Word of God – Page 23 – The Jesus Chick

Posted in Life Inspiration

No Monkeys at Camp!

Written by talk2shari Published July 21, 2014July 28, 2014 Discussion Leave a Comment

I really don’t know at what point in my life I was introduced to the gospel. I was brought up in church from birth, and yet didn’t come to the saving grace of Jesus Christ until the age of 34.

John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Are those verses not amazing? Theologian Francis Junius told of how as a youth he was “infected with loose notions in religion,” as he puts it. But by the grace of God discovered faith in Christ by “accidently” reading John 1:1-5 which his father had purposefully laid in his way. Loose notions of religion… how appropriately does that describe our world today? Because of the light hand taken with the gospel at many of the churches I grew up in, the light of God did not penetrate my soul and I too had loose notions of religion. Oh, I believed in Christ (as does Satan), but I had no real comprehension of Who it was that Christ was. I believed that God created the universe, but what about those monkey’s people told me about in school? I didn’t really believe it, but it cast enough doubt into my mind that I was confused as to the creation of mankind, after all learned people were telling me these atrocities. Adults wouldn’t lie, right? My idealistic world of two Ozzie and Harriett parents didn’t prepare me for secular teaching and liberal preaching did solidify anything in my mind about Jesus Christ.

Tears well up in my eyes when I think of what children today are being exposed to. At least, Hallelujah and praise His Holy Name, I had a decent foundation. I had good parents. But the world is harsh.

When God gives that final exam in Heaven… “What did you do in your life for me?” There are going to be some educators who are going to stand before Almighty God and give an account for why they preached a monkey religion and cast confusion in the minds of children. “But it was a State Mandate! They’ll cry…” And God’s response… I don’t know. That’s for God to deicide, but I’m pretty sure it won’t be good.

That was a station break, now back to my sin. From the creation God was. Christ was. From 1962 Shari was (in human form anyway). And even as a child, in the pit of my soul I knew there was a Creator. God revealed that to me, but I was in darkness and I comprehended it not. I didn’t understand until I heard the Word of God preached in 1996 and it was literally as if God flipped a switch in my soul and I said, “Oh Jesus! Thank You for causing the darkness to flee, I’ve been scared and alone for 34 years.”

This morning I woke up in teen camp 2014. I fear that the switch has not been turned on in all of my campers, I’m pretty sure of it. They won’t get any monkey religion from me or any other leader of Victory Baptist Church this week; they’ll get the gospel. Please pray for our youth and our leaders. I hope to have some awesome stories of salvation this week!

Posted in Uncategorized

It started with a kiss

Written by talk2shari Published July 19, 2014July 19, 2014 Discussion Leave a Comment

Betrayal. A hard pill to swallow, but when its family, Satan seems to find his way into that pool and will splash the water until there’s nothing left. It’s true in family related by blood or family under the blood. Division is his goal and usually begins with a kiss.

II Samuel 15: 5-6

⁵And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him.

⁶And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

Absalom wanted his father’s throne but he knew King David’s followers were loyal and an immediate hostile takeover wouldn’t settle well. So he positioned himself between judgment and the King. The church has allowed much the same to happen; the son of disobedience has positioned himself between judgment and the King, and as churches get more and more liberal, desiring to please men, Satan gathers more into his way of thinking and we now have a breach in loyalty.

The Word is Watered

We want a social gospel. One that looks pretty but is without consequence.

2 Timothy 4:3 [Full Chapter]

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

We long to have our egos stroked and leave church feeling as though we can fight hell with a water gun but we don’t want the power of the gospel turned on us. Absalom looked pretty, he had chariots of horses that ran before him and he would stand in the gates and tell men what they wanted to hear, they would exchange pleasantries and before long business acquaintances became his allies and David’s enemies.

America continues to align itself with the world rather than with the Word. We want judgment for everyone else, but we want to judge ourselves. We don’t want preachers telling us how to raise our children, we’d rather give that power to the DHHR because obviously their way works. We don’t want to hear that we need to be in church when the doors are open because the doors to the world are open wider, and the end result is miserable homes and marriages across the country.

Morality is Marred

We’ve allowed government to skew the Word of God. Adolf Hitler said “What luck for the rulers that men do not think.” We’re allowing government to do our thinking for us. If they say their ideas are best for our country, so it is. And yet we’d never tolerate their ideologies in our home…. Yet. Little by little they’re getting a strong hold into the homes of America and adultery, lying and thievery are not “so bad.” Absalom started out with 50 horsemen and for a little while he ended up with a nation. David regained the throne but he lost a son.

