Grace for Each Day

“Every breath we draw is a gift of God's love; every moment of existence is a grace.” Thomas Merton

A friend of mine posted this thought on Facebook this morning: “The day is fresh with no mistakes in it. Thankful for grace this morning.” This made me think of a phrase another friend quoted to me a few months ago: “Every day is a new story!” Do you carry burdens from one day to another? Do you berate yourself for mistakes you made yesterday and continue the lament into today? You don't have to do this! Take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there. And He will supply you with grace for today. II Corinthians 12:8, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Ephesians 4:7, “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.”

Lamentations 3:22-23, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

If you are not a Christian, today is the day to begin a life free from sin. Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 Isaiah 1:18 “ . . .Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” When we have asked Jesus for forgiveness from our sins, and accepted Him into our heart and life, then we know this truth found in II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself . . .”

Most of us have needed a place of beginning again, whether it was from some big sin or just a terribly bad day. If we have sinned, then our Savior is waiting for us to repent and come back to a right standing with Him. Ephesians 2:13, “Now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Acts 3:19, “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. “

Sometimes we need a fresh start. Do you suffer with regrets? Bitterness from being treated wrongly? Wrong choices? Isaiah 43:18-19, “Remember not the former thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” And in Philippians 3:11-14, “Brothers (and Sisters), I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

James 4:6, “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Verse 8 tells us to “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

A song from long ago just came to mind made famous by Evie Tornquist, Give Them All which you can listen to HERE. As you go about your life, every night, give all your burdens to Jesus and then you can begin anew in the morning!

Give Them All

Are you tired of chasing pretty rainbows

Are you tired of spinning round and round

Wrap up all the shattered dreams of your life

At the feet of Jesus lay them down

CHORUS

Give them all

Give them all

Give them all to Jesus

Shattered dreams

Wounded hearts

Broken toys

Give them all

Give them all

Give them all to Jesus

And he will turn your sorrow into joy

VERSE 2

He never said you’d only see sunshine

He never said there’d be no rain

He only promised a heart full of singing

About the very things that once caused pain

The Funeral of a Saint: blessing and celebration

I recently attended the funeral of a dear saint in our church whom I also considered a friend. He led a life pleasing to God and made an impact on his family, church and community, even to foreign lands. The service was labeled, A Celebration. And it truly was.

I have always found it interesting who shows up at a viewing or funeral. Often it is people I know but I didn't know they knew the deceased person. It is intriguing to note how our lives touch other lives and we are all intertwined together here on earth.

Somehow I always feel blessed at a funeral! That sounds strange to some, but I guess it is how my mind works. I sing the hymns that speak of heaven and being with Jesus and I remember the sometimes long and painful journey of the deceased and I know that that person is finally free from pain and enjoying the wonders of heaven with Jesus. But it is more than that. I believe it is the Spirit of God in my soul responding to the hymns, and the living Word of God and the words of comfort in the message.

It is a time of rejoicing within my heart for the plan of salvation whereby I have a hope of heaven. A thankfulness to be part of the family of God. And also a gratefulness that I responded to the Holy Spirit's call to be saved over 51 years ago. I am so amazed at the awesomeness of our God who knew we as mankind would need to be redeemed and that he had a plan from the foundation of the world, that His Son, Jesus, would come to earth, live a short 33 years and then die on a cross so that we all could have our sins forgiven, we would become new creatures in Christ, and we would have eternal life and the hope of heaven when we die. This makes a funeral of a Christian a time of rejoicing. And my heart responds to these thoughts as I sit in a “celebration” service.

We sang a number of contemporary Christian songs which were favorites of the family. One song was, “You 're a Good, Good Father” (Chris Tomlin) which is another of my favorites. It is a song of love back to Father God thanking Him for being such a good father to us.

You're a Good Good Father

It's who you are, it's who you are, it's who you are

And I'm loved by you

It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am.

The Saints Sing Hallelujah was sung with joy and exuberance as we realized that we are saints because of the shed blood of Jesus and we have every reason to sing Hallelujah!

