Category Archives: SPIRITUAL INTEREST

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Does God Matter? Why?

As a contemplative person, I like to consider many issues.  I like to ask myself “why?” On my non-contemplative side, I like to ask myself “what?” When bad things happen to me, I no longer ask why they are happening. I have found that to be useless. It doesn’t ever get answered unless it’s a result of my own actions. It is funny how we always want to know why. We are quick to assimilate an opinion, which we then form into an answer as an explanation for why the thing happened.

My post on a “God-thing” is subjective in that way.

I assume something is a “God Thing” because I ask God to answer the prayer and the way it comes to fruition is not of my doing, or He apparently goes before me or others in a specific situation. I believe they are from God.

“What?” is different.

My “what?” is actually “What now?” or “What’s next?” or “What should I do?” or “What does this mean?”  I distinctly want to know what I am to do in a specific situation. I don’t want to do it motivated by my own flesh or with my own attitudes, which takes a certain amount of discerning and wisdom before an action is undertaken.

Then we come to “God”and our belief in Him.

Why do we believe in God? Why do we believe God is who He is?  Why do we believe Christ is the answer? Interesting stuff. Truly interesting. Ravi Zacharias was quoting J. I. Packer, and he said something like this. All philosophy ties back to two questions we as a people are striving to answer:  Question 1. Is there a God? Question 2. If there is a God, what is He like? Fundamental questions, right?

Why? Why does it matter?

Life is lived according to one’s knowledge of God and the truth we believe. Our actions are framed within this context. How we act shows what we believe. Truth is huge. Within a knowledge of God, we formulate truth. Truth is truth and it has not the capacity to be manipulated. It is not subjective. What is true will always be true, like yellow will always be yellow. Yellow is not red. Throughout the ages people have been arguing about truth. I was listening to a Christian radio broadcast of an interview with an author who was talking about truth. He said that the Constitution of the United States was written in the way in which it was written because of the writers’ Judeo-Christian view and beliefs. He said we would not have this sort of document to guide us without their respect for  Christian principles. Although some of the fathers may not have been Christian, they had a fundamental appreciation for the truths found within Christianity whose  concepts were valued and incorporated as guiding foundations for the way this new country, new government, was being formed.

We have a lot to be thankful for.

I wrote about the need for salvation last week. To be saved, one must have a need to be saved.  We don’t save someone who doesn’t need saving. God doesn’t, either. We need saving. Spiritually, we are in a lost condition until we come to Jesus, when we repent of our sins, and we accept His offer of salvation for our sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as our own personal Savior. This belief will lead to restoration of relationship with God. On the cross, a penalty was paid for your and my sins; for our rebellion, selfish ways, and lost condition. It is a beautiful work of God that sets us free from bondage to sin, ourselves, this world and the evil within it. It is a miraculous supernatural event that happens in the person’s soul.  We go from lost and dying, to life and living because of genuine belief in Jesus Christ. “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 NKJV

Why is it such a hard thing for some people to believe in Christ?

If you are one of those who has your guard up, who doesn’t want to listen to that Jesus stuff, that “born again” business. If you are one of those who chooses to plug your ears to the gospel of Jesus Christ, let me tell you, you need to give it a second look. God may be the answer you are seeking, the hope that you are needing, and the relationship you are craving. I believe you are missing out on the best thing ever, ever, ever. Christ didn’t come to make your life hard and complicated. He came to give you life. He came to offer you forgiveness. Christ is a giver. He gives hope, joy, a new heart and a new you. You are offered a new relationship, and it is a special one.

Following Christ is redemptive.

God redeems people. God wants to make you completely whole as a person. Jesus wants to save you because you’re worth saving. God loves YOU. He does. Give Him a chance to prove it. Actually, He already did prove it on the cross. We were with Him at the cross. His grace is sufficient for you and for me.

What about Christians who fail to be very “Christian”?

That one can be dismissed fairly easily. This isn’t about other people messing up. People are not perfect, even spiritual ones. You are looking at the wrong thing.

This is about you.

You can’t judge Christianity on the missteps of other people. This really is about you, and your own response to God and His gospel of salvation. You may be resisting His call because you have been hurt by people, by hypocrites. Or you blame God for allowing bad things to happen to you. You are distrustful and suspicious.

