The Neighbor Dogs

(from The Front Porch...)

As you pass us by on the road, you would think our family was bigger than it really is.  A lot of times you would see Keith, I, and our dog Sadie…along with Bella and Myshka.

            Bella and Myshka are our next door canine neighbors.  Bella is a very friendly, high energy, playful, black lab.  Myshka is a more reserved, layed back, beautiful, husky/collie mix.  They are very different from one another, just like people.

            Bella became our friend right off the bat.  Myshka took about a year to get close to us.  She would come over but not close enough for us to touch her.  We let them know they were welcomed on our front porch.  After about a year, Myshka decided we weren’t so bad and one day came all the way to us and let us pet her.  Now we felt like we were a second family.  Every time we came out to our porch, here they would come.  Our own dog Sadie, part golden retriever, was skittish around them in the beginning, but over time they got to know each other and became friends.  Keith always said Sadie didn’t know she was a dog, or how to be a dog, until Bella and Myshka taught her.  Sadie never left the perimeters of our yard until the canine neighbors showed her the world was bigger than our yard.  She discovered the woods and the tall grasses and now she comes back from romps very happy and covered in stickers.  Sadie never used to like to get her paws wet, let alone her whole body.  Bella loved the water and would jump into any pool of water on the side of the road or into a pond.  One day while Keith and I were walking with Sadie, we came upon a pond and she dived right in.  I couldn’t believe it!  When a deer was hit on our road and died, Sadie learned to roll around on it getting herself very stinky with her friends, and discovered new bones to chew on.  Oh brother!  She was a full fledged dog now, thank you very much Bella and Myshka! 

            But you know what?  She was just being what God created her to be, a dog.  And since befriending her new neighbors, she seems to be a much happier dog. 

            God said it was not good for man to be alone.  He knew there needed to be companionship.  I think it’s the same for dogs.

            Even though I now have to brush her more, pick off hundreds of stickers from her coat, bathe her more often, she is one happy dog.

            We all need friends to romp around with, to learn from, to teach, to splash in the puddles with and just be ourselves.  God has blessed me with many wonderful friends who have all been such a blessing.  They have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly and are still around.

            They have romped with me, taught me, picked off the stickers of doubt, sadness, and depression and have shown me a bigger world than what I had known.  One of my dearest friends is Bella and Myshka’s human mom.  She is a real treat!  You will meet her next time.

            I am a happier person because of my friends.  I am very blessed, just like Sadie.

So if you are skittish about making new friends, to open up with someone, don’t.  Jump out there in the pool of life and take a risk.  Discover all the blessings you not only will receive but you yourself can be a blessing to others.  Isn’t that, after all what Jesus wants us to do?

My commandment is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

John 15:12

Who's Coming to Dinner?

The first supper we read about in the Bible is in Genesis, chapter three.  The appetizer, main course and dessert were all wrapped up in one juicy piece of fruit that was “pleasing to the eye.”  Who was on the guest list?  Adam and Eve of course.  They didn’t pay money for this dinner, but oh, how they paid!  The cost of this dinner. . .destruction, sin entered the world, which led to death, nakedness, shame, fear, broken relationships. . .disastrous!

Far down the time line was another feast, known as the Last Supper.  The guest list here was Jesus as guest of honor and His twelve disciples.  The menu. . .unleavened bread, lamb, bitter herbs, and wine.  The cost?  The ultimate sacrifice was coming to pay for the cost of the first supper. . .victory over death, the gift of forgiveness, the chains of shame and fear and broken relationships broken and freedom restored.  Hallelujah!

In the New Earth will be another feast.  In the book of Revelation we are told the guest list here will include all believers.  We will be invited to eat from the tree of life.  Interesting.  The Garden of Eden had a tree of life but two were told not to eat from it.  Disobedience brought on sin.  We are told as depicted in Revelation we believers will be invited to eat from the tree of life because our sins have been removed.  I’m definitely no bible scholar so this may be literal or symbolic.  But it just goes to show that there was a plan in place even when the first two diners committed the first wrong.

