saltandlight

Do you ever feel that you just don’t get anything out of the worship service at church?  Maybe you don’t care for the music or the people.  Maybe you didn’t really understand the message or the pastor wasn’t excited enough.  I understand that.  I’ve been there.

When I started listening to contemporary christian music, I felt so free in worship.  I thought “Oh wow, that song is so worshipful” and it would make me want to lift my hands and worship God.  And I thought “Man, why can’t all churches sing these kinds of songs? They are so worshipful.  Some of those old hymns don’t feel very worshipful.”

Something that God has shown me as I’ve grown closer to Him is that when I come to church, I bring my worship with me.  I’ve realized that if my heart is in the right place, and I have been praying and studying the Word, I am already worshiping God before I get to church.  No matter what songs are being sung. No matter the style of the preaching. I can feel the spirit moving when I bring my worship into God’s house with me.

Now, no one is perfect and some days I am just not feeling it. That is when we need to pray, and ask God to empty us of ourselves and fill us with His spirit.  We need to lift our hands up in spite of our feelings. Our feelings can’t be trusted.  Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?  That is not to say that we should fake it.  Rather, we should be praying and offering our worship to Him from a place within us that knows He is worthy!

We know that God is worthy of our praise, no matter how we feel!  We know that He is our maker, our Lord, our Savior, our Guide.  He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!  He is the Master of the Universe!  And He desires worship from you!  He desires a relationship with you!  Why wouldn’t we submit to Him in worship, no matter how we feel?

Worship is not just the act of lifting our hands during a song that we like.  Worship isn’t just praying or just preaching.  Worship is not just going and sitting on a church pew.  Worship is none of these things and it is all of these things.  It is not just the “act of doing” but it is getting our heart right and offering all that we are to Him. You can do any of these things, but if it is not done from a clean heart, it is not acceptable.  John 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

We can worship God any time, any place.  We can carry our worship around with us. God knows our hearts, He knows us better than we know ourselves.  The more time we spend with Him, the more worshipful our spirit will be.  The more time we spend with Him, the more equipped we will be to handle anything this world has to throw at us. He is just that good to us.  He gives us way more than we deserve, why not give ourselves back to Him?

Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Have you ever heard or maybe even said “kill them with kindness”?  I know I have heard it and said it many times over the years. Basically when the world is being mean to you, be nice to them anyways, right?

When my children were younger, I would tell them this alot of times when dealing with bullies at school.  And even as an adult, I see this message spread around on social media a lot.  And sometimes I feel the need to be the same way. Even if I don’t really care for this person’s attitude or personality, I’ll try to be nice to them when I’m around them. Nothing wrong with that, is there?

Think about these words.  How is killing someone kind? Your going to be kind, but deep down you want them dead? I know that isn’t what most people are really thinking when they say that, but it’s kind of what it means.  You really don’t like this person, but you are going to be nice to them anyways.  This can lead to sin in other ways as well.

If you are nice to them but you really don’t like them, and you know other people don’t like them, then you are going to be tempted to gossip about them when they aren’t around.  Or you may have evil or unkind thoughts toward that person, which is also sinful.  (For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. Luke 8:17)  (Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. James 3:5,6)

So, in praying about this recently I felt the Lord speak to me. He said, “maybe instead of killing them with kindness, you should love them like Jesus”.  And this has resonated with me for a couple of weeks now.  We should love people just simply because we are commanded to.  We should love their hearts and their souls.  We don’t have to love their actions and we can speak truth to those people in love if they are living sinfully.  We should pray for them.  And I guarantee you that when you start to pray for them, you will start to love them.  You will care about their souls even if they keep disappointing you in the flesh.  (Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. Ezekiel 18:4)

It boils down to what is in our hearts.  If our heart is full of sinfulness, we are going to have a very hard time loving anyone else. If our heart is full of ugliness, it is going to spill out onto others in some way. And if we claim to be a christian, but our words or actions aren’t a reflection of Christ, we can hurt our testimony.

