I moved!!

Please come see my new site!

http://jeanneahlers.com/

I felt it was time for a change, and I'm excited about the feedback I've gotten. 

Stop in and a chat a bit, read my new posts, and let me know what you think.  My goal is to post something new at least once a week, maybe twice.  Its that's not too much for your inbox, click the "follow" button, it means a lot to me.
Thanks!

On being grateful

Everyday we make the choice to either be happy, or to be something else.  Its easy to be depressed in the world we live in.  There are so many people to compare ourselves to, and so many things others have that we don't. Too many times, we get lost in our "have-nots" and don't think about all the things we do have.

Health
Family
Friends
Knowledge

Wealth is nice, and truly I tell you that you are probably a lot wealthier than you believe.  (If you don't believe that, go visit any third world country.)  But there are so many things that money can't buy.  

You can buy all types of medical procedures, but none of them can truly make you healthy.
You can buy people off with gifts to have friends and family want to be around you, but they will never truly love you just for those material things.
You can buy a college education, but more times than not, it won't actually make you smart, but it will train you for a better paying job.

God gives us so many great gifts, and love is at the top of that list.  God's love is what truly makes your heart beat in your chest, and your brain think in your head.  God's love is contagious, and when it seeps from your pores, it pours out into others.  Do you know anyone who is truly infectious?  Someone you just love to talk to because they always seem happy, and make you feel happy too?  They always have a positive outlook and always seem to lift everyone up? 

That's who we should strive to be, infectious spreaders of God's love!  It takes some practice, but feeling grateful for everything you have is the first step.  Always think about what you do have, not what you don't have.  Grateful people tend to get more of the good things, because they rejoice in God's grace and mercy. 

When you focus on good, you receive good.
When you focus on bad, well, most times you receive bad. 

God knows what you desire long before you do.  Focus on gratefulness, and let God do the rest.

Scaredy Cat!

In my house,  there lives a small female cat named Mojo.  She was a Christmas present for my 20 year old daughter when she was in Second grade in school.  Mojo is the true ”scaredy cat”.  She is scared of everything, including my daughter and myself. 

Mojo lives upstairs, hiding in the bedrooms, and rarely comes downstairs.  Once in awhile, she’ll come and lay by me when I’m asleep in my bed, purring and snuggling up to me, waiting for me to pet her.  But if I’m awake and upright, she runs and hides. 

Sometimes I think that’s how we are with God.  In the quiet of night sometimes we seek His comfort, but during the day, we hide from His touch.  When our food bowl is empty, we make a fuss, but otherwise we keep to ourselves, not looking for any guidance or communication from above.

I think about how sad this is.  If we would only seek Him out during the day, even when our food bowl is full and the litter box is clean, we would experience the full feeling of His love and presence in our lives.  But we are scared too, just like this cat; scared of what might happen if we open our hearts fully.  What would God expect of us if we opened up and asked Him to take our lives and make us whole?   What would happen if we relinquished control of our lives and depended on God for everything?

I don’t want to be like this cat, anxious and afraid, expecting the worst to happen.  I want to live life fully, open to God and His will for my life.  I want to experience the full love and blessings that life has to offer when I trust God with all things.

What if?

2 Corinthians 6:1-13

As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.  For he says,“In the time of my favor I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you.”

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.  We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.  Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses;  in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love;  in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;  through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors;  known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed;  sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

 We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you.  We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us.  As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children —open wide your hearts also.

What if?

My sermon from 6-24-2012

As I read the Scripture from 2 Corinthians in a few different translations, I had to ask myself, “What does it mean to accept God’s gift in vain”?  How does one “Ignore it”?  Paul says in this letter to the church in Corinth, that it is possible to look like we have received God on the outside, but to go on living like we are still the same person we were before we received God’s grace.  Paul goes on to say that he and his followers are living so that no one will stumble because of them, no one will find fault with the way they are living their lives. 

We’ve all heard stories of corruption, church employees being charged with theft and embezzlement, pastors having affairs or getting DUI’s, priests charged with molesting children.  The very people who we trust to guide us in our search for truth and justice sometimes are the ones who need that guidance the most.   Its very disturbing to hear these stories, and it affects how we trust people.   And unfortunately, those people cast a very negative shadow onto God’s image.

On the other hand, we have people like Mother Teresa, who lived her life as an amazing example of what Christ’s love looks like.  She cared for the orphans, the dying children of India, often holding them while they passed into the next world.  She fed them, bathed them, and loved them, and lived a life of utter poverty to bless the less fortunate. 

