Someone's at the Door!

I was working at my computer when I heard a knock at the door. I didn't make a move. I'm one of those people who screen calls....and I don't answer the door unless I'm expecting someone. The knocking continued and still I didn't get up from my computer. Finally, though, I heard my name being called. That did it. I got up and answered the door. I knew the person on the other side knew me and it was safe to open the door.

There's someone knocking at your door and he knows your name. In fact, he knows everything about you. Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart. It's safe for you to open the door to Him. He loves you and wants the best for you. All you have to do is invite Him to come into your life.

Maybe you already know God. You've been friends with Him for a long time. What situation in your life do you need to invite Him to come into? He longs to help you in everything you're going through.

He's knocking now...

And calling your name...



Won't you open the door?



"Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends." Rev. 3:20

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Trust

You don't know
How much God is protecting you
How His tender hands
Embrace your life

You are unaware
Of the grace that is around you
Of love that keeps on loving
Though you don't acknowledge it

I know you breathe the air
Believing it is there
But your eyes do not bear witness
To its sweet existence

And yet you choose to not believe
in Christ unless you see Him
with your eyes

You trust in lesser things
Than the reality of the King
Are you sure the path you're walking
is all there is?
Are you sure this earthly life
is all there is?






If you're not sure about God, ask Him to make
Himself known to you. He loves you. He wants
you to know Him.


God helped Thomas with his doubts.


He will help you with yours.



"Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don't be faithless any longer. Believe!' 'My Lord and my God!' Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him, 'You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven't seen me and believe anyway.'" John 20:27-29

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Find Somebody

"Find somebody to help and help them."

Those words went through my mind several times as I walked the streets of New York. I wasn't sure if it was just something that popped in my head or if it was really God telling me to find somebody to help....but I thought about the words as I traveled around the city sight-seeing and taking in shows. I looked around all day long and I didn't see anyone who needed help....until I was walking back to the hotel after seeing a Broadway show. Standing on the sidewalk, suitcase in hand, stood a woman crying. "She looks like she could use some help," I thought...and I decided I would stop and talk to her. It wasn't until I got a little closer that I saw she was on the phone. I didn't want to disturb her phone call....so I reluctantly walked on. As I crossed the street to head to my hotel, the words went through my mind once again. "Find somebody to help and help them." How could I just walk away from someone who so obviously needed help....especially when the thought of helping someone had been going through my mind all day long? I turned around and headed back across the street.

"Excuse me," I said. "Could I help you?" The woman looked at me and gave a half smile. "No. I just missed my train and now I have to stay here until 3:00 a.m." I thought a moment and asked, "If I gave you a little money, would you be able to take a cab and make it to where you could get an earlier train?" The woman smiled a little more and said, "No, that's the first train out." We talked a little longer and then I went on my way. But I felt like I hadn't helped her at all...hadn't done what I had set out to do. The woman was still stuck in the city for several hours.

On the way back to the hotel, I stopped at Starbucks. As I waited for my hot chocolate, I turned to look out the window....and there was the woman walking by, talking on the phone again. But this time she wasn't crying. She looked like anyone else in the city just walking down the street toward her destination.

By seeing her in that very short moment that she walked by, God showed me that we don't always know how we've affected another person. I thought I had failed in helping her. When I walked away from her, I felt I hadn't helped at all. but she did seem like she was feeling better when I saw her as she walked by the window...

Maybe you've tried to help someone, too, and you feel you've failed. Keep doing all you can do and let God do the rest. You may not see an outward change...you may never know on this side of heaven how your words or your kindness helped another.

But keep doing good to all those you meet.

And trust God to touch the hearts and lives of all those you try to help.

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American Idol

Anybody watching American Idol? I am! I love seeing new talent and this year it's been hard for me to choose favorites because I like so many of them. But I have narrowed it down and I do have a few favorites...who will remain nameless at this time!!

I see, though, that the media has started printing unflattering things about some of the contestants...digging up things that happened in the past and making headlines of them. I'm not saying that I approve of some of the things I've read, but who among us hasn't done something in the past that we've come to regret? We all have things that we've done at one time or another that we'd rather not have splashed all over the media. It must be difficult for them to know that their personal lives are being placed on display for all the world to see. My heart goes out to them.