I don’t know about you but this gives me comfort.  From beginning to end we see God and His plan.  He is just and He is loving.  The two go hand in hand.

The first supper involved selfishness and disobedience.  The last supper involved unselfishness and obedience.  The first supper, Satan slithers and misleads.  After the last supper, Jesus crushes the serpent’s head. 

In the New Earth feast, our dining clothes will be robes of righteousness.  The cost of this feast?  According to Revelation 21:6, there will be no cost…He says, “To him who is thirsty, I will give to drink without cost from the spring of life.”

Dining with Jesus, can you fathom it?  As believers, we already dine with Him, we just can’t see Him face to face, but He is with us always.  Do we act like He is with us at our dining table, our restaurant table, at our picnics?  He not only feeds us with food and drink, but also feeds us with forgiveness, peace, joy and unconditional love.

Who’s coming to your dinner tonight?  Will there be a place for the one called “The Bread of Life?”  If so, let us remember to say “thank you” for all the nourishments in life He provides for us.  After the prayer of thanks and gratitude, let’s “eat, drink, and be merry.”

WAIT!

            Before you indulge, sorry, eat that wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, ponder on this for just a minute.  Matthew 5:6 say, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.”  As good as that turkey, potatoes, and gravy will be, to be filled with righteousness is even better.

            I used to think it didn’t sound right; it wasn’t humble to say or even think, “I am righteous.”  But that was because I didn’t completely understand the word.  When I trusted in Christ 35 years ago, I exchanged my sin for His righteousness.  The bible says our sin was poured into Christ at His crucifixion and His righteousness was poured into me (us believers), at our conversion.  It was a gift I gladly and humbly accept.  I am righteous, not because of anything I have done, but all because of what Christ has done for me.  I am clothed in it.  When God sees me, He sees His Son.  He doesn’t see my sin, He sees His beloved.  How awesome is that?!  That is something truly to be so thankful for!  Now what I can say and feel good about is this…I am righteous in God’s eyes.

            Before you bite into the turkey, remember to thank Him for already filling you with His righteousness, and then go ahead and fill up on that wonderful meal.  Don’t forget to thank the cook also!

“The righteous eat to their hearts content.

Proverbs 13:25

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

                                               

Roots

All around the pond are hundreds of trees, some small, some very tall and some of the trees have part of their roots exposed above the ground.  Without well established roots the tree will eventually die. As I ponder this, I think about our own foundations, our own root system. 

            I prayed for someone close to me when they were young, the scripture

Psalm 1:2-3 which says, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.  Whatever he does prospers.”

            My loved one’s root system had been developed in the good, rich soil of Jesus’ teachings and His love.  He was supported by others who also had that firm foundation.  And as the verse says, he grew bearing fruit, he blossomed, and he prospered at everything he did.

            But then came a time when he grew up and decided to leave that support system too soon.  He yanked up his roots and planted them elsewhere, in dry parched soil leaving himself exposed.  We    watched him wither, losing his fruit, and did not prosper anymore.

            Of course, he can be transplanted back into fertile soil once again.  The Bible says God’s love is wide, long, high, and deep-His love can reach down deep into the root system of our lives and bring life to it again.  God can repair, restore, heal, and bring new growth to our lives.  And there lies my hope.

            My loved one’s favorite verse was Romans 8:38-39.  It reads,

            “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

            If you or a loved one ever had the love of Christ in your heart at one time and now are feeling dry and fruitless and are withering, pick up those roots and plant them once again in the good, rich soil of God’s love grace, and mercy.

            And I will do for you as I do for my loved one, as the verse says in Ephesians 3:16-17,

            “I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being ROOTED and ESTABLISHED in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

The Truth

I was asked once why I thought Jesus was the only truth and why Christianity was the only religion to believe in.  That was one of their problems right there.  All religions are just that-religions.  Christianity is not a religion; it is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, God’s only son.       

John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.  John 1:1 says,

            “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word as God.”  In Daniel 10:21, it says His Word is called the Book of Truth.