It all started with a kiss.

We need to stop kissing up to the world and start getting our homes back on the right track. Hope to see you in church Sunday morning!

Posted in Life Inspiration

When the enemy’s close, God is closer!

Written by talk2shari Published July 17, 2014July 17, 2014 Discussion Leave a Comment

Camp is three days out for the teens at Victory Baptist Church, and I don’t know if they’re more excited about it or me! I have a few first year campers who are uncertain of what to expect; they just know that the other campers are excited so they are too! Me, I’m always excited to see what the Lord will do. So this morning as I searched God’s Word for a word about camp I found a word about camp and life.

Exodus 14

¹⁸And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

¹⁹And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:

²⁰And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

Who hasn’t known what it was like to have that enemy closing in on them? Just when you think life’s under control and then suddenly on the back of your neck you feel that hot, nasty breath. My stomach churns just to think about it. You’re in a predicament, you’ve prayed and have direction… and now this. Why? I wonder what the children of Israel are thinking as they leave in amazement with the enemy paying their way, there is rejoicing and gladness and then from behind them they hear the hooves of the enemy’s horses. Good grief I hope we get to watch the real movie on IMAX when we get to Heaven, I’ll bet it was a sight to behold.

When the children left there was no doubt the glory of God was on their journey, after all His presence in the cloud hovered above them and guided them out. Now all they needed to do was move forward, but there was the sound in the background…clickety clock, clickety clock, clickety clock… it was if their time was running out. They were on foot with babies and belongings, how could they possibly out run those horses?! And then in real time that cloud moved. What was once above them guiding the way now moved between them and the enemy and while it still provided light on their side, the other side was pitch black and confusing.

The Word of God is proven much the same way today for the sinner and the saint. On the sinners side it’s darkness for there is no light for their path, no guiding force, just a dark path of uncertainty without hope. But on the side of the saint, Glory!!! We have the light that not only guides our way but shields us from the darkness behind. The enemy may be close, but God is closer and above all mightier!

That’s the message I want for my teens this coming week. I want them to understand that they serve the God of Israel, and what that God did for Israel, He’ll do for them. I’ve had my own clickety clock, clickety clock this week. That feeling of impending doom… My God is going before me, and He’s got my back. How’s your week going? In need of prayer, I love the opportunity!

Posted in Christian Service, Leadership, Life Inspiration, Political

The Accountability Factor in America

Written by talk2shari Published July 9, 2014July 9, 2014 Discussion Leave a Comment

The Heading caught me this morning as I flipped through my Ryrie Study Bible… “He Reforms the Nation.”…

Who reformed the nation? Josiah. I love his story! Crowned king at eight years old, reigning until he was thirty nine in Jerusalem and it says that he “did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.” 2 Kings 22:2

Oh for a Josiah in America…

He made the church fiscally and physically accountable

22:4-5 ~ Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people: And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work, that have the oversight of the house of the Lord: and let them give it to the doers of the work which is in the house of the Lord, to repair the breaches of the house,

I don’t think that it’s rocket science to know that churches (I speak collectively) have stopped holding themselves accountable. It’s been the topic of conversation a couple of times in my teen class lately to beware of high dollar preachers who use God’s money to fund their high dollar living. I’m all about providing for a Pastor, and I think he deserves top quality stuff, after all he’s in charge of our spiritual health and that’s a pretty hard job. But I don’t think any preacher needs a 10 million dollar home and a Mercedes in the garage paid for by the collection of the saints. Now… if he has other moneys coming from other incomes and he chooses to use it for that, that’s his business. However… on that note I think he’s going to have some explaining to do the Lord.

But that lifestyle makes me nauseous when there are so many people struggling in their lives, so many ministries that are could use money for the furtherance of the gospel and the glory of the Kingdom. I heard someone say the other day, and I may have mentioned it previously but it really stuck in my soul that we need to pray for “enough.” And then I think that anything above “enough” should be prayerfully and purposefully used.

He made the church Spiritually accountable

22:11~ And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king’s, saying, Go ye, enquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us.

They, like us today, were without excuse. We have the book; now it’s up to us to adhere God’s expectations.

He made them politically accountable

23:1-3 ~And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after theLord, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.

