Our Exceptional God Archives

Ready For A Spiritual Battle?

April 5, 2017 Gracie

Getting Ready

I was a Girl Scout a long, long time ago.

Let’s not talk about how long. 😉

Our motto was to: “Be Prepared.”

Does that phrase sound familiar?

The direction to “be prepared” is also in the Bible – God’s Word.

Are You Ready For A Spiritual Battle?

It’s certainly easier to respond, “no thanks,” and just live your life without a care.

Easier maybe, but that’s not the right answer.

The Bible tells us, and as Peter reveals in 1 Peter 3:15-17:

¹⁵but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, ¹⁶having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. ¹⁷For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. – 1 Peter 3:15-17, ESV.

Contending For Your Faith

Always be prepared with confidence and complete reverence for God.

No one said it would be easy, especially when an unbeliever or false teacher is coming at you with all sorts of accusations. It can hurt, especially when the accuser is someone you know.

Have you ever heard anyone verbally attack the Bible and the Sovereignty of God?

I sure have.

It seems like the confrontations are happening everywhere – on college campuses, in the workplace, and elsewhere.

The most disturbing examples I’ve seen are on the internet and in social media comments.

attacking comment threads

It’s so bad that I only scan the headlines now, and skip over the comment threads where people are so awful to each other. There’s name-calling, threats, and twisting words of Scripture.

Do these folks realize what they’re saying, in a public forum, no less?

I once had a job where a coworker told me that a client we both knew was a “nice” person and would go to Heaven simply for that reason alone.

Our fallen human nature wants to believe that lie, but as Christians, we know that “Congeniality” is not a free ticket to Heaven.

That may sound harsh, but it’s reality. We must turn to the Bible for the answer, not Hollywood movies, or false teachers who add to or delete words of Scripture.

By our faith, we know better.

We are in great need of a Savior and a repentant heart. If being nice was all that was required to get to Heaven, Jesus would not have had to die.

The Gate Is Narrow

A very convicting Bible verse and a key reason why we, as Christians, should share our faith, comes from Matthew.

¹³“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. – Matthew 7:13-14, ESV.

The way to eternal life is narrow. (Chilling, right?)

A very loving thing we can do for a lost person is telling them about salvation through Jesus Christ. We can also pray for them and, for the Holy Spirit to give us the right words when an opportunity comes up. I pray for this all the time.

We can’t let an intimidating person get us to back down about our personal faith in Jesus Christ and salvation through Him.

Are you ready for a spiritual battle

Are You Prepared?

You have to know why you believe.

What do athletes do before the big game?

They practice.

Practice talking about your faith, not because your beliefs are weak, but because it helps. This process isn’t the same as writing a rehearsed script and sounding like a robot. We need to examine our lives, our secular motives before we came to Christ, and the eternal perspective we gained after.

We’re not beating anyone over the head with it or trying to start fights. I take to heart what Paul said in Philippians.

²⁷Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. ²⁹For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, ³⁰engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. – Philippians 1:27-30, ESV.

Expecting Opposition

Not everyone will appreciate your testimony. If someone gets overly ugly with you, you can opt to say you’ll pray for this person and leave. Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance.

Not a Bible expert? It’s okay. You’re sharing your faith because you love others and don’t want them to go to hell.

Here’s a useful resource, Got Questions.

In this two-minute video, John MacArthur explains why readiness is so important. Feel free to share this with others who need encouragement. God bless.

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*Begg, Alistair. “Declare Great Things.” Crosswalk.Com. 25 May 2016. Web Access 03 April 2017. Used with permission. http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/truth-for-life/truth-for-life-may-25-2016.html

Our Exceptional God

Touchdown!

March 29, 2017 Gracie

Unfortunately, I’m not talking about the football kind of touchdown.

It’s Springtime in Texas.

While that’s a good thing, there’s also a downside.

It’s a time when tornadoes come out to play, wreaking their havoc, destroying property and, in some cases, lives.

storms in our lives

*Photo credit at the end.

Last Sunday night, tornado weather came knocking at our door.

Dangerously Close

We were monitoring the weather throughout the evening. According to the forecasters, the supercell heading our direction was, by all initial appearances, weak. Even the weatherman didn’t seem impressed. In fact, he spent more time on the storms heading north and south of us.

We almost stopped watching the weather, thinking everything was fine.

building tornado

**Photo credit at the end.

The storm cluster heading our direction suddenly exploded into a big tornado. It briefly touched down seven miles from where we live.

Storm chasers shared pictures of the funnel cloud on social media.

Several minutes later, the warnings for our area started to come in, a siren went off, and my phone app announced, “Warning. Tornado is in your area. Seek shelter.”

Uh oh.

The sky turned pitch black dark, and the wind picked up considerably.

We headed to our shelter and hunkered down on the floor.

Huge hailstones (up to softball size) pummeled our house, sounding like dropping bombs with each strike.

Then I heard what sounded like glass smashing.

It went on and on.

