Summertime!

²⁸ “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.”  Mark 13:28

Today is the first day of summer and it is a glorious day!  There are small fluffy white clouds floating in a clear blue sky, the sun is shining brightly, the temperature and humidity levels are warm but comfortable, and a red-tailed hawk is making lazy circles in the sky as it floats on the air currents.  You could hardly ask for a nicer day in the month of June in Kentucky!

What makes today’s weather even more glorious is the fact that our recent weather has been….well, not so glorious.  Like many areas of the eastern United States, we’ve had an abundance of rain, sometimes with thunder and lightning providing the accompaniment.  We have more of that kind of weather forecast for this weekend and into the early part of next week, so we have to enjoy today’s weather while we can and soak up that beautiful sunshine.

I don’t know of any fig trees that grow near where I live, although there may be some.  If there is one, I’ll bet its twigs are tender and its leaves are out, because summer time is upon us.  Surely that is one of the signs of summer, trees in leaf and bearing fruit.  All of us can easily recognize it.

However, can you recognize the signs of the end times as easily as you can recognize the changes of season?  That’s really what Jesus was talking to His disciples about in this passage from Mark.  In verses 5-27, Jesus answers their question about what sign will be given that the end is near.  He talks about there being, “wars or rumors of wars,” earthquakes and famines.  He speaks of the need for the gospel to be preached to every nation.  He tells of situations where it is brother against brother, children against parents.  He speaks of believers being flogged in the synagogues.  Even more frightening is His description of the sun and moon being darkened, stars falling from the sky and the heavens being shaken.  He finishes by saying that at that time, we will see the Son of Man riding on the clouds and gathering His followers from all corners of the earth and the heavens.  WOW.  That’s some kind of sign!  Would you recognize those signs for what they are?

Brothers and sisters, if you are in Christ, there is no reason to fear the end times any more than you fear a beautiful summer’s day.  Yes, the days will be evil and full of hardship, but our Lord Jesus Christ is coming back to gather to Himself all who belong to Him.  That will be glorious!!

What does it mean to be “in Christ”?  It means that you understand that the ONLY way to Heaven is through a relationship with Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to pay the price for your sins.  It means you have surrendered your life to His lordship and to His leadership.  It means that you have repented (turned away from) your sinful ways and asked for His forgiveness and His help to live as He would have you live.  It means that you have received the truth that you are now His adopted son or daughter and that you are dearly loved by Him.  Have you done that?  Are you ready to do that?  Please, don’t wait too long to make that decision for Him!!!!  You can make it today by praying this prayer:

Dear Jesus, I am a sinful person who has gone my own way through life up to this point.  I am sorry.  Today I surrender everything to You.  I want to turn away from my sinful ways and live the way that You would have me live but I need your help to do it.  Please come into my heart.  Please forgive me for all my sins – past, present and future.  Please teach me Your ways and lead my life from this day forward.  I give all that I am to You, the One Who died for me.  Thank you, Jesus.  Amen.

Amen!!  If you’ve just prayed that prayer, or one like it, and you meant it with every ounce of your being, then know that the Holy Spirit now lives in your heart.  You are sealed in Christ forever, and nothing can ever change that.  Congratulations!!!  If you still have questions, please feel free to contact me; I’d be glad to talk with you.  You are loved!

 

 

 

Fuzzy Signals

My husband and I are getting ready to take a weekend road trip to Georgia to see my beloved Georgia Bulldogs (Go Dawgs!) take on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders tomorrow (a game that, thankfully, was not cancelled by Hurricane Florence).  Since my family is still in Georgia, I make that 800 mile round trip drive pretty often, and as a result I have chosen to equip my car with satellite radio.  I love satellite radio, because I can drive anywhere in this vast country and never lose the signal – I don’t even have to change stations if I don’t want to.  It’s a luxury that I enjoy since I love a good road trip.

Recently, however, I took a business trip to Columbus OH (about a 400 mile round trip from where I live) for a seminar.  I drove the company car on that trip, and it just had a regular radio in it.  That meant that every so often, the signal of the station I was listening to would get fuzzy and would fade in and out.  I had to find a new station to listen to in the midst of negotiating traffic in unfamiliar areas.

As I changed stations, the Lord reminded me that if I’m not careful, His “signal” can get fuzzy to me as well.  If I’m not careful to maintain my prayer life and keep my quiet time with Him, I will lose my focus on His voice – His signal to me.  If I’m not in fellowship with believers and I’m not in the Word regularly, I will cut off some of the ways that He speaks to me most often.  If I’m not taking time to be still and to be quiet, I’m going to mess up my “reception”.

How do you most love to stay in touch with our Lord so that you can hear His voice?  Do you love your quiet time?  Getting away to the wilderness?  Being with other believers?  I’d love to hear how you stay connected to Him!

I’ve Lost It!

The other night, something jolted me awake from a dead sleep at around 2:30 a.m.  My left hand immediately flew to my ear, and I realized that the diamond stud earring that I always wear was gone.  Oh, no!  Quickly I checked my right ear, and that stud was firmly in place.

I checked the left again.  Yep, still gone.