Conforming started at the top and worked its way down from the King to the people. If there is any hope for us to have the heading in America that “He reforms the nation” it’s going to have to go from top to bottom; but I can assure you it’s going to have to start at the bottom and works its way to the top. America is going to have to hold our government accountable…but first the churches in America are going to have to take a long look at how they’re handling the Word of God that is so readily available but seems seldom read. The church is going to have stop conforming to the world’s standards and expecting the world’s compensation for a service that Christ said was every Christian’s responsibility.

Posted in Uncategorized

Ridiculous Faith!

Written by talk2shari Published July 5, 2014 Discussion Leave a Comment

Woohoo! Here I am burning daylight with Jesus on a Saturday morning! There are a great many people who would look at that statement, shake their head and under their breath say “Jesus freak.” And that’s okay. I’d have said that too in 1995. But then came 1996 and life radically, drastically changed and there was no turning back.

As I read the parable of the sower this morning in Matthew 13 I could see myself in all four. Prior to salvation I heard the Word of God, but it went in one ear and out the other. It might cause me to ponder life for a second, but in three seconds my thoughts were back on worldly tasks and toys. Or I’d get into trouble and turn to God for a second, but two seconds after I was out of trouble I had long since forgotten my need for a Savior. And too often to count I battled my way out of trials and tribulations like fighting gnats on a hot summer night, seldom ever striking anything that hit me.

But what a blessing it was this morning to read Matthew 13:18-23 and see myself in a whole new light!

Matthew 13:18-23

¹⁸Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. ¹⁹When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

Being brought up in a Christian home I knew to turn to God in times of trouble. So I’d open up the Bible and read it thinking there’s got to be an answer in here for me. And had I been reading it for an actual solution rather than some magic pill to make all things better I would have likely found an answer; but for the most part it might as well been written in the original language, because I understood nothing! So imagine my surprise when I got saved and the scripture came to life! It is a living Word. I didn’t understand the whole book, but what I read I gleaned so much goodness from I carried it everywhere I went and read it like it was the hottest magazine on the market.

²⁰But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; ²¹Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

Psalm 119:165 says “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” What once would have sent me seething out the door of a church suddenly had me captivated shouting bring it on! There wasn’t a preacher who could preach long enough or hard enough to me, I thrived on hearing the Word of God and although it might pierce my heart with the truth, Christ was quick to cover it with a balm of gladness as He spoke to my heart “Don’t worry… that sin’s covered too!”

²²He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

As a new convert I watched as friends who had accepted Christ walked away from the church and back out into the world and the world embraced them with a tender hand and then smacked them down to the ground. I waited for them to come back; some did, most didn’t. I praise God that He spoke to me each time and “That’s what the world has for you, stay with Me.” And so I have!

²³But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

I pray I’m a fruit bearer. I pray that no word spoken from my mouth or written by these hands do anything but show you what Christ has done in me, for me and through me. To the unsaved I pray I look so ridiculous that they have to look a little while longer, and in so doing the too discover Christ!

Posted in Leadership, Life Inspiration, Political

Seriously… You believed that?

Written by talk2shari Published July 1, 2014July 1, 2014 Discussion Leave a Comment

I went to sleep last night with this outline on my mind and it was there again when I first awoke this morning; that’s how God works and I love that about Him! The problem then was I couldn’t go to sleep trying to think of scripture that would go along with my outline and why was this outline on my mind? Obviously something God wanted me to hear, and while I love the thoughts of being Spiritually Fed and Led, the thought of being Spiritually Dead made me nauseous. I’ve seen it far too often when a church just doesn’t get it. The only thing they’re missing is an undertaker to remove the bodies (spiritually speaking of course.)

The Spiritually Dead

Hosea 10:1 ~ Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.

Israel’s altars were lined, but with images not with people serving God. It’s a crying shame that the altars in America are much the same. The church altar is empty while wealth and possessions have consumed the minds of two generations; it’s scary to think what the next generation will be like when history has proven “what one generation accepts as norm, the next embraces and goes deeper into it.” It doesn’t have to be so.

The Spiritually Fed

Hebrews 5:12-14 ~ For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

If we ate food like we’re fed on the gospel I’m pretty sure there wouldn’t be an obesity issue in America. It’s so easy to put God on the backburner in the course of a day. I speak from shameful experience; God is not always my main course. We wonder why America’s going to “Hell in a hand basket” and yet we have but to look in the mirror. Why else would Hobby Lobby have to fight for their right to their rights? Because Christians have stopped reading the Word of God and listened to the liberal media tell us what’s right. Well that’s wrong.