In order to overcome this sinfulness, we must die to ourselves daily and agree to live for Him. (I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20)  Everyday pray and ask God to show you your heart and ask God to remove any filthiness and forgive you of your sins. And in order to grow in our walk with God, we must read God’s word daily, and we must pray to him continually!  (Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalanions 5:17)

We absolutely cannot do this on our own. Believe me when I say that I had my toes stepped on with this truth as well! I believe this is a struggle for most people!  That is why we need a perfect, sinless Savior. If we could do it on our own, we wouldn’t need Jesus!  (I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.  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.  I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. John 10:10)

If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:18-21

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; Matthew 5:44

My Sunday School lesson Sunday was a good one! They are all good but this one I felt was more for me than it was for the kids!  The lesson was about the sower and the seed.  The parable that Jesus taught comparing to the types of soil to our hearts.

“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.“

Some seed fell along the path or by the wayside and the birds devoured it before it could even take root.  These are the ones (people) that when they hear the word, Satan immediately comes and takes it.  They are dry, empty and don’t really want to hear the truth.

Some seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up but because it had no depth of soil, it couldn’t grow.  These are the ones that hear the word, receive the word but they have no root in themselves. When trials come or persecution arises, they back away. They don’t have any depth.

Some seed fell amongst the thorns and the weeds. It may have taken root and tried to grow, but the thorns and weeds choked it out.  These are the ones that hear the word, but are immediately distracted by the things of the world.  The things of the world choke out the word we just received.  But, only if we let it!

And finally other seeds fell into good soil, rich soil. It produced grain and increased. These are the ones that are rooted and grounded in the Word.  They receive the word, they accept it and they apply it to their lives. They “bear fruit” by telling others and living a Godly life.

The one that stood out the most to me is the second one.  The rocky ground.  I believe these are the ones in our day and time that go to church regularly.  Pay their tithes like they should.  Maybe even sing in the choir or lead in some other way.  But, they are so busy doing all of these things, along with working and raising a family, that they forget to take personal time with God.  The don’t read their Bible daily and if they do, it’s a quick little devotion that they read and go on about their business.  They don’t spend very much time in prayer. They say a quick prayer and instead of meditating and waiting to receive a word from God, they go on about their business.

The reason this spoke to me so much is because I’ve been there myself!  I know how easy it is to get caught up in the busyness of life and forsake alone time with God.  And I am afraid that as a society that has become the norm.  It is acceptable, even encouraged to stay busy.  Go, go, go! Run here and there, take this child to this practice, make it to this child’s recital.  And in the mean time, be sure we get a good picture to post on social media so everyone knows what a happy family we are!  We even have to schedule family time!  I understand, believe me I really do!

That is why I encourage you today to take some time to yourself, alone with God.  Just talk to Him.  Tell Him what’s on your heart.  Read some scripture and meditate on it.  Listen to some praise music and give Him your worship.  Believe me when I tell you that it is so worth the sacrifice of your time.  You will receive such a blessing from that time with Him.  And then when you go to church and hear the message, you will get more from the message when your heart is prepared.

You can’t grow a garden without preparing the soil.  And your heart needs to be prepared to receive God’s word!

I came across this image today.

This spoke volumes to me this morning!  I’ve been praying for people that I know need the Lord.  I have many on my heart that I believe God could use in a mighty way if they would just surrender it all to Him.  I’ve seen it happen with other people and I just know what God can do! I know what He has done for me!

Sometimes when we pray, we don’t really believe that anything is going to happen. We just say a prayer and keep going on as normal. Not really believing any change is going to take place. But, when we pray believing…..  That is when the magic happens!

And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.” Mark 1:22-23

I believe that God is going to move mountains!  We are going to see people turn to God that we never thought would!  I have been feeling in my heart for several months that God is moving and people are accepting and allowing Him to move in their lives more and more.  Small changes have been happening.  I’ve been praying for a downpour!  And I am feeling today like I better get my umbrella ready!

I had a conversation yesterday with a coworker that has been on my mind ever since.  She is agnostic. She believes that maybe there is a God, but there might not be.  And there is definitely no such thing as Hell.  And she does not believe Jesus is the Son of God. He was just a man.  And she does not believe in the Bible, it was just a book written by man.  And of course I sweetly disagreed with her and tried to explain to her why I believe the way I do.  It will be a process but I will continue to pray for and plant seeds in her!

