I just wanted to get well soon, I hadn’t been this sick and tired in a quite some time. One day I had been feeling just fine and the next day BOOM!  Some tiny microscopic bug had invaded the cells of my body and wreaked havoc with my gastrointestinal system.

As I was convalescing, I pondered the power of this awful microorganism  to infect such misery.  I couldn’t see it; it was invisible to the eye and yet it carried incredible power! As I read about this particular virus I learned it is highly contagious and the best defense is a good offense. Stay home and keep my germs to myself. Wash my hands thoroughly.  Feed myself simple foods. Drink plenty of water so as to not become dehydrated.

Eventually, in the fullness of time my body did what it was designed to do, it healed.

In John Chapter five we come across a most interesting story and situation.  Jesus is in Jerusalem and near the healing pool of Bethesda (the famous hospital is named for this very place mentioned in scripture).  Here were a lot of very sick and disabled people and Jesus encounters a particular thirty-eight-year-old invalid.   And when Jesus saw him, he does what Jesus is famous for doing, he asks him what may seem to be an obvious question.   “Do you want to get well?”  Duh Jesus, of course he wants to get well or he wouldn’t be there, right?   But the lame man’s response was not, “You’re darn straight I do!”   Or “Heck yeah!”   His response was some lame (pun intended) excuse why he couldn’t get into the pool to get well. Then Jesus tells him to participate in the process, to take up his bed and walk.

He had to choose.  He could stay where he was, stuck in his identity as an invalid.  Or he could get well.  And the same holds true with getting well spiritually, we have to choose to turn to God in our lives, of our own free will.  Or we can stay stuck in our identity as sinners and therefore enemies of God.  And although it is not at all what he wants for us, if we don’t choose to be in right relationship with him in our lives, he is not going to force us. 

I have always been confused by these words in the Bible, “And God hardened Pharaoh’s (or some other person’s) heart.”   It was unfathomable to me God would do that, until last Monday when it finally dawned on me. God doesn’t do it.  Having a hard heart is a choice. Some people are  never NOT going to be offended, angry or resentful at God.  They simply just do not want him in their lives, much less to bow down to him as Lord (boss) of their lives.   Here is the thing, the very idea of God hardens their hearts.  Hearts aren’t made hard by God reaching down and turning them to stone.  Hard hearts are something each one of us chooses or doesn’t choose to have. Either it’s our identity or it isn’t. Pharaoh’ heart became hard by refusing to trust in and obey God.  Which never ends well.   Pharaoh’s rejection of God to do things his own way brought suffering, pain and death to many innocent people.  One man’s choice affects and infects so very many others.  And when I have hardened my heart to God in my life, like a nasty contagious virus, it affects countless others, spreading along, invisible to the naked eye.   

Josef Stalin’s daughter told a news reporter on his deathbed the communist leader died shaking his fist at heaven.   Still mad at God, even after his hard heart had forced oppression on his people and ordered millions and millions of his own countrymen imprisoned and killed, in peacetime no less ! Bible tells us Pharaoh acted much in the same way.

Sin is similar to germs in that it is a microscopic bug capable of invading the minds and hearts of human beings wreaking havoc. As I ponder the power of the awful microorganism of sin (separation from God), it is clear this disease inflicts deep misery.  As I read about this virus of the soul, I observe it is highly contagious and the best defense is good offense. Stay home (with God) and keep my sin to myself. Wash my heart and soul thoroughly with the blood of Jesus Christ.   Feed myself on the bread of life which is Christ and the truth found in the Word of God. Drink plenty of Christ’s living water in the fellowship of believers so my spirit doesn’t become dehydrated and my heart hard.

Take up my bed and walk, by choosing God, turning from my sin in repentance and returning to God through his one and only Son Jesus Christ. And eventually, in the fullness of time, my soul will do what it was designed to do.  Heal.

 Get well soon and

Be joy filled always,

Christine Davis

Last week we had six straight days of clouds and no sunshine. It was hard on people.  I’ll admit I am not a fan of the shorter days we are blessed with during the last days of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere.  Add to this fact six consecutive, cloudy, dreary days in a row and it was particularly trying.  I am not complaining, just stating the grim facts.  These short dark days can be difficult to navigate anyhow for a multitude of reasons.  Add cloud cover for days on end we humans can get crabby and discouraged, spirits flag.  We may know in our heads the sun is behind those clouds, but tell it to our souls!  

Then came the morning of the seventh day, I woke to bright, brilliant sunlight penetrating every crack and crevice and my spirit rejoiced at the sight.  We are people of the light by design.