But what does it mean for us  to live a life that would cause no one to stumble?  How do we make sure we have not accepted God’s gift in vain?

When people look at my life, and your life, and all our lives, I want them to see us working in God’s love for the betterment of everyone.  I want people to see Christ in me.  If I met someone, and I couldn’t say anything to them, what would they understand about me by the way I act?  By the way I treat others?  By the way I share the love of Christ with others?  If you spend a day with me, do you leave happy and full of God’s love?  Or do you call me a hypocrite and shake your head? 

What would the world be like if we actually lived the life Jesus calls us to live?  What if we really did love all of our neighbors as much as we love ourselves, and we loved their children as much as we love our children?     

What if we only said things about others that we would say if they were present?   What if we encouraged each other and lifted each other up in our prayers?  What if we treasured our time together as if we were best friends?   What if we over-looked each other’s shortcomings because we want them to overlook ours?  What if we forgave others easily, because we wanted them to forgive us? I think the world would be a much better reflection of the world God meant for us to live in. 

Have you ever heard the expression, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”?  We usually say that in a negative situation, referring to the way a bad action from a child results from parents who also are considered to be bad people.   But what if we changed that and said it to mean good things?  Because the tree we are from is such a good tree, we should also be really good people!  In John 15:5 Jesus said to His Jewish  disciples,” I am the vine and you are the branches.”   I’m not Jewish, so I’m not a part of that original vine.  But there is good news!  Through the death and resurrection of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I have been grafted onto the branch!  In Romans 11:17 we are told that “some of these branches from Abraham's tree--some of the people of Israel--have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God's special olive tree.”

And Galatians 3:27-28 say, “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Those words mean that we, even though we were not born into the family of Abraham and Sarah, even though we were not God’s original chosen people,  He still made a way for us to be part of the body of Christ.  We’ve been adopted by the Creator as His own children, from shoots of a wild olive tree to children of the living God.   Its such great news that  regardless of whether we were Jewish or gentile, we are a new creation in Christ, living together in the New Covenant of God’s grace.

So what is this promise?  What is this New Covenant?  The promise referred to is the promise God made to Abraham way back in Genesis.  God told Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. “  That’s God’s promise, to bless Abraham and all his decendants, and all the families on earth will be blessed through us.  Yes, us, because by grafting us onto the vine we get that promise too. 

And the New Covenant?  Hebrews 8:8-13 says

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah,
⁹ not like the covenant that I made with their fathers
on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
For they did not continue in my covenant,
and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
¹⁰ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds,
and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
¹¹ And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor
and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
for they shall all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
¹² For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
and I will remember their sins no more.”¹³ In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

So not only do we get to be God’s children, we get Abraham’s blessing, and a new covenant .  And when Jesus died on the cross, and the tapestry was torn, the New Covenant was brought about. 

The New Covenant itself is pure genius.  God carves His new laws into our hearts and gives us a place at His table.   He throws out the old plan, the agreement He made with Moses, because none of them remained faithful to the old laws.  This time God takes us out of the context, since we mess things up all the time, our salvation and our faithfulness are all about Him.   2Timothy 2:13 “If we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself. “    If He is in our heart HE CANNOT DISOWN HIMSELF!  He will be faithful to us FOREVER!

We want to believe that we are the important part of this relationship,  that it’s all about us and what we do and don’t do.  But in reality, it’s all about Him.  It’s about what Jesus has done for us to provide an unbreakable connection to God.   So when we do receive the spirit, and Jesus takes up residence in our hearts, it truly should cause us to change.  It should cause us to become totally different people, people who reflect the image of God. 

When you look in the mirror, do you just see yourself?  Next time you look in the mirror, study the reflection, can you see Jesus in there?  I bet you can.  Now look at your neighbors.  Really study them.  Can you see Jesus in them too?  Now look at the homeless man, the leper, the orphan, the widow, the starving children in Africa, can you see Jesus there?   

In the book of Matthew, Jesus tells us to take care of these people, that what we do for the least of these, His brothers and sisters, who are also OUR brothers and sisters since we are adopted into His family, what we do for the least of these, we also do for Jesus.  And if our heart is filled with the love of Jesus, then this will come naturally.  It will bring us joy to help others, and to show them the love that God has for us.  It will bring us joy to bring glory to God.  It will bring us joy to make others joyful. 

So if we live our lives by trying to imitate Jesus, we will never cause anyone to stumble.  If we imitate Christ we will be true to ourselves and to our Father.   We will be accepting God’s gift, not in vain, but with gratitude and thanksgiving. 

