The Christian Walk

I recently saw the movie Chasing Maverick's. This movie is about a big wave surfer. My husband and I were going to watch it on the big screen, but the reviews were poor so we figured that we would wait till it came on DVD. I was sorry we didn't see it on the big screen because it was a very inspiring movie, clean, and for the young and old. I think what inspired me was the passion that the character, Jay had. He was determined to ride this big wave, but he knew that he had to be mentally and physically prepared and on the top of his game to succeed in riding this wave without injury or even death! In the same way, in this life we need to be mentally and physically prepared for the battles that we fight, and we need to be in the game, living out our lives in step with the Holy Spirit. When I read through the gospels I am in awe that people were fortunate enough to be with Jesus. They were desperate for him. The crowds always following, or searching for him. He would speak...

Jesus says these simple words; "come and follow me."  He said these same words to His disciples. The disciples did just this, they were a constant companion to Jesus when he began his ministry. It wasn't until the first night of the Feast of Unleavened Bread that Jesus predicted they would all leave Him; 31  Then Jesus said to them,  “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd,  And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’  Matthew 26:31 Peter proudly disagreed with Jesus, boasting that he would never stumble, even if he had to die , he would never deny Jesus.  That very night Jesus went to pray and he asked the disciples to pray and watch  He told them;  41  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed  is  willing, but the flesh  is  weak.” Matthew 26:41 Regardless of the words of Jesus, they fell asleep. Jesus ...

Jesus went to the temple and was angry because the people had turned the temple into a "den of thieves" the people were using the temple, the house of God to sell their stuff and rip people off. Jesus said;  ...   “Is it not written, ‘ My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’ ? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ " Luke 19:46 When Solomon built the temple he prayed and said; 27  “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!  28  Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O  Lord  my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today:  29  that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place.  30...

When Jesus walked into the temple and cleaned it out of the money changers, the children there were shouting;  Hosanna to the Son of David,” they ( the priests) became indignant   16  and said to Him, “Do You hear what these  children  are saying?” And Jesus *said to them,  “Yes; have you never read, ‘ Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself ’?” The children there knew who Jesus was and they were praising Him in spirit and truth. The fascinating thing about children is that they can see and know what is good. Jesus told the disciples that; Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like  children , you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3 I think that we are pre- wired to love and know God from the womb. (Psalm 139:13)Some of us are brought up in the church and its cultivated, and our faith, and the truth of Jesus is built in, others come to know the truth later but it's ...

There was a fascinating movie on about water. Did you know that water has memory, and that it can feel our emotions? Yes, they did this test where this man placed rice and water in three separate containers and to the first container he told the rice water, " thank you" the second container he ignored, and the third container he said something like " your disgusting" what happened was that the first container started to ferment and have a nice color, the second one turned moldy, and the third one turned black. It's pretty amazing that water can respond in these ways. Our bodies are made up of 60% water and when we think bad, negative thoughts and feel negatively we have a negative charge. Under a microscope structured water should look like snowflakes, this is usually spring water, the water from our taps looks a whole lot different, in fact the structures look deformed. It's beat up and dead. Even animals can tell the difference, they will choose the...

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart Psalm 24: 3-4   I think that at this point at the bare minimum we can say that our world is entering into the period of "sorrows" that is mentioned in Mark 13:8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. Our country is divided. What do the scriptures say about a house divided? Satan has a plan for this world, or his kingdom, and he is advancing it very rapidly. So does God. Do not be deceived, friends, Christians need to be spiritually ready, physically ready, and mentally ready for battle. We need to be daily seeking God in prayer on our knees, repenting, being in prayer and the word. God is allowing judgement on America now. We can see it on every front- socially, economically, politically, geogra...

