stuff that mattered very much to him.

Some of the stuff I found was a brief case full of letters, love notes and cards from me.  I found a folder with pictures, notes and achievements that belonged to the kids.  There were his hats, boots,  belts and momentos from vacations.  There was a sack full of maps that he used to plan those trips.  There were cards from the 3rd grade Sunday School from several different years.
There were plaques and awards from jobs where he had worked that dated back to his teenage years.  I found several Bibles.  Some of the Bibles were from family members that had passed on, several of them were his that dated back to when he was a child.

All the stuff that he had packed and stored in a very neat order mattered to him but most of all his family mattered.  There was a time when he tried to keep us all packed and in a neat order.  He eventually figured out that it wasn't going to happen and loved us just like we were,  We were the stuff that mattered to him more than anything except for his Savior!

I do miss my husband but I know he is healed, has no more pain and no more sorrow.  He knows that he will see his family again but that the stuff that he had on earth doesn't matter anymore!  He is with his Savior!

What about you?  What stuff matters to you?

John 5:2 (NIV)

24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

When the Sky is Gray

                                             

This morning I saw the sun peeking through the clouds!  The last few days it has been cold and cloud covered.  Now I don't mind the gray days.  I like cuddling up with my cover and reading a book.  Sometimes I use the days like that to clean.  I know though that there are those that do not like gray days.  They seem to shut down and maybe get a little depressed.  I know though that even though I can't see the sun, it is still there.

It also reminded me that there is a Son that peeks through the clouds and that there are times when I don't see or feel my Savior.  I let the happenings, words and tiredness cloud  the presence of my Lord.  I have to remember that there are times when I won't feel the presence of my Lord but that doesn't mean He is not there.  Those are the days to cuddle up and read the Bible.  Those are the days to clean my heart and rid it of of sin and insecurities.  I know that even though there are times I don't feel the presence of the Lord that He is always there!

What do you do when the sky is gray?  What do you do when your heart is gray?

John 8:12

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world.Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

Psalm 89:15  

 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
    who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.

Have you met an atheist?

I had the privilege today to meet an atheist.   The atheist didn't have horns or fangs.  The atheist didn't have a secret wish to kill me.  The atheist seemed fairly normal until the conversation turned to God and Christians. Until that point in time I had no idea that this person was an atheist.

This person used to think that there was a God and a Savior but not anymore. This person stated that it was through reading the Bible that lead to the decision that there is no God. It is the belief of this person that everybody is deceived and that when the end of life comes the dying person's body will be recycled.  I was told to read the Bible and I would discover the truth.  The truth that there is no God.

I spoke to this person and I tried to tell of Jesus and God but to no avail.  I tried to speak of God's grace and of feeling God in my life, even the times of feeling Him so close that I could feel His breath.  My words fell on unbelieving ears.  I was told that was just my gut speaking.

If this person should somehow happen to discover my blog I would like to tell that person; my gut tells me that Jesus died on the cross for me and for you.  My gut tells me that my body may be recycled back to dust (until rapture) but my soul will meet Jesus.  My gut tells me that the more that I read the Bible the more that I know my Lord and Savior. My gut tells me that I will live in heaven forever with my Lord.  My gut tells me that those that don't accept this free gift will not be in heaven but in hell.

My prayer for this atheist is that the truth will be found!  The truth of Jesus!

John 12:46-48

New King James Version (NKJV)

46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. 47 And if anyone hears My words and does not believe,[a] I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.

Brokenness

The last few weeks I have been pondering on the fact that my Lord and Savior, Jesus came to Earth willingly.  He came knowing that His body would be bruised, battered and broken before His time on Earth would end.  He knew that He would be rejected, mocked and spit  upon but He came anyway.  He knew that He would be nailed to a cross but He also knew that He would rise again and He did.  He did this for me!  It breaks my heart that He had to do this for me.  He knew though that His body would need to be broken so that He could heal my brokenness.

I was saved as a child and knew at a young age the power of prayer.  I also knew that I could take any problem to my Lord.  Even as a child though I had a problem with pride.  Sometimes I was afraid that I would be embarrassed.  I was afraid of what people might think.  Sometimes I was just so caught up in my own self that I could not hear that still small voice.

