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“40 Years?!!”

Life is short!

When you think about the average of lifespan on this earth it is a very short time.  The older I get the more I realize it.  The average is what?  Around 80 years, give or take a few.  There are so many factors but we know that it is short.  And the bottom line is that it can be even shorter than that.  We never know when we walk out the door in the morning if we are coming home.  So this day could be our last no matter what your age, 18…40…50, you name it.

Accident

It came to my mind more vividly one day as I was driving home from town.  At one of the lights, I was going through, there had been a recent accident.  One car had been really smashed on the driver’s side.  It appeared to me that they were working on cutting him out.  I was driving and wanting to make sure I didn’t cause another accident so I couldn’t take in what might have happened.  It appeared that he was alive and I pray that his injuries and all that were involved will heal quickly.

But it made me think.  All it takes is one accident and your life can be over or changed forever.  And the big question is, am I ready?  My judgment has been decided if I die and have allowed God to keep my heart connected to His.  I know that if I am permanently damaged that God will give me the strength for as I need it.  But if I am not staying closely connected with Him now it will be harder to stay connected through difficult times.  We need to stay focused on Christ and not lose that focus.

Distractions

There can be so many distractions that can keep us from keeping our eyes on our Savior and staying connected with Him.  There are many that I could address here but I am going to tackle one that I believe is a big one.

Taking our eyes off of Jesus and placing it on others distracts us.  It is so easy to get caught up in looking at others and seeing their wrongs.  As we point the finger or just have negative thoughts about their choices it draws our attention away from where it should be.  We are responsible for ourselves and no one else.  Now some may be saying, “We are responsible for others’ salvation.”  There is truth to that but where our focus is, determines whether we can help others.

When we keep our focus our Jesus and allow Him to work in our lives we then, and only then can we properly witness to others.  We need to have a Christ-like love for others and we cannot do that without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  We are the seed planters and the Holy Spirit is the One that makes it grow.  Somehow we think that we have to make it happen.  We plant seeds and love them even if they don’t accept what we have shared with them.  God is working with each person and He is the One that knows the right timing for each individual.  God doesn’t always bring change overnight.  He brings them through step by step.

How much time?

So how much time will it take for someone to see the truths of God’s Word?  I think one thing that we do is we forget what our own journey has been like.  We want to bring people to our level of knowledge and commitment overnight but how long did it take us to get to where we are.  And another thing, we should be realizing that we have a long ways to go and we have not arrived.  The Lord keeps growing us and we will be growing and learning how to walk the walk until He comes.  We need to give others the freedom to grow.

This reminds me of the story of Moses.  How long did it take for Moses to unlearn the ways of Egypt and to have such a walk with God that he would not waver?  God worked with him for 40 years to get him where He could use him to bring the Children of Israel out of Egypt.  This shows God’s patience and He knows what is needed in someone’s life to bring change.  God has perfect timing.  He is never late, rarely early but always on time.

We are only the seed planters and the only way those seeds can fall and maybe come to fruition is if we do it in love and let the Lord take it from there. We need to get out of His way and let Him work.   And as He works we continue to love and be there for the person through whatever difficulty, without condemnation.  This is a hard thing to do and it cannot be done in our own strength.

Human Nature

Our human nature tends to want people to be where we are in our spiritual journey and if they are not we tend to want to condemn and be critical.   We need God’s help in this area of our lives.  As we look at people we need to see them through the eyes of Christ, who came and died for them.  We can only do this as we stay connected with God.  This makes me realize how much we need to be in prayer and in the Word each and every day.  And spending time each day reading and/or thinking about the life of Christ, especially those last scenes.  If we can understand what He has done for us we can have more compassion for others.  We also need to reflect on where He has brought us from.  How long did it take for us?  We tend to forget how patient the Lord has been with us.  We need to have that same patience with others.

Dear Father,

Help us as we see others to see You as You hung bleeding on the cross for them.  Give us the ability to be earnest, broken and humbled as our petitions ascend to You for wisdom that we may have success in saving, not only our own souls but the souls of others as well.  We can only help in the saving of others as we stay surrendered to You and as we allow You to work through us so we can reflect You.

