Tag: Bible

Roll The Credits

So let me ask you, do you get up after the end of a movie at a theater, or do you hang around for the credits to roll? Until recently, I would have been the one to leave quickly, especially if the movie was bad. But lately I stay and watch the credits roll. Why? well there’s some cute bits at the end of the credits, bloopers, funny cartoons and silly stuff, which even if the movie was bad, can make me smile.

So, If I had left, I would have missed what might be the best part of the movie. Putting this practice of waiting for the credits, let me ask you another question. When you read a book do you look at the opening dedications, acknowledgements or the place where credits are announced? I guess I’m weird but I do as it kinda helps me to understand who the author is and what or whom he cares about.

The same is true about reading the Bible, there is quite a bit of information in the beginning of each book as well as the endings. Case in point is Paul’s letters or what they are sometimes called epistles, which is a letter. Paul always begins his letters by the common salutations and greetings as was the culture of the time. It lets us know who he is writing to. Also, If we look at the ending of the letters, he usually chooses to say help or give credit to someone from the location he is at when he is writing or to the recipient church.

What I found when reading his letter to the church at Rome, he gives a substantial list at the end. Over 26 + or – depending on the number of people in the households he names. One name he credits first is that of the deacon Phoebe, who is the messenger carrying the letter all the way to Rome by ship. This is interesting to note because according to tradition, the deliverer of a letter was tasked with bringing a letter from Paul to the church it was addressed, reading it out loud and then explaining it. Letter of recommendation were given by Paul to authenticate and provide authority to read them before the churches. In this case it was a woman, Phoebe whose Paul commends, authorizes and gives her the title of servant or in some translations deacon of a specific church in Cenchrea. Cenchrea was not some little village either, but a crucial trade port in Greece.

Christians today should be thankful for Phoebe’s service in delivering what has been for the church a great letter. Along with her name are the names of several women (about half of the entire number) that Paul credits with their service to the church and whom he refers to as his co-worker in the Lord. Many of the women are credited for “working very hard in the Lord” Of the list are those who are his relatives, one Junias, a woman he mentions as having been in prison with him and along with her male counterpart Andronicus, “They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was” (Romans 16:7). Yeah, you read that right apostles.

As I mentioned, there’s a lot in the credits worth looking at. So next time when you are trying to rush through reading a passage in the Bible, don’t forget the beginning and the ending. This is where we find the real heroes of the Bible. The men and the women who took the message of the Gospel to their home churches, churches where they were the leaders and shepherds, as well as taking the letters to other churches around the world through the system of Roman roads and on the sea on trade boats (these were not cruises, but working ships), risking their lives as Paul also mentions. But perhaps we should also notice the bigger story here, Paul needed help in this big task of spreading the good news to the lost. He even mentions of his sister in Christ Phoebe “I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me. Did you see that? Even Paul whom Christians kind paint as this Chuck Norris character of the Bible who gets beaten, shipwrecked etc but still keeps going, needed the help of a female deacon who helped many people and was what Paul called a saint. I bet a lot of people don’t like what Paul says here about women serving in leadership roles, they would rather single out verses that condemns it, but well here we have it in the credits, Paul recognizing women for their contribution. Why didn’t Paul send the letter with a man on the high seas? Were there none trustworthy? Or maybe he didn’t care? Or maybe, He recognized her as a very capable deacon who had proved herself in her own church in Greece with the huge task of hand delivering a letter to Rome, Italy. Roll the credits!.God Bless- Nancy

Turbulence

If you’ve ever travelled by plane then I’m sure the above title holds a meaning to you. Maybe you can even think back about a time when your flight suddenly experienced turbulence. If you’ll be honest for a moment, then let me ask you a simple question. In that moment or moments of the sudden drops, sideways wiggles, wing dips and rises, did you at any of those moments during the turbulence panic? Let’s be honest here. I get if you’re a pilot and are used to this or maybe a flight attendant and it’s just another day at the office. It’s just that for the rest of us, your office is above 30k feet.

I remember being on a flight once with a pilot who was sitting across the aisle from me and watched as he explained to his daughter and others, that the turbulence we were feeling was similar to potholes on roadways. It DID make me feel better, but for just a bit as I watched him relax and fall asleep for a bit. If he woke up and panicked then I decided it would be something that I should panic about as well.

