Suddenly there was a man – a harried, agitated, almost crazed man – who tried to grab both the door handle and side mirror. It scared the daylights out of me. I sped up and watched in the rearview mirror as he chased my car. My husband was no longer in sight and all I could do was cry and keep driving.

Once he was out of sight, I finally decided to pray for the Lord to calm me and guide me home safely. As I prayed I felt a conviction that maybe I had jumped to conclusions, maybe he was in need of help.

The area he was in was mostly fields. The more I thought about it, the more I began to think that he may have been in his pajamas. My first reaction had been for my safety but maybe he was the one who had been in danger. I determined that once I got home I would call the police and tell them about the incident.

Fifteen minutes later I was standing in my kitchen telling my family my tale of woe. It was 2AM by that time and when I mentioned I felt I should call the police my husband said it might be better to wait until the morning. It was late and I was tired so I decided he was probably right and I headed off to bed.

In the morning, calling the police didn’t seem all that important. Things always seem scarier when it’s dark so really, maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal. Later that day as I drove to the grocery store I noticed an increase in police presence in the same area I had been through the night before. My heart sank as I thought about what may have occurred all because I hadn’t gotten involved. What if that man had harmed another woman who had been on that road the night before? I didn’t have the guts to stop and ask.

We lived in a small town at that time and the local newspaper was weekly, so it drove me nuts as the days passed and I heard nothing of what was going on. And believe me something was definitely going on; police, firefighters and volunteers were always in sight as I drove around town. At one point, I witnessed about 50 people walking hand-in-hand through a field as if searching for a body. As each day passed I felt worse about not being obedient to the conviction I had felt that night about calling the police. Yet, I couldn’t get myself to rectify the situation.

I was probably the first person to purchase the newspaper on Friday when it came out and sadly the front page story told me everything I needed to know.

My conviction had been from the Holy Spirit and I had been very disobedient.

I cried as I read of a young, mentally challenged man who had gone missing from his parent’s home in the middle of the night. It had been five days of thirty degree temperatures at night and his parent’s believed he was only wearing his pajamas. The general thought was he had probably died from hypothermia and now they were just trying to find the body so the parents could find closure.

I sat in my car and prayed.

Lord God, please don’t let this be true. Lord, you are in complete control and nothing, not even raising the dead, is too hard for you. Don’t let this family suffer because I neglected to obey you. Please, please don’t take him from his family, don’t let them suffer because of my stupidity. I will obey you from now on, Lord. With your help and guidance I will obey you…

I prayed without ceasing for another two days. After hearing a news story on TV about a young man who had, against all odds, survived a week of freezing temperatures by crawling into an old stump, I stopped praying to God and started praising Him instead.

My husband and I had always believed in teaching this mild-mannered, deeply-caring individual the priority of obedience to authority and respect for his elders. Homeschooling our children for a time allowed us this focus. Obedience has always been stressed in raising each of our children because we firmly believe it sets the foundation for walking in obedience to God.

Yet, it took a legalistic Christian high school all of 3 months to convince him he was a bad kid. And he must have been because what good kid would allow himself to be caught in the hall with his shirt untucked from his pants or chew gum in class? Of course he deserved a full Saturday’s detention cleaning the school and paying ten dollars for the privilege of doing so. I mean his brazen defiance of these basic, fundamental rules must be punished, no?

NO!

I learned something years ago that has helped me immensely in raising boys. They are not horses and parents, especially mothers, should not start their training by breaking them first. I have tried my hardest to say yes to them as often as possible. If it wasn’t immoral, illegal or possibly deadly, I said yes. I believe boys who become real, Godly men need this type of freedom and grace to grow and mature.

There is a simple but important saying that this school would have done well to have known.

Rules are meant to guide and protect, not to oppress and control.

It’s the same with us as children of God and it is how He chooses to grow and mature us in His son. I’ve spent extended time in Galatians lately soaking up His truths. It is my sincere desire to live my freedom in Christ to His glory, never as an excuse for sin.

The law was put in place to lead us to Christ.

My humble explanation of this would be that once we are born-again through faith, we become children of His grace. Continuing to live under the law means I’m focusing on a list of things I should not do… yet as I keep my eyes on these Do Not’s I can’t help but do them.

All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law. Galatians 3:10

Living under grace means I’ve been set free from the burden of the law. I now live and breathe through the Spirit by faith. Daily my faith should be expressing itself through love, love for God and others. I am given a list of things, amazing, wonderful things I can live out like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control and against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22) This is the list we should focus our eyes on.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

Living our life by faith through the spirit is never about what we can’t do but what we can.

Our son finished the remaining three years at a Christian high school that is grace-filled and loving. He grew into quite a Godly man. He graduated at the top of his class, a youth leader in church yet believe it or not I still catch him now and again daring to walk around with his shirt untucked.

We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 1:3

Read the first chapter of 1 Thessalonians and you get a real sense that Paul considers the church in Thessalonica to be nearly a model congregation. In the verse of scripture above he mentions three things that confirm that they are true followers of Christ.

