Simple Things

Mark 10:29-31 touched my heart as I remember what God has done for me and through me, “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for Me the Gospel will fail to receive a hundred time as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (NIV)

This took me to the time of great joy when I was accepted to go to Tobago. I immediately shared this joy with a dear friend. She did not share my joy and, in fact, when we got together, she was so angry with me that she told me that she did not want to have any further contact with me. I left her place in tears…I was crushed! How could my going to Tobago to serve the Lord cause this sort of reaction? Then the Lord reminded me and I knew in my heart that the evil one had used her to try and discourage me from going. WOW! I had to forgive her and honor her request of no further contact.

I had several other encounters that made me question as to whether I should be going to Tobago but each time, it seemed that God impressed upon me through His Word how much more He wanted to use me. Sometimes it is not something we can totally explain but just know in our hearts that God is calling us to a mission.

He calls each of us to different missions, some right where we are and others are on foreign soil. And still others are foreign but right where you are planted. I should have been ready to retire, to enjoy life but here I am just starting a new life. I live to serve Him and when I can no longer serve, it will be time for me to be with the Father. Will my service change? Of course it will. It has changed over and over during my walk with Him. I see life as an adventure and wonder what is the next step? He teaches me, oh, may I be willing to grasp what He is teaching me the first time!

The announcement is coming but I wanted you all to see what I have been up to, going through writings, journals and thoughts of the past few years. How God took a broken person so many years ago and started changing my heart from self-focused to others focused and yes, He continues to teach me that lesson. How God took a reject from her birth, rejected by so many and loved me through the reading of His Word and taught me to look beyond that hurt. To reach out to those who are hurting and show them Jesus.

He is teaching me that the more I give of myself, the happier I am. He is now using an old lady, who almost gave up on life several time, to do His will. In this, I want to encourage each of you to never give up on serving the Lord. To die to self and live fully in Him.

Through the years, as I have told story after story of the adventures that the Lord has sent me on, I’ve had people say, “you should write a book about that”. And it has finally started. Many of the stories are already on paper and some are still in my head but this isn’t about me. It is about how God can use someone who is broken for His glory. And if He can use me, He can use you. I have sinned but He has taken that sin upon Himself for me and you. He longs for each of us! Can you imagine? I wish I’d learned that lesson a long time ago, then I wouldn’t have been searching for love in all the wrong places. But, through the trials and pain, He has used it all for His glory in serving Him to the fullest.

With that, I announce that number three book is being compiled and hopefully will be published by the end of the year. Please pray that He be glorified through it all.

Has Anything Changed?

Please take the time to read Matthew 8:28-34. Jesus met two demon-possessed men and cast the demons into the nearby pigs. These two men then went into the city and told the people what had happened to them. These people then “came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region” (verse 34).

John MacArthur simply explains this, “perhaps they were concerned with the financial impact from the loss of the pigs. More likely, they were all ungodly people frightened to be in the presence of such spiritual power.”

Charles Stanley also gives commentary on this verse in his life lessons section explaining, “This verse reveals the sinful character of mankind, Jesus had just cast demons out of two men and sent the evil spirits into a herd of swine. The entire herd rushed toward a steep embankment and into the sea where they drowned. When the herdsmen reported what had happened to the people of the nearby town, the entire community became angry with the Savior. What was their chief concern? It was the potential drop in economy and loss of business. They were worried more about their financial welfare than their spiritual health. When they saw Jesus approaching their city, they asked Him to leave. Sadly, we are guilty of this same thing. We have grown accustomed to living with sin, and we don’t want to think about God removing it, especially if it would mean a loss of perceived pleasure or income. But clinging to sin is one of the most deadly things we can do.” (Life Principles Bible, p 1393, Charles F. Stanley)

Even in these times, when many of us are working out of our homes or worse, having lost our job because of something we could not have foreseen we can rest assured that God has not lost control of the situation. We most likely, do not understand why God would let it happen but I know for sure “that God causes all things to work together for good to those who live God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28 NASB)

Most of the world, including the United States, just want things to get back to “normal” so the stock market will balance out and go up, they can go back to work and bring home a pay check and not have to be around their children or their spouse. That last part of that sentence is quite sad but most people don’t know how to be a relative family anymore.

