NO FEAR!

A beautiful Christian woman with a heart for our Lord sent me an email today. I love her so much!! She was understandably shocked to hear that a movie was coming out depicting Christ and the Disciples as homosexuals. Now the rumor about the movie is false, but there is in fact a play about just this subject called 'Corpus Christi' or the body of Christ.

I do not believe that we should be afraid of this kind of thing. Our Lord isn't. There will always be those who want to mock and deride our beliefs.

Before I was saved I used to get a great kick out of mocking and deriding Christians. Our Lord has forgiven me for that, and I hope you all will too. But that was the enemy talking - I was his child at that point. And the plain and simple truth about that is this: Christians scared the heck out of me!!! Even if they were at times hypocrites somewhere in my deepest heart of hearts I knew that they knew the truth!! So I railed against them, I made fun of them - because it made me feel better on the surface. But deep down I was afraid because all that I was - a sinner living in darkness - would disappear if I dared to believe the truth, and stepped into the light. And I knew I was not worthy of that.

Did you ever wonder why normally opened minded people who respectfully acknowledge all other religions will rant and rave about Christianity? I believe it's because somewhere deep within they recognize the truth and their sinful nature rebels against it.

It was not someone waving a bible at me that showed me the truth. I had seem those people, and I wanted to avoid them at all costs because they made me so nervous. Or if I was in an ornery mood I'd try to engage them in a philosophical conversation with the goal of making them look like a fool.

It was not arguments that made me grasp the truth. It was love that let me slowly open my frightened eyes little by little and to finally see the light and regain my own life! Two people who owed me nothing, who didn't even know me asked me about my beliefs, and told me the story of theirs. And when faced with that kind of unconditional love I could not help but know it was true!!!

I try to remember that when stuff like this happens. The first time I read about this play it ticked me off. I mean honestly, how dare they portray my Savior that way? But then I remembered that the people doing the mocking are actually afraid.

And here is the best news of all: Jesus is using that, using that play to bring that fear to the surface. He's priming them to accept the truth. He is using it for their good. :) I know it.

So we don't have to be afraid about this kind of thing. THEY are afraid. Maybe we can lovingly help them see the truth.

Just my opinion - as always your mileage may vary.

All that's gold doesn't glitter...

I can't exactly say that we're moving into the Christmas season now, when Walmart has been playing Christmas tunes for over a month now, but I'm a late shopper. Still before I hit the stores I make sure to stop and take an inventory of what exactly is of value in my life.

The holy spirit turned me on to this article in his usual perfectly timed way. I highly recommend this article in Boundless entitled The Wealthy Ones. It sure puts everything into perspective.

Everything I buy this season will eventually turn to dust. But there is one thing that I can hold fast too that will never change. Thank you God for your steadfast love.

My Prayer

Heavenly Father I ask that you never let me forget my life before I was saved.

I never want to forget the utter emptiness in my soul that I tried to fill in all the wrong ways.

I never want to forget the self loathing I felt for the way I was living my life.

I never want to forget the loneliness of my self imposed isolation.

I never want to forget the disappointment of opening my eyes to a new morning when what I longed for was death.

I do not want to forget the overwhelming fear that kept me from leaving my home.

I never want to forget the guilt, and the anxiety and the pain that filled my every waking moment because of how I had failed my children that I could not raise.

I never want to forget the lies, deception and the self denial of my decaying mind.

I am so grateful for your redemption, for now there is no condemnation, and I am free.

I will treasure these dark memories because only through them can I measure how far you've brought me. Through them I can know just how far I've come by your grace alone. And with these memories I can begin to fully understand how great your love is. You never let go of me Lord, no matter how deep I sank. And I never want to forget that.

Thank you Lord for these dark memories. They keep me praising you.

The Power of Jesus

I love National Public Radio. They handle news stories with a gentleness and respect that I very much admire.

Today they are running a story that is proof positive that our Lord is alive and well and living in even the most dangerous of places. The story is called Finding Jesus in America's Inner City Alleyways.

The story details an upcoming exhibit of photographic images that will be part of an exhibit in the Washington DC's National Building Museum. You can see some of these photographs at the NPR site. These photographs were taken by one man in some of the most dangerous places in America, and every one of them depicts an artists rendition of Jesus Christ.

"You don't mess around with Christ... too much," The Photographer, Camilo Jose Vergara, speaks about how Christ is still powerful force in the lives of many people who do not even consider themselves Christian. Some of the holy graffiti was placed by Priests or Pastors in the hopes of discouraging the violence in the area.

Mr. Vergara tells the story of a simple Wooden Cross placed in an empty lot in Detroit - and the old lawn chairs placed around it where people had gathered to worship. He says that his photographs prove that individual church doesn't matter, what matters is that people come to worship.

What a beautiful thought on this Good Friday.

Jesus Christ is alive and well on this day and every day, not only in the beautiful places, but also in urban decay. I am grateful for a living God. It's Friday, but Sunday's coming!!!!

My Father

When you stop and realize just how often and how powerfully God has had a hand on your life, it's astounding. It's humbling. And it makes you realize just how grateful you are to have Jesus in your life.

