Inspirations

Today, I want to remind you of something amazing.  God chose you.  Yes!  No matter whom you are or what you've done; God wants and desires you!  See, I told you that it was amazing.  Wait!  It gets even better; God loves you so much that he chose to die for you.   He didn’t have to do that, he chose to do that. He could have decided that the cost was too high, but he didn’t.  Is it not amazing that he had a choice to die; or not to die!    Are you feeling loved right about now?  Good!  I know I have probably not said anything new, but it may be that, like me, you need a reminder.  I was reminded of this tonight, and what God reminded me was that he had a choice.  He could have decided that it was too much of a bother or that we were not worth it.  After all, no one actually deserves God’s favor.  He gives it, but we don’t deserve it.  In fact, Paul reminds us that when he died for us we were all si...

If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love,  I've  gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.  1 Corinthians 13:3 The other day as I was driving, I looked in the rear view mirror and noticed a police car right behind me.  My heart beat a little faster, and I started a mental check.   Is my seat-belt on?  Check.  Am I speeding?  Nope.  I made sure when I was turning that I used my signal.  I wasn't on my cell phone.  I didn't even let my mind wander.  While the police car was behind me, I made sure driving had my total concentration because I did not want a ticket.  The driving force behind my actions that day was the fear of a ticket.  Friends, as followers of God our “driving force” behind the things we do must always be love.  God is way more concerned with the reasons why; than what. ...

It was sunny and quite warm for September, so I decided to go outside and sit under a tree during my lunch break.  As I was sitting under a tree listening to music and knitting, and enjoying time with God, a lady came up to me, and said she wanted to be sure I was OK.  Since I had been in the same place for what seemed to her to be a long time, she thought I might be sick and need help.  I assured her I was fine, and she went on her way.  I was humbled and amazed that someone would take the time to stop and check on me to see that I did not need help.  I was also ashamed because I have seen the lady around a few times, and had thought her to be unfriendly. As I finished my lunch, God reminded me not to be quick to form opinions about people; to wait and keep an open mind until I know them better before I make determinations about their character. James says “mercy triumphs over judgment”.  For me, I want to extend mercy as often as I can. I want to kee...

Some time ago, we had to replace the roof on our house.  It started out as a minor leak when the rain was heavy.  Gradually, it would leak every time it rained.  By the time we got it fixed, we had to replace not just shingles, but the boards underneath, and the ceiling too.  What a disaster!  It would have been relatively easy to fix when it was a small leak; but because of finances, we had none, and the massiveness of the task we let it go; because, for a while, we could put it out of our mind until the next rain storm.  Then it would rain, and we would say, “We need to do something about that roof”.   Sometimes we do the same thing in our life also.  We give the devil a foothold because we fail to take care of small things.  Rather than correct the wrong attitude, or thoughts.  We let them go because it’s a little insignificant thing and we can “fix it later”, and it easier to let it go than it is to deal with the problem....

Today, I went apple picking.  It’s one of the fall things that I enjoy even though I’ll be sore tomorrow.  I have a friend that allowed me the privilege of picking as many apples as I wanted. What a blessing that was!  When I went to her house, she had two apple trees.  One tree had small apples that were still kind of green.  It didn't look like the apples grew very much. It was plain to see that it was not a good tree.  The other tree had huge red apples on it.  In fact, there were so many apples, that some of the branches were bent almost down to the ground.  It was also just as easy to see that this tree was indeed a good tree.  Jesus said that we are like trees and when people look at the fruit, the deeds, they can tell just as easily the whether we are good or bad.  Friends, fellow Christians what kind of fruit is your life producing?  If you are not sure, ask someone close to you.  They can see whether you are bitter, q...

  Here’s how we can be sure that we know God in the right way: Keep his commandments.  John 2:2-3 Growing up, there were many things that I chose not to do simply because I knew my parents, especially my dad, would be hurt if I did them.  It wasn't that I thought my dad would not love me if I did them; I just did not want to cause my dad shame or pain.  A few months ago, some friends went to a club.  Later another mutual friend if I went with them to the club.  The rest of the group laughed and said, “No, she’s a goody-two-shoe”.  Perhaps I should have been offended, but I wasn't.  We’re all friends, and I knew that they meant.  There are many things that I choose not to do because I love God.   I know that God will still love me even if I choose to participate in drunkenness, or do something immoral, or take part in any other lust of the flesh.  I would not cease to be a Christian because I did any of those things....

Therefore, there is  no w  no   condemn ation  for those who are in Christ Jesus,  Romans 8:1 Ok, I admit it!  I am a sensitive person.  I absolutely hate knowing that I have hurt someone either knowingly or unknowingly.  I do not think this is a bad thing.  It is how God made me, which is the best me there is.  There are times, however, when it creates problems; that others who are not so sensitively wired do not have.  If someone criticizes something that I said or did, I immediately feel pain or guilty; I think that I must have caused their hurt and or anger.  I internalize the remarks and feel badly that I hurt the other person.  Recently, I had such an episode, and as I was thinking about the altercation; I heard God say “My child, I did not condemn you”. Then he said, “You did nothing wrong; no sin was committed.  You don’t have to “own” this guilt.  ”.  So I decided that I would send that guilt ri...