If You Have Faith

Matthew 21:21-22

Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”

Incredible Design

It never ceases to amaze me that there are people out there who still believe that something could come from nothing - that there is no divine Creator - that all of this, our world, happened by accident.

Even in teaching elementary science to my kids, it's clear that the design of God's creation is so intricate that there is no way anyone could logically say it just happened to happen.

Every part of God's creation has a role to play.  Every little piece fits into the puzzle so perfectly that only the most genius of beings could be responsible.

Powerful Thoughts

There is something I've heard said and also that I've read in a few books lately that just really stands out to me...

We might be the only Bible some people ever read.

Wow, that is a powerful thought!

When you really take time to think about that sentence it makes you consider a lot in the way you live and present yourself.

It also makes me think about these words from the beginning of a DC Talk song...

The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.  That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.

Consider that for a moment.

God's standards are high, but I'd so much rather live to please Him than to please an unbelieving world.  Not a day goes by that I don't find myself shaking my head in pure disbelief of what some "Christians" will do.  I really don't want to be the kind of person who causes those feelings in others.

Cloud Climber

This contraption is amazing!  It is three stories of climbing fun...

It's called the Cloud Climber and it is at the Discovery Museum in Reno, Nevada.  What a trip!  It's like a maze once you get up in it - twists and turns everywhere.  Totally like being up in the clouds for kids.

I Will Never Bow

In chapter three of the book of Daniel we read about King Nebuchadnezzar and how he built a golden statue for himself and commanded that at the sound of various musical instruments everyone would stop what they were doing and bow down to worship before the statue.

But three Jews refused to do so.  When everyone else bowed down they simply paid no attention.

King Nebuchadnezzar didn't like that and ordered the three men to be brought before him.  He told them that he would give them one more chance to bow down and worship his statue and that if they refused they would be put in the blazing furnace.  He taunted them by asking, "What god will be able to rescue you?"

Could you imagine such a threat?  Being burned to death because you wouldn't bow down to a golden statue - it just sounds awful, doesn't it?

The three Jews - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - showed no fear though.  They were very firm in their response...

Daniel 3:16-18
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were stellar examples of faith!  And it was in this passage that I really felt God speaking to me today.

What really stood out in the passage was the part that says, "But even if he doesn't."

There these three were, threatened with death in a horrifying way, and they held firm to their faith that God would save them - they knew that God would be there for them no matter what.  Even more, they knew that it would be His will and His will only that would save them.  Even if He didn't, it would be ok because that would be God's will.  No matter what - whether God chose to let them die or live - they would never bow down to any other god.

They would never bow.

As the story continues we read that the king did put them in the furnace and God did save them.  Afterwards, the king realized that the three men truly served and amazing and awesome God and he exalted them saying, "They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God." (Daniel 3:28)

It occurs to me that many lose faith when pressed with times of trouble.  It also occurs to me that there are many "golden statues" all around us.  The idols of today seem to be hidden in every crevice.  At every turn there is something stealing our focus and calling us to bow down to it rather than to serve the One true Lord.

And when times seem rough, or when there is something we desperately want and we cry out to God asking, "Please, oh please, Father, make it so," and He answers with a NO it is so easy to turn to something else - to bow down before something else - and lose our way.

But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego offer us an example of faith - given to us by God - as to what we need to do in those situations.  We need to stop and say hey, even if He doesn't allow this or even if He doesn't make it all better I will still follow Him.

I will never bow.

Live By Faithfulness

In my studies today I read the following: "By looking back on what God has done, I trust Him more for what He will do."

Habakkuk 2:4
Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.

This begs the question, what does it mean to live by faithfulness?

I think the key there is trust.  If we lack trust in God then we can't live by faithfulness.

After all, how can we have faith in someone we don't trust?

We all tend to trust in ourselves, but where does that get us?  According to God's Word it doesn't get us far. In fact, limiting our trust only to ourselves leads to a life that is crooked.

According to the dictionary, a crooked life would be one that is distorted, immoral, dishonest, and evasive.  Evasive means vague - which basically means unclear and without any strong meaning.

Hmm... If you really break that down you could say that a life in which you only trust in yourself is simply meaningless.

So to live by faithfulness would mean to put our trust in God.  Faith essentially is trust.

And that leads me back to that first sentence from what I read this morning...

"By looking back on what God has done, I trust Him more for what He will do."

What has God done in your life?  We should all be able to answer that question.  When we look at where we have been and what we have come through we can see very clearly how God has worked in our lives and we can use that to fuel the trust that we already have placed in Him.  Fuel it, yes, like stoking a fire.

So today I'm remembering what God has done for me.  And in remembering that, I find it very easy to trust Him with the future.  He has never failed me and He never will.

