link2jesus

Hi, I am back, after being away from a computer for several weeks. In that time, Larry and I have been married, gone on our honeymoon, and are now adjusting to married life. I’ll be out looking for a job soon, which in this economy somehow still does not worry me. I have been blessed, and God knows what is best for me, and I do trust Him to take care of us.

Trusting God sometimes looks difficult, especially when we are hit with bad news, or a bad report. We are not immune to disasters or tragedies simply because we belong to Jesus. It is said that the rain falls on both the just and the unjust. I don’t know if there is always a higher purpose to suffering. People say this in times of distress, but I can’t see what the purpose is, and sometimes think that God could use other means to teach us what He wants us to know.

Still, I do have to trust God. There are things that I can’t handle, can’t change, can’t understand. There are things that are too big for me to grasp. But this is where I realize the infinite power of God. He can handle what I can not. He can change things that I can’t. His understanding is far above my own little world. He can do what I could never begin to do. I wouldn’t even know where to start.

I trust God. I have no choice. Either my world falls apart, or I trust Him to hold it together. Strangely, there is peace in this. God never changes, and He never fails. He is faithful. And no matter what happens in this life, I am His.    

Our lives are filled with intersections. When we are young, most of the important decisions are made for us, what to eat, what to wear. But as we get a little older we make more and more choices for ourselves, who our friends are, what we want to do with our lives, where we will go to college. One wrong decision can haunt us for the rest of our lives. Our choices can determine what happens in the rest of our lives.

There are other intersections as well. The people we meet join our road, sometimes for a long time, and sometimes for a short time. We find some people that come in and out of our lives quickly. Our paths cross, we share a short walk, and then they are gone. Sometimes there is no intersection. Family members can walk the same road for a lifetime. Other roads begin separately, and are joined into one, never to part.

We hold onto some of these people more firmly than others, but eventually we are faced with one final intersection, the transition from life to death. For some of us, that may be as far as we have imagined. But there is a life beyond that, and death is only the crossing into that eternal life. We will find that many of the ones we have met in this life will have a share in the eternal reward. With these friends, brothers, and sisters, we will have a joyful reunion, with no more goodbyes.

There are others who have not decided which way they want to go at this final crossing. Maybe they do not know about it. Maybe they think that this life is all there is. There is a pitiful thought. Or maybe they don’t know how to make the choice.

It is simple. Our God told us many, many years ago that He has set before us a choice, one of life or death, one of being blessed or of being cursed. This is still our choice today. We can only have that blessing of a better life by choosing His way. That way is Jesus.

Choose Jesus. He is the One that can bring us from death to life. It is only by believing in Him that we can have life everlasting. It is not more of this life. Some of us would not  want that. It is a life of beauty, peace, and happiness. It is a life of being loved for who we are. It is a life of joy that never ends.

Choose life. It is up to you. Hope to see you there!

22Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but the boat was already a considerable distance^[a] from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.25During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

27But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

28“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

29“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

32And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”(NIV)

This is a familiar story to most of us. One thing we fail to consider is that this was some storm. Who is in the boat? Some of the disciples were experienced fishermen. And yet they were afraid of the storm. Their boat was most likely in danger of capsizing, or they would not have been afraid. On top of that, here comes this figure, approaching them on top of the water. No wonder they thought it was a ghost. People just don’t walk on water.

Jesus tried to calm their fears by telling them that it was Him coming out to them. Peter immediately needs proof that it is Jesus. I have to admire Peter, not for needing proof, but just that Peter knew that Jesus could do anything, like allowing Peter to walk on water. I also admire Peter for stretching the limits of possibility. He could have simply accepted that it was Jesus walking toward them, or waited till Jesus got to the boat. But instead we find Peter asking Jesus to make the impossible possible. If Jesus can walk on water, Peter wants to walk on water, too. And he succeeds as long as he keeps his eyes on Jesus. As soon as Peter becomes aware of the storm again, he begins to sink, and Jesus has to save him.

It was not until Jesus calmed the storm that the rest of the disciples worshiped Jesus and said He is the Son of God, because he saved them.

It is Peter that I want to look at, though. As long as he keeps his eyes on Jesus, he is capable of something that is against the laws of nature. Gravity should have pulled him under the second he stepped out of that boat. And the storm was fierce, it should have distracted him long before it did. Just the fact that Peter knew that only Jesus could allow him to walk on water says a great deal about his faith. But when Peter stopped looking to Jesus, and began to sink, Jesus said, “Why did you doubt?”

