Living the New Life

"This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.

The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" 

2 Corinthians 5:17

When Scott and I first got married, we didn't have a lot of money.  (We still don't! LOL!)  We were both college students and were relying on the generousity of family and friends to help us get started in life.  So when it came to furnishing our first apartment, we had to come up with some creative solutions.  Thankfully, family chipped in to help with most of the main furniture, however, we still needed furniture for our bedroom.  It was then that my Mother recalled an antique bedroom set that had been mine in middle school.  It was stored in my Grandfather's old appliance shop.  I was excited.  Though forgotten, I remembered how beautifully elegant it looked.  The wonderfully ornate four poster bed with matching dresser and mirror were equisite!  But years of storage in the back of a musty old shop had taken it's toll on the once elegant pieces.  My heart sank.  My dreams of a beautifully decorated bedroom were dashed as I beheld the dirtiest, ugliest furniture I'd ever seen!  Noticing my obvious disappointment, my Mother offered encouragement.  "We can clean this all up and repaint it.  It'll look just like new.  You'll see!"  So, that's what we did.  We set to work, stripping off years of layered old paint.  The top coat, the ivory white from my childhood, was easy to stip.  However, underneath it's soft layer we encountered a thick layer of BLACK paint, then GREEN paint, an ugly tan, and finally the original brown wood stain.  My Mother and I worked for DAYS in the summer heat out in Granddaddy's shop just stripping away that old paint.  You see, just painting over the old paint would have led to less than desirable results - new paint over old can be easily scratched or chipped.  This would have revealed the old, ugly layers beneath.  As we tirelessly labored, I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Then finally, with the last of the old paint stripped away, we were able to paint.  After a couple of layers of beautiful white paint, the old had once again became new.  Each of the pieces had been restored to a state of elegance and honor.  Our first bedroom was just beautiful!

As the years went by, Scott and I settled down, started a family, and eventually purchased a home.  After buying our home, we decided it was time to replace our antique furniture with a more modern set.  Even so, we hung on to the old, placing it once again in storage.  There it sat, for years.  Dirt and dust settling on it, marring its white complexion and beautifully adorned features.  But the day came when it was finally called into service.  It was perfect for Brittany's elegant new room design.  So we set out to paint it once more, bringing the old new life!

How appropriate that my devotion today would point me to 2 Corinthians 5:17.  I was reminded that years ago, the very moment I accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, an old life ended and a new life began.  Christ didn't just paint over the old life.  He completely sanded me down and stripped away the old before applying the new.  He knew a superficial change would be ineffective, revealing the ugly layers that lay below the surface at the first bump or scratch. Instead, He gave a fresh, NEW LIFE! 

Now, years later, God is still working that new nature within me. I'm being challenged to grow further than when I first began. So, what does it mean to put on your new nature?  How can we lay claim to this new nature?  We can find the answers in Colossians 3:1-10.

1.  Recognize here and now the realities of Heaven and Christ's authority.  "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand."  Colossians 3:1

2.  Get our priorities straight by focusing on the things of Heaven.  We must strive to make Heaven's priorities a part of our daily life - filling our thoughts and concentrating on that which is good, pure, and holy.  "Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth."  Colossians 3:2

3.  As a Christian, your real life isn't in what is seen, but in the unseen!  We are SAFELY hidden in Christ!  We have assurance of eternity!  THAT is our reality! Christ gives us the power to live for Him NOW and He promises to return. "For you died to this life, and your reali life is hidden with Christ in God.  And when Christ who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in ALL HIS GLORY!"   Colossians 3:3-4

4.  We must consider ourselves DEAD to SIN!  Sure, we will mess up from time to time, but we can always seek His forgiveness.  With Christ's help, we can commit our hearts to living a life of purity not immorality. We must make a concious effort to walk away from tempation, making a CHOICE to resist and not sin.  "So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you.  Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires.  Don't be gredy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshipping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming."  Colossians 3:5-6 

5.  In putting on our new nature, we must rid ourselves of evil practices and immorality-  Paul says this is OUR responsibility.  Jesus gave us new life, but we must take hold of it!    "You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world.  But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.  Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off you all old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds."  Colossians 3:5-9 

6.  Our conduct should match our faith.  Our life change must be more than superficial and temporal.  It must permeate us to our very core.  It's up to us to live it through and through, to be renewed by KNOWING our Creator and BECOMING like Him!  "Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him."  Colossians 3:10

In Christ we have new life!  He has stripped away the old and restored us with the new!  Learning to live in the new is a lifelong process - it takes practice, patience, concentration, and ongoing evaluation.  Even when we mess up, we can quickly repent and get back on track!  We must rid ourselves of all that is immoral and commit ourselves to living what Christ teaches.  If you have made such a commitment to live in your new nature, are you remaining true to it?  What are some changes you need to make to renew yourself in Christ today?

