Words from the Heart

There are many things we keep between ourselves and God. That’s one of the wonderful privileges of having that intimate relationship. How blessed we are to have the Creator of the Universe love us and provide the Comforter to live within us, knowing our most secret thoughts and desires. We can pour out our innermost fears, our endless worries, and our deepest hurts to Him and He hears. Not only that, He knows the exact and perfect way to comfort us.

But what about when there is SOME THING between ourselves and God. What if there is unconfessed sin, a behavior we KNOW is wrong, or a habitual sin we can’t seem to let go of. And if not a sin of commission, it could be one of OMISSION. We so easily slip into routines that don’t include prayer or reading God’s word, thinking it doesn’t have a direct affect on our lives.

When our Father points out something we need to change and we don’t, the space between us and Him begins to grow. It might not be much at first. But the more we allow it to continue, the larger the space becomes. It can grow into something that is deeper than the deepest canyon and wider than the biggest sky.

The good news is that the Father rarely allows us to become comfortable with the sin or the behavior.

A sense of disquiet, distress, or disappointment nags us ... around the edges at first but as time goes by, our discomfort grows into an almost constant state of agitation. Peace and joy all but disappear and we no longer hear the Father.

Sometimes God speaks loudest in silence. If there is a gnawing sense of unrest in your soul, you may want to see if there is SOME THING between you and God and redirect your singular focus on the Creator.

“So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], and he will flee from you. Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery].” James 4:7-8, Amplified Bible

Blessings, Francine

My previous post quoted Paul’s words from Romans (Romans 1:18-32) where he basically talked about the depravity of this world and how bad it would get. It’s easy to look at all the behaviors he listed and easily agree.

BUT -- we must never forget that sin is sin; whether it’s the seemingly out of control behavior we see today or something as simple as not loving our neighbor. You see, it doesn’t matter. True, Paul’s words resonate with the idea that the more people sin, the more they will sin and the possibility of God giving them over to that sin. But we must not convince ourselves that our sins aren’t as bad as those Paul is talking about.

As I’ve noted before, Jesus gave us two commands to follow: Love God and Love others. I’ve also written that love is an action verb. It means we are to do more than just have “loving thoughts” of others. We must put into action Jesus’ commands.

We can look around our world and agree that it appears it’s out of control. But we are not to look at the world. We are to look at our Creator. He is in control. Nothing happens that He is not aware of. Nothing happens that He couldn’t stop. After all, He spoke this universe into existence.

I do not claim to know God’s intentions in letting things appear to be unraveling. He tells us, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 (NAS)

Finally, we have God’s word that He will heal us: “If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:13-15(Amplified Bible)

Blessings, Francine

I continue to be amazed by God’s truths revealed in His word. It’s interesting that in the chapter immediately following Acts (where we see the birth and growth of the Christian church), we find a chilling prediction of today. There is nothing I can add to these words -- except our hope in Christ.

“But God's angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn't treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.

"So God said, in effect, "If that's what you want, that's what you get." It wasn't long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them—the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes!

"Worse followed. Refusing to know God, they soon didn't know how to be human either—women didn't know how to be women, men didn't know how to be men. Sexually confused, they abused and defiled one another, women with women, men with men—all lust, no love. And then they paid for it, oh, how they paid for it—emptied of God and love, godless and loveless wretches.

"Since they didn't bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on earth with their envy, wanton killing, bickering, and cheating. Look at them: mean-spirited, venomous, fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies, swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in the way. Stupid, slimy, cruel, cold-blooded. And it's not as if they don't know better. They know perfectly well they're spitting in God's face. And they don't care—worse, they hand out prizes to those who do the worst things best!” Romans 1:18-32, The Message

These words from my heart are heavy, burdened for a world that seems so out of control. But the hope of Christ offers anyone, ANYONE, the gift of forgiveness, a peace that goes beyond human understanding, and eternal life.

My prayer is that these truths will speak to someone today and they will realize just one person can make a difference if they are willing to reach out with the Good News.

There's a song by Casting Crowns called "Until the Whole World Hears." Listen to the lyrics (you can find it on YouTube or visit Casting Crown's web site -- www.castingcrowns.com), and then do something.

Blessings, Francine