It’s Sunday night…well now it’s actually Monday morning, my husband is sound asleep on the sofa and I had to decided to go to bed. In my last writing I wrote about not being my worst enemy by not letting my past and thoughts envelop my future.
But you know, there will be times that you will remember something from the past and it has to be reckoned with as to why suddenly you remember something years later and what are you going to do with it?
When my brother and I were about 8 and 9 years old we were given a darling bunny rabbit. He was so adorable. We had not had him long and since my Father traveled we would sometimes go on week long trips as a whole family. Well this was a week long trip that ended in misery.
We had put the bunny in the basement with nourishment to last until we got back. To get down to the basement was a steep stairway. Well, when we got back we found this sweet little bunny, down at the bottom of the stairs dead. It totally broke my heart. So I’m lying in bed tonight thinking about what had happened. My Mother has always told me that I have too soft of a heart, but I don’t see that as a negative trait. I imagine that the bunny being left alone, felt isolated, he got lonely and he was afraid. So he hopped up those steep stairs to try to have those needs met. But the stairs were steep and when he turned around he fell down the stairs to his death. Just now I was thinking of this and I lay in bed and cried for almost an hour.
I said to God “surely after 40 years there would be some meaning for me to suddenly remember that story and even cry about it?” What is the purpose? What is Your purpose Lord?
There are so many people in this world who feel abandoned, alone and afraid, or just that something is missing. They reach out for help but all that is given is some temporary nourishment that just doesn’t fill their hearts. And other people cannot completely do that for them. Only Jesus can fill the deepest needs of the heart. People climb the steep stairs of life reaching for anything; false religions, disbelief that God exists, they search for intellegence, money, things and anyone or anything to meet their needs…but without Christ the Crucified they will fall back down every time and if they continue through this life without Jesus and reject him one day they will be at the bottom of the stairs and then sadly enough because they never accepted the Savior they will spend eternity in Hell.
Do you know how to truly know that if you died tonight you’d spend the rest of eternity in heaven? You can right now. FIRST: Ask God to block out anything or influence that would keep you from understanding this.
This is what it says in the Bible:
“For everyone has sinned (done wrong things): we all fall short of God’s standard.” Romans 3:23 (which means no one is good enough to measure up to God's perfection)
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 (God's love is a gift, but you have to accept a gift, it is totally free)
God saves you by his grace when you believe, you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift of God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Ephesians 2: 8-9 (God has done something that we do not deserve, but it is all by his unmerited favor towards us, not by the good things we do because only Jesus through his death on the cross can be the bridge to God)
“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while were still sinners.” Romans 5:8 (God's timing is perfect)
You see? “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (God sent his son Jesus, His only Son because God knew there was no other to take our place for the penalty of our wrong doings, our sin)
It’s this easy: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9-10
(Just pray a quick prayer and ask God to forgive you, ask Jesus to come be in your life and then thank him, God will completely clear every sin you've ever commited and your name will be written in the Lamb's Book of Life and you will spend forever in Heaven.)
The main question we will all be asked by God when we die or when this world comes to an end is "Did you know my Son? What will you answer? Will your name be in the Lamb's Book of Life?
Don’t delay it…do it today! None of us know when our lives will end. Life is short and we take it so for granted. My brother died at age 28 and I thank God that he chose to believe in Christ after being an antheist for so many years. God gave him a second chance before he died and my brother took it. We may give up on God but he will never, ever give up on us, unless we wait too late. My next blog soon will be a story about my brother. His name was Johnny. He is in Heaven now and I praise and thank God for that. There is no sin too great that God won't forgive. Goodnight.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Man's Greatest Enemy
Man’s Greatest Enemy
And why does that bird keep flying into my window?
It has been said that “man is his greatest enemy.” I know that I am mine. Satan has gotten me to the place where I have become so defeated, so now he has turned it over to me to continue on that course, dwelling on the past constantly, holding grudges, being hurt and oversensitive, wishing for something better…what a writer whom I have forgotten her name called it “stinkin’ thinkin’,” and even burdening my friends with it.