            My loved one argued that just a bunch of men wrote the Bible, why believe them.

Again, go to the Word.  ll Peter 1:21 says God Himself spoke through each human writer.  His Holy Spirit spoke and they wrote.

            Why do I believe this?  First of all I stepped out in faith.  Then I chimed in with the psalmist who said in Psalm 25:5,

            “Guide me in Your truth and teach me…” and Psalm 86:11,

            “Teach me Your way, Lord, and I will walk in Your truth…”  In John 8:31-32 Jesus says, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth    will set you free.”

            To be free, we have to know the truth and Jesus said He was the truth.  To know Jesus, we must live in His word, meaning to study and applying His teachings to our lives.  His word says we should live in it, His word must live in us, we must hear it, study it, meditate on it, and memorize it.

            We should live our life through the life of another, Jesus Christ.  When we become believers, repenting of our sins and inviting Jesus into our hearts, we die to self and start living through His life, as Romans 6:11 says,

            “I reckon myself to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

            Baptism is a beautiful picture of this when we go down into the water, our old self is buried and we raise to walk a new life in Christ. ll Corinthians 5:17,

            Since I am in Christ, I am a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

            Baptism is not a saving factor.  You are already saved at this point.  It is just a beautiful way of showing your new life and commitment to those around you and it’s also an act of obedience to the Father.  If Jesus was baptized, I believe to give us an example to follow, then we should follow.  It becomes an act of obedience right after accepting Him as our Lord and Savior.

            Why do I believe Jesus Christ and the Bible are truth and the only way.  I took that step of faith 35 years ago and have been in the Word ever since.  He has shown Himself true over and over.  The more time spent on the relationship, the stronger it becomes, the stronger I become, and the more blessed and fulfilled I feel.

            Other religions will ask you to die for their God or to prove yourself worthy.  The one True God had His beloved Son die for us.  We sinners who are so undeserving had Jesus die on the cross to pay for our sins. 

            John Newton was quoted,

            I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Saviour.”  Do you know of any other who died for you and you could call a Saviour?

            No other has ever died for the world!  I chime in with Charles Wesley who said,

            Amazing love!  How can it be that Thou, my God shouldst die for me?”     Who else has ever shown that kind of amazing love?

            Now Christ, raised to be with His Father in Heaven, is also with me.  He has given me courage to do things I could not have done on my own, given me peace that passes all understanding in difficult times, helps me to see others through His eyes of compassion, understanding, discernment, and Christ-like love.

            No one on the earth has ever met anyone else with this kind of amazing love, grace, mercy, and compassion.

            Who do you want to follow and live for.  I read on a poster, “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”  Don’t fall for a lie.  Stand for the truth.  If you live for yourself, it will be a shallow, hollow existence.  If you try to live for any other, you will be let down, never experiencing all that Christ has for you including an eternal home in heaven.  Jesus tell us in John 14:2-3,

            “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

            Ponder – If you have wondered what the truth is, if you have never truly felt free from bondage of whatever that may be, if you want to experience amazing love, meditate on His word.  A good one to start with is this one:

For God so love the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.  This is the verdict:  Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.

John 3:16-21

            And that, my friend,  is the truth!

           

Seed Pods

Is God not the grand architect of all time?  Just look at the magnificent mountains, majestic trees, and gorgeous flowers, down to the smallest of architectural sights on the ground like the sweet gum seed pod.

            There are hundreds, maybe thousands on the ground around the pond.  I’ve since learned they are also called monkey balls, ankle biters and ankle twisters.  They are round, prickly little balls that hold seeds that eventually are dispersed and new trees will grow.

            This makes me ponder over how we believers are told to spread the seed (God’s Word).  We are the sowers, not the growers.  We sow the seed and God will do the work on the hearts of all people. So why do we seldom do this?  I’ll speak from experience. 

