No white glove needed

Good Tuesday morning!  Isn't it a beautiful day out there?  God is so good to give us the season of fall!

The verse Steve and I are contemplating this week is from I John 4:18.  "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.  For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love."  Isn't that a great verse?  I think so too!

Too much of my life has been spent in fear.  As a child, it was from the wrath of my dad.  As a teenager, it was from the pressure of my peers.  As a college student, it was from the world and what my place was in it.  As a young wife, it was would I be good enough.  As a mother, it was would I be able to supply all my kid needed.  As a teacher, it was would I be able to make that difference that I so wanted to.  As a Christian?  Ooh, that's where the biggest fears came.  Would I be enough for God to always love me or would He leave me as so many had before?

"For fear has to do with punishment" this verse tells me.  How I can relate to that!  Isn't it great though that my performance, my lack of excellence, and my inexperience does not cause God's love towards me to waver?  He doesn't expect for me to be perfect yet at the same time He is perfecting me so that I am suitable for His kingdom.  He's not going to reject me when I don't measure up.  When my best isn't as good as the gal's next to me, He isn't going to disregard my efforts.  And when I mess up?  He's not going to disown me.  I can never lose His love!!

As you go about your week, please keep this in mind:  if God is doing all of this for ol' Stef, He's surely doing it for you too.  We do not have to live in fear.  We do not have to worry and be anxious.  We just need to be still, to know He is God, and to listen for His voice to tell us our next moves.  We have to be ready for His call.  We have to love because God is love.  He set the example for us to follow and when we walk in His pathway, we become more like Jesus, more perfect, and we get to be fearless.

Let's pray!

Dear Lord, for so much of my life I feared You, feared You were going to smite me for all the horrible things I did, and feared that You would not be satisfied with any thing I did because I just never felt good about myself.  Thank You so much for showing me that you are not this way, that You aren't looking to find fault in me but instead, You are seeking to find favor with me.

Lord, as this verse becomes more real to me, I pray that the things in life I still fear will be replaced with faith.  May I trust You more and depend on the love that You have for Your children will more than sustain me.  I love You, Father.  Thank You for first loving me so that I know how to love better.  In the name of Jesus I pray.  Amen.

What would you do?

Have you ever heard that expression "If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"  Apparently, on Friday, these nine were targeted for their faith and found "guilty."

“The shooter was lining people up and asking if they were Christian,” she wrote. “If they said yes, then they were shot in the head. If they said no, or didn’t answer, they were shot in the legs." (New York Post)

As Steve and I pondered this last night, whether we would have stood up for Jesus, I questioned if these people made the right choice.  I mean, it's one thing to take a stand for what's right and for our faith when things are easy.  But when our lives are literally on the line:  would we have stood up, knowing our family was out there, waiting on us to return to them, waiting on us to keep teaching them, waiting on us to be Jesus to them?

Please don't get me wrong.  I admire these people.  Many of you may have seen the meme going around yesterday as to who the bravest person in the world was (the second one who stood after the first had been executed).  Many of you might quote the Bible Verses to me that is found in Matthew 10:32-33:  "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven."

But when push comes to shove, would I have stood?  Would I have unhesitatingly confessed Jesus as my Saviour?  I'm not sure.  Honestly, it's easy to say in the ease of the moment that nothing would keep me from loudly proclaiming Christ but...but...why does it take a shooting to make this so?  Why does it take a life-changing event for me to speak up, to let the world know I am His and He is mine?  Should not every moment of my life scream this out, volunteer it, and no one even have to ask?

I'd like to think had I been in this situation that I would have responded but in a different way.  I'd like to think that I--along with my fellow hostages--would refuse to be victims but rather have joined together to jump this person, to overpower him and stop his madness, and then?  Then I'd like to think the situation could have ended on a more positive note and that my fellow man and I would have later visited with this man and let him know that indeed we were believers of Christ, so much so that we felt the best way to not deny Him was to introduce this shooter to Him himself.  I'd like to think that as a Christian I would indeed stand for my faith, for my Jesus, and for my fellow man and fight.

Please don't get me wrong.  I am one of the biggest chickens out there.  But Christ in me is stronger than any army, any foe of the wicked.  My hope is that if I ever am in a situation of this sort that rational thought overcomes scary emotions and that my focus is on Christ and what He would be saying to me in that moment.  My hope is that my life will reflect His and that I too would not be afraid to declare Him as Lord.

Til The Storm Passes Over

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.   Psalm 5:11

Good morning!  Oh sure, there's a hurricane brewing in the East.  A storm system is sitting on my area and flooding and other possible devastating events are predicted for the weekend.  Throw in that school shooting where Christians were executed for their faith and some of you may ask "What is so good about today?"

Sigh.  I know, friends.  Life hurts.  It hurts a lot.  But I know where to seek shelter when the storms of life bitterly attack, one after another.  I know where to go when I need to hide, when I need to be reassured that better days are ahead.  I know where to place my faith and Whom to cry out to.  I think you do too, or you wouldn't read my blog so faithfully.  Let's take a moment or two now, and let's cry out to Jesus.  He's there.  He's listening.  And mostly, He's going to keep us.  Let's pray and then find one of your favorite praise songs to uplift to Him.  Rejoice in all things!

God?  So many of my friends and readers are going through rough times.  While some are preparing for the predicted storm that is approaching, others were blindsided by the ones that came without warning.  They didn't have time to stock up their faith in case it was getting low.  They didn't have the foreknowledge to protect their hearts against the currents that are now so viciously attacking their souls.  Oh Father!  Will You let us take refuge in You once again?  Will You spread Your protective wings about us as we nestle in to You for security?  Sometimes we feel so alone and so vulnerable.  Squeeze us tightly, and keep us close to Your bosom.  May we rest in You is my hope for this day, for this weekend, for this life.  In the name of Jesus I pray.  Amen!

http://gaither.com/videos/til-storm-passes-live