If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” (Genesis 4:7 NKJV)
This is what I’m meditating on right now…..when I’m done gathering my thoughts, I’ll post them. Pray with me that God will give me clarity as I continue to think about it. I’ve been thinking about it for a few days now. 🙂
Boy! Am I glad God didn’t put a time frame on what He asked me to do! I’m still on chapter 3 of Genesis. There are SO many nuggets of gold waiting to be read, meditated on, and applied in our lives. So many that we don’t need to rush ourselves. 🙂
In my last post we read about Eve’s decision to sin, how it was a choice she made of her own free will.
As we read further in the chapter we learn that Adam and Eve, after they ate the forbidden fruit, were suddenly aware of their nakedness and were ashamed. As we continue, we find that they’ve hidden themselves from The Lord.
Have you ever wondered why God asked Adam and Eve where they were or who told them they were naked? He’s God…..He knows everything so is this contradictory to what we know about Him? Not at all!
What we read here is what we see throughout Scripture. God gives us the opportunity to confess our wrongdoing. HE knows what we’ve done but we need to come to Him with an acknowledgement of our sin. That acknowledgment should be followed by a prayer of repentance.
Now, just because we’ve admitted our sin it doesn’t mean we don’t still have to pay the consequences of our sin. That’s the next step we read about. God’s punishment for their sin.
It certainly wasn’t a pleasant consequence….ESPECIALLY the childbirth one….thanks a lot Eve!! 😦
But they still had to pay the price.
SO!!!!
Here’s where my eyes stopped and got hooked.
Genesis 3:21
“Also for Adam and his wife The Lord God made tunics of skin and clothed them.”
I’ve read this passage countless times but, for some reason, tonight it grabbed at my heart and wouldn’t let go. I actually started crying.
WHY??
Even though His beloved creation, Adam and Eve sinned against Him, He still loved them, still provided for them, still nurtured them. He’d pronounced their punishment and now He was preparing them to leave His garden of Eden.
I cried because this is such lovely example of God’s forgiving nature. I thought of all my sins…(not one by one because that would take a VERY long time)….and I realized how much He’s forgiven me and still nurtures me through His Word.
He could have said, “Nope! Sorry but you chose to disobey Me so I’m washing My hands of you! Good luck!”
I don’t know about you but I am SO thankful He didn’t.
The picture this painted for me, what I related to, was one as a parent. There are times we must discipline our children. Do we LIKE to do that? NO! Do we HAVE to do that? YES!
It’s never easy to discipline your child. You don’t want to be the reason your child is upset; however, we all know discipline is a necessary tool in a parent’s toolbox.
After our child has been disciplined, what do we do? At least I do…..I hold my child, tell them that I love them, and that they need to think things thru a little more next time.
After all of that though….I don’t stop providing for their needs just because they made a mistake. Just like our Father in heaven doesn’t stop providing for us. He’s still there and He gave us a promise and He doesn’t break promises. He says He will never leave us nor forsake us.
I am so very thankful for that promise and so many more we’ll read about together in this path we’re on. Remember, seek to have a progressive spirit. That’s what we should strive for. To be better servants of The Lord than we were the day before.
The last two days I’ve had the passage in mind I wanted to write about but I haven’t done so. One of my doctors has started me on a new med and it’s made me tired so my body is still getting used to it. So I’ve been falling asleep a lot earlier than I normally do and taking longer naps. My mind is kinda fuzzy. 
I believe God has done that for a purpose though. See, the section I’m writing about is in Genesis chapter 3. This chapter in God’s Word tells us about the temptation and fall of man.
It talks of the serpent, which we know is satan, tempting Eve to eat fruit from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve, as we know, not only ate the fruit from the tree but she also gave it to Adam.
I then intended to go on to the passage about them hiding from God because of their shame at being naked.
There are so many lessons we can take from this passage.