There are of course very nice pilots who will announce the turbulence ahead of time so we as passengers can prepare and then the best pilots will also announce they are seeking a better altitude or route to avoid or at least minimize the bounces and sideways shimmies. I like those pilots.

But when the bounces and bumps happen without warning, I panic for a moment and visualize that there is something wrong with the plane- I admit I like window seats near the engines so I can take a quick peak out the window from time to time to make sure we’re all good there. Being married to an aircraft mechanic and manufacturer who actually builds the engines is both a blessing and a curse. When he is flying with me and gets nervous, well then I get nervous. Or when he explains many of the issues in manufacturing that come up, well I take note of every noise and bump on the airplane.

So, what I am really trying to say is I feel like we are all on this flight lately that has had many incidents of turbulence. I am viewing this from here in the United States and am wondering when this crazy turbulent journey will end. I am not alone. We are beginning to wonder who is the pilot and why isn’t he changing course or adjusting altitude so we can all just take a breath and have the seatbelt signs go out.

There are some people who, just like on a plane flight, will ignore the seatbelt signs, get up, walk around and ignore the cabin stewards instructions, while the rest of us are strapped in, living in fear of the next big thing. Will it be a drop, or a side ways shimmy or a wing dip. There are random announcements from the cockpit, stating everything is amazing and “I am the best pilot in the world” but we feel the dips and drops and worry that we are all about to go down.

It would be nice to hear a voice of truth that the plane is flying safe and we are all going to be okay. But for some of us we don’t believe the messages of truth are being shared, just more propaganda. The real truth doesn’t come from those in power or even from those behind pulpits, it comes from the original source of truth, the Bible.

The world has always had its share of turbulence and the people mentioned in the Bible faced many of the same issues we find ourselves in today. Wars, abuse, greed, murder, theft, jealousy, divorce, sickness, death, miscarriage, loss of employment, money struggles, taxes to be paid, wrongful imprisonment. These are not new. Our nature as humans has not changed. There isn’t a utopian society. Mankind will always be bent away from God and choose self and convenience over sacrifice.

Does this mean we should just give up? Resign ourselves to hopelessness? No. We can rest assured that those who seek harm to others will be held accountable. We are ALL held accountable before God. God is not a respecter of persons, and He doesn’t base our goodness on our own standards, but on his. the Bible says that God will not be mocked.

None of us can claim to be Jesus or as good as Jesus, but we can all humble ourselves before God and ask for His protection and guidance. It might feel right now that the pilot is missing or at least not taking the world on a safe flight plan, but what we need to remember is that God created this world and preserves it, man doesn’t control everything and it is up to God’s timing to land the plane.

I am reminded through this struggling time that Jesus slept quietly on the boat with the disciples while the wind and the waves around the boat scared them and they thought they were going to die. When they woke up Jesus, He asked them where is your faith? and commanded the wind and the waves to stop and they did. (Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41 and Luke 8:22-25). Jesus also said “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (NIV, John 16:33). Despite the trouble or turbulence in the moment, don’t forget that God is still in control, we can lean into that and place out trust in Him, not in politics or religion, but wholly completely on Him. God bless- Nancy

Where Do I begin?

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path- Psalm 119:105

Well, it’s the start of a new year again, although we are all ready half way through January. Wow! Can you believe it? I was recently watching a video posted on YouTube and this was one of the questions that came to mind from watching.

The topic was the story of Jesus and how many of us really know the true story of Jesus, or of the entirety of the Bible. The video involved three people; two interviewers and one interviewee who had just written a book about Jesus. An overarching theme began to surface that demonstrated that most people, including the interviewers, found the Bible difficult to understand and had never read it, and only knew a few “stories” from the Bible, you know them too, the Good Samaritan, Noah’s Ark, the Flood, that is I’m making an assumption here that many are familiar with some of these.

For many people the new year brings about the desire to change and develop new, often healthier habits. Some start a new exercise or eating plan, and others want to grow deeper in their faith, or take care of their mental health or focus on self- care.

Some who are looking for the answers to meaning and purpose often look to religious texts to inspire them and give meaning. For those seeking Christian answers and wondering is God real? Can He be trusted? What is the Bible about? Is it true and can it be trusted? Well, the well intentioned seeker will pick up the Bible and begin from the beginning (literally) in Genesis, and everything goes well until they find themselves at Leviticus , or Numbers or Deuteronomy and get bogged down with pronouncing names or the long list of don’ts and do’s.

