saltandlight

Would you agree that there is a lot of anger, hatred, evil and just plain ugliness going around the world today? If you watch the news or spend very much time on social media or talk to people in the community, you will hear of some kind of ugliness being spoken or done. Alot of fear going on as well. And unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have heard all kinds of theories concerning a certain virus being spread throughout the world.

If you spend very much time focusing on these things, you may tend to feel anxious, angry, defeated and sometimes even find yourself being ugly towards someone else. We are human and we can all fall into this trap if we aren’t careful. But, there is a sure fire way that we can keep this from happening!

Romans 12:21 says “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”  How do we do that? Well, all of the ugliness, hatred and evil in this world comes from someone we all know too well. Satan wants nothing more than to steal, kill and destroy all of us. Especially those of us that have put our faith in God. If he can get us to doubt or act like we aren’t a Christian, then he wins.  He may not win overall cause we still belong to God, but he wins the battle. And this can hurt our testimony.

James 4:7 tells us “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners and purify your hearts you double-minded.”  Walking closely with the Lord, talking to Him daily, multiple times even! Reading His word!  Turn off the TV, lay down the phone and get into the word. Fill your mind with the things you know to be true.

If you dwell on all of the things the world tells you, you will feel defeated! Dwell on the things that are good. Focus on spreading goodness to one another. I guarantee that if you would focus on trying to help others, being positive and being a light to others, you will find that you don’t feel so defeated anymore!

We cannot rely on the news, TV, Social Media, or even our friends to always tell us the truth.  BUT, we KNOW that we can always receive the truth in God’s word!

Father I thank you today. I thank you for most of all your love. I don’t deserve a bit of it, but you give it anyways. You give me so much more than I deserve. Lord I thank you that we can come to you for the truth. We can come to you with our burdens and lay them at your feet. Lord, I know that this world has turned it’s back on you. I pray that as your children, you will continue to gives us strength in dealing with all of this mess.  Lord help us to focus on You and keep ours eyes towards Heaven. In Your Holy and Precious Name! Amen!

Early last year, 2019 I was feeling the spirit of the Lord move in mighty ways. I even spoke with several christian friends who were feeling the same thing. During my alone time with the Lord I felt in my spirit that things were about to change. I didn’t know what kind of changes were about to take place, but I felt that big changes were coming. I do not claim to have the gift of prophecy in any way. But, I do feel that God will prepare our hearts for things when we seek Him. I believe that last year a revival was taking place in our land. And now I truly feel that was preparing our hearts for 2020.

Look at all that has happened this year, a lot of the changes that have taken place are because of Covid-19. It has almost felt as if the world has stopped turning. All of the things that we normally celebrate such as Easter, Mother’s Day, graduation, birthdays, etc had to be celebrated in different ways. Festivals that normally take place had to be cancelled. Amusement parks shut down. Vacations were cancelled. Some that live alone have become very depressed because they can’t go out and be around people. Many people were sent to work from home. Church services turned into online sessions. All of the church activities that normally take place, meetings and gatherings all cancelled.

Some have been devastated by this virus and I completely understand that. I understand that lives have been lost due to the virus. I understand that it has caused alot of worry and uncertainty. Some have questioned God in this. Some have turned to God more during all of this. Alot of questions have been asked about whether the virus is really as bad as they say. Or was it hyped up by the media and politicians because this is an election year. Some think they have the cure for it and some think there is no cure. Every other day new information is being sent out on news and social media.

I obviously don’t have any answers. But, I serve a God that has all the answers. And He has the ultimate answer. ALL I know is God knows all and He works everything for good for those that love Him (Romans 8:28). He has a purpose for everything. This virus even has a purpose.

Some people have come to know Jesus as their personal savior because of all of this. Churches have reached more people by moving their services online than they ever would have reached in the church building. Some have had more time to spend in prayer and Bible study. Before “the rona” hit, we were running around like a bunch of chickens with no heads. We had our calendars full of activities that left us out of breath at the end of each week only to start over again every Monday. This virus has forced us to slow down.  It has given us more time with our families (especially us Mamas with children still living at home!).  It has even given our kids a break from their crazy schedules. I’ve talked to several people that have benefited in different ways because of this down time. I also know that God promised in His word that He would never leave us or forsake us. Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, “I will never leave you for forsake you.” 

I know that alot of people have suffered from this. God never promised this life would be without problems. But, He promises to carry us through. All we have to do is trust Him. He knows all, and He has it all under control. Things may not seem that way to us.

