Giving up

There are two people that have come to the end of their rope. One has lost his family, his home, his work, and all the things that he has worked so hard to establish. He is in ruins and cannot find anything to be joyful about, no not one thing.
The other is a woman. She is in a dark room filled with quietness, turmoil, and just at the edge and ready to take a leap into the unknown.

Both of these people  are saying things like:
“I wish the day I was born would be lost forever and it never happened."

"I wish the darkness had carried away that night, that it was left off the calendar and not included in any of the months."

"I wish that on the day I was born I was kept from seeing all these troubles."

"Why wasn't I a child who died at birth and was put in the ground?"

"I wish I had been buried like a baby who never saw the light of day."
“Why must a suffering person continue to live?"
"Why let anyone live such a bitter life?"

I don't know about you, but I too have felt this way in my lifetime. I definitely was ready to turn out the lights. 

How about you? Have you ever felt this way? Sometimes, we think that what we are going through is never going to end. The hurt we feel is a dark hole and we keep spiraling into the deep abyss.
I have witnessed a man and woman who are in such pain that they cannot express exactly what they are feeling. It is truly indescribable.

The hardest part about being in this dark abyss is  that we feel like there is no one who understands us or  even wants to try to understand us. Other people in our lives want to tell us we have a sin problem or a spiritual problem. But what if it isn't? "What if" isn't going to answer our problem.

I believe in encouraging one another, finding out where our confidence lies, and keeping a victory journal. Yes, a victory journal. It is a list of all the things we have accomplished in our lives. Take it a step further and list what you have accomplished that you could not do in your own strength. I am sure there is at least one or two.

I'll let you in on a secret; the sayings in quotation marks are those of Job right after he lost everything from including his family and his possessions.  He worked his whole life to acquire these things and lost it all in the blink of an eye. The female person was me, but I am an example of many or all of us. God has a plan, a purpose for your life. He has done many great things through you and me and will continue to do so as long as we are willing vessels.

If you or someone you know is at that breaking point to end life as we know it. I encourage you to look up. Truly "LOOK UP!" The creator of this universe has a plan and a purpose for your life.  That plan may be a kind word or a smile that someone needs from you today.  

There are many hurting people in the world and many of us need to know that God has a plan. His plan is good, perfect, and pleasing. Be open to ask Him what your purpose is and then wait for Him to respond.

~Be encouraged. Take one day at a time, one moment at a time, and you will survive!

Behavior and Customs of this World

I woke up this morning with my mind racing with images as though it was a computer searching for a specific photo. Next it was like it found what it was looking for; a scripture from Romans 12:2, which I will share in a moment, then last my mind settled on the Halloween season.
I decided to get up and jot down my thoughts, but then I realized it was something I needed to share with you. I came to my computer desk which has my dad's Bible on it and opened to Romans 12:2 in The Living Bible (TLBPV).  My immediate thought was "wow!"
It reads; "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think.  Then you will learn from your own experience how his ways will really satisfy you."
I think about the story of Moses, when he went up to the mountain to meet God and while there, Aaron was coerced by the people to make a golden calf and they worshiped it instead of the living God who had been with them. I picture them with their faces painted, dressed in costumes and partying.
They were worshiping something that is not real, not substantial, and not praise worthy. It definitely was not God's will for them to be worshiping this idol and it was not satisfying because Aaron knew it was wrong.
Why do you participate in Halloween? Do you recognize it for a time of celebrating the fall season's arrival? Do you participate in Halloween because it's what's you've always done?
Let us take it a step further. Is dressing up in costumes wrong? No, I don't believe it is. Is asking for candy that is being given as a gift wrong? No, I don't believe that is either.
But, if you or someone you know is dressing up as a vampire who slurps blood, a mummy that has been dead for years, or a killer with a white shirt covered in blood with a bloody knife in hand, this should raise a flag of concern. It is then I must ask "what are you doing this for and why?"  You say you are a follower of Christ and He lives inside you."  If that is the truth, then you will be as the scriptures say "a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think."
You cannot serve two masters. You will love one and hate the other. Do you hate Jesus? Why would you celebrate something that glorifies Satan's kingdom? Think on the things that are true, right, noble and praiseworthy.
To change the way you celebrate bringing in the new season would be to dress as a biblical character, be funny and witty with your costume. Make your costume a conversation starter for those who don't know Christ. Show the light that lives inside you by what you wear on the outside.

One year I dressed up as a cat at my job. I thought I was cute and far from being sexy or enticing. However, there were a couple of ladies that were offended by my attire. They said it was alluring to their husbands and asked the management to tell me to put some clothes on.  The ladies were right in what they did even if I did get upset and was smart alecky about it.   I walked around professing I was a Christian, but I didn't act like it and my attire didn't match my words. It was then that I realized I WAS in the wrong.

We are not to copy the behavior and customs of this world, we are to be a new and different person with all that we do and think. I hope you will ask yourself;  "why do I do what I do, am I pleasing God, and does it satisfy me?"

~
Be encouraged to be the only Bible that someone may read and courageous enough to let them