The Word of God is a living epistle as Jesus said in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” So when scriptures are read during a funeral, that Living Word connects with the Living God, Jesus, living within our hearts and we rejoice! A few well known verses include:

John 14:1-3 “Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

I Thessalonians 4:13-14, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”

Of course we are human and we grieve for our lost loved one. But it is a grief with hope. Praise be to God! We know we will see that person again in heaven if each of us has prayed for forgiveness of our sins and asked Jesus to live in our hearts. We are told in Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” So we cry with those who are grieving but we rejoice with them that their loved one is in heaven!

At the end of the service we sang, It Is Well With My Soul. What a glorious ending as nearly 300 people raised their voices in praise to God. It is such a comfort to know that it is well between the Almighty God and we who have accepted the free gift of salvation. It is a reminder or just a glimpse of what it will be like some day when all the saints will be in heaven, singing around the throne of God, and we will be able to praise our Redeemer like never before.

I will never forget the funeral of a dear saint in Virginia over 40 years ago. The widow asked my friend and I to sing, Then Sings My Soul. When we sang this third verse, she burst out in shouts of praise, because she knew that Jesus had come to take her husband home to heaven.

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation and lead me home,

 what joy shall fill my heart

Then I shall bow with humble adoration And then proclaim, my God, 

How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, 

How Great Thou Art, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, 

How Great Thou Art, how great Thou art.

Labels and Lessons Learned

Labels: carrot top, poor kid, gopher, four eyes, ugly, just . . . These are some of the labels Phil wore as a young school boy. It made me think of my elementary years and the labels I wore. When I was in first grade, we had first and second grade together for the first half of the year while an addition was being built onto the school. This was a good thing for me because when she was teaching the second graders, I heard them reading and reading came easy for me and that teacher was a very good teacher. Then we first graders went down to the new classroom and even though the teacher was very nice, there was at least one incident that labeled me. I remember when we were learning to tell time and I answered a question that it was 45 minutes after two and she said I was wrong, that it was 2:45. But my parents had taught me to tell time this way and I felt rejected and dumb.

In second grade I broke my arm and I recall the teacher fussing at me for scratching my desk. She didn't say anything till I almost had my cast off so she could have remedied the situation earlier. But I felt chastised and guilty. Third grade was the worse! The teacher had two sets of students and we knew we weren't her favorites being on the blue team. During an oral book report, I was nervous and mistakenly said the Big Bad Wolf was a different animal. The teacher said, “You go sit down. You haven't read the book.” I was mortified and ashamed. And I felt dumb. Fourth grade was probably the best year as the teacher was a lot older and kind. I don't remember anything negative! But fifth grade was humiliating. The teacher was determining where we were going to sit with two desks being against each other. And she paired the students together until it was just one boy and me remaining. No one wanted to sit beside him because he smelled bad. But I was made to sit with him. This made me feel devalued and ostracized. I also remember being called out of class by the principal because my mother hadn't sent a doctor's excuse for one of my foster brothers. I was a child! And I should not have had this burden put on me. I felt scared. Also that year, because we didn't have a phone, the second grade teacher threatened me that if my foster brother didn't bring in a library book the next day that I would be in trouble. I felt treated unfairly and was afraid of authority figures.

Sixth grade was a blur. The teacher didn't teach much and was out of the classroom often. But I can see now in looking back that I had leadership qualities as I wrote a letter of thanks to the PTA for our class trip to Gettysburg and signed it from the class. I also learned that I could sing! I missed being in county chorus because I was sick the day of the tryouts. Lesson learned: I was more than the labels put on me.

Also during these years, I was always the last person picked for playing ball and genuinely felt like a shadow, unseen by most. During recess, the teachers made us go outside and then they would circle the building with their knitting in hand, walking without being present to what was happening on the playground. I was also taunted and made fun of on the way home from the bus stop. What wounds children inflict on other children! Such a sad state of the human heart.