When everything seems to be going wrong all around us, God is still good.

When all hope seems lost, God is still good.

When everyone else lets us down, God is still so good!

We have to praise Him in the valleys as well as the mountaintops. It’s easy to praise Him when everything is going great, but we must also thank Him and praise Him for those valleys. It’s in the valleys that we grow the most.

Don’t give up hope, just place all of your hope in Him.

Have you ever watched the move “The Labyrinth”?  It’s an 80’s movie about a teenage girl that, out of frustration, wishes her baby brother to be taken away by goblins. When her wish comes true, she immediately regrets her wish and has to go through a labyrinth to find her baby brother and save him from the goblin king. When she succeeds and has to face the goblin king, she recites the lines from a book but can’t remember the last line. Finally just in time, she remembers the iconic last line. “You have no power over me.”  When she speaks the words, the goblin king is forced to return her and her baby brother back home safe and sound.

The past few weeks have been a little stressful.  A close family member has been dealing with some things and it has really had me on my knees a lot! Not only that, but instead of leaving my worries at the altar, I’ve been picking them up and taking them with me! Obsessing over the whole situation, (which I tend to do sometimes). But, this week as I was praying and praising God for some answered prayers, those words came to my mind. “You have no power over me.”  I imagined myself as that teenage girl standing face to face with the enemy and speaking those words to him.

See, we tend to forget sometimes, that the devil really has no power over us.  He can try to tempt us with worry, fear and anger. He can cause us physical and emotional pain as we see in the book of Job. But, doubting God, questioning God’s love is what he really wants us to do. He can tempt us to forget to pray and leave our burdens at the altar. He can try, and believe me he does try and succeeds a lot of times! But only when we give him that power, does he succeed. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: I Peter 5:8

Satan is always lurking and waiting for the exact right moment to attack.  He sees when our faith is starting to weaken. He knows what areas of our life to attack. He wants to come after the things that mean the most to us, our children, our family, our church, our finances, _______________ (you can fill in the blank).  Those things that we sometimes tend to put ahead of God. Those are the things Satan knows to attack.

So, how do we fight him?  Our #1 enemy in life is Satan and we need to be ready at all times.  But, we ourselves cannot win against such a powerful enemy.  We are not that powerful.  But, we have a God that is more powerful than anything or anyone. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. I John 4:4

Satan’s power is limited.  No matter how hard he tries, he can’t have what isn’t his. When we surrendered our hearts to God, we became His child. As a child of God, the enemy can only do so much.  But, when we let our guard down we give him a little more power. When we fail to pray and read God’s word, he inches his way in.

The only way to fight our enemy is on our knees, praying to God and asking Him to guide us. That is how our battles are fought and won! I can just imagine when we fall on our knees or bow our heads in prayer, Satan probably winces. He knows that we have just gone into the armory and retrieved the most powerful weapon. He immediately loses some of his power.

There are times when our prayers are not answered in the way we expect. That is when we have to trust God.  So many times, I’ve prayed expecting something to work out a certain way just because I prayed for it.  But sometimes God’s answer is “No, that’s not what you need right now”.  But, I have been able to look back and see where God knew what was best and He worked it all out.  We have to trust God even when we don’t understand His answer.  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

We don’t always get exactly what we pray for when we pray for it.  Just praying and giving our problems to God, trusting Him to work it out, gives us so much peace.  We can trust that He loves us so much, more than we can even imagine, and that He has control. He has a plan for our lives. Don’t give the enemy the upper hand, by forsaking your time with God.  If you don’t get anything else done today, take some time to read your Bible and pray about whatever is on your heart today. He’s ready and waiting for you!

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Hebrews 13:5

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

Our children are passing these “growing up” milestones left and right.  More and more I am reminded of how they are growing up and needing me less and less.  And needing God more and more!

Our son moved back into the college dorms last week, this time as an RA.  This week our daughter started college classes with dual enrollment AND got her driver’s license and started driving, BY HERSELF!  This year is already starting to be a lot for me!  It’s hard on a Mama’s heart to start realizing they are growing up.  Personally the hardest part of parenting has been the letting go.

It feels a little unfair. We are made to love them fiercely, it’s just our nature.  We make all of their decisions for them when they are little. And we get used to that.  We get used to being the one that they turn to for help. And then suddenly (it feels like overnight), they are trying to do things on their own.  Who do they think they are?!

