Star-fish

    I had a student say to me today, "You are a Christian aren't you?" He then asked me if I knew about the end times when Satan would be released from his chains. I didn't correct his timeline on end times events as I was curious about where he was going with it. He wanted to know if I thought we were in the end times. We got interrupted by other students and a transition into another class, but later I pondered what he said before we parted. He lamented, "I hope it doesn't happened before I get my new phone."      Now this student is only 12 years old, so I can understand his youthful reasoning, but am I an adult with a similar outlook? Do I really want Jesus to return or do I want to get all my worldly goods collected before I go to heaven? Do I believe that I need to get in all my fun before I go to heaven? What do I believe about my purpose in living now and what will be next in eternity with the Lord?       Unfortunately, after ponder...

      Our pastor noted this morning, "People say there is no God because of all the evil in the world. Yet, if God were to wipe out all the evil tonight, how many of us would be here tomorrow?" It made me think, "Am I here to point out the evil done by others, or point out the good done by God through others?"      At school, I'm constantly reminding students to attend to their own business, but do I take my own advice? Am I attending to God's business or worldly business? Am I stressed out because I can't seem to tell the difference? Is my doubt in God's provision, or even existence, due to my double mindedness? Is my mind being torn between in the world and the Word? Luke 16:13   “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

     I managed to bring someone to tears and receive a hug of joy today. It is often humbling to think about how what we say or do can "make some one's day" or not. I mentioned the needs of a struggling child to another educator and her eyes welled up and she wanted to figure out how to help this child (one who had been causing her a bit of grief). Another needed some encouragement and through some student letters of appreciation, he noted at the end of the day, "That really made my day." I replied, "Good, that is what it was supposed to do."      When we get out of our own pity parties and make the time to invest in the lives of others, it not only lifts their spirits, but it also touches our hearts. May we be those that step out of our own lives and into the lives of others, not to increase their strife, but instead to help lighten their loads. Philippians 2:3  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value oth...

                  A friend sent this parable out on Facebook and after the morning I had, I could really relate to its message. But I also know there is more to life than happiness, most of all having joy in the Lord. Then as the parable notes, it's about us stepping up, but even this isn't always possible in the flesh. We may be down so deep, in the well of despair, that we can't lift our heads, let alone our legs. At that point, we must lift our voices unto the Lord, where our real help comes from.  I've added scriptures below to remind us who know the One True God who really provides the shovels in life for us to dig out of the dirt of the world:               One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just w...

     In the book of Romans, Chapter 1 of the Holy Bible, Paul writes the following (the emphasis is mine): 16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel,  because it is the power of God  that brings salvation to everyone who believes:  first to the Jew,  then to the Gentile. 17  For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed —a righteousness that is by faith  from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”  18  The wrath of God  is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,   19  since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.   20  For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made,  so that people are without excuse...

     I'm not qualified to speak on the matter of contentment, since I haven't reached it. I know as a Christian I'm supposed to be content and rest in the assurances of God, but frankly I don't. My problem is unrest. My soul is ever searching to figure out the world around me, my place in it, and where God "really" wants me to be. But with this type of searching, comes unrest.      If I truly believe that Christ is my Savior and Lord, then my rest would be at the foot of the cross, on my knees, giving thanks. I would be giving thanks to God for saving me, a completely undeserving human, to be His child throughout eternity.      Forgive me Lord for searching this world for peace and rest, as there is no contentment to be had for a Christian in this world. My contentment, peace, and salvation come only through the Lord Jesus Christ and his ultimate sacrifice on the cross. Amen.      As I was looking up scriptures on contentmen...

     As I reread my last blog entry, I realized there was a typographical error. It amused me as to what a difference one letter makes in the meaning of an entire phrase. I wrote, "the solution for such 'killer' attitudes is to seem to be more like Jesus," rather than " seek to be more like Jesus." The letter "m" in seem , needed to be a letter "k" for the word seek . To me, the exchange of those two letters speaks to our entire walk with the Lord.      We can either "seem" to be like Jesus, or "seek" to be like Jesus. As a seeker, I'm reading the Word, praying to the Holy Spirit for guidance and direction, and willingly choosing to follow Jesus. If I just "seem to be like Jesus," I may go to church, attend Bible studies, and act on the outside like a follower (when in public), but my heart is not voluntarily changed and my motives are worldly and not heavenly.      Lord, forgive me for all the times...

     Today our paster talked about attitudes that "kill" a marriage. The two that spoke most to me were selfishness and anger. Pastor made the connection that we often get mad as a result of selfishness from not getting our way or expecting our spouse to meet all of our needs.      He noted that only Christ Jesus can be all things to all people and to put those expectations on another is inevitably setting them up for failure and us to disappointment. It is also idol worship. We must not put anyone above God in our hearts, minds, souls, or spirits.      He noted that the solution for such "killer" attitudes is to seek to be more like Jesus in all of our ways. He was not selfish, but came to give His life as a living sacrifice. He does not get angry with our self-seeking ways, but instead tries to provide for us in very real ways each day. 1 John 2:6  Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

     As you may know, if you follow this blog, I took a job as a 6th grade Language Arts teacher this year. I'm not sure what I was thinking. I haven't worked this hard in all my life! It's now our Fall Break and we have a week off. I slept most of this first day off due to 12 hour days of parent conferences this last week.      I know God is always with me, but this last week, I called out for extra help and He stepped up to the plate. I asked Him to carry me through each day as I didn't know what the day would hold and didn't have the energy to walk in my own power. The week went smoothly and each thing that I had messed up, He quickly fixed.      Thank you Lord for being my God and my provider, my helper and my keeper. I'm so grateful for the way you personally work my life! Amen. Psalm 127:2 In vain you rise early      and stay up late, toiling for food  to eat—      for he grants sleep ...