Dealing with the "if-onlys" of life

Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward

to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize

of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14, NKJV).

The “if-onlys” of life haunt us, don’t they? And we all have them.

If only I’d turned right instead of left….

If only I’d said yes instead of no….

If only I’d been kinder…braver…wiser….

But despite the fact that we all have “if-onlys,” none of us gets a “do-over.” What’s past is past, and though we may need to apologize or try to set right what we did wrong, we cannot change our original choices.

I was pondering some of my own “if-onlys” this morning when God said, “Give them to me—all your ‘if-onlys’—and then I can use them to fulfill My purposes.”

Wow. I hadn’t thought of that before. I understood that holding on to and dwelling on my “if-onlys” was self-destructive, but it hadn’t occurred to me that I was preventing God from redeeming them as only He can.

Death, divorce, illness, financial or health challenges—they all carry the potential of “if-onlys,” and once the choices are made, we can’t change them. But we can choose to turn loose of them, to admit our inability to fix them and hand them over to God, who stands waiting—His nail-scarred hands outstretched—to take them from us and bring good out of evil, healing from pain.

It’s time to forget the things that are behind and press forward to the “upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Please join me in answering that call today.

A Fitting Story Built Around 9/11

Kudos for Loree Lough for taking the topic of 9/11 and building a story around it that totally surprises yet engages her readers. From Ashes to Honor, part of the First Responders Series, is an excellent read, and I highly recommend it.

You can order the book and learn more about prolific fiction author Loree Lough at www.loreelough.com.

Finishing the Race with Endurance

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us,

and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1, NKJV).

Hebrews 11, that great chapter sometimes referred to as the “Hall of Faith,” gets a lot of attention—and rightfully so. Not only do those powerful verses summarize the lives of many who lived by their faith but also those who died for it, which I believe is something we needed to be reminded of often. However, if we stop there we miss the application of those great examples of faith.

Chapter 12 of Hebrews begins with that famous “call to action” word, THEREFORE. The word ties the previous verses to the ones that are to come. In other words, take those dynamic words you just read and do something with them! Hebrews 12:1 wants us to understand that all those who lived in faith before us did not do so in vain. Not only did they triumph in their own faith, whether they lived victorious lives or suffered heroic deaths, but they did so as examples for us. THEREFORE we too must live and die by faith in the One who went before us and now lives within us. That type of victorious, faith-filled life and death is epitomized by the words “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Each of us runs a different race but with the same Finish Line in sight—to cross from this temporal, broken world into the presence of the Author and Finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ. May it be said of us, as of those heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11, that we “finished well,” as endurance runners and not as sprinters who break out of the gates to the sounds of a cheering crowd, only to drop out when we become tired or exhausted or tempted.

Only God can carry us safely to that eternal Finish Line, but like the saints of old, we must commit to finish the race at any cost.

Enchanting Read!

Seriously, enchanting isn't a word I use often or lightly, but it fits A Prisoner of Versailles by Golden Keyes Parsons. You really do NOT want to miss this book, as it has romance, adventure, and historical value. I encourage you to order a copy--in fact, check out Golden's website and get in on the entire series, as well as her other books. Find her at www.goldenkeyesparsons.com

Have You Set Your Love on God?

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;…

With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation” (Psalm 91:14, 16).

Just hours before my mom passed into the presence of her Savior, I read Psalm 91 to her. That has long been one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, but it seemed fresh to me as I read it aloud that morning and pondered what it meant to set our love upon Christ. I believe it’s important to consider that statement, as the following promises within that chapter are dependent upon our fulfilling that particular condition.

To say we love the Lord is no light statement. When we love others, we usually want to spend time with them. We honor them with our words and our actions. We tell other people about them. We consider their desires and feelings when making choices in our own lives.

I’ve been contemplating those aspects of love quite a bit since that day at my mother’s bedside. Nothing brings our focus to the eternal more than someone’s passing from this earth, does it? And well it should. For one day we will each walk through that “valley of the shadow of death.” Will we confidently be able to say at that moment that we have set our love upon Him? Today is the day to make that choice. Loving Him will enable us to love others as ourselves—and that, as Jesus reminded us, is the fulfillment of all the Law and the Prophets.

When a Loved One "Graduates" to Heaven

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren,

concerning those who have fallen asleep,

lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,

even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus

(1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, NKJV).

On Wednesday, August 3, just a few minutes past noon, my husband and I sat at my 90-year-old mother’s bedside and watched her slip into eternity. What mixed emotions accompanied her “graduation to heaven,” though we’d long anticipated it. We knew we were saying goodbye to her earthly body, but “until we meet again” to her spirit. It would be foolish to think that just because we know where she is and that we will see her again that we don’t feel grief or sorrow, but that sorrow is not the same as what is felt by those whose loved ones die without knowing Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

I experienced much the same thing when my dad died almost 12 years ago, though the immediate joy was perhaps a bit more intense, as he didn’t receive Jesus as Savior until the last week of his life—something we’d prayed for over many years. Mom, on the other hand, came to know Christ in a personal way at the age of 50, and God graciously gave her 40 more years to enjoy relationship with Him here on earth.

Whether we are blessed to receive Christ as children and live our entire life with our hand tucked securely in His or we mercifully come to him on our death bed, those of us who bid farewell to born-again loved ones can rejoice even as we grieve. To witness the end of my mom’s earthly suffering was to rejoice that she had at last stepped into the presence of the One who held her in His nail-scarred hands throughout her earthly journey and even as she passed through the valley of the shadow of death. One day I too will graduate to heaven and will at last see my Savior face to face—as well as all those who have gone on before me.

Indeed, we do not sorrow as those who have no hope, for Christ alone is our Hope. Thank You, Jesus!

Growing Up In Our Faith...

…speaking the truth in love, [we] may grow up in all things

into Him who is the head—Christ (Ephesians 4:15, NKJV)

Babies are adorable, and they can get away with childish behavior because…well, they’re babies and we don’t expect anything else from them. But when adults behave childishly (which usually translates into “selfishly”), it’s not so cute or adorable, is it?

The Scriptures tell us that the way to “grow up in all things” in Christ is to speak the truth in love. I struggle with the truth part because I don’t want to hurt people’s feelings. Some people I know ignore the love part and just blurt out truth, leaving a trail of wounded listeners behind them.

There is a reason for the two-part admonition to speak the truth in love. Love without truth isn’t really love at all. It allows people to remain in their sin, to wallow in destructive lifestyles, and to wreak havoc on others. Truth without love, however, can so damage the listeners that they never really recover but carry their wounds through the rest of their lives and often pass them on to those within their sphere of influence.

Speaking the truth in love has a specific purpose: to restore right relationship, first with God and second with others. That’s the ministry of reconciliation which Jesus began while He was on earth and which He has now given to us. We fulfill that ministry by knowing God’s truth (as revealed through His Son, through the Scriptures, and through His Holy Spirit living within us), and then speaking that truth to others with the intention of seeing them saved, healed, delivered, and fulfilling God’s purpose for their lives. If we are not delivering the truth with that pure intention, then we are not speaking it in love.

It all starts with our own “knowing” of the truth, meaning we have a personal relationship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit lives within us as a result of that relationship, and we cultivate/deepen that relationship by reading/studying/living the truth of the Holy Scriptures. The world is full of lost, broken, and hurting people who need “grown-up” Christians to speak the truth in love. Let’s commit to move beyond the cute baby stage of our faith and become effective truth-in-love speakers to those who so desperately need to hear it!