security

When people look at me, they must think I'm living the American Dream.  I have a steady job, a new care, 2.5 kids, and a house in the suburbs (kind of).  I have it made, and I am safe and secure.


But am I...?


I live near a volcano.  Global warming is causing drought conditions where I live and flooding elsewhere.  There is a surge in gang-related crime in the city, fatal car accidents every week on the highway.  the health care system and the economy are on the verge of collapse.


Are any of us really secure?


In this world, we spend all our time and resources trying to provide for our own security, but we are only keeping up an illusion.  Our only real hope is in Jesus Christ.

Psalm 91:1

^"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."

That is where I want my security to lie.

In Matthew 6:19 - 21, Jesus tells us:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."


I want that to be the focus of my life.  Knowing my treasure is eternal life with Jesus Christ is my security.

Speaking the Truth in Love

Last weekend, I went to a conference on creation.  It was supposed to focus on teaching a literal 6 day creation of the world, as taught in the Bible.  I was excited to learn new evidence that I can use to not only support my own faith, but to help me defend my beliefs with others that may have questions.

I was very disappointed to see that the speaker spent so much of his time denouncing certain groups of people and practices that had nothing to do with the topic, all in the name of Christianity.  I was upset, ashamed, and embarrassed.  He even went as far as to group Seventh Day Adventists in with those whom he believed did not believe in Jesus and would burn in hell.  Obviously, he has never met a Seventh Day Adventist, nor did he have an accurate understanding of hell.  In any case, his mean-spirited statements completely took away from any good information that he may have had to share.

This made me think about my own actions.  The Bible admonishes us to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).  I wonder how often my actions focus on the "truth" as I see it, leaving out the more important part, love.  No one will listen to the "truth" if they don't at first feel the love and trust what I have to say.  We won't believe Jesus until we understand first that he loves us.  The love must prevail before the truth can be heard.

I must always be willing to show truth through love.  I must act in love, in order to share truth.

I always here, as an argument to this, that the Bible also teaches that Jesus' word is a stumbling block to others, that the truth must offend, and other such things.  It is true that God's word is a challenge to us.  The straight and narrow road is usually not the easy way, and it does cause us to stumble over ourselves, but none of this says that WE need to be stumbling blocks or that WE need to be offensive to support God's word.  God is love.  WE need to act and speak in love.

This is what I am thinking about on the day that everyone is thinking about love.

Busy-ness

I can't believe it has been almost a year since my most recent regular post!

Life, as I'm sure you know, can get so busy, that things just tend to go by the wayside without our even noticing sometimes.  Right now, I am working long, long days, then by the weekend, I am exhausted.  I have grandchildren now, and new puppies at home, so my free time on the weekends is spent trying to make up to them for the time I lose during the week working such long hours.  Can you relate?

Even at work, where I am a nurse, I get caught up in trying to get so many things done, meetings met, notes charted, assessments done, that I get annoyed when I have to stop "working" to take care of my patients.  And taking care of patients is my real job.  Since when did the people I am called to care for become annoyances?

I know where this really comes from.  Is it surprising to find that we are in the middle of a great cosmic conflict, a battle between good and evil, in which each and every one of us is fighting for our lives and for the kingdom?  It is so easy to get so caught up in the busyness that we forget what is really going on.  Satan knows that if he can't take us out directly, that he has a much better chance at taking us down if we are simply too tired or too distracted to fight!

I need to stop each time I feel tired, each time I feel overwhelmed, each time I feel distracted or annoyed, and remember why I am really here, what I am fighting for, and Who is fighting right beside me, (and in front and behind me-- see Psalm 125:2).  Who is willing to stand up and fight today?