In the opening lines in the first chapter of Genesis, sometime after God created the heavens and the earth, we are told his Spirit hovered over the darkness of a formless and completely empty earth and then this happened:

3 “God said let there be light; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.”

Dropping down the chapter we are told in verse twenty-seven that we human beings are created in God’s image.

Pondering again and again these words I have made several observations.  The first is God himself is light, and it is his presence that brought light to the darkness that covered the formless and void earth. The second being the verification of observation number one in the Gospel of John where the author describes Jesus as the one doing the creating with God in the beginning. Chapter one says, “3 All things were made by him. 4 In him was life and the life was the light of men.”  The third item of note is John spoke eyeball to eyeball with Jesus both before and after Jesus death and resurrection so this is eyewitness testimony from God himself.  Fourth, the Word of God has been the most scrutinized piece of sacred literature of all time by historians, scholars and theologians, standing the test time and is therefore a trustworthy document. My final observation is what I have seen the light of Christ do not only in my own life but in the lives of countless friends and family, and millions of lives documented down through the ages.

Here is what I am driving at, the inevitable dark days of life can be difficult to navigate for a multitude of reasons. Add to that fact sometimes the light of God’s presence may seem obscured by struggle, pain, evil, suffering and injustice. We humans can get crabby and discouraged, spirits may flag.  We may know in our heads the Son who is the Light of the world is  our fortress, refuge and strength behind those clouds of trouble, but tell that to our souls!  

Then came the morning of the seventh day.  The stone was rolled away, sin, death and darkness were conquered. We awake reassured with the sure knowledge of the hope and promise the Light of Christ who is  the light of men and the world will illuminate the darkness that has clouded our way.  His light will, if we trust in him, penetrate every crack and crevice in all lives choosing to open the door to their hearts. The God willing to not only dwell with – Emmanuel- but in the very people created in his light filled image.

We are people of the light by design.  Which gives us great cause to not only be light filled but to also:

 Be joy filled always,

Christine Davis

There are times I hold on too long.
After taking a recent inventory of the shoes in my closet I came across several pair I hadn’t worn in years.
I hadn’t stopped wearing them because I didn’t like them, or because they were no longer fashionable. I hadn’t worn them because they no longer fit. I knew this, but I hung onto them anyway. And just one more time, I had to try them on, as if something magically changed. Nothing had. After just a step or two, what I already knew to be true was once again confirmed. They didn’t fit. The old friends who had carried me through a particular time of my life were too painful to wear. My feet were never again going to comfortably wear the shoes I had hung on, and hung on, and hung on to. They were never, ever going fit again. And this day I decided to let them go.
Recently after taking an inventory of my sins, habits and defects of character, I came across a few I hadn’t worn in years. I didn’t stop wearing them because I quit liking them or because they were no longer fashionable. I quit wearing them because they no longer fit. I knew this but I was still holding on to a few of them anyway. Take for instance blame, which used to be a nice comfortable place to sink my feet. Many of these old friends (who were really enemies) had carried me faithfully through a particular time in life are now too painful to wear. Comfortable old companions such as fear, self-pity, denial, grudge holding, negative thinking, resentment, gossip, self-reliance, unforgiveness and the like no longer fit because I, like my old lady feet have changed. I have changed because I have decided to follow Christ. Which is no easy task. He says in order to follow him I must deny myself and take up my cross daily. What kind of a recruiting slogan is that? Although I hadn’t worn these old behaviors as much as used to, I was still holding on to a few.  And as comfortable as the old habits may feel, Jesus demands they must go and I must become a new creation that resembles him. And while that sounds good on paper, an honest appraisal of my inner self reveals a part of me wants to hold on and just one last time, try them on, as if something magically changed and they will still work in my life. And the very good news is something has changed and those old ways no longer fit! After just a step or two, what I already knew to be true is confirmed, I am never going to comfortably wear them again.
Wearing rebellion and sin, made me an enemy of God. But the good news is I was bought at a price. God counted the cost of bringing me (and you) back into right relationship with him and found us worth the very high price. The price of his only Son’s life.  Let that sink in for a moment. To accept him and his truth on his terms instead of mine, is to quit holding on, and holding on and holding on to the things that no longer fit.
And letting go is a great reason to:
Be joy filled always,
Christine Davis

As a kid I loved Halloween.   Are you kidding?  What is there not to love? I would dress up in a sheet with eye holes cut out and roam from house to house collecting free candy! When I grew too tall to collect candy, I switched to scaring myself silly by going to haunted houses and watching creepy movies.  What is it about ghosts and death that both fascinates and unnerves us? 

