Fairy Tales

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day of dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter 1:19-21

..."Once upon a time there were three little bears.  Their names were Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail. These three lived in a deep forest with seven dwarfs who worked in a gold mine..."

See what I did here?  I incorporated three different Fairy Tales into one story to prove that the stories by Brothers Grimm were inconsistent.  Doubter's, mockers and unbelievers do the same thing to the Word of God.  They pull random verses from Scripture that seem to conflict each other so that they can 'prove' that the bible is just another book of Fairy Tales.

But it's not.

God's Word was written by the Holy Spirit of God.  His Word is pure and it is truth.  God's Word has been tested, proven, and is reliable.  It is eternal and it will never pass away.

"The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times."

Psalm 12:6

"For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89

"Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him." Proverbs 30:5

"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever." Isaiah 40:8

"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." Words of Jesus

Matthew 24:35

Fairy Tales entertain and are Make-Believe...

    God's Word is very Real, and it will transform a sinner into a saint...

        But that's just me!

        

        

        

A Fiery Dart From My...Friend?

"Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me." Psalm 41:9

A friend of mine recently told me how excited she was to be able to go out with a friend of hers for lunch.  I was excited for her.  Isn't it nice to be able to get away with a good friend to enjoy a nice meal, and to spend that time catching up on each other's lives and families and just have another opportunity to edify one another and strengthen your friendship?  I think so.  My friend did too.

That's why I was so surprised to hear that her anticipated, refreshing time spent with a friend, turned into a time of hurt and heartbreak caused by the very same friend.  Instead of being encouraged by her friend, she was discouraged.  It broke my heart.  She wrote, "Yesterday I believed that I was prayed up and prepared in many ways for the day, but I wasn't prepared for the one fiery dart that pierced an unprotected place in my armor."  I immediately wrote her back and told her how sorry I was that she had been hurt by someone she trusted.  The words spoken to her were not "friendly fire" meant to sharpen iron. No.  These words were aimed at her heart to wound and to hurt.  

Friend, we shouldn't have to don our armor to protect us from our friends.  Our Christian armor is to protect us from our enemy.

"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." Ephesians 6:16

Satan doesn't need any help wounding Christians...

    Don't be cruel...

        Be kind...

            But that's just me!

"Be careful with your words, once they're spoken, they can only be forgiven, not forgotten." Anonymous

False Positive

"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." Psalm 139:14

I know.  I've referred to this verse a lot lately but it's because God has constantly been reminding me that I am knitted together and made by His hands. He made me specifically for His plan and His purpose and I am special and unique inside and out.

I recently failed a stress test, and after waiting only one week, I was admitted to the hospital to have an angiogram to take a better peek at my heart and arteries.  My heart and arteries were the two things I least expected to ever have to worry about concerning my health, but here I was.  Lying on a hospital bed, with an I.V. in one arm, a port in the other arm, a blood pressure cuff on the arm with the port, and purple markings on my feet for other accessible arteries in case of an emergency.  As I waited for my turn for the procedure, (Yes, I was just one patient of many on the assembly line for angiograms that morning) my husband and I prayed that the Lord would allow my Doctor to access the artery through my wrist and that he would be able to fix the problem during this procedure to prevent me from having to go through an additional procedure or surgery.

Just before my procedure, my doctor came in to explain how the procedure would go and then the anesthesiologist came in to explain his part of the procedure, and then I was wheeled back into Surgery.  I was prepped and given just enough sedation for comfort.  I don't believe I was given enough sedation for comfort.... but before I knew it, I was back in my recovery room.  A few minutes later, my doctor came in and let me know the results.  He began to tell me that the reason for the pain in my arm was because my artery was not straight.  It had a loop, like a racetrack before it straightened itself out.  In order to do the angiogram, he first had to correct my artery, but once he had access to my heart and arteries, he said, 'your heart and arteries are beautiful. No blockages, clots or abnormalities. In fact, you have less than 1% probability for ever developing vascular problems in the next ten years.'  I asked him how I could fail a stress test when I have no vascular problems?  He said, 'Sometimes there are false positives...(and then he looked over at my husband and smiled and then continued to say) and women's bodies can be complicated.'  

After my Cardiologist left the room, my husband and I praised God for specifically answering all of our prayers.  Then I asked my husband if he thought God allowed me to go through all of this, just so that the doctor could remove the loop in the artery of my arm.  We believe He did.  We both believe that God will get our attention concerning one thing, so that He can repair a totally different problem altogether.

I told a friend about the loop in my artery and she said, 'Google said that Tracy is part of the 11% of people that have a tangled artery.'  LOL 

And that is why the Lord brought me back to Psalm 139:14

Most of the time it doesn't matter what a test will show...

    It only matters what God KNOWS...

        And that He has created us exactly they way He wants us to be...

            But that's just me!

My Circle of Friends

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

My simple stress test wasn't so simple.  I thought it was.  To my knowledge I aced the test without even breaking a sweat.

The EKG results said otherwise.

Fear overtook faith.

As I waited to hear from my Cardiologist, I sent out a prayer request on the Church Member's Page; immediately, prayers were being prayed on my behalf.

The Lord allowed me to see my Circle of Friends: praying friends.  The best kind of Friends.

As news spread about my upcoming Angiogram, audible words of encouragement joined the prayers. Many friends shared their own personal stories and spoke reassuring words to me about their Angiograms.

With each encouraging word, I felt my fear shrink and my faith grow.