While, I do believe this is the place to start to understand the basic premise of Christianity: God created everything, even mankind, giving them- the first people- instructions for their good, while along comes the Devil, and plays mind games with the woman and man until they willfully disobey one of the boundaries set by God and this act sets into motion the whole rest of the story, the meta narrative of the Bible- God’s plan to restore His broken relationship with mankind. From Genesis, it is a good idea to jump ahead and read the New Testament Gospels. And jump back to the Old Testament. It might also be helpful to consider a Bible in a year reading plan, one that selects passages from both the Old and New Testaments. When you find a passage that is confusing I find searching online can yield some good results or consider investing in a good Bible commentary, in which scholars have broken down passages and chapter within contexts (what it meant to the audience it was written for and how we can apply it to our time). Additionally, a Bible dictionary is helpful as well. It can take the mystery out of places, traditions, rituals and the history of the world at the time the book of the Bible was written.

Taken all together, the entirety of the Bible is the most amazing story of love and faithfulness. The love and faithfulness of God toward an obstinate group of humans- that means us too, not just those from ancient times. Most scholars of the Bible acknowledge that we are currently living in the time of the Bible. The already, not yet, the future is laid out in the ending pages of the Bible and we are right in an era before the end of the ages. We are living the Bible now, the story is not finished yet and it is a real page turner.

If you’re still unsure about reading and understanding start in the Psalms, or Proverbs, or the Gospel of John. They provide wisdom, comfort, and an insight into God’s plan of redemption through Jesus. Really, anywhere is a place to start and you will grow as you read. Don’t sweat the difficult passages, we Bible scholars don’t sometimes know what they mean either! We can only research and discuss with others, that makes the whole endeavor of reading the Bible interesting and gives you a place to reflect and try to understand your place in this world. Hope you will try it! It is a life giving place to start and it might change your new year. God bless you – Nancy

Breaking the Silence

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed- John, John 3:19-20.

I titled this blog as breaking the silence, but wanted to consider also a subtitle: light in the darkness. I realized just how long of a pause there has been between my posts and I owe my faithful subscribers an apology as I have been stuck in processing my thoughts and overwhelmed with anxiety. Yes, Christians can have full blown anxiety, and get the feeling of being overwhelmed even as we trust God in all things. The spiritual battlefield is most often in the mind and sometimes it seems like the wrong side is winning, attacking believers with fear.

It is probably obvious to many of you that my country ( the US) is facing many struggles with the new administration. It may appear to be (and is in some ways) divided with some supporting what is being termed as “MAGA Christians” and their representations in leadership with those who oppose and protest against the actions of the leadership. It is not a position that I would ever have dreamed would happen as the country was founded by immigrants who left their home countries to leave behind religious tyranny and find opportunities to live and worship as they pleased while upholding the teaching from the Bible. My relatives among these groups to leave their homelands for religious freedom.

The history of this country has been checkered and not without sinning against the teachings found in the Bible, but overall, over the years solid individuals and groups put forth laws that sought to give freedoms to individuals and by doing so reflected the teachings of Christ , the two main commandments to love God and love neighbor as found in the Gospels.

But now, I have recently found out that many who claim to take back America, have no intention on upholding the teachings of Jesus. They claim to forward and promote Christian values, but in fact never really share the teachings of the Bible, but misquote and twist the Bible to suit their own agendas of hate, division, crime, abuse and evil. These individuals do not reflect Christians, only a form of false Christianity.

To be honest, I don’t really like talking about politics, but as I have heard from other leaders from solid Christian ministries speaking out and mentioning this division of Christians within the United States, I couldn’t remain silent. Sowing seeds of hate, racism, greed, indifference to the poor, oppressed, the immigrant, and the female leaders, while fueling their own bank accounts and using bribery to effect the outcomes of foreign elections has no place and is incongruent with Jesus. These Christians have “A form of godliness”, but their hearts are far from God, and they are in denial of the power (The Holy Spirit) and do not produce fruit in agreement with the Spirit.

If you are feeling this same sense of anxiousness about the current state of Christianity in the United States, know you are not alone. We cannot stand by and allow ourselves to go with the flow. To be sure, I believe God is in control and there’s no need to allow ourselves to fear, but as I heard from another Christian recently, what we need to focus on now is reading the Bible to know it fully so that we will not be deceived as some have been by their failures to realize the misquotes of the Bible and not be flattered by the sound bite comments that attempt to appease the Christian voting base. Many of the financial support for these groups has come from false preachers who have grown massive followers and amassed huge amounts of money that they give to the MAGA efforts. Believers have been used by these politicians by claiming they promote the Bible and Christian values when they do not, to gain their rise to power.