How about you? Can you think of something you've done in the past that you regret? Something that maybe even brings guilt to your heart when you think about it? For those who are Christians...for those who have asked Jesus to come into their lives and be their Lord and Savior, God washes the guilt of our past mistakes away when we come to Him and ask Him to forgive us. There is nothing that is too big, too bad, too hard, or too awful for Him to forgive if we are really seeking His forgiveness and trying to live our lives for Him.

So if something is bothering you today...if something is eating away at you inside...come to God. (If you don't already know Him, accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.) Tell Him you're sorry. Ask Him to forgive you and to help you live the way He wants you to live. Accept the forgiveness He offers and forgive yourself.

Then move on.

"Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord'--and You forgave the guilt of my sin..." Ps. 32:5

Typoes! (Smile!)

I went to the dentist the other day. Not my idea of fun, but it has to be done sometimes. I was having some old fillings removed and new ones put in....all without Novocain. (Before you say anything, having that done without your mouth being numb is definitely not something I recommend for everyone!! The dentist even used the word "surgery" when he was talking to me about the procedure. Surgery without being numb....all I can say is, "Ouch!")

Anyway, I had written to a friend earlier in the day to tell her what I was having done. But as I wrote, I made a typo....I wrote about my old "feelings" being pulled out!! (Smile!) I caught the mistake before I sent it, but I decided to leave it in because I thought it was funny!

Later, I thought about what I had mistakenly typed....old feelings being pulled out. And I realized that I do actually have some old feelings that need to be pulled out from time to time. I bet you do, too.

Sometimes, don't we need our old feeling of anger replaced with a new feeling of forgiveness? Anybody need a new feeling of patience for impatience? Love for hate? Joy for sorrow? Caring for indifference? I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

Sometimes we need to let God do some "surgery" inside our hearts and replace some of our old feelings with new ones.

(And we don't even need any Novocain for that!!)


"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you..." Ez. 36:26

All Things

The first scripture I remember really thinking about and applying to my life was Romans 8:28. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

I was introduced to that scripture through a book I read called Joni by Joni Eareckson Tada. When I was a young girl, someone in my Sunday School class had the book and as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to read it.

I got a copy of the book and as I read, I was amazed at Joni's faith...faith that sustained her through a very difficult time. You see, Joni was paralyzed in a diving accident when she was a teen-ager. She was already a Christian, but this accident deepened her spiritual walk.

Joni believed then, and still does to this day, that God works all things together for good for those who love Him and have made Jesus their Lord and Savior.

I believe that, too.

Some people think that means we think that everything is "good"....but that's not what the verse is saying. It says that even when difficult things happen, God is able to redeem them and make something good come from them.

God has used Joni's accident and her life in a wheelchair to touch many people who may never have had the chance to learn about God had it not been for Joni speaking to them or being touched by the ministry she's involved with today. People will live for eternity in heaven because of Joni and her testimony. That is certainly God working things out for good....a terrible accident...a life altered in a second....many entering heaven because of being introduced to God through her accident and her life.

No, not everything that happens in our world is good....far from it.

But when we encounter difficulties and hardships, we need to have faith that God is able to take the situations and events in our lives that aren't ideal...things that may even hurt....and ultimately work them out for good....He will do that for those who love Him and are living for Him.

And I'm so grateful for that.

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

Go Mets!

He was known as "The Sign Man"....had attended Mets games for years...held up block-lettered signs proclaiming his joy or displeasure at the game at hand. He was just an ordinary man, but he was so passionate about what he did that when he passed away a short while ago, newspapers carried his story.

He did what he did well....and people noticed.

People notice what you do, too.

They notice what you say when you're talking with others and how you handle difficult situations you encounter. They notice the type of jokes you laugh at and whether or not you talk about people behind their backs. They notice if you're a genuine person or if you change who you are according to the group of people you're with. And they notice how loving and patient you are....or aren't.

All through the day, people are watching the actions and reactions of the people they come into contact with.


What will they notice when they see you?


"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control...." Gal. 5:22

Friends in Unlikely Places

"She met her husband online," my friend at work said.

"You're kidding," I replied.


I had only been on the internet a relatively short time when that conversation took place and I was very skeptical of people getting to know others in that fashion. I mean, I had always heard these horror stories about things that happened to people who actually met up with others they had talked to online.

So I was a little apprehensive as I approached the group that walked through the theatre doors in Chicago.

"Excuse me...are you ____ and ____?" I asked tentatively.


...Well, they were who I thought they were and we talked for a few minutes. Then we went to our seats in different locations of the theatre.