"Idols always break the hearts of their worshippers." C.S Lewis We live in a big world full of temptation, pleasures, power, prestige, and we engage in things that we think will bring satisfaction. It can be difficult being a Christian in this world because of all these things that contaminate and lure us. There is a constant pull for our attention, time, and resources. Before we know it we are living our lives without considering God. We work extra hard because its so competitive and we want to keep our job, we do things to fit in with this worldly system. Its demanding and it never has enough of us. Before we know it were serving something other than God. Then we begin to worry about our health, our job, our relationships, and our finances because we know that deep down we are not honoring God with any of it. In the story in the book of Judges the Israelites were terrified of the Midianites because these people had their own god's, they stole from the Israelites...

Most of us have a job doing something- it may be staying at home to raise a child, maybe caregiver of aging parents or maybe you have a job outside the home. Whatever the case is- you know what your duties are. Most of the time we know what others expect from us, we know what we have to do to get the job done. So what about our duty or role as Christians? There are many things in the Bible that help to guide us in the way that we are to live but what does this look like everyday? Its a very broad concept that can be difficult to define. So maybe your going down your list and check off prayer, bible study, loving your neighbor, tithing, helping the poor, using your gift, sharing the gospel, etc. these are all good things that we are commanded in scripture to do. The interesting thing is that there was a man who kept all the commandments but he still lacked something. Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19:16-22) 16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teach...

I just finished a major final in psychopharmacology- it took hours and lots of research. My teacher went over the final after we had all turned it in and I discovered that I answered several of the questions wrong. You see psychopharmacology is all about medications, side effects, the client and the medications impact on the clients age, metabolism, disorder etc.. anyway It is a real learning experience and process. I don't think that I killed my simulated client but I may have suggested a prescription that is not FDA approved for his age! I began to have that feeling of dread and what my grade was going to look like but then I began to think about the character of my teacher and what kind of person he is. He would often tell us stories about his life sometimes to make a point and sometimes just to share. Anyway he had shared that his wife had a really rough childhood that included being molested by her brother. She eventually went to therapy for her past but this brought up lo...

Have you ever talked yourself out of a career, a relationship, a job or something else because you thought that you didn't have the ability to make it work or you were too scared to take that chance?  Guess what? You don't have the ability to make it work! But with God all things are possible. God wants to work through you, to give you the strength, and everything that you need to serve Him. Doubting God starts out really slow- something happens. For example your driving down a road and you start to hear a noise coming from the engine of your car. Your mind races at the thought that maybe your beat up old car has had it and its going to blow up at any moment. Then you try to figure out how your going to afford another car, the higher insurance, and how your even going to qualify for a loan. Then your mind races to the thought that you can't qualify for a loan because your credit is shot because that foreclosure that went through last year. Then you realize that i...

Sometimes we lose sight of what we are supposed to be doing as Christians. Many of us have been Christians for a long time and we understand the basic commands to pray, love your neighbor, share the gospel, minister to others, etc.. But for whatever reason we lose sight of these things, maybe we get burned out, or tired. You fill in the blank. But when we stop caring for others, and ministering to others, our hearts become "spiritually dull" meaning that we become lazy, and dimwitted. (stupid!) Hebrews 5:11 NLT When someone needs help we don't notice, when someone is hurting we don't respond, when someone needs prayer we don't know it, our ears and eyes are not tuned into the spiritual things of God. It's like this; What good is it dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don't show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, "good-bye and h...

Many Christians don't like to think that they should fear God, after all he calls us his children, he loved us so much that he sent his own son to come down and be a sacrifice for us. God is love, but our God is beyond what we can even imagine. He created the universe. Recently astronomers found another planet. They say that its temperature is 72 degrees year round and that it looks mostly like water. They also said that if we were to travel there it would take 22 million years to get there! Its hard to comprehend the vastness of our solar system and it only gives us a glimmer of how big our God is. However, knowing this gives us a sense of awe for our creator. This morning I was reading the Bible Bus and the passage was about Abraham and how God told him to; "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." Genesis 22:2 God was testing Ab...

