Tag Archives: Alesa Lewis Miller

Mary Christmas Week

Mary Christmas Week

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As we sat in the doctor’s office, our oldest was about 3 yrs old, I will never forget it. We sat across from his desk as he told us the results of the battery of tests that I had just gone through.  When he just blurted out ” Well, You should have never had your first child and you certainly won’t have any more!” Our hearts dropped as it suddenly seemed that something Jeff and I had dreamed of since I was 13 and he was 16 was now gone forever.

Then imagine our surprise just about 6 years later as I looked at the positive mark on a pregnancy test. Our prayers had finally been answered.  Our dream was coming true. The 3 children we dream of having as teenagers dating, was about to come true. We believe it all began when we sat in a service and as the minister got up to take the offering he said ” I have a son that isn’t living for the Lord and tonite I am gonna give the best gift I can in the offering and write on the back of the envelope, “for my sons salvation” and if you are believing God for something I want to encourage you to do the same. Jeff and I looked at each other in that service and both knew what we had to do. We placed our best gift in the offering envelope wrote “Baby” on the back and dropped it in the offering plate. Over the next month suddenly out of the blue several different times just random people would show up and hand us money. Just saying “the Lord laid this on my heart that I am supposed to give this to you.” Jeff and I could not figure out what was going on. Then it hit me, I begin counting up the random acts of kindness that had been given to us and it was exactly 10 times the amount we had given in the offering, then it hit me and I thought ” Oh No!” God isn’t gonna give us the baby we asked for, He is just giving us back our money and then some” My heart was broken, but I remember thinking ” Okay, God If it isn’t your will for us to have a baby, then I am willing to accept that you have another plan”. I am sure God must have been looking down on me saying ” Oh! Ye of little faith.  “See what I didn’t realize was that this was just the beginning of God’s blessings. Because about a year later I was holding the little girl we had dreamed of having for so long,  But my mind couldn’t conceive what He had in mind.

Have you ever felt like that? Has God ever tried to tell you something that you just couldn’t imagine? See, I have a feeling that may have been the way Mary felt when and Angel told her she was going to conceive a baby and she had never even known a man. I think all too often we envision the people in the bible as some kind of superheroes with super powers and super strength. When they were really just human beings like you and me, with the same doubts, fears and questions and I believe we serve a God big enough that He can handle those doubts and questions.

The bible says, that as soon as Mary heard the news, she “made haste” or hurried quickly to her cousin’s Elizabeth’s house. (a 10 day trip on foot) Could it have been because the Angel had said that her cousin Elizabeth was expecting too?  Perhaps, Mary knew if she went to Elizabeth’s house and found out that Elizabeth really was pregnant as the Angel had said, that this all might actually be true? One commentary (Barnes Notes on the Bible) said “Troubled at his saying – Disturbed or perplexed at what he said. It was so unexpected, so sudden, so extraordinary, and was so high an honor, that she was filled with anxious thoughts, and did not know what to make of it.” I mean let’s face it if an Angel shows up at your house tomorrow and says you are gonna have the Christ Child, wouldn’t you have some questions, maybe even doubts?

Then there was the birth of Jesus, in Luke 2:17-20 Mary has given birth and the Shepards show up. I don’t know about you but with each child, I have had it has seemed like a dream to me. You are just in awe and amazed that this little thing came out of 2 peoples love. I can’t imagine, what Joesph was feeling then, and what questions were running through Mary’s mind. The awe, the amazement of it all and at the same time they had to be asking themselves ” Is this really the Christ child? If it is, why is He being born in a stable? Why, didn’t God take better care of us? Did we do something wrong? But perhaps it is just about this time that all this is running through their minds when these shepherds show up! Telling everyone this is the Christ Child and in verse 19 the bible says ” She (Mary) pondered all these things in her heart” Have you ever pondered something before?

Then there was the time at the temple Luke 2:20-33 Where Simeon and Anna both sensed by the power of the Holy Spirit that this was the Christ Child and the bible says, in verse 33 that Joesph and Mary were amazed at the things spoken to them. Have you ever been amazed at what God was doing and at the same time wonder why or what God was up to?

Then there was that time about 2 years later. I don’t know what mom of a 2-year-old doesn’t question what is going on with their child at one point or another. But, I just wonder if on the day the 3 kings showed up, what was going on in Mary’s heart? What battle was she struggling with? Were funds a little tight and they were wondering how they were going to make it? Was Jesus being an all-out human being 2-year-old that day and Mary was questioning “Can this really be the son of God?” I don’t know what was going on in her mind that day, but I do believe God had prepared 3 kings several months, even perhaps years before to show up on her doorstep that day at that very moment,  as a little reminder. God was in control. Because we know soon after that God tells Joesph to take his family and flee because Herod is about to have all the baby boys under 2 years old killed.

I don’t know about you, but I have questioned God, I have miss read His plan. I have even doubted what He was doing. But just like when we placed that envelope in that offering bucket, we had no idea what God was about to do and it certainly didn’t happen the way we planned, but God was faithful through it all. He provided more than we could ever hope or imagine and I wondered today if God doesn’t want to do the same for you? No, I know He does!!  He wants to do the same, Because His word says, “He is able to do exceedingly above all you can even ask or think”  (Eph 3:20) I am pretty sure Mary had no idea what she was about to get into when that angel showed up, just like Jeff and I had no idea what was about to happen when we place that envelope in the offering, but what we can rest assured on is that He is in control and we may question and we may even sometimes doubt but if we will continue to trust Him. He will see us through. Won’t you trust Him today?

