I just love Thanksgiving time. I try to live a life of Thanksgiving to God in my heart with word and deed everyday, but the national time for special Thanksgiving that allows our family and friends to gather with us is what I love about this holiday so much. We have a house-full of family and friends this long Thanksgiving weekend and for that we are so blessed. We have plenty of everything, including love for each other.
Outside of Rusty and I however, our family who is gathered, do not know Christ. They're not opposed to Him in any way. As a matter-of-fact, they do believe He exists. They just don't know Him, trust in Him, worship Him, or seek Him. Although....we do believe there is work being done by the Spirit in this area. We have seen glimpses and have been asked questions :-) But one thing they do trust in and seek (so far at least) is money. Joking around they'll say "all I want for Chrismas is a million dollars". I don't know why a million dollars is the number, but it always is. This year, we happened to have million dollar bills with the gospel message printed on them. When our family starting joking about the million dollar gift, I went to find those bills and gave each member of the family one. I told them that this was really worth a lot more than a million dollars. They laughed, looked at the bills, then left them laying on the table.
I was saddened by this...as I am anytime Jesus, who gave all for us, is disregarded so easily. I know His heart is broken by His creation when they don't know Him and don't desire to know Him. It is for this reason He came into the world to begin with, so His creation would know Him.
John 1:9-11 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
But then, I remember grace. It was through the grace of Christ that I came to Him...that any of us come to Him. I too was as lukewarm about Christ as our family is at one time. If someone handed me a track I don't know that I would have considered it worth anything either. But instead of disdain and contempt, Christ showered love, mercy and grace upon me. So, I have to take my thoughts captive and remember that as a follower of His, I need to respond in the same way.
My prayer for our family, friends and everyone within our personal sphere of influence is that one day, before they take their last breath, Christ will be more valuable to them than anything in this world. That He would be to them as valuable as to the man in the parable as told in Matthew 13:44 - “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."
For that matter, I pray that I value Him in the same way.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
True Love
My "get along with everyone" nature REALLY doesn't want to write this. I do love people and want to be loved by people. But more than loving people and trying to be loved by them, I love God. I long to hear Him say "well done, good and faithful servant". So, I relinquish my feelings of timidity and write this. I pray it reaches whomever it is that God wants it to reach because I have a true love for them!
Recently I saw this graph on a Church-going friend's Facebook page.
Recently I saw this graph on a Church-going friend's Facebook page.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NIV)
Or do you not know
that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:
Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who
have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
If you claim to be a Christian and are living contrary to what the Bible teaches, you are subject to tougher judgment. PLEASE, reconsider, repent and come to a saving relationship with Jesus!
If you claim to be a Christian and are living contrary to what the Bible teaches, you are subject to tougher judgment. PLEASE, reconsider, repent and come to a saving relationship with Jesus!
It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Our Story (Part 6 - Into Service)
Just as Moses and Jesus spent time in the desert before being placed into service, we were called out to a desert time of our own....
We'd lived in our dream home for only 18 months when Rusty announced out of the blue, "I think we need to move closer to home". That simple declaration resulted in a big step of faith.
We picked a large number out of the air and put our home on the market thinking that if it sold for that amount we'd take that as a "sign" that this was of God. Well, the house sold within 3 weeks for full asking price!!!!! There was NO haggling! We were dazed. But, we knew God well enough by that time to trust Him so we both gave notice to our employers that we were moving to Indiana and giving up our jobs.
Well, God had other plans for us. A man "happened" to be visiting our office in Austin and heard that I was leaving the company and moving to the midwest. He had a position open in Champaign IL and asked me if I'd be interested in going to work for him there. The company would pay for our move, put us up into temporary housing until we found a new home and pay for our closing costs on a new home! As if that weren't enough, Rusty's company asked him if he'd be interested in working from IL for them for a period of time. He was in HR, and not working for a high-tech company. It was a vending company! This was nothing short of miraculous.
So, we moved to IL. We pulled into Champaign IL at noon on 1 Feb 2001 and the temperature was 2 degrees! Totally opposite of a real desert experience :-) We knew absolutely no one or anything about the town. Unlike the military where you have sponsors in the new location to help you get settled, we had only faith.
I wish I could say that we accepted this new calling on our life with much grace, faith and joy; but we didn't. Especially me. I was unhappy living there. For our friends reading this in Illinois, please don't take this personally. This was my heart condition--not a reflection of you or your state. My job situation was extremely stressful, and Rusty was bounced around in different jobs and was working very long hours. For the first 4 years we lived there I was praying and asking God to move us.
