God

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It ain’t over ’til ….


I am constantly amazed at the words that come out of parents’ mouths.  Recently one parent said, “I just wanna get them saved so I can quit worrying about them.”  Really?  First of all, you can lead them, you can pray for them, guide them, instruct them …. you   CANNOT SAVE them.

John 3:16(HCSB)   “For God loved the world in this way:  He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” 

The Gk word houtos, commonly translated in Jn 3:16 as “so” or “so much” occurs over 200 times in the NT. Almost without exception it is an adverb of manner, not degree (for example, see Mt 1:18). It only means “so much” when modifying an adjective (see Gl 3:3; Rv 16:18). Manner seems primarily in view in Jn 3:16, which explains the HCSB‘s rendering. Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Salvation is the gift of God.  You do not earn it and you cannot give it to someone, least of all your child.   You can share what salvation in your life means and you can pray they come to know God through His son Jesus Christ.  They have to accept the gift, you can not make them take it so they will be safe.

But, once they are saved it is not over.  You must raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  Disciplining them in the ways of our Lord, helping them to grow.  When a baby is born into this world that is not the end.  Just as you care and raise them in the world, a new-born in Christ must also be cared for and raised in the spiritual world.  You would not let your newborn flounder around on their own for sustenance, yet many a parent “gets” their child saved and thinks, “whew, now that’s done.”   As a  parent you see to their physical and mental needs (or you should) and likewise you need to see to their spiritual needs, teaching them in the ways of the Lord.  Getting them to Sunday School, youth group and church is a start.  But, you must also walk the talk you talk.  It is not, “do as I say do while you’re doing as you please”.  Your child becoming a man or woman of God is a growing process.  It does not happen overnight or when they are saved.  It is not over at that point.  It is just starting.

1 Corinthians 13:11 (NASB)  “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.”

When you bring a child into the world, you must tend to their physical, mental and emotional needs or you are abusive in the world’s eyes.  God’s Word says you are responsible for their spiritual life as well.  How much more accountable should we be to their spiritual needs?  They have all the electronic toys, stylish clothes and treats to eat.  But, have you provided for their spiritual needs?

Proverbs 22:6(KJV) ” Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Some people cling to Proverbs 2:6 as a promise.  It is not a promise, it is a proverb.  However, if you ignore the proverb you are setting your child up for spiritual failure and being lost and condemned.  It will always be their choice to choose God or reject God.  It was satan’s* choice that got him kicked out of Heaven.  God is not a puppet master and we are not puppets.  If you do all you can do to raise your child up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and they choose to not accept, do not let satan* lie to you and blame you.  Just keep praying for that child.  You planted the seeds, someone else may harvest the crop.  You just keep watering it with your prayers.

It ain’t over … it’s just begun.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT) 5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.6 Seek His will in all you do and He will show you which path to take.”

*satan – I know people capitalize the “S” but, I don’t.  I refuse to give him any status of importance.  He’s a snake, so satan, devil, etc. are lower case, as he is one.
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Shhhhh….


Yesterday seemed to be the day for screaming kids in our store.  I am continually amazed at parents disrespect for others’ places of work (and even other customers).  I work in a bookstore.  People are trying to read, select books and study materials.  I am not talking about a sudden outburst, but an out-and-out continual loud crying tantrum.  The kind where you cannot hear yourself think.   The mom’s idea was to ignore the kid.  That is fine, but only if it is at her expense, not that of the store’s employees and other customers.  Take the kid to the car, let them scream and sit and ignore them all you want.  Never let your kid scream or carry on, run around, etc. in another person’s place of work.  Could you or your husband work under that condition?  Of course not.  Remember, stores and restaurants are somebody’s place of work.  Respect that.  Let others hear themselves think as they shop and/or work.

So I have vented.  Now to my point.  Quiet time.  For us, for kids.  Learning to be quiet, so you can hear… not just all that is around you, but the Holy Spirit’s quiet voice leading you.  Teaching you and giving you discernment.

My husband has always thought I have bionic ears when it comes to children.   He swears I would hear our daughters change breathing patterns during the night.  I am a light sleeper.  I treasure my quiet, quiet is a valuable thing.  The least little sound wakes me.  Quiet time, something to treasure.  Any mom can tell you that.  Unfortunately, through the years of multimedia, we have grown accustomed to…

LOUD

Is it any wonder when we feel we have not heard from God?   We never slow down, we never get quiet … we are on the go … over stimulated with noise and sights … leaving no room for His

 still, quiet voice.