I AM

FORGIVEN
forgiven
Forgiven
forgiven
ForGiven
FORGIVEN
FORGIVEN
forgiven
FORGIVEN

And if the Lord God Almighty has forgiven me already, why would I listen to anyone else?

And What is Wisdom?

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God,who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. James 1:5.
I asked. I opened my soul and waited. And He gave.
Its taken years for this knowledge to sink in, to make sense, TO GROW...
The seed, planted, watered, nurtured, growing.

But now...
...what do I do with it?
...this knowledge I've gained.

I want to shout from the rooftops...
YOU GOT IT ALL WRONG!!!
Can't you see?
You got it all wrong...

My soul cries,
heart broken,
mind broken,
the knowledge gained,
but the heart hurting.

Once the eyes are opened,
The truth is seen.
THE EYES OF LOVE THAT ARE THE TRUTH.
The TRUTH that sets you FREE!
And freedom is great.
And freedom comes at a cost.
A very big cost.
But that cost, was paid by God,
For God.
God says HE has paid this debt.
HE has done the deed.
HE is the one who decides,
He tosses out the old law, and brings in a NEW law.
The NEW Covenant:

“The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear Hebrew 8:8-13

The old laws? Thrown out, by God Almighty Himself.
The sins? Forgiven, Forgotten, by God Almighty Himself.
The new laws? Inscribed forever on your heart, by God Almighty Himself.

And who can argue with God?
For if He throws out the law, who would still abide in it?
Do not wallow in the trash.
Instead, set your mind to learn the NEW ways,
The NEW covenant,
Written on our Hearts,
And in our Minds,
BY GOD ALMIGHTY HIMSELF!!
For that is the TRUTH that sets you FREE.

Sinner!

I believe that once we forgive ourselves,its then that God is able to use what we learned from that sin to make us a better person. I think that sometimes the humbleness we get from being a sinner, and confessing that sin to God, makes us a better witness to Him.
'I can't think myself better than anyone else, because I have sinned too.'
I truly believe this, and in my life, I have learned so much from my own sins, and the sins of others. And if we all try to help each other in love and kindness, I think we really fulfill what God wants for our lives. When we stop judging others (that dang speck in their eye compared to our own logs!) we can see that their sin really isn't any worse (or better) than our own. We're all in the same boat. And praise God for the wonderful life preserver He sent when Jesus showed up! ;)

What Happened?

Yesterday my 17 year old son went to a funeral for a 15 year old boy from his school. This young man killed himself. This had not been his first attempt.

DISCLAIMER***I really don't know anything about this young man's family, so anything I say here is purely speculation and the ramblings of my own mind. I do not know if they are or are not a Christian family, I do not know of any mental illnesses or any other medical conditions that may contribute to depression or anything else that may have lead to his decision to end his life.***

I hear about suicide all the time. I'm a volunteer for our local ambulance service, and I read on my pager quite frequently, "suicidal" male or female. It's in the papers, it's on the news, and so many times, it's a young person.

I don't understand how a child can feel so alone and so desperate that they decide to take their own lives. Are we failing our children somehow? Are we doing something wrong? Or is it society? Is our culture killing our kids? The need to be popular, to be liked, to have material possesions; is strong. The "haves" sometimes alienate the "have nots". Bullies take lives too , by their hate and evil words and actions.

What makes these kids act like this?
Personally, I think that by taking God out of the lives of our children by taking Him out of our schools, we do them a huge disservice.
My taxes pay for that public school, why can't my Savior reside there too?
Also, by taking away the right of a parent to disclipline their child, we also do them a great disservice. (Abuse and disclipline are two very different things, for anyone who wants to cry foul.)

Also, by taking God out of our children's lives, we have taken away their hope and their knowledge of their Creator. And just taking these kids to church does not make them a Christian. Do you talk to your kids about God? Or is that your pastor's job? Do your kids know how important God is in your life? Is He important in your life? Do you spend time with your kids watching the shows they watch, listening to the music they listen to? Do you know who their friends are, and what those friends believe? Do you know your kids and what they believe? Peer pressure works both ways you know.

All in all, I pray that this young man is in the presence of Our Savior right now. I pray that God saw his breaking heart, his broken spirit, and anything else that contributed to his death, and said "Child of mine, I love you and forgive you. I died on the cross for you, you are mine."

