Friday, December 20, 2013
Life with Nona: We interrupt this trouble stirred up by the enemy....
Life with Nona: We interrupt this trouble stirred up by the enemy....: I felt these words coming since yesterday. God has been sharing a little at a time, so my feeble mind could finally understand His perfect m...
We interrupt this trouble stirred up by the enemy.......to remind us that God's in control.
I felt these words coming since yesterday. God has been sharing a little at a time, so my feeble mind could finally understand His perfect message.....but finally I understand what He's giving me to share with you all.
This time of year Jesus is in the minds of people who wouldn't think about Him many other times throughout the year. Throughout the Bible we learn about Satan using different lies to trick humans to take their focus off God, and lead them far away from Him. When you haven't chosen to follow Jesus, it's just the "norm" of the world to be distracted. In fact He gives us the answer to this in Ephesians 4:17-19,
"So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
These verses show us why they don't understand what we believe, only want to be happy, any way they can. After awhile they need more & more. Satan loves this, if someone considers following Jesus, he dangles even more of what they love in their face, stirring up the greed & lust for more & eventually nothing will ever satisfy them. The closer we grow to God, the more like Him we become & the more the enemy hates us. When we make the choice to follow Jesus, we take a stand against the enemy which causes him to try even harder to distract us with his lies.
Now, this brings me what God's been whispering in my ear about. I was offended that A & E's actions with the Phil interview. I complained about how unfair it is that we don't get to believe what we want, unless it agrees with what the world does. Well that ignites a fire in me like nothing else. I'm a rebel, well I was. But what I'm beginning to realize is this. While the enemy has used shiny new things, santa, and the "more is better, you are less if you cant keep up with the "Jone's" to distract those still in the world lost, that has become less & less effective on us Jesus followers. We are listening to God's whispers more & more, and giving into the consumerism that takes our focus off the ONE TRUE reason for this celebration, less & less. That I believe is making satan very angry. So each year he has to up the drama, bring in things & people that follow Jesus & aren't afraid of the "world's opinion" & add drama to what they are trying to do. This is a winner usually every time. We love to get on our soapboxes & complain about how unfair things are, or the persecution that we were warned about, coming to fruition.
We feed into the drama on all the social networks, forward emails, & do everything exactly as the world would, only we do it in "Jesus's" Name....all the while we are distracted during the most magical time of year....the birth of our Savior. Wow that is a hard pill to swallow. In 2 Corinthians 4:1-6....
Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
God shares why those who hold our beliefs in contempt, do so. We just need to keep this in mind, so that we can continue to focus on God & His gift for us.
So, I say we put our focus back on the reason for this & every other season.....Jesus. Let's pray for the people who do not know our Savior, instead of behaving as they do. Let's give the Duck crew all our love & prayers. Be just as open about our beliefs as they are, show A & E that there are a whole lot of Jesus lovers watching them!! Thank you to the Robertson family who live out loud for Christ, every day....not just Sundays!!! But at the same time, take any tiny bit of time away from the distractions that take our eyes off the One Who Created us!!!
God bless you all....................REMEMBER GOD IS IN CONTROL.
This time of year Jesus is in the minds of people who wouldn't think about Him many other times throughout the year. Throughout the Bible we learn about Satan using different lies to trick humans to take their focus off God, and lead them far away from Him. When you haven't chosen to follow Jesus, it's just the "norm" of the world to be distracted. In fact He gives us the answer to this in Ephesians 4:17-19,
"So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
These verses show us why they don't understand what we believe, only want to be happy, any way they can. After awhile they need more & more. Satan loves this, if someone considers following Jesus, he dangles even more of what they love in their face, stirring up the greed & lust for more & eventually nothing will ever satisfy them. The closer we grow to God, the more like Him we become & the more the enemy hates us. When we make the choice to follow Jesus, we take a stand against the enemy which causes him to try even harder to distract us with his lies.
Now, this brings me what God's been whispering in my ear about. I was offended that A & E's actions with the Phil interview. I complained about how unfair it is that we don't get to believe what we want, unless it agrees with what the world does. Well that ignites a fire in me like nothing else. I'm a rebel, well I was. But what I'm beginning to realize is this. While the enemy has used shiny new things, santa, and the "more is better, you are less if you cant keep up with the "Jone's" to distract those still in the world lost, that has become less & less effective on us Jesus followers. We are listening to God's whispers more & more, and giving into the consumerism that takes our focus off the ONE TRUE reason for this celebration, less & less. That I believe is making satan very angry. So each year he has to up the drama, bring in things & people that follow Jesus & aren't afraid of the "world's opinion" & add drama to what they are trying to do. This is a winner usually every time. We love to get on our soapboxes & complain about how unfair things are, or the persecution that we were warned about, coming to fruition.
We feed into the drama on all the social networks, forward emails, & do everything exactly as the world would, only we do it in "Jesus's" Name....all the while we are distracted during the most magical time of year....the birth of our Savior. Wow that is a hard pill to swallow. In 2 Corinthians 4:1-6....
Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
God shares why those who hold our beliefs in contempt, do so. We just need to keep this in mind, so that we can continue to focus on God & His gift for us.
So, I say we put our focus back on the reason for this & every other season.....Jesus. Let's pray for the people who do not know our Savior, instead of behaving as they do. Let's give the Duck crew all our love & prayers. Be just as open about our beliefs as they are, show A & E that there are a whole lot of Jesus lovers watching them!! Thank you to the Robertson family who live out loud for Christ, every day....not just Sundays!!! But at the same time, take any tiny bit of time away from the distractions that take our eyes off the One Who Created us!!!
God bless you all....................REMEMBER GOD IS IN CONTROL.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Whoosh it can all turn in a millisecond...
The last few days, well couple weeks really, I'm clinging tighter onto the LORD, than I have in awhile.....not because He hasn't been right here with me, but because I started forgetting Who deserved the glory & forgot Who was REALLY in control.
I've been holding my breath, He being faithful & patient, has let me choose. I've learned in the last decade or so, what REALLY being a Christian means. It doesn't mean just going to church as one person & living the rest of the week as another. It means putting others before yourself, or forgiving those who hurt you. It means listening closely for my Creator's whispers & watching for the steps in His plan, not ours.
I can share with complete honesty, that I stumble my way through. I am learning how to TRULY relinquish ALL I am & where my true identity lies...in my Savior.
This time of year, lots of people remember our Savior & what His birth meant...along with shopping till they drop, for things that will have little to no meaning in a relatively short time.
But what we ALL fail to do, is remember that JESUS is the reason, for EVERY season....not just this time of year....EVERY day.
My family, like every other, has pain & heartache sometimes, but when we remember Who's in control & that we aren't alone, & seek God's perfect Will continually, we stand in His perfect plan & let Him lead us!!!
So take a moment every day to lift a word or 2 to the One Who's promised us that no pain in this world, will be more than the eternal joy we will receive...& Thank HIM for the pain & heartache, as well as trials of all kinds...He is just trimming away the ways of this world, so we are ready for our real home.
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