Saturday, February 28, 2009

Reflections on John 3:16

It is one of the first Bible verses that I learned. For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son that who so ever believes in him shall not parish but have eternal life.
As a child I really did not grasp the true meaning of this beautiful verse. Matter of fact, I really did not understand it until I had children of my own. I love my babies more than my own life and I just don't think I could ever do what God did for us. I could not send any one of my three angels to a place that I knew was going to be filled with hardship, suffering, and ultimately a horrible, painful death. God knew exactly what he was doing, and because he loved us so much, he gave us Jesus. I am so thankful for that gift because I know it is one that I would never be strong enough to give.
Because of this beautiful sacrifice, so much of my fear has been erased. I do not need to fear my own death or the death of beloved family members. John 3:16 gives us the hope of eternal life. What we are in now is just one small part of our existence. There is more for us to do once we leave our bodies and this Earth. We will not parish or pass away. Eternity awaits us and it will be a beautiful thing to behold.

Friday, February 27, 2009

It Is Hard Being a Woman

We are doing a Beth Moore Bible study on Esther. I have really come to admire her more that ever as I have learned some of the history behind this extraordinary woman of God. I always pictured her as a young woman of 18 to 20, but she was probably only 13 or 14 when she was taken from her home to try to please the king. How many 13 year olds do you know who would have been able to keep their heads in such a situation? Esther gained the favor of all those who were in the position to help her become queen. I imagine this included having the qualities of a true woman of God and not submitting to the petty things that even today's woman struggles with.

Part of this study encourages us to look within ourselves and accept ourselves for who we are. To often we waste time comparing ourselves to other women. We find that we dress to impress others than dressing to be comfortable to ourselves. Why? What does it matter? God loves us for who we are and there is no need to try to out do our fellow sisters in Christ. The Bible says that beauty is fleeting and that is true. We were not designed to stay young forever. We will age, and looks will fade, but the inner beauty that we find within ourselves will shine forever.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

In the Beginning.....

I am always frustrated when I hear about schools teaching about evolution, but totally ignoring any other view, especially creationism. Many scientists are now debunking Darwin's theory and some are even pointing to evidence of a creation type story to explain our existence. You can get into the whole debate as to if God really created the earth an all of its creatures in six, 24 hour days or not (remember he rested on the seventh), but the important thing is that God did create. He is still creating. Every human being on this Earth was created by God in his image. God's hand will be in every beautiful flower that is about to bloom and in the fruit that will be growing on the tree in my back yard. The beginning continues on to today. Even though creation is not what it was originally, it is a beautiful thing and we need to remember to thank God every day for all of the blessings of creation.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Sitting in Ashes

Tonight we went to our church's Ash Wednesday service. As usual, it was very moving to me. Our sermon was on how at different points in our lives, we might find ourselves sitting in ashes. This can be caused by several bad events piling on top of each other. While we are sitting in this pile of ashes, we don't always see God working for us. All we see is the bad and we are left wondering if something good will ever come of it. Everything in this crazy life happens for a reason... even the bad things. We must have faith that God will bring us up from our despair and one day we will see the reason behind the pain.
Our minister used several different examples of how people have come out of their pile of ashes. He told the story of a man who owned a chicken business by the highway. One day the all mighty interstate was built and his business dwindled as more cars took to the new infrastructure. All he had left from his life was a social security check and the poor, old man considered turning to a life of crime. Instead, he took that social security check, some of his famous fried chicken and founded something that we know as KFC today. Its hard to imagine Colonel Sanders as a criminal.
He also told the story of Hannah. Her life was a plie of ashes as she had no son. One day God answered her prayer and gave her Samuel, who she gave back to Him. All of her suffering through infertility led to one of the greatest man of God in the Old Testiment, but she was unable to see this while she was suffering.
On Ash Wednesday, we need to remember that God does have a plan. There may be several difficult things going on in your life right now, but we as weak humans, cannot always see the bigh picture and the plans that God has for us. Do not lose faith. Spend this time of lent in prayer and seeking Him. All will be revealed in due time.