Hiking Part 2

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:7,8

Continuing up Cathedral Rock…..

It was a difficult journey. I was very conscious about every step that I took. I wanted to make sure that I was safe. There was no place to land a rescue chopper. There was no one telling me where to put each step. I had to be aware and be safe.

But then, this happened…

I had made it to the top. And man, was it beautiful!

When I finally reached the top, all I could do was sit and stare. You know, it was a struggle but the view was worth every step, every self-motivating phrase and every moment of doubt.

And I wondered, is this a taste of what it will be like when I finally reach my eternal destination? Will I look back and say it was worth all the heartache, all the struggle and all the constant need for encouragement?

And my spirit tells me yes. In fact, the top of Cathedral Rock can hardly compare to streets of gold and seeing the river of life. It can’t compare with hugging Jesus.

Paul knew when he was reaching the end of his race. He could look back and see the struggles and say it was worth it all. He could look forward, knowing that his journey would bring him into the arms of his Savior. I want to reach the “end of (my) trail” with the exact same thought – “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith”.

I just wanted to share these pictures with you and give you a glimpse into my thoughts while I was on the top of Cathedral Rock.

Now, going down, that was an experience all it’s own….

One day at a time

Matthew 6:33,34 – “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

I’m doing a new Bible study, and today’s lesson was so very simple, yet so profound.

One day at a time.

So, I have a friend that would say this to me – all the time. Every circumstance, every problem, every good thing – every single conversation – One day at a time. Bless her heart, she is so much wiser than she gives herself credit for.

My husband is a big picture guy. He can see so far down the road that I’m sure it drives his team members crazy sometimes. I’m not like that at all. Big picture stuff makes me shut down. I can only process small chunks of that big picture that my husband so easily sees. He will come up with an idea and before he wakes up in the morning, he has a plan to see it to completion. Meanwhile, I’m still stuck in concept stage. I think I make him crazy sometimes because he feels like he is always catching me up on something. But that is just how my brain works. He will have to take it up with the Good Lord Almighty on that one!

In the book I am reading, it makes mention of people asking the question – “What is God’s will for my life?” Seniors finishing high school are often bombarded with the question, “What are your plans for the future? Where are you going to college? What are you majoring in?” I’m guilty of asking those questions. Just ask my children. They will tell you. Asking questions about the big picture that you have for yourself may or may not be the right question.

What if, instead, we asked – “What is God’s will?” period. We get so focused on ourself and add the “for my life” part.

What I learned today is that we need to ask the right question to get the right answer. I need to change my perspective. I need to know and understand that God gives me daily assignments. When I follow those assignments and walk with Him daily, I will get to the big picture stuff when He is ready for me to know and understand it. You see, if God was to tell me, “Okay, Melissa. Here is what I am asking you to do. Here is what you need to get it done. And here is what is going to happen when you get to the end”, I would have all the details at the beginning. How much trust does that require? What kind of relationship would I have with Him if I knew everything ahead of time? Not a very strong one, if I were to guess.

One day at a time.

Have you ever listened to that song? Yep, it is a song from waaayyy back when. Let me give you the chorus. “One day at a time, sweet Jesus
That’s all I’m asking of You
Just give me the strength to do everyday
What I have to do
Yesterday’s gone, sweet Jesus
And tomorrow may never be mine
Lord help me today
Show me the way One day at a time”

Now how true is that?

There are times when the big picture stuff is necessary. A senior needs to have some idea of what he/she thinks the future will hold. But they need to get that perspective from the One that knows the end of the story. I need to know and understand what the end will be – eternity with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But I don’t, necessarily, need to know every detail along the way until I get there. No, I need to be sufficient with taking one day at a time. One assignment at a time. One step at a time. One day at a time.

Safe and secure

Romans 8:38,39 – “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The other night, one of my daughter’s friends came over for dinner. This lovely young lady has not had much of a Christian influence in her live save going to a Christian school. There, she has tried to surround herself with a few followers of Christ to help keep her accountable. My daughter is one of them. We have spend many, many hours in prayer and conversation over this young lady and the challenges that she has faced in her short life.

While we were sitting around the dinner table, just she, my daughter and I, we somehow got on the subject of the security of the believer. Now, I have no clue how we found ourself on that path, but if you knew this young lady….you would understand.

Anyway, she was afraid that she could do something wrong that would keep her out of Heaven. I told her that that was not what the Bible teaches. I paraphrased the verse above and told her that nothing and no one could take us away from God once we have truly accepted Jesus as our Savior. Now, we can walk away from Him, but if we have truly accepted Him as our Savior, we cannot be taken out of His hand.

She looked at me and said, “Really?”

It made me a bit sad. How is it that we are not telling people this vital information? How much hope and confidence and security are new believers missing out on because we have failed to inform them that once they choose to climb up into God’s hand, nothing and no one is going to snatch them out of there? Not even death can separate them from God. It’s just a stepping stone.