            Fear.  Fear of rejection, fear of inadequacy, fear of being made fun of. As I’ve grown older and hopefully matured, I realized if there is rejection, it is not against me, it is against God.  That takes the pressure off of me.  God can handle it!  If you put the fear of inadequacy in the Lord’s hands, He will help you by bringing scriptures and other words to your mind.  The Holy Spirit can speak through you.  And you always have your own testimony to share.  Remember, it’s not our job to change a heart, that is the Lord’s job.  We are just to sow the seed.  And if people make fun of you, don’t feel bad for having your relationship with Christ.  Feel pity for the one laughing and pray for them.  If they end up going to their eternal home laughing, they will soon realize what you shared with them was the truth but it will be too late for them by then and they won’t be laughing any more.  It is not a laughing matter! Remember the grace and mercy you were shown and pray that person will receive it one day before it is too late.

            It is a privilege to be a seed sower.  You know how when something grand, exciting happens to you?  You want to go tell someone, you want to share the news.  Nothing more grand could happen to us then realizing Christ loved us so much he was willing to crawl upon that cross and die for us, to pay for OUR sins.  He loves you that much.  Is that now worth sharing with others and telling them the same thing happened for them?  All they have to do is just accept it, as the wonderful gift it is.

            A few years back, some people entered my life that I did not care for much.  I would have just as soon not met them.  They only caused anger and confusion and I just wanted them to go away, but I soon realized they were not going anywhere, for at least awhile. I felt like a prickly, hard person around them.  God told me to share, to sow love with His love.  I was not excited about sharing anything with these people. So I prayed for myself to do what God had asked of me and with the right heart.  I shared, I brought them to church, I invited them into my home.  His amazing love, how can it be?  I started to feel compassion and my heart went out to them.  The anger left.  After a couple of years, these people were removed from my life, and to be honest, it was just fine with me.  But I learned a lesson through this.  Jesus died for ALL people and they all deserve a chance to hear the truth and at least make a decision to change or not.  These people did not change, but you never know what act of kindness you did for them or a nugget of truth that was spoken embeds in the back of their mind that might someday come to the front of their mind and make a difference.  I don’t believe God brought these people into my life for this reason, but He used a bad situation to teach me something.   I learned not to sit on my anger, that it is possible and necessary for your own sake to give that up and replace it with love.  I've always been a person full of compassion and love but had not had to deal with hard people.  I learned that with God, I can have compassion and give love, and share with the hardest of people now.

            Just remember, we may be seed sowers, but we do not need to be like the sweet gum pods, prickly and hard.  We are to sow in love.  We do not want to be considered ankle biters, but one who came in love to share the greatest love story out there. And just as the seed is dispersed from the sweet gum ball and new trees begin to grow, prayerfully, when we sow the seed of the gift of salvation and with the work of the Lord, we will see more and more believers born and growing. And just as I see the tall sweet gum trees around the pond, I know I will see strong Christian people in Heaven…maybe sitting around a pond with me, sharing stories.

“The sower sows the Word…”

Mark 4:14

New Neighbors

When we moved into our Kentucky home from Oklahoma, we only had 2 neighbors to one side of us.  On the other side was a wooded lot that we really enjoyed.  Deer would sometimes run from the back 28 acres up through the woods beside us and cross the road and into the woods across the way.  It was such a sight!  I loved it!

            So when the bulldozers came, knocking down trees in that lot for a new home, my husband and I were sick!  There goes a little bit of our country, we thought.  The quiet we enjoyed would be a little less quiet.

            After we watched the trees come down, the land cleared and a new home erected, we met the single mother and her two little boys who moved in.

            I loved being a mother, having raised two boys of my own. I had gone through heartache the past two years watching my precious, oldest son making unwise choices and walking away from everything good.  God used a lot of things to heal my heart and bring joy back into my life, one being a little five year old boy. 

            He liked coming over to jump on our trampoline and I would watch and talk with him. He seemed to take a liking to me as I did to him. My new buddy has a real passion for wrestling, something I know nothing about.  He would bring his huge Elmo doll over and wrestle with him on my trampoline, teaching me the names of all the moves.  He’d tell me about the real wrestlers he watched on television. Sometimes he would let Elmo get him down and I would have to start the countdown, but before reaching ten, my buddy would always make it back up. I would clap my hands and cheer him on. We have sat under the trees, talking to each other and singing row, row, row your boat.  He was surprised I knew the song. We have sat on my sidewalk drawing and talking more.  We have played basketball in my driveway.  He is the cutest little guy and I have enjoyed his company so much!  He brings a smile to my face, a face that had not smiled much during the previous year.