Lessons From a Lost Dog

My son agreed to watch the pastor's dogs, Gabby and Cassie, while the pastor and his wife went to the East coast to meet their first grandchild. He would spend hours over there playing with the dogs to keep them company.
He was invited to go camping with his girlfriend's family for the 4th of July weekend, and I agreed to watch the dogs while he was gone. That's where everything seemed to go downhill.
That morning Malachi fed the dogs and played with them before he left. Then I took over. As if on cue, the dogs ripped a hole in the fence, and ran away that late afternoon. I drove around town talking to everyone I saw, asking if they had seen the dogs. A few people had seen them, so I kept searching, until it was so dark, I couldn't see my hand in front of my face.
That night I laid in bed, unable to sleep. I tossed and turned, slept for three hours, and then got up to begin the search again at dawn's first light. My husband searched too, we walked cornfield after cornfield, tree line after tree line, after hearing that the dogs had been spotted at someone's farm. I drove to Davenport, stopping at each farm along the way, telling them about the dogs and asking if they had seen them. My phone rang with a recent sighting, and then we found Cassie. I brought her home, gave her water and food, combed some of the burrs out of her fur and snipped off the big ones. She seemed relieved to be home. We continued to search for Gabby, assuming she would be nearby. But as night approached, I started to lose hope that she would be found before the next round of fireworks frightened her even more.
We searched again the next day, which was the 4th of July. But as the fireworks continued, Gabby ran further and further away. I followed the dog tracks, and walked the RR tracks. I walked through farmsteads, and stopped everyone I saw. I made posters with Gabby's picture that I had taken Saturday afternoon with my new cell phone.
Those posters proved vital as someone out spraying the fields saw Gabby Tuesday night. The next morning they saw the "Lost Dog" poster and I was notified. Gabby's neighbor Caroline and I walked the trees in that area, while my husband and son drove the roads on the lookout for movement.
After several hours of walking and calling, Gabby came out of the trees to the voice of her neighbor Caroline. Caroline called my cell phone, and told me she had Gabby. I had the leash around my waist, so I ran almost two-thirds of a mile back to where they were. I was so relieved when I saw her. She looked fine. She wasn't hurt, she wasn't scared, and she was found. I was so grateful to be able to send a picture of Caroline and Gabby to our pastor with the caption, "What was lost has been found!"
We walked the half mile back to the vehicles, then drove Gabby back to her house. Cassie was so excited to see her sister. She burrowed her nose in Gabby's fur, licking her and jumping on her. We brought them outside, in the fenced yard, the hole patched with odds and ends to keep the dogs in. They drank and ate some food. Gabby seemed content to be home, and Cassie was excited for the reunion.
As I sat and watched the dogs, I realized that I was completely exhausted. I had been walking miles each day in the heat and humidity. I hadn't had much to eat, and hadn't been sleeping well. I also had a revelation.
The relief I felt at the return of Gabby was something like how God feels when one of His lost children comes back to Him!
Jesus talks about lost sheep in the Bible as he tells us parables to help us understand God's love for us. In Luke verses 3-7 the Bible tells us , 'Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.'
I think I have a been given a true understanding of this parable. I didn't put Gabby on my shoulders, we walked with her on the leash, and my rejoicing was primarily on Facebook. But when I read this parable now, it has a different meaning, its much more 'real' to me now. I think I really know, somewhat anyway, how God feels when he brings a lost sheep back to the flock.
When one of us admits our sin, and asks God to help.
When one of us finally says, I can't do this on my own, I need your help God.
Or when an unbeliever says "OK God, if you're really there, show me."
I think there really IS rejoicing in heaven!
But don't forget the last part of this parable. It says 'I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.' So what does that part mean?
It means that God rejoices over the lost, the least, the sinner who begs, who pleads out of desperation for God's help, His mercy and forgiveness. When someone finally breaks, gives up, cried out for help, there's a party in heaven! As tears of bitterness and guilt and shame well up like a river and flow uncontrollably, the angels sing songs of happiness and praise for God's glory!
Jesus says "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17) It also says "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. " (John 3:17)
These passages are so important to understand. So many false teachings come from self-righteous people who don't understand the true concept of salvation because they don't have the true love of Jesus in their hearts.
We are all guilty.
Every one of us is a lost sheep.
Not one of us is good enough to get into heaven.
Nothing you do will get you into heaven.
You cannot bargain with God.
You cannot make up your own righteousness rules and think that somehow God's going to comply.
Only God is righteous, and only by the grace of God will you ever be allowed into His presence. You can't get there on your own. You also can't get their by condemning other people.
God is very clear on this one. There is a very narrow road to the truth, and if you miss it, you end up on the wide road to destruction. If you condemn others for their sins, you condemn yourself. Every time we pray the Lord's prayer we ask that we be forgiven in accordance with how we forgive others. "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."
"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
I guess we should be thankful that we were lost, because that's why we have Jesus.