I’ve learned a few things the past few years though, you might say that I have been “growing up” as well.  First of all, they were never “mine” to begin with.  Last year when my son first moved into the college dorms, I was crying and praying and asking God why this has to be this way. And I felt like He spoke to me and said, “He is my child. You dedicated him to me as a baby.  He has to go through this now so that I can use him later.”  God gives us the awesome privilege of being a parent. Raising these tiny beings to love God and serve Him.  But, with that privilege comes the heartache of letting go.

Secondly, we can’t raise them to depend on us.  We need to raise them to depend on God.  We are not always going to be there, God is.  We can’t fight their battles for them.  God can.  We will let them down at times. God won’t.  We don’t always make the best decision for their good, because don’t know it all.  God does. We are not God. We are just the vessel He uses on this earth to raise these children.  And He does a much better job of taking care of them than we can!

Third, we can’t depend on our children.  All of our hope and faith is in God, not our children. God must be first in our hearts, our children cannot be placed ahead of Him in our lives.  It’s a hard pill to swallow, when we realize that is what we’ve been doing.  God had to show me that a few years ago.  I started a new job that required me to be away from home for a few days at the time and I had to miss some important school events for both of my children. I was so upset about that, it bothered me for a really long time. I knew that God had put me in the position and that it was His will that I do it.  But, I didn’t understand why I had to miss these important moments.  But, He showed me that I was putting them ahead of Him. That is one of those things that I think us Mama’s feel like we can get away with.  But, God will not let sin go unpunished, no matter how we justify it to ourselves.

Lastly, we must realize that being a Parent is not the only job God has for us.  Don’t get me wrong, for a season that is going to take up most of your time. Especially if you work outside of the home.  But, as they get older and need you less, you will find that God has more work for you to do.  You aren’t just so and so’s Mom (or Dad).  You have other gifts that God wants you to use for His kingdom.  Talk to Him about it and find out what they are.  It’s a bittersweet time.  You are letting go a little more as Mama and you are embracing what God has in store for you next!

These are just a few things that God has taught me the past couple of years.  The learning process is painful, but the fellowship with Him is sweeter and sweeter.  And since I love to write, I feel led to share this with all of you. 🙂

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.  Romans 8:28

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 3 John 1:4

Christmas has come and gone. I’ve always heard the phrase “slow as Christmas”, but when you think about it Christmas is not really slow.  It sneaks up on us pretty quickly every year and before you know it, it’s all over with.  All of the family gatherings, the food, the lights, the presents, it’s all over with just as quickly as it came.  What about the spirit of Christmas?

By Christmas spirit, I mean kindness. The focus on the birth of our Savior.  Happiness, forgiveness, showing grace to others, helping others.  These are the things that we see people doing more at Christmastime than the rest of the year. Christmas just brings that out in people.

What if we take that kind of spirit with us into 2020? The miracle of the birth of Christ and His life on earth did not happen just for us to show kindness to each other for one month out of the year.  He came that we “might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:0)  “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

2019 might have felt like a “rough” year for you.  I understand that.  But, can I tell you this? God does some of His best work in our hearts during our “roughest” times.  That is how we grow closer to Him. I know it’s hard to see that during the midst of our troubles. And sometimes we can’t see the good that comes from things until years later. We may never know the good that comes from our trials. But, we have a promise from God in Romans 8:28. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”

Take your trials and your heartaches right now, and give them to God. He knows and understands what you are going through.  Lay your head in His lap and let Him comfort you.  Feel His embrace around you.  Know that you are loved.  Know that everything that you go through is for a purpose and for YOUR good.  Let 2019 go knowing that God was there with you and will go with you into 2020.

Take His spirit with you. If you are not sure if you have His spirit with you, all you have to do is ask Him. Ask Him to come into your heart, forgive you of yours sins and walk with you. And then continue to talk with Him everyday.  It really is that simple.  The more you talk with Him and read His word, the more of His spirit you will have within you. To lead and guide you into 2020.

Not only is this a new year, but it’s a new decade.  2020 is your year to get closer to God. 2020 can be the year that God makes a change in your life. 2020 is the year that God is going to move in mighty ways. Don’t you want to be involved in that? I’ve seen Him move alot in 2019 but I feel that even more is to come in 2020!  I’m so excited to see what God is going to do this year.  Don’t miss out on the blessings God has for you because of selfish stubborn pride.