This morning on my drive to work I was blessed with the gift of clearly seeing the hand that he's had on my daughter and me through a rather difficult season in our lives. From simple event to event it became so obvious to me that he was not only guiding us but making our path straight. And when I realized just how perfectly he's been orchestrating each turn of event to not only protect us but to insure our growth and prosperity I was reduced to tears. Grateful happy tears.

Thank you Jesus. Thank you for being with us every single breath that we take. Thank you for the way you have moved mountains in my life, and thank you for the way you always keep us safe, really safe. Thank you for your undying grace and love.

You're so BIG, your love is so GREAT. You created the entire universe and hold it together, but you STILL have time to watch over someone as insignificant as me. That's nothing short of utterly astounding.

I know I'm not worthy of it. I know I don't deserve it. But I am and ever will be grateful for it. There are no words to express how immense and wonderful you are, and I want to live my life as a testimony to the glory that is you.

Thank you for letting me be aware of your hand on my life because I realize that there are so many times I don't see it. So many times you make my path straight and I am unaware. I never EVER want to take you for granted. Keep my eyes seeing, keep my ears open. Keep my heart faithful, for while I struggle to stay close to you, without your help I won't make it.

I tried life that way. I NEVER want to go back. I love you Lord. And I always will. Thank you for this morning and every second of my life. It's yours.

I did it!

I finally did it! I finally was able to witness out of the blue to someone I have known for a very short time. I was terrified inside. But they were so sad, and so lonely, and the words they used were /exactly/ the words I had used before I was saved.

They talked about how horrible humans are. They spoke of the trouble in the world and how the only thing they could count on was their dog. The words they used could have been mine 2 years ago. The loneliness that they were feeling is a wretched place to be.

I was afraid to speak about the Love of Christ because I was sure that they would laugh, that they would not want to talk to me again. But then it occurred to me that they were worth the risk. If the best I could do was manage to plant one tiny seed God could use it and make it grow. And even if they thought I was a nut or never spoke to me again, it would be worth it.

And much to my surprise they were receptive. They received the message of the love of Christ gratefully. They want to talk about it again sometime. Hallelujah! (I never used that word before, but it's the only one that fits the way I'm feeling right now!)

And I'm sorry I'm gushing! I don' t mean to be a braggart or anything! It's just that I've missed so many opportunities because of my own personal fear! And I know it wasn't me! It was the Holy Spirit!

So I'm sitting here praising God for using me! Thank you Lord for giving me courage and the words to say. Thank you for putting me in that initially uncomfortable position so that I could do your work here on earth, it's filled me with such joy. Thank you for keeping me from being so overly zealous that I frightened them. Thank you Jesus for letting me serve you in this way! I've prayed for courage and the chance to do it, and this time I didn't blow it! Thank you God for leading me down this path!

A House Divided

There is reference to a story about Tod Bentley's Florida's Lakeland Revival on a blog I read frequently. The story is entitled “Florida event causes rift in charismatic community”. And being a person who considers herself well grounded in science and technology I will admit that I have wondered about the goings on down there in the sunshine state.

In the blogsphere and elsewhere there are plenty of people who are coming out vehemently for and against this revival. Just do a Google search, you'll see what I mean!! And everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But the amount of overt bashing that I see going on between devout followers of Jesus is starting to break my heart.

We are exchanging blow for blow in the name of God and we are drawing blood. How ironic that our wish to defend the truth about our Lord ends up being a tremendous victory for darkness. The same people who struggle to see others through the eyes of grace are quick to take pot shots at people who should be considered allies.

Now please understand that I don't know much. I've only been saved for two years. And I fully admit that before I was saved I was one of those people who bashed Christians with great glee every chance I got. I often loudly accused the very Church that I now call home of being full of uneducated, obsessive, zealots. I referred to them as 'snake handlers'. And I could not have been more wrong.

I now realize that I behaved so badly towards those that follow Christ because somewhere deep within my heart I knew that they were right. And I will forever praise the God that forgave me for those grievous wrongs.

So when I see infighting between those of us who follow Christ it breaks my heart. Though I often fall short of the mark I honestly believe that every time we don't deal with things with love and the grace that God shows us that we're working for the wrong side.

I don't know much but there is one thing I do know beyond any doubt: Our God is big enough to take anything at all and turn it into gold. I'm going to trust that the Lord knows what he's doing, now and forever! Thanks Heavens!!!

Why I now love Church (when I used to hate it)

This article fills me with joy. It makes me know that there are other Churches out there with the same philosophy that I have found here at APC.

How do you measure the success of your church?

When I first started coming here I remember telling everyone "They don't just talk the talk, they walk the walk." And they do. We do. :-)

I used to hate 'The Church'. 'The Church' drove me away from Christianity. I saw it as a place full of hypocrites who loved to pat one another on the back and laud their holier-than-thou attitude over all the rest of us sinners down there in the muck.

Yep, I'm a sinner, but I'm no longer down in the muck. I've been raised, and cleansed, and reborn in Christ Jesus, not by my actions or my will but by his grace. My purchase was not cheap. It cost him no less than his life and his very blood.

And if we can all remember that, then we're happy to get back out there in the muck again. It won't stick to us any longer. It can't, because we have been saved.

I want to live like Jesus. I want to rub elbows with the unclean, because Jesus is for EVERYONE!