 

 

 

The Miller Family Christmas Tradition

The Miller Family Christmas Tradition

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At our house, Christmas morning is a very special day. We have some very specific traditions and have had for some 30 yrs now. You see when our oldest was about 2 years old my husband requested a Santa Suit for Christmas from my mother. She was an expert seamstress so this request was a no-brainer for my momma. She sat down and whipped up a full-fledged Santa Suit for Jeff with all the trimmings.  Every year since then it has been our tradition that none of the kids can get out of their bed until Santa wakes them up on Christmas morning. This rule came in especially handy the year we slept in and didn’t get the presents placed under the tree before the kids woke up. So Jeff and I woke called from to hear each child screaming from their bed ” Mom, Dad can we get up now? ” To which Jeff and I sprang out of the bed, I headed to put the gifts under the tree as Jeff was jumping in his Santa Suit. All while we are hollering back  to them” NO!” Stay in your room!  You have to wait for Santa to comes in and gets you”

Jeff dresses in his suit, beard and all then goes into each child’s room saying “Ho, Ho, Ho,  Merry Christmas”, “It’s time to get up and open presents” as I follow along ringing the Jiggle Bells and of course videotaping each one. We as a family follow Santa to the living room.  After we have all gathered around the tree. Santa brings out the bible and begins to read the Christmas story explaining to the children what the true meaning of Christmas really is all about. Following the reading of the Christmas Story, I bring out some sort of cake and we all sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. Then Santa begins to hand out the presents, afterward Santa tells the children he has to leave and they all hug him and say goodbye.  A few minutes later Jeff comes in acting like he just woke up and the children with all their excitement tell daddy what he just missed. Then we begin opening up presents taking turns one by one.

Now you may not care what our Christmas Tradition is, or even approve of it but frankly, I don’t really need your approval or care if I have it. Because for us it worked. See my kids didn’t grow up believing in Santa they grew up believing in daddy. You see,  it wasn’t long before they figured it out by the voice and his hands etc. that they realized the man behind the beard was their daddy.

I’ll never forget the year my daughter came to me and asked “Okay! I know who Santa is and I know who the Easter Bunny is, but who is the tooth fairy?” To which I responded to her with a look like “Hello? Do I really need to tell you this?” With shock and amazement in her eyes, she exclaimed ” DADDY?” and I replied ” Yep, and you should see him in his pink tutu!” We both burst out laughing because of course, Jeff doesn’t have a pink tutu. but the picture in our head of him in one was hysterical!

See the fact is we always want to make Christ the center of our Christmas, but we also know we live in a world full of sin and this world tends to twist what God intended to be good. We knew there was no way, we would be able to keep the notion of Santa out of our kids world. So instead of trying to fight it,  or stick our head in the sand and ignore it, we used it to our advantage. We let the idle of this world defuse the lie that is told. Oh! do I think Santa is a sin? No, but I do think it is important to keep the Christ in Christmas,  and our kiddo’s and now our grands are reminded of that every year!

See, when there was that awkward stage for Christmas in our family life when we only had teens and twenties in the house at Christmas time, Santa still came in and woke them up, (Okay, most of the time he had to insist they get up because you know how teenagers like to sleep)  and he may not have worn the whole suit. (Okay! the only part of the suit he wore for a few years was the hat!) But that reminder was there every year! Even in their teen and twenty years, they were reminded as we would drag the kids to the tree and they would snuggle up on the couch and close their eyes cause they really wanted to be back in their beds. They still heard the Christmas story or at least most of it! The fact is I don’t want to paint some Norman Rockwell Christmas for you, where you imagine from birth to today they have all eagerly gotten up and sat attentively on the edge of their sit each year,  just waiting for the Christmas Story to be read and presents opened. No! We are real people and some years were more exciting than others but the fact was we never gave up doing what we knew was right and that is keeping Christ first. But through it all and now that they are in their 20’s and 30’s those same kids can practically quote the whole Christmas story, yes even if it is with their eyes closed snuggled on the couch.

I guess the question today is, what are you doing to keep Christ first in your life. Not just on Christmas day, but every day of the year. Because the truth is, it is way harder and much more important to keep Christ first the other 364 days a year. See in this day and age, I see a lot of people claiming to believe in Christ, saying they’re a Christian and even professing their love for Him. But in those same lives, I don’t see any fruit coming from them. You know the fruits of the Spirit, like Love, Joy, Peace, Patience etc…. .  I don’t see them professing every week like we do each Christmas that Christ is first in their life by attending church somewhere. You know just like our kids there were times they didn’t want to get up and there were many times as young children they just wanted to forget the story and head straight to the presents. I think that is a lot like some of us are today. We just want to skip living the life that is pleasing to God and go straight to opening the present, of going to heaven. Without paying the price of living for Christ. But Christ paid the ultimate price, and that was He gave His life for us. See, I am here to tell you that just because you say you love God and just because you say you believe in Him doesn’t guarantee you a place in Heaven. See Matthew 7:21:23 tells us that “Not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter Heaven” there are going to be people that stand before God and He is going to tell them, “Depart from me I never knew you” When we know God we want to act in a way that is pleasing to Him and that usually means doing somethings sometimes that we don’t want to do. Like loving people that are unloveable or just stop talking so the argument doesn’t go any further and that means getting up out of the bed on Sunday mornings whether we feel like it or not and proclaiming Christ is first in my life and being a living example doing it. So I don’t know what your doing to keep Christ first this Christmas but my real hope and His is that you keep Him first all 365 days of the year!