Now is the time for Christians to shine the light of Christ brighter, share the Gospel, disciple others, teach from the Bible, refuse to honor mere men as idols and worship God only, trust God, not in money and wealth, help others who are all created in the image of God. As the verse above mentions light exposes the darkness, “But whoever lives by the truth, comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God” Jn. 3:21. And also, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it” Jn. 1:4. Keep shining the light of Christ against the darkness that masks as angels of light, and show the world who Jesus really is. -God Bless, Nancy

More

We live in a world that feels like there is always something ‘more’ to be acquired. Something more to be bought. Something more to be done. Some might call it greed at first glance, claiming that we are never satisfied with what we currently have and are always desiring what someone else has that we don’t yet have.

Some blame social media and how easy it is to fall into the comparison trap. Some might say we are all a sinful, greedy, and jealous people who need to rid ourselves of such self- centered sin. The spiritual side might reveal the obvious that we have the God- shaped space within us that can only be satisfied with a personal relationship with God to bring us the ultimate satisfaction and deliverance from the pursuit of more.

While I agree with all of the above to one degree or another, let me pose a different perspective. One that has struck me since the passing of my father last year. What if just maybe, God has designed us with this “more” factor; this hard wired in our personalities, or spirit’s to desire “more”. What if we have been given this innate sense that there IS more to this life than this moment and place in time.

It makes sense to me when I think of the delicate and intricate patterns within the physical design of our bodies. The complexity and functionality of the cell, multiplied many times over with slight variations according to a cell’s purpose. Our bodies work like well- oiled machines and mini factories if you will. I am convinced this complex and wonderful design is not by chance or evolution. Several examples of these cellular factories demonstrate an interdependence upon being formed at the exact same moment, otherwise one part would cease to exist, preventing the proper function of another part. They simply had to be created at the same moment, and not by evolution.

Given this wonder and miracle of human design and mankind’s ability to reason, communicate and have self- awareness, our lives surely are worth more than a compact 70 years (if we are fortunate) and then a complete and total obliteration into the nothingness of the cosmos. We are made for more, not less than our design value.

I have seen the great cathedrals and castles of Europe and the great houses and monuments here in the United States and they have long outlived their builders, but even with the great works of architecture, there was a builder and designer.

Mankind is given a gift to design and build and imitate our Creator, but we are also created in His image and created for not just this limited life, but an after life, an eternal life.

This is what I believe we are looking for and sensing, that there is more. There is a sense of right and wrong (a moral law) that is also given to us by our Creator. We have very similar senses of right and wrong regardless of cultures. There are cultural differences, please don’t get me wrong, but as philosophers like to term it, “gratuitous evil” is not acceptable in the majority of worldviews. Where does this come from? It is not left over from a survival view, since the survival of the fittest, tends to eliminate the weakest first, but actually cannot be demonstrated. Evolution is a theory, not a proven fact.

So what if we are designed for more? Preprogrammed to hold fast to the notion that this life is not all there is. That for a loved one to be separated from us through death, feels wrong, because it IS wrong. If we are designed in the image of God, than doesn’t it stand to reason that we can be eternal as well, that there is more to us than the physical shell that holds within it a body, but also a spiritual and mental capacity dimension that is held within yet not anchored with the physical body? When we die our spirit and soul lives on as our physical form dies.

So, is this desire for more come from a place of wanting the wrongs of this world made right, for justice to be served and recompense given? For a reuniting with our passed loved ones? Is this why we grieve? Is this why we pursue acting well as a responsible person? Do we deep down know there is more to come than our current state? I believe there is. Just something to ponder for today. God Bless, Nancy

You Are Loved

So, I’m probably going to date myself with this question, but here goes. Do you remember hearing about people who left their homes and jobs to go “find” themselves? I’m not really sure when this phrase appeared, but I just remember hearing it. There was a sense that these people were burned out with the 9-5 work or school, or whatever and needed to take a break in order to explore the real meaning to their life.

I think it has always been around to some degree or another. People wonder if there is more to this life than being born, living, working and then dying. They ask questions like why an I here? And what is my life about? Some might call this search finding philosophy or exploring spirituality or considering one’s existential reality.