This had to be a growing experience for Peter. The next time he was faced with the impossible, do you think he would doubt the power of Jesus? Jesus was training Peter for great things. Don’t you think Jesus knew there was a storm coming? But He wanted His disciples to learn to trust Him. It began when Jesus called Peter, and told him to follow Him. Peter, and the rest of the disciples, abandoned their way of life, their very livelihood, to follow Jesus. They didn’t look back. Jesus was very clear about what He expected of them. He told them that the Son of Man has no place to lay His head, no place to call home. During the three years that Jesus was with the disciples, you can imagine that their faith was stretched. They had been sent out to preach and heal people way before the death and resurrection of Jesus. They knew His power. That is why Peter could dare to ask to be allowed to walk on water.

In our lives, what is there that we are afraid of? Can we trust Jesus to calm our storms? Should we even be asking Him to do that? Or should we be asking, amidst our storms, to come out to meet Jesus where He is? Will our faith grow more if we stay in the boat and wait for Jesus, and we can say He is the Son of God because He stopped our personal storms? Or will our faith grow if we dare to step out of our boat, head straight into our storm, and run to Jesus in faith?

The boat is not our security. Jesus is our security. The boat was in danger of sinking. With Jesus, we are in no danger. Can we grasp this concept? Can we always look to Jesus in faith?

Lord Jesus, help me today to keep my eyes on You. Help me to realize that when I feel insecurity, and fear, that I can walk toward you in faith, and if I falter, You are there reaching out to me. I may stumble, but You won’t let me fall. Thank You for the example of Peter. Help me to get out of my boat and run to you.

“God Bless You!”

This phrase is as common as “Hello” in some circles. We hear it most often after someone sneezes. I’m sure there is some superstition behind this custom.

We hear TV preachers talking about being blessed. We have heard them instruct us to “speak things into existence”, that is to talk as if we have the thing that we are asking for. They say that is faith. My question is, what is our motivation for wanting to be blessed?

If I say I want to be blessed so I can have things, that sounds selfish. And yet I ask for my needs to be fulfilled.  God already knows our needs, and our wants. He didn’t promise to give us everything we want. God tells us to seek first His kingdom, and we will have all we need.

If I say I want to be blessed so I can help others, that seems to be an honorable request. But that can be a prideful thing if we want the credit for helping people. And I’m afraid my prayers have ended here. It is good to help others, but why? Is it just because that is what Jesus would do? Is there more to it? Am I saying I am like Jesus when I help someone? What did Jesus really do?

Everything Jesus did glorified the Father. He said if you know me, you know my Father. When we are blessed in any way, not just with material things, and we can share our blessings with others, and say to them, “It is God that is blessing you”, then He gets all the credit. So when God blesses me, and I pass the blessing on in His name, then He is glorified. In other words, people can see that my God is a great God, the only God, and a loving God. He is my Father. This should be my motivation when I pray for a blessing, that others can see a little of what God is like, and hopefully want to know Him.

Thou shalt have no other gods before Me…

I am a jealous God…

Love is not jealous…

How can we reconcile these statements? What are we missing? Have we lost something in the translation? I mean, if God is love, and God is a jealous God, how can love not be jealous? It makes no sense logically.

The definition of jealous in the first passage is more or less to own, to possess, possessive. Not so much envy. Godly jealousy as in 2Cor 11:2 is to have warmth of feelings for or against, affect, covet earnestly, desire. This, unfortunately, is the same word used in 2Cor 13:4, where love is not envious. Jealousy, envy. It doesn’t explain anything.

What God wants is all of me. He wants my whole heart. He wants all of my love, all of my life. He wants me to be willing to give up anything that I may hold in higher regard than Him. It is His desire that I put Him first. I am on the way there, but not there yet. Maybe it will take a lifetime, I don’t know.

Then there is the passage about marriage, where we are to forsake all others. This, too, is an example of the love we are to have for God. We are to be the bride of Christ, after all. We won’t be ready till we are transformed into His very likeness, in the twinkling of an eye. But we can be well on the way, because we were created in His image, His likeness. If we could be all that He sees that we are, if we could but live the life He gave us…

I’m wishing I could see myself that way.