I’m not angry with her.  All I could think was “you are going to wind up in hell and you don’t even realize that I’m trying to save your life”! It’s just so sad.  She is very confused but she truly believes that she is right about everything. She has it all figured out. She has picked up bits and pieces of different religions and things she has learned and created a truth for herself to believe in.  We just agreed to disagree and ended the conversation but I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

I thought to myself, how does someone get so lost?  Did she have a bad childhood?  Did she fall in with the wrong crowd?  And then I got to thinking about myself.  How I could have easily gotten into the wrong crowd and how God intervened in my life.  He loved me so much that He just guided me right where I needed to be.  I could have so easily turned away and went down another path.  I can literally look back at certain times in my life that I could have made a different choice and I know it was only God that picked me up and turned me towards the right path.  He kept me from walking down those dark paths.

But, why?  I mean, why me?  You may have heard that song “Why Me, Lord”?  That is what I have been thinking about last night and this morning.  What did I ever do to deserve this Grace that He has shown me? I haven’t done anything to deserve it. None of us have!  That’s why it’s called Grace.  And He wants this for all of us.  We all have a choice.

But, God did this for me. He gave me a christian upbringing.  He put people in my path that would lead me to Him.  And he nurtured my faith with more people that were grounded in their faith.  So, now my question is what am I doing with this gift?  Yes, I’m living right and I’m in the Word and I’m trying to be a light to others.  But, am I doing enough?  There is a reason He has kept me on this path. What is my gift and how am I using it?  So, I’m asking you the same question.  What are you doing for the Lord?  What is He calling you to do?

Dictionary result for fear

1. (noun) an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.
2. (verb) be afraid of (someone or something) as likely to be dangerous, painful, or threatening.

Synonyms: terror, fright, fearfulness, horror, alarm, panic, agitation, trepidation, dread, dismay, distress; anxiety, worry, angst, unease, apprehension, nervousness, timidity, disquiet, unrest, foreboding, misgiving, doubt

Fear is something that I think people are dealing with today more than ever.  I have heard of more people experiencing fear and anxiety than I ever have.

If we think about it long enough, we can come up with plenty to be worried about and fearful of.  I never worried about things too much until I became a mother. Instantly I started worrying about all kinds of things and it hasn’t stopped.  It’s worse the older they get!

But, see that is exactly what Satan wants.  He wants us to be gripped with fear and anxiety.

We are all going to have times that we are afraid or worried.  But, sometimes we allow ourselves to be overcome with a spirit of fear.  Have you ever seen someone that is just always worried or upset about something?  Maybe you have been that way. It’s easy to let this happen.  Satan makes it very easy for us to find something to worry about and if we get caught up in worrying about things then we will lose focus on God and forget to trust Him.

Trust me when I tell you that I have plenty to worry about.  I have a son in college and a daughter that is fixing to start driving by herself.  I have family members that are sick, and other family members that need Jesus.  There is no way in this world that I would be able to handle that unless I put my trust in God.

Do we think that worrying is going to change the situation?  It’s not.

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

There is a difference in having a spirit of fear and just being afraid for a moment.  Obviously when there is immediate danger, the holy spirit gives us a sense of fear to protect us.  If a snake crawled across our path, we would jump back out of fear that we would get bitten.  That is not the kind of fear this is talking about.

A spirit of fear is having constant anxiety about a situation. Worrying about things and allowing Satan to overcome us with fear and worry.

Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Again, we are being told Fear Not!  The words “Fear Not” are in the Bible 62 times!

That’s not to mention other times in the Bible where it says “Be not afraid” or “Do not be afraid” etc.

The Bible is constantly telling us not to worry and to put our trust in God.  He already knows what is going to happen and He has it all under control.

The more we pray to Him, surround ourselves with Bible verses, the more trusting Him will come natural to us.  (I tell you this from my own experience!)

It’s the only way to survive this world with all of the sin and problems we have going on today.  God is our only hope!

When dealing with fire you have to be careful.  It is a powerful element.  It can be dangerous when not handled correctly. Fire is strong but can be easily put out.