From a Christian perspective, it is searching for God, but in a theological understanding it is realizing that God has been calling and initiating the search rather than the other way around. It’s pretty clear from the Bible, that God initiates the relationship with His creation. Genesis records the creation of the universe and all that is in it, including this little marble- sized planet we call home (so, I know its bigger than a marble, just thinking in relation to the other planets, we’re pretty small). Anyway, God created mankind, which if you are reading this, and unless you are AI, you are a member of mankind. This amazing pinnacle of God’s creation. We have intellect, communications, rationality, morality, and we use all these traits to communicate, rationalize, moralize and think with others and we are also in this unique way, able to communicate with God, our creator. He designed us this way. We are not on the same level as the animals, or birds, or reptiles, or insects, or fish. We are commanded and given the job to have dominion over these humble creatures. Before, you suggest that means we can do whatever we please, the word dominion as it was understood from the original language of the Bible means mankind acts as a protector of the animals, or caretaker if you will.

But I am just pointing this out so you can begin to understand how we are made and who we are. We are not merely another form of animal, we have much greater traits and attributes and are given a very important role in this world. This might sound vaguely familiar to you if you grew up understanding the belief in God as creator. For those of you who read this and do not have a Christian background this might be the first time you’ve heard this explanation of how mankind was created and how we differ from other mammals.

What does this mean for us, for me and for you? First of all it’s a place to begin to understand who you really are. Everything and everyone around us tries to tell us who we are and define us, yet, if you remember my previous blog (Factory Reset) I mentioned that what we need in the New Year is to get back to basics, back to the Bible. So, my challenge for this week, is to understand who you are, not according to what job you hold, your social or economic status, your marital status or even what church you attend or don’t attend, but to understand who God says you are.

And the first item I want you to consider in defining yourself is that YOU are loved. No matter where, when and to whom you were born to, whether you were adopted or forgotten, YOU were loved. God created YOU. For a reason, God is love and He decided to create mankind in His image. He didn’t need to, for He was complete and lacking nothing, yet He decided the earth needed you. Pretty cool, huh? Just remember that who you are is this You are loved. -God Bless, Nancy

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him -Jn 3:16-17, NIV.

A Promise Kept

“For no word from God will ever fail”- Luke 1:37

How many times have I read the passage from Luke’s Gospel account of the Virgin Birth of Jesus and missed the verse above? I’m not sure, but I double checked today, and the verse was still there. It stood out to me a couple of days ago. Right when I needed it. Of course! I’ve found this out about God, He always has the perfect timing, with the right Bible verse when I needed it. And believer me this year I have needed them quite often. I’ll be honest it has been a tough year. I feel my anxiety growing gradually as the year has passed, and now here we are near the end of December, on the eve of Christmas, and I am feeling no joy, no peace, and no comfort.

But I keep holding on to God’s promise. It WILL get better. I’ve seen it before. My sadness, my anxiety, my fear will be replaced by the peace only Jesus gives. My heart will feel joy again and my mind will be filled with hopeful thoughts. This is just a season. I know God will come through and I take comfort in the verse above.

God made the promise to mankind way back in the book of Genesis. To send a Savior. To send a deliverer who would defeat the serpent. And when the people were least expecting Jesus’ entrance into the world, here He came in the lowliest, most unexpected way. He wasn’t born to a royal couple, yet He is a King, no birth announcements or baby showers to prepare for His arrival, but a couple who were young and ill- prepared for a birth in the middle of a government census, yet Jesus was prophesied to have the government on His shoulders in a Kingdom without end. Born in a barn, yet coming from a royal throne in Heaven, that He set aside. The power to create the world, yet in a lowly human body that would need a mother’s care to change his diaper and feed Him.

And here He came. As promised. Not in our time table, but God’s. To love a world and give His life for a wayward group of humans. Humans who always do their own thing, rebelling against God, like a rebellious teenager or determined toddler who say “No!” to what the parent knows is best for them. God kept His promise to deliver us. To defeat death. To offer hope, peace with Him and with our fellow man, joy and a love that surpasses all human relationships. He came, because of us, not despite us.

