He Will Direct Your Paths

He Will Direct Your Paths 

Prov. 3:5-6

We have all probably heard the song that Carrie Underwood so eloquently sings, Jesus Take The Wheel. How many of us completely and utterly surrender ourselves to Him? Whether we understand the why or not, that is exactly what we are supposed to do. We will come to find that He works for the good of those who love Him. By surrendering ourselves to Him completely, we will come to find the many ways in which he is blessing us.

Recently my husband and I have decided to embark on a homeschool adventure. Our oldest daughter is at the age where she is to start kindergarten in the Fall. After prayerful consideration and studying the Holy Bible we feel completely lead to the decision we have come to – Homeschooling here we come!

His ways are not ours and ours are not His, I have read this verse many times but with this decision it smacked me right between the eyes. I retreated back into the think tank or more accurately my “prayer closet” and, began then to realize that public school would have been the spiritual death of the spiritual life we have taught them to live. Remember God isn't allowed in public school, and you know who that means is among our children roaming the halls. In addition to that with the no child left behind act, what sort of educational enrichment would they receive? Sharpening the dullest crayon in the crayon box does not make any of the other 63 any sharper.

Homeschooling began to enter our thoughts and we started asking ourselves, why don't we do that? As we tried to consider what the Lord would have us do, we put the specific question aside so we could examine what the Lord has told us to do, so that we could come back to our current question and tackle it from a biblical base.

In the Bible, very early on, we read how the Word of God is to be held in our hearts and practiced daily. His Word is supposed to be meditated on, talked about, shared and lived. His Words are the light unto our feet. How profound! In all things we are supposed to consider God and His Word. We are to weigh every choice and every decision with what we have received, His Holy Word. C.S. Lewis has been quoted saying, “Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance”.  Amen.

Deuteronomy 6:5-9 spoke so clearly to my heart in considering what to do about the decision we were making in regard to home vs. public school. Here is the NIV of it;

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

How can I expect to fulfill this part of scripture if I send my children off to public school for 6-8 hours a day. It's simple, I couldn't. I am certainly aware of how the public school system would not fulfill this part of scripture on my behalf if I were to entrust the care of my children to them during school hours.

The public school environment is like ground that is infertile and, we are not to cast our pearls before swine. God is being taken out of the pledge of allegiance and kids are not allowed to carry Bibles, let alone pray. Evolution is taught as truth despite that it was scientifically disproven decades ago. Children are no longer taught about morals and virtues but are instead counseled on being safe while being immoral, quite the oxymoron isn't it. It's the same as asking children to play with fire and telling them to not get burned. 

 Knowing this I could not in good conscience remain true to our faith and values and send our children into such an environment. It would be like seeking a babysitter only to find one who says they will come to your house but will not keep an eye on your children. In that context it would be more than foolish, it would be negligent to allow such a sitter to watch over your children and, in such a situation you had better head to the drawing board to find another solution, one that is viable. Take this analogy and remember the sitter in the scenario is public school. In light of this my husband and I found ourselves on our knees many times.

Homeschool on the other hand is a place where children can grow not only intellectually and socially but also spiritually and emotionally. Why should a parent ever be willing to sacrifice their child's spiritual growth for intellectual and social growth? I hope the answer is obvious, spiritual growth should never be sacrificed. The vine will bear no fruit unless it remains in the tree. By homeschooling children, they receive intellectual advancement beyond their public school counterparts because there is no such thing as the dullest crayon, there is only a lifelong love for learning and a quest to continuously seek and find. By homeschooling, there is intellectual growth with no ceiling. There is social enrichment where children are able to take field trips together, play together and enjoy other christian companionship without being told they are to sit in a room with their peers and remain eyes forward, seated and silent. 

 Most importantly, in addition to the academic and social benefits to homeschool the spiritual benefits are numerous to say the least. The homeschool day is conducive to God, prayer, and His Holy Word, it encourages children to continue walking in faith, training our children up in the way they should go as we are told to do in scripture. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord our God and, where he leads, we will follow.

In seeking His will for our family we have been lead in a direction that we had not previously considered and, in walking in faith we are putting God first. We are trusting in His perfect will. We are thrilled to begin our homeschooling adventure knowing God is at the wheel, for we can do all things through Him, who gives us strength. Just as God has brought us to this road, may He bless our path as we step out in faith and, begin our homeschooling journey.