I Believe

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
I believe that I was created by God, for God, and that the opinions of others mean absolutely nothing to me.
I believe that God created my soul in His own image. My physical body does not look like God at all, for God needs no physical body. My body is His temple however, and I will take care of it as if it were not my own.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.
I believe that God loves me so much, He came down and died for me. I don't know why. I don't know what would make someone so high, so mighty, and so perfect, love something as miserable as me. But I am truly moved to tears quite often, thinking of how much love that would take. What kind of love would that take? I don't think a human, other than Jesus Christ Himself, has that kind of love.
I read something from a friend, something hurtful and deceiving about God. I wonder, "how can anyone who calls themselves a Christian spread hate and lies?"
They ask questions like "Why are people leaving the church?" "Why are people choosing other things over God?"
If people would stop bickering over scripture, and stop trying to prove or disprove their opinions by manipulating scripture, the world would be a different place. You see, there are lots of things in the Bible that can be taken to mean different things. Over the past 2000 years we have mistranslated God's word and we have changed things in it, to make it more palatable to humankind and to our own devices. But that doesn't make it right.
THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT RIGHT!!!
The one thing I can tell you is this:
JESUS IS LOVE.
JESUS SAID TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR.
EVERYTHING ABOUT JESUS WAS ABOUT LOVE.
Every parable, every law, every story about Jesus is telling us that He loves us enough to die for us, and what do we do?
We argue about who is the most important disciple.
About which sins are more fatal than others, even though Jesus says all sin is sin.
About who is or is not qualified to speak God's words in a church because of the sins they have committed, even though Jesus says if you commit one sin, you have committed them all.
About how old the earth is and how that matters to the story of creation, like we really have any say over when God created the earth and how long one of His 'days' is.
About what Jesus meant when He said 'the poor will always be with you'.
About women holding any place in a church other than in the kitchen, even though it says: in Christ there is no male or female.
About racism and how your latitude determines whether or not you'll starve to death, even though if all Christians tithed, there would be enough for everyone.
About the scourge of AIDS and how Jesus said to care for the sick, but some people seem to think AIDS is a punishment from God so we shouldn't help.
About the wrath of God, and how some people still seem to think that God is punishing us, even though Jesus settled that debt years ago.

Get over yourselves people. Its not about you, its about God. And if you were truly His disciple, you would do his bidding.
STOP YOUR IDIOTIC FIGHTING.
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR,
LOVE YOUR PLANET.
TAKE CARE OF THE LESS FORUNATE, BECAUSE THAT'S WHO GOD WAS TALKING ABOUT THE WHOLE TIME.

I'M IMPRESSED AT HOW MUCH PATIENCE GOD TRULY HAS.

