Sitting Down With God

I was scrolling through Face Book today and read something that has stuck with me all day long. " You cannot force someone to comprehend a message that they are not ready to receive. Still, you must never underestimate the power of planting a seed." This statement brought up so many memories for me in my personal relationship with Jesus. I was taken back to a little room in children's church at the Grace Place in Stuart, FL. I was about 8 or 9 year old. I remember hearing if anyone wants to come to the altar and accept Jesus into their heart they could make their way down to the front. I could feel how my heart beat quickened and my palms got sweaty. I remember shy little Kristine standing up and taking that walk. I remember the urgency I felt like I couldn't get there fast enough. I tripped over my own two feet most of the time, but today my foot steps were sure and they knew just where I needed and wanted to be. Fast forward to a pool at one of ...

At Church on Sunday, my pastor spoke something over our congregation that has stuck with me this week.  He said, " At some point in your life you just say: "I'm Done." "  You wake up one morning and all the stress of your life is on your shoulders, your worries, your inadequacies, your weaknesses, and as you lay in your bed you think "God, I am done."  I am done with all of these things.  I have tried life on my own and here I am at your feet broken, bruised, and shattered by life and I am just done. I needed to hear those words.  I needed to hear that I am not the only one that is struggling in my walk.  I needed to hear that even someone in ministry wakes up and has said He is done with the negative things in life.  It showed me that we as Christians are not perfect, but that we are loved by a perfect God.

    Okay sports fans, a house divided means some people in your house go for a certain team and you go for another.  Today, I want to talk about trying to live for God and still living part of your life in the world.  I am going to be blunt today.  It does not work.  It will not ever work.  No matter how gifted you feel you are at straddling the fence, you can not serve two masters.  You either want to live a life in the light, or you want to continue to keep darkness in your life.

Dear Readers,                 I have had an enlightening experience.  Yesterday, I was in my car driving and our Christian radio station was interviewing a man named, Kyle Idleman.  Now, Kyle is a pastor of a church and an author of a new book.  The book is called Not a Fan.  He posed a question yesterday, which rocked me to my core.                 He was asking me, and everyone listening, Are you a fan of Jesus or are you a follower?  A fan comes to church.  They love Jesus.  But, when Jesus starts interfering in their lives they back off.  A follower of Jesus Christ will lay down everything they have and are, to do what he calls them to do.  I had to ask myself, Am I a fan or a follower?

                             “The devil is a lie!”  We have all heard this saying, at least once in our lives.  Recently, I have been in some personal situations and have been party to other people’s personal situations.  I just want to say right here and right now, “THE DEVIL IS A LIAR!”

I am about to start a Bible Study at my home, and it is my turn to pick the subject.  So in the next few weeks, we will be talking about fear;  the spirit of fear, Fear of God, and just plain being afraid in our day to day life.  I thought that maybe ya'll would be interested in my notes for your own personal study.  So here is the first sessions notes.  I hope that you find them comforting and encouraging.  God Bless!

I am probably the most impatient person I know.   I have this annoying habit of wanting everything done the way I want it, when I want it and most often, that is “Right Now!”   I have prayed and prayed on this and still I catch myself falling back into Ms. Impatience and Frustration.   Does anyone know someone like that? (Wink, wink)

“Do not be afraid of them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you.” Deuteronomy 4:22             It is very easy to become overwhelmed and anxious in the world today.   If it is not one thing it is another.   Every person has something that they can be worried about.   Each and every one of us has a problem that seems to jump out at us from an unseen adversary.   We take one step forward and something comes up and knocks us fifteen steps backwards.   At times, it feels like we make efforts that never see fruition because there is always a stumbling block in our way.             I am here to tell you that the battle is not your own.   No matter what is getting you down, no matter what is bringing you to the breaking point, God is in control.   He is fighting for us even when we feel no one is there but us.

                                 I have hardly slept in the last few weeks.   It seems that each day that my discontentment is growing.   I seem to find fault with everything being done around me and even more in myself.   If I look at it biblically, I have no reason to be discontented.   I have food, I have clothing, I have shelter, and I have a job that pays most of my bills.   I have so much that others would be happy to have and yet, I still feel as if something is missing.                 Contentment is defined as being free from care because of satisfaction with what is already one’s own.   It also is defined as being at rest.   It is the ability to make easy in any situation.   I have tried to figure out what has m...

                                 I have been sitting here for the last hour listening to God.   His Spirit is moving in me to share a message with everyone.   Around the world, there are people who are being tortured, killed and imprisoned for their love of Jesus Christ.   I have spent the last few hours surfing the web and looking at several different websites dedicated to underground churches and to martyrs of Christ.                   All of them tell similar stories.   Stories of women, men, and children being taken from their homes and loved ones for having the courage to speak of the Gospel.   They know in their hearts that when they voice their beliefs they are condemning themselves to horrible injustices.   ...

            I got off of work this morning at six a.m.   I have been wrestling with sleep for the last few days.   Physically, I should be so tired that I fall into oblivion as soon as my head hits the pillow.   But, the last few days, I have hardly slept.   If anyone works graveyard shifts they know that this is not a good thing.   Being awake all day, without sleep, equals a bad night at work.   (And a not so great mood at home either)             A week ago we had a prophet come in to speak at our church.   He talked about his beliefs of insomnia.   He said that he felt that when people can’t sleep it is because we don’t spend the time with God that we should and He waits until He can talk to us.   Here we are trying to relax and get some sleep and God wants to have a conversation.   I have experienced insomnia my whole life,...

             " But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we live for him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made everything and through whom we have been given life."                                                                         1 Corinthians 8:6 (NLT) 1.)     God is our source 2.)   He provides for us 3.)   We should be dependent on Him I was talking with a coworker the other day and as I was listening to her a question popped up in my mind.   “Is God my source or my back-up plan?”...

    I read something today that really made me think.  In the book of Genesis, Jacob describes his son Reuben as, “turbulent as the waters.”  The New Living Translation goes on to dissect this statement further by saying that water has no shape of its own, except for when it is frozen.  But, my way of thinking is that even when frozen, the water still conforms to its container or its environment.  It never really gains its own shape.      The Bible was talking about how consistent we are in our personal lives as opposed to how we act in the public view.  Human nature runs the show most of the time and I know for myself that my personal life is not always up to par to what I would like those in my “public” life to be aware of.     I have been battling temptation recently and I find myself trying hard to live the life that God wants for me.  I want to live up to his standards.  I want my standards to r...

Life is full of choices.   The most important choice I have ever made was becoming a Christian.   I made the choice to love an almighty God. The Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.   Every choice you make has a consequence, some good and some bad.               When you choose to live for God; to proclaim off of every rooftop the love of His Son, you will be persecuted.   In being a Christian, we know what our reward is.   We know that no matter what troubles befall us on this earth, that in the end we win.   There are consequences to being a Christian: ·         You can no longer live a life full of debauchery: o    Drunkenness o    Lust o    Idolatry ·         You will lose friends o    The people you associated with are not going to change what they do because you have made a...