Darkness is not forever. The world was dark when Jesus came and He brought light and hope to it. Sometimes life feels like a darkness that will last forever, but it won’t. God brings us a word at the right time, maybe through the Bible, maybe through a song, or maybe through a friend. Let’s pause today and listen for that word, that promise and remember God’s word does not fail. He kept His promise and offers us salvation, restoring our broken relationship with Him, giving us hope for this life that we will be alright. Our circumstances might not be good, but God is good. And that is a promise I hold onto. Tightly. Merry Christmas and God Bless you – Nancy

Seeing Is Believing

If I were to ask whether you believe God still speaks to us today, how would you respond? I would imagine it would depend upon your own experiences with God (and maybe what your church believes, if you attend). But, have you ever really thought whether God would speak to you personally? Most pastors and theologian might comment to the question by suggesting that God does in fact speak to us, just that it is limited to what is written in the Bible. Others might answer by suggesting that believers who have the Holy Spirit within, hear, or are impressed within their subconscious with an idea. usually the impression is in regard to what one should or shouldn’t do, with the Holy Spirit acting as a holy umpire if you will.

In my own experience, I would answer yes, God does speak and agree with the two examples from above, but I also have found that God speaks through visual aids. Often, He puts me in situations in which I am acutely aware of my surroundings, that is He seems to point out something He is trying to show me and teach me. Let me explain. Recently I have found myself sitting right behind a group of people in church, who if I can be real honest, I probably would have dismissed because of their age range. I am not of that age, so yeah, whatever you want to label it, I have a bias against. No, I’m not going to tell you what age group, but as I watched them sit down in front of me, I expected them to act in church the way I THOUGHT, they would act. But just as I was feeling my smug self rising up, they did something remarkable, they didn’t do as I had expected, but instead worshipped God as I have never seen before.

Ok, please don’t close this out and please keep reading. My point is that God has a way to speak to me that convicts and encourages by showing me just what I need to see and the Holy Spirit reminds me that it is God speaking to me, trying to get my attention, all the while exposing the bad attitude I have toward my brothers and sisters in Christ. Please don’t tell me you have never had this happen, we all bring stereotypes and biases into worship. We are all works in progress.

Later, in the same week I found myself face to face with a manager of a business I had interviewed with a year before. I was offered a job with the business, but there was something about this particular manager, that raised some doubts about the position, so I declined. Now, face to face once again, under different circumstances, I found this person was not anything like I had believed before, and was actually a nice person. Once again the Holy Spirit reminded me how I had quickly judged the company by its manager, and I had been wrong. My attitude needed a check. I realized in that week, God had been showing me and telling me that my heart needed a tuneup. So, YES! I believe God does speak to us today. He desires for us to grow up in Him and be transformed into the likeness of Christ. We just need to listen and watch. What is He trying to show you and tell you today? God Bless, Nancy

Unhindered

So, what’s holding you back? From taking that next step? From moving forward. I’m sure if you are like me, you kinda know the answer already. The minute you read the question, you could picture just what it is. The big thing that holds you back. Is it fear? Is it doubt? Is it because you lack faith?

For me it has always been fear. The fear of rejection, and the fear of failing, of not measuring up to others, not fitting in. I always have this same recurring fear of not fitting in and people not approving of what I do. When we let fear control us, we get held back from our progress forward. I have written previous blogs on facing fear before, and like I always say, I am a work in progress. I write about what to do, but even for myself, those steps forward in facing fears, have never been easy. I think it is that way for all of us. We let ourselves and our fears hold us back. It isn’t really anyone else, but US.

We have dreams and goals and maybe even callings, but we can feel hindered from pursuing them. These dreams, goals and callings, are like small seeds when we first sense them. If we nurture them, they grow and produce fruit. If we leave them alone, they can become stagnant and lifeless. When we let fear, or whatever else that we know is OUR hindrances become larger than our dreams, the dreams will wither. It’s like the parable of the sower that Jesus taught. We can let the worries and cares- like the fear of rejection- steal the seeds and prevent them from growing. If you would like to read the entire parable it is from Matthew chapter 13, Luke chapter 8 and Mark chapter 4. Jesus is of course explaining how those that hear the Gospel can hear it, but not everyone will accept the message of the Gospel, and still others will fall away from faith and not grow. It takes nurturing and good soil. The principle is the same, however,

We need to continue to nurture and grow our dreams and callings. To press past the worries, pray about every step we need to take, make time in our schedules to pursue those dreams and believe that God has uniquely qualified us and hard- wired us with certain skills and talents for those dreams and callings.