I Know There Has Got to be Another Present Here Somewhere

I Know There Has Got to be Another Present Here Somewhere

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Well, it is officially Christmas time! As we all begin the hustle and bustle of the upcoming events of the season.  I can’t help but reflect on one of our more memorable Christmases. Amy had to of been about 8 years old at the time. It was a year when things were pretty tight in our Christmas budget. I had done everything I could to stretch what little we had, trying to give the best I could to my family. When it came about Dec 23rd I had all my shopping done and the bank account was empty just waiting till the next paycheck to come along. Then Amy informs me she wanted a Baby Alive for Christmas. My heart broke, I looked at the cost of Baby Alive and they were way out of our budget. I tried to tell Amy it was too late to put in any last minute requests to Santa. I told her that we could add it to her list for next year or maybe even her birthday. But she would not hear of it, she was determined she wanted it for that Christmas!

Christmas morning came, and we had our traditional Christmas morning routine, then it came time to open up presents. We each went around one by one opening up gifts as we do, each taking turns waiting on the other till they opened up theirs till it came to our turn. Finally, the last gift was open. Amy’s face dropped, she sat on the couch arms crossed, as she begins to pout. Then all of the sudden she jumps up off the couch stomping around the house looking around exclaiming ” I know there is another present around here somewhere!”, ” I want my Baby Alive!”

I took a deep breath trying not to kill my ungrateful child on Christmas Morning. As I tried to explain to her once again it was too late for her last-minute addition to her wish list. She finally calmed down, but as much as she wanted that toy, I wanted to give it to her. It broke my heart to not be able to give it to her. To be so broke that I couldn’t even afford a $50 toy. Oh! in the grand scheme of life it really wasn’t important but I loved her enough to want to give it to her. I love her and all my children so much there isn’t anything I would not give them if I knew it wouldn’t harm them.

All that got me thinking, isn’t that a lot like our Heavenly Father? Oh! some believe that He sits on His throne in Heaven just waiting for us to mess up so He can knock us on the head with His big stick just like the Wack a Mole games at the arcades. But that idea couldn’t be further from the truth. God loves us and He sent His son who gave His life for us. He gave His all for us and there is no good thing He would hold back from His children. James tells us that,  Every good and perfect gift comes from above.  The problem is, what we think is perfect and what God thinks is perfect for us might be two different things. Did Amy really need that Baby Alive? Of course not! But how often do we act like Amy when we don’t get what we ask God for? How often do we stomp around or pout because things don’t happen the way we wanted?

I heard the saying recently that ” Not every disappointment is a disaster” See, the after story of all this is, the next year Amy got her Baby Alive and a few years later she heard of a little girl whose family couldn’t afford to give her a Baby Alive and Amy came to her father and I and asked if she could give her doll away. See because Amy had known what it was like to really want something and not get it, she was more than happy to give that doll away.

We don’t always understand why things don’t happen the way we want. But if we really trust in our Heavenly Father and we really know how much He loves us then we have to trust that whatever comes our way will be okay. We can trust that His plan is bigger than ours because He is the only one that has seen our future and He knows what we need. See if we know God’s word then we know that it says ” Our Lord and our God, you are like the sun and also like a shield. You treat us with kindness and with honor, never denying any good thing to those who live right.” Psalms 84:11.  So the question is are you living right? Are you willing to accept what He gives you, knowing that just because it might be disappointing at the time it isn’t a disaster because He has a plan and His plan is always better than ours?

I hope you will trust Him today! Next time things don’t go the way you hoped, instead of complaining, how about you thank Him and let Him know you trust His plan? Because who knows what might or might not be under your Christmas tree this year. Are you willing to trust God in every part of your life?

No!!! Not the Piggy!!

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Many of us celebrated Thanksgiving last week. One of my favorite memories of Thanksgivings was in 2013, our granddaughter was 3 years old and at our house, it is a tradition to go around the table before we eat and say what we are thankful for. We always start from youngest and go to the oldest. I don’t remember what our granddaughters were thankful for, but as we sat around the table filled with Turkey, Ham, and all the fix’ins, I do remember what happened when our then, 17-year-old son shared what he was thankful for, with his shoulders held back, sitting up as straight as he could, he proudly stated  “I am thankful for the Pig that gave his life for our dinner” at that moment our 3-year-old granddaughter screamed to the top of her lungs in a high pitched tone of great despair ” NO! Not the Piggy!!!” and proceeded to get down from the table and refuse to eat the meal. We still laugh about that to this day.

This year we were blessed that our daughter came home from college and wanted to cook the majority of the meal. It isn’t her first time cooking a turkey, she has lots of experience in the kitchen and of course, it was fantastic. In the weeks before Thanksgiving Amy and I had been talking on the phone discussing what would be on the menu. We even created a spreadsheet and sent it out to the rest of the family asking if there was anything they wanted we had forgotten to list.