            I prayed for this little boy and his family.  My own parents had divorced when I was about his age and I know what it feels like to have a family split apart.  What joy I felt when I realized his dad had moved in and his family was whole again.  This was just one more way of feeling hope that my own son would come back and be whole again. 

            It reminds me of what I already knew.  God knows best.  What I thought best was to leave the lot next door the way it was.  But God knew this little boy would bring smiles to my face and some joy into my heart.  I came to realize how greedy my previous thoughts had been.  It wasn’t or isn’t all about me.  I know this new home must have been a blessing for this family and I felt selfish for wanting that lot to stay full of trees and house free.

            So now when I feel I know best, I pray to remember the little guy next door and lay down my wants and desires before the Lord and be willing to receive God’s best.

            And you know what?  God still left hundreds of trees around me to enjoy.

            May I never begrudge someone their need, wants, or desires because of my selfishness.  Thank you Lord, for my precious little friend next door.

Warriors

Our younger son Christopher has always been into swords and sword fighting.  He was 10 years old when we moved to Kentucky.  I would watch from my new front porch as he would swing his swords, practicing his moves out in the yard.  Sometimes he would sword fight with his older brother and his dad.  I watched and thought of Christopher as my little warrior.

            My son is tenderhearted but he had a strength in him we did not fully realize until four years later.  We dealt with prodigal issues with our older son which caused a lot of pain.  Christopher was young, tender, and confused.  He did not understand why our family dynamics changed, and why his brother, who he had always looked up to, suddenly left.  My husband and I did not understand either, but we tried to comfort and love him through it.  He grieved in his own way using his art talent God had gifted him with and leaning on his faith in Jesus that he had for the last six years.  My husband and I watched him over a years time grow in strength and maturity beyond most of his peers.

            In Psalm 89:19, God is remembered to have said,

            “I have bestowed strength on a warrior.”  He was speaking of David.  I believe God bestowed strength on my precious warrior and that is what pulled Christopher up when he could so easily have stayed down.

            I have seen a strength in Christopher laced with grace, mercy and forgiveness.  So much from such a young one.  That’s how I know he is a warrior.  I’ve witnessed the qualities of being a true warrior in him; practicing long and hard to perfect skills, to be mentally tough and determined, staying in shape physically and being dedicated to serving God.

            Christopher is now 17 years old and still making swords and spears.  His warrior mentality has only become stronger with time.  I am proud of him, respect him and love him all the more as I see him learning and putting into practice the idea that his life is not just about him but it is living his life through the life of another, Jesus Christ. And not just living it but sharing about it with others.

I watch Christopher sword fight with the little boys from next door.  More warriors in the making?  I pray for all the young men to grow in the Lord, to lean on the ultimate warrior, the Lord Jesus Christ, for strength to be bestowed on them, so in any scenario, they will trust in the Lord to fight their battles or use the strength and guidance from the Lord to fight the battles that come their way.

            Then they can say as Psalms 60:12 says,

“With God we will gain victory”

Hidden Things

The tall grasses around the pond tend to hide things.  This made me start pondering about what all people hide in their lives.

            People hide things they don’t want others to know about.  Things like being in debt, their own insecurities, bad relationships, etc.  Satan loves this.  He knows if you keep these kinds of things hidden, you will never truly be free.  As long as you hide negative things from others, you are, in a way, in bondage to him.  He doesn’t want you to be free because if you were, he would have less or no control over you.  He would love to keep you down with worry and unhappiness because in those feelings we tend to do wrong things, think negatively and do not please the Lord.  Satan has you right where he wants you.