1. Eve encouraged Adam to sin with her and succeeded. So we shouldn’t encourage others to join us in our sins.
2. Eve’s sin didn’t just touch her life, she took her husband with her. Thus our sins never effect just our lives, they effect those around us.
3. Beware of talking animals….especially snakes which are really creepy to begin with. 🙂
Then, the part I was going to focus on was why they hid from God. That when we sin we can find it hard to come before The Lord knowing how dirty we are. How deep our stains run. How we can commit a sin and not repent, then another, and another, so on and so on and soon….we feel like we’re not connected to God. We feel like we can’t get back to Him.
Which is silly because ALL it takes it a prayer of sincere repentance and we’re back where we’re supposed to be; in His Embrace.
I was going to tie that into how that type of behavior can creep into our relationships with those in our lives as well. With our loved ones. One bad behavior, one angry outburst and it can start a wall that, with each day, becomes higher and higher and harder and harder to overcome.
Then today, I thought about this passage in a totally different light.
What Eve was presented with here was simple.
SHE WAS GIVEN A CHOICE!!
A choice between God’s path and satan’s path. A choice between right and wrong. A choice between easy and hard.
A choice to stand up for what is right, what God offered them or a choice to go wrong and take what satan offered them.
She chose unwisely huh??
The thing is this…..haven’t we all?? At one time or another, haven’t we ALL made bad choices? I know I have. Boy have I!!
It would have taken immense courage, I think, for Eve to have stood up to satan and said, “Thanks, but no thanks. I’m sticking with God and whatever He has in store for me.”
Why do I say courage? Because she didn’t know what her future held. She didn’t know where God was going to lead Adam and her. What plans He had in store for their lives.
In my mind I see a picture of a man and a woman standing on the edge of a cliff and they’re about to take a step off, knowing once they take that step there WILL be something there to catch them.
THAT MY FRIENDS IS FAITH!!!!
Instead, Eve chose, as so many have done…..starting with Lucifer himself….
to be like God. She chose to to take something that wasn’t hers to take. Something she was told, explicitly, NOT to take.
So, how do we apply this to our lives?
We look and see….are we choosing God? Even when it’s hard, even when our beliefs aren’t popular, even when we’re ridiculed, made fun of, mocked?
DO WE CHOOSE HIM???
Do we choose to live by His Word and all that’s contained with in it? Do we live our lives with love? Do we try to make amends for our mistakes? Do we choose to be the absolute best we can be because we’re walking in the image of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ??
I’ll be the first to admit…..I struggle. I’m not perfect. Show me a Christian who says otherwise and I’ll show you a person who isn’t a Christian or, at the very least, is lying….which is a sin so hmmmm….. We are ALL flawed, damaged, dented, broken, hurt, and ravaged in some way and we’re ALL, hopefully, doing the best we can to be better people.
The question is….
HOW DO WE BECOME BETTER PEOPLE?
We read God’s Word. We pray. We fellowship with other believers. We strive to have a progressive spirit that is ALWAYS seeking to have more of Him and less of us.
It isn’t easy and we’ll mess up….a lot…
but we repent and we keep moving forward. Remember this verse for strength.
James 4:7
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Keep resisting the evil one, turning to The Holy One and you’ll be on the right path.
MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE!!
If you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, please message me and let me answer any questions you have. Don’t wait. He loves you and is waiting for you. None of us are promised tomorrow. Don’t put it off.
Genesis 2:23 And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”
Every time I read this verse I feel a catch in my heart. Before this verse we read that God has determined that it isn’t good for man to be alone, that he should have a companion, so God brings all animals before Adam so he can name them and to see if he’d find a companion in one of them. However, none of them fit, none of them are “The One”. None of them cry out to his heart….
YES!!! You’re the one!!!
Of course God knows this, He knows what Adam needs, but I wonder if God wanted Adam to know it as well. Does God want Adam to see what doesn’t work, what’s wrong so he’ll recognize what does work, what’s right?