First he speaks of their work produced by faith. Faith always expresses itself in obedience to that which one believes. Our decisions, whether we realize it or not are always based on what we believe deep down, not just on what we say we believe. These Thessalonian’s actions proved to Paul, and to all the believers in Macedonian and Achaia for that matter, that their faith was solely in God.

When Paul goes on to say that they labored “prompted by love”, it seems to me that the Thessalonians listened to that still small voice that occasionally tells us to do things we really don’t feel like doing. You know what I’m talking about, the voice that says, “Jenny isn’t feeling well maybe I should watch her kids this afternoon?” or “Mark and Irene are really struggling this month maybe we should ask if they could use some help with the bills?” Sound familiar? It’s the voice that is so easy to argue with and sometimes even easier to ignore. The Thessalonians listened to the prompting and labored out of love. Sometimes their labor was out of love for others; more often than not it was simply their love for Jesus that encouraged their action.

Finally we read that they “endured” inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. We don’t know exactly what it is that they were enduring, we can only guess. They may have endured many of the same trials and sufferings we who are believers today endure. Friends and family members deserting us because of our beliefs, or maybe the loss of a loved one. Some may have lost jobs or income because of their new faith. The only thing we know for sure is that it was their firm confidence in Jesus and his promised return that gave them the strength to endure the trials or persecution, as it also must be with us.

Yes, Paul was very thankful for them. Their lives proved the awesome power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Read the chapter again and then as Warren Wiersbe points out in his Bible Commentary, ask yourself these three questions:

1. Are others thankful for me?
2. Is God’s power seen in my life?
3. Do I make it easier for others to talk about Jesus?

His lessons have not been lost on me and I see God’s hand in each and every one. Our home, Julian’s job, car repairs, college tuition and so many more needs have been used to strengthen and grow our faith.  I can’t help but think it’s my fault. Maybe I prayed, “I believe, Lord, help my unbelief,” one too many times. He answers prayers, you know, yet almost never in a way I would have imagined.

The most amazing thing to me is that in this last year I have seen God answer prayers that I sent up to Him literally over a decade ago. Prayers, if I’m being completely honest, that I had given up on. And just because He can, he said yes – finally.

Which just proves what a sweet lady from church recently told me.  She said that most of the time when God delays his answer to our prayers it’s His way of saying, “Wait.” Wait in God’s economy means yes but just not now. I’m seeing that lately and it too is growing my faith.

I’m also realizing how important it is to truly believe that God does have the power to do what He has promised. That when He says, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer,” He really means it!

I thought about the definition of the word Christian, which is “belonging to Christ.” I thought about Jesus as my Life, not just in my life. And finally I thought about the verse found in Galatians 2:20,

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

I know, I know, that’s probably way too much thinking for someone like me but rest assured no one, myself included, was hurt during this long, strenuous process. I’m sure the padded helmet helped tremendously.

Anyway, this morning my mind seemed to be headed into a new direction, or so I thought. I awoke thinking how foolish I was at times to seek after happiness, fulfillment, contentment, even godliness or righteousness. I thought about how many times I had heard different people witnessing to non-believers say that Christ could save them from hell, if they would just believe in him. Even worse, I had heard others say that they should believe in Jesus to find peace.

While all of the outcomes may be good, right, pure, and true, should we really be seeking the benefits above the benefactor? Should our goal be to have it all together, to be faultless? Is that what makes us a Christian? Should we be telling people to believe in Christ for the benefits it brings to their life? And if I’m seeking after these things rather than the one who provides them, is there anyway I can ever find them? I think not.

I’m sure many of us have, even if we don’t relish admitting it, flipped on TBN just in time to catch Benny Hinn or another word-of-faith teacher tell us to send in our seed money or our $1000 faith gift, “even if you can’t afford it, in fact especially if you can’t afford it.” Their reasoning is that God can not be out given so if we give, then God will have to give. The more we give then the more we get, and if we don’t have it’s because we haven’t given. It’s easy to see the discrepancy in their teaching versus the Word of God, they aren’t teaching obedience to His Word but rather seek the benefits, with their own little twists of the truth thrown in for good measure.

But how is seeking righteousness any different? Isn’t righteousness the outcome of a life surrendered to Christ, one that is laid down in sacrifice to the one who gave His all for us? If I truly no longer live, as Galatians says, but Christ lives in me, then wouldn’t Christ be doing the same today in me, as He did 2000 years ago? That is to say, wouldn’t He be about His Father’s business, living in complete obedience to God? So then the only thing I should be seeking is to allow Christ in me to be obedient to God’s Word.

There will come a day when each of us stands before the God of all creation and answers to Him for our life here on earth. Some will have nothing to say for themselves at all, they never believed, some even boldly denied, that the God of the Bible is the one true living God.