Halloween was originally known as All Hallows Eve and it takes root out of the Christian Church from around the eighth century in England. The day after Halloween is All Saints Day, a church feast day to remember and pray for souls who died the previous year that they might be released from Purgatory. Purgatory is believed by some denominations to be a kind of holding tank for souls where they make amends for their sins before entering heaven. The day after All Saints Day (November 2nd) is All Souls Day, the day to pray for those who will die in the next year and become saints. 

The night before All Saints Day was called All Hallows Eve (we know it as Halloween) or night of the dead and it was (is?) believed that on that night the spirits of the dead were released from Purgatory to make one last visit to their earthly homes.  Later the tradition was added to by the poor who would go door to door begging for food in exchange for their prayers for the dead.  Eventually, costumes were added depicting the dead, ghosts and the like to remind the living that salvation was still available to them and not to wait until it was too late and end up with the souls who were lost for all of eternity.

Costumes and beggar’s night or not, it is still a good idea to remind others salvation is still available to them and not to end up lost for now and or all of eternity. And it is a good idea as well not to wait until it is too late.   Like it or not, death comes to us all.

It is also important to understand this truth. Death wasn’t the original plan. It was a choice made out of the gift (and curse) of free will.  And life also is a choice made out of free will.   

In our modern world few still recognize All Hallows Eve in its original form, but most Americans celebrate it in its full-blown, 9.1-million-dollar commercial form. As far away as we may be from the of the night of the dead in our post truth world, it doesn’t mean that we, the living, don’t have ghosts that haunt us.  I am not talking about the spooky kind we see in the movies that make our hair stand on end that we associate with disembodied spirits, but the more insidious kind, the kind that can kill our joy in this life.  The ghosts of our past, present and future. The ghosts that remind us of the things we may have done, or left undone.  Said, or left unsaid.  Of the things we regret. Or fear. The choices we have made and things that have happened.   These are the ghosts that haunt our days and nights and that can keep us shackled in chains for far too much of our living.

The evil set loose on the day man fell from grace and brought death into the world opened a Pandora’s Box and the ghosts of the fateful day in Genesis visit each and every human life. We carry them in our conscious, in our sub conscious and in our hearts in different ways and for different reasons but they are there and they are real and destructive.   And we all have them.  

Where is our hope to be found?  Where do we get peace of heart, mind and soul? Where do we find relief from the ghosts living within us?   Not through mans wisdom or knowledge or persuasive words as Paul tells us in his letter to the Corinthians.   No, it is found in one place and one place only: “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom God raised from the dead…  In the stone that the builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. Salvation is found in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”  “Acts 4: 10-12.

Our hope and relief from these ghosts is found only in the one who has the power to overcome death. The one who gives life. In Jesus Christ.  He lived.  He died. He rose from the dead and conquered sin (ghosts) and death for all who choose to believe.

This All Hallows Eve my prayer for you and for me, my friends, is that each one of us make the decision to receive the power from the only One that can and will set us free from all of all ghosts for all time.

Be joy filled always,

  Christine Davis

Not long ago we experienced our first killing frost of the season.  I am no green thumb, that is my farmer husband, but I do enjoy a small amount of flower and vegetable gardening.  No two growing seasons are ever the same as any farmer and gardener will attest, and this  year has been particularly challenging for both farmer and gardener.  My flower garden flourished.  My vegetable garden rode the struggle bus most of the summer, finally producing a sad little harvest in September.

I consider myself fortunate to live life on a farm, Jay once said one of the best benefits of farming is that you get to be outside and I would add farmers and their families are deeply connected to not only the earth itself but the cycle of life and death.

Growing up on a farm I quickly learned that death and life are woven together.  Over the years I have joyously discovered new batches of kittens in the feed trough of the barn, or woke to discover a newborn colt or calf in the pasture.  The inevitable flip side is I have lost many a farm animal and beloved pet to death. Some to old age, some to the butcher (sorry my vegetarian readers), and some to the road and other such sad endings.

We are primarily grain farmers, which involves planting seeds in the spring and harvesting in the fall.  In order to harvest, the plant itself must die to produce the grain, which is essentially a seed, after its own kind.   Although we don’t grow our crops for seed, grain that falls to the ground during harvest typically sprouts a plant and grows in the spring. Which is simply amazing if you stop and consider the fact. Especially taking into account how harsh and cold winter conditions can be some years.  It blows my mind that come spring, the resurrection power of new life bursts forth as the light of the sun makes its way back.

It not surprising that the earth is full of death and resurrection. However, death wasn’t the original plan, life was.  God gave us the choice to choose life or death and we who were created in his image chose death by buying the lie we could (can) discern what is good and what is evil through knowledge. The choice was, and still is, in a literal sense, a matter of life and death!