So I determined when I went to seventh grade that this was my chance to become popular. To get lots of friends in a new environment. But I ended up escaping to the library and reading all kinds of fiction books. I read a book a day most days! But my studies suffered and I failed seventh grade. So my new label was failure. This turned out to be a good thing as it opened my eyes to reality and also landed me with a different group of friends. And as the years progressed, I progressed in learning. I found out I wasn't dumb! Lesson learned: education was a positive and I could learn.

We all know children can be cruel but it is unconscionable when adults hurt a child. I don't think these kinds of things happen in our schools today, at least I hope not. But since I experienced being the odd one out and not feeling wanted, it helped me later in high school to reach out to others in those situations. There were two boys on the school bus that no one wanted to sit with and they would each choose the two front seats. So I decided I would take turns sitting with each of them. This was my way of making my earlier wounds produce the fruit of kindness. Lesson learned: compassion.

A lot of labels are hurtful but there are many that are not. Think of . . .beautiful, lovely, smart, cute, awesome, handsome, graceful, kind; and many more.

The little boy named Phil from the beginning of this blog is Phil Cross! He is a successful singer/songwriter. He continues on to say that he met a Friend who has a book and He wrote his name in the book. And Phil's new label is – I am Redeemed! He wrote a song with this title and you can see the video clip HERE of him recounting his labels as a young boy and then hear his song, I Am Redeemed.

I am so thankful that I also found this Friend, Jesus, as a sixteen year old! It was then I realized that I was loved, cherished, a daughter of the Almighty Father God, a member of the Family of God, a child of God, and I could also take on this new label, I am Redeemed!

I hope my recounting these early childhood wounds will not come across as whining but will serve as an encouragement that we can overcome these types of labels and replace them with the true things of who we are as a person. But most of all, we need to release the things all those kids said to us in elementary school and (re)learn who we are in Christ.

Ephesians 2:10, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Does Prayer Change God's Mind?

I learned a new story recently about prayer. It is found in II Kings 20:1-7 and is about Hezekiah. He became sick and was at the point of death when Isaiah, the prophet, came to him and said, “Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.” What ominous news! Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, “Now, O Lord, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And he wept bitterly. And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him, “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah, the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father; I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears, Behold I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David's sake.” And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs and let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover.”

I see a few things in these verses: The first thing Hezekiah did when he heard the bad news was pray. Then he began by saying, Please. Next he reminds the Lord of how he was faithful with a whole heart, not just half hearted. And he did what was good in God's sight. And he wept before the Lord. And then in a short time, God changed his mind and told Isaiah to go back to Hezekiah and let him know he will be healed and will live another fifteen years.

I do find it interesting that Hezekiah asked Isaiah for a sign that this is true and we see another miracle in the next few verses: Isaiah asked him, “Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?” And Hezekiah said “it is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps.” And Isaiah called to the Lord and he brought the shadow back ten steps by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz.”

In verse 20 we learn - “The rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?” So his last fifteen years were filled with good things after the Lord changed his mind and allowed him to live.

There is a story in Geneses 18:16-23 of intercession when Abraham pleads with God to spare Sodom. He begins by asking if there are fifty righteous, will you spare the city and all in it? He then goes to forty-five, then forty, then thirty, then twenty, and then he gets down to ten because he thought surely his family would be among the righteous. But God knew that there weren't even ten righteous but he still had mercy on Lot and his two daughters. This is a great example of intercession. It is the act of intervening on behalf of another; mediation, negotiation, arbitration.

In Romans 8:26 it speaks of a divine intercession: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we ought; but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

But we are also called to intercede for others. I Timothy 2:1, 3 “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people . . .this is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

In the middle of a familiar passage of Scripture (James 5:17-18) about praying for the sick and the prayer of faith is a short story of Elijah. It says he was a man with a nature like ours. So he was no different from you and me. And he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three and a half years it didn't rain on the earth! And then he prayed again, and it rained and the earth bore fruit! This is power in prayer!