The Passion of Peter

I was asked to write and deliver the sermon for Lenten services. I also read a passage from "Imaginary Jesus" by Matt Mikalatos. Here's the sermon: As I read and researched and learned more about Peter for this message, I realized that I actually know a lot of people who are a lot like Peter. Peter is impulsive. He's a proud person who thinks a lot of himself. He's hot headed, and quick to argue and criticize. He really sounds like a lot of people I know, and even maybe, a little like me. I think we all have a little bit of Peter's character in us. Maybe that's because its one of the biggest problems we as humans face. As Mac Davis sang: Oh Lord it's hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way. It is a funny song. But we're not perfect, and even doing the best that we can, isn't good enough. Did you know that? Did you know that no matter what you do, no matter how good you are, no matter how much money you have, it will not get you into heaven? I looked it up on Travelocity.com, and I couldn't even find the airport for Heaven. The closest it could get me was Havana. So if we can't buy the ticket to heaven, how do we get there? Peter knew in his heart that Jesus was the true son of God. He knew, he had been with Jesus this whole time. He saw the miracles, he saw everything. How can he not have complete faith in Jesus, when he was there? He was there! He heard the parables straight from the lips of Jesus. He saw his own mother-in-law, laying in bed with a fever, sick as a dog, touched by Jesus, and healed instantly. He knew! He knew Jesus was for real. So do we, we know Jesus is for real. I'm sure each one of us has seen the love and miracles of Jesus in our lives. So why then, does Peter deny Jesus? In Luke 24 verses 31-34 Jesus says: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.” And we heard the story, he did deny Jesus, not once, it wasn't a slip up. He did it three times! Did he not even realize what he was saying? He had just expressed his willingness to die with Jesus, and now he doesn't even know Him? How is that possible? I think that Peter was afraid of the peer pressure and he was under a lot of stress. Peer pressure is defined as the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his or her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform to the group's behavior. Its something we usually attribute to teenagers, however, its something very real in most of our lives. Almost everyone wants to be accepted by the people around them. And during this day in Peter's life, everything he knew fell down around him. He was probably feeling very anxious, scared, and uncertain. I want you to imagine that day in Peter's life. He knows something is going on. Jesus has been talking about how he's going to die. They celebrate the Passover meal with Jesus, who gives them this speech about how happy he was to have this meal with them before he suffers. Then he gives them bread and wine, saying that its his body and blood, broken for them. Then he tells them that one of their band of brothers is going to betray him. So what do they do? They start arguing about which one of then is the greatest disciple! Did they not believe it, maybe they just didn't want to believe it. Maybe they didn't understand. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. If you don't think about it, maybe it won't happen. But as the predictions of Jesus started coming true, Peter's blissfulness started turning into panic. In the garden after taking a nice nap as Jesus prayed, sweating blood for the horrible torture He was about to endure, Peter again, in John 18 verse 10, shows his impulsiveness by pulling out a sword and hacking off the ear of the high priest's guard who comes to arrest Jesus! Jesus, who for obvious reasons, doesn't need Peter as a bodyguard, says, in Matthew 26: “Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” So then Peter follows after his rabbi, his leader, his best friend in all the world, who he has pledged to die for, only to say he doesn't know him when he's asked. You see, Jesus has been hauled off. He's being judged for crimes he didn't commit. Peter knows Jesus is innocent, and he's scared. He can't go into the court room, so he's waiting outside, anxious and nervous, scared for his life. Talk about stress! Fight or flight. Its what our bodies and our brains are designed to do when under great stress. We saw Peter choose to fight with the sword, and Jesus said no. So now he's picking flight. If he doesn't know Jesus, then he can't be held accountable, right? If he runs away from the problem, it goes away, right? Was all this really happening? Or was it all a bad dream? I think that perhaps Peter's mind was spinning with all this information, with all these things being dumped into his consciousness at the same time, and his nervous system was being overloaded with adrenaline. People are asking him questions, he doesn't even know what he's saying, he's scared, he's panicking, and then bang, the rooster crows. That rooster must have been like a fire alarm going off in his brain. The terror it must have struck in his heart. The fear, the hopelessness, the anger toward himself realizing that he just did the very thing he swore he wouldn't do! It was done. It was over. The last thing that Peter got to do for Jesus was pretend he didn't know him. It says "He went outside and wept bitterly." Jesus told him to pray not to give into temptation. Was that temptation, the temptation to believe that he could do all this on his own? What if instead of relying on his own strength through this trial of his life, he had prayed for guidance? What if instead of thinking he was such a great disciple, he acknowledged his weakness and asked for help? Maybe he wouldn't have had to go through all that heartbreak. I think that making Peter go through this dreadful denial of Jesus was God's way of teaching Peter humility. If that didn't make him a little more humble, I'm not sure what would. I think that is the plank in our eyes that God keeps telling us about. If we can't look at own sins and shortcomings with honesty, we will never be able to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. But if we stop depending on our own understanding, our own knowledge, and our own preconceived notions, and we start praying for guidance, for understanding, and for mercy, then God will show us His love, and give us these things. I think most people would have a pretty easy time judging Peter to be a pretty poor disciple. But Jesus didn't think so. I also think that many of us have a pretty easy time judging each other to be pretty poor disciples. Praise the Lord that Jesus doesn't think so. In fact, He is so convinced that you are one of His best disciples that He let himself be nailed to the cross and He died to show you how much He believes in you! That ticket to heaven was purchased, not by us, but by the blood of Jesus Christ who died for us on that cross.

"Where's Waldo" or "God's Plan for my Life"

Sometimes I feel like I'm the Waldo in the pictures, one face in the sea of faces, one little insignificant person in the crowd of millions. Make that billions. One person, one soul, just one lost sinner looking for my role, waiting on God to reveal...what's that Jesus?
What am I waiting for?
I've been floundering around for my whole life, trying to figure out what God's big plan for my life is. But I'm still waiting. I even go to church almost every Sunday and toss a couple bucks in the offering plate, but nothing's changed. My life isn't anything like it will be once God's plan is revealed. I'm still waiting for God to show me...what did you say Jesus?