Well, He gave us the chance. When we had been in IL for 4 years, the company I worked for decided to close the local office. We were given the choice to move back to Austin or San Jose CA, or take a severance package. We had 6 weeks to make a decision. We prayed over it and when the 6-week period was up, we chose to move back to Austin. We didn't have a sure sign (at least what we expected to see) of God's will either way so we chose what made the most sense to us and what we perceived as an answer to our prayers. Well, for 3 weeks after we made that decision, neither Rusty or I had peace. So, we submitted to the Spirit and changed our decision. We opted to take the severance and stay. This took faith beyond what we could muster on our own but God gave us a peace that transcended all understanding. He rewarded that faith and obedience in a big way. A month prior to my termination and loss of 6-figure income (with no college degree remember), He delivered another position within the company to me. That job enabled me to work from home full time and not only keep my pay, but get a raise! I repented for my lack of faith, joy and trust in Him. My heart changed again and I vowed that no matter where He had us, I would serve with all my heart.
We did join a Church there for the first time in our life. We met some wonderful God-loving people and we enjoyed serving alongside them. But the truths of Paul's letters to the Churches in his epistles definitely came alive to us during this time. We learned so much about living for Christ both in the world and in the Church. The truth that not all who attend or even serve within a Church are true Christians became very clear to us. Satan does some of his most effective work from within the Church. This is not a surprise to God and shouldn't be a surprise to His children. We need to always put on the full armor of God! Paul wrote so often about this in Scripture and we learned it first-hand. We have a much better appreciation and understanding of why Paul wrote about Church discipline, discernment and leadership qualifications. We were so willing to serve wherever needed, that we sometimes took positions within the Church that we were neither qualified for or called by God to serve in. But, He used it for His glory. Rusty and I were baptized in a beautifully sweet ceremony in a pond outdoors. A group of people playing golf on the other side of the pond stopped playing to watch. This was Rusty's first time baptized and my re-dedication to Christ.
God blessed us in so many ways while in IL. Our beautiful daughter moved to IL when we'd been there about 3 years so she was close to us again. We gained a son-in-law and 3 grandsons while there. Our daughter told me that while we were in Germany, she had a friend who would take her to Church with them when she spent the night so she knew about Jesus too. She'd even learned some worship songs which she surprised us with knowing when she started going to Church with us. God is SO faithful! Our daughter and her husband are attending Church to this day and ensuring the boys are learning about God! Baptism is now being considered!
After we had accepted in our heart that IL was were God would have us serve, He moved us. This reminds me of the story of Moses and the Israelites in the desert. Their journey should've taken only days, but because of their hard hearts and disobedience, their time in the desert was extended and it took 40 years for them to arrive in the promised land! After completing 7 years in IL, without any premeditated planning on our part, He moved us to Indiana (this may be a blog of it's own in the near future). He also delivered to us our own business, a book shop, which has been a dream of ours for a long time. God has also blessed us with wonderful God-loving, service-oriented, mission-minded friends and Church.
We are currently in another time of trusting fully in Him. We have recently given up the big 6-figure income and are relying totally on His provision. We know He can be trusted fully even when, especially when, it makes no sense from the world's perspective.
I want to clarify something here in our story. I've glossed over many struggles and hard-times we've faced in our faith. This is mainly because they are nothing compared to the blessing and worth of serving Christ in every circumstance. But so many people are being told that coming to Christ means you'll be blessed with health, wealth and positive things only and I don't want to portray that falsely with our life's story. Jesus tells us "in this world, you will have trouble" but He also promises to be with us always. Everyone will have trouble in this life, whether a Christian or not. How much sweeter to face that trouble with the Lord! Following and serving Christ is not an easy road. If it were, everyone would take it. But the rewards and deep sense of peace is SO worth it.
Romans 14:17-18 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
We'd lived in our dream home for only 18 months when Rusty announced out of the blue, "I think we need to move closer to home". That simple declaration resulted in a big step of faith.
We picked a large number out of the air and put our home on the market thinking that if it sold for that amount we'd take that as a "sign" that this was of God. Well, the house sold within 3 weeks for full asking price!!!!! There was NO haggling! We were dazed. But, we knew God well enough by that time to trust Him so we both gave notice to our employers that we were moving to Indiana and giving up our jobs.
Well, God had other plans for us. A man "happened" to be visiting our office in Austin and heard that I was leaving the company and moving to the midwest. He had a position open in Champaign IL and asked me if I'd be interested in going to work for him there. The company would pay for our move, put us up into temporary housing until we found a new home and pay for our closing costs on a new home! As if that weren't enough, Rusty's company asked him if he'd be interested in working from IL for them for a period of time. He was in HR, and not working for a high-tech company. It was a vending company! This was nothing short of miraculous.