Then there will be those who claim the name of Jesus as their VIP pass into heaven, they’ll stand before God and say, “I believed in Jesus, I read the Bible, I went to church every Sunday, and I even put my children in Christian school.” Yet Jesus will have been standing there listening to them the whole time that they spoke and they will not recognize Him until they hear Him say, “I never knew you, depart from me…” And off they’ll go sporting the perfect do, the perfect education, maybe even the perfect reputation. As 2 Timothy 3:5 puts it,

“having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.”
I don’t want to be found standing in either of these lines. I’d rather take the service elevator to my Savior’s throne and be cleaning the leather or polishing the jewels encrusted in it when this is going on.

When all is said and done, the fires of judgment will diminish, and only those things done by Jesus himself through me will remain to be rewarded. The rewards are not the benefit I seek but only to stand approved before God, and it is only Christ in me that can accomplish this goal. Christ in me the hope of glory!

Colossians 1:16 says, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him…” It seems silly to write an entire book concerning our purpose here on earth when it could so easily be summed up in just a few words – to glorify God. We were created for Him; only He knows each individual’s purpose. Wouldn’t it be more prudent to ask God what He would have us do to glorify Him?

In Revelation 4:11 we read, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” So here’s another reason that the Lord Almighty has created us – for His pleasure. But wait Hebrews 11:6 also says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Was this mentioned to all the non-believers looking for a purpose driven life? Was the Gospel clearly laid out to those who don’t know that the Lord Jesus Christ died for their sins and made it possible for them to be reconciled with God through faith in Jesus Christ? Without this life-giving information, it’s impossible for any one to know their true purpose and live it.

God wrote a book too and although it may be the number one best seller of all time, I don’t believe it’s the most read. Every time I search out wisdom from man on my life’s purpose, no matter how well known or how large their church has grown, it’s time taken away from what could have been direct communication with the God of the universe on the subject. I’m not opposed to reading anything other than the Bible but what we do read should always point us back to God’s Word.

I don’t need a purpose driven life. In the long run that simply makes this life all about me and that’s my natural, fleshly inclination anyway. What I need is a Bible-driven life, a life that is centered on and motivated by the Word of God. The Lord has so much He wants to tell us; won’t you let Him speak to you today through His Word?

Father God,
Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Forgive me for looking to others for their advice and teachings on the purpose of my life. Your Word clearly tells me in Job 36:22 that no one can teach me as you can. I pray that from this moment on I will come to you and you alone for your wisdom. I pray that I would glorify you Lord for this is my heart’s desire.
In the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen

I had researched the churches in the area on the web. We had first narrowed down the ones we would visit to the three that struck a cord with us in some way. When push came to shove though there was only one we wanted to attend. And so we did, for six weeks.

Six weeks of feeling like we didn’t belong, like we weren’t part of this group. Six weeks of being lost among the 3000 or so hip, beautiful people that attended each Sunday. Six weeks of listening to the deafeningly loud worship music by the extremely talented band.

The preaching was good, really good. But something was wrong and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Everything looked perfect yet something just wasn’t right. Still we kept attending because we wanted this to be our church home.

It wasn’t until our oldest son was invited by a friend from work to attend a small church, that was actually closer to our home than this one, that we almost entertained the thought of visiting it too.

The first week Niko went to the small church we were treated to a video sermon at the big, perfect church. And when I say treated I’m not trying to give you the impression we liked it. Some people may not be bothered by a video sermon. I, on the other hand, found myself fidgeting like crazy in between bouts of dosing off. Not good.

And so the next week it didn’t take much cajoling from Niko to get us to say we’d go with him to the small church.

We walked in and a man walked up to introduce himself, shake our hands, and whole-heartedly welcome us. He remembered Niko’s name from the week before. He answered a few of our questions and in one fell swoop convinced me that my presence there mattered. He wasn’t the only one either, others did the same. After the service, which truly seemed Spirit-led, no one rushed out to their car. People talked and hugged and smiled kind of like family does when a celebration nears its end.

The second week proved that the first wasn’t a fluke. A sweet older woman invited me to her home for a Bible study the following Wednesday. She caught me by surprise and without thinking I said yes. I say without thinking because I’m not sure how I feel about woman’s Bible studies anymore.

Often the Bible isn’t really being studied but a Christian book instead. During the studies I’ve attended sin has run rampant. Gluttony and gossip are never confronted but “covered by grace.” Whatever that means?!

My yes means yes though so I went.

As I got out of my car I was pleasantly surprised to see the pastor getting out of his and he had his Bible in his hand, no book just his Bible. It turns out this was not a woman’s Bible study but instead it was attended by both men and women. The best part? They were all – um how can I say this without sounding bad – much older than me. They were saints who had known the Lord for 3, 4, maybe 5 times longer than me. What a delight!

The kids have made friends. The church even hosts a one-day-a-week homeschool academy.  It’s just been so easy to become involved.

I know that things will not always be perfect. No fellowhip is perfect. We weren’t looking for perfection. We were looking for a church home. And now that we’ve found it, it’s just one of things for which I’m thankful.