Are you at a crossroad?  Are you currently trying to make a decision?  Unsure maybe of what to do or how to decide?  Commit yourself to reading the Bible, finding biblically supportive mentors and, seeking His will through prayer.  I pray God may be the lamp unto your feet and the light unto your path.

May God Bless You

The Question We All Seek; What is Christian Living

The Question We All Seek; What is Christian Living

I have seen so many articles voicing various opinions on Christian living. Each and every Christian is seeking to live a life pleasing to God, at least we should be and so it makes sense to be contemplative of the thoughts and actions that become the very fabric of our lives. Thankfully we are not left out in the cold on this one. The Holy Bible is an excellent place to start and reading through it we have laid out before us example after example of what is expected of us as Christians. If the examples aren't clear enough in the Old Testament, It is laid out before us in the New Testament. Thankfully, we are also blessed with His Holy Spirit. If there is a question we have and we seek an answer to, we have His Holy Spirit to help guide us. As long as we keep His word in our hearts and truly seek His will we can be sure He will guide us.

The first step in making a decision is to remember not to lean unto our own understanding but to let Him direct our paths. We must acknowledge His ways are not our ways and our ways not His. Understanding this helps when we must discern between the leadings of the Holy Spirit and the desire of our own hearts. How does one discern between the desire of one's heart and the leading of the Holy Spirit? The only way to do that is to spend time in prayer and reading the Bible to know Him. If we cannot take that time to truly digest our daily bread we cannot expect to receive spiritual nourishment nor the discernment we need.

When we are told to pick up our cross and follow Him. He meant for us to no longer walk in the flesh but to walk in the spirit. To live in the world but to not be of the world is what we are commanded. We must be reminded that wide is the path but narrow is the gate. Wow! Does that make a very clear and bold statement to anyone else? It certainly does me. I understand that statement to be that many people TRY to do the right thing or they think God won't care if abc or God never said anything about xyz. But think about that. That is the path that is wide – headed in the right direction but missing the mark, or should I say gate, altogether.

We must live in the Spirit and apply that to our daily lives to make sure that all of our thoughts, all of our actions glorify and honor our God. Living in the spirit is being the Light in an otherwise dark world. We are to be set apart but we are also to love one another as we love ourselves – we are to be light bearers of His Holy Spirit.

When moral controversies arise among Christians and the answer seems elusive, if you can't find within the Bible clear direction or resolve to your conundrum, if there is confusion between the desire of your heart and the Holy Spirit (and which is which), remember what it means to be a Christian to find your answer.

To be a Christian is to follow Christ. If we are to consider what is appropriate or inappropriate we can always ask of ourselves, What Would Jesus Do? (WWJD). That's right I just pulled the hackneyed WWJD we have all heard of, but how many of us actually take an extra moment to really ask ourselves, WWJD? When all else still leaves you without a clue, try it.

To come full circle, when it comes to the controversies of Christian living in truth there is always an answer and there is always only one. The differing opinions are a result of different degrees of closeness in our relationship with God or in some cases the degrees of separation between some and God. Various opinions on Christian living have little to do with there being multiple answers, because there are not, but has more to do with how tied one is to the Holy Spirit and how tied they are to the Flesh. Always remember two things; the path is wide but the gate is narrow and when making those decisions that will affect your walk with our Lord and Savior, aim for the narrow gate and we cannot serve two masters.

Scriptures Referenced and Suggested Reading:

• Proverbs 3:5-6
  “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
• Isaiah 55:8
  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD”
• Matthew 16:24
  “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
• Romans 8:9
  “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.”
• Romans 12:2
  “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.
• Matthew 7:13-14
  “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
• John 15:4
  “Remain in me, and I will remain in you...”
• John 14:15-17
  “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth.”
• 2 Corinthians 4:6
  “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
• 2 Corinthians 6:14
  “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”
• Matthew 5:14-16
  “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
• Matthew 5:19
  “...love your neighbor as yourself.”
• Matthew 6:24
  “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
• 1 Corinthians 10:21
  “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons.”

* A Prayer for Today *

Lord, thank you for your abounding love and thank you for your grace. Thank you Lord for the gift you have given us of the Holy Spirit.