Grace and Peace, friends!
In His Love, Cathy

In a Spiritual Drought

I must confess, I feel as though I am in a season of spiritual drought.  Though I search and seek the Lord daily, I feel as though I am not as close to Him and do not desire Him as much as I have in the past.  There are times that I do feel so very close to Him, as though I can reach out and touch Him.  However, at other times, I feel as though He is so very far away.  Honestly, ever since I stepped down as children's pastor last summer, I have struggled with what God wanted of me next.  I am not lamenting stepping down, for God made it very clear that was His will.  And, as a result, God has abundantly blessed our church and our family in so many ways.  I am confident that my stepping down was the right choice.  I'm simply confused and feel so lost  - not knowing what I should do next and wondering why the silence.  In addition, it seems like this world is pressing down on us. 

To be completely transparent, I realize that I am the reason for the spiritual drought. I felt that God has been so near yet so far - that it has been so long that I witnessed His incredible works and seen Him in my circumstances. I know that there have been scales over my eyes, blinding me, misleading me, making me think that He has gone away. I know that it is my disobedience, rebellion, and spiritual doubt that are the source of His perceived absence. I used to be so on fire for Him! I used to be so close to Him! He would hear my prayers and answer them with the most awesome of deeds! I used to delight myself in Him! Rising each morning with praise on my lips! Laying down each night with worship in my heart! Where have those days gone? Why can't I seem to get back to this place, the place where I was with my Lord and He was with me always? In His arms are safety!  Yet, feel as though I am drowning in a sea of hopelessness! Though I lay my plans at His feet, though we try to do His will, we are being challenged every step of the way! Oppression lurks around every corner, chipping away at our hope and confidence. Whenever God leads us through a crisis, the enemy quickly throws up a road block, attempting to steal away the victory!


But then, just when all hope seems lost - in the stillness of the morning, He bends down,  close to my heart, and quietly whispers to my soul:

"I know all the things you do.  I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance.  I know you don't tolerate evil people.  You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not.  You have discovered they are liars.  You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.

But I have this complaint against you.  You don't love me or each other as you did at first!"

Revelation 2:2-4

My heart lay utterly exposed and broken at the feet of my Savior!  He sees all!  He saw that I didn't love Him as I once had!  How that must have hurt Him to know this!  The ugly truth that I had denied not only to my Savior, but also to myself!  Though on the outside, I was saying and doing all of the right things, on the inside my passion for Him had grown cold!  How could I have done such a thing after all He's done for me! In the busyness of life, I had lost my passionate love for Christ! 

Prolonged conflict and crisis can strengthen our faith, but can take its toll on our love for God and one another.  Even in the thick of battle, our efforts should be grounded in and remain in our love for Christ!  We must love God with the same ferver as we did when we first became a Christian - seeking Him in earnest every day!  Laying our hearts open before Him in great anticipation and expectation!  Seeking Him to fill us daily with His love!       

My Sweet Savior didn't leave me totally broken.  Instead, He performed open heart surgery.  With precision, He grafted the truth of Revelation 2:5-7 to my heart:

"  Look how far you have fallen!  Turn back and do the works you did at first.  If you don't repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.  But this is in your favor:  You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.  Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.  To everyone who is victorious I will give you fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God."

In my brokeness, I repented.  I turned back.  He forgave me, washed my wounded heart, healing it with His nail scared hands.

Are you in a season of spiritual drought?  If so, the only way to quench it is to turn back and do the works you did at first.  Think back on when you began your love affair with our Lord and Savior.  Remember how exciting that was?  Go back in time spiritually, ask God to help you reproduce that love and passion.  Repent and turn away from those things, even good things, that stand in the way of passionately loving Christ.  Pray.  Read His Word.  Worship and adore Him!  Ask Him to reveal Himself.  Listen with anticipation for the Holy Spirit.  Follow where He leads your heart!  Make HIM FIRST in your life!  For this is the remedy to spiritual drought!  Delight in Him once again!
 
In His Love, Cathy

When God Says 'No!'

God knows how often I pray for you.  Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart by spreading the Good News about his Son.

One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you.  For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord.  When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.

Romans 1:9-11

Paul desired more than anything to visit Rome.  Why?  So he could teach the Roman Christians and futher spread the Gospel.  Paul desired to do this with all his heart.  Yet, we see in this passage that God DENIED Paul's visit Rome at this time.  At first glance, it's hard to understand why God would deny such a request.  After all, Paul's intentions seem right.  His motivation is unselfish - he's not asking this for himself but for the building up of the faith and spreading the News of Salvation through Jesus Christ.  So why did God tell him "No?"

Consider this, had God granted Paul's visit to Rome at this point in time, Paul wouldn't have written the Book of Romans.  However, because God delayed Paul's visit to Rome, Paul wrote to the Roman Christians the things on his heart.  And this letter he wrote to Roman Christians had much further impact for the cause of Christ than a visit to Rome.  In fact, it had FUTURE impact which continues today!  Paul's writing to the Roman Church became a very important book of the New Testament, encouraging and helping millions of Christians throughout the centuries!  As a result of Paul's delay to visit Rome, countless souls have been given access to the powerful spiritual treasures and truths  contained within the pages of the Book of Romans!  God had a much bigger and better plan than Paul did!  

