Changes

Our son, Phillip, and Patty, his sweet new wife, got home from their honeymoon last night. They have been in the Bahamas for the last week and had, mostly, warm sunny days. Today they woke up to cold weather and sleet. Talk about a change in their world. 

Life is like this all the time. You are headed in one direction then all of a sudden something happens and you find yourself in completely different circumstances. Sometimes these changes are pleasant and make us happy, but most often we find ourselves under stress and are very frustrated by the change.

God never promised us that life would always be perfect and understandable. As a matter of fact throughout the scriptures we read that troubles and changes will come. The one thing that He has promised is that He will be there for us throughout every thing that happens in our lives. God will be there to give support, hope, and to be happy with us or be sad with us. 

Romans 5:3-5 shows us this very thing.......

Romans 5:3-5

The Message (MSG)

3-5 There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

Thank goodness for change. It builds our character and helps us to love God even more. It helps us to become stronger and stronger and helps us meet these setbacks, on our paths of life, with grace and virtue.

For the ones who do not understand that they have a creator who will help them through anything, and they see you staying positive through your troubles, it helps make them want the peace you have. What a great time to point them to Christ. Then both of you will feel all the generosity and love God can give. Life and it's changes will turn out to be the best thing that could happen. Salvation will come. Peace will come.

My hope for you is that this peace is with all of you for Thanksgiving and on into the Christmas season!

Blessings!

Cleaning The Air

I have been helping clean out the back room of the thrift shop that the women of three local churches are in charge of, here in our small town. Today we pulled out an old work bench and discovered there was mold on the wall behind it.  Who knows how long the bench has been there and who knows how long the moisture that caused the mold has been there. Just thinking about us all breathing that air kind of makes me a little freaked out. It is funny how I didn't think anything of being in that area before I knew the mold was there. But after it was found the air seemed unhealthy and really dirty.

To be sure it had to be cleaned. I put on a mask and started scrubbing on the wall with bleach. It didn't take long before the mold was gone and the air smelled and felt clean to me again. 

That it is how it is when we figure out how much we need Christ. We come to the realization that our hearts and souls are in much need of a good scrubbing. We didn't understand how dirty we really were and when we do come to realize this, it kind of sickens us.   

Christ gave his life to clean our souls. Excepting His gift of salvation whitens us like the bleach cleaned the wall today. We feel fresh and pristine. We are scrubbed clean.

Hebrews 9:13-14

Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a cow were sprinkled on those who were no longer pure enough to enter the place of worship. The blood and ashes made them pure again—but only their bodies. 14 So surely the blood sacrifice of Christ can do much more. Christ offered himself through the eternal Spirit[a] as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will make us completely clean from the evil we have done. It will give us clear consciences so that we can worship the living God.

 Christ came to give us a clean start. A feeling of freshness. Nothing left to feel guilty about. We can breath easier because our sins are forgiven and forgotten. The author of Psalms 32 put this into words even before Christ came to live on this earth.....

Psalm 32:1

The Message (MSG)

Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be—
    you get a fresh start,
    your slate’s wiped clean.


I am looking forward to walking into the back room tomorrow, knowing how clean the wall will be and knowing how much fresher the air, that we will be breathing, will be.

Imagine how good it is to wake up in the morning feeling clean and unfettered by sin, with no dirt and filth left in our soul. I know there is no better feeling in the world!

My wish for you is that you know this feeling too!

Blessings!