Later, I had the pleasure of speaking more with them and meeting others in our group (in that city and at other times and places as well) who had talked together online. And I have to say, they are a GREAT group of people!! We laugh together, talk on the phone together, pray for one another, discuss what's happening in our lives with each other....basically do all the things you'd do with a friend in your own town except call them up and ask them to go to dinner that night. (But we do call each other and set up times to meet together in a particular city and we share dinner then!!...and lots of laughs!!)

This past weekend, I was supposed to meet up with a few of my friends in New York City. Unfortunately, I was sick and wasn't able to make it. But I had plenty of texts and phone calls from them. And as I sit here writing this now, I kinda feel a little like I was actually there with them the past couple of days!!

Thanks for letting me share NYC with you all this weekend! It was fun!!

And thanks to God for the blessing of all my friends I've met on the internet.....friends that God brought into my life...in a most unlikely place!!

Hollywood

I went to a taping of a sitcom several years ago. The show was funny--the stars just people like you and me. Later, I felt impressed to write to one of them. Tell her about Jesus. How He can fill the gaps of loneliness, be your best friend....give you strength, love you like no one else can.

Oh, but I questioned. Me? Write to someone in Hollywood? I don't know her. How do I know the letter will reach her? Would it even make a difference?


I didn't write the letter.


A few years later, I learned that at the time I felt impressed to write, this person was going through one of her darkest times. Depressed. Didn't really care about living.

"Oh Lord, I failed. Maybe you were going to use me to reach her for You... and now the opportunity is gone. I should have realized that You could have made sure she got the letter if that was Your will. And as for it making a difference, it is not my words, but Your Spirit that does the work. I am only a vessel. Forgive me, Lord. Help me be ready the next time You give me the privilege of being used for You."


Is there anybody God has put on your heart that you need to talk to or write to?


Anybody you need to tell about Jesus?

Never Forget

Since I was a sophomore in high school, I've worn a necklace with a cross on it. Early on, I wore it within easy sight so everyone would know I was a Christian. Later, I intentionally hid it--I decided others should know I was a Christian by the way I acted. Now, I wear it intentionally both hidden and in sight...but usually I just let it fall where it may.

When I was a senior in high school, we had open campus during lunch. A group of us were eating at a local fast food restaurant. As I took my tray of food to a table to sit down, an elderly gentleman said some words that still ring in my mind from time to time.

"Never forget what that cross you're wearing stands for."

"I won't," I responded. "Thank you."

I'm sure we must have said "Hi." or something before he spoke those words, but I don't remember. When one of my friends walked over, she asked what he'd said and I told her. I looked for him then, and it had been a few minutes since we had spoken, but I didn't see him anywhere. Not walking away. Not driving around the building to leave. Nowhere.


....Angel?


I always wished it were so, but more likely simply a gentleman with an agenda to glorify Christ.

The cross means to me life, death, resurrection, Jesus alive in me, forgiveness, eternal life, help for living Jesus' way today, compassion, submission, obedience, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control, worship, giving, and hope....so many wonderful things that give my life meaning and bless me daily. And I am so grateful for each one of them.



"Never forget what that cross you're wearing stands for."




I still remember.



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A Little Time

She stood by the pay phone outside the grocery store...calling to people here and there. I couldn't quite make out what she said...though I supposed she was asking for money. Many spoke to her as they hurried past...one man even stepped closer to hear what she said....but I didn't see anyone give her money. A young man, probably in his early 20's, walked up to use the pay phone. The woman stepped aside and the man made his call. After he finished, it looked like he handed something to the woman. It seemed, then, that he was going to walk away, but he kept standing with her...talking. After a few more minutes, he casually hopped up on the newspaper vending machine to continue his conversation with the woman.

And I thought of Jesus. I thought of Jesus taking time to talk to the poor and the hurting. I thought of Jesus willing to speak to those that others brushed aside. I thought of Jesus reaching out to others in love.

I saw Jesus in the actions of that young man casually sitting on top of the newspaper vending machine....taking his time to reach out to someone in need who came across his path that day.

Maybe God will bring someone across your path today that He would like for you to speak to. Are you ready to "hop up on the newspaper vending machine" and give them a little of your time?


Lord,
Open my eyes to really see the people You bring across my path today...both the ones who are openly hurting and the ones who quietly keep their pain inside. Help me to reach out to them in love just like Jesus did. Let me make a difference in the lives of others today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." John 15:12