The Way Up is Down!

I am so incredibly thankful to God that Angela is so happy in her new school. What a huge blessing and one that makes it so much easier for mom. Thank you Lord for this answered prayer. God is good - so good!

Ok, so on to the subject for today. This morning I saw a picture on the internet of a Christian with both of his middle fingers up. That was so disapointing to me. Then I went to read my scripture and read the following.

"Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols?...When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ."

After I read these verses I really thought about us Christians. How do we present ourselves and how do we live our lives in this world? So we may not eat food sacrificed to idols, but the point here is what do we do as Christians that others see? If we claim to follow Jesus do others see that we live that out? When I saw that picture this morning I of couse thought - "you call yourself a Christian". Not judging here but it does speak for itself. If someone who's faith is weak or someone that has no faith at all sees me doing something "of this world" does that not say that being a Christian is no different? My son-in-law was not a beliver until he saw the life of his now wife. He never saw the life of Christians any different than his. Isn't that so sad to think that there are so few Christians that live their lives any different than a non-Christian?

We should all stop and think about our walk with Jesus. Do you call yourself a Christian and yet still swear and go out partying and join in whatever else everyone is doing? First and foremost is to remember that you are a forgiven and loved son or daughter of the King. Knowing that no matter what you have done, you are still loved and forgiven brings the ultimate freedom - EVER! Then as Jesus told the woman caught in adultery - "Go now and leave your life of sin."

It's pretty simple - as Christians we do have a choice. There is no middle ground. We're either for Christ or against him. When I get to the end of my life I want to hear "well done good and faithful servant." Will I do it perfectly - no way, that's why Jesus came to die for me - but my life should be lived for him, not this world. If everything else was taken away in my life there would be a lot of pain and loss, BUT I WOULD STILL HAVE JESUS!

He is the lover of my soul! He longs to be close to you - closer than you can even begin to imagine. All you have to do is seek him and he will be found. That is a promise! If you feel lost or alone - unforgiven or scared - just get alone with Jesus. Fall face down on the floor, I mean really on the floor - just seek him - speak out loud to him - tell him how you feel - all of it - he hears your prayer - ask him to fill you with his presence - he will, he promises to. "Draw near to me and I will draw near to you." Remember, the way up is down!

You are so loved by the creator. It is overwhelming to me how much I am loved.