The good news (that is what the word gospel means, good news) is we weren’t abandoned to the consequences of our choices. The Living God of mercy and justice implemented his plan of redemption the moment we fell on our own sword.

The rescue plan would involve a long journey back, with the whole earth reflecting the method He would use and what we must choose – the power of resurrection life. In order for a resurrection to occur there must be a death.   For those who choose Jesus as their Lord and Savior and Christianity as their worldview, the choice is was and for ever will be, mirroring what Jesus did those three days which are forever seared into human history. We must believe he died and rose from the dead.   And then we too must die and rise again. We must die to our own selfish ambitions and rise in new life joined with him.  And we don’t have to wait to be joined with him until our human bodies die. We are made new creations from the moment we say YES! I believe! And Yes!  Jesus will be Lord of my life, and Yes! I will follow and obey Jesus as the King above all kings!  Under the waters of Christian baptism, we choose to show the world like Christ we will die and like Christ we will rise up out of the water to new life. The old is gone. The new has come. New life bursts forth as the light of the Son of God makes His way back into the darkness of a lost and wandering human soul.

So if anyone is in Christ, there a new creation, everything old has passed away, see, everything has become new! 2 Corinthians 5:17 NRSV

This my dear friends gives us every reason to:

Be joy filled always,

Christine Davis

Change reads easy, lives hard.

I am a fitness professional by trade. I own and operate a business whose primary purpose is to guide individuals into a fitness lifestyle.  Folks have hired my services for many reasons, here is the short list: Need or want to lose weight; feel flabby and want to firm up; need to look better for a particular event; doctor said they must eat right and exercise for various reasons including but not limited to brittle bones; high blood pressure; elevated cholesterol or blood sugars etcetera. My personal favorite is because being healthy is cheaper than a nursing home.

Every client I have ever had has been fired up in the early phases of my program, the only exception being when someone else pressured them to be there. But nearly all who made the decision to seek my expertise, at some point, get to where the bloom is off the rose and  realize being healthy takes hard work and discipline. One client asked, “Do I have to think about eating right and exercising all the time?” I think, dear readers, you know what my reply was.

Taking care of our bodies is hard work and requires devotion and self-sacrifice for the long haul. It is a marathon, not a sprint. I like to tell people certain healthy habits must become as much a part of your daily round as brushing your teeth or taking a shower. Unless, of course you don’t shower or brush your teeth daily.  I remember one of our daughters’ middle school friends who happened to stay the night, proudly proclaimed she hadn’t brushed her teeth in seventeen days. Ugh. Hopefully, she changed her mind about that.

 It was Ben Franklin who quipped, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” And it is especially true when it comes to your health. What and how we eat is what the word diet actually means instead of something we go on. Which implies, by the way, that we will go off  at some point. What most fail to understand is whatever plan you choose, and most all of them work, only works as long as you keep at it.  In other words, eating healthy works when you work it and it doesn’t when you don’t.  Oftentimes we start strong and trip up when temptation comes our way or get over busy and fall prey to the “what the heck” thinking and throw in the towel.   Others never really buy into the eating/exercise plan itself or modify it, taking only the parts that aren’t too hard skipping the difficult parts. And then wonder why it doesn’t work.  

And let me be clear, once a person gets to where they want to be, they must keep doing what they have been doing to keep getting what they have been getting or they will end up right back where they were before, or worse. And sometimes we want to eat better and exercise, just not today.  The diet starts tomorrow, but the sad truth is tomorrow never comes. 

Change is hard. I get that. But, in these moments I sometimes pose this question, “If you are going to do what you want, why do you need me? “It’s as though instead of conforming to a new fitness lifestyle, some want to conform the fitness lifestyle to them. Never works; never has never will.

Living a new life in Jesus Christ reads easy, lives hard.

Jesus Christ is a New Life professional. His primary purpose is to save lost souls and lead them back into right relationship with God. Folks seek his services for a number of reasons here’s the short list:  Made a wreck of their life; life has made of a wreck of them;  have hurt others; have been hurt by other humans; experienced  suffering, loss or devastation; nothing else fills the bottomless pit of a hole in the soul and etcetera. My personal favorite is He gives me what I don’t deserve, grace, truth and forgiveness.

Nearly every new believer or follower of Christ are fired up at the beginning of their new life in Christ, I know I was, the only exception being when someone else pressured them to come to Him.  But nearly all who made the decision to seek his expertise, at some point, get to a place where the bloom is off the rose as they realize that following Jesus takes self-sacrifice of losing our own will and the daily discipline of continuing to seek His will.  At one point I remember asking the Lord, “Do I need to pray, read the Bible and do what you want me to everyday day for the rest of my life?”   I think, dear readers, you know what his reply was.