Well I’ve decided I can’t continue on this journey anymore. Yes, I do find joy in my life but the memories of the past are always there lurking in the shadows. God should have made me an elephant, because I just can’t forget anything. And the memories are strong, like they just happened yesterday. Why do they not heal?
Well just the other day God pointed something out to me, and it amazes me how creatively by his grace he does this.
There is a red cardinal that flies into and hits our bedroom window with extreme force every morning over and over again. I’m surprised he’s still alive. He does this about 3 times a day. A few months ago I asked my husband about this tenacious bird and asked if he was seeing something in the window that was attracting him causing to hit it with such force continually. My husband said it might be the floral arrangement in the window he sees and the bird thinks it’s real. Well we’ve lived here almost a year and he has been doing this, even in the winter, flying forcefully into the window every day.
Well, a few days ago I was in my workroom and my husband brought me an article and read a few sentences from it. It was quite interesting but I didn’t read it at the time but tacked it up on the wall. Yesterday, I noticed the article and took time to read it:
It said, “Why birds are hitting the windows. For example, if it is spring or summer and a male cardinal repeatedly knocks himself against the window, it is likely that the cardinal sees his reflection and is defending his territory against the handsome male cardinal reflection that he sees.” It further goes on to say that this need only be temporary until breeding season is over. Then the article gives suggestions to discourage this.
Well, I thought about that, as the bird is really missing out on courting season, what he’s supposed to be doing because he is being defeated and distracted and beating himself up every day because of his reflection which is in reality a “non-existing foe.” He has become his greatest enemy!
My point is, like the bird I have been constantly being defeated and attacking myself as I’ve become a non-existing foe, wasting my time on myself with negative thoughts, choices and discouragement, when I could be doing something else so much better that God has planned for me to be doing. Like the bird, he’s spending most of his time in the window, which is not God’s perfect plan; I have been spending most of my time beating myself up and not experiencing God's perfect plan for me. I have become "MY" own worst enemy!
How do we stop attacking ourselves like the bird in the window, beating ourselves up daily and start doing what we were created to do?
My past is my past. I have to stop beating myself against a window because I am not the enemy, a reflection of a non-existing foe. I have to go beyond cruelties that were done to me that I did not deserve, but I also have to go beyond wrongs I have done to others. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Psalm 65:3 “Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, you (Jesus) forgive them all.” I have to fly away from the window and not keep coming back, and now do what God intends for me to do as he shows me His plan.
My mother before she became legally blind would write me the most loving letters and cards, this one I have on the wall in my workroom, she didn’t write it but it is a famous quote she sent me from St. Francis of Assisi:
“The Serenity Prayer”
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
I am not my enemy. I have made the choice to no longer do battle with a non-existing foe. Yes, Satan is existing for a short time, but God has overcome the world and through Christ so have we. What a merciful God we serve. Thank you God for there is no greater deliverer than you.
Addendum: You know it's the next day and that red cardinal is still forcefully flying into the window attacking himself as the enemy, wasting time on himself while the other birds are cheerfully chirping out in the woods. This bird is annoying to me but I take it as a strong reminder from God because the bird will continue to do this, but I have the choice not to go back. I choose to chirp with the birds. I feel free. Godspeed!
September 8, 2008
This morning I walked out on the back deck and I probably surprised him, but that red cardinal was in this antique bird cage outside the door where I display flowers inside it. He was looking at his reflection in the flower pot and within seconds because of his paused preoccupation I could have shut the door and he could have been trapped forever, but I didn't. God has not shut the door on us. His door is open wide for us to turn to him and give us freedom and release from our preoccupations that keep us trapped. In the Bible it says "Jesus sets the captives free." Do you want to be free? Jesus is here right now with the door wide open. He alone is the true deliverer...will you trust Him today?
And why does that bird keep flying into my window?
