God is Not Our Own Personal Butler

May 3, 2016 Gracie

It might sound appealing, but God is not our own personal butler! He’s with us 24/7, but He’s not on call to grant our every want and desire.

Speaking of granting wishes, we have the cutest puppy and our little Cayenne has taken “it’s all about me” to a new level.

having a personal butler He’s three years old, but he’ll always be a baby to us. He’s the most affectionate loving dog ever. But he’s developed this little habit.

It started out innocent enough. We hung a little bell on our back door and taught him to ring the bell whenever he has to go outside to do his “business.”

Trouble is, somehow in his cute little mind, the bell ringing has morphed into “I ring that bell and I can get anything I want!”

It took us a little while to figure out what he was doing. He would ring the bell, one of us would take him outside and sometimes, he’d do nothing. We’d take him back inside, curious about the failed bathroom attempt, and then he’d run to the bottom of the stairs, for instance, begging to come upstairs to my office.

Now he is ringing the bell for everything – to go outside or upstairs, to get him some water, feed him…everything!

What Are We? His Butler?

Cayenne is a funny one alright, but how often do we think of God as our own personal butler? Maybe we don’t even realize it sometimes. We ask, but more importantly, we don’t pray for His perfect will to be done (most of all.) Oops!

I want that new job, no matter what.

No matter how he treats me, I want to marry my boyfriend.

I want it my way all the time, no matter what.

The reality is we don’t always get our way. We may summon our personal butler, God, but He doesn’t always seem to cooperate, does He?

First off, we need to quit thinking of Him as a butler.

Sorry prosperity preachers, teaching your congregations that God will prosper them is simply wrong.

We need to loosen that grip of our inner control freak. (It’s a tendency in all of us.)

God is not our own personal butler We aren’t cute little puppies that can ring a bell and God comes running to meet all of our needs.

Only God is in control. The timing of every detail in our lives is in His hands, from our birth until we breathe our last breath. God is in the driver’s seat, from the beginning of time to the end.

So, please let go.

Lose that inner bell ringer in your life and, through prayer, put your trust in God completely.

Father God, please help me in my weakness when I lose sight of Your perfect will. I often fall short of Your best.

My desire is to please and completely trust You. I know that everything works together for good, and to bring glory and honor to You. When I become shortsighted, help me to release the strongholds in my life that distract me from Your grace. Help me to be content, no matter what the circumstances. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Our Exceptional God

Creation’s Splendor and Delight In God

April 27, 2016 Gracie

Creation’s Splendor and Take Delight In The Lord

God’s gracious gift, beauty unparalleled.

We don’t worship creation itself, of course, but we can and should thank God for this beautiful gift.

God Created Creatures of the Sea and Every Living Thing

Have you ever seen a Mandarinfish? It was new to me until one day when I was doing an internet search on amazing animals, I saw a photo.

Here’s a picture if you’ve never seen one. Look at that little guy. Those colors are gorgeous! Only the Master Creator can design a beautiful creature like that.

Photo courtesy of: By Gdiggers (Own work),© 14 July 2012, “Green mandarin in a reef aquarium”, [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Synchiropus_splendidus.jpg

Thank You God for the Splendor of Your Works!

Creation's splendor and delight in God

It’s sometimes hard to put into words my appreciation for the magnificence of God’s palette of brilliant colors, but I wanted to share a lovely poem that comes close to doing that. It’s from a fellow Christian writer and it’s called “When I Look Around.” I hope it blesses you as much as it did me.

When I Look Around
By Deborah Ann Belka

Lord, when I look all around,
I see all You have made
I see the beauty in the sunrise
and the splendor when it fades.

I see the majestic mountain peaks,
the hills brilliant, golden tops
I see the stars sparkle ever brightly
in a sky that never seems to stop.

Lord, when I look all around,
I see all the things You have done
I see everything I’m blessed with
and I am grateful for every one.

I see a warm and cozy home,
filled with all the love I need
I see the bounty on my full plate
and a Bible I can always read.

Lord, when I look all around,
I see the mercy You have given
I see the cross on Mount Calvary
and I’m thankful I am forgiven.

I see a world who doesn’t believe,
in the glory of Your grace
I see millions of lost people
who refuse to seek Your face.