I could always hear when my children awoke, when they breathed differently, coughed … I was tuned into my girls.  I hear my grandchildren during the night when they visit.  The house is still, all asleep, and I am in tune to the changes of my quiet.

Would it not be wonderful to be so still in my spirit and so attuned to Him that I could hear His still quiet voice anytime day or night?  If only we could hear His voice no matter the clamor all around us.  It is so important to find a quiet time in the day to keep that open line of communication so we KNOW His voice.  It is important for our children to know we have that quiet time as well.

Does He always have to get our attention the hard way?  If only I felt His breath on me … He’s there.  I just need to listen.  Be still.   Shhhhhhhhhh.

1 Kings 19:11b-12  “…And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.”

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Lighting The Path


Have you ever gone camping?  Hiking through the woods?  Have you been on a retreat with your kids as a counselor or chaperone?  Did you ever walk the ocean shoreline at night?

Lighting the Path

I bet you got your  flashlight and shown it ahead of you to light the path, right?  Remember how pitch dark it was everywhere except right in front of you, in the beam of light?  If you shown it way ahead you might fall over something right in front of you.  If you show it to the side you could not see what was right before you.  There was no point in showing it behind you because you had come from there, it was behind you; you were going forward.  The flashlight went ahead of you just enough to light your path.

That is the way of the Holy Spirit in a Christian’s life. We live in a world darkened by sin.  Some areas of life are darker than others.   He is your light for your path.  He does not want you looking way ahead, to the side or behind.  He is the Light for your day, showing you His way.  Guiding you safely through the path, helping you navigate what would cause you to stumble.  Jesus died on the cross and, if you will, is the “batteries” for the “flashlight”.  You have all you need to navigate the path of life.

Do not walk through life in the dark.  Pick up your Light, allow Him to show you the way.

Psalm 119:105 (NASB)
“Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.“

Daniel 2:22 (ESV)
“He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.”

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Rooted


The other day I wrote down this thought on my Mom2Mom Christian Parenting FB page:

“With God all variables are just possibilities in the scenario.” ~ Renee’ …. I am going to continue to think on this thought He has given me …. I think there’s a blog entry in there 😀

It is true.  All the variables in our lives are possibilities in God’s hands … to mold us and shape us into His perfect plan for us.  We have a habit of messing things up.  We try to “plant” ourselves where and how we think we should be at any given time.   We make our lives comfortable and God has to make us uncomfortable to get us back where we need to be.

Life has a way of redirecting the “streams” that feed us.  Sometimes we end up in a “desert” place.  Circumstances can make it seem that the “water” has redirected out of reach, or gone underground too deep to reach.  That is when and where we find out how we are rooted.

The Redwood trees are the grandest trees, towering above all others.  Yet their root system is shallow and should not support the mighty trees. The secret to their strength is that they tie in with their fellow Redwood trees and are linked together in an underground system.  They are strong from the little seedling to the oldest tree in the forest.  They share their roots, their nourishment.  The ones furthermost from the streams and lakes are nourished through shared roots by the ones near water.

As Christians, we connect with our family and fellow Christians through churches and prayer groups.  We support and nourish each other.  We are never alone.  We intercede in prayer for each other.  We encourage and lift each other up even if the circumstances we are going through have left us feeling like we are way out in the desert.  God uses the variables in our lives as possibilities to make us strong if we allow Him to use them.  He will bring  fellow Christians along side us to aid in our trials as well as in our growth.

Tanya Tucker sang a song many years ago … “There’s a tree in the backyard that never has been broken by the wind. And the reason it’s still standing is it was strong enough to bend.”  Sometimes storms come and threaten to destroy us.  Our “roots” are strongly anchored, but the winds are threatening to crack and break our limbs and level us to the ground, leaving us useless … just roots with no visible life.   During these storms we need to be bendable.  Rooted, yet strong enough to bend.  Life kicks up some mighty strong winds.  Are we willing to bend as He allows the winds to blow?  Or do we stiffin’ up and fight back, as though we can change the storms of life.  Can you thank Him for the storm … the  rain and wind that ultimately makes you strong?  Do you keep your roots attached during bad weather to your underground network, allowing others to be blessed by interceding on your behalf with Him? Or do you give up and try to go it on your own?