We need to get this information out there. We need to put it on a billboard. We need to give people this confidence and assurance in a world that is so unstable and hopeless.

The next time you are talking to someone about your life, your day, your story, don’t forget to tell them how much this security means to you. Maybe you need to stop and remember how much this affects your every day life. Maybe you need to think about the fact that you are sitting in God’s hand – in the cleft of the Rock – on that high mountain, safe and secure.

The world thru His eyes

John 4:35 – “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”

What if for one minute you could see the people around you as Jesus sees them? What if you could see their pain, their sin, their fears? How would you respond? Would you ever be able to look at them the same way again?

My kids are going to church camp today. Now, this is camp. No hotel. No linens. No nice bed. This is rustic. And beautiful because of it’s simplicity. There will be kids there from all over. So that means there will be situations, thoughts and beliefs from all across the board. All of them have a past and all of them have a future. But that future depends upon the decisions they make after hearing the Word of God preached boldly to them. 

If we could see a person as Jesus sees them, I think our perspective and priorities would be a lot different. I think that our petty problems that seem overwhelming would be nothing more than a minor inconvenience when compared to the heartaches that some people face. 

Our challenge yesterday from the morning service was to be burdened for the lost souls of the world around us. A burden is a weight that you carry around. It is something that is not easily removed. What if we had that for the lost? What if we truly saw them for who they are and was never able to let that vision go? Would we be different?

This week, I want to challenge you to think about this when you see that person across from you at the gas pump. I want you to think about this when you are walking down the hallway at work. What if you could say something to the next person that you saw that would change their eternity? Would you take time from your deadline to tell them or would you put it off to another time that might never come? 

Church family

1 Corinthians 12:12-14 – “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.”

When my family and I started going to our church, we were a bit puzzled. Everyone was identified as aunt or uncle so-and-so. How could all these people possibly be related? True, it has been around for 120+ years and dating someone in our church requires a careful analysis of both people’s family tree, but still..all of them related?

We quickly learned that these were terms of endearment. 

My church is far from perfect. We have problems. We have challenges. But above it all, we have love. 

And there is no better place to see love than at a funeral. Now, I know, that seems weird. But hear me out. 

One of our ladies passed away this week. She had fought long and hard against an illness that rarely gives up – cancer. It was sad. And it was a blessing. She had been ill for so long and endured so much. She was ready to see Jesus. 

And as we sat and listened to the pastor give his words of encouragement, the common theme was “amen”. He talked about her faith; her dedication when she was ill; her love for her family and her Jesus. Amen. She isn’t hurting. Amen. She wants her family to share in her joy. Amen. Her family was not only flesh and blood but also the blood of Jesus Christ. 

I have a plaque in my home that was given to us by one of our church family. It says “Friends are the family you choose.” 

And no truer words can be spoken when I think about my church family. 

I love my family dearly, blood of my relatives and blood of my Jesus. They are all precious to me. And yesterday, as we laid to rest one of our own, my heart was sad for the ones left behind but happy for her. It was bittersweet. 

So I would encourage you to go home to your church family this weekend. They would love to see you. They would love to hug you. They would love to tell you how much they have missed you, because they have. Don’t let the devil steal away the family that God has given you. Treasure it and thrive within it. 

Promise from on High

Deuteronomy 26:15-19 – “Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey. This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice: And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.”

I rode a really, really, really tall Ferris wheel the other night. I’m not too fond of heights but it was pretty cool to see the city all lite up and pretty. 

But as I stepped onto this giant wheel, I needed a promise – the promise that I wouldn’t plummet to the ground but rather would be brought safely down 23 minutes later. And I was. The Ferris wheel operators kept their promise. 

Sometimes I think that we take for granted that God is watching us from somewhere beyond the reaches of a Ferris wheel or airplane or space shuttle. We take for granted that even though He is right beside us, He is also way far above us. 

He has made us promises as well. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. He has promised to provide all that we need (not necessarily what we want). He has promised that if we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, we have an eternal home in Heaven. 

And just like He always kept His promises (and consequences for forgetting His promises) to the children of Israel, so He does for us today. 

He may be way far above us and right beside us at the same time however, there is one thing we can always count on – God keeps His promises. And He has promised that one day, He is coming back for me and all the rest of y’all who have accepted Him as your Savior. (Yes, I did just use “y’all” – it’s in my blood!)   Any way, it’s going to be an amazing day – that day when we see all His promises fulfilled!

The Perfect Recipe

Psalm 34:12-17 – “What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.”

I love to cook. If you could see my bookshelf for my recipe books, the claim would be confirmed. I love the joy on a person’s face when they taste something super yummy. I love the gentle sounds that people make when something is oh, so good. Typically, that doesn’t happen without just the right recipe. 

Hence the thoughts for today…

When David wrote this psalm, he gave us a fabulous recipe, a recipe for life. Here’s my take on it: “You wanna have good, long life? Don’t gossip. Don’t lie. Don’t create problems. Watch your mouth. You walk away from things that even smell bad. You look for things that will honor and glorify God, and you run after them with all you’ve got.” 