Each year, it seems our family talks about how we are going to cut back and not have as much food as we did the year before. You see when it comes to cooking and entertaining I am afraid my daughter is as bad as I am, we just don’t know what the word moderation means. Cooking and entertaining is our love language, it is a way we express our love to others. Setting the table is an art to us. With each plate that is set and napkin place in the napkin ring is an act of love of us. We ended up serving 13 people our Thanksgiving Day meal and I am embarrassed to say we had 23 items on our menu, that included appetizers and desserts. After the meal was all over Amy and I was discussing yet again, how next year we need to cut back. Amy made the statement ” I think when God hears us say we are going to cut back on the food we serve, He laughs at us” We both agreed that is probably true. Because by the time we make the menu then other members of the family want some of their holiday favorites and guest bring food and it just grows from there.

You know, all this got me thinking….  So many times we make plans and dream dreams only to be disappointed later when what we plan doesn’t come to past.  What we do when these disappointments happen tells a lot about who we trust.  The Bible tells us in Proverbs 19:21 that “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.”  My dad use to say “plan as if you are going to live forever but live as if you could die tomorrow”.  Just because God has plans for us doesn’t mean we sit back and do nothing. God wants us to live our lives but at the same time, we need to make daily choices in our lives that reflect what God would want us to do so when He does come back we are ready to go back to heaven with Him.  The way we make those daily choices that reflect Him is by making those choices according to what God’s word says. When we live our lives like that then when God comes back to take His children Home to Heaven, He will be happy to. See when things, don’t go the way we plan we have to trust that God has a better plan. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God knows the plans He has for us and they are for good and not to harm. Granted there are somethings we can never plan for, the lost of a loved one, the unexpected pregnancy, an illness that can’t be explained or that person that won’t call you back and you just don’t know why. But when those things happen we have to remember to trust the one who made us and know that He is in control and He loves us so much He will bring good out of what seems like it is bad if we will continue to follow what His word says, even when our plans don’t come to pass.  So God may be laughing at the idea that Amy and I  will ever cut back our menu, but that is only because He has plans to use that for His glory the key for Amy and I is to listen to what He wants to do through us as we show His love. So what will you do next time your plans don’t happen just the way you want? Who will you trust?

CRAZY LOVE

CRAZY LOVE

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Bob and Sondra Cave, Overland Park KS

Do you see these two people? I like to joke that this is the perfect example that just because you have an education does not mean you have any common sense. I can say that because these two people have been some of our closest friends for over 20 years. They know I would defend them in an instant if anyone said anything bad about them.  You know, it is kind of like your siblings you can think they are crazy but no one else better talk about them, kind of thing.

You may be asking why I question the sanity of these two perfectly normal looking people.  (Ok! almost normal looking)  Well, these two people with doctoral degrees take this 1972 VW campmobile (also known as a Westy in the automobile world), that has already been to the Yukon and South America before they bought it, now they take this already well used and loved vehicle across the country themselves. They have made their way across the country from Kansas to California, with their most recent adventure that took them from Kansas to Albuquerque, New Mexico for the Balloon Festival. Every time they get in this campmobile they affectionately call “The Beast,” I get on my knees in prayer for them.  I remember when they first got this vehicle, after seeing it on the internet.  Bob flew out to Canada to pick it up, thinking he would drive it home.  However, after having it carefully checked out, it was deemed that it was not road worthy enough to make it back to Kansas.  He met his wife Sondra, who flew into Seattle, and they towed it back here to Kansas behind a U-Haul Truck.  All along the way they stopped each night and slept in “The Beast” at Walmart parking lots. This was just the beginning of their VW adventure and collection.  They now own five VW’s of different models and styles.

Needless to say on these adventures “The Beast” has broken down on them a few times. Bob says he has: adjusted the valves, repaired gas leaks, the alternator, and replaced the brakes. There also was the one time the oil filter fell off and all the oil drained out while he was driving to Woodston, Kansas and he ended up needing to replace the engine altogether.

It’s a good thing they have the highest coverage possible with AAA Auto Insurance because they have had to be towed five times in the 5 years he has owned it. Now if most of us owned a vehicle with this many problems, we would have sold it and moved on, but not Bob and Sondra!

Now mind you, this couple is completely financially capable of owning pretty much any vehicle they want. They could afford to fly, almost anywhere in the world and stay in nice hotels that would even serve them room service. But do they choose to do this for these special trips they take? NO! They avoid all that silly security of knowing they will get there safely and staying in nice comfortable hotel rooms with soft mattresses preferring to sleep in “The Beast,” in a Wal-mart parking lot somewhere along the way, without heat or air. They set out knowing something is probably going to break down on this thing and because of their love for adventure and these VW’s they jump in the Westy and go! If you ask me, it is just crazy! Just a crazy kind of love!

You know this got me thinking….. this isn’t the only crazy kind of love I’ve seen in my life. Since I was born I have been told about this Guy who could buy anything, and stay anywhere He wanted. There was nothing that He could not afford. But His father who owns everything asked Him to leave the optimum lifestyle where He had no worries or concerns and go to a world where He would have problem after problem, the breakdowns in communication with these people would be astronomical for His survival. But yet He chose to go. He was so crazy in love with these people He knew the only way for them to survive would be for Him to die so maybe, then they would realize how much He loved them.  He left His perfect world knowing something would go wrong but yet He was willing to go anyway.

