A murderer, No Doubt!

The people of the island saw it (a snake) hanging from his hand and said to each other, "A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live." But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed. The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw that he wasn't harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a god.

Acts 28:4-6

Isn't it funny how we let circumstances change our minds? I mean, reallly, these natives thought he was a murderer, then they thought he was a god! Talk about wavering, but that's how we can be as well.

I just got finished reading some emails from other Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer's Conference attendees talking about "flat tires". In essence, they were talking about how we let the circumstances of life change our course of direction. At this writer's conference, we all got pumped up on what God has in store for us (note the present tense of the verb has), and we had big plans of following through on each and every one of them. Once we got home, however, life threw it's nails in our path and began to deflate the tires of our enthusiasm. Let's not let Satan derail us from the path God has already chosen for us. Oh, rest assured he will try any and everything he can think of, but remember two things: 1)Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4); and 2)God already has big plans for you, you just have to walk them out! (Jer. 29:11)

Why Do We Read Scripture, Anyway?

There are many reasons to read God's word, but here are a few from John 17, Jesus' words to His Father just before He is betrayed and arrested.

1. Joy. In John 17:13, Jesus says"...I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy." He was able to tell His disciples this truth in person, but we still have access to the truth by reading His precious word. And here we see that He does not give us His word so we would know right from wrong, or so we would be able to do things for Him, but that we would be filled with His joy.

2. Protection. Jesus goes on to ask God to protect us from the evil one, because we do not belong in this world any more than He does (vss. 15-16). This gives me great comfort when I think about the obscure fact of spiritual warfare. We know it exists, but few of us really understand it. This puts new meaning on the verse that says "Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4). I know that all things are in His hands, and that He is capable to do more than I can ever imagine, or understand.

3. Holiness. "I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth" (vs. 19). Just what is this truth? "...teach them your word, which is truth" (vs. 17). It's God's word, and His word at that time is what we call the Old Testament. This is plainly shown to us by statemets made by Jesus after His death and resurrection. He finds two of His followers on the road to Emmaus and "takes them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Sciptures the things concerning Himslef" (Luke 24:27). We also see that this truth is intertwined with Jesus being the supreme sacrifice. Only through believing in Him as God's only Son and putting Him first in our lives can we be made holy. John 17:20 says, "I am praying not only for these disciples, but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message." This includes you and me!

4. Unity. Jesus prays that we will all be one, just as He and God are one. This sounds too good to be true, but when put into context, it all makes perfect sense. He prays this so that the world might believe that God sent Him, therefore giving us the gift of salvation, and our last nugget from the seventeenth chapter of the gospel of John: love.

5. Love. Jesus prays for us to have unity with the Father not only for the world to know Jesus is His Son, but also that we would know that God the Father loves us as much as He loves Jesus. (vs. 23). Now, I don't know about you, but that's a hard one to wrap my brain around! I will just have to take Him at His word, and that's where this all started, with Jesus giving us God's word. How convenient that we have such easy access to His word. Many of us have multiple Bibles in our homes, and I have recently learned that you can go to a Lifeway bookstore and purchase a Bible for a dollar! As if that wasn't convenient enough, He tells us in Romans that His word is on our lips and in our hearts (Romans 10:8); we have it with us all the time. What a mighty God we serve!

I pray that you, and I, can go out today with the full assurance of God's love and acceptance because of the sacrifice of Jesus. Any struggle I have, I know that God is protecting me from the evil one. I pray that I can walk in the truth that Jesus came to this earth to give. Thank you, Father for giving us your Son. In His precious name, Amen.

Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net and Janaka Dharmasena

Heavenly Daddy

Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
and imagerymajestic.

Yesterday at church, we sang Unashamed Love by Ten Shekel Shirt, one of my favorite songs. During it, something amazing happened. For the first time, I truly saw God as my Heavenly Father. It felt as though He was holding me, and we were at a Father/daughter dance. Every girl longs to be cherished, and strangely enough, as I was worshipping Him, and telling Him how worthy He is, He seemed to be saying the same thing back to me. With eyes closed, all else seemed to fade away, and I had a private moment with God, my heavenly Daddy.

Then, today as I was listening to that same song and thumbing through the Bible, I came across this scripture, which is Jesus saying: "At that time, you won't need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and He will grant your request because you use my name. ...Ask, using my name, and you will receive and you will have abundant joy." John 16:23-24

I just love the way He starts something beautiful and continues to make it more beautiful. As if dancing with the Daddy of the universe isn't enough, He tells me one more time, in yet another way, that I can come into His presence with full assurance that He wants me there. This is all because of the love He lavished upon me with the glorious sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. Thank you, Daddy, for being who You are!