Taking care of our souls and transforming them into the image of Christ is hard work and requires devotions and self-sacrifice for the long haul. It is a marathon, not a sprint. Jesus reminds us soul healthy habits must become as much of our daily round as brushing our teeth or taking a shower.  I have talked with many “followers of Jesus” who haven’t taken time to pray or crack open God’s Word in years and years if ever. Ugh.  Hopefully, they have or will change their minds about that.

It was the Creator of the Universe who slipped on human skin and declared, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoseover believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”  Who and how we fill ourselves is not just something we do once a week and check off the list.  It must become a lifestyle of a developing personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, whose Holy Spirit fills the hole in our soul and gives us the will and the power to transform into the image of Christ.  Which is the goal, by the way.  What most fail to understand is faith only works as long as you keep at it.  In other words, following Jesus only works when you follow Him and it doesn’t when you don’t.  Oftentimes we start strong and trip up when temptation comes our way or get over busy and fall prey to the “what the heck” thinking and throw in the towel.   Others never really buy into the Good News of Jesus Christ itself or modify it, taking only the parts that aren’t too hard skipping the difficult parts. And then wonder why Christianity doesn’t work for them.  

And let me be clear, and here is the rub, it is hard work loving your enemies, being humble, keeping my tongue bridled and not repaying evil for evil. Of myself I could never do any of this. I must first receive it as a free gift by accepting that Jesus is who he says he is (Lord of all) and that he rose from the dead and forgives me for all the rotten junk I have done.  You see if you don’t want him in this life, he won’t force you to have him in the next, it is our choice because love by compulsion isn’t love.  In addition, if I don’t keep doing the daily deal of seeking his will, talking and listening to His Voice and knowing what His Voice sounds like by studying his Word, I will go back to being the sick chick I used to be.  And the truth in my life and the evidence down through history is that sometimes I think I want to do what God says, just not today.  The spiritual diet starts tomorrow. I’ll give up being judgmental or gossiping, tomorrow.  But the sad truth is all too often tomorrow never comes.

Change is hard. I get that. But, in these moments Jesus sometimes poses this most difficult question, “Why do you call me Lord and not do what I say? “It’s as though instead of recognizing we are created in God’s image; we want to create God in our image.

 Never works; never has, never will.

Because, as God reminds us,” My ways are not your ways.”

Be joy filled always,

Christine Davis

I don’t feel old.  At least not most days.  This weekend was my fortieth high school class reunion and it seems like just yesterday I was setting the numbers 4-0 on the forty-year class table for the “old folks” at the Alumni Banquet.  I suppose this officially makes me old.  But not older.  Earlier this week at the State Fair they had older folks’ day, where you got in for nine bucks instead of twelve if you were  sixty years and above, I gladly doled out the extra dough because I was just old, but not older.

We had a great time with those who attended the reunion events throughout the weekend. Some traveled a great distance to join in memory sharing.  One gal had just lost her husband to cancer just the week before, but he had insisted on his deathbed she not cancel her trip, so we loved on her a little extra. 

Here’s a great surprise!  None of us look the same as our senior photos in the year book! Can you believe it? Our hair has changed: color, style and even quantity, imagine that. And you’ll never believe it, our bodies have changed, in ways I will leave to your imagination. Some of you who qualify for being old or older know what I mean.

We have changed.

To which I would add, Thank. The. Lord. 

It was a terrific weekend.  Events were planned around our little hometown annual celebration, which is always a first-class event, I might add.  We had a float in the parade, toured the school which has changed enormously. We met at a friend’s cabin for food and conversation late Saturday afternoon and then at her home for breakfast on Sunday morning.  In addition, we had the option of attending the evening events uptown to see and mingle with other local folks over the course of the weekend.

One of my classmates attends the same house of worship I do, and asked me which service I planned to attend this particular weekend, and I said the Saturday night and he asked, “Aren’t you going uptown later?”

To which I replied, “Nope, that person is dead.”

To which I would add, Thank. The. Lord.

High School was not the best time of my life.   I wouldn’t go so far as to say I hated it, but it was a time in my life that I really had no clue who I was.   I remember I couldn’t wait to get to town for the annual celebration or just about any event because I was desperate to have someone else validate my identity.  I just wanted one best friend and one boy to just love me forever. But I went about looking in all the wrong places and in wrong ways.  I was imitating others, who, I would venture to guess, were looking for the same things I was in a similar fashion.  In a sense, in some ways, we became the blind leading the blind.  There were the usual groups of kids you find in school, the “popular crowd”, the athletes, the good students and so forth. And I would find my self looking to others in an attempt figure out who I was.  Which didn’t work out so well, because I was supposed to be me not them.   I made a lot of bad choices and trouble for myself along the way and I know I hurt other innocent folks as I roared through life looking for love in all the wrong places.  I was kind of like the wicked old step mother in Snow White asking, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest one of all?” and then I would try to be like that person.