That doesn’t work either.

We live in a world that’s sick, depraved, where people are choosing their own way instead of God’s way. God cares. He does. The world is painful and marred, but God is not like the world in which we live. But He does spread love, joy, and peace in our world. When we have eyes to see it, we see God everywhere. All that is beautiful, good and kind comes from Him.

God offers hope in a world without hope.

God desires relationship with all of us, even you. He never gives up on anyone. His arm is outstretched to everyone. “With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm For His mercy endures forever.” Psalm 136:12

God calls us to Himself.

We were made by God. All our inward parts were knitted together in our mother’s womb by the great Designer, God, Himself. Why? Because God loves us and desires relationship with us. What? God has a purpose for each one of us that only we can fulfill. We are uniquely made for God and His love. “Neither height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:39

God made you. God loves you. God keeps you. -Julian of Norwich

Those are wonderful understandings to behold and to hold close to the vest. Nobody can take them away from us. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” Jeremiah 1:5; “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” Ephesians 1:4.

God is calling you.

God loves you with tender love. Answer His call.

Come to Jesus.

 

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It Was A God Thing: When Real Life Happens

“It was a God thing.” That phrase rolls off the tongue in a hurry like it was meant to be. But, really, sometimes it is a God thing. I love it when that happens. Shall I share with you three ones that recently happened to me? I think so. Hopefully they will encourage you. God is at work in both the big and little things in our daily lives.

My Recent Encounters with a “God Thing”

God Thing 1:  I’m with my Dad at the doctor’s office a few days ago. I met him there and it is a routine visit. We are both sitting in the lobby. I’m busy asking him questions when his voice hushes. “I don’t know where my car key is.” Dad is patting his pockets and truly mystified. I offer to go check by the car. The doctor’s office is a fair distance from the entry doors. I look around and then I spy the key. It’s in the car on the floor. The car is unlocked. I grab the key and then head back in.

I see a problem ahead.

As I am walking, I notice a frail elderly couple going toward the office. He can’t quite make it or go any further because he is unsteady on his feet. She is upset with him and frazzled because he isn’t using his walker and left it in the car. She is trying to help him, but it is a tough go. They’ve made it to a bench by the exterior wall but it’s obvious they’re stuck. I hurry inside and tell one of the receptionists that an elderly couple is outside and he’s having difficulty. I ask her to take a wheelchair out for him, which she promptly does. When my father is done, I notice the elderly gentleman in a wheelchair in the lobby.  I immediately feel grateful that I was at the right place at the right time. I wonder how long they would have been stuck if I hadn’t come along. I thank God that Dad misplaced the key so I would go outside to retrieve it, in order to help this couple. I tear up when I think of it; the couple seemed so helpless.

God Thing  2:  My plate is full. I’m overwhelmed. Plus I’ve been a bit down because of four emotion-tugging areas in my life, all are important to me: church, finances, parents, and writing. Church stuff is always sticky. This one has been unusual and I’ve been trying to get through it without sinning or becoming resentful. People have been calling me almost every night, and some days I’ve had as many as three calls (not just church-related, some with women I’m speaking life to). My voice is hoarse from talking. Some calls last over two hours. People are upset and I am feeling the burden of that.

Their burden becomes my burden.

Mother had a worrisome health issue that landed her in the hospital over the holidays. The concerns for my parents are ongoing. It’s that way as your folks age and troubles come frequently. And there’s the practical side of things. The income I was counting on to carry me through most of this year failed to materialize when the walnut orchard I farm had a double whammy; it had crop damage and walnut prices were low. The crop tanked, which means a lot in my world. It didn’t cover the expenses incurred while raising the crop. I’m having to look for work now.

Then the writing.

With all the cross-currents and darkness, it has been hard to move forward to finish the books I have been writing. They’re waiting on stand-by, not going anywhere fast. It is like I am operating in a fog. My desire to podcast seems remote. On top of this, I have stepped up to the plate at church because it is in a time of transition and there are needs. I am teaching children in two areas and leading the women. Well, because of all this, I have been struggling. It is hard to be yourself when the burdens stack up.