That got me to thinking; Isn’t that how God works sometimes? He allows us to have what’s wrong so we can then appreciate what’s right? Not just appreciate it but recognize it. For example….when God’s people cried out for a king they were warned what would happen; how badly they would be treated, the yoke placed upon them by the “king” they so desperately wanted would be a heavy one. They cried out, saying they didn’t care; they wanted to be like the nations around them. God gave them what they wanted. King Saul. It seemed, at first, to be a good idea but it went downhill quickly.
In God’s grace He removed the heavy burden of a bad king and gave them King David. They were able to recognize what was right because they experienced what was wrong.
So Adam recognized Eve as the flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone. He looked at her and said, “There you are!! Where have you been all of my life!!??” (Obviously taking some liberty here.)
He looked at her and he saw the person who would walk life’s road with him. His partner. His friend. His lover. His helpmate. He recognized her and was SO excited to be with her.
So, what’s the application here? Do you recognize the bad so you can appreciate and recognize the good?
If you’re married, do you look at your spouse with that passion, that sense of profound recognition of who they are to you?
Young men and women who aren’t married, God has made someone just for you. Just like He made Eve for Adam. Are you being vigilant, watchful for the “bone of your bone”? Are you excited about the prospect of your future spouse?
Then be in prayer now. Pray for the man or woman He has for you. When it comes to your future spouse, don’t make the mistake of going thru the bad so you can recognize the good. How do you do that? As in ALL things, turn to the God’s Word.
I think of Philippians 4:6-8
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things.
Keep yourself pure, keep your heart pure for that special one God made just for you. I speak with my girls all the time and advise them, there’s nothing more precious you can give your spouse than a pure heart. One unbroken by previous relationships but a whole one, ready to walk into the future with The One who is the bone of your bone and flesh of your flesh.
I started Hadassah Ministry because I felt God was calling to me to minster to women who were struggling. Whether it might be illness, mental, emotional, or _______________(insert trial here).
The last time I read thru the Bible in a year, I read 5 chapters at a time and I posted my thoughts regarding anything that The Lord placed upon my heart.
This time, I feel He wants me to read thru, strictly as a woman…..how do the verses speak to me as a woman, as well as where do I see Jesus as I read?
I don’t feel like God wants a time limit on this. So, I’ll read until I’m moved to write a post. It may be just a few verses in or a few chapters. If it takes some time….which it will because the Bible is HUGE!! (Seriously….have you read it lately??) Anyway….if it takes some time, no big deal. Let’s not rush God or His Word.
His Word is a beautiful love letter written to ALL of us. Let’s discover it together.
My prayer for each of you reading this and joining me on this journey, is that you’ll be lifted up and that He uses me to encourage you. If I may be so bold, would you pray for me as well? That I’ll have a clear mind to hear Him and His leading?
Let’s have some fun!!!
Have you ever had one of those nights where one thing leads your thought process all over the place and then you land on one specific thought and kind of camp out there? That’s what this post is tonight so bear with me.
Tonight, for some reason, our greyhound has been acting goofy. She came up to me and just stood in front of me and stared deeply into my eyes. She just wouldn’t move. Then later, as we came upstairs for the night, she was laying down in our room and when Syd came to get her for bed, Baby just stayed where she was and stared at me again. Almost as if she didn’t want to leave me.
It took some gentle persuasion to get her up and going but she finally went.
So, it made me wonder…..does she know something I don’t? We know dogs can sense seizures so maybe I’m going to have one? But mine aren’t the scary, frightening for people to see kind so then I started wondering, does she “know” something’s coming?
Something we can’t sense? Something we’re just not sensitive enough to detect until it’s right on us?
Then my thoughts turned where they often do when I think about my illness…..my passing. I thought about my relationship with God, with my Savior.
Where is it? Is it where it should be?