As I wait for my upcoming test, I've realized two things:

1-God is not bound in time.  He is already at my future appointment.  He is just waiting for me to get there to go through the test with me, and

2-Fear and faith cannot occupy the same space.  

Regardless of my future...

    I am blessed with praying friends in my present...

        Thank you, Lord, for praying friends...

            But that's just me!

"Rich is the person who has a praying friend!" Anonymous

What Do People See?

"Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." 1 Peter 3:3-4

I was walking out of Hobby Lobby the other day and what I witnessed actually made me gasp out loud.  An older woman, not in the best of shape, walked out towards her car in front of me.  She had on a black dress with a length that barely covered her bottom.  She wore fishnet stockings with holes that were big enough for my fist to fit through.

The wind was blowing that day.

To my utter horror, when her dress flipped up, it revealed that she was not wearing any underwear.  And that is when I gasped!  At first, I was shocked, but after my shock dissipated my heart broke for her.  This woman was seeking to be noticed.  

In our world today, our youth tend to be tatted, pierced, leathered up, or dressed scantily.  Their hair is pink, green or shaved. Their bodies are revealed to the point of nudity.

They so desperately want to be seen.

In the context of 1 Peter 3, Peter explains how a wife can win their unsaved husband by the way they live their life. "The powerful purity of a godly woman's life can soften even the stoniest male heart without a word." Walvoord & Zuck. Titus 2:5

As women, what do we want others to see in us? When I wear flashy clothes and lots of bling, that is what a person will notice when they first look at me.  But if I tend to wear nice, clean clothes, and soft jewelry, a person tends to look at my face, not what I have on.  My countenance and my eyes will reflect what in is my heart and that is what I want people to see.  My behavior also draws attention.  Am I loud, or do I have discretion? Do I dress and behave in such a way that I bring honor and glory to my Lord and make others wonder what makes me different from others that they see in the world?

Do I want to be seen? Or do I want my Lord to be seen when others look my way? Lord, may I be invisible and You be seen!

What I wear...

    And how I behave...

        reveals my hidden man of the heart...

            But that's just me!

        

"Real beauty comes from the hidden person of the heart. It isn't something you wear or primp before a mirror to have.  It is something you are."  Guzik

A Remedy for a Rut

If you're like me, requests from others and daily routines of endless chores will often mix into a recipe for Ruts.  You know what I'm talking about.  Housework that is repeated daily and weekly, mundane tasks, favors for friends, "Sweetheart, can -you-do- list," (Honey-Do-Lists are for husbands) will sometimes cause frustration and boredom. You feel as if you are being pulled in all directions and your mechanisms for mechanically fulfilling everyone else's needs kicks into play in order to get everything done and make everyone happy.

Everyone but yourself, that is.

I've come to realize something about myself; I tend to be grumpy when my perspective changes when it comes to serving others.

It's because my perspective is on serving others.

It's because my motives are to please men.

My purpose behind my service becomes blurred and my eternal Rewards are burned up in the Rubble.

Then God in His lovingkindness and graciousness towards me allows me to read a Gem in His Word:

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;" Colossians 3:23

The Remedy for Ruts is to remember the One we truly serve when we serve others.

CHRIST.

Serving the Lord means to serve with zest and gusto!  It means working with enthusiasm, integrity and joy, treating all labor as worship to God rather than human approval.

I LOVE THAT!

To know that every work can be turned to worshipping my Saviour puts a new spin on my responsibilities!

Thank you, Lord, 

    for reminding me that when I roll up my sleeves to work...

            it's all for You...

                But that's just me!

    

Epaphras

"Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God." Colossians 4:12

I read this verse the other day and I can't get it out of my mind.  It's such a beautiful verse.  This man, Epaphras, so fervently prayed for others, that he is mentioned in God's eternal Word.  

As Christians, we often compare ourselves among ourselves, (which we shouldn't do) and we are often envious of the talents and abilities of those around us, (which we shouldn't be) and we often place praying for others on the bottom of our list of importance. (which we also shouldn't do!)   Why?

Because prayer is very important to God.

I did some digging on who Epaphras was, and this is what I learned:

"Epaphras was a Colossian whom Paul depicted as a servant of Christ Jesus who was always wrestling in prayer (as Jacob did with the angel, Genesis 32) for the Colossians. His concern was that the Colossians would stand firm in God's will, mature, and be fully assured or fulfilled.  Epaphras' prayerful concern went to the point of working hard. (to have pain or distress) Walvoord & Zuck

Guzik writes, 'Prayer is hard work, and Epaphras worked diligently at it, especially knowing the danger of false teaching in Colosse.  He was a bondservant of Christ, and prayer was an important area where he worked hard.  His prayers for others suggest heavy toil to the extent of pain."

This man prayed fervently and with all of his heart on the behalf of others!

This verse allowed me to realize that praying for someone isn't just about praying for someone. It's about fervently placing them at the feet of Jesus. Our prayer closets place people and their needs before the Throne of God.  What a privilege!

Do I fervently pray for others to the point of heavy toil and pain, or are my prayers apathetic?  Lazy?  

Lord, thank You...

     for showing me that praying on the behalf of others fervently...

        just may be the most important service of all when it comes to what we do for You...

            But that's just me!

"Prayer is the greatest power God has put into our hands for service-praying is harder than doing."

Mary Slessor

"Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work." Oswald Chambers

"Do not work so hard for Christ that you have no strength to pray, for prayer requires strength." 

J. Hudson Taylor