Go Out There !

The people are the church, we were never told to build buildings to meet in, we were told to gather. We can do that in a home, in the park, on the mountain, then we become equipped by knowing the Word and asking God for wisdom, to be able to do what He has for us to do.

We violate Scripture when we bring non-believers into our worship, that is for believers alone.

People are a little lazy, they would rather bring someone to church than tell the gospel to them, themselves.

A little embarrassed about the gospel, to the point that you would rather let others do it while taking the credit for their salvation because you brought them in? Just sayin!

God told every believer to speak the gospel to non-believers. There are no special classes of believers who are the only ones called to preach the gospel. We all have a responsibility to share it, by the power of the Holy Spirit we all have the fruit of Him Who lives in us.

We may have different roles based on our gender or age, but we have all been given the mandate to go into the world. The original language tells us that "the world" is where God has placed us.

Mark 6:15 ". 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."

No where does God tell us to bring them into the gathering as non-believers. We preach to them in the world and when they become born again we bring them in as brothers and sisters in the Lord.

"You Poked My Heart" and the Eye too!

Don't poke the heart of another believer simply because they disagree or don't do things exactly your way. We can appreciate those who don't think exactly the way we do, we don't have to intimidate them into accepting our way, as long as it is not about sin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sKdDyyanGk

Salvation for One More Family

There was only one family saved from the flood when God sent judgment, that was Noah's.

Soon there will only be one family saved from destruction one more time, that is the family of Christ in the rapture, before the judgment of the tribulation.

Grateful for God's Mercy

Repentance opens the door for Christ to come and change our heart. He will not change the heart of someone who won't admit their sinfulness.

One cannot be saved until they confess they are sinful in need of a Savior.

Far too many people decided to join the Christian club without ever being broken over their sinful nature. They became prideful because they considered themselves a member of an elite club, rather than grateful to God for saving their helpless and depraved soul.

Without brokenness over sin and gratefulness for God's mercy, there can be no salvation.

Santa is a Lie!!!

Santa isn't even real, he has no gifts, he has no body nor does he have miracles to know everyone on earth as children are led to believe. He is nothing, nothing at all, except a figment of the imagination of those who don't know Christ.

If anyone is teaching their children to love Santa, they are playing into the devil's hands.

When children place their trust in a non-existent being, who purports to do all that God can do, they love an idol.

Proverbs 28:26 "Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered."

1 John 5:20-21 "…20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols."

Colossians 3:2 "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."

Ephesians 1:17-18 "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,"

When Christ and an idol are taught side by side for the sake of pleasure, then this reduces Christ to just another ferry tale. No child has ever come to Christ in repentance and brokenness over sin because they believed in Santa.

Just the opposite, every child who place their trust in Santa cannot retain him in their heart when they come to Christ in spite of the lies they have been told.

Please believers!!! Please do not pretend Santa to your children, sadly, you will be held accountable for the deception you trained them in, not only in the myth of Santa but their idea that all they have to do is make up anything they want and pretend it is true.

Proverbs 21:2-3 " 2 Every man's way is right in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the hearts. 3 To do righteousness and justice Is desired by the LORD more than sacrifice.…"

We cannot say that "God knows my heart" when we disobey Him. This is merely saying that God knows my heart disobeys and rejects His ways and teachings.

Let's stop using the excuse that "God knows my heart." One cannot have a good heart when his actions are evil.

In a Box Under the Bed

I guess today will be old people story day.

Funny how we can look back at the way we used to think based on how we were raised.

My husband having been raised in a family of fifteen children, had very different ideas about how a household was run than I did having been raised as the youngest in a household of only three children.

Our first home was a 19 foot travel trailer loaned to us by Rodger's Father. After we got married I moved into the trailer with Rodger ready and excited about starting our new home. It was very small but to me that didn't matter, I was ready to become the manager of our little space.

Upon moving in, I began to move things around to make room for my personal items, which were not much. Rodger had the habit of putting his socks under the bed in a box, all through his growing years that's how it was done because the family was too poor to have dressers for everyone.

Rodger never thought of his family as poor, he just thought this was normal life for everyone since they had all their needs met and a little more.

There were four drawers in the hallway of this tiny trailer, I chose one of them to be the drawer for the socks and underwear. As I was taking the socks from the dust bunny filled box that Rodger had been keeping them in, he approached me and asked why I was putting socks in a drawer. I told him that in my house growing up that's where socks went.

He was shocked at that, he said; "we can't put them there", I asked why. He said; "socks go in a box under the bed." I would have been alright with that except it didn't make sense, when there was a free empty drawer available. I asked him if it would be alright since the drawer would be empty anyway, why not use it and leave space under the bed for something else. He agreed, the socks went into the drawer and have been in a drawer ever since and nothing ever goes under the bed in our house. LOL

Marriage takes compromise and understanding. When we fail to understand and an argument ensues, then we must be ready to ask forgiveness, move on to do things differently from what caused the argument in the first place. Every conflict can be a growing spurt that changes our character into what God would want.

Divorces happen because someone refuses to bend a little, work to understand or are unable to admit when they are wrong. All relationships that are broken have failed in these areas, mending means admitting! In other words, humility is required, as long as pride is present there can be no reconciliation nor can there be growth.

It did help for both of us to be raised in families where the parents stayed together all their lives, no divorce and no remarriage. It set an example for us, though not perfect, the sense of remaining together as one was deeply embedded in our thinking. After becoming born again that thinking grew even more a part of who we are today.

2 Peter 3:18 "18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen."

Don't let the devil win in his quest to destroy your family. Fight for your family, do it in prayer, do it by words of truth and do it by refusing to allow emotions dictate your actions.

This is What Old People Do

We forget why we came into a room. We walk back out hoping the thought we had, would return, and it usually does, we go back into the room and it leaves us again. "Rats", we say, then we stand in that room a few seconds and the absent thought returns. Yay, we do what we came to do and feel a sense of glee and accomplishment that we got it done.

We forget how to express ourselves, our language actually becomes more colorful. All those words we used to use, seem to just leave us, we know they are there but we can't make them come out our mouth.

Last night my husband wanted to go and measure the snow, as he was walking out the door he asked me to get my "inch stick." I asked him if "he wanted the ruler." Yep, that was it, being good for a new expression for us.

Then he went to put away the "inch stick" and I found it in my pencil box.

I told him that he put his inch stick in my pencil box. He retorted that that's where it belongs now, my reply was "no" pencils and pens go in the pencil box.

I informed him that it won't remain there, it stands too high above all the pens and pencils, asking him if he would like to know where I keep it for next time he needs it. His answer was, "no, when I need it I will ask you for it."

Yep.....a day in the life of the old folks!!! I don't know what he will do when I die and he doesn't know how to turn on the washing machine or the dryer. He just recently learned to operate the vacuum. He also informed me that I keep his underwear drawer filled with enough for two weeks. When I die, he will not have to learn to use the appliances for at least that long. Hard to believe that a man trained in nuclear engineering would have difficulty operating any household appliance, but then again I have had more than 50 years in the field of homemaking. LOL

I made a new rule, since he's retired, he'll now have to help a little on the days he is not working part time. When I cut his hair and beard, he will have to suck up all that hair from the carpet using the vacuum. He said, "I don't know how to turn it on, after which I showed him where the "ON" switch was and how to bend the arm of the vacuum, then push forward to suck up whatever the mess. One more old people hurdle in the new phase of our life called retirement.

Proverbs 16:31 " 31 A gray head is a crown of glory; It is found in the way of righteousness. 32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.…"

Keeping our focus on the Lord diminishes the day to day inconveniences and brings a new perspective even laughter.