John 14:12 tells us the words of Jesus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

Wow! Are we praying these kinds of prayers? Are we seeing “greater works or greater miracles than the disciples? Than Jesus? Is this possible? How big is your faith?   

Praising God Out Loud with Words

 Last week when I was at Roxbury Camp Meeting, the evening speaker, Tony Rohrer, began his sermon at least two times, with a time of praise. He wanted everyone in the congregation to praise the Lord out loud. For many, including me, it was a challenge. Why? I will speak for myself . . .

I was afraid of my voice amid the silence around me. In recent years I have learned to pray and praise out loud in my own quiet devotional times. But this was very public with many people around each other.  Perhaps there were a few whispered praises but I couldn't hear anyone around me praising vocally, at least not loud enough for me to hear. 

I didn't want others to hear my heart. My praise to God is personal most of the time. I have reasons to praise Him that are not for others to hear.  But we can learn to praise God for many things that are common among us.

I didn't have a large vocabulary of praise words and phrases memorized and stored in my heart that I could use to praise my God.

This got me to thinking that I need to find scriptures that praise God and use them in my times of prayer and praise! And of course, I thought of King David who wrote many of the Psalms. I knew he could teach me a few things about praise.

Here are a few phrases from Scripture (not all from the Psalms) to help you (and me) find the words to praise the Lord.

Psalm 8:1 – O Lord, my Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (this psalm is a good one to memorize in its entirety)

Psalm 59:16 – I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, the God who shows me steadfast love.

Psalm 63:1-8 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. . . You have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

Psalm 92:1-4 It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning and your faithfulness by night . . . you O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the the works of your hands I sing for joy.

Vs5 – How great are your works, O Lord!

Psalm 95:6 – Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker.

Psalm 99:5 – Exalt the Lord our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is He! And verse 9 – Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy!

Psalm 100: Make a joyful noise to the Lord . . . come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 111: Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Great are the works of the Lord . . .full of splendor and majesty is his work and his righteousness endures forever.

Revelation 5:9 – Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.

Exodus 15 – I will sing to the Lord for he has triumphed gloriously; The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? Vs 20 – Then Miriam the prophetess, the Sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. And Miriam sang to them: Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

Psalm 145: I will extol you, my God and King and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

Psalm 146: Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

Psalm 150: Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise

him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

I am finding there is no place to stop when looking for scriptures on praise to God! These are just a few. But a few verbs stuck out to me as to what we are to do: praise, sing (aloud) extol, bless, worship, kneel, raise hands. Then a few descriptive words (adjectives) of our great God: holy, worthy, steadfast, righteous, faithful, mighty, great, glorious, majestic, awesome, love.

There are many more praise phrases to be found in the Psalms and elsewhere in the Bible and I challenge you to find some of your own.  I am going to try to learn some of these scriptures so I can better praise my Lord, out loud, with words!  

Angels All Around Us

A friend recently opened my mind to the topic of angels. My perception of angels has always been in the positive aspect of protection. But in a brief study of angels, I have found a different aspect of angels that has been stretching my thinking. We can find angels in thirty-four books of the Bible in 275 references. Christ taught the existence of angels in Matthew 18:10 and 26:53. They are a distinct order of creation and have been given a heavenly position, or sphere, above the sphere of man. Angel means messenger and angels are referred to in the masculine gender with two exceptions (Zechariah 5:9). Angels are not a race but a host. They are the sons of God (Job 1:6), not of other angels. They were created (Job 38:6-7) at some point in time before the creation of the physical world, in a state of holiness and are innumerable.

In II Kings 19 we read the story of Hezekiah. In verse 15 he prayed, “O Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim (angel), you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth; Incline your ear, O Lord and hear; open your eyes, O Lord and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. . . .So now O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.”

In verse 20, Isaiah tells Hezekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” And in verse 34 He says, “I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”

Verse 35, “And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.”

Wow! Here we have a story where an angel was a messenger of death. He did what God commanded to protect Israel. You can also find this story in Isaiah 37:36.