The Spiritually Led

Romans 8:14 ~For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

I read a joke on Facebook this morning that Pinocchio entered a liars contest and lost to an American Politician. I won’t name names, mainly because he probably came in 432^nd place behind every other knothead on Capitol Hill. (Fictional number, I have no clue how many liars there are). But that’s probably a low number. So you say Pinocchio’s not real… well I’m not sure honest politicians are either.

If you’re a child of God, should it not be God that you go to for the truth. After all He is the truth.

John 14:6

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

We need to stop being led by media and political factions and start being led by the gospel. Open the Word of God or go to a Bible preaching church and you’ll discover that the Word of God reads like what a modern day newspaper should read like. But our local media is filled with more tattles than truth, pointing out the faults of their opposing party.

I know, I’m likely preachin’ to the choir if you take the time to read “The Jesus Chick.” So… share me with someone you love. Perhaps it will give them the desire to come alive! Come to the well of Living Water to feed on the truth and be led away from the wiles of the world.

Posted in Life Inspiration, salvation

Exercise Don’t Come Easy

Written by talk2shari Published June 12, 2014 Discussion Leave a Comment

Ecclesiastes 1:13 ~ And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.

Ol’ Solomon. Or so tradition has it. Some believe Solomon wrote the Song of Solomon in his youth, the book of Proverbs in his middle age, and the book of Ecclesiastes when he was old. His entire life he’d given to search out the wisdom of God, and it was often a burdensome feat.

I get that. Especially this week, only it’s not a burdensome feat, but rather burdensome feet that have got me in sore travail. Another crazy antic in the life of Shari found me in nothing less than a Physical Education teacher class with PE teachers being trained to implement SPARK curriculum. Shari… the blogger… who exercises her mind, not her body, although I should have been. Shari… the out of shape blogger has had 3 six hours days of jumping, dancing, hoola hooping… (don’t go there, not a pretty image) and now has a sore heel due to the “cute” little flat sandals I wore the first day, not knowing I was going to be actually in this class, not just helping to set it up.

How much better it would have been had I been studied up. Or at least thinner.

I fear there will be those taking the tests of life, and especially the final, unprepared and sore vexed for answers from their lack of exercise of faith. Solomon himself said it was a hard task to study the things of God, even before the days of Facebook and Twitter and all the other gadgets and activities that consume our time. How much more now… are these gadgets and activities a trial or blessing. We need time to prepare.

It’s not only preachers who need to “study to show themselves approved” (2 Timothy 2:15). Studying scripture is not for the bible scholar, although they need it, but for every common man, woman and child so that when the trials of life come upon them they’ve had an exercised faith that’s ready for the work out. Someone dies, someone’s ill, financial struggle, broken hearts and all of life’s frustrations are covered in the training manual. And practiced in the lives of saints if you’ll watch them every day.

During this training a young man sat down at our breakfast table before the day started and out of the corner of my eye I watched him bow his head and bless his food. He not only had trained his body, but trained his mind in Spiritual things as well. I was so grateful! I had wondered that morning if my own faith would be understood that day, and God sent another of his warriors to the table as if to say… you’re not alone Shari.

Perhaps to day you’re in the midst of exercise of faith. Train on. God will strengthen you in the trial.

So… what if today you stood before God taking the final, are you prepared? Would you have the answer if He ask, “Why should I allow you to enter Heaven?”

I’ll even give you a cheat sheet. The answer would be given by Christ when He said, “They’re mine. They’ve claimed Me as their Savior, trusted me for their Salvation. They ask me into their heart at the age of _____.”

Could you fill in the blank? If not you’ve failed, and that’s one exam you can’t afford to fail, because there’s not a do-over. Eternity in Hell will be the penalty.

A loving God will not make you prepare, it’s your choice. I hope you’ve made it! If you’d like to know more or you’re unsure, follow this link: https://thejesuschick.com/the-road-to-salvation/

Posted in Life Inspiration

Westboro Baptist, Brad Paisley and the Selfie… this ain’t Christianity folks

Written by talk2shari Published June 4, 2014June 4, 2014 Discussion Leave a Comment

Seriously, I’m not a Brad Paisley fan, (I have nothing against him either, I wouldn’t know his songs if I heard them playing on the radio) but his picture trending through Facebook and Twitter caught my eye and my captured my heart a little. If you don’t know the story, his concert was being picketed by the Westboro Baptist Church; so he went outside and took a selfie. One writer wrote

“It makes you wonder how far down Brad Paisley is on their list of things to protest? He must fall somewhere between “ice cream” and “yoga pants.”

