True...

Time to reflect

How was your Mother’s Day?

Mine was extremely busy. Since we had spent Friday and Saturday traveling, Sunday became a day of work – not rest, as the Master intended, Genesis 2:2 (NIV) By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

Now, because of that 10-hour work day, which included nine loads of laundry, baking cookies and cornbread, cooking dinner, writing and much, much more, I am typing away on my laptop, sitting on the couch with a heating pad on my aching back. When will I learn that I am no longer that 25-year-old, never-say-quit young woman? My husband says I need to rest today. Perhaps he is right, although I hate to admit it! Besides, the heating pad feels s-o-o-o-o good.

Anyway, this restful day has been a time of reflection for me and my plans for the future of the Retreat to Belief© ministry.

As I meditated on a plan of action for Retreat to Belief©, I considered a chance encounter at the Newberry United Methodist Women’s White Breakfast in April, an encounter which has been weighing heavily on my spirit. And now, on this day of reflection, I think this episode may have been God’s way of telling me how to spend this ministry to significantly glorify Him.

I believe the apostle Paul explained the Christian’s responsibility best when he penned in his first letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 10, Verse 31 (NIV) So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. I would guess that Paul would have singled out writing as one of the ways to glorify our Creator. This former persecutor of Christians sure did enough writing in his time on this earth, didn’t he?

According to The American Journey of Biblical Theology, “Paul…is responsible for writing two thirds of our present New Testament, for which he is accredited for approximately fifty percent of the 27 extant letters; which equates to 13 letters (14, if Paul wrote Hebrews).”

Given this information about the make-up of the New Testament, Paul probably intended to specify writing in this passage, don’t you think?

As I researched Paul’s ministry, I came across this tidbit, which I am sure most of you know, but I’ll include it here for history’s sake if nothing else – Paul, a persecutor of Christians, Acts 9:4 (NIV)  [Saul/Paul] fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” started life as Saul of Tarsus, Acts 9:11 (NIV) The Lord told [Ananias], “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying,” and Acts 13:9a (NIV) Then Saul, who was also called Paul…

Anyway, I have seemingly gone off topic, but I believe this sidebar journey helps draw closure to my plans to expand this ministry in the form of a Bible study. I am currently in discussion with my former magazine editor in the hopes of working an understanding of just how to move forward with this Spirit-led idea.

As such, please pray for me as I begin this Jesus-following endeavor. As you are aware, the Bible says a lot about praying. One of my favorite passages comes from Philippians 4:4-9 (NIV) 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. {emphasis mine}

After all, Paul, who also penned Philippians, said in Chapter 4, Verse 13 (NKJV) wrote, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

And, I can do all things with His strength because, “With God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26b (NIV)

May the Lord above, Creator of all creatures big and small, bless you and keep you in His loving arms today and every day. Amen.

Walk away from the drama

There comes a time in your life when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it.

You surround yourself with people who make you laugh.

Forget the bad and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right; pray for the ones who don't.

Life is too short to be anything but happy.

Falling down is part of life; getting back up is living.

AMEN!

After all, Jesus did say, "...With God all things are possible!" Matthew 19:26 (NIV)

What do nicknames have to do with God?

Nicknames come in many shapes and sizes.

Some folks have nicknames. Some nicknames stick; some do not.

When I was a youngster, I was a little on the chubby side – not fat by any means, but “pleasingly plump,” as my mom always called it. The short, permed hair (easier for a mother that worked to care for), the freckles and the fact that back then girls always wore dresses to school and church, did nothing to enhance my appearance.

This chubby girl was hung with the unflattering moniker – Cheryl the Barrel.

Oh, the embarrassment. You can’t imagine, but then, maybe you can.

Did you have a nickname you hated? Fortunately mine disappeared sometime in puberty when I slimmed down and got a figure.

That isn’t always the case, though. 

I had a guy friend who, because of some prominent buck teeth, was plastered with the nickname “Bucky.” It stuck. To this day, everyone calls Conner – Bucky. Some people probably don’t even know, or remember, his given name!

As it would happen, a Christmas present got me thinking about these lousy nicknames. My sister had all the family slides transferred to CDs, and there I was in all my glory for my husband to see. Pleasingly plump; short, curly hair (with a bow, no less); freckles, red plaid dress (red was my favorite color even back then); Cheryl the Barrel – in spades!

Oh the embarrassment – all over again, 50 years later.

I even admitted to the nickname. Then I asked myself, “Cheryl, what is WRONG with you? Why did you reveal this deep, dark secret to your unsuspecting husband?”

Guess it’s because today, I can laugh at it, but I can assure you, it wasn’t funny back then.

Well, I guess I ran this blog a little sideways for a minute. Maybe that nickname bothers me today more than I care to admit? Maybe I need to make a confession about my less-than-kindly recollections of my opinion of the kids who used that awful name. You think? Yeah – time to get on my knees.

And time to get back to the subject of this blog post - What do nicknames have to do with God?

After all the reminiscing the photo CD aroused, I got to thinking about God, and asked myself, “Does God have a nickname, or maybe more than one?”

You might not consider God’s names, nicknames, but God does have many different (using today’s marketing designation) brands, most associated with his divinity.