Prayer is a key component to the growth of a Christian. It connects us to God and strengthens our faith. God cares about even the smallest detail of our lives. I used to think that it was silly to ask for little things but he cares about even the smallest things. One day I was coming home from a long day and I realized that I forgot my gate remote to open the gate to get into our condo complex. When this happens I usually have to get out of the car and call my husband’s cell phone to open the gate. Sometimes he doesn’t answer and I could be stuck out there for ten minutes. I said, “Lord please let the gate be open when I get home, I’m so tired and I don’t want to get out of the car and wait, I know it’s a silly prayer but I just need this little thing.” I got to the gate and someone from the other side was sitting on the curb with her remote control aimed at the gate and opening it! I couldn’t believe it. (This never, ever happens) I got out of my car and she came up to m...

Every year I go through my inbox and clean it out about this time before the next year begins. I look over all the emails that I received over the year and it gave me an opportunity to reflect on the past. This past year was full of some surprising events in my life. The loss of a friend, the marriage of my daughter, the completion of another semester of school, new acquaintances, and seeing God's provision through it all. We never know what to expect do we? We don't know what is around the next corner. It seems that the longer we live more difficult life can become. We suffer and we see family and friends suffer through illness, death, loss of job, or divorce. Everyone is affected. It is usually during these rough times that we look for consolation, escape, hope, and security. Some people find their security in man or a person, some find escape at the bar, some find it in false religions, and yes some think that they find direction in going to a fortune teller! Look around...

How is everyone doing? I know for me its been a really rough month. Being a graduate student is rough- taking 12 units is even tougher! Then just navigating through life and all the stuff that happens can leave feelings of discouragement. I found myself in that place called the pit. I began to ask myself how I was going to get all the stuff done that I needed to get done and I began to feel overwhelmed and resentful because of the stuff that I had to do when I would rather be doing other things. I was grumbling in my heart, irritable and crabby. Then I read about complaining and how God is not pleased when we complain about anything. God had told the Israelites to enter into the promised land and they heard the report from the scouts that the people of the land were like giants and that they couldn't possibly defeat them. They doubted God and His word.  32 “But even after all he did, you refused to trust the Lord your God, 33 who goes before you looking for the best places to...

How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! All who delight in him should ponder them. Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails . Psalm 111:2-3, NLT Have you ever been scared when your in bed, its about three in the morning and you hear the sound of thunder? Has it ever woke you up? I've been scared by nature. I love the seasons and rain, thunder, and lightening. If you have ever been to the beach you can understand the power of the roaring waves, the sheer forces of the ocean are incredible. Or maybe you live where there's tornado's? I lived in southern CA during the 80's and there were always earthquakes- that was scary! Yet we see the glory of God in all these things. " The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea. The God of glory thunders. The Lord thunders over the mighty sea ." Psalm 29:2-4 God uses nature to show his glory. "For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. ...

On November 3, 2011 I lost a dear friend. She took her life. I had known her since 1986, we were freshman's in high school. She sat in front of me in typing class. I immediately liked her because she was carefree, feisty, and fun to be around. We used to go surfing at the beach together. We got married about the same time and started having kids at the same time. She moved away, then I moved away but we always kept in touch. This past year we both ended up in the same place we started so I was able to reconnect with her. I saw first hand the pain that she was in. She suffered for twenty years from depression, OCD, anorexia, and other things. Then four years ago she and her husband divorced and she lost custody of her children. She was heartbroken and very wounded. No matter what anyone said or did, or what she did, that pain would never go away. There were times that I was upset with her because I could only stand by and watch her self destruct. This wasn't the first time ...

The question begins with: Suppose you went to bed tonight and while you were sleeping a miracle happened and you woke up and you didn't know that a miracle happened but things were different. All the problems that you had the day before are now gone. What would be some things that you notice are different? With your relationships? Job? Friends? Family? Finances? You fill in the blank. Use your imagination! (SFBT, de Shazer, S., Berg, K.) Think of it this way; what do you want in life? I like this question because it helps us to think about our dreams, goals, and problems in a different way and it challenges us to stop just existing in life, but to move forward with a purpose. Then focus is on what is working in your life and do more of these things. Miracles happen everyday- God turns sorrow into joy, despair into hope, war into peace, hate into love, Psalm 147:3 says; "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." (NIV)He does! What ever place that you...