We can also ask others to pray for us. I know I need prayer warriors, praying for me. I also find that I need to spend time reading the Bible and reading books that others have written who have gone before me in this faith journey. It renews my thoughts and renewing my thoughts, renews my mind. And my mind is my biggest hindrance to stepping out into my dreams. The fears I have tend to roll around in my mind, unless I decide to believe what the Bible says, over what I might be feeling, others are saying about me, or what the devil tries to tell me about myself. I have to choose to free my thoughts, to unhinder them from fears and move forward in faith. It is a journey, not a dash, but I am moving forward and so can you. God Bless- Nancy

The Fullness of God

For God was pleased to have all the his fullness dwell in him and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.-

Paul to the Colossians 1:19-20

So, I have been feeling a bit stuck lately, despite understanding this process of life moving forward. See, even if we understand it and try to find our stride and run our race, we can get overwhelmed at times. We think there is something we should be doing and are falling short. Or it is something we should be doing better. Maybe its reading our Bibles more, or praying more, maybe being a better person, or saving our money better. There is always that “more” we could and should be doing and goals we should be meeting. We put guilt and blame on ourselves when we do not measure up to other people’s standards. So, we might feel overwhelmed and instead of pushing ourselves, we kind of allow ourselves to get into a slump. This is especially true when our goals are unrealistic, or we are trying to meet these goals because someone else is putting pressure upon us. It might be our friends, or our jobs or our family. But we find ourselves so overwhelmed by these “coulds” and “shoulds” and goals to be like others or be the best, that we choose rather to fall into a pit of self- loathing and condemnation. We feel bad for our feeling bad also, compounding our circumstances and well, we feel stuck. Notice I said we “feel” stuck, while the truth is we might say we are stuck, but what we actually should say is that we are feeling stuck. We do not desire to run our race for we believe it is impossible to complete it well. We give up. Our hope is gone. We cannot see ourselves as good, or as accomplished already, realizing all the distance we have already covered in this race. We only look at our shortcomings. We don’t see how far we have come.

It is difficult to get out of a slump like that. To find encouragement and make peace with ourselves about our shortcomings. We need a different perspective. A change of view to help us see who we are and how we are already good, and loved, and full of hope for the future. This race of life is not about how we measure up and whether or not we meet our goals. We are already loved and treasured by God. He has given us the qualities and characteristics he has by His design and purpose. And He doesn’t expect us to be perfect. He knows we will fall short. But, when we fall down in despair, feeling like there is no hope, no point in the race to be the best, he reaches down, grabs our hand, and picks us back up. We are weary of trying to be all we should be, tired of measuring up to the world, and He gets that. He knows we need Him, but He doesn’t wait for us to pick ourselves up, He offers a hand.

At least, this has been my experience. Like this morning as I picked up my Bible to read. I found this passage in Colossians. Well- I didn’t just discover it- I was reading through the letters of Paul and this was the verse that stood out to me. “The fullness of God” these words just stood out. I have studied the Bible, read the passage, wrote papers on the deity of Jesus, but in that moment, it was as if God was reaching out His hand to pick me up, the fallen runner on the ground. As I read the beginning commentary in my Bible about the letter, the commentator wrote that the letter was of concern to Paul and he wrote it because several people of the church in Colossae believed that they had secret knowledge beyond the Gospel and that somehow Jesus dying on the cross was not enough. His letter was sent them to explain that salvation was complete in Jesus’ death and resurrection and that Jesus was fully God, divine and died and rose again.

This right here is reason alone to get excited, that salvation is complete, nothing else needed- no secret works, or knowledge, but divinely orchestrated and completed. But…. after I read the passage I also picked another book I had been reading (Paul Copan’s Is God A Moral Monster?) Copan explains what happened on the cross as Christ gave up His life. See, I had been taught that when Jesus was taking on the sins of the world, God the father could not watch, that’s why Jesus cried out “My God why have you forsaken me?” But, according to Copan, God was there. In the lightening, thunder, earthquake and the tearing of the temple curtain. As Copan explains, look back at God’s meeting with Moses on the mountain. There was thunder, lightning and an earthquake. Whaaaat? Like I looked it up(Exodus 19). Yup, right there! How could I miss it? God didn’t just send Jesus, the son and leave, preferring not to watch His son suffering, He the father was right there. In that darkest hour.

For me that was so encouraging this morning. We forget sometimes how awesome Jesus really is. he is the fullness of God, not less than. I am encouraged this morning at the greater perspective I now have about the cross. it has lifted me up, just as a hand up from God, to this fallen runner. -God bless Nancy