Then I thought about a VERY popular line people use on each other when they want out of a relationship that’s no longer working. A simple sentence uttered to avoid hurting the other person’s feelings. The good old, tried and true, “It’s not you, it’s me” statement.
Let’s face it….that really means…..yep, it IS you…..NOT me and I don’t want to stick around and work on it.
There is, in my opinion, one time this sentence is 100% true……and that is when we’re using the sentence to describe our relationship with God, with His Son, our Savior Jesus.
“It’s not You God, it’s me.”
I’m not feeling connected to You Father. “It’s not You Lord, it’s me because I’m not reading Your Word for guidance.”
I don’t feel like I have an open line of communication with You Lord. “It’s not You Father, it’s me because I’m not spending any time in prayer.”
I don’t witness to other people in Your Name Jesus. “It’s not You Jesus, it’s me because I’m afraid of what people might think of me if I appear “too consumed” with You.”
My children aren’t making wise choices Father God. “It’s not You God, it’s me because I haven’t really been the example for them to follow when it comes to Your teachings.”
My marriage is falling apart Lord. “It’s not You Lord, it’s me because I make my spouse my last priority instead of the person who is most important to
me after my service to You Jesus.”
How many of the above examples can we relate to?
Isaiah 53:6a says
“All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.”
“IT’S NOT YOU FATHER GOD, IT’S ME.”
It’s me, it’s you, it’s us. All of us, at one time or another have felt further from God than we’d like.
There have been times in all of our lives when we’ve felt like there’s a canyon between us and Him. That canyon can, at times, seem an impossible bridge to close but in actuality it’s simple.
We Just need to start doing what we knew we should have been doing all along. Reading His Word. Praying to Him. Talking to Him. Fellowshipping with other believers. Put our priorities in order. Seek Him above ALL else.
Just because we may have strayed away as sheep, it doesn’t mean we have to stay lost in the pasture. We can come home anytime we want.
He’s waiting and will welcome us just as the Father welcomed the prodigal son when he returned to the fold.
What I love about the parable of the prodigal son is the fact that there was no harping on the fact that the son left. No beating for leaving. Just sheer thankfulness that he was back and he was safe and he was with his family again.
That’s us. When we come back to our Father, there is rejoicing that we’re back where we should have been all along….,with HIM.
So, the next time you feel discouraged in your walk, I encourage you to take an honest look at your habits. If you can say, “It’s not You God, it’s me.”, Then you know where you need to start in order to return to His arms and His peace.
What are your thoughts on this? Have you found yourself in this situation over the course of your walk with Jesus? What helped you?
Last night, after publishing my post and crying, I couldn’t sleep so I decided to read on my Kindle a bit until I got sleepy.
I have the same Bible app on my iPhone as I do on my Kindle and what happened last night has NEVER happened. NEVER.
NEVER. Hope that’s sunk in. 🙂
Anyway….as I’m laying in bed, feeling sorry for myself….having a bit of a pity party….which I have every 4 months or so….it’s how I handle all this junk…. Sorry….I went off track there. LOL
Anyway (take 2)……as I’m reading, a pop up….well…..popped up. It was from my Bible app and it said…..”Have you read your Bible lately? Even 5 minutes can make a difference.”
So….part 1, yes….He’s listening. However, here’s where He drove the point home for me……the selected Scripture.
Philippians 3:13-14
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
Every time I read that verse I always think of the following verse as a “companion” to it….even though it isn’t.
Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
He’s always there for us. Always. ALWAYS. Always.
As I sit here, I can’t help but think of the song that Amy Grant sings, Broken Hallelujah.
We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a hallelujah
The honest cry of breaking hearts….that’s what last night was for me. A breaking heart, a tired heart, a hurting heart.
Today, a heart that rejoices in Him. Knowing, KNOWING, KNOWING He’s there and He hasn’t left me…..even if I feel disconnected…..He’s holding me, loving me, protecting me and He has a plan for me, my husband, my girls, my family. I may not always understand but I have to be faithful. So….faithful I shall be.