Driving around you pass millions of trees you do not notice, but then there’s that tree you pass that has “character”.  It may be a little bent, or show signs of storm damage, yet it is strong and beautiful, producing fruit or flowers even though it is scarred by life’s storms.  You may even see its roots here and there showing it’s strength in its surroundings.  While other trees will be cut down without opposition,  THAT TREE … it will be considered.  It will be noticed and preserved,  maybe even singled out as a center point for a park.  It has survived, it has character, it is strong.

Today there are all kinds of variables facing you, many harsh.  Will you thank Him, remembering that “all things work together for good”?  Are you going to try to handle it all on your own?  Will you reach out to family, even your children … to fellow Christians and secure your “roots”?  Will you allow the variables to be the possibilities in His hands?

James 1:3 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials..”

Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

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It’s their decision.


Recently I have had traffic to my blog from “past Christians, now atheists”.  That boggles my mind.  How do you have the truth, doubt it and then walk away.  It stands to reason, they never understood the truth?  They were more about self?

How do they turn and walk away?

Have you ever thought about what it was like when satan* decided to leave Heaven?  He made a conscious choice to leave all he knew about God and Heaven.  First, he had the free will to make the choice.  Second, God did not stop him.  Third, he stuck with it and never went back.  God was not a puppet master.  He did not pull the strings and force satan* to walk His walk.  He ALLOWED it all to happen.

So these  “former Christians turned atheists” came across my blog and they want me to understand and help me to leave my faith.  They have proved to themselves they were raised wrong, and that all they believed is a myth.  They want to “UNconvert the converted … UNsave the saved”.  Wow.

So how could they think that way?  Well, how could satan*?  That is pretty heavy thinking on any scale.  That you could KNOW God, BEEN in Heaven and just walk away, basically denying God’s love and power.   So satan* thought to take it all, succeed on his own, and did his own thing.  Daily, here on earth, people do the same thing without a second thought.

A young man I know is going through a very tough time.  His fiance  CHOSE to leave him, leave the church, leave the walk they had professed.  The young man is understandably hurt and confused.   He thought the person he loved was a Christian walking the walk she talked.  Now it all seems to have been a lie.   This is not a new phenom, I have seen it throughout the years; people pretending to be a certain way in order to “get what they want”.   This young woman got the ‘coveted ring’, only to decide it was not enough and walked away.  He is very fortunate, although he will not realize this for sometime.

(Have you ever considered how God felt when His creation walked out of Heaven willingly?)

I have friends who have children they raised to love the Lord who simply chose to walk away.  I know of couples where one chose to leave their vows before God, the church life they shared, the children they had.  All of these made a choice and must live with the consequences.  Sadly, they leave a path of grief in their wake.

Can you imagine how God grieved over satan*?   Look at the wake of grief he brought on this earth by his choice.  Was God to blame because He did not stop satan*?  Why did He not stop Eve?  It had to grieve Him.  Was it God’s fault because He did not stop satan* in his temptation of Eve? No.  It was satan* who made the choice.  It was Eve and Adam who made choices.  It was their decision, just as your decisions are yours.  God is NOT a puppet master.

The day comes when we as parents allow our children to make their own decisions.  The day comes when as adults they are out of your control and you are not to blame for their choices.  You can be a great parent but, one day they will make their own decisions.  God is a perfect Heavenly Father.  But, daily we make choices that hurts and grieves Him because we can.  We have free will.

For those that have been hurt by a loved one who walks away … a child, a friend, a spouse …. you cannot and should not blame yourself.  Sometimes you can do all the right things and the person will still make the wrong choice.

Each day in our lives we come to the point where we make a conscious choice…. FOR or AGAINST God.  Free will.

Not so free … it cost a lot.  Jesus died on the cross for what satan’s* free will cost.  Many broken hearts and lives have paid a heavy price for someone else to have free will.

Today will you make a conscience choice for Him?   Will you celebrate the resurrection in earnest?   When you take the Lord’s Supper  will you  truly “do this in remembrance of Him”.  Never take it lightly, never take Him lightly.    Remember the cross … Remember the cost.

*satan – I know people capitalize the “S” but, I don’t.  I refuse to give him any status of importance.  He’s a snake, so satan, devil, etc. are lower case, as he is one.