We find another story in Acts 12:20-23, Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon and they came to him with one accord and having persuaded Blastus, the kin's chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king's country for food. On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon his throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man! Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

In II Samuel 24:16 we read a different outcome; “And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. . .”

Wow! What a story of God's mercy. And it tells us that angels did the bidding of Almighty God. And it also tells us that David saw the angel. Very interesting.

Now lets look at the positive side of angels. In Psalm 34:7 we read, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Do we all have a guardian angel? Perhaps. Psalm 91:11 says, “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” What do you think?

In Hebrews 13:2 tells us, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

There is a contemporary song titled, Whom Shall I Fear, that has this interesting phrase, “The God of angel armies”. The imagery of an army of angels being before me, behind me, and all around me, is a very comforting thought. Of course it is God who has command of these armies and it is in Him that I put my faith and trust.

You can listen to the song, Whom Shall I Fear, here. 

I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind

The God of angel armies
is always by my side

Written by Chris Tomlin, Ed Cash, Scott Cash • Copyright © Music Services, Inc

Work on Your Own Halo!

“Watch out, Susie's halo is casting a glow!” This is the comment made by “Joe” when Martha called on the speaker phone. So the background story was explained to Martha that a friend had called Susie a saint because he appreciates her tenacity in prayer and loyalty in relationships. And Joe was having fun teasing Susie. But then Martha said to Joe, “Work on your own halo”!

How often do we look at another person and say within ourselves, “I can never be as good as she/he is?” Why isn't God as evident to me as He is to her/him?” Or do we say, “It isn't possible to live a holy life here on earth?” Maybe we even admit that we don't want to pay the price for that level of devotion to God? Or maybe our feelings are buried under anti depressive medication, . . . or we are walking wounded and fearful of opening up to God?

One of life's greatest pitfalls is comparison. II Peter 1:1-4 has rich truth for us that puts us all on the same foundation. What we do with these truths is up to us. It is not for us to compare our spiritual journey with another person's journey. It is for us to pursue godliness and holiness between ourselves and God. It is “according to the divine power He has given us, through the knowledge of him that has called us to glory and virtue: by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them we may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

In II Peter 1:10, the Bible tells us “Therefore brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fail.” This says to me that we need to be sure we have been washed by the blood of the Lamb (Jesus), that our sins are forgiven and that we are living a life pleasing to God. Our goal is life and Godliness. Our source is divine power! Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen”

Once you are a member of the family of God, it is essential to grow.

II Peter 1:5-9 tells us to . ..“Make every effort to:

supplement your faith with virtue – (moral excellence or fortitude)

and virtue with knowledge - (information and understanding)

and knowledge with self-control (discipline, restraint)

and self-control with steadfastness (patience)

and steadfastness with godliness (holiness

and godliness with brotherly affection (affection)

and brotherly affection with love. (intimacy)

For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.”

Peter is saying NOW IT IS YOUR TURN! God has given us all the necessary spiritual resources but now we are responsible to use them. We need to reach into the resources of almighty God, and draw upon His power and the ONE who is my sufficiency, and apply ourselves to the pursuit of the development of His character in every aspect of my life. (Gil Rugh paraphrase)

“Christians who float never stay in the same place.”

Are you stuck in a rut? Are you afraid to take that first step into a life that is unique for you as you search for your identity in Christ? It can begin with a single step in God's direction. James 4:8 tells us, “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” Simply whisper a prayer to God, “I need you.” or “I want to feel your presence.” or “Help me, God.” And He will hear you and come closer to you as you move closer to Him. This happens as you cultivate a life of godliness.   I Timothy 6:11-12, “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

So don't get in the trap of comparing yourself to others. My walk in the Lord may be different from yours, but we are all “pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14 Confirm that you are actually a born again Christian, having accepted the gift of salvation. And then cultivate a life of godliness as you enjoy a relationship with your Savior, Jesus Christ.

Work on your own halo!