            I say it’s time to break free and come out from hiding; we will never receive help and rise above if we don’t.  Sharing our struggles is a way of helping others with theirs.    He is the father of lies and darkness and he doesn’t like those things being brought into the light, because then he starts to lose his power of influence over us.

            There is healing in the light.  Keith and I struggled with debt years ago and only after we brought it out from hiding, did God provide a way for us to become debt free.  It took a lot of hard work and sacrificing on our part, but He provided what we needed to accomplish the plan and He used this time in our life to inspire others with their financial choices.

            Our brilliant and once God-honoring son started making unwise choices that caused a lot of heart-ache in the family.  He eventually left and we were left with the collateral damage of this war we unwillingly were put in. Keith and I decided not to hide from it but to share it.  God blessed us with wonderful prayer warriors who lifted us up and gave us strength.  Sharing brought others out with similar stories and gone goes the hold of the sinister one.  When things are brought into the light, we can help each other and healing can begin which is not what Satan wants to see happen.  He would love for us to stay hidden in the dark and have control over us, but I say “No more!” 

            The only thing we should be hiding is God’s word in our heart, as Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”  As a believer we can say with David, “You are my hiding place…”

            Colossians 3:3 says to the believer, “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.’ The word hidden here means to be concealed and safe.  We need never worry about our salvation.  We will mess up from time to time but our actions do not earn or mess up our salvation once we accept Christ.  Our conduct and service will be a result of it.  We can rest knowing that we are secure (hidden) in Christ.  The bible commands us to never hide our light (or troubles) under a bushel…or a lamp.  Put that ol’ devil in his place and come out from hiding where the only thing hidden is God’s Word in our heart and our life in His.

‘You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16

The Staff

When my husband goes for walks out by the pond, he always grabs one of his rods, or as he calls them, his walking sticks.  It makes him look like a mountain man to me, rugged, strong, surefooted, outdoorsy kind of guy, someone I like to follow.  My mountain man of a husband has always taken care of me and loved me through thick and thin, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

            Just like my Lord and Savior.  Psalm 100:3 says,

            “We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.”  He is the great shepherd who goes ahead of me and points the way, showing me lessons I might not have learned if I did not follow Him and His staff.

            The shepherd’s rod was used to protect the sheep from other animals.  The meaning of staff is something to lean on, to trust, to support.  So you could say His rod protects us, and His staff is something we can lean on, trust in, and be supported by.  I can trust His leading.  Even if sometimes the paths are rocky and there are holes here and there, just like the paths to the pond.

            If I follow my Savior’s leading, I know I’ll be fine at the end.  He doesn’t promise a smooth path through life but He does promise to be there with us; He will either go before us, with us by our side, or carry us when we feel we can go no more.

            Not all of my paths have been smooth, but He has been there guiding me all along.  I can look back on my life and see how He has protected me.  He has provided for me.  He has comforted me, carried me, and has helped me become stronger.

            Although pretty close, my husband is not perfect, yet I can’t help but smile as I see him walking in front of me with his staff and compare how he is like my Heavenly Shepherd; strong, loving, caring, taking the lead and protecting me.

            Thank you Lord, for being my Great Shepherd and for giving me an earthly one as well.

“Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

Psalm 23:4

Polliwogs or Tadpoles?

When I bend down to look into the pond, I see lots and lots of polliwogs…or are they tadpoles?  I wasn’t sure, so I went home and did a search on the internet.  They are the same thing, the limbless larva stage of the frog.  They just have two names.  You can call them by either one.

This made me ponder about someone I know who has not two names, but has many names.  I’m talking about the creator of the polliwog( I think that name is cuter), God himself.

Remember this is the ONE and ONLY God, but He has different names to reveal His different character traits.  Here are just a few for you to ponder on yourself:

Elohim – Almighty, All-Powerful.  Creator of the heavens and earth…and polliwogs.  And we question if he can handle our circumstances.

Yahweh-Jireh – Our Provider.  The Almighty, All-Powerful creator of the universe is also my provider.  We need not worry.

Yahweh-Rophe -  Healer of wounded hearts.  Isn’t it neat that He even has a name for this?! And He can; I know that from experience.