So, we moved to IL. We pulled into Champaign IL at noon on 1 Feb 2001 and the temperature was 2 degrees! Totally opposite of a real desert experience :-) We knew absolutely no one or anything about the town. Unlike the military where you have sponsors in the new location to help you get settled, we had only faith.
I wish I could say that we accepted this new calling on our life with much grace, faith and joy; but we didn't. Especially me. I was unhappy living there. For our friends reading this in Illinois, please don't take this personally. This was my heart condition--not a reflection of you or your state. My job situation was extremely stressful, and Rusty was bounced around in different jobs and was working very long hours. For the first 4 years we lived there I was praying and asking God to move us.
Well, He gave us the chance. When we had been in IL for 4 years, the company I worked for decided to close the local office. We were given the choice to move back to Austin or San Jose CA, or take a severance package. We had 6 weeks to make a decision. We prayed over it and when the 6-week period was up, we chose to move back to Austin. We didn't have a sure sign (at least what we expected to see) of God's will either way so we chose what made the most sense to us and what we perceived as an answer to our prayers. Well, for 3 weeks after we made that decision, neither Rusty or I had peace. So, we submitted to the Spirit and changed our decision. We opted to take the severance and stay. This took faith beyond what we could muster on our own but God gave us a peace that transcended all understanding. He rewarded that faith and obedience in a big way. A month prior to my termination and loss of 6-figure income (with no college degree remember), He delivered another position within the company to me. That job enabled me to work from home full time and not only keep my pay, but get a raise! I repented for my lack of faith, joy and trust in Him. My heart changed again and I vowed that no matter where He had us, I would serve with all my heart.
We did join a Church there for the first time in our life. We met some wonderful God-loving people and we enjoyed serving alongside them. But the truths of Paul's letters to the Churches in his epistles definitely came alive to us during this time. We learned so much about living for Christ both in the world and in the Church. The truth that not all who attend or even serve within a Church are true Christians became very clear to us. Satan does some of his most effective work from within the Church. This is not a surprise to God and shouldn't be a surprise to His children. We need to always put on the full armor of God! Paul wrote so often about this in Scripture and we learned it first-hand. We have a much better appreciation and understanding of why Paul wrote about Church discipline, discernment and leadership qualifications. We were so willing to serve wherever needed, that we sometimes took positions within the Church that we were neither qualified for or called by God to serve in. But, He used it for His glory. Rusty and I were baptized in a beautifully sweet ceremony in a pond outdoors. A group of people playing golf on the other side of the pond stopped playing to watch. This was Rusty's first time baptized and my re-dedication to Christ.
God blessed us in so many ways while in IL. Our beautiful daughter moved to IL when we'd been there about 3 years so she was close to us again. We gained a son-in-law and 3 grandsons while there. Our daughter told me that while we were in Germany, she had a friend who would take her to Church with them when she spent the night so she knew about Jesus too. She'd even learned some worship songs which she surprised us with knowing when she started going to Church with us. God is SO faithful! Our daughter and her husband are attending Church to this day and ensuring the boys are learning about God! Baptism is now being considered!
After we had accepted in our heart that IL was were God would have us serve, He moved us. This reminds me of the story of Moses and the Israelites in the desert. Their journey should've taken only days, but because of their hard hearts and disobedience, their time in the desert was extended and it took 40 years for them to arrive in the promised land! After completing 7 years in IL, without any premeditated planning on our part, He moved us to Indiana (this may be a blog of it's own in the near future). He also delivered to us our own business, a book shop, which has been a dream of ours for a long time. God has also blessed us with wonderful God-loving, service-oriented, mission-minded friends and Church.
We are currently in another time of trusting fully in Him. We have recently given up the big 6-figure income and are relying totally on His provision. We know He can be trusted fully even when, especially when, it makes no sense from the world's perspective.
I want to clarify something here in our story. I've glossed over many struggles and hard-times we've faced in our faith. This is mainly because they are nothing compared to the blessing and worth of serving Christ in every circumstance. But so many people are being told that coming to Christ means you'll be blessed with health, wealth and positive things only and I don't want to portray that falsely with our life's story. Jesus tells us "in this world, you will have trouble" but He also promises to be with us always. Everyone will have trouble in this life, whether a Christian or not. How much sweeter to face that trouble with the Lord! Following and serving Christ is not an easy road. If it were, everyone would take it. But the rewards and deep sense of peace is SO worth it.
Romans 14:17-18 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)