Until I met my BFF (best friend forever) and man of my dreams.  Jesus Christ, who was and is and always be the only solution for the world’s problems, not just mine.  And whom, if I choose to follow, I should take my identity in. When I did what he suggested and died to myself, which what going under the waters of baptism represents, I became a new creation in Him, which is what coming up out of the waters of baptism signifies.  That is when I stopped looking to the created and to the Creator to define me.  Which works a whole lot better since He made me.

Today, I take my identity in him.   Not in what you think of me (which is none of my business, by the way) or  my lame attempt to be you.  The old me is dead and buried, and the hole in my soul  I tried to fill with everyone and everything filled with and by Him!

Thank. The. Lord.

Fun to remember the good old days, better yet to have them in the rear-view mirror.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest one of all? 

Be joy filled always,

Christine Davis

Bandit the dog has a wonderful life and he trusts his master, that’s me.  He is free to roam within the boundaries I have set in our yard using a wireless remote containment system. This invisible force keeps him from becoming roadkill on the highway in front of our farm.  Mr. Bandit wears a collar that emits a beep if he gets within ten yards of the boundary.  If he goes beyond that, he gets a shock; which has only occurred once during his training.  At that time, we set up flags and walked the boundary lines with him and when he passed out of the safe zone and got shocked, we brought him back to safety. He quickly learned the flags and the sound were a signal of danger. He could have ignored the boundary and run through the invisible barrier, all the while being shocked, but he didn’t. After two weeks we removed the flags because he understood the beep means stop. Bandit enjoys freedom with limits. What he doesn’t do is spend his day fretting and stewing because he can’t go “over there.”  Or he doesn’t doubt whether I love him less because I place limits on his freedom. He never worries that I will abandon him, not feed him or provide him a with a home.   He trusts me.

 I must admit I have no doubt there are times he may wish I would move faster when I don’t feed him right away or take him on his morning walk on his timetable. But in those moments what he does do is stay a little closer by my side and follow me around while patiently waiting. He trusts in me because he knows me, I have proven I am trustworthy. And I love him.

Christine the human being trusts her Master, that’s God.  I have a wonderful life! I am free to roam within the boundaries God has set for me in the world.  He uses an invisible, and enforceable only by choice, containment system found in his Word (The Bible). Which, if I choose to trust in will keep me from becoming roadkill on the highway of life.  When I study it, the truth it contains and the message of salvation become the boundary flags and warning signals for navigating this complex thing we call life, both this life and the next. But we are only saved if we choose to place our trust in God through Jesus Christ.

I have the option to and have ignored the warning flags and signals and been shocked, sometimes badly, in and by life.  My Master walks the fence line beside me and rescues me if I choose to let him. And there were times that I must admit I didn’t choose to roll with the “God is really in charge of everything” plan.   I wanted to trust in myself mostly, but nearly anything but God.  

Please allow me to clarify.   I have always believed in God. However, I have come to understand it is one thing to believe in God and is altogether another thing to trust God.  Let’s face facts here.  I was being “shocked” because I wasn’t trusting God and what He says is true.

Where did I get the impression God says things with a wink, a nod and his fingers crossed behind his back? That old fibber fear is the root of my trust issues. Why do I struggle trusting other people to God’s care and provision? Or trusting God with my finances or trusting him with my past and my future or with other humans’ opinions of me and many, many other things?  Jesus Christ and God’s Word both warn me fear is a big fat lie which has robbed me of so much living. Eventually, literally by the grace of God, and by placing my trust in him, I learned the thoughts, temptations and behaviors which are warning signals of danger he warned me to avoid. I enjoy freedom with limits. What I no longer do is spend my days fretting and stewing because I can’t go “over there.”  Or doubting he loves me less because he placed limits on my freedom.  I don’t worry that he will abandon me, or not care and provide for me.

I have let me down. Other people have let me down.  God has never let me down. And here is an uncomfortable reality, my greatest growth has come through suffering and pain and my greatest suffering has come through too much pleasure.   If I stop and look at God’s track record in my own life, I must conclude He has never failed me, that he is good for his Word and completely trustworthy!!   Running the universe is a big job he does so well!   The sun rises and sets each day, the earth rotates on its axis and so on and so forth, without our assistance folks, and the evidence he is trustworthy is all around us! As the Apostle Paul said in Romans so that we are without excuse!

