Don't Give Up!

           

           For several years, I worked as an instructional assistant in our local elementary school.  I worked with children who struggled, not because they weren’t capable, but they needed “one on one” attention a classroom teacher just couldn’t give them.  There was one little girl who taught me a lesson!

            When she was reading, she would often get stuck on a word. With coaxing, she would figure out the word; but then she would go back to the beginning of the sentence and begin again.  In this way, she not only learned the word, but strengthened her reading ability over all. There were days when she would become frustrated, but she didn’t quit!

            Jesus teaches us we should be like that small child.  She didn’t give up; she would begin again.  When things are not going our way or our prayer requests seem unanswered, we need to go back to the beginning.  When we become frustrated we need to let God know.  He wants us to tell him how we feel.  Isn’t this what best friends are for?  We must never give up!  We need to seek Jesus in prayer.  We should continue to seek his counsel and will, and believe there will be results.  When we do this, not only will we see answers to our prayers, but our relationship with Christ will grow stronger.

            This child’s insight into doing the right thing – by not giving up – made me also think of the Cherokee Indians who didn’t give up during the Trail of Tears in 1838 at the end of the Civil War.  Many Indians lost their lives while making the long trek across the country; others stayed hidden in the hills, not giving up on the land they loved and land they called their own.  There are plenty of other instances in God's Word and our nation's history of those who refused to cave to surrounding elements or enemies.  They moved forward toward their "cause," regardless of obstacles.

            I’d like to be like the little girl I worked with those years ago, the Cherokee Indians, and others who weren’t ready to ‘give in’ to the powers that be that threatened the course of their lives.  We need to believe that things need to be done right.

            Our Christian walk can become frustrating with the demands of life.  We plan and schedule in Bible Study and prayer time, but life has other ideas!  Children get sick, a call comes in, company comes or we don’t feel well.  My nemesis has always been travel.  I get in a ‘good groove’ for several weeks, and then there is a road trip, sometimes lasting only a few days; other times several weeks.  Whatever the time frame, my ‘proposed schedule’ is out the window. Once the habit (however meager) is started, breaking it, is remarkably easy and it’s harder than ever getting back on track.

            I encourage you to consider areas in your life where “giving up” seems to be the best option.  Ask God to give you the courage to keep moving forward, clarity to know where you are heading, perseverance to stand against the obstacles that will certainly arise, and trust in God who goes before you in all things! Be inspired! Don’t give up!  

            

Blessings Of God

            

          Thanksgiving is this week and I have much to be thankful for:  good health, a wonderful husband, great kids, a nation where we have freedom of speech, religion, press, and the list continues.  The Lord has blessed me as a person and He has blessed our nation.

            It is God’s desire to bless us.  He blesses that which is good in his knowledge and his love for us.  The Pastor reminded us this past Sunday morning that “He’s [God] Got The Whole World In His Hands,” and I think sometimes we forget that.  The question is often asked “Why do bad things happen to good people?”  God has a bigger plan than we can see and he can see the whole picture.

            We are given a purpose in life, a mission if you will, whether it be praying for our neighbor or family member or being a missionary in another country.  Each requires determination and dedication to the position we’ve been given.  As we serve Him with a grateful heart, blessings seem to flow.

            But then Satan has a temper tantrum and does everything in his power to turn our world upside down. God never promised an easy road. We live in a world where evil principalities do their best to create doubt, cause pain, break hearts, and tempt us with seemingly unsurmountable opposition.

            Yet God is faithful. This is a unique blessing of God, which sometimes we take for granted.  Yet on the flip side of this, we sometimes think of God as a “vending machine.”  That may sound odd, but we ask God for “things” we want and then when we are blessed, forget to even say thank you!

            How can God bless that which is not good?  Our country is changing dramatically not only by decades, not even by years or months, but by the day.  How can we even expect him to bless the propagating of witchcraft and sorcery, when he explicitly forbids it?  How can he bless pornography and its industry when he proclaims that to be immoral and wrong? How can he bless those lifestyles that go directly against the man woman relationship he created? 

            We ask as a country to “God bless America.”  God loves this country and has blessed it greatly.  Can we expect continued blessings when our citizens choose to go the direction opposite of God?  It is up to us as Christian believers, to spread God’s word and His truths throughout the world, our nation, our cities and our communities.

            Yet, even as we fulfill our responsibility as Believers to share the Good News, we need to recognize the end is near.  The day is coming when Christ will return to claim His own.  We will reap the extraordinary blessings of following a Risen Savior.  

            Have a blessed and thankful Thanksgiving everyone.  Remember all our gifts come from God.  I am thankful for you.  That you would take time to read my thoughts, is humbling.  I have much to be thankful for….and I suspect you do, as well.

Happy Thanksgiving!