“Father I come to you today praising you for all that you have done this year. Lord it may be some difficult situations that you have brought us through. There are things that you kept us from without us even knowing about it. You are so good to us, Lord. Even the times that we feel are not so good, I know You are at work and You will work it all out for our good. Thank you for taking care of us. Thank you for blessing us with the faith of others. Lord I pray that You will guide us into this new decade. Give us more of Your strength and Your love that we might use it to show others who You are. Lord, I know that You are working behind the scenes to prepare Your children for the upcoming battles that we will face. I know that you have been working in the hearts of many to do Your work. I pray that this is the year that we put feet to our prayers and we get to work in the field.  I know that the fields are ripe for the harvest. People are starving for You. They just don’t know that You are what they need. They have been deceived by the enemy. I pray that You will show us how we can reach these people. Put us in place to serve you more and to serve you better in this coming year. Thank you God for all that You have done, all that You are doing and all that You will do. I just ask humbly that You use me however you see fit. In Your Holy and Righteous name! Amen!

I heard someone make the comment the other day that they are just ready for Christmas to be over with!  All of the hustle and bustle and stress that comes along with the materialism of Christmas undoubtedly has gotten the best of some of us. And I completely understand because I have felt the same way in years past.

But, what a sad statement to make!  Think about what we are celebrating.  That’s like saying to someone that you love that you are so ready to get their birthday over with! Christmas is not about us.  Not at all! It’s not even about our children.  I don’t have to tell you why we celebrate Christmas, it’s the birth of our Savior. We celebrate Him and Him alone.

For some, Christmas has become all about the gifts and getting together with family.  For some it is all about giving of ourselves. For some, it is a lonely time of year.  I love all of the things about Christmas that everyone else does.  The lights, the Christmas songs, the food, getting together with family, giving gifts.  There is nothing wrong with these things, unless we are placing those things ahead of Jesus.  It must be all about Him or we have completely missed the point!

We can very easily get so caught up in the busyness of the holiday that we burn ourselves out to the point that we are ready to get it over with. When we get to that point, it is easy to adapt a rude or hateful spirit.  We get there without even realizing it.

I want to encourage you today to take time during the next few days to get alone with God. Once you have spent some time in His presence, you will find your spirit is much more at peace. Besides, the BEST present we can give to Jesus for Christmas is ourselves. That’s all He wants from us.  It’s amazing that He only wants to spend time with us, but we are the ones that benefit from time spent with Him!

Spend some time reflecting on the scriptures in Luke Chapter 2.  Remember how simple that first Christmas was. And remember that the gospel story doesn’t stop at the baby in the manger. He didn’t come just for us to worship a baby in a manger, He came to save the world from our sins!

We all go through tough times, some tougher than others.  We have heartaches and heart breaks.  That is just life.  We go from skinned knees and sprained ankles to car accidents and health problems. We go from having an empty piggy bank to a negative balance in our checking account with more bills due!  Or if not financial problems, there are broken relationships and broken homes or health problems and diseases.  There are always problems to deal with. The worst ones for a parent are when your children go through problems that you can’t fix. When they start getting older and start finding out the hard way that people cannot be trusted. It’s hard to watch and not get in there and handle it yourself.  

Everywhere we turn there are problems. We have our own problems and situations that cause us stress and then we have so many of our friends and family dealing with problems and situations.  It can really stress you out!  It may be because I’m getting older, but I’ve never seen a time that so many people are having problems and issues.  Death, disease, financial strain, health problems, family problems, relationship problems work stress. More than likely you are currently going through one or more of these right now.

So, why does God allow us to go through these things?!  Well, I’m glad you asked!  Because here is the good news. Romans 8:28 (one of my favorites!) And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  What does this mean? It means that all things (everything that we go through, good and bad) work together for good (the end result will be good) to them that love God (His children). What you are going through right now might not seem too good.  But, I promise because God’s word promises, that He is working it out for your good!  (That is if you love God, if not then we need to have another type of discussion!)

We also have to remember is that God knows all.  We as humans like to think that we have all the answers and we know.  God gave me this analogy years ago that I like to use.  Think about ants.  They are busy, busy hard working building their ant hill.  And you love ants so much (I know you don’t really but just bear with me)!  You see that there is a lawnmower heading their direction and it is going to kill them and their anthill.  So, you dig up their ant hill. You’ve destroyed their home, but they will live and rebuild.  They still don’t understand that you just saved them from the lawnmower heading their way.  Isn’t that how we are with God?  He sees all and knows all.  He sees the disaster heading in our direction.  And sometimes what seems like a bad thing to us, is actually God digging up our ant hill to save us from ourselves.