Hail continued crashing on top of our house as part of the funnel cloud roared above us.

hailstones

All Clear

We are praising God today that the other families in our neighborhood and we are all safe.

Our roof took a beating, and there’s damage to our outside lighting, but those things are repairable.

Thank you, God, for keeping us safe.

Like that powerful storm, awful circumstances can quickly explode in our lives. An emotional bomb drops, and it can instantly undermine our peace.

This Bible verse is taped to the wall of our storm shelter. It reads:

^***20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. – Matthew 28:20, KJV.

He is always with us. That is our assurance.

Nonbelievers don’t understand it, but as Christians, we can hold the words of Scripture in our hearts when the “storms” come in our lives.

There is no better peace than the peace that He can give.

Corrie Ten Boom, Christian heroine

Don’t know where to start with scripture memorization?

Here’s one suggestion, with verses specifically about fear.

http://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/fear-bible-verses/

I hope that is helpful.

God bless you this week!

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*Photo courtesy of Sarah. Shared with permission.
**Photo courtesy of Jessica. Shared with permission.
***Bible Reference: King James Version, (KJV) Public Domain.
****Corrie Ten Boom quotation, as quoted from Christian quotes.info

Our Exceptional God

Don’t Bury The Lead

March 21, 2017 Gracie

Don't bury the lead

A lot has changed for the better in my life since my former career as a TV reporter, but I still miss that adrenaline rush.

I learned so much about writing. The biggest lesson of all – don’t bury the lead!

In other words, don’t put the “leading” information in a news story way down at the bottom of the report.

Can that relate to sharing our faith as well?

I believe it can.

Don’t Bury The Lead

The “lead” is the most important fact of the story, followed by the supporting details after that.

Here’s an example of “burying the lead”:

“A terrible car crash tied up traffic on North Central today. State troopers think that today’s stormy weather played a big part in the collision. The massive car pileup backed up traffic for several miles. People living nearby heard the crash and described it as a loud bang. One man died when his car careened off the shoulder.”

See what happened there?

A poor soul lost his life, and the mention of his death is at the end of our example. Our fictitious reporter “buried the lead.”

It’s a good lesson for a lot of things in life.

Don’t bury the lead.

Don’t beat around the bush.

Get to the point!

Sharing Our Faith and The Good News

As Christians, we’re not supposed to dwell on the bad news in the world, because we can lose sight of the Good.

And there is Good News, Praise the Lord!

We see mere glimpses of it in our lifetime, but as Bible-believing Christians, we can also have what is Eternally Good forever.

So why aren’t we reaching out more?

teaching about sin and salvation

Why do so many church leaders today feel too intimidated to preach the truth about sin and salvation?

The younger generation, (or so I’ve read) says they don’t want pastors preaching to them anymore. A growing number of these folks, although not all of them, want to change the crux of what the Bible teaches, so it’s less convicting. They only want the good works of a social gospel and don’t want to hear about sin, forgiveness, salvation, or the End Times.

Say, what?

If someone you cared about was driving towards a dangerous cliff, would you warn them?

Of course, you would!

Why are so many Christians pressured to bury the “lead” of the Gospel because it makes some people (of any age) uncomfortable?

Does this mean absolute truth now has to take a back seat to popular culture?

Lord, have mercy.

Whosoever Believeth In Him

The absolute truth of the spiritual battle we’re in is revealed throughout the pages of Scripture

Please see John 3:16, for example.

I bet you have it memorized.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. – John 3:16, KJV, public domain

God is real.

Heaven is real.

Satan is real.

Hell is real.

“Should not perish,” and, some will perish. This is why, once we have a connection building with a lost person, we must talk to them about sin and salvation through Christ alone. There are lives at stake.

The Battle Is Real

There’s a spiritual battle going on right now.

Don’t let popular culture, (Hollywood, etc.) dictate to you what to think about God. (“The Shack,” movie, anyone?). Nor, should we allow the culture to define or interpret the Bible.

God is most definitely our loving and merciful Father.

ongoing spiritual battle

But, God is also a Righteous Judge.

He will judge unrepentant sinners.

That means people that you love, who are living life with no concern for God or salvation, are in trouble, if they continue on their present course of apathy.

Here’s where we come in:

If they don’t know Christ, they are your mission field.

Invite them to church and share the Good News.

Please know that the road will not be easy. As Christians, we were never promised that, but peace in Christ can sustain us.

*No joy can excel that of the soldier of Christ: Jesus reveals Himself so graciously and gives such sweet refreshment that the warrior feels more calm and peace in his daily strife than others in their hours of rest. – Alistair Begg, Christian Pastor.

God bless

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*Begg, Alistair, “Outside the Camp.” Crosswalk.com. 06 April 2017, Web Access 06 April 2017. Copyright Truth For Life. Used with Permission.

Our Exceptional God

Goodbye Doesn’t Mean Forever

March 14, 2017 Gracie

Saying Goodbye

What in the world?