In just two months, I will be on my way from Nebraska, where I have lived all my life, to North Carolina, to begin a life with my soon-to-be husband, Larry. This will be the happiest time of my life, but there will be sacrifices made. I won’t be able to get in the car and run over to my parents’ house, or to visit my sisters and brother and their families whenever I want to. I won’t be able to watch my niece, Tara, play basketball, or my nephew, Nick run in track. I won’t see my little great nieces and nephews as often as I would like. These are the things that are the hardest to think about giving up.

It is important to me to keep in touch with my family, and to visit as often as possible. This may be only once a year. But I have to thank God that I live in a time when travel by air is possible. I have to thank Him that we have the technology to talk on the telephone, and to communicate via e-mail. Two of my friends now have computers just so they can keep in touch with me. That is pretty cool.

Larry and I do not know whether we will stay in NC. We will be there at least until his daughter, Laura, graduates from high school next spring. After that, we will have to re-evaluate our plans, and ask God where He wants us to be. It could be that we will stay in NC for a long time, or it could be that God has other plans for us. The thing is, I have stepped out in faith with this move, some may think too quickly, but it is with the knowledge that I am gaining so much more than I am giving up.

Family will always be family. Friends will always be friends, and will make a concious effort on both ends to stay in touch. I can’t pass up this one chance for a happy marriage. I can’t pass up true love. It has taken me so long to find it. Too long I have tried to do things my way, and failed. Now, with God’s guidance and a shared faith, I have a hope for Larry and I, hope for a love that neither of has experienced before, but with God in the middle, is finally possible.

Wish the best for us, and pray for us.

Carter Conlon’s (Senior Pastor at Times Square Church, NYC)

In ‘Beware of the Angry Watchmen’ the dream is clearly described, followed by the interpretation God gave him. http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/m….php?lid=16014

The dream was during the night after he had preached ‘Let me not see my Wretchedness’at a revival conference - http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/m….php?lid=15982
I copied and pasted this from a forum I frequent called Home with God. When I listened to these teachings, I came away knowing more surely that God loves me.

When people are engaged to be married, they give their hearts to each other, promising their love to each other. When they look at each other, somehow it is through rose-colored glasses. Any minor imperfections are not even noticeable, or just don’t seem that important compared to being able to love someone with their entire being.

I am in that state right now, with a wedding coming up in less than three months. I have hopes of a life that is filled with love. I know that I am not perfect, and Larry is not either, but I don’t look at any imperfection, and neither does he. We look at each other through this veil of love, and see each other as God wants us to be. To be expected to live up to perfection would be too much pressure for two people to take, but to love another person with the Love of God, the love that God puts in us, that is something to strive to do every day. I want the best for Larry, the same as he wants for me.

Now, I am talking about Jesus. I am not perfect, but there is this veil, and it is called “Love”. Though others may see my mistakes, and past failures, and may offer me no hope for the future, that is not what God sees. He is looking at me through the Love that covers me, and sees no imperfection. He sees loveliness. The Blood of the Lamb has covered my sin. I am able to be the Bride of Christ. No, I am not worthy, never was, never will be. But His banner over me is love, and for that love, I am thankful.

When we give God our whole heart, He gives us His.

Awesome!

Here are just a few of the vacation pictures from Ocean Island, NC. Hope you enjoy them!

Click a picture to enlarge.

Just thought I would pop in and talk to myself, since few are listening anyway.

People can be so close-minded, so mundane. OK, go to your little church for the weekly helping of God-in-a-box. Don’t take Him home with you, that is not allowed. No carry out, no meal-deal. Certainly do not share Him with anyone, especially a sinner. Don’t care about the people, only care about showing how much you know, make yourself look good. Hey, it is not working. Your religion is showing.

Is this what it is to be a Christian? We don’t hold a monopoly on Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself hung around with publicans and sinners. I think publicans must be a special form of sinner, with a category all their own. We make lawyer jokes to this day. But the point is, Jesus spent time with people that were not perfect, and didn’t try to be. He healed those who needed Him, of both their illnesses and their sins. Those that were well versed in the scriptures didn’t get it, but He did not come to educate us. He did not even come to show us the Law. Instead, He fulfilled every prophecy contained therein.

He is the bruised reed. He is the one whose stripes healed me. He was the one whose blood was shed for my forgiveness. He is the one that all through Old Testament times provided for the Hebrew children. He was the one and final sacrifice for the atonement of many. He was the one that revealed my Father’s love to me.

I think I’ll just hang out with Him for a while.