Lord, when I look all around,
I see Your glorious splendor
and I pray more hearts to Your love
will truly yield and surrender!

~~~~~~~~~~~

John 3:16

“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”

King James Version
by Public Domain

Copyright 2016
Deborah Ann Belka
bdebby@hotmail.com
http://www.hiswingsshadow.com
http://poetrybydeborahann.wordpress.com/
TO GOD BE THE GLORY! Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITER

# # #

Our Exceptional God

A Rose For Carol

April 20, 2016 Gracie

A Rose for Carol

Friends – This is a memorial tribute to someone very special in my life who left this world just a few days ago. Carol was my husband’s cousin, and she had become a very dear friend in my life.

rose for Carol When someone we love dies, even though we know it eventually happens to all of us, we’re still taken aback, stunned, and shaking our heads as the news sinks in and we realize how short life is.

What a difference a few days, even weeks, can make when someone dear is stricken with an illness and then loses their valiant fight against a terrible disease.

It had been a difficult week emotionally. My husband had to have arm surgery, and on that same day, we got home from the hospital only to hear the sad news of Carol’s death.

We were stunned.

I’m still feeling sad over her loss. She was a shining light in our family, and we’ll all miss her terribly.

I heard someone at the interment service yesterday say that “Carol was the glue in our family.”

That is so true.

Heart of the family

Every family reunion or gathering, Carol was right there at the heart of it – always enthusiastic and ready to join in the fun and get the party started.

I first met Carol at a family reunion many years ago. My first impression? She had a larger-than-life personality and a contagious laugh. You couldn’t help but join in. We liked to joke that, at the reunions, Carol’s table was the place to be!

She was fun to be around, no question, and she would give you the shirt off her back if you needed it. Carol had a voice that, I believe, was loud enough to reach to heaven. God gave her tremendous gifts to display His glory here on earth.

Everyone mattered to Carol. If you were in a conversation, she was focused on you, and you were THE most important person in the room. She also had a servant’s heart and great compassion for people.

A Servant’s Heart

Back in 1997, our family was in a terrible accident near Jackson Hole, and our 9-year-old niece died. My husband and I flew home to Texas, and my leg was still in a cast. Our niece’s funeral was out of state, but at that time, I wasn’t in any shape to get back on a plane to attend the service with the rest of my family.

Enter Carol, one of the most sincere people I have ever met. Carol jumped at the chance to minister to us after that accident. She arranged it with my husband to come over, spend several nights, and she took care of me so that he could fly back to attend our niece’s funeral. Not only did Carol act as a caregiver for me, but she was also there to lend a comforting ear – to be a friend and a shoulder to cry on. One of those mornings around two a.m.; I felt the need to try to walk to the bathroom. I wasn’t sure if Carol was even going to hear me in the next room where she was sleeping. But, she was up in a flash. She walked into my room and made sure I got in and out of bed okay.

Carol was a blessing. She never expected anything in return for caring for me, but I went out and bought her a little birdhouse for her yard, as a “thank you.” It was the perfect gift. After all, when I was around her, she always seemed to have a song in her heart.

a song in her heart

I’m upstairs in my office right now writing this blog post. I hear songbirds outside chirping at the bird feeders in our yard.

I’m thinking of you, Carol.

See you on the other side.

Our Exceptional God

God’s Not Dead 2, My Take

April 4, 2016 Gracie

My Take On The Movie God’s Not Dead 2

April 1st marked the nationwide opening of the movie Gods Not Dead 2.

Have you seen it yet? If not, I want to encourage you to check it out.

The movie God's Not Dead 2 My husband and I went with some friends, and we all enjoyed it.

You never know if the sequel to a successful movie will be better than the first. I’m happy to say that the new one is my favorite of the two.

Admittedly, it’s better to see Part 1 first. It’s not a requirement, but just better. That way, you’ll understand the references to some of the situations and character involvement in the first movie. Even so, this sequel stands on its own, and its message is vital in today’s world.

Would we, could we, stand up for our faith, even if doing so threatens our job and some of our relationships?

The movie is a very realistic story of ordinary people finding their faith and, in some instances, defending their faith and supporting each other through the resulting challenges.

Realistic Movie Plot

God’s Not Dead 2 follows a similar plot line to the first movie in that the main character faces a significant degree of persecution for his/her Christian beliefs, with potentially devastating consequences.

The story takes place once again in Hope Springs – this time, at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial High School.

A popular history teacher, Grace Wesley (well-played by Melissa Joan Hart), raises controversy in the classroom when she answers a straightforward question from one of her students about Jesus Christ. Next thing you know, Wesley is called before school administrators and legal advisors to face disciplinary action. She has an opportunity to recant and get her job back. Otherwise, she stands to lose everything if she refuses.

Church and state separation concept

Would you agree to deny the existence of God just to save your job?

Ms. Wesley bravely declines, and the courtroom battle begins. Her attorney is portrayed by the talented Jesse Metcalfe. I enjoyed watching him transform from a bottom-of-the-totem-pole attorney to resourceful counsel in a surprising twist during the jury trial.

All Star Cast

The all-star cast includes Sadie Robertson (of Duck Dynasty) and Robin Givens, who plays the school’s principal. A couple of scenes with the Newsboys were a welcome addition to the film.

Separation of church and state is the primary topic of the legal proceedings. The actual concept of “separation” has an origin that you don’t usually hear about in current debates.

Here’s an interesting and timely scene from the movie which mentions the very real challenge that some Houston pastors faced in 2014 when city government officials demanded that they turn over their sermons.

As Christians going forward in our hostile world, we could lose some of the people in our lives who are offended by our faith. It’s the nature of being around unsaved friends and family members who may block us on social media or turn completely away. Remember, even Jesus’ family members at one point questioned His sanity. We can expect challenges ahead.

God’s Not Dead 2 runs about 2 hours. You may want to take your whole family, but please note, a sizable portion of the film focuses on the courtroom drama so younger kids may get lost in a sea of legalese.

We Must Be Aware of What’s Going On

I highly recommend the movie God’s Not Dead 2 because there’s a growing and concentrated effort to force Christians to defend their faith under intimidation, face ridicule, or worse. We need to be aware. There’s no hiding our heads in the sand. It appears that, no matter what reasons Christians provide for their belief in the saving grace of Jesus Christ, it’s not sound enough for belligerent atheists. The fact is, God is the Author of Light and for those unbelievers who remain unsaved, they will never have eternal life with Him. (2 Cor. 4:3-6).

Stand With God and Expect to be Judged by the World

On a side note, I checked out the reviews of some secular critics. Granted, we all know that no movie is perfect. As I expected, I found it interesting that one of the movies loved by these critics, a film full of profanity and nudity throughout, was highly rated. So, I give little credence to their “paranoia”, “religious nut” assessments of a faith-based film such as this one. These critics are choosing to ignore documented headlines of Christian persecution worldwide and here in America. Watch the list of documented court cases shown during the movie’s credits and you’ll see what I mean. Do these secular critics unquestionably think there’s no Christian persecution simply because the mainstream media doesn’t report it on the nightly news? Certainly seems so.

Please note: there’s an additional scene that you’ll want to stay for at the end of all the credits.

# # #