Seasons of Change

As a Toastmaster, you are taught that there are three speeches that take place every time you speak. 1.) The speech you wrote, 2.) The speech you give, and 3.) The speech the listeners heard. The first two are rather obvious, but the speech given and the speech that was heard should be about the same, shouldn't they?

Yesterday, I mentioned that I went to church a couple of times on Sunday. I would think that after sitting through basically an hour's worth of talking, I would have a lot of information that I could repeat. That is hardly the case! In fact, without looking at my notes, there is only about one sentence that remains with me from each sermon. Sad, but true!

Pastor John mentioned that he encouraged people to repent in his Christmas cards one year. He said it wasn't the best received Christmas cards he'd ever sent. (Hmmm…)

Pastor Episcopo said that God is able to forgive us even when we are struggling to forgive ourselves.

Interestingly enough, in both cases the sentences were not the main point of the sermon…more like a passing sentence that stood out to me. However, they are little like little gold nuggets that encouraged me to think and reflect.

Why is it that so many of us struggle with repentance and forgiving ourselves? I think that most people (if not all) have an innate sense of right and wrong. We ultimately respect our Heavenly Father so much that we feel that guilt and shame. Whether or not we choose to acknowledge and accept that may be a completely different story.

For me, it isn't the repentance that I struggle with. I struggle with forgiving myself of my wrongs. Other people can make their mistakes and it seems as though it isn't long before it is water under the bridge. But to forgive myself? Oofda!

How do I work to get better? First and foremost, I need to remember that I am created in the image of God. He loves me with all of His heart and wants the best for me. I need to spend time with Him and in the Bible.

If you are looking for a great passage to encourage you along these lines, try Psalm 103. If you don't have a Bible handy and want to read on the computer, www.biblegateway.com is a fantastic reference. There, you can enter the text you are looking for and choose to read in whatever Bible translation you prefer.

My point today? Choose your words carefully. You never know what someone is going to take away with them. And more importantly, we are living in a time of grace. As we remember Jesus' birth, we can remember the reason He was born. That was ultimately to die for our sins. If God can love us that much, we can certainly feel free to draw near to Him, accept His love and grace, and learn to forgive ourselves as we grow in Christ.

What Comes First?

I think most people are familiar with the Ten Commandments of the Bible. Ten basic rules. That doesn't sound too tough, does it? If you ask me, I would have to say, yes. Those ten rules are tough! And not only are they tough, I can't even say that I can get past the first one without stumbling! Do you know what the first command is? Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Ouch!

Before I get too far into this, I need to tell you that yes, I love God. He is my Lord and Savior. I have accepted His free gift of salvation that I really don't deserve. Having shared that, I return to my original point. As much as I love God, I have to wonder sometimes how genuine I really am. I go to church, attend and even lead Bible studies; I even have the Bible on my cell phone! Does that show that I am following the first command? I don't think so.

It seems easy to read the Bible and take it for face value - to see that God talked to Moses and gave him these commandments to share with the people. It's easy to read that these people weren't following the rules. Changes needed to be made. Wood and stone were carved. Gold was melted. Statues were made and worshipped. You get the picture.

What does that mean today? What are the gods of our time? I'm not referring to Buddah or other gods like that. I am talking to my Christian audience. As I see it, whatever it is that we put before God is a god. It could be our time, our money, material things, lust or sexual sin. Our god could be summed up as a god of self, i.e. putting self before God. Have you ever found yourself either purposefully or unknowingly stepping on others to further your own selfish desires? Many marriages have been ruined this way. In the work place, it tends to be a dog eat dog world out there. Have you ever found yourself "stepping on" another person just to get that edge?

The transparent side of me is willing to share that I struggle. Not just once in awhile, but every day. I don't know about you, but after awhile, I get tired of constantly being told what to do. I have been told how I should raise my children, the way I should treat my husband, what I should do with my time, and in general, the way I should live my life. As if hearing it from one source isn't enough, I have heard it from multiple people, in multiple opinions, and not only from people, the Bible tells me what to do too!

However, I have found blessing in all most of those situations! If I have a piece of encouragement for you, it is to truly seek God with all of your heart and mind. For it is there that you will find peace and happiness. The Bible is full of great words of encouragement. It isn't just a big book of senseless rules and useless stories. Regarding people telling me or you what to do, take time to realize that when they share their opinions with you it is because they genuinely care about you! They may not always know what is the right or best answer, but they love you enough to share a little bit of themselves with you.

As for the material things that I struggle with, I am choosing to remember those less fortunate than I. People in third world countries seem to be happy with much less than we have in America. They appreciate the little things in life. The dirty dishes in my kitchen are a great reminder that God has richly blessed me. Not only did we have food to eat, we had dishes to eat on and have hot water to wash them with and a kitchen to work in.

Our life stories can be filled with adventure, but until we allow God to completely break us, we will not find true joy. I challenge you today to put God first. Put aside a special time for God. Pray. Read your Bible. And pray some more! Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Are you ready to experience life more fully? to put God first? to find true joy? and discover God's perfect will? I pray that you will be richly blessed as you dive in and accept this challenge. It will truly be one of your life's defining adventures!