Good works? Good news?
Yep, I go to work everyday, but its not cool to talk about God there. My coworkers might make fun of me if they knew I was a Christian. And I don't know if any of them go to church, and I sure don't want to talk about the Bible to anyone that doesn't go to church. That would be really uncomfortable. So that's why I'm just waiting for God to reveal...what do you mean Jesus?
What do you mean God already showed me His plan?
Its in the Bible?
But I read the Bible, the whole thing, and I never found anything where God wrote about what He was going to do with my life. He doesn't even mention me in the Bible, Jesus.

He did mention me in the Bible?
Oh, yeah, child of God...
Yeah, I know, I'm a child of God, and that's all great, but I'm waiting for MY big day, when God shows me what He's calling me to do with my life. When He calls my name loud like thunder and says"This is what you were meant to do!" And then He gives me a bunch of money and I can go do whatever easy job He's created me for. I can't wait to do God's work! Its going to be so great... What did you say Jesus?

What do you mean "Feed my sheep"?
Who are "the least of these"?
Love my neighbors? Well, I hardly know them, how can I love them?
Besides, wouldn't that be weird?
But those people live on the other side of the planet, how can they be my neighbors?
I've never even been to Samaria, how would I know a good one if I met one?
I just don't understand your riddles Jesus!
What's that about parables Jesus?
Don't waste my what, Jesus?

Love Never Fails

Love Never Fails.
The verses printed inside the cross are 1 Corinthians 13: verses 1-8. I have pretty much bet my salvation on this way of thinking. When I am before the Lord, my God, and He asks me what I did with my life, I will tell Him that I loved: that when I was in doubt, I did what I thought Jesus would do, and I loved.

As you judge, you will be judged.

I know that I, the sinner that I am, will need alot of mercy, so I make sure to offer it as much as I can. But I know in my heart, that God wants us all to think this way. He said it so many times, it amazes me that people are still out there, judging away. In my journey to know God, I have had to change some of my ways of thinking. I have had to completely change my point of view on some things. Its hard, but when the Bible says...when JESUS says... we need to listen. We need to stop assuming we know what HE meant. Stop assuming we understand what HE wants us to do.
To enter heaven we must become like small children.
Read that Bible again, with the soft heart of a child, and see what it really says. Our hardened hearts will never know the truth unless we can do this.

Luke 16: 26

My depiction of the great chasm.

I gave up my soda habit, my chiropractor has been telling me for years that diet Coke is evil for one's body, and to celebrate I sponsored a little girl from Guatemala.

(I have thought about it many times, its funny how God does these things. But I really felt that this was what I was supposed to do, and maybe its why God made me buy the book "Radical" by David Platt. Ever since I've read it, I've felt convicted to do more for God, and to listen to that still small voice in my heart. You know that voice? That small voice, the one that's barely audible because of all the commercials and pleas for you to spend your money on material things to make your life of ease even more comfortable. The small voice, that you almost need to meditate to hear, to go into a quiet place so you can hear it.)

I was on the Childfund website trying to pick a child, which is so difficult, all their beautiful little faces! Everytime I picked one, they had already been picked by someone else.

(That in itself is wonderful because it means many people have been sponsoring children recently. I wish we could all see how truly rich we are, compared to the rest of the world. For years I ignored the call to sponsor a child because I just didn't know if I could afford it, or I just didn't know if I really should, or I just didn't know which one of the sponsorship companies to pick. "You really want to me sacrifice some of my money for what??" )

So I just told God to pick for me, and started clicking until I got one that up for sponsorship. When I got the info about her this morning, it showed me that she and my son have the same birthday.

I thought, "That was pretty cool God! ", and in my brain I could hear, "See, I picked her out just for you."

So thank you God, thank you for your patience with me, and your never-ending love.
I love you too.

Where Am I Going?

Please excuse my previous absence, and the possible absence to follow.

God has been working in huge major ways in my life, and I've been feeling a little overwhelmed. I just haven't had any extra time to write, or even think about things of which to write.

I'll tell you all about it once it gets going beyond the point that it is. But for now all I can say is: Its huge, its crazy, and my life is never going to be the same.
I can't sleep at night, my stomach is fluttery, and its all I can think about.

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

Its a big hope, but it means a big future too. A future for generations.
As I leave you hanging, with my heart full of optimism and the love of the LORD, I bid you this: Pray unceasingly that the LORD will reveal His will for your life to you. Because when He does, its pretty dang amazing!

Supersheep!

This is an excerpt from a sermon I wrote, and had the chance to deliver to my church in June 2010.