It made me wonder if the folks at Westboro had ever read their Bible, or what version or perversion they’re reading. The picture speaks a thousand words, or at least 697 in this blog. And the words their picture speaks is not in their favor. God does hate some things, but not the things on their posters. God doesn’t hate drunks. He loved them enough to die for them. He warns against alcohol, but doesn’t warn against the person who drinks it. There is no “Thou shalt not love the drunkard” commandment. If Jesus were to walk the highways today he very well might walk into a bar and sit on the stool beside the drunkard. He wouldn’t tell him (or her) that they’re wicked and He wouldn’t scream repent in their face. The conversation would likely go more like the chat He had with a woman at another drinking hole; the woman at the well. When she returned home after meeting Jesus she told her family ^“Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” – John 4:29

Christ’s conversation would not condemn, but rather reveal the real reason they’re drinking, and through His compassion their soul would be satisfied and their thirst quenched. And the repentance part. He’d say it… but it would likely be more of a whisper. That’s truth. That’s gospel.

It’s ironic (and quite sad) that the things God hates are the very thing these picketing nitwits epitomize. They’re proud (look at that gals face), lying, wicked imagining, discord sowing people. They’re not a bit more Baptist than I’m an accountant. (You’d have to know me to know how silly that title would be on me).

Proverbs 6:16-19 says

These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

These folks need to take a few selfies of their own by examining their own lives. I actually thought this group no longer existed, I guess I was out of the loop.

My whole point in this little rant is that my heart tires of the bad name Christianity get because of the misrepresentation of our faith by people like this. In one of the comments on an article written about this event someone posted that “God doesn’t exist.” And it’s because of this nonsense that they don’t see Him. My stomach rolled over to think that the Westboro people are indeed shedding innocent blood. They’ve caused the innocent blood of Christ to be of no effect in the lives of lost souls by spewing hatred in the name of Christ.

If you happened upon this blog and you’re not saved, it wasn’t by accident. You need to know that they are not the Ambassadors for Christ.

Christ’s people (if they’re biblical): Love unconditionally, take regular “selfies” and understand that they themselves are a wretched sinner saved only by God’s grace, and they don’t carry a sign, they carry a cross as a sign of humility. I sure hope you see God the way I intended… a Friend who loves you the way you are, but loves you too much to let you stay in that condition. As my friend Perry Noble says, “It’s okay to not be okay, but it’s not okay to stay that way.”

Love ya! Mean it! – The Jesus Chick

Posted in Christian Service, Life Inspiration

The Key to a Blessing

Written by talk2shari Published June 2, 2014 Discussion Leave a Comment

So call me crazy… again. Over the years I’ve been blessed with a few musical instruments, most as gifts and some I’ve purchased. But through a couple of friends I was taught to dedicate those to the Lord for the purpose of glorifying the Kingdom. When we’d get a new instrument we’d meet with the preacher or have a time of dedication as musicians and it has always been a blessing. So scroll forward from those days to this past week and the purchasing of a new used car for myself. I realize that I could have likely purchased someone else’s problems, I am still “jump and the net will appear” Shari. I think sometimes there is a fine line between faith and stupidity with me. It is not beyond me to make a decision based on a twenty minute time frame, and for the record, God doesn’t always like time constraints. Sometime He’d like us to ponder a decision, mull it over in our minds and chew on it a while to see if the flavor is just right.

Unfortunately, that’s not how I work.

I pass by a car lot, something shiny catches my eye and I’m ready to purchase. Then reality sits in as I look at the price tag. But before I could get back in my car and off the lot the vultures have circled me and they’re pretty sure that they can hook me up with something within my price range. To top it all off, my car (which had a really bad owner, namely me) has an engine that sounds like a busload of Baptist at a housing project on a soul winning mission. It’s knock, knock and knocking and before you know it, I’m driving off the lot in something shiny. Bada-bing-bada-boom, that’s how life works.