Yahweh-Shalom– God of Peace. He can provide a calmness in our soul despite our circumstances.  When you need emotional calmness and a quietness in your spirit, cry out to this name.

Immanuel – God with us.  He is with us, but are you with him?

There are many more names of God but in being aware of just these five, how or why would we ever want to live life without Him?  If you are not living with Him, please accept this invitation to invite His Son, Jesus Christ, into your heart.  He has more than one name too…Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, the Bread of Life, the Good Shepherd, The Way, and The Truth, and The Life.  This last one says it all.

Amazing what a tiny polliwog/tadpole will bring to your mind!

“Let them praise your great and awesome name…He is Holy!”

Psalm 99:3

Fear

One day while sitting by the pond, I screamed and just about jumped out of my skin.  What could possibly cause me fear at my quiet, peaceful pond?  A snake! 

            I have never liked snakes.  I’m not sure why.  Maybe it’s an unconscious thing.  The bible describes Satan as a serpent. (Genesis 1:1)  In the 21^st chapter of Numbers, God used venomous snakes to punish the Israelites.  In the movie, ‘The Passion’, Satan came to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane to taunt him just before He was crucified.  Satan thought he won…but he didn’t.  Jesus, as we all know, nailed the victory. Hallelujah!

            Maybe his disguise is in my subconscious and when I see a snake, I just get the willie nillies.  (Remember I’m a born and bred Oklahoman)

            My grandmother used to laugh while telling a story about when her dad, a farmer, was working out in his fields one day and he started hopping around.  She was watching from the house and said in a split second, he shot out of his pants and stood there in the field wearing his shirt, underwear and work shoes.  A snake had crawled up his leg and he came right out of his pants.  Apparently he didn’t like snakes either.

            I don’t think the actual snake is evil.  After all, God created it and everything from God is good.  But I try to calm myself with these verses when I see a snake:

           

            Psalm 23:4 –“…I will fear no evil.”

            Isaiah 35:4- “Be strong, do not fear.”

            Isaiah 41:10-“…do not fear….”

            Second Timothy 1:7… “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, and of a sound mind.”

            I think He’s telling me to not be afraid!  Not just of snakes but all other fears as well.  Is your fear on the top 10 list?

            1.  Public speaking

            2.  Heights

            3.  Terrorism

            4.  Insects and bugs

            5.  Financial problems

            6.  Deep water

            7.  Sickness

            8.  Death

            9.  Loneliness

           10. Flying

            One of mine used to be the fear of evangelism.  Why?  Because it evoked another fear of mine, rejection.  I learned not to let fear paralyze or immobilize me though, to keep me from utilizing God’s power and to not let the fear keep me from sharing God’s love and evangelizing.

            A lot of the “do not fear” verses are followed by…”for I am with you.”  Who?

God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  Who better to have on our side and in our heart than Jesus himself.  And who better to evangelize with and share God’s love than with the Holy Spirit. And who better to fight our battles and ease our fear than the mighty warrior himself, God.

            Fear is from the ol’ serpent himself, Satan.  So we need to turn to what causes him fear, which is the Word of God.  Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword…”  Let’s stand on the Word of God, especially for this segment, Ephesians 6:10-17, which says, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

            Just reading those words makes me feel more courageous.  So the next time you feel afraid because of the devil’s schemes and his flaming arrows, put on the whole armor of God and know He is standing with you.  When the flaming arrows were coming at my family, my husband and I went to our knees before the Lord, then stood strong with the armor on, and waited.

            As for the snake…I’m just going to have to buck up and see it as one of God’s creations…but maybe from afar.

“…He delivered me from all my fears.”

Psalm 34:4

The Heart

Keith and I went walking around the pond one beautiful fall afternoon, and I was feeling particularly low that day.  Silently, I asked for some encouragement.

            Keith spotted something on a tree and called me over to see it.  It was a place where the bark had fallen off and left the shape of a heart.  I smiled and said a silent “thank you”.  I saw this as God’s encouragement to me saying “I am here, I know what you’re going through, I care, and I love you.  I thought of the verse John 14:1 that says,

            ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled…trust in me.”