You’ve probably all heard the terms omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence as they apply to our awesome God. I must admit that I sometimes get them confused with one another because they are so similar.

For this blog article, I decided to delve into my copy of Nelson’s Illustrated Dictionary of the Bible to set the omni(s) firmly in my brain.

According to my reference text, omniscience [om NISH unce] refers to God’s superior knowledge and wisdom; omnipresence [om nih PRES ence] addresses God’s unfathomable nature to be everywhere at all times; and, omnipotence [om NIP oh tunce] is defined as God’s all-encompassing power.

Of course these are God’s traits, not His nicknames, nicknames being defined as “a name added to or substituted for the proper name of a person…”

The Jewish people bestowed many names on the All Mighty, some of which refer to his attributes, some his character, some His capabilities – maybe not nicknames by definition, but close.

According to Joe Stowell (Cornerstone University president and Our Daily Bread contributor) God has many such names. Here are a few Stowell mentioned in a recent ODB devotional post:

• Jehovah Yahweh, which means the covenant-keeping God;
• Jehovah Rapha, the healer God;
• Jehovah Shalom, the God of peace (many folks use shalom as a closing in emails, letters and verbal goodbyes);
• El-Shaddai, almighty God;
• Elohim, one God above all gods;
• Jehovah Shamma, the ever-present God;
• Jehovah Jireh, provider God.

WOW! That's quite a list, isn't it? God definitely is all the omni(s) previously mentioned – and more!

God is EVERYTHING to me. And, I hope and pray that he is everything to you. As his all-encompassing Word explains in Proverbs 18:10 (NIV) The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

Are you safe? Do you run to Him to find safety?

No matter the situation, God can make you safe.

Get on your knees today. Accept his son, Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Submit to Him. Confess your sins. Accept His forgiveness. Obey His precepts. Become a true follower of Jesus.

What do you have to lose? Your life. What do you have to gain? Eternity.

No brainer, agreed?

After all, “…with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26b (NIV)

May God bless us all, everyone. Amen.

Overcome failure through confession

When we fail, it can be an eye-opening experience. Failure comes in many varieties. Failed marriages. Failed dreams. Failed investments. Failing grades. Failure to communicate. Failing at sports. The list seems endless, doesn’t it?

As most of you who know me know, I am an avid football fan. In fact, I guess you could say I am now experiencing football withdrawal. Being a fan creates innumerable highs and lows. The high point was THE Ohio State University’s undisputed national championship win on Jan. 12. The low point? Yesterday’s unfathomable Seattle Seahawks loss, and to none other than Tom Brady’s Patriots, the perennial nemesis of both Charlie’s Colts and my Bengals.

But, life goes on, and the football diversion goes on the back burner until next year.

In the meantime, my focus to reach the unreached in Jesus Christ’s name continues as we expand this daily blog. Last week my husband and I discussed the future of my blog-based ministry.  His insight proved invaluable.

As a result of much prayerful consideration, Charlie has decided to join this ministry. As such, you can expect to soon see blog posts from a man’s point of view, with Charlie sharing his male perspective of life as a follower of Jesus.

Back to the topic at hand…failure seems to rear its ugly head when you least expect it. But, just like sin invades our lives from time to time, so does failure.

As the followers of this blog probably noticed, personal blog posts were missing last week. Although links to the devotional I read every day were provided to you, I know it was not the same as a daily dose of personal reflection from one sinner to another. Missing even one day of sharing His Word, is, in my opinion, a monumental failure.

When I started blogging on Jan. 1, I made a commitment to not fail, and there I was, less than one month into this ministry, experiencing a colossal failure. Woe is me.

Then I thought about failure and sin and what the Good Book says how failure and sin, at least in my mind, may be related.

Romans 3:22-24 (NIV) says ²² This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of (failed in our pursuit of) the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. [emphasis and parenthetical meaning mine]

The apostle Paul writes that we are saved by grace if we believe in Jesus. But, even though we employ our best efforts not to, we continue to sin. Remember Jesus says that if we sin in our heart…

In fact, in the Sermon on the Mount, Christ cautions against all types of heart-/mind-based sin. Matthew 5 gives the details. Read His instruction on the subject in your Bible or by clicking here.

My take is that I failed Christ in my absence from this blog for the last week. Even though I was ill, I should have at least made the effort to share His Word. I failed as a true follower. I failed. But that does not mean I cannot seek His forgiveness and begin again, does it?

My granddaddy always said, “Cheryl Ann, don’t you know confession is good for the soul?”

As always, granddaddy was right. As the disciple John put it so well in 1 John 1:9 (NIV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

According to my study Bible, John wrote this letter to the churches in Ephesus to encourage their journey in the faith. The Bible remains a timeless vessel of unfathomable knowledge as witnessed in this passage which holds true today just as it did more than 2,000 years ago.

Amazing!

In today’s vernacular, God gives us “an out,” a way back to him. A way to process, and confess our failures/sins, a way to return to Him as a true follower.

Dennis Dehaan put it so well when he wrote, “Learning to benefit from failure is the key to continued growth in grace.”

Pray, confess your sin, ask for forgiveness, and work to do it better the next time. Grow in grace. After all, “…with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26(b) (NIV).

May God bless each and every one of you every day in every way. Amen.