God Knows All Our Flaws

         

           I remember as a young child, eight or nine, a woman in our church who had an angelic voice, was beautiful and soft spoken.  I admired her faith and looked up to her as the perfect role model.  On a chance occasion I went home with her after church one Sunday morning to return with her to the evening service.  The afternoon was grand until that unthinkable offense. She lit a cigarette.  I was crushed.  I cried and cried as my “perfect” Christian friend sinned.

            As an adult now, and I reflect on life, I see that no one human is perfect.  We all have flaws.  We try with great effort to do what is right and just and pleasing to God, but each of us fail in some way.

            I know as a parent reflecting on the raising of my children, I certainly made mistakes.  There were times when I didn’t listen, didn’t understand, said the wrong thing, had the wrong opinion and on and on!  As a wife, it’s no different.  I fail, if not my husband’s expectations, certainly my own! 

As a friend, I’m certain there are those who would say I failed as a friend.  It wasn’t a deliberate act of hurtfulness, but circumstances dictated something different than they expected and it’s my failure.

A friend of mine has a daughter who is certain all the ills of her life are her mother’s fault.  She takes no responsibility for her own decisions. It’s with great effort that this mother deals with her pain in a healthy and godly way so as not to sin. Bitterness could creep in and cause her to sin in a way she hadn’t even anticipated.  It happens.  Homes are broken because someone didn’t do the right thing--- or avoided doing something—or just plain did the wrong thing, even if it was for the right intentions.

Our human-ness makes us vulnerable to sin. We were born into it, yet God is consistent with His love.  He doesn’t hold back.  In fact, he gave us the perfect sacrifice; His Son!  That gift was given even knowing all our flaws!  Jesus took the entire sin of the world onto His shoulders.  

            With effort, many people never see our greatest failures.  Just as my innocence of human frailty was devastated by my friend’s actions, and even though God provided the perfect sacrifice, surely He must be even more devastated and grieved by our actions.  The “failure” by my friend was seen by me, by chance.  We can never hide our failures from God.  What a responsibility—and what’s more, we are each accountable!

Face Book and Church

           

           I find it interesting to see those folks post on Face Book that they are taking “leave” of the social media platform just to “refresh” and leave the “drama” behind.  I mean, let’s face it, people put their lives “out there” for everyone to read or see, via pictures.  We know when people take vacations, have family disruptions, children’s sicknesses (or their own), potty challenges, and a host of other personal circumstances.  This is our world!

            I admit, I too, have a Face Book account (there are actually two: my “regular one” and —my author page: Author Margie Harding – which is where I usually post 5+ times a week!)  I don’t spend a lot of time on the “regular one”, but I enjoy seeing (and responding) to the various comments from family and friends.  But what piqued my thought process this week was something I read (I haven’t a clue where) that compared Face Book to church.

            The article commented on how when you “join” church or Face Book you are welcomed, people are kind with the greetings and encouragement.  There are those within the body of people----- those you’ve known for a long time, and others who are new but want to be “friends” as well.  It’s up to you to choose.  

            There are those who seem to have all the answers and are quick to share their opinions whether you agree or not.  If the offense is great, you may get asked to leave, at least for a while until things are made right.  Yet, you are welcomed back, often like nothing happened, once amends have been made. 

            Sometimes when you don’t post in a while, there are those who may miss you, while others haven’t even noticed you’ve been missing!  Since I don’t post often, (except on my author page) people have no way of knowing when I haven’t been posting!  However, there have been times in a church body, where being absent from the congregation was never even noticed.

            Regardless, both venues, Face Book and church provide a sense of community. But somehow, that seems just wrong! Face Book can’t offer anything like a good, Holy Spirit filled church!  I admit there are similarities, unless you value feeling the Holy Spirit sweep into your soul and over your body in what I call “Holy Ghost bumps.”  This you likely won’t find on Face Book!

            Are there those who seem to carry the “holier than thou” mentality in church, like those on Face Book?  Probably. But as believers we have to understand there are those who have more knowledge than we do.  Should they be humble…and not act like they are superior? Sure.  But we need to be forgiving and study and pray that when we encounter someone, regardless of how someone projects themselves, we can have conversation from a Believer’s perspective out of kindness of heart.  

            We need to know The Word.  It’s important to remember the church body of which we are a part (along with all Believers around the world) are family.  Not everything is going to be perfect all the time.  We are people……people who make mistakes, but not usually on purpose.  But sometimes we can’t see the woods for the trees!  

            I encourage you, as we begin the countdown to the holiday season of both Thanksgiving and the Christmas, where we try to extend kindness and goodwill, to let these feelings continue throughout the entire year.  Our personal congregations should be a true extension of our personal families.  It’s designed to be that way!  

            I repeat, Face Book can’t offer what a good Holy Spirit church can.  Face Book is of this world, with worldly intentions. A good church with Jesus as “Head” offers salvation, peace and joy, which can be found nowhere else.