Life is full of choices, and decisions must always be made. We pray Lord that you will continue to guide us and lead us so that we do not stumble upon the path. Please continue to lead us as we follow you Lord and please forgive us if we should stumble. Please help us to always do what is right, because we know it to be right. Lord, do not let our hearts be hardened by the world. We ask that you use the Holy Spirit to convict us within our hearts if we begin to falter, are doing wrong, or are being lead astray. Keep us close and be the lamp unto our feet and light our paths. Please Lord, as you lead us continue to purify us, to mold us, and to make us the Christians that you would have us be so that we may serve and glorify you Lord.

In Jesus' Name

Amen.

***

A few of the controversial topics I have heard in regard to Christian living are the following;

Books we read

Movies we watch

Television

God's marriage view and the new world view

Divorce

The clothes we wear and swimsuits

Religion being allowed in school

There are many more but these are a few of the ones that I have seen and heard being tossed around by Christians trying to find a Biblically ethical answer to the problems that the world in it's modern form poses. Hopefully each Christian faced with any moral, ethical or controversial dilemma, question or problem will seek God's will and direction for answers to these and other issues Christians face.

If any one has anything to add on the topic of Christian living ….. as always, I'm here :)

***

May God Bless you and be with you one and all.

Power of God and Positive Thinking

The Power of God & Positive Thinking

Think fast – What is the difference between positive thinking and the power of God?

Only one is real and offers true peace. Not the only answer but my one second answer. If you've got one to throw out, I'd love to hear it.

I'm sure we've all heard a line or two in our time about “the power of positive thinking”. I understand that more-so now. No, I don't think if I meditate on winning the lottery that my “positive thinking” will land me a winning ticket – but I do believe that our thoughts and our focus reflect the condition of our hearts. Our minds effect our attitudes, and how we approach the day.

Have you ever noticed if you wake up thinking it's gonna be “one of those days” - a bad day, that you do indeed have a bad day? I'll be honest – that's happened here.

Here's the thing, if we allow our circumstances to dictate our outlook then our perspective is a little off. After all, we are supposed to be living in the spirit and not in the flesh right?

“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

Galations 5:16 [NIV]

“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”

Romans 5:8 [NIV]

This speaks of how we as Christians should be living with a spiritually minded focus. We can give thanks in all circumstances because despite the situations we find ourselves in, we know God is with us in our hearts and he is an awesome God who loves us. He has our absolute best interests at heart. Which means we always have a reason to rejoice, a reason to be grateful and a reason to feel ever so blessed - even on the days where the car breaks down or on the mornings you wake up to a coffee can sans coffee grinds (– isn't that the worst?).

How do we do this … living in the Spirit (walking with God)? Let's get one step closer and look at Philippians 4:6-7 (I love this one):

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

[NIV]

How beautiful. It's our human nature to worry and even experience anxiety over matters that concern our hearts or get trapped in our thoughts, but the beauty here is that we are not expected to carry these worries or concerns around with us. We are expected to trust in God's goodness and in His Holy Word and present our requests to God so that we may experience His peace. After presenting our requests and with the peace of God we may then reclaim our focus. We may then continue our walk of faith and be spiritually minded unbound by the flesh. Part of being spiritually focused is in the next verse of Philippians 4:8-9:

“....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. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me – put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

[NIV]

Sounds much like the power of positive thinking now doesn't it? I think so, but it's even better … the power of positive thinking is something one gives credit for good circumstances to oneself. But – if we do focus spiritually on God daily and on all things pure, holy, praiseworthy, lovely ...(you know all those things mentioned in Philippians 4:8) we will find that we are drawing nearer to Him and so He will draw nearer to us (James 4:8).

The credit for all things lovely, holy, and pure are all God's doing and by God's will and His grace do we receive them, and they are God's beautiful blessings to us no matter how small (or large). By focusing on our blessings we are also developing thankful hearts for God and all that He is instead of being chronic complainers like Goldilocks with the porridge, the chairs and the beds.

We don't want to come across to God as the toddler sitting at the table with our slice of pie asking why it's butterscotch and not chocolate, and complaining about wanting cool whip with it too (as much as we may not want too, at times that must be how we come across – even then He still loves us).