It has been said that “man is his greatest enemy.” I know that I am mine. Satan has gotten me to the place where I have become so defeated, so now he has turned it over to me to continue on that course, dwelling on the past constantly, holding grudges, being hurt and oversensitive, wishing for something better…what a writer whom I have forgotten her name called it “stinkin’ thinkin’,” and even burdening my friends with it.
Well I’ve decided I can’t continue on this journey anymore. Yes, I do find joy in my life but the memories of the past are always there lurking in the shadows. God should have made me an elephant, because I just can’t forget anything. And the memories are strong, like they just happened yesterday. Why do they not heal?
Well just the other day God pointed something out to me, and it amazes me how creatively by his grace he does this.
There is a red cardinal that flies into and hits our bedroom window with extreme force every morning over and over again. I’m surprised he’s still alive. He does this about 3 times a day. A few months ago I asked my husband about this tenacious bird and asked if he was seeing something in the window that was attracting him causing to hit it with such force continually. My husband said it might be the floral arrangement in the window he sees and the bird thinks it’s real. Well we’ve lived here almost a year and he has been doing this, even in the winter, flying forcefully into the window every day.
Well, a few days ago I was in my workroom and my husband brought me an article and read a few sentences from it. It was quite interesting but I didn’t read it at the time but tacked it up on the wall. Yesterday, I noticed the article and took time to read it:
It said, “Why birds are hitting the windows. For example, if it is spring or summer and a male cardinal repeatedly knocks himself against the window, it is likely that the cardinal sees his reflection and is defending his territory against the handsome male cardinal reflection that he sees.” It further goes on to say that this need only be temporary until breeding season is over. Then the article gives suggestions to discourage this.
Well, I thought about that, as the bird is really missing out on courting season, what he’s supposed to be doing because he is being defeated and distracted and beating himself up every day because of his reflection which is in reality a “non-existing foe.” He has become his greatest enemy!
My point is, like the bird I have been constantly being defeated and attacking myself as I’ve become a non-existing foe, wasting my time on myself with negative thoughts, choices and discouragement, when I could be doing something else so much better that God has planned for me to be doing. Like the bird, he’s spending most of his time in the window, which is not God’s perfect plan; I have been spending most of my time beating myself up and not experiencing God's perfect plan for me. I have become "MY" own worst enemy!
How do we stop attacking ourselves like the bird in the window, beating ourselves up daily and start doing what we were created to do?
My past is my past. I have to stop beating myself against a window because I am not the enemy, a reflection of a non-existing foe. I have to go beyond cruelties that were done to me that I did not deserve, but I also have to go beyond wrongs I have done to others. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Psalm 65:3 “Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, you (Jesus) forgive them all.” I have to fly away from the window and not keep coming back, and now do what God intends for me to do as he shows me His plan.
My mother before she became legally blind would write me the most loving letters and cards, this one I have on the wall in my workroom, she didn’t write it but it is a famous quote she sent me from St. Francis of Assisi:
“The Serenity Prayer”
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
I am not my enemy. I have made the choice to no longer do battle with a non-existing foe. Yes, Satan is existing for a short time, but God has overcome the world and through Christ so have we. What a merciful God we serve. Thank you God for there is no greater deliverer than you.
Addendum: You know it's the next day and that red cardinal is still forcefully flying into the window attacking himself as the enemy, wasting time on himself while the other birds are cheerfully chirping out in the woods. This bird is annoying to me but I take it as a strong reminder from God because the bird will continue to do this, but I have the choice not to go back. I choose to chirp with the birds. I feel free. Godspeed!
September 8, 2008
This morning I walked out on the back deck and I probably surprised him, but that red cardinal was in this antique bird cage outside the door where I display flowers inside it. He was looking at his reflection in the flower pot and within seconds because of his paused preoccupation I could have shut the door and he could have been trapped forever, but I didn't. God has not shut the door on us. His door is open wide for us to turn to him and give us freedom and release from our preoccupations that keep us trapped. In the Bible it says "Jesus sets the captives free." Do you want to be free? Jesus is here right now with the door wide open. He alone is the true deliverer...will you trust Him today?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