If you haven’t figured out by now this Guy I am talking about is named Jesus and He is so crazy in love with you that He came from heaven to earth to make a way for you to one day to join Him in heaven. The questions is, have you recognized just what He gave up for you?  Do you realize He did it all for you?  He is crazy in love with you. Do you know that? The Bible says that “For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, so whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) That is how much the Creator of the Universe loves you! You know there is no greater love than this, John 15:13 tells us that “Greater love has no one: than to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.” I know many reading this, if asked would say “God is my friend.” So if that is the case let me ask you a question. “Have you laid your life down for Him?” Several times in this column over the past year, we have talked about denying or dying to ourselves. What that really means is laying down our life, our will, our way and saying “Lord use me, and do with me what you want because I am yours”. Let me tell you that is the craziest kind of love. But the Bible tells us that is what is required of us if we are going to be His friend and after all if He gave up so much for us. Can’t we give our all to Him? Yes, it is a crazy kind of love to leave what we deem the security of being in control of our own life and giving it over to Christ. It is a crazy kind of love that He would continue to pursue people that have rejected and denied Him time and time again. But He did it for us and out of gratitude and appreciation for what He has done for us we need to do the same for Him. Won’t you give your life to Him today? If you don’t know this crazy kind of love, I want to encourage you to find a local Bible believing church and get involved and begin to really get to know what God has done for you today. Christ’s love doesn’t make any sense, that is why we have to accept it by faith. It is just a crazy kind of Love.

 

 

Getting to Heaven is no Popularity Contest!

Getting to Heaven is no Popularity Contest!

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Nov 7th was election day. I questioned if there is even was an election because I couldn’t remember if I had seen anything anywhere around town about it.  I almost didn’t even go vote, but then saw a few of my friends post on Facebook they had voted.  I decided to do my duty as an American citizen and honor the right that I have to make a difference in my community.

As I entered the building I was greeted by the nice ladies there, it wasn’t busy at all and in fact, they looked a little bored. I showed my license and signed my name, was handed a ballot and proceeded to the voting box. As I looked over the ballot, I saw there was the nominees for Hospital Board, School Board, and City Council Members, elections

But what I didn’t see was many names that I recognized. I mean I have heard of a few but considering this was an election and typically people who want you to vote for them make it a point to go out of there way to make sure you know what they believe and what they will be standing for as they represent you.  I had no recollection of any of that. In fact, it hit me, as I stood there looking at the ballot, that I hadn’t seen a sign anywhere in town or any articles in the paper from candidates promising to do anything or standing for anything or for that matter even saying they were running.

Now I understand this is a small town and as I did further research I found that in most cases there was barely enough willing to serve the positions so I guess because of the lack of competition they didn’t feel they needed to campaign.

But all this got me thinking……. What if we lived our life, the way these people campaigned? I  guess what I am asking here is, what do people know about your life? Do they know you are a follower or Christ? I mean besides the fact they know you”go” to church? Is your life, and how you conduct your business, as well as how, you treat others an example of what God would do?

Because I am thinking that if we live our lives for Christ like these people campaigned for these positions we are in trouble. See, I couldn’t vote for most of these positions because I didn’t know the people running for them. Oh! I might have heard their name, I might have even met them once or twice but I didn’t know what these people stood for, what their hopes and dreams for this city were? In fact, to me, without that knowledge, it seemed more like a popularity contest instead of an actual election.

Of course, for some of those being elected, it didn’t matter if they had one vote or a hundred. there was no one running against them so they were a shoe-in. Well,  Let me tell you something, it isn’t about a popularity contest to get to heaven and there is no shoe-ins to get there.

The bible says that there is only one way to heaven.  John 14:6 (NKJV) 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. That means, going to Heaven doesn’t just happen because your name is on the membership list at the church.  Salvation only comes from surrendering your life to Christ. Then once, we give our lives to Christ, God calls us as His disciples to 15 …….“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15 (NKJV) You don’t have to be a graduate of a seminary to preach. Your very life is a sermon the only question is. What is it saying?

Your very life is a sermon the only question is, What is it saying?

 

When we are silent about our faith in Christ, and our lives don’t reflex Him. Then we have missed the very opportunity that God created us for. All too often we just fail to even show up, to what God has called us to do and we miss the honor of serving Him. Our community needs more people that will get involved and serve the local positions here because I am sure there is plenty that complains, but most are unwilling to serve. But just like serving as an elected official, we have an obligation as followers of Christ,  but not to the audience of the some 770 people that live here in Greensburg. Our only audience is for one. Jesus Christ, the funny thing is, when we really live for Him, then everyone is gonna notice because that means you are different than the world. So the question is, is your life, a living campaign for Jesus? Because if people don’t know what you stand for you are probably need to reconsider who you are working for, Christ or yourself?  God expects us to “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matt 5:16 (ESV)

I wasn’t aware of what these candidates wanted to do for this community, but we all need to makes sure that those around us can see the love of Christ in us. Because it isn’t a popularity contest to get to heaven and there are no shoe-ins to get there either. We must show up and show out God’s love if we are true followers of Christ. Because that is the most important campaign we will ever participate in,  and we are all running in that election but, thankfully if we follow God’s word we all get elected!

 

 

 

 

You don’t trust who you don’t know!