Maybe God has allowed this time in our history to help us to turn our focus off of making money, sports, always running the kids here and there, and always on the go to a quite different focus of our family and growing in Christ Jesus. If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior nor have you submitted to Him as Lord, perhaps now is the time. Get into the Word of God! If you don’t know where to start, the Gospel of John is always a good place to start. I also like the book of Ephesians because it gives such practical advice on how to live my daily life.

If that doesn’t help you, reach out to me in a private message on my Facebook “A Fae Original Page” and I will introduce you to my pastor or walk with you a bit on your journey. Just so you know, God loves you so very much. Has anyone told you lately how much you are loved? Has anyone told you that you can change your present journey, you may not feel there is any hope, but through Christ Jesus, you can start down a different path?

Surrendering our present situation in life to Him will bring new hope and the Bible will bring wisdom. Are you ready to cry out to Him right now?

Perversion of the World becomes Perversion in Our Heart

My oh my, I’ve seen plenty written on facebook concerning last night’s Super Bowl, and I must admit that I did not watch any of it. First, I have no interest in football and secondly, I saw enough of the reviews concerning advertisements either rejected or the ones that were going to show that I could not bring myself to watching it even for the commercials. Isn’t that the excuse that many use for watching?

Some have commented as to why these half-time shows are getting so perverted as well as their beloved commercials? Indeed, why? The only answer to such questions is found in God’s Word. If you have read either of my books, or followed my writings for any length of time, you will know that I go back to certain Scriptures and this is no different. First, let’s look at 2 Kings 17:14-15:

“But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who did not trust in the Lord their God. They rejected His decrees and the covenant He had made with their fathers and the warnings He had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do,” and they did the things the Lord had forbidden them to do.”

I now will refer to the “Charles Stanley Life Principle Bible” commentary concerning the above passage. “We likewise disobey God when we do not believe either what He promises or what He instructs—and destruction follows. We reap what we sow, more than we sow, and later than we sow.

If we read the Bible daily, through the Bible in a year, we start gaining an understanding of His instructions for our daily living. We start to understand how to apply His Word to our lives. One such Scripture that God impressed upon my heart a long time ago was, “I will set before my eyes no vile thing.” Psalm 101:3 This leads me to Psalm 119:37, “Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to Your Word.” When we look at worthless things, we start feeling worthless as it says in 2 Kings 17:14-15.

Charles Stanley also reminds us, “God is the Shepherd; we are His flock. He is our Father; we are His children. He is the creator; we were formed by His hand. When we remember these basic truths, we will honor Him and will have more motivation and confidence for whatever situation comes along.”

We must understand that we need to live differently as Christ followers! Ephesians 4:17-19 explains the heart of the lost,

“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, with a continual lust for more.”

This Scripture explains how people (even those who call themselves Christians) can watch the filth of the Super Bowl half-time. Their hearts are hardened just as pharaoh’s heart was hardened…both live a compromised life concerning the Word of God. Satan tried to get Jesus to compromise and he daily tries to get people who say they belong to Jesus to compromise. One such compromise would be watching something that you know isn’t pleasing to God. We cannot trust our own wisdom or think that we can handle exposing ourselves to sin because it just hardens our heart all the more.

If you still are not sure as to what you should do that pleases God, He has a list in Philippians 4:8:

“Finally, brother (and sisters), whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—thing about such things.” (Please know there are more lists in Scripture.)

God is encouraging us to fill our minds with holy and acceptable things from Him (His Word). We need to make important choices and know that we cannot expose ourselves to the filth of the world and not be affected by it. God knows us, He knows what is best for us. But, He still gives you the choice.