Now I’m driving down I-79 in my Jeep Compass with slightly higher mileage than should be on it thinking… what have I done? In my defense (I feel like you’re judging me) I’d been praying to the Lord about my car; He and I were on the same page I’m pretty sure… it needed to go. I just wasn’t sure that this was the lot it needed to go on. But so it was in true impulse buying fashion.

The Lord has provided me with a car! Thank You Jesus! An instrument of service so to speak which I’ve determined needs to be dedicated to the Lord. So Sunday morning I approach our interim Pastor and asked him if he’d mind dedicating my car that evening. I think he thought I was joking, but in true seasoned Pastor form, he caught himself before he laughed out loud and said “You’re serious?”

So Sunday evening, in a little bigger dedication service than I had planned, he dedicated my car before the congregation of the Lord. They too probably thought I’d lost my mind. But that’s okay because I knew it was the right thing to do for a number of reasons.

First – Because God knows how I take care of a vehicle. It needs blessed.

Secondly – Because that vehicle is an instrument that’s going to be used for the service of the Lord. Instruments of service are not limited to the cups and offering plates in the sanctuary of the Old Testament temple. That car gets me from point “A” to point “B” on many ventures of the Lord’s service as well as secular service. My motor oil needs the anointing of God to keep it running in top form.

Brother Dennis prayed and God poured His blessings down upon me, and my soul was satisfied that the Jeep Compass in the parking lot was now the property of God.

Micah 4:13 says ~ Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.

My hoofs aren’t brass, they’re likely some other form of metal but they are consecrated to the Lord. I believe it’s biblical.

The blessing didn’t only ask for a commitment from God to take care of the instrument of service but it also put a responsibility on me to take care of the Lord’s property. Call me crazy… it’s okay. My family already knows it. But I don’t mind being a fool for Christ. That’s biblical too.

Posted in Life Inspiration, Life's Failures

Deserving of Mercy?

Written by talk2shari Published May 29, 2014 Discussion Leave a Comment

Who deserves it? Certainly not I. This is something that is a daily struggle in my walk with Christ. So much so that it is often detrimental to my service because I’m always feeling lower than a snail’s belly. Maybe it’s not so with you, but for the record I’m a wretched sinner. No, I’m not going to confess it to you, you’re not God. Just trust me, okay. And although confession is good for the soul I’ve seen too many people’s lives turn into an episode of Jerry Springer and he’s not in the building. James 5:16 does say “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” But it doesn’t say for you to air your dirty laundry or somebody else’s on Facebook and Twitter. A close friend will do nicely. Whew! That was tangent of a commercial break. Now back to the message.

So who does deserve mercy?

Psalm 103:17-18

¹⁷But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;

¹⁸To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.

God’s Property for God’s People

Mercy is “of the Lord.” It’s entirely up to Him and His righteousness on who He chooses to dole it out upon. I know one thing for certain, I’ve been extended an abundance of mercy. But that’s okay, because there’s an endless supply. His word said it was “everlasting to everlasting.” That’s a really long time. For those that fear him. That’s the child of God. He or she who has made a confession of faith that Jesus Christ is Lord, crucified for our personal sin, risen again the third day, proving He alone has the power over death, Hell and the grave and now is our intercessor at the throne of God providing forgiveness for our sins, and yes, mercy. It’s one of the awesome benefits of a child of God that we take for granted, until we need it. And then we’re begging for it. It’s there for not only us but for our “children’s children.” My Grandbabies! I am the Mama of Mercy when it comes to them, I extend it far above what I should or so my children say. I consider it a privilege of grand parenting to have that right. That’s probably not actually biblical, but to say that God has the right to extend mercy to the undeserving is true.

God’s Promise to God’s People

If you’re disobedient you have no promise of God’s mercy, you may receive it, but you’ll not have peace in the process. But the Word says “To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.” To them mercy is promised. Those who believe in the New Covenant, which is Jesus Christ, but not forsaking the law. Yes, Christ died because man couldn’t keep the law, but that didn’t make the law of no effect. We will sin, but we’re to turn from it and repent to God in sincerity. You cannot live in blatant sin and expect the mercy to continue to rain down upon you. But, to the child of God who sincerely tries to live in the ways of Christ, they have a promise!

I must confess again, I’m not the keeper of the faith. I fail God so often it’s ridiculous. Please live better than me. I’m trying to live closer to the foot of the cross, I want that promise and the peace.

May God’s mercy be with us all…