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In the bible, there is a story about a man named Job. Most of the time when we think about Job we think about the guy who lost everything but his wife. God described Job as a fair and upright man. In fact, in the beginning of this story, there is a conversation between satan and God.

God asks satan “What have you been doing?” and satan replies ” roaming about on the earth”. This reminded me of the Scripture where God warns us to, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

As the story goes on God is telling satan what an amazing guy Job is and says ” Have you considered my servant Job”, Satan tells God that He thinks if God would remove his protection from Job and his family he doesn’t think Job would be such a devoted follower.  It was almost as if satan issued God a challenge. God trusted Job so much, He says, go ahead do whatever you want, you just can’t kill him. Read the book of Job for more details.

 

Job isn’t the only one God trusted, In Numbers, we see God so angry that He comes down in a cloud and calls Miriam and Aaron out of their tent because they were talking bad about Moses.  He informs them that Moses is the one I trust! (Numbers 12:7)  This story reminds me of a friend coming to defend his friend who he sees is being picked on, and I have to say, if you are gonna have a best friend. God is the one to have, I  mean picture it, God is up in heaven listening to Miriam and Aaron complain and gossip about Moses and it makes Him so mad He comes down out of heaven in a cloud and calls these guys out of their tent to basically tell them to leave His friend alone! Because He trusts Moses! 

We all often wonder if we can trust God, but time after time here in the bible we see that God talks about trusting.

Did you ever ask yourself if God can trust you? Can He trust you that if your world falls apart and you lose everything, you will still serve Him like He did Job?  Can He trust you like He did Moses to speak to you face to face and allow you to see His shadow?

Or are you like Simon Peter where God told Him in Luke 22:31 “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan desires to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not: and when you are converted, you will strengthen your fellow believers.

I am not much of a farmer, but I know that if someone says, they want to sift me as wheat. That isn’t a good thing. Satan wants to take us out. But Jesus says here He prayed for Simon. Does Jesus have to pray for you, that you won’t fail?

God, has warned us over and over again in the bible, that trouble will come, and satan is after us. So why are we so surprised with trouble comes our way. In John 16:33 He tells us ” These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

He says here “In Me, you will have peace”  and “In the world, you will have tribulation” God wants us to focus on Him because the more we focus on Him the more we will trust Him and the more we trust Him the more He can trust us. God wants to trust us so much that when satan temps us He will know that you will stand against satan,  and you won’t be tempted by his tricks.

You know it is hard to trust someone you don’t know. I mean if you are attending a big event in a giant arena, in a city where you don’t know anyone and you decide to sit down next to a stranger, you aren’t going to ask that stranger to hold your purse or wallet while you go to the bathroom. No! especially if all your money is in it. The bottom line is we don’t trust people we don’t know.

God talks about not knowing someone. In the book of Matthew, He tells us that not everyone that calls Him Lord will enter heaven. There are people who when they stand before Him will say “Didn’t I cast demons out in your name? Didn’t I prophesy in your name? Didn’t I do many wonders in your name?” And God is gonna look at them as say “ I never knew you; depart from Me,” Matt 7:23. 

See in the same way God wants to trust you,  He wants to be your friend because you don’t trust a stranger, So can God trust you today?  Don’t just say you know Him. Don’t just claim to be His friend. If you haven’t been to church in a month if you haven’t read His bible and spend time with Him if you aren’t doing your best to live a life that He would be pleased with?  Because all these things are how we get to know Him.  Oh! no one is perfect, but let’s strive to be a person that God can trust. Because you don’t trust, who you don’t know? So, do you really know God?

 

 

 

 

It Just Jumped Out of My Pocket!~

It Just Jumped Out of My Pocket!~

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Last week we celebrated my youngest 20th Birthday. It’s time like these that always have me reminiscing.

One of my favorite stories I remember about Chad as a little boy is, the time when we were eating dinner at Pizza Hut in De Soto KS , I don’t think we had lived there very long so Chad could not of been more than 3 or 4 yrs old, The restaurant was fairly empty and so we allowed Chad out of his seat to play one table over, in a children’s section they had available, well within our view. As he played, we looked on. If I remember correctly I think we were entertaining some prospects for our potential church we were preparing to pioneer, so we were hoping everyone would be on their best behavior.

Chad came to the table and requested a quarter for the little ball machine over by the door. Chad has always loved taking the chance of putting some denomination of money in a machine only to see what comes out. He is much like his father in that way, they both love to take chances. I on the other hand, am the play it safe kinda person who likes to know what’s ahead.

Jeff agreed, and gave Chad the quarter since he also loves the idea of the mystery of what will come out of the machine or maybe it was so Chad would leave us alone to visit with our guest, whatever the reason it doesn’t really matter now. Because when Jeff said yes to that simple little quarter he failed to think ahead of the outcome that would come from his decision. Once Chad had the ball in his hand he wanted to bounce it all over the restaurant, in between the tables and booths following the ball all over and the more he bounced it the higher it went. Which doesn’t bode well when you are trying to impress someone. So Jeff  immediately tells Chad ” Put that ball in your pocket and I don’t want to see it out again!” Chad obeyed and carefully squeezed it away in his front pocket of his little jeans then went back to playing in the children section, it was only a few minutes later we suddenly saw the ball fly through the air  over the table where we were sitting with our guests. The whole table turned to look at Chad,when he looked up at us with a straight face and eyes as wide as saucers and said,

“It just jumped out of my pocket!”. The table roared in laughter!