Forgive us where we have fallen short in reflecting You and work now in our lives that we can perfectly reflect Your character so that we can go home.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Commit today to not say anything negative about another person.  And commit to continue planting seeds in others lives, loving them, and not shunning them because their choices are not what you think they should be.

Love you all.

What thoughts have gone through your mind when you have seen an accident?  What lessons have you drawn?  Share below.

 

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“Should I Show Respect To Trump?”

It seems that our world is in such a mess.  If we look back to what this world was like 50, 60, or 70 years ago things seem way different.  We can see that the change has come gradually.  So gradual that a lot of us haven’t even noticed, until suddenly we woke up one day and said, “What happened?”  Nothing as big as this happens overnight.  The devil knows that if he would have brought things on suddenly none of us would have accepted or been deceived by it.

It is one thing to recognize that there is evil in this world but it is another to dwell upon it.  I believe that the unfallen Angels of God did not even really recognize the evilness of sin until Christ was hanging upon the cross.  At that point they could see the real evilness of the devil. We cannot really recognize the evilness of sin unless we focus our attention on Christ and Him crucified.

It was my sin and your sin that put Him there.  It is our sin’s that crucify Him afresh every time we choose to do things that are displeasing in His sight. (See Hebrews 6:6)

Does God really care about how I take care of this temple that He wants to dwell in?  Absolutely!  He cannot dwell in a polluted place.  So what do I need to do so that my temple is not polluted?  “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”  1Corinthians 10:31.  There are many aspects that can be addressed here but I am going to just focus on “whatsoever ye do”.  I just want to be clear that all is important.

I want to talk about the spirit of the law.  The letter of the law is important to obey.  Some may think that the letter of the law is easier to keep.  “What it says in black in white I will do.”  But the reality is keeping the letter of the law means nothing without the spirit of the law.

If I choose to obey the command, “Thou shalt not kill.” But show hate and anger toward ANYONE, it is the same as killing.  It is hard for our brain to comprehend and wrap our brains around.  But if we study the life of Christ and focus to be more like Him we will treat all people with the same respect.

Christ loves all people and we are supposed to do the same.  It does not matter what they do or say to us we need to love them.  We cannot do this without the power of Christ love.  But we have to surrender self to God and allow Him to love through us.  We cannot do it on our own.

The political bashing from Christians astounds me.  How should we talk about or treat those people who are doing and saying things we don’t agree with?

I think of David when Saul was chasing him.  Saul was trying to kill him but David refused to raise his hand against the Lord’s anointed.  I cannot recall a verse where he even spoke badly about him.

I think of Daniel.  He served in 3 different kingdoms.  He was taken captive by one kingdom, then that kingdom was invaded and taken over by another kingdom and so on.  How could he serve in a high position in each one of those kingdoms?  I believe one reason was that God was with him.  But I also believe it was because, it did not matter which power was in place, he treated them as the Lord’s anointed.

God is the one that allows those into office that He would have and He takes down others.  Ultimately He has the last word.  So the reality is God has placed Trump there.  What I think about him does not even come into the equation.  But how I treat him or talk about him does.

Remember all people were created by God and are loved by Him.

There is another aspect that I want to point out in Daniel.  The reason Daniel was in captivity was because Israel had not been following God, as they should have been.  Daniel was a very godly man.  We don’t read anything that would indicate that he did anything evil in the sight of God.  Yet, when he prayed about the sins of his people, he includes himself.  “Dear Lord, We have sinned.”  It is easy to point out the sins of our churches but the reality is we should be crying and sighing for the abominations we see in Christianity and we should include ourselves in those prayers.  We have all sinned.  I believe this to be true for our country as well.  We should be praying for the sins of our country and include ourselves in it as well.

We can get so caught up in being right and pointing fingers that we don’t love a Jesus loves.  The only way we can love as He loved is to allow Him to love through us.  But we have to surrender ourselves.  If we cannot learn to speak well of and to love these people now, when things happen that affect our lives in a negative way we will not love and speak well of them.