Bible Translations

I used to have this sort of fear of changing Bible translations because I didn't want to miss anything.  I was worried that one may leave things out that another didn't.  What I've recently discovered though is that the translation isn't that big a deal to me anymore - it's the message that counts.

Now I know some people really get stuck on certain versions saying they are the only ones that are done correctly, but I don't really see anything wrong with replacing a word no one these days understands with a word that makes sense to them while including a footnote with the original word.

I guess the reason I bring this up is because I have recently started using the New Living Translation (NLT).  This is what my Pastor uses so I decided it would be good to have it for myself and be abel to better keep up with him.  What I discovered is that I really like the NLT!  It's easy to read, direct and straight to the point, and the language is just easier for me to digest.

Prior to the NLT I can say that I never much cared for the King James Version (KJV) with all its thees and thous (who talks like that?).  The New King James Version (NKJV) is nice for trimming down on that stuff, but it still tends to confuse me at times.  I've always enjoyed the New International Version (NIV) as it's pretty easy to digest, but it still leaves me wondering at times.

Anyway, what I have found is that no matter the translation the message received is still the same, at least for me.

Take this verse for instance...

Isaiah 12:2 NKJV

Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
‘For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation

Isaiah 12:2 NIV

Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.

Isaiah 12:2 NLT

See, God has come to save me.
I will trust in him and not be afraid.
The Lord God is my strength and my song;
he has given me victory.

You see that each has its own style, but in the end they are all saying the same thing - Our salvation comes from God.  We need to trust Him and not be afraid.  Our strength is from God, through Him is our salvation (which is the victory).

The devotional series I am doing right now uses the NKJV.  When I sit down to read I first read from the NKJV, then I read from the NIV, and then I read from the NLT.  By the time I get done reading I have a great feel for the passage, but when I go back to reread and read again (because I tend to read it over and over again all day) I always find myself going to the NLT now because it is just easier to understand.

Killdeer in the Drive

The killdeer is a type of plover (wading bird or shorebird). They are very cool and they really like to nest in my parents' front drive.  They nest in rocks (also in fields and pastures, but here it's in rocks), isn't that interesting?!

Even though they are shorebirds they often live far from water - like in the Nevada desert (of all places) ha!

The picture below is of one of them in the front drive (guarding the eggs)...

They are very protective birds.  If you get anywhere near their nest they freak out and start squawking at you.  Well, maybe it is more of a loud, squeaky chirp.  Whatever it is, it's noisy and you can tell they are really mad.  Their nests are just like little bowls in the ground and their eggs resemble the rocks...

It's really neat to see these up close and personal and I think it is a great treat for the kids as well.  I get a real kick out of these birds - more so than any other bird I've seen.

Don't Be Deceived

I really don't want to create a blog of controversy.  My intent here is to celebrate what is good in life.  But sometimes what is good comes with great controversy.

Do you know what is good?

God is good.  And it is because He is just that He is so good.

People always talk about how a god of love wouldn't do this or that - how if a god really cared and such that he wouldn't keep people from eternity because of something they may have done.

But here's the thing, the God of this universe does care and He does love us and it is because of that - because of His great love - that He must show judgement.  Would you expect a parent who truly loves their child to never offer correction?  Would you expect a judge in court to let off a murderer without consequence?  No, you wouldn't.  Therefore, why would you expect a just and loving God to let you sin and not care - why would He give us the instructions for life (the Bible) and then look aside when we blatantly disregard His words?

He wouldn't.  The Jehovah God of the Bible - the One and ONLY God of this earth - would not do that because He is a just God!

So in light of current events I find this passage quite fitting.

2 Timothy 4:1-5
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

I've been watching as numerous people on my FaceBook and Twitter post message after message, picture after picture, and post after post, declaring that those who follow God - follow His Word - adhere to the principles taught in the Bible - are nothing but hateful people.  They say we hate because we disagree.

Friends, that is not hatred in any form.

To follow God and live by His Word is a faithful pursuit.  Christianity is not something you practice.  It is something you live.

You either follow God, or you don't.

There is no gray area.

Yet the time will come - and really the time has come - where people gather around teachers and leaders who say what they want to hear.  It's hard to live the life God requires - no one said it would be easy.  It is much easier to go the way of the world.  It is much easier to hear what your ears want to hear than what they need to hear. It's much easier to look the other way than to stand firm on the Truth as said by our Great and Wonderful Father.

But be encouraged, Christians!  It may be hard, but the reward is so great!

Don't be deceived by the world.

Do the Work

Sometimes in a moment of fear, worry, and self doubt, God just speaks to my heart in such a profound way.  I've been doing a devotional series and it's like every time I open my Bible lately I just hear God calling out to me, this time was no different...