We sometimes need to change our attitudes. Philippians 2 verses 3-5 says "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus"
I think that's a tall order for a regular human being. I think that we do tend to think of ourselves first. We've all heard the phrase, "looking out for number 1!" And by saying that we mean ourselves, and our families, and its usually said with an angry tone, or an arrogant one. Face it, sometimes, we don't want to be the sheep. Sometimes I don't want to be a timid, submissive sheep that can't take care of myself, walking around, being told what to do.
I want to be a warrior sheep!
A sheep that can tell you the way it is!
The way its going to be!
I want to be a Supersheep!
With a sword, and a cape, and a big letter "S" on my chest!
But God says NO. God says be humble. God says in Hebrews 10:30 "For we know him who said, 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' and again, 'The Lord will judge his people'." I don't get the sword, it's God's sword. I don't get to judge. That's God's job. I don't even get a cape. I just get instructions:
"Feed my sheep."
"Do unto others"
"Love thy neighbor"
"Love one another"

No sword, no cape, just love.
But its such an important job! And once you let love break down the boundaries in your heart, once you let God's love wash over you, taking away your sin, even the sins you don't think or know are sins, that's when God's light can really shine. That's when Jesus takes over your life and then, it can be lived for the will of God, and not yourself. When you give it up, is when you will live. That's what God tells us in Luke 9:24, "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." This doesn't mean necessarily dying a physical death, but a spiritual one. You have to let go of yourself to make room for God. You have to trust in Him completely, and give yourself to Him completely.
'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
When you give yourself up to God, you allow Him to use you as He used Elijah, and so many other notable people in the Bible. It’s the people who did surrender their lives to Jesus, who gave themselves up, who were able to bring God glory.
And that's what its all about.

Being Used

As my 16 year old son and I were leaving Best Buy yesterday, we saw a young Asian woman lugging a dorm sized refrigerator by the packing straps across the sidewalk. She was tiny, and was struggling just to drag her purchase across the sidewalk. A young man in front of us asked if he could help her carry her item, she politely declined. I'm not sure why I asked when she had declined his offer, but I did anyway.
"Can we help you with that?"
I strained to make out what she said with her quiet voice, the accent was hard to understand. But she had accepted our offer to help.
I thought we'd help her carry it to her car. Turns out, she wanted us to help her get it to the bus stop.
We knew that the bus, if busy, would never take the fridge, and then what? She obviously wasn't "from around here".
I asked where she lived, NDSU, and offered to drive her there instead, We packed the fridge in my car and off we went.
We chatted a bit on the way. She is from China and is here to get her Ph.D. in something to do with molecular biology, anyway I think that's what she said. We talked about Fargo, and the United States, and how she thought it was strange that she could buy things that had been made in China cheaper here than she could back home, in China.
We carried her fridge into her dorm room for her. She thanked us and we left.
It was a fun experience. My son and I got to do the Lord's work, and it was great. She had commented about how nice people, including us, are in this part of the world. I made sure I told her that God always puts us in the right place at the right time. That's all I really said about God, but I knew He was there, and I knew that's the reason that we had left the store at the exact right time to help her.

She thanked us and we left.
But we left revived.
We left renewed.
We left with a smile in our hearts and a skip in our steps.
We had gotten to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Thanks God!

God,
You are so awesome!
So awe inspiring!

I was driving around the countryside in my work truck the other day. I was day dreaming, on a gravel road, probably only traveled by the people who lived on the only farm for two miles. A huge bald eagle flew past my windshield. I slammed on the brakes and stopped right in the middle of the road. This eagle hovered over my truck for a few seconds, then made a big loop around me, and flew off to the west. I saw another eagle in the distance, I assume its mate, and they flew gracefully through the air together. I came back to reality, and from the radio I heard Chris Tomlin singing,
"And I will rise when He calls my name,
No more sorrow, no more pain.
I will rise on eagles' wings,
Before my God,
Fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise."

I wish I could put into words how that felt, to know God was there with me, helping me with my troubled heart.

You are amazing, God!
Thank you for being my Father.
Thank you for being my Everything.

What would you do-oo-oo?

What would you do for a Klondike bar?
I'm not a big ice cream fan, so not much,
But what would you do for salvation?
For eternity?
For ever, and ever, and ever?
For your Father?
Your Creator?
Your Friend?

Great is thy faithfulness.

I had that song stuck in my head this morning and I wondered why.
Why the Lord of all Creation would care to know my name, would have any interest in me whatsoever. I'm just one person on a planet of billions of people. Successful people, brave people, courageous people, intelligent people, people with many resources and influence. I have very little of these things in comparison, but yet I feel Him calling out my name. Calling to me, out of all those people.

Great is thy faithfulness.
I only pray that my faithfulness will prove to be as such.