Mid-Week Message - Go and Tell!

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age."   Matthew 28:19-20 (AMP)

I have told the story before of Betty Allen, the lovely lady that took me to church for the first time and introduced me to the Lord.  From that time on, I have felt the need and desire to include Him in my life.  In fact, there is a song by Big Daddy Weave called "My Story" that says, "To tell you my story is to tell of Him."  I cannot talk about my life, or really much else either, without speaking of Jesus.  It just doesn't seem natural to me to live or speak without including Him because He has been, is now, and will always be, the most important person and my greatest influence.  It amazes me that it isn't that way for everyone.  

I can remember a time in my childhood when I told my best friend about the importance of having Jesus as her personal Savior.  She told her family and her family replied that one's relationship with God is to be kept private.  That happened again during my teenage years.  I took part in a city-wide campaign to share the gospel.  One night I sat in my front yard and witnessed to my neighbor who was a couple of years younger than I was.  He prayed to accept Jesus and I was so excited.  However, when he told his parents, they were angry and said the same thing "one's relationship with the Lord is to be kept private."  I was flabbergasted!  I couldn't understand how someone could have a relationship with the Living God and not want to share it with everyone around.  

I have learned a lot through the years.  I have watched as this nation has declared sharing the gospel something to be cautious of, and at times even ashamed of.  Sharing the "Good News" is becoming more and more frowned upon.  I fear that the day is coming when it will be outlawed as it is in some other countries.  However, this wouldn't be the first, nor the last time that the enemy has attempted to silence the Truth.  And, just as it has never worked in the past, it will not work in the future.  

During the Olympic games in China, the scriptures were transported into the country even though it was illegal to do so.  Believers would download them onto memory sticks and leave them in bathrooms and other places where they were sure to be found.  There will always be those who are dedicated to sharing His story and will find a way to do so, no matter what, even if that means going to prison or losing their own lives.  

One's relationship with Almighty God is not something that is to be kept private.  Jesus told us to go and make disciples of all nations, and that includes everyone.  That relationship is one to shout from the rooftops, to allow to gush forth. Not everyone will want to hear it but it has to be told.  Even though America is traditionally a Christian nation, there are millions that do not know Jesus.  My challenge for everyone this week is to examine how we each share how He has worked in our own lives and how we obey the command to tell that story.  God bless you.

Mid-Week Message - Honoring Our Parents

 "Honor (respect, obey, care for) your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land the Lord your God gives you." Exodus 20:12 (AMP)

Mother's Day 2022 has come and gone.  Hopefully, everyone took the opportunity to express appreciation and love for the women in our lives who raised us and saw us through all the trials of childhood.  My mother has passed on and I missed sending her flowers, choosing a card and telling her that I love her as I will miss doing something special for my father in June.  I wish I had understood that my time with them was limited but I allowed myself to falsely believe that they would always be with me.

The commandment to honor our parents has always intrigued me.  How interesting that the Lord thought it was important enough to etch it in stone on the tablets carried by Moses.  Surely He knew that children could be rebellious and ungrateful and that some parents would be very poor role models who did not necessarily earn respect.  I regularly read stories in the news about parents that abuse their children, some even kill them.  Does He mean to honor even them?  

I had a very difficult time with my mother.  She was very protective of my brother and sister.  Each of them had special circumstances surrounding their births that created in my mother a need to hold them close.  I, on the other hand, came into this world screaming and asserting myself.  A "Daddy's Girl" from the onset, my mother found it difficult to develop a relationship with me that was like what she had with my siblings.  She said that as a baby I would begin crying as soon as my father left for work and not stop until he returned.  In my teens, our problems grew as she experienced some physical and emotional problems that caused her to lash out at me in anger. Because of this I was cautious around her for the rest of our time on this earth together.  

My relationship with my father was completely different.  My favorite thing to do from the time I was a little girl until the day he passed away was to sit by his chair and hold his hand.  I miss that and if the Lord were to ask me to choose one thing that I could do for just five minutes in my life, I just might choose to hold Daddy's hand.  

My point in telling this story is that I understand that it can be easy, or very trying, to honor a parent.  I love that the Amplified Bible defines "honor" for us as, "respect, obey and care for."  This commandment is the first one that brings with it a promise.  And our Father does not make any qualifications in it.  There is no exclusion for bad parents.  It does not say, "If your parents deserve it, honor them."  It also does not say, "Until you are grown, honor them" or "honor them only until they die."  And that is what intrigues me.  

Parents are to be role models in the lives of their children.  Not only are they to rear and teach them to handle life in this world, but also to model the love of the Lord.  We are to teach our children the Word of God, and live it so they can learn how to truly apply it.  There is no better way to teach than to model.  They need to see us living moral and ethical lives on earth but also to see in us a true relationship with Christ.  They need to see and hear us praying and they need to know that we will be the same people on Monday and each day of the week that we are on Sunday in the Lord's house.  Unfortunately, especially today, this seems to be rare.  But again, the commandment doesn't exclude us from honoring our mothers and fathers if they don't live up to what we believe to be ideal.

My challenge this week is for each of us examine our relationships with our parents, living or dead.  How are we fulfilling God's charge that we honor them?  Are we waiting for special holidays or are we honoring them daily in how we live our lives?  Are we grateful?  What do we hold against them?  Forgiveness heals hearts.  Whatever they have done that may have hurt you, forgive them.  Once you do, honor can follow.  With great love, God bless you.

Daily Message - How to Live a Good, Godly Life

I walked into a Barnes and Nobles the other day just to look around and enjoy a cup of coffee. As I was walking around the shelves, I ran across the Self-Help section. I began to read some of the titles and then picked out a few to to read their back jackets. Each had a different way for me to be happy. Each almost promised the same thing. If I purchase the book and follow its instructions, I would almost be certain of being happy and joyful in my life. Really?

When people ask me how to be happy and joyful, I point them to some free advice from the Bible. If you live a righteous life, you will be happy. If you follow the simple principles of the Bible, you will be joyful. If you share your happiness and joy with those around you, you and those who listened to you will be living the way God intended for us to live.

I suggest that you read Psalm 119:1-7.

Psalm 119:1-7 New Living Translation (NLT)

1 Joyful are people of integrity,

    who follow the instructions of the Lord.

2 Joyful are those who obey his laws

    and search for him with all their hearts.

3 They do not compromise with evil,

    and they walk only in his paths.

4 You have charged us

    to keep your commandments carefully.

5 Oh, that my actions would consistently

    reflect your decrees!

6 Then I will not be ashamed

    when I compare my life with your commands.

7 As I learn your righteous regulations,

    I will thank you by living as I should!