Friends, He’s always listening, always there and He loves us. He loves us so much He sacrificed His Son for us.
That’s something that should always be in the forefront of our minds while we’re in the midst of life…..in rough patches or in smooth waters.
Warning, this is one of those raw, I’m hurting, honest to the bones posts… Reader beware………
Tonight Jeff and I were talking about me not having been in church lately. There are many reasons…..but, true to form, Jeff got to the root of all of it….well….
Roots…….
When they switched my meds the pain was more noticeable and I became more afraid to be in public…..that’s 1…..
Then…..I remembered winter of 2010 and the fact that I barely managed to make it to the store and work a 3 hour shift and then come back home….I rarely left the bed that winter. I’m afraid. It seems like it’s happening again and what if this time I don’t come out of it? What if the disabling pain is permanent this time? That’s 2……
Then……I thought about all the amazing, well meaning people who love me and want me to feel better. I know how they worry and I see the worry, the concern, the pity in their eyes and I wish I had good news for them. That God had granted me a miracle and that I’m better but, sadly, I’m still in the same boat I was in yesterday. That’s 3……
Then…..we, as a family, received some bad news and we’re all struggling to deal with it. We’re all worried and we don’t know how to make it better. That’s 4….
Then…..and this is tough, as a woman of God, to admit…..I’m frustrated with where my relationship is with Him right now. I’ve always said and I’ve always meant it….”Lord, keep me right where I am if it means I’ll always be in the relationship with You that You want with me.” But this latest news seems too much. It made me cry out to Him….Lord! Haven’t we already had enough??? My illness, Jeff’s panic attacks, Parkinson’s and now this??? Did we HAVE to have this?? Why???? Can’t You, please………
PLEASE……take something off our shoulders? This burden is heavy. It’s heavy. I haven’t been able to pray…. Scratch that…..I’m praying…..I just don’t feel connected to Him when I’m praying.
That’s 5……
Tonight, as I cried out to Him, I heard Him quietly say, “My grace is sufficient.”
Ok Lord……Your grace is sufficient but right now, I need You to take this load and bear it because I can’t. You see, I’m tired. I’m tired of not being able to turn over in bed without crying. I’m tired of watching people I love suffer. I’m tired of people looking at me with such concern(not that I don’t appreciate how much I’m loved). I’m tired of my kids wondering what kind of mother they’ll have that day….one who feels up to doing something fun or one who needs to lay in bed. I’m tired of disappointing my husband because I’m in too much pain to cook, or to clean, or to ………………………….(insert household chore here). I’m tired of he and the girls going to church without me. I’m tired!!!!
So Father, how about a break? Please? I know, when this began 8 years ago, what I said. I meant it then and I still do now. I’m Yours. Do with me as You see fit.
I know Your promises and I know You love me and that I’ve just hit a rough
patch…..but it’s been one heck of a rough patch…….. How about some smooth waters??
In 2 Corinthians You told Paul
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Well, there ya go…..I have a TON of weaknesses…… Do Your perfect work Lord Jesus and, I pray that I am a willing vessel. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Tomorrow is a new day. A new day, a fresh slate…….
This will be the second time I’ve done through the Bible in a year. The first time was in 2012. I stuck to a calendar year, reading 5 chapters at a time, sometimes not posting depending on what was going on in our lives, sometimes doing catch up…..but, in the end, it was all done in a year. This time around, a few things will be different.
Last time, it was for all my Facebook friends, this time it will be for Hadassah Ministry…..and Facebook friends. 🙂
Last time, I posted on whatever really spoke to me, regardless of what group it might reach. This time, I want to post thoughts specifically for women since I feel God wants me to use Hadassah Ministry to reach out to women to encourage them and lift them up. We ALL need that don’t we ladies?