 Our national motto is in God we Trust, but truth be told I believe that very few people really do trust Him! And that statement makes me incredibly sad. I think far too many folks believe he is some far distant disinterested being, malevolently watching us from afar. Rolling his eyes and laughing at us as we muddle through life instead of the God who is a close, caring companion.  I used to, but I don’t anymore, buy that lie for a single second, not because I embrace some blind, mindless faith, but because of the amount of evidence! Not only the evidence of his work in my life but the proof all around me and throughout history. And from what I have seen, many people of faith are stuck where I used to be, trusting more in themselves, other people, leaders, governments and money than they trust God.  But we are in good company! even Jesus closest companions at first, didn’t trust he could calm their storms, and they could reach out and touch God wearing skin!!  Doubt is normal for us finite creatures. But the disciples lack of trust was temporary, as should ours be.  The more we get to know his nature, character and trustworthiness through his Word and actions in our lives, the more we can recognize him in the world around us. Which builds our trust.

Today I know if I choose to stay close to him; he will act in his time and his way which is always the right time and way and guide me along the journey he has set out for me. Which may not be easy or comfortable.  He never hid the facts that if I follow him, I too would have a cross to bear, and a crown to wear in that order.  I must admit that there are times I become impatient when he doesn’t answer my prayers right away or on my timetable or in the way I want him to. But in those moments what I have learned to do is to stay a little closer by His side, waiting patiently and trusting. Because he is trustworthy. And he loves me.  And he loves you too.

In God we trust.

Be joy filled always,

Christine Davis

Back in the stone ages when I was first learning to drive, my mother and I had gone to a nearby city.  At the time I had only my learners permit and I was all of fourteen or fifteen.  Being a farm kid, I had driven the lawn mower, go carts, mini bikes and even the family car down the quiet rock road in front of our farm, but didn’t have much town experience and I needed to practice so my Mother let me drive, God bless her.    

 I wanted to impress my Mom and I certainly did not want to have an accident.   I used to be a I can do it myself sort of a gal (a former character flaw) and I was driving along totally focused on the street and the big old four door sedan I was piloting. I don’t know exactly how long it took, but at some point, I realized I heard a siren. Looking in the rear-view mirror I saw an ambulance with its lights flashing right behind me. I have no doubt that by this time the driver was wondering what sort of idiot was not getting out of the way and had begun blowing his horn at me. I was paralyzed.  I had no idea what to do.  I hadn’t taken drivers education yet.   By now the driver is now “whoop whooping” the siren at me.  Mom calmly suggested I pull into the right lane and slow down or stop.  The ambulance driver finally gets around me (much to his relief I have no doubt).   And I pull off and let my mom drive the rest of the way.

Why had I not heard the siren? My hearing worked just fine.

Why had I not seen the flashing lights?  I wasn’t blind because my mother let me behind the wheel of the car.

Why were my senses oblivious to the obvious?

 Jesus is concerned with our senses of hearing and seeing.  During his time on earth he told the crowds and his followers about a farmer who sowed seeds.   As soon as he is done telling the story he calls out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”   Later he tells another story and  concludes with the words ” Consider carefully how you listen.”  Later when told that his Mother and brothers were waiting outside for him, he says, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s Word and put it into practice.” I wonder how his mother felt about that.  Later he calls many of the religious leaders the blind leading the blind who fall into a ditch. That doesn’t sound like a complement to me.

 Jesus is right here with us with lights flashing, sirens wailing and horns blowing and his very great concern is that we are not seeing or hearing the truth, that we are both blind and deaf (and for me I will add dumb, and I don’t mean dumb in the sense that I am unable to talk but in the ‘duh’ sense). He sounds the alarm because our very lives depend upon it, both right now today and in the long stretch of eternity.   Perhaps that is exactly the point of the parable of the sower, we hear but we aren’t listening and if we do hear we aren’t putting into practice what he is suggesting we do, and he is concerned for us and our souls.    If we hear God’s Word, we must practice and live it out or what is the point?

Let me be quite clear about one thing before we proceed. The thing that makes following Jesus Christ so very different from all other religions is that in every single other religious world view the entry into paradise or heaven is dependent on what I do in order to make things right between God and I.   Christianity is based on who I know and whether or not I accept the free gift of grace being offered and choose to enter into a personal relationship with God who paid the price to make things right.   I must believe the giver of the gift is who he says he is and accept the gift. I don’t receive it unless I accept it. Nothing I could ever do would earn it.  My point is, this isn’t about being good to be saved, but our goodness is the  by product of receiving the gift of grace and forgiveness.