Focus is a good place to start. Living in the Spirit. Let us look to our Creator – God, when we have something that ails us and let us trust in him to take care of our concerns so we may faithfully walk forward in the Spirit with all the love of God in our hearts and all that is good on our minds. Once we rely on him and understand that His strength is sufficient for us (2Corinthians 12:9) and we have His peace we will be like shinning stars in the universe holding out the word of life for all who seek peace just the same. (Philippians 2:15-16).

After reading this if you have any thoughts you're willing to impart – please leave a comment.

May God bless you and keep you.

As always, check back for my future posts :)

Considering Our Prayer Life

Considering our prayer life in walking with God.

To continue in the Walking with God series where it was first noted that to walk with God we, as Christians, should be asking God into our hearts - daily.  The next measured step we should be taking is to spend time in prayer.

Answer for yourself these questions:  What is the quality of my prayer life?  Do I feel it brings me spiritually closer to our Father who art in Heaven?  Maybe, your prayer life is non existent, needs a little tune up or is just fine where it is but it's always a good idea to re-evaluate the state of your prayer life on occasion so we don't fall out of tune with where we need to be.  I've re-examined mine a little while back, and realized that my own prayer life was in need of a little fine tuning (and I'm sure glad I did because God is so good - I wouldn't want to let my relationship with Him fall by the wayside).

To be honest I used to think praying at night was all I needed to do to fulfill the "good christian" quota - wow, was I wrong.  I would pray every night because I was being dutiful, like one of those things one must do in life: Students must do homework, writers must write, and of course Christians must pray - that is all true.  Yet it's not about meeting a requirement, what it is about is the desire of the heart.

Could you imagine if we only talked with our Husbands just as often as we prayed?  Now, if we're an avid prayer - then you'd have it made, a great relationship with God and one happy husband.  On the other hand if you are not much a prayer, this scenario would leave you with one unhappy husband and estranged from your Heavenly Father, the Prince of Peace, the Great and Mighty Counselor .... not someone you're willing to live without is it?  I didn't think so, me neither - let's let Him know it!

Prayer is about wanting that relationship with God and turning to Him at any time, day or night - one time or fifty times.  I love having reached that realization and find my prayer life is so much more fuller as is my relationship with God because the condition of my heart has changed.  I WANT to know Him, I WANT to spend time with Him and I WANT to walk with Him.  When we pray it shouldn't be done with the sense of simply doing what we know we ought.  When we pray it should be because we have the desire to turn to God, to know Him, to ask of Him, to give Him thanks, to praise Him, just as we are told.

James 5:13-15;

"Is any one of you in trouble?  He should pray.  Is anyone happy?  Let him sing songs of praise.  Is anyone of you sick?  He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord." [NIV]

How many times in one day do you think God is there for you?  I can help you answer that, all day every day.  Sometimes it is so easy to get caught up in the many moments that seem to sweep us up that we forget to turn to God, or we make a mental note: "note to self, thank God later  ....".  One thing worth knowing though, is that God is always here for us (for he is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient) let's not ignore that - or Him, let us instead, turn to Him.

In the book of Matthew 7:7 we are told;

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." [NIV].

In the book of James 4:8;

"Come near to God and he will come near to you." [NIV].

So to get started on our walk with God today, let us ask, let us seek, and let us find!  It is through prayer that we can develop a deeper relationship with our Lord and Savior.  Let us turn to God all day everyday.

May God Bless you all and as always, check back for my future posts :)

Walking with God

Walking with God.  This is something we all should be wanting to do, I know I am - aren't you?  How does one walk with God?

To walk with God would be more than following the examples left to us in the Bible, for if that is all we do - aren't we leaving something out?  Not really walking with God - is it?  To walk with God we need to first invite Him to share in our days, after all once we have invited the Holy Spirit to indwell in our hearts we're halfway there.

Just like any relationship - it takes work.  Don't confuse this with meaning salvation takes work - no it does not.  However to walk with God, yes working for that relationship is important.  Just like walking we must first decided to take that first step (and then another, and another ..... and still another - if we're to get anywhere).

So, First things first.  Let's ask God into our hearts daily.  This is how we can take that first step to walking with God.

I've got my walking shoes on and today I'm asking God - Will you walk with me? and I'm asking you - Will you be doing the same?

God Bless you all I hope today's post has inspired you to ask God to join you today as you go about your day to be with you as your Mighty Counselor, Prince of Peace.  (Writing this has reminded me to!)