I found myself many years later broken, bruised and battered.  It was not my body though.  It was my heart. After seventeen years of wedded unbliss I had to let go.  My heart was broken into a million tiny pieces that I thought would never be whole again.  I felt like I had a big D on my forehead.  It was there for everyone to see my humiliation.  I did not even care what people thought.  I was full of shame and regret. I felt so unworthy that I would not even partake of the Lord's supper.  I was so low that I could only look up.

Through prayer, Bible reading and a Christian counselor my eyes looked straight up into the Eyes of my Lord!   He mended my heart piece by piece until I found joy and peace.  Because of His broken body my broken heart was mended.  I needed to come to a brokenness before I really understood His love.

Jesus takes us just as we are!!  Are you ready??

Romans 5:6-8

New International Version (NIV)

⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Psalm 34:18

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Verse:
In brokenness, I come to You, Jesus
I’m kneeling in surrender to Your Spirit
Mend my broken heart
I can find no other
To mend my broken life
To give me hope, Jesus

Chorus:
Lord I want to place my life in Your hands
Lay my burdens at Your feet
Take my life
Take my heart
I am Yours

Verse:
In repentance, I come to You, Jesus
I’m kneeling in surrender to Your Spirit
Forgive me my sins
I want no other
To give my life
My all to You, Jesus

© 1995 Esther Mui

Another Get Rid of Your Junk Post

I was in church yesterday morning and I noticed something about my Bible.  I was turning to the scripture that our pastor was going to read from and I was having a hard time getting there because of all the junk crammed into my Bible.  I had old bulletins, some dating years back, old pictures of my children, drawings, several book marks, old notes, two pencils and a pen.  I have gotten so used to the junk in my Bible that I didn't even notice that it was there.  Until yesterday when it kept trying to spill out.

I know that the the pastor preached a wonderful sermon from James 4 but I don't remember what it was.  I was too busy looking at the junk in my Bible.  A thought came to me when I realized that I wasn't even listening.  My thought was that my Bible was like my life.  I have been working on removing the junk from my life but  many times I don't because I am so used to the junk. The junk seems normal.  Sometimes there is so much junk in my heart that I don't  hear God talking to me just like I wasn't listening to God's word yesterday because I was occupied with the junk in my Bible.

I need to clean out my Bible, just as I need to keep the junk out of my heart.  I want this new year to be the best junk free year ever! I need to be strong and leave the junk behind.  I need to leave it at the throne of my King!  What about you?  Is there junk in your life?

Happy New Year's to You!  Hoping that 2013 will be junk free!!

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. ¹⁴ Do everything in love.

The Spider Bite

Have you ever been bitten by a spider?  I have.  In 2001 I was at a flea market in Texas and felt something on my hand.  I looked down and saw a spider.  I went into panic mode and started jumping, yelling and dropped everything that I was carrying.  I felt a sting as the spider fell to the ground.  My hand immediately swelled up and turned pink.  I don't know if it was from the bite or just the fact that a spider had been on me but I felt nauseated and  faint.  I was ready to leave that flea market and never go back.

I did leave fairly quickly with the rest of my family.  The farther away from that flea market and that spider the better I felt.  My hand did feel sore for a while but it healed without a visit to the doctor.  I was already on antibiotics for an infection and I watched it to closely to make sure that my hand didn't fall off or something worse.

I remembered that spider bite the other day when I saw another spider bite.  This one was not on me.  It was on a young lady that had been bit by a brown recluse spider.  It looked terrible and had a huge scab with red around it.  It made my spider bite look like a flea bite.

I know the ones that read my posts regularly know that I hate spiders!  The spiders remind me of the devil.  They are evil and they can spread poison.  The devil is evil and will spread poison.  He will fill me full of poison at my weakest moments.  He knows what my downfalls are and he will bite down, twist and bite!  He wants his poison to spread through my system before I know what is happening.  Sometimes the poison may make a huge wound and sometimes it is just a flea bite but it still will affect me.  It can affect you too!

My antibiotic against the devil's bites are prayer, the Bible and the Holy Spirit.  Just as I always check for spiders in the shower I have to pray, read the Bible and listen to the woo of the Holy Spirit.  The devil wants to bite and scare me but I have the antibiotic.  He wants to bite you too!  Do you have the antibiotic?

John 14:25-27

New International Version (NIV)

²⁵ “All this I have spoken while still with you. ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 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.

John 3:16-17

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.