In my lifetime I have been every one of the four types of listeners he describes in the parable of the sower. 1) I have heard the word and it didn’t even have a chance to grow because I listened to the guy with red tail and pitchfork on my left shoulder and  his seductive voice instead of God’s.   

2) I have received God’s Word with joy but since I chose not to practice it in my daily round, it sounded more like “Wank, wank, wank.”   I was too lazy to study it and it quickly withered within me.

3) I have definitely been the seed that fell among the thorns and God’s Word has been choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures.  Just like driving the car that day when I was totally focused on the street and piloting the family car I could see and hear nothing else. Not even a siren right behind me.   I have been that way in my wicked living, marriage obsession, child raising, career idolatry, fitness frenzy and my money will save me worship. The world has had me by the throat or should I say by the eyes and the ears, mouth and worst of all heart. I have been blind, deaf and dumb, guilty, guilty, guilty.

Today, I do a little better job at both listening and practicing because I passionately, with all my heart,  want to be the last seed sown, 4) the seed on the good soil which, which takes root and grows into one with noble and good heart, who hears,  retains, and produces a harvest.  A harvest of what?   Becoming a reflection of Christ to those around me so they want him too. I only get to keep it if I give it away.

How did I get to be a better driver?   I took driver’s education and I drove and drove and drove; I practiced.  I follow (most of the time) the rules and laws of the road.

How do I produce a harvest for Christ?   I read and study God’s Word, fellowship with other believers and pass the good news on to others by scattering seeds. I  practice my faith by living it out, and most importantly,  my senses are no longer oblivious to the obvious because I choose to pull over and let my Father be the one in the driver’s seat.

Which causes me to:

Be joy filled always,

Christine Davis

The story is told, upon the death of one of the richest American’s of the twentieth century, when asked how much money he left behind, his attorney was  said to have replied,  “All of it.”

You can’t take it with you.

It’s funny how attached we become to stuff.   I remember being at an estate auction and looking around at all of the remaining belongings, and thinking is this it? What I have worked and slaved for, fussed over and hung on to ends up going to the highest bidder?   

When Jay told me he was going to out live me I replied, “Good, because I don’t want to clean out your shop!”   A couple years back I adapted the philosophy that if a new item came home with me, I had to let go of something old. Otherwise you might end up watching me a few years from now on one of those hoarder shows.  

 Some items like outdated clothing or unused appliances don’t hold as much sway over me; others are less easy to let go of. Like photos, why did I take so many photos?  I have lots of photo albums and boxes of photos.   Most hold sentimental value only to me. Which ones do I keep and which ones do I dispose of or give away?  When my mother in law moved off the farm my husband brought home a box full of photo albums.  They were fun to look through, but now what?  Lately so much of what I own has begun to feel, well burdensome to be honest, and it all requires so much time and attention and I can’t take it with me.

 Letting go is hard. I remember when Mom was preparing to move to her apartment and as we sorted through each item there was a memory attached to it.   The meat grinder was from Aunt Mildred, the alarm clock that was my dads and it is the same for me.  It is the memory that I am attached to mostly.  Even that gets left behind at the end of it all.

 Some of the stuff that I have a hard time letting go of isn’t in material form.   Take for instance my need to be right.  That fatal flaw has been a part of my personality for too long.  Or how about gossiping, I would love to tell you that I don’t but that would just be a big fat lie. One walks a fine line between sharing news and sharing news, really.      

 We become attached to things, even when they don’t serve us well and can chain us to being less than who God created us to be.  It’s not a bad thing to have nice things or certain habits, but we can’t take money, behaviors or things with us.   Honestly, I realized not so very long ago that both money, things and even certain behaviors had become my God, particularly money because I believed for most of my life that if I had enough it would save me. I thought it would save me from things like: fear, want, lack, loneliness, even from being unloved.   But money and the stuff it buys didn’t fill any of those holes in my soul and at the end of the day it became the enemy that often brought: fear, envy and discontent to my soul and even sometimes my relationships.  

The rich man’s attorney is right, it all gets left behind. 

 Jesus warned us not to put our faith and hope in the things moths and rust can destroy. But to build up our treasure in heaven and what I can take with me from this land of shadows to the reality of heaven, is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and most importantly other souls that I have been bold enough to influence for Jesus Christ.   The truth is love is the only thing that lasts.  How much we love God and love others in this life, especially those who don’t deserve love, is what we take with us and the more we love here on earth, the bigger our account in heaven becomes. Everything material is bound for decay; the real stuff is the unseen, the invisible. The stuff of the soul.

 Love big my friends, that is of God and because that you can take with you.

Be joy filled always,

Christine Davis