1 Chronicles 28:20
David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.

David was charging Solomon with the task of building the temple and in doing so he basically told Solomon to have faith in the process because God would be with him.  But even more than telling him to have faith and courage, even more than telling him that God would be with him, what really stood out for me in this verse were three simple words...

do the work

Don't analyze it.  Don't debate it.  Don't make your list of pros and cons.  When God calls you to do something you do it.  Yes, you just do it.

It makes me think of that old saying, "If God brought you to it, He'll bring you through it."

And yes, He will!

He will not fail us.  He will not forsake us.  We need to just do what He calls us to do.  He will guide us through the calling.  He will walk with us every step of the way - through peaks and valleys - He will be there, always.

As a homeschooling mom who believes 100% that God has called her to this life, I can't tell you enough how powerful the message of this verse is for me.

Rugged Cross

Quite some time ago my Dad carved this little cross for me...

I've always liked it and I keep it on the windowsill above my kitchen sink.

This morning I was playing around with one of my apps and I turned that picture above into this work of art here...

I love it!  It looks rough and rugged.  I may just have to make that the new lock screen on my phone!

Luke 9:23-24
23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.

The Jerichos of Our Lives

There seems to be a bit of a theme in my Bible study these days.  Today I was in the book of Joshua and this verse really struck me...

Joshua 6:10
Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.”

Yesterday I talked about the Israelites and how they were afraid and how they probably had all these feelings of being abandoned when Moses led them out into the desert.  I talked about how they must have felt as they watched the Egyptians gaining on them.  And I talked about how they just needed to be still and allow the Lord to fight for them.

Today as I read I found the theme continued as the battle of Jericho came to a head.  There they were, needing to take this city, and the instructions given to them were to walk around it.  To walk - think about that.  And on top of it they were told to be silent.  No talking, no laughter, no jeers towards the enemy.  No singing, no chanting, no cries for help, no anything - they were to be silent, completely silent until the moment when they were told, on the seventh day of walking, that they could shout - and then the walls would come down.

It seemed absurd!

I'm certain that many of them thought Joshua was off his rocker!

But remaining silent and walking is exactly what they did and what happened?

God was faithful.

And it occurs to me that in their silence they were still.  They waited on the Lord.

Just as when coming out of Egypt they had to wait on the Lord.

In our faith, just as the Israelites did, we too must wait on the Lord.

It is so easy to get caught up in life and want to take charge and control situations ourselves.  I think it's human nature to want to control things - fleshly nature - thus a sinful nature.  Control leads to sin.  God doesn't want us to control it all.  He wants us to be still, wait on Him, trust in Him, walk with Him, and when we do that we can see Him work.

If we are always in charge, if we don't allow God to move because we work so hard to take over ourselves, then how can the Jerichos of our lives be brought down?

The Lord Will Fight For You

There is a passage from Exodus that has really been standing out to me lately.  Basically the Israelites had fled Egypt with Moses leading them and they got to the Red Sea and fear set in.  They saw the Egyptians quickly catching up to them.  They feared for their lives, they feared for their return to slavery, they were just afraid.  They basically accused Moses of leading them out into the desert to die.

They felt alone.

They felt abandoned.

They felt lost.

But then Moses said to them...

Exodus 14:13-14
13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

The impact of that is HUGE!  The Lord will fight for you.  He WILL fight for you.  There was no guessing.  There was no maybe.  There was no doubt.  Moses knew and stood firm in that knowledge that God would indeed fight for them.  They just needed to be still.  To wait.  To have patience.  To allow God to work.

And what happened?  The Lord spoke to Moses telling him to raise his staff and stretch his hand out over the sea and the sea would part.

And it did!

The Israelites crossed through the sea and, long story short, the Egyptians followed them and were swallowed up by the sea and God delivered the Israelites.

In the face of fear and uncertainty, when life seems like you can take no more, when struggles get you down and it seems like you have been tossed out into a desert with no hope of survival, it is so easy to give up.  By why take the easy way?  Listen to the words spoken through Moses, inspired by our Lord and Creator, listen to the advice that so clearly demonstrates the way in which God wills for us to live...

Do not be afraid.

Stand Firm.

The Lord will fight for you.

You need only to be still.

A New Blog, A New Reason

I decided to start this new blog just to celebrate all things good.  Whatever strikes my mood as particularly uplifting, beautiful, worth noting, etc...

I guess I also want to share some pictures of things as well.  I'm not a great photographer, but I have been enjoying playing with photo apps on my phone.

It really started with this picture...

I love that because the cloud is a heart.  Do you see it?

And then I started playing more and more with different effects on my phone, even making pine cones look cool...

And then my mom sent me some flowers and I started playing around with making the colors more vibrant and such and this is what I came out with...

Like I said, I'm no photographer, but I sure do enjoy playing with my phone apps and that is certainly a good thing in life that I think is worth a little celebration.

Why the name?  Because celebrating the good stuff is splendid and it's terrific.

It's splenderiffic!