Not wanting to wake my sleeping husband, I began feeling around my pillow in the dark to see if I could find the earring.  I found the back to it, but no diamond stud.  Had my husband added my jewelry on our homeowner’s insurance?  I wasn’t sure…but I knew I had to find that earring.

I went into the bathroom as I thought that would be the most likely place for the earring to have fallen out.  I turned on the light and looked everywhere.  No luck.

I went back into the bedroom and decided that I had to search the bed.  I couldn’t find it by feel, and I started wondering if it had fallen to the floor.  I had visions of it being sucked up into the vacuum cleaner, never to be seen again.  I had to find it, even if it meant tearing the whole house apart in the process.

Eventually I turned on the bedside lamp, hopeful that it wouldn’t disturb my husband.  I turned back the covers….and there it was.  Whew!!!  What a relief.  I quickly turned off the lamp again and then tightly fastened the earring back into my left ear where it belonged.  The whole escapade didn’t even wake up my husband.  🙂

In Luke 15, Jesus tells a parable of a woman who lost a gold coin and turned her whole house upside down looking for it.  A parable is a story that Jesus used to help his contemporaries understand what the Kingdom of Heaven is like.  In the parable, the woman eventually found her lost coin.  When she found it, she threw a party and invited her friends to come and celebrate with her.  In verse 10, Jesus concludes:

“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  To repent just means to turn away from your sinful ways and to embrace God’s ways.   Jesus says that even the angels of God rejoice when just one sinner repents.  Isn’t that amazing?

I well remember in my own faith story, which you can read here, how God used a pastor’s words to help me “Get found!”  Yes, I was the lost child that God valued so highly that He would have torn apart the whole house looking for me.  When I came out of hiding on October 14, 2001 and got found by Him, there was rejoicing in Heaven – they threw a party to celebrate!  Can you imagine that??  It’s astonishing to me.

You can get found, too, if you haven’t already.  Just pray a humble prayer that you truly mean from the bottom of your heart, and Jesus will accept you.  You don’t have to clean up your act first or get your life in order – He wants you just as you are, right now, wherever you are.  His Word tells us that “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).   You can use your own words, or you can pray this simple prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinful person and I have fallen short of your glory.  I ask that You would please forgive me of all of my sins – past, present and future – and wash me clean.  I no longer want to live that life; I want to follow Your ways.  From this day forward, please come into every area of my heart and lead my life.  Be my Savior.  I receive your gift of grace and I receive your incredible love for me.  Thank You, Jesus.  Amen.”

AMEN!!!  If you have just prayed that prayer, would you please tell me so that I can celebrate with you?  If you’ve already received Him, I’d love it if you’d post your date in the comments below so that I can celebrate you as well.  🙂  Blessings to all of you!

The Prayer Stomp

“It’s not FAIR!”

I wanted to shout it, but this was my prayer in my head. It was early in my walk with the Lord. I had been betrayed and abandoned by someone I had counted on to be there forever, and my shattered heart was raw and aching. I had gone out for a prayer walk to try to sort things out with the Lord, but I was so angry and hurt that I was having more of a prayer stomp. Even the beauty of the park and the happy songs of the birds around me did nothing to assuage my dark mood.

I continued stomping around the park, Jesus listening while I listed off for Him in a long monologue all the ways that this person’s actions had wronged me. Then my ugly pride reared its head, and I said, “…And You have NO IDEA what this is like for me!”

“Do you really think that I don’t understand betrayal and abandonment?” He gently but firmly asked.

Suddenly, images flooded through my mind – A kiss from one of the people closest to Him to seal His betrayal…Peter’s three denials of Him…Him hanging on a cross with His friends scattered and nowhere to be found in His hour of greatest need.

“Oh, Jesus!” I prayed as I sank to my knees, right there in the middle of the park. “Please forgive me!” I was humbled as I remembered that He experienced every aspect of humanity during His brief life on this planet as a man, and He knew better than I did what the experience I was going through had cost me. He knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of something that was completely unjust in every way – and He died for the sin that had been committed against me, just as He had died for my sin of pride.

I got back up and continued my prayer walk, this time with the two of us talking. He ministered to me and encouraged me. I was able to go home with a whole new perspective (and a much better attitude) about the situation in which I found myself.

I am so grateful that Jesus can handle me at my worst.  He meets me with love and with truth right in the middle of my most broken places. I’m also grateful that He truly does understand every situation that I’m in, because He has experienced it. I’m grateful that He is not a distant and uncaring God, but one who knows me, loves me and accepts me just as I am and where I am. What a wonderful God He is!

Do you find yourself today in the middle of hard circumstances? Are you wondering where Jesus is in the middle of it all and how He could possibly redeem your situation? Are you reluctant to share even the messy parts of your life with Him? Friends, He wants to know you and minister to you in the midst of your brokenness and pain. Let the truth of these verses encourage you today:

⁷ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

²² Cast your cares on the Lord
and he will sustain you;
he will never let
the righteous be shaken. (Psalm 55:22)

⁷ The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.” (Exodus 3:7)

⁷ The Lord is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him. (Nahum 1:6-8)

Jesus sees you. He cares for you. He longs to meet you right where you are. Won’t you meet with Him today?