Where does God come in?

My good friend and I had a Women’s Ministry breakfast to put on and a meeting to lead. We were both cooking for the event and I would be presenting our Women’s Ministry outlook for the year to a new group of women. Two days before the event, my friend offers to purchase all the ingredients for the breakfast and to cook the casseroles and sides at the church. Whew! I was planning to get up at 4:30 to cook at home and get my part done. I was praising God because a prayer had been answered that I hadn’t even prayed. I was soooo grateful for her help.  We cooked together at the church and I only prepared one easy dish at home. My co-leader is such a good friend to me. God saw my overwhelmed spirit and He nudged her to help me. Isn’t that just like God? By the way, I am doing much better this week. While talking with my oldest son, who is in Japan  right now, I felt the depressed emotions lift. My head is clear now and my spirit is happy. That probably was a God thing, too.

God Thing 3:  It was toward the end of October in 2016, just recently. I was looking at the figures for the first two crop payments from the two varieties of walnuts in the orchard I farm. I was in shock. Combined, they were less than you can imagine. Neither was enough to cover the sprays, let alone the other expenses that occur in raising a crop—that I had paid with the prior year’s earnings. Truly, I couldn’t believe it. I’d not yet received the invoice for drying and hulling the walnuts nor had I received the invoice for harvesting the nuts. I’d been worrying about paying those bills–sometimes waking up in the middle of the night with the worry in the forefront–whether there would be enough income, because the crop was light and the prices were down.

Not a good combination.

I wasn’t expecting there to be so much off-grade in their quality. We had done all the right things and were timely in doing them. It wasn’t the farming practices. It wasn’t neglect. I had already used up the funds set aside to get the job done. As in past years, I counted on the fall income to carry the harvest expenses. I wasn’t expecting to make piddly on the crop. It had come to the point that I knew something needed to happen soon or I would have to use a good portion of money tied up in investments. My prayer that day was sincere (and a little bit desperate). I told God it didn’t look good, that something needed to happen or there was not going to be enough income to cover the expenses that were coming.

I asked God to provide for the need.

I said that if He wanted me to use the investment money, I would do what He wanted me to do. (Yes, I talk frankly with God. He is my trusted friend). I didn’t want to use that money, though, because I have some big expenses coming up on my home property that need doing relatively soon (tree removal and hooking up to the city sewer). There was this peace and calm that attended me as I prayed, although I did feel emotional. A week later one of my siblings sent me a check for a large amount. I had quietly given money a couple of times to this sibling and family during their hard times and now they were returning the favor. I couldn’t believe it, and I didn’t want to accept it. In fact, I called them up and said I didn’t think I could. But it was gift, not to be returned. They had had years of trying to make ends meet ever since the 2008 recession had affected their business. Tears, lots of tears.I knew it was a gift of love.

My heart was touched.

It was just enough to pay a property tax bill and for the drying and hulling of the walnuts. Next we come to the last week in December. It was time to pay that other large bill, to the exact amount. I waited as long as I could. On that day, I was going to the financial institution to cash in investment money to cover the cost when I got a text telling me to hold up. My parents, who I lease from, decided to cover the expense to help share in the burden caused by the loss. They said it was the right thing to do. Again, I was grateful and wished it hadn’t been necessary. I’m still overwhelmed by their helpfulness. I never asked them to help me. I asked God instead. You see, God cares, and people care. God moves us to do the right thing even when we may not realize it is Him.

Closing thoughts.

It’s interesting how we really don’t know what is going on in other people’s lives. This has been a very personal and open blog for me. I usually talk in generalities on purpose, to protect others and those in my family. This time I saw it differently. My burdens are real to me and they impact me. I’m not superwoman. Even though I love God and live to serve Him, I struggle with life and struggle with the human factor. I get sidetracked and get walloped by incidents I didn’t see coming.

When life happens, God happens.

He is there somewhere in the mix. You have to look for Him or you’ll chalk it up to ordinary incidentals. Don’t do that. Look for where God is at work . . . and then celebrate His goodness. God loves it when we thank Him.

Bless you.

What is your “God Thing” story?