It’s been real heavy on my heart lately that we as Christians are losing our fire for God. When we first accepted Christ as our savior, were we on fire for Him? Or were we just using Him as fire insurance? If we were on fire for Him, over time, has our fire diminished?  Have we lost that excitement to serve Him?  If you only accepted Christ as your Savior in order to keep from going to Hell, then maybe you need to check your heart and revisit the matter.

Have you ever heard a really worshipful praise song or hymn and you just felt moved by the spirit and threw your hands up in praise almost as if you have no choice? That is the kind of worship I would love to see in our churches.  Not because we love the song. But, because we are in love with the Savior we are singing about!  We need to stop going through the motions of “church”. Instead of going to church, we need to BE the church. The hands and feet of Jesus.  That is what Christians are called to be.

We have gotten lazy and complacent in our walk with God.  We’ve lost our fire.  Our governments are signing laws that make it okay to kill babies.  Our government approves same sex marriage. Our government approves and gives benefits to people that are here illegally.  I don’t hate our government. I feel so sorry for the people in office that are so lost that they can’t see how wrong they are.  We need to get on our knees and pray for those people.

I know what the Bible says about this world. I know the time for Jesus’ return is getting closer.  That is even more reason for us to pray and get back the fire we once had!

Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee. – Deuteronomy 9:3

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. –  Hebrews 10:31

What are the things that we think about this time of year?  Christmas time…  I asked my Sunday School class this question yesterday and this is what they came up with…

Jesus’ birth, Family, Food, Lights, Movies, Music, Gifts

If you think about all of these things and what they have to do with Christmas, you can trace it back to one common denominator. Love.  Jesus was born as God’s gift to us because God loves us (and Jesus loves us).  Family – we spend time with family because we love them. Food – is the thing that alot of us use to bring everyone together and it is a way to show our love (by cooking their favorite things). Lights – people put out Christmas lights as a way to spread Christmas joy and they do it out of love.  Gifts – we give gifts to those we love at Christmas to show our love to each other (as the wisemen brought gifts to baby Jesus). Movies – the class thought they had me on this one. So I challenged them to name a Christmas movie and I will show you how it is at least connected to love. They gave me some hard ones – The Grinch, The Santa Claus (all 3), Polar Express, Elf just to name a few. (And I was able to make the connection).  Music – We use Christmas music as a way to spread Christmas cheer and spread the story of Jesus’ birth, which comes from love.

So, you see?  Christmas is all about LOVE.  The reason for Christmas was because of God’s gift to us. He came to earth in the form of a baby just so that He could one day die on the cross for our sins.  If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is!

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. – John 3:16

Forgiveness is something that I believe everyone struggles with at some point in their lives.

As a teenager I experienced a situation in which I needed forgiveness and I need to forgive as well.  This situation haunted me well into adulthood.  After I got saved, I said that I forgave the other person, but for years the mention of his name caused me to cringe.  I also shared some of the blame in this situation.  I asked God to forgive me of my sins over and over.

One day (years later) I was at home alone. I was in my twenties. (This was probably 10 or 12 years later!)  I had an encounter with God.  I could feel in my spirit that I needed to deal with this unforgiveness in my heart.  I prayed and prayed, I don’t think I realized at the time what was going on other than time alone with God.  I didn’t realize the transformation that was happening. In that tiny little living room, I found it in my heart to forgive myself.  Yes, myself.  I didn’t understand it completely at the time, but I had blamed myself and put myself down so much that I didn’t realize that I needed to forgive myself before I could forgive anyone else!  All that time that I was asking God to forgive me over and over (as if it took more than once), I really needed to forgive myself.  He had already forgiven me.  I felt the presence of God more that day than I ever had.  A lot of healing took place that day.  Then and only then was I able to truly forgive the person that I had spent a good many years blaming.

When we carry unforgiveness in our hearts, we are saying that Jesus dying on the cross for our sins is not good enough.  Who are we to say that we can’t forgive ourselves or others?

I have struggled with forgiveness plenty of other times as well.  And the devil reminds of my mistakes quite often. But I remind him that I’m forgiven!  I’ve been washed by the blood of the lamb!

John 8:36 “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”