When we pray about the desires of our heart, we need to understand several things.  First, we need to ensure our prayer is couched in proper motivation.  God doesn't give in to our selfish desires or wants.  So we need to check that our motivation is unselfish.  Second, we need to be wholly surrendered to His will on the matter.  An unsurrendered heart can rise up in discontent, rebellion, and self-pity.  And third, we need not be surprised if God answers in a way we don't understand at the moment.  Our motives may be pure, our hearts may be in line with His will, and our desires may be seemingly good and righteous.  However, God isn't on our time table nor is He limited to our ideas on how to answer.  He is on HIS timing and often answers in ways we NEVER expected!   Has God ever blind-sided you in answering prayer?  He has me - and often!  And in retrospect, His answers have been far better than I ever dreamed possible - AND - His timing was ALWAYS PERFECT! 

God, like any good parent, will and does sometimes say "No!" to our prayer requests.  Perhaps He has recently told you "no" to something that you have greatly desired.  Perhaps, though you are wholly surrendered, you simply don't understand why.  Instead of focusing on why we didn't get our desired answer to prayer, let's step out of His way so that  He can show us the greater reason behind the "No!"  Focus on remaining faithful no matter His answer.  Trust that God has a better purpose and plan.  Let's show Him our trust by expectantly waiting for the greater "Yes"   - without complaint, without question, without doubt, and without acting like a spoiled child!  Challenge yourself to completely trust in HIM, even in the "no."  Remember, God has a much bigger plan than you do - a far better plan!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you."  Jeremiah 29:11-12

In His Love, Cathy

My Baby's IN!!!

Well, it's official!  Mathew qualified and was sworn into the USAF this afternoon!!!  Not sure when he'll leave for basic but we are very proud of him!

Mama is still worried, but very proud!  He's excited and so are we!

In His Love, Cathy

God Is...

I'm so thankful that we have a God who isn't defined by mere humans.  He isn't a god limited by our finite ideas of what we think He should be like.  He is real.  He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.  That is He is ALL powerful, ALL knowing, and PRESENT EVERYWHERE.  HE is the ALPHA and OMEGA - the FIRST and the LAST.  The beginning and the end!  (Revelation 22:13)  He is our Creator God. He created the heavens and the earth.  He created life out of nothingness.  He created man in His glorious image.  All things were created BY Him and FOR Him - everything seen and unseen, powers, principalities, rulers, and authorities - He created all! (Colossians 1:16)

Our God is special.  He alone is God.  There are none like Him. (Isaiah 46:9)    None can claim to do what He has done nor can they prophecy the future for He alone holds the future in His hands!  There aren't enough words to describe His breathtaking power and greatness.  He is Jehovah God - "I am that I am" - The Eternal One, The Unchanging One, The Self-Existing One.  He is Jehovah-jireh, the Great Provider.  He is Jehovah-nissi, Our Banner who makes us victorious over the enemy.  He is Jehovah-shalom, the God of peace. 

No, our God isn't a man-made God whom we pull out of our pockets whenever we need a wish granted.  He isn't our lucky charm.  Instead HE is GLORIOUS and RIGHTEOUS.  He is our Savior, our Friend, and our Redeemer.  He is a God who can be trusted no matter what is going on in our lives.  He is a God whose ways are higher than our ways!  (Isaiah 55:8)  He is not a God to be controlled by mere mortals.  He is infinitely greater than what we could ever imagine. 


He is the Great Physician, the Lamb that was Slain, the Lord of Heaven's Armies.  He is compassionate, forgiving, merciful, and full of grace.  He loves us with a perfect love - a love so great that He sent His one and only Son to die for our sins.  He is patient and kind - offering us infinitely many chances to turn to Him.  He is willing that no one should be lost, but desires all to accept Christ.  If only all would respond.  He is full of goodness, perfect in every way. 

Yes, I am thankful that I have a God who is all of this - and so much more. 

In His Love, Cathy

USAF or BUST!

Our oldest son, Matt, has decided to join the Air Force instead of returning to college in the fall.  He's done well in college, but says he's ready to do something more with his life and serve his country.  He has promised his worried Mom that he will finish his college degree while in the Air Force - and the Air Force will pay for it as well as help pay off some of his student loans from his first two years of school.  A wise decision if you ask me:-) 

This morning he leaves for Montgomery for MEPS, which is where he will go through a rigorous medical examination, more evaluations, career counseling, and take his oath.  He's always been very interested in the military - I wonder why?  (He is is father's son!)  The military has been a huge part of both sides of our family - many grandparents, parents, uncles, and cousins have served our country.  These influences I know have made a huge impression on Matt. 

Please be in prayer for Matt today and tomorrow as he travels to Montgomery, AL for MEPS.  Please be in prayer that he passes with flying colors, is accepted into the Air Force, and that this is God's will for his life. 
Pray for his Mama who is having a hard time letting her baby go down this path and that Matt will always walk each day with Jesus Christ!

"The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."   Psalm 121:7-8

Thanks friends!

In His Love, Cathy