To this day Chad loves what we call at our house “bouncy balls” we will never be able to look at one again and not think of that story.

All that got me thinking………

Jeff and Chad rarely ever hesitate to take a chance to put a quarter in a machine so they can see what surprise will come out. It must be the anticipation of what is to come.  I admire their since of adventure. I guess that is one reason why it is so easy for them to step out in faith.

The bible says that,  Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Heb 11:1) Jeff and Chad don’t hesitate to put a quarter in one of those machines, in fact they look forward to it. They look forward to it because they believe something good will come out of it.

Shouldn’t we have that same kind of faith in God? I mean His word promises us so much, if we say we believe in Him, why wouldn’t we believe what He says? One of those things God tells us in His word is that He is working all things together for our good. (Rom 8:28)

Now that doesn’t mean we may always like His decision, or we can use Him like a vending machine. If we think at any time, we can just pray hard enough or if we work hard enough to do everything to please Him then we will get what we want, we will be sadly mistaken.

What Christ does for us is simply from the pure grace that we receive from Him. We don’t have to work or earn our salvation or anything else we pray for. God is our Heavenly Father who loves us with an every lasting love. (Jer 31:3)We don’t have to earn His unconditional love.  But it should be because of that unconditional love that He shows to us, that we out of our pure gratification for that unconditional love,  in return does what His word tells us.

It is because of that trust  for Him, that we can accept that if we ask Him for something and it doesn’t happen the way we want or expect, we can trust Him that it is for our own good. Not because He is some mean Judge in heaven sitting behind his desk with a gavel ready to hit us over the head with it when we miss up.

We have to remember when things don’t happen the way we expect or plan, it isn’t a punishment for what we “didn’t do” or because we weren’t “good enough” more then likely it is for our own protection. Now don’t get me wrong there is consequences to our actions as we learned about in my previous story “Where there is a will there is a way”

What are you hoping for today? As easy as it is to believe if we put a quarter in a machine something is going to come out. It is with that same faith we can stand on the promises of God and believe that whatever He says will come true. Because true faith doesn’t “just jump out of your pocket” but it has to be put into action by our trust in Him.

All Small Cars Don’t Go Around

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My Mom celebrated her 4th anniversary in Heaven last month.  I am sure she and daddy are thrilled to be together after spending 25 years apart. They are  probably still catching up.

Momma left us many memories and phrases that we still fondly repeat today. One of our favorite quotes from momma is “It’s only a dollar!” which I wrote a whole story about on here a while back.

But one of the funniest stories we still tell today and the phrase that made momma the most famous in our minds was the time that she was driving as my two youngest children, along with myself was riding along with her in the car, when she pulled up to a stop sign. She was a little delayed in pressing the brake so we ended up with the front of her car about halfway out into the first lane of the 4 lane highway we were about to enter. I’ve had the same thing happen to me and I simply put the car in reverse and backed up to assure I wouldn’t get hit. So I didn’t think to much about it, until momma didn’t move. As the car approaching us grew closer I asked mom “Don’t you think we should back up a little?” to which momma looking at the car growing closer turns to me, says ” Oh! It’s a small car it can go around.

Needless to say that was the last time we let momma drive when we were in the car, because although she might have been kidding she never moved back but thank the Lord we all still lived and the car did go around!

This got me thinking……

Momma’s phrase “It’s a small car, it can go around” made me think, don’t we all to often do the same thing in our lives. Now I don’t mean literally. But we often put ourselves in positions that could possibly be harmful to us physically and more importantly spiritually.  Just like Samson in the bible, (if you don’t know the story you can read it in the book of Judges) Samson was born in a time when Israel was being held under the rule and oppression by the Philistines.  He was anointed with a special supernatural strength from God to help his nation for that time. Samson was a Nazirite but he fell in love with a woman who was a Philistine which basically met she had different beliefs and standards which were opposite of what God’s word says. His parents warned him of the possible problems but Samson was determined to be with her. Samson had gained an attitude that he was unstoppable. He forgot who had given him his supernatural strength and begin to get cocky, thinking more of himself than he should. Believing he couldn’t be tempted.

Don’t we do that today, we hang out with people that might lead us to temptation that might cause us to sin. Proverbs 6:17-19 tells us there are 7 things the Lord hate they are, a proud look, lying,  and hands that kill innocent people,  a person who devises wicked plans, people who are quick to do wrong and a dishonest witness, along with a person that stirs up conflict in their family.

Often we place ourselves in these situations and thus allowing temptation to take us over. Just like Samson who was finally so prideful that he ended giving doing exactly what God had told him not to do which ended in complete disaster for him.

My mom thought, “they can just go around, I don’t need to move” and whether joking or not there was a since of arrogance that she didn’t have to obey the law, that somehow she was above it and the rest of the world could just work around here.

