What is Sin?

What is sin?  I recently heard a preacher define it as "not choosing God's best for you."  Really? Is that what sin is?  Are we trying not to offend anyone?  Heaven forbid!  Does that somehow make sin more palatable?  Do we feel less guilt if we define it that way?  I say call  sin what it is:  missing the mark, rebellion against God, disobedience.  And then I say, "Thank God for His mercy and grace."

Glorify God in Your Body

Wow!  It appears that I have sorely neglected this blog during the past year!  O well, it's a new year with lots of possibilities!

I gave up making new year's resolutions years ago, but I do like to choose a verse for the year.  It helps me to stay focused on things I need to change, improve on, or internalize in my life.  For 2013 I've chosen I Corinthians 6:19, 20:  "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."  Glorify God in your body and in your spirit!!  I wonder what that will look like for me in 2013?   It might mean losing some weight (always a good idea) or getting my blood sugar under control or letting the gray take over my hair (embracing my age!)  It might mean spending more time alone with God, praising Him, or bearing more fruit:  more love, more joy, more kindness!  Can't wait to see what God has planned for me in 2013 as I glorify God in my body and in my spirit.

Dark Clouds

The last two years have been difficult for my family.   Sometimes it seems as if I have a little black cloud hovering over me!  I lost both of my parents.  I lost a job.  My husband has health issues and was unable to work for three months.  Medical bills have stacked up adding to financial stress.  I had one of the most difficult school years in my 30 years of teaching.  Sometimes God has seemed very far away! Okay, I'm done complaining!

We took a little day trip to southern Arizona a few weeks ago.  On the drive home, the sky turned gray and we anticipated a nice rainstorm.   Then the sun started to shine through the clouds.  It was beautiful!  The sun's rays shone through and the clouds were outlined in beautiful silver.  I was reminded of an old song that my Dad used to sing.  I could only remember two lines so I looked it up (isn't the internet grand?)

"Back of the Clouds"

Never fear tho' shadows dark around your path may fall;
Do not let your heart be troubled;
From His throne in heaven,
God is watching one and all,
He will ever care for you.

Back of the clouds the sun is always shining,
After the storms your skies will all be blue;
God has prepared a rosy-tinted lining,
Back of the clouds it's waiting to shine thru.
                                      Carolyn R. Freeman

God is not far away.  He has promised never to leave us or forsake us.  I choose to put my hope in Him, even when the way is dark.

"Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God."  Psalm 42:5

Step by Step

I am a creature of habit. I habitually drive the same way to work each day. I drop my daughter off at school and then head straight for the nearest QT for a 32 oz. iced tea with lots of ice! Because I take the same route each day I see the same businesses, the same people at the bus stop, and even some of the same cars that pass me on the road.

But there is one thing that I see every day that touches my heart and causes me to think. I see an older woman walking with a cane or a walker struggling for each painful step. She moves ever so slowly; if she moved any slower, she wouldn't be moving at all! I can tell that she has to think about each step as her brain tells her legs and feet to move. Maybe she's recovering from a stroke or an accident or a debilitating disease, but there she is every day putting one foot in front of the other moving slowly from point A to point B. She never makes it across the street before the light turns. I worry that someone won't see her still in the crosswalk and I hold my breath every time until she finally approaches the curb!

I admire this woman! I admire her perseverence and courage and her willingness to get out there and face the struggle EVERY DAY! She just doesn't give up!

Sometimes, in my spiritual walk, I feel like that woman. Each step seems slow and deliberate and I wonder if I'm getting very far at all! Satan tries his best to discourage me and keep me from making it from Point A to Point B! But praise be to God who leads me one step at a time! "If the Lord delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand." (Psalm 37:23)

"God, give me the perseverence, courage and willingness necessary to get out there and face the struggle EVERY DAY! Help me to keep in step with the spirit and not give up. Thank you for this daily example and reminder to hold on to your hand and walk one step at a time."

Soul Winning

I sometimes worry that I'm not doing enough to lead others to Christ. As a Children's Minister it's easy to say, "I'm planting seeds." That's true, of course, but does that exempt me from the Great Commission? Recently, I was reading Acts 8. It seems to me that this is a chapter about evangelism. The Good News was spreading. Phillip shared the gospel with the man from Ethiopia who confessed Christ and was baptized. God was adding to the church. When was the last time I shared the gospel with someone? When have I explained the scriptures more fully so that someone would come to know Christ? When did I last explain God's wonderful plan for redemption to someone lost in sin? There is a lost world out there. I tend to forget that. I bask in His mercy and grace without thought for those who don't know Him. I somehow don't think I'm alone in this! C.H.Spurgeon said, "If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for." The words to a song come to mind: "Lord, lay some soul upon my heart, and love that soul through me. And may I humbly do my part, to win that soul for thee." That is my prayer.