Life provides us with so many opportunities to chase after things that have pushed God out of the picture. Things that don’t bring peace are easily found. And my, oh my, there are so many opportunities to run our mouth. Isn’t life pretty much summed up in those three bad choices? Poor attitudes and selfishness are easily captured. 

It takes work to keep your attitude in check. It takes effort to keep selfishness far from you. It takes a muzzle, sometimes, to keep negative things from flying out of your mouth. 

Now that I have hashed through some of the negatives of life, let’s see if we can determine some positives. 

God’s eyes are on those who pursue a right life. He hears their prayers. He is attentive to their needs. He never leaves them alone. 

Jesus Christ was the only One to make it off this earth with no sin. Praise God for that! The rest of us need to have His commitment as our goal. We should strive to be like Him. That is the “life…and love of days” to “see good” that David is speaking of here. 

The new year is just around the corner. People will soon be contemplating goals that, more than likely, will never be attained in the upcoming year. So why wait? Start today. Wednesday is a great day to start living the perfect recipe. Oh, it will be hard. The devil will throw trials and tribulations in your path. But who cares? You know the end of the story. Keep going. The “oohs” and “ahs” are just up ahead in Heaven. 

Eternal

1 John 5:11-12 – “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”

My husband and I were at the mall this weekend. We saw a shirt hanging in a window that said, “We are eternal.” I had to stop and get another look. My husband said, “Sure we are eternal. But what eternal are they talking about?” He was thinking heaven or hell. 

It seems that our society thinks it is above reproach. Somehow or another, they think they will never die and never be held accountable for anything they do. I have heard songs about that “we will are never getting older” and songs about doing something “anyway”. 

No thought for consequences. No thought to anyone else other than themself. 

Eternal. Do people realize that is a really, really, really long and never ending time? Do they realize that their eternity will be spent in a smoking or non-smoking place? They have the choice of everlasting love or everlasting fire. They have the choice to accept Jesus or reject Him. 

So yes, we are eternal. But which eternal will you choose – eternal love or eternal damnation? It seems like such an easy choice. Choosing love means allowing Jesus to lead and guide you. Choosing damnation means leading yourself and trusting that you can make all things good. For me, I choose to let Christ lead my life. I choose eternal love. 

Life after today

Revelation 22:1-5 – “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.”

I was driving along the other day and I heard a guy on the radio make this statement. Now, the guy that said it, I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. But, the statement in and of itself is really good. 

How will you live life after today? You have no idea what today holds. You have no idea if you will even wake up tomorrow, let alone follow through with the plans you have made. Yet, all week we think and plan for the weekend. It’s our time off (for some). It’s when we are “free”. 

Do you ever stop and consider eternity? Do you think about what it will look like, who will be there or what you will do? Some of my family is already experiencing eternity. They are living life after today. 

I don’t have a ton to say on this today. I’m just planting seeds. 

Let me encourage you to take some of that “free” time and consider eternity for a bit. If you don’t understand or know where you will spend eternity, go check out my other page for the plan of salvation. It’s so easy and so worth it. Don’t think about life after today without Jesus in it. 

Blessings of a Godly Family

Jeremiah 35:12-17 – “Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the LORD. The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father’s commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me. I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me. Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them; but this people hath not hearkened unto me: Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered.”

Sorry. I know the reading was long, but I wanted you to get the full picture. 

Oftentimes, God uses living, breathing examples for us to understand what He is trying to tell us. Here, He wanted the people of Israel to see that it can be done – you can follow after age, old commands without compromising. These people, the Rechabites, had followed after the commands of their forefathers for many generations. They chose not to drink wine. (They chose not to do other things everyone else did as well. Check out Jeremiah 35.)   

The important lesson here for the children of Israel was that they needed to repent and follow after the commands that God had given their forefathers. But this didn’t fit what they wanted to do. It interfered with their life. They had chosen a different path. 

That’s the thing here – we all have to choose our path. The Rechabites chose to follow after the commands of their forefathers. The children of Israel chose the path of everyone around them; they wanted to be like everyone else. 

I have been blessed with a beautiful spiritual background. Both sides of my family accepted Jesus as their Savior. My mom’s side was a bit more recent than my dad’s, but nonetheless, it was there. My husband’s family knows the Lord as well. Not all the distance relatives, but some. The ones with the greatest effect on his life knew the Lord. What a blessing for my children! An heritage of the Lord. 

But what I want you to understand is this – just because your family loved and served the Lord doesn’t automatically make you a child of the King. No, it’s your choice. You have to choose your own path. You have to make your own decision. Heritage will not get you to Heaven. Only the accepted blood of Jesus Christ can do that. 

A Godly family is a blessing, indeed. But don’t be fooled into thinking that’s what you need for salvation. The choice is yours and yours alone. You can’t ride in on someone else’s skirt tail.