We have to be careful not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. We are blessed only because of what God has done for us and when we begin to think in any way that we don’t need to first ask Christ before we do anything we are sorely mistaken.  So this week as you go about your day, be sure and ask yourself, “Am I  being sucked into the “Samson Syndrome”? Am I  acting or even giving off the idea that I might be prideful and continue to go down the list of what God’s word says He hates and assure you aren’t being tempted. Because you may not be as lucky as we were and that temptation that you have allowed yourself to be exposed to, may not “go around you” because there are no small sins nor large ones, but they all will plaster right into you if we put ourselves in situations that might temp us to do what we know we shouldn’t. See there’s another quote my momma was famous for. Well she didn’t really make it famous because the book of James is where she got it from, but she always told me “He that knows to do good and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin” So lets not be tempted, you now know. Don’t be deceived into thinking you can just put yourself out there and it won’t effect you because all small cars don’t go around!

 

A Passionate Pursuit! ( God…. I don’t want to die a Bachelor)

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Originally written May 1, 2017
He was 16 yrs old and scared to death he might die a bachelor as his mentor and 80 some year old friend who he affectionately called Brother Toby was.
Brother Toby was a man in the church my husband grew up in, he was a bachelor all his life. My husband Jeff had looked up to him all his life and suddenly at the ripe old age of 16 my husband decides there is 1 thing for sure he does not want to follow Brother Toby’s footsteps in and that is, He doesn’t want to be a bachelor.
So the story I’ve been told is Jeff begin to pray ” Oh, Lord Please don’t let me be a bachelor! “.  It just so happened that Jeff’s home church was without a pastor and Jeff”s dad was the head deacon at the time and therefore, he had all the resume’s of prospective pastors. So, Jeff decides what better wife to have than a preachers daughter and since Jeff was on the hunt, because in his mind, time was a wasting. Jeff decides to sneak into his fathers office and search the family pictures sent with the pastoral resumes to find the pastor with the daughter that Jeff had decided he would marry. It just so happened my father had submitted his resume to the church and I am told, that Jeff narrowed the pictures of the preachers daughter’s down from the top 10, to 5 to, 3 and then you guessed it…… me!
To make a long story short, I guess you could say the rest is History! There were several sets of circumstances but my father ultimately became the pastor and 4 yrs later Jeff and I were married at the ripe old ages 17 and 20.
Jeff was determined that I was going to be his wife, and apparently God was in favor of that because of the circumstances that followed.
You know, this got me thinking……..
What separates those of us who are just attending church and those of us who are being the church? Jeff could of been the typical teenage boy who dated several different girls and refused to look for any kind of real commitment at such a young age. But Jeff was on a mission, He had a what I would call a “God given desire” that he would not let anyone or anything distract him from. The fact is when Jeff heard a group of boys from the church talking about trying to pursue me, he step right up and told them “She is mine, so don’t even bother” (and we hadn’t even met yet!) He often jokingly but rightly tells everyone that he and God are a lot alike, the both loved me first.
See Jeff was determined there was nothing casual about his persecute of me.  I think that’s what makes the difference from those attending church and those being the church. Just attending the church, is like casual dating with no expectations of commitment. Being the church is the expectation that God wants to speak to me so He can speak through me. There is an expectation of a commitment and a calling beyond ourselves when we ARE the church. If we are only attending the church we simply check it off our list, like knots on our belt in a dating relationship. We walk out the door after completing our weekly or sometimes semi or less weekly routine.  It is like you are saying “I have come and done my religious duty every Sunday and I am done” (ie going and sitting in a pew, then going home to wait to do it all over again whenever the next time that it is convenient)
Being the church is like an all in relationship, it is living a life of faith everyday expecting God to speak to you, so you can share Him with others. It was not uncommon for Jeff to claim his stake in our relationship before we had even met, the very first Sunday my father spoke at his home church. Jeff made it clear under no uncertain terms that he liked me. As my father shook hands with the people as they walked out the front door of the church. Jeff boldly proclaims before my father that ” You are gonna get this church if I have anything to do with it” When my father replies ” Oh yeah? Why?”Jeff confidently responds ” Because of your beautiful daughter” then he turned and walked away. It left my father speechless because I was only 13 yrs old at the time and still playing with barbie dolls.
If we are going to be the church, if we are going to follow in the abundant life God has called us to live. We need to approach it like an all out committed relationship, and in this day and age where, committed relationships are hard to come by. Let me challenge you to give Jesus your all. Like nothing you have ever loved before because He loves you like no one has ever loved you before.God wants to be your friend, He cares about every aspect of your life. In the book of Jeremiah, God tells His people, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness”. See, He is in a committed relationship with you so much that He gave His life for you. (Which is what we just celebrated a few weeks ago) The question is, How committed are we to Him? Do we use Him like a vending machine and just call on Him when we need something or do we sincerely desire to know Him, are we committed to what His word says, we should do and are we so in captivated in His love for us that our gratitude towards Him pours out of us in the way we live our life?
Let me tell you today, that if you have only been an attender of church instead, of being the church. It is not to late. He is waiting right now with His arms out stretched. He so wants to spend more time with you and He, like my husband Jeff has never given up, even when I was not interested and totally unattracted to Jeff. Jeff never stopped loving me, he never stopped pursuing me and was waiting with open arms when I was ready. Christ is waiting on you today. There is more to this walk with Christ then just attending church and checking it off our list of things to do for the week.1 Cor. 3:16  tells us, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”  God wants to speak to you, so He can speak through you, We have a mission to share His love and life with others, but if we don’t really know Him, if we are not passionately pursuing Him. Then we aren’t being the Church, we are simply filling a pew. Go be the Church this week! Because God is passionately pursuing you.