We need to pray for our leaders.  Whether they be political or church leaders.

A true Christian will be known by their love.

Dear Father,

We need Your love.  It is so easy to point fingers but in reality we are not any different from those we may be pointing fingers at.  We are all sinners in need of You.  Help us to focus on surrendering our lives to You.  Prompt us to pray for those that are leaders.  You have loved us with an everlasting love; help us to do the same.  We cannot do this without You.  Fill us with Your love and compassion.  As we see the leaders, whether leaders of the country, church or even our bosses, help us to see You hanging on the cross for them.  Thank You for the love and compassion that you show each one of us.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Let’s surrender all to God and have compassion for those around us.  Remember God has the final say.

Love you all.

I know what I have shared here does not seem politically correct.  What are your thoughts?  Please share respectfully.

 

 

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“What Will Your Life Bee?”

I don’t know about you but I love honey.  Have you ever watched a honeybee?  It is amazing what a little worker bee can do.

When a bee is born in the cooler weather, like spring, they don’t have to travel as far to collect nectar.  There are more flowers available so it is much easier to find places to collect.

When it is summer time and the weather is hotter they have to travel longer distances to find the flowers.  So in the summer, when the bees work the hardest, they only live about 40 days.  When the heat is turned up the work is harder and short-lived.

An average bee travels about 500 miles.  During its lifetime, it gathers enough nectar to make about 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey.  This is a lot of hard work but they are persistent in their collecting.

Another thing that is amazing about the worker bee is that it can carry a heavy load.  When the worker bee is loaded down with pollen or nectar their wings must carry almost two times its body weight.  And they do this an average of ten times a day.

When worker bees are flying around looking for nectar or pollen they go in all different directions but when they get full they make a beeline for the hive, in other words they take a direct route to get back home.  They do not allow anything to distract them.  Their burdens have become so heavy that they no longer think about anything else but getting back home.

We are living in awesome times.  There are so many people out there that need to know about the love of Jesus. They are beautiful flowers that just need to be pollinated.  It may be someone right in your own home.

There is coming a time when the heat is going to be so strong upon Christians that it will be a lot more difficult to pollinate.  Sharing will shorten our lives.  There are parts of this world that are already in these conditions.

We need to work now while it is cooler.  We will be able to reach more people at this time than when it gets hotter.  “I must work…while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” John 9:4.  Another way to look at it, we must work while it is cooler because there will come a time where it is so hot no man can work.

It might seem at times that we work so hard with hardly any results.  But we need to be like the worker bee.  They don’t even think about it, they just keep working hard every day even though in their lifetime they only make 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey.  We need to look at life with a different perspective.

As we strive each day to work for the salvation of those around us we will “collect” burdens.  At times we may feel so heavy that we cannot go on.  At this point we need to be sure that we are taking a beeline to “home” the Burden Bearer.  We need to be filled with the strength of God each morning as we spend time with Him.  And He will be our wings through the day and carry those heavy burdens.  “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Ephesians 6:10.  He will carry us through.

Dear Father,

Thank You for the example of the bee.  We need to work while it is in the cool of the day because the heat is coming.  Help us to work for You without complaint but with diligence just like the bees.  Thank You for the lessons that we can get from Your second book, nature.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Let’s keep busy for the salvation of others.  Remember it starts with our family.  If our family is in a lost condition, we need to be working for them.  To work for the salvation of others, when our immediate family is in need, is not God’s plan.  I have seen many families where they have spent many years in the mission of reaching others and their children were in a lost condition.  We can become so focused on winning others to Christ that we miss what work God really has for us to be doing.  It is easier to work for the salvation of others over our family because our family truly knows who we are. The best witness we can be to others is by reaching the hearts of our family so that our family reflects Christ.  Let’s make sure we keep the right perspective.  It isn’t about what other people think about your choices but what God thinks.

Love you all.

What lessons have you learned through the life of the bee?  I would love to hear it.