Sometimes we have to look for the blessings in situations that seem bad to us.  We may not be able to see it now, but we can look back at past situations and see where God was working it all out.

And sometimes we just have to trust God.  No matter what, we know that He has promised that He is working it all out for our good.  In the meantime we can pray and ask God to give us peace in the midst of our storms while we are trusting Him to work it out!

Use that time to draw closer to Him. Read His word and talk to Him. You may actually realize that this storm is what you needed to draw closer to Him.

Lastly, we don’t like to think about this but it may be that we have brought this on ourselves.  Ask God to show you why this is happening and what can you do to fix the situation?  It’s a hard pill to swallow and I’ve had to swallow my share of hard pills!  But, God is merciful and gracious and He only punishes us in order to help us to do better and to be better! (If you have children, you totally understand this!)

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10 

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

Today is Black Friday. I don’t know how we got to this point, but in America we have actually made an extra holiday out of shopping and fighting over sales and those hard to get deals for Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good sale and a good deal. Who doesn’t?  I’ve been “black Friday shopping” before, and I’m not condemning anyone who does it.  I am just wondering what America has turned Christmas into that we (some of us) are willing to fight the crowds to get the “perfect Christmas gift” or the best deal.

Even after Black Friday, the whole month of December will be filled with gatherings and shopping and gift exchanging.  It’s a busy time of year.  All in the name of Christmas! We stress over what to buy our kids and spouses for Christmas. We stress over fitting in all of our family gatherings and making everyone happy! We stress over having the money to buy everything that we want to buy. We stress over all of the dates on our calendar. By the time Christmas gets here, it’s a wonder we haven’t had a nervous breakdown!  We’ve stressed all month until we can’t really enjoy the day and what it is really all about.

I wonder what Jesus thinks about all of this?  I wonder if He looks down at us doing all of this running around and just shakes His head.  I can just imagine Him saying “Really? You had to fight that person to get that toy to give to your child that already has too many toys? And you are doing this for Christmas?”

We have forgotten what Christmas is all about.  We don’t need to go broke trying to get our children the biggest and best gifts.  God sent all of us the best, most special Gift we will ever receive over 2,000 years ago! The absolute best thing you can do for anyone for Christmas (especially your children) is to make sure they know about this special Gift!  How God sent his son to be born in the lowliest, most humble place.  He was a gift to all of us!  He came into this world just so that He could take our place on the old rugged cross.

Please don’t spend this whole month preparing for Christmas and totally miss the point. Don’t get so wrapped up in the presents that we miss out on His presence!  This Christmas season let’s take the time each and every day to spend some time with Jesus. After all it is His birthday! All He wants for His birthday is you.

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. John 3:16-18

“You can’t have your cake and eat it too!”  This is true for so many situations isn’t it?

Think about this scenario for a moment.  You are in a committed relationship (dating for a while or married), you realize your significant other is distant from you.  Not as close as you once were.  And then you find out that this person has been cheating on you.  They are putting someone else in their life ahead of you.  They are doting on this person, talking to them, dressing nice for them, spending alot of time with them.  You have been put on the back burner, tossed to the side.  You are just an afterthought and only when this person decides they can spare a few moments of their time for you. How would you feel?  Hurt?  Angry?  Both?  It is not okay to treat someone that way.  If you are in a committed relationship you should be spending your time with that person.

So, how you do you think God feels when He is treated this way?

Was there a time in your life that you were on fire for God?  You read His word and you spent time in prayer with Him?  But, lately it seems like you just haven’t had time for those things?  Can you not afford a set amount of time each day to spend with Him?  Let me tell you something, you can’t afford not to!

Revelations 3:16 “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

We can’t play church, pretend to love and serve God and then turn around and act like the rest of the world.  We as Christians are supposed to be set apart.  We are supposed to be different.  If we are living for the world and then singing “Oh how I love Jesus” on Sundays, something is wrong!

Isaiah 29:13 ” And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,”

Check your heart.  Pray and ask God to reveal to you where you are failing Him and where there is sin in your life.  We must die to ourselves every day and ask God to fill us with His spirit.

Galations 2:20  “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ”

Don’t let the world dictate your steps.  Let God reign in your life.  He wants all of you, not just the scraps and crumbs.  Once you surrender it all to Him, you will have more freedom and more blessings than you could ever have living for the world!