Last time, I had a set time frame…a year. This time….not so much. I want to be open to wherever God leads and if He has more for me in, say Genesis than He does in Leviticus, I want to go down that path.
Finally, I want this to be an open forum where women discuss how we feel about these issues. Do we feel they’re relevant today? Do we apply them to our lives? Do we lack in certain areas?
People may laugh but my absolute true heart’s desire for this ministry is simple……
First….I want to always do God’s Will and to be about His business.
Second…..I want to develop deep and lasting bonds with women. I truly have a heart for women who are hurting. I may come across as nosy or inquisitive but I really just want to know how to pray for those who are in need. I want to create a network of women who put the Lord first and who truly love other women and have a heart to love each other and help each other.
To pray for them, to nurture them, to pour into them spiritually, emotionally, and with love. It isn’t always easy….there are no easy roads in life……we all know that…..but we can all make the effort…how about we make the journey together?
The last few days I’ve been thinking about judgments. How we can make snap judgments based upon what we see on the outside and yet, not knowing what’s going on behind the scenes in that person’s life.
As all of you know, I deal with pain on a daily basis. Some days are better than others but the pain, in some form, is always present.
On the good days, I do what I can. These “good days” make it very easy for me to put on my happy face and be a participant in life….in church, in family gatherings, going out with my husband for dinner, meeting a girlfriend for some shopping, etc. On these days, it’s very easy to look at me and only see the outside presentation. To think I’m not in any pain and yet I am, below the surface, behind the scenes.
On “bad days”, you’ll find me in bed or my sauna. These days make it very difficult for me to be in public. Some people may think I should do more, be in church no matter what, never cancel a gathering, just suck it up and go. These are days I don’t go out in public because, very often, the pain is so bad I scream. Not just a light yelping….oftentimes, it’s a full out, someone’s trying to kill me scream. It’s happened several, several, several times in public. It’s just as frightening for others to see it as it is for me to feel it. Just ask Jeff’s family who’ve experienced one of these screaming events. My parents have also seen some….on a milder scale, for which I’m thankful. It’s difficult as a mother or father to see your child suffer. I’ve even come up with a “cover story” if I’m out in public. It’s happened on more than one occasion and it makes people stop in their tracks and stare at me. I then say, “Dang it! I ran my foot right into that display case!”, or “Whit! Please quit stepping on my heels! That hurts!” Yes….I use my girls as co-conspirators in these cover stories. Lol!! It’s days like these that make me nervous about being in public. I hate embarrassing myself and being the center of attention. (If I’m going to be the center of attention I want it on my terms. Lol) If I’m in severe pain…for instance, as I’m writing this, my lower back is killing me because rain is coming….if the pain is severe, you can pretty much count on me missing church, a shopping trip, etc.
See, it’s behind the scenes that people don’t see. Because we don’t see them, we can make judgments that aren’t correct. For instance…..this past Superbowl Sunday I wasn’t in church but I was “well enough” to drive to my parents house for a party and a chili cook off. I heard, through the grapevine, that some thought my priorities were out of place. They felt if I wasn’t well enough to be in church then I shouldn’t be well enough to do anything else that day. However, what they didn’t see, the private stuff, all the factors I used to make a decision would have put it all into perspective. Factors I would have shared had someone asked me about the choice I made.
The party at my parents house was for a chili cook off. Since the Superbowl ends quite late and, since Jeff doesn’t like football and thus couldn’t drive me, I planned with my sister to stay at her home overnight. I had been banned from driving for 2 months until the seizure drug was fully in my system, and this was the first drive I made after the ban was lifted. Since it was a 45 minute drive to my parents’ home, everyone was nervous. I had to call my parents and Jeff to let them know I’d arrived safely.
The night before, I literally didn’t sleep at all. The pain was too severe so I stayed downstairs thinking if I became exhausted enough, my body would give out and I’d fall to sleep regardless of the pain. Unfortunately, this was not the case.