            Yes Father, I do trust in you.  He is so good!  He meets you wherever you are, even out by a pond. 

            As a twelve year old girl, I invited Jesus into my heart.  If I had not had the Lord there and built that relationship over the years, I might have missed the message of the heart in the tree that day.  As Christians, our eyes are opened up to so much more and our spirits ready to hear much more than if they were closed.  I don’t want to miss anything the Lord has for me and I don’t want anyone else to miss their “heart messages”. 

            That’s why it is so important to share the love of Jesus with everyone we come in contact with.  Whether it is sharing the gospel with them, or just giving them a genuine smile and a hug, let’s not let those “heart moments” go away without participating in them. 

            Yes, Jesus lives in my heart.  Does He live in yours?  If so, say a silent “thank you” right now.  If not, ponder for a moment.  Would you like to have a new heart and spirit?  If so, issue that invitation to Him to come into your heart.  You will never be sorry!  Then be on the look-out for your “heart messages”.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you…

Ezekiel 36:26

The Rock

            When you’re around a pond, you’re bound to see rocks.  And if you’re not wearing the proper footwear, you can get a rock in your shoe, as I did this particular day.  Ouch!  Ok, it was more like a pebble, but it got my attention and I had to sit down to remove it. 

            You know what happened…I started to ponder.  Rocks are hard, solid, and sturdy…just like my Lord, Jesus Christ.  The bible refers Him as the Rock in many places.

            ll Samuel 22:32 says,

            “For who is God besides the Lord?  And who is the Rock except our God?”

            My hearts daily desire is spoken in Psalm 19:14…

            “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

            And I love what Psalm 18:2 says…

            “The Lord is my Rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my Rock in whom I take refuge.”

            Yes, I have taken refuge in Him many times and when I do I feel safe and secure.  Because of asking Him to be my Rock and my Redeemer, I am rock solid in my salvation. I feel secure in my Fathers love.  I feel secure in His promises.  I feel secure in the fact that my heavenly home will be there when it is my time to go.  The Rock is the foundation of my marriage.  That is why it has lasted as long as it has.  Not because we have a perfect marriage.  It is not.  It could have easily crumbled with insecurities, selfishness, and immaturity had we not had the Rock as our foundation.

            Not because Keith and I are two perfect people.  We definitely are not.  We are two sinners saved by grace who invited the Rock into our lives when we were 9 and 12.  When we were married He was brought into that union.

            There have been times in the last 29 years I know the Lord was not pleased with our attitudes or how we handled things.  Like I said, Keith and I are not perfect people, but our foundation is solid as a Rock and that has given us the security that even though we made mistakes, the Lord was there to convict us, to fill us with grace and forgiveness for each other and our love has only grown stronger and deeper. 

            Neither one of us has ever had the fear of our marriage crumbling because we knew our foundation was strong.  Winds can come and blow and shake things around at times, but the house will not fall unless it’s built on sand as the story goes told by Jesus in Matthew 7:24-27…

            “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain cam down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

            Is your foundation feeling shaky?  Examine yourself and your situations.  Are you trusting in the Lord to be your rock, to hold you up, to give you strength, to guide you through tough times, to give you love and grace that you can pass on to others?  Or do you trust in something else; maybe in yourself, or your spouse, or someone else?  Do you trust only in your job for security?  Do you trust in your bank account, your education, etc…you fill in the blank.  If these things were to go, would you crumble?  Yes, we would be sad, and we would grieve, but would we be strong, because our foundation is built on the Rock, or would we crumble because it is not?

            I believe God put that rock in my shoe to remind me of all this because I was feeling a little shaky from circumstances that happened this day.  Once I removed the pebble from my shoe,  I  stood surefooted on the ground, smiling as I headed home knowing my Lord, my Rock was with me and He was never going to leave me.  I walked up the path humming an old hymn.  You may know it… “On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand; all other ground is sinking sand.”

“Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.”

Isaiah 26:4