My husband and I, like many other child sponsors around the world, just got some bad news.

We’d heard warnings that the Compassion International letter was coming, but held out hope that the troublesome situation would resolve.

Letter from Compassion

Unfortunately, there it was in the stack of mail my husband brought in from the mailbox. We stopped everything we were doing and sat down and read it together.

* “It is with deep sorrow that we share with you that Compassion must close its sponsorship program in India on March 15th.

Our hearts break for both you and…”

Shocking, to say the least.

Our sponsor child, “SG,”¹ now faces an unknown future.

“SG” is one of our two sponsor children. Our other child is from the Dominican Republic and has, thankfully, been spared so far from a foreign government’s unfeeling political maneuvers.

We Will Never Forget

To say we’re frustrated and upset is an understatement. I’ve talked with another sponsor, and we’re both reeling from the awful news.

What will happen to our child? Is she going to be safe?

“SG” is a beautiful little girl. We’ve cherished each photo that we’ve received from her. Her dark hair and deep, soulful eyes make quite a contrast to the red sari that she wears in her picture.

We were beginning to know her from her letters, all of which had to be translated back and forth when we corresponded.

“SG” wants to be a teacher when she grows up.

She loves to color, especially flowers.

SG's flower drawing

We don’t know a lot about her home life, except that it was rough. Her parents don’t get along and the village where she lives is poverty-stricken. We were relieved that Compassion’s funding through local churches provided a haven for her. It was a break from the sadness all around her. She had fellow students her own age to laugh and play with.

She could be happy.

Through Compassion, we always knew that she was getting food to eat and water to drink, attending school regularly, and learning about Jesus. We were especially relieved to know that she was safe.

Now, with the Indian government’s restrictions aimed at Christian charitable organizations, our child and other innocents living in extreme poverty are at a greater risk for sexual trafficking. Age is no barrier to predators.

Shameful Statistics

Forty-thousand children abducted each year, per a report from the Human Rights Commission of India.

That is forty-thousand too many, whether it’s in India or anywhere else.

I think of all of these innocents that could be being taken against their will and it makes me want to cry.

Goodbye Doesn’t Mean Forever

As Christians, we have an everlasting promise of a reunion with other believers in Heaven.

I believe we will see “SG” there.

No man, no government, and no political ideology will ever be able to change that.

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1 “SG” – Full name withheld.
* Letter excerpt from Davis, Rick., Vice President USA Compassion International. Correspondence received March 11, 2017.

Our Exceptional God

No Flat Tires In Heaven

March 8, 2017 Gracie

There Are No Flat Tires In Heaven

How are you feeling today?

Did you wake up, grab a cup of coffee, and bound out the door with a big smile on your face? Waking up with a smile

Or…did you drag yourself out of bed, scarf down your breakfast with minutes to spare, and then head out to work in a grumpy mood?

We never know what each day will bring.

Sometimes a day can be full of happiness. Other days, you wished you’d stayed in bed, right?

Perhaps hang a sign on your bedroom door that says, “No one’s here, please try again tomorrow.”

When It Rains, It Pours

I remember several years ago when my husband was out of town for work.

The dogs were cooperating, I had a stocked fridge, and life was moving along just fine.

Until…

I drove to the local CVS and got a nail in my tire.

My first flat tire.

Oh, great.

There are no flat tires in Heaven

A quick stop at the pharmacy suddenly turned into a long day. A few phone calls later, and my tire was working again.

I was so glad to get back home.

Everything is right again.

A couple of days later, another flat tire.

I am not kidding.

In one week, I had two flat tires.

What are the odds?

It was an interesting phone call to my husband that night.

Life gets out of whack sometimes.

We Have God’s Promises For When Things Get Out Of Whack

Someday, Christians, we will have an eternity in Heaven where nothing goes wrong.

In other words, there are no flat tires in Heaven. 😉

Until we reach our eternal Home, we should praise the King anyway.

At all times, even when things aren’t going our way.

Prayers aren’t supposed to stop once we get our answers. Praying is meant to be a daily blessing, not a chore.

What About Today?

Singing to God is a form of prayer, so if you haven’t said your prayers yet today, allow me to introduce you to a song that is full of praises to God.

In my Bible study this week at church, our group was talking about some of our favorite praise and worship songs.

Psalm 63 is one of mine.

Our choir sang it last Sunday and Wow!

It isn’t our choir singing in this video, but I wanted to post it anyway so you could hear the music. About 4 1/2 minutes in, when the different choir parts separate out, I get chills.

The lyrics of the song often came to my mind during my husband’s recent heart procedures.

Soothing and comforting.

Try closing your eyes and turn up your speakers.

C’mon close your eyes, I can see they’re still open 😉

Take it in and you can make it one of your prayers today.

I hope this song has blessed you as much as it has me. Our whole congregation was deeply touched by a psalm set to music.

I love beautiful worship songs that remind us of God’s sovereignty.

Have you asked Him into your life yet?

Our Exceptional God

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