Having been to every neurologist appointment, Jeff knows what can trigger seizures and lack of sleep is a big catalyst. I was getting ready for church and he, knowing I hadn’t slept at all, told me I wasn’t going to church….notice that?…told me, not asked me. He wanted me to at least try and get some sleep, any sleep before I made the drive. I managed to get a three hour nap in….not enough but better than none. Another big trigger is stress, so he and the girls try to minimize my stress levels as much as possible.
So, if that was the case, I’m sure the next thought of people would be, “If she’s in so much pain and hasn’t slept; why didn’t she cancel?”
There were two main reasons I went. 1) My Aunt and Uncle were there, in from Iowa and I don’t get to see them very often. The last time was 2 years ago.
2) The day after the Superbowl was my mom’s birthday and I wanted to take her out to lunch and have some one on one time with her. We don’t get to do this often and so I cherish the moments when I have the opportunity to spend time with my beautiful mom.
Had people seen behind the scenes, would they have come to the conclusion my priorities were out of whack? I like to think not. I’d like to think they’d realize I sometimes have to give up something, in order to do something else. Because of this, I make choices dependent upon what’s more important to me. I weigh both sides of every choice I am forced to make due to this illness. Did I want to do both? Yes, of course! It just wasn’t possible. I chose the gathering because I can always listen to Pastor Ken’s awesome message on the website. The same can not be said of family gatherings. There isn’t a tape I can just turn on and watch. Even if that were possible, I still wouldn’t have been able to have conversations with them, love on them, spend quality time with them. It’s always been very important to me to be with family, especially family I don’t see often. I cherish these moments because I realize they don’t happen that often and who knows how much time we have to make these moments a priority.
I must say, before I became sick, I made judgments like this all the time. Judgments based upon what I can see on the outside, without knowing the whole picture. One of the blessings of this illness is realizing how wrong I was. How could I, a human…a sinful human….judge someone else based upon what I “thought” I knew. Am I not guilty? Yep! I’m guilty…just as I’m sure all of you are guilty of this as well. Everyone, at one time or another, is guilty of making judgments even though we don’t have all the information.
Was I hurt by this? Yes, more deeply than you know. Making an assumption regarding my situation…anybody’s situation….is unkind. We all have heartache. We all have burdens to carry, trials to face. The one thing we should ALWAYS be able to count on is the love, understanding, compassion, kindness, patience, and encouragement of a fellow believer in Christ. We shouldn’t feel we’re being judged, condemned. How does that help a person who is already suffering? We should feel protected, loved, understood. How does judgment effect newer Christians, ones who haven’t been in The Word enough yet? Don’t we say we should show Jesus to others; show them what attributes Jesus and The Word asks us to have? What if that person heard us being judgmental and condemning? What would they learn? They would learn to adopt the same attitude. An attitude that isn’t pleasing to our Creator, to our Father in heaven. The attitude which is pleasing to the Lord is written about in Galatians.
Galatians 5:22-26
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Sadly, this judgmental behavior is too common, not just in the world, but also in the body of Christ. One that I wish we didn’t have. I wish people wouldn’t condemn others without knowing all the facts. It isn’t a perfect world though is it? What can we do about this type of behavior? We can start within ourselves, with The Word of God driving us, reflecting on our own, personal behavior. If we see this behavior in ourselves do we turn to God to repent, to ask He remove it from us? Do we reflect on it and to mourn our behavior?
I ask you and myself…..where do I stand regarding this? I encourage you, if you feel you’ve made judgment calls when you don’t know the whole picture, ask God to reveal it to you. Then, make amends.
The driving force within me, as I hope it’s within all who read this, is to be a progressive spirit. To always seek God and His will. I ask Him to remove from me what doesn’t please Him and to pour into me the qualities of Jesus. That’s what God wants from us….a constant desire to further our relationship with Him. A progressive spirit.
Hadassah Ministry 