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!

I’m going to occasionally publish – with a few tweaks – some of those that are still applicable today. Since you can’t turn on the news nowadays without feeling the cloud of depression moving in I’ll start with the post below.

Fellow saints, I pray that our God may count you worthy of His calling and that by His power He may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. I pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:11)

The Lord’s Spirit is working greatly on this earth during this troubling time. I along with so many other Christians have a renewed sense of boldness. His Spirit confides in those who fear Him and He is speaking words of hope and promise. People are lamenting, “… things will never be the same …” Praise God! Let this be true, Oh Holy One.

Show me your ways , O Lord, teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Psalm 25:4,5

The world does not open it’s heart to truth easily, sometimes that heart has to be broken to be opened at all. Now is the time to tell this hurting world about Christ. We as Christians should not be talking of fear, for the Lord has not given us the spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord. (2 Timothy 1:7,8a) Only His love and forgiveness can heal the pain in this world. We can be bold in our witness regardless of what the future holds because we know personally the One Who holds the future.
Our faith declares that the times ahead will be difficult, but our faith in Christ also comforts us with “a peace that transcends all understanding”, we need to show this peace to others. Strength through adversity and peace in turmoil, these are attributes of true Christianity. If you are finding these difficult to display to the world then you must do something about it. Spend extra time with the Lord; ask Him to reveal Himself through you to others. We need to be in His Word and in prayer for the country. Our witness is not in our words so much as in our actions and if we aren’t truly different than non-believers, what then do we have to offer? If our faith isn’t giving us hope and peace then what exactly does if offer to others? All that we do should be to the Lord’s glory, keep this in mind as you interact with the people around you today. The world is looking for hope and by our words and actions we can either lead them to or away from Him Who offers it.

God has done so many amazing things in me and my family in the last year that I don’t think I can keep silent anymore.

After moving into this house and being led to join a wonderful Spirit-led church family, God has not stopped teaching, stretching and growing each person in this household.

Have you ever prayed for something for more years than you can even recall and then watched as God put all the pieces into place? If you have, you know the joy and amazement that is, well that is my life right now.

Is everything perfect? No, no don’t let me give you that impression. Are we in God’s will and experiencing the shalom and joy from being right where we are supposed to be? Yes, yes we are.

God is amazing albeit a bit hard to understand at times. Well “a bit” might be an understatement. I rarely get what He is doing and I’m not always sure how I’m to respond but He is faithful to guide and use His rod and staff if necessary. Thank you, Sir, may I have another? – (Don’t ask, it’s just how my mind works.)

Annnnnnyway… He’s been answering prayers of mine that I got tired of begging for years ago. I gave up because I thought the answer must have been NO but I guess I misunderstood His silence.

The point is, God is doing a work and I want to document it here. I don’t want to debate theology or convince others that the way I view the meaning of a particular scripture is the right way. I just want to write what God is up to in our lives. If the comment section ever gets in the way of that then comments will be turned off. Until then feel free to use the comment section to tell me what God is doing in your life too.

In Christ’s Love,

Lauren

I must say, my blogging life has been quite the rollercoaster and I have proven myself to be more than a tinsy bit inconsistent. Friends, some you may know, have been so steadfast in their postings that they’ve even managed to go on to bigger and better things. Their following along with their writing abilities and most likely their revenue have grown temendously. I, on the otherhand, have only been consistent in moving my blog, changing the name and starting over every time I’ve had the urge.

I’ve found out a lot about myself through my blogging experience though. I’ve realized how distasteful hypocrisy is to me and how much I love people who live what they write. I’ve found that I do not enjoy debates and contentious attitudes. I’ve found that putting any online activity before my family and their needs can not end well; that Internet friends are great but real life, flesh and bone, know you well enough to hold you accountable friends are far better. I now know that my grammar skills and my ability to use a semi-colon properly are both lacking. And finally I’ve learned that regardless of all of the above, I really love to write.

I miss putting my thoughts into words on a page. I want to write. Not for all the reasons I used to think I want to write though. Not to become popular. Not to make a lot of money. Not even to make friends online.

I want to write just to put down my thoughts on this journey called the Christian life. I want to be able to read my archives and see the things – small things, big things – all the things that God has done in me and through me. I don’t want to forget.

I don’t want to draw a crowd here unless it’s filled with people who want to praise the Lord for His great and mighty works.

My mind is focused on the things of the Lord as it was years ago when I started my first blog, A Humble Heart. I’m back on the path and quite unwilling to let the blogosphere push my off in any other direction again. I choose not to be part of the blogging community that I once allowed to have  a negative effect on my walk of faith.

In fact, I am not a blogger.

I just want to write.

I keep trying to think of things to blog about but the most I get from each idea is just a few sentences before I bore myself to sleep. If I can’t stay awake long enough to write a full post I’m smart enough to know my writing will undoubtedly have the same affect (effect?) on you.

[Quick aside: does anyone have an easy way of remembering which of those words should be used when? They trip me up every time and even after I've googled their meanings and usage I always seem to forget.]

Unless of course there are readers out there with insomnia. Let me know and I’ll be more than happy to help you out. In fact, this post may be all you need.

…Anyway, one of my favorite things to do in this house is to read my Bible each morning in my recliner. You know, the one I wanted so badly in the furniture store a few years back, the same one that Julian decided was to become his once it entered the house, yeah that one. Well I reclaimed it when we moved in here and now it faces out to the backyard overlooking the deck, trees, and hills. It’s a beautiful view that reminds me to start the day and my quiet time with thanksgiving.

My day needs to start that way during these uncertain times. Especially if I’ve made the mistake of watching the news before heading off to bed the night before. I’m tired of hearing that the sky is falling. It’s working my last nerve to think that a liberal (fiscally and morally liberal) democrat may be running this panicked, lost nation in a few months. Sadly, the alternative doesn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy either.

After a stretch of about a week or so where I began to feel the stress and strain of the drama-loving media’s 24/7 blathering, I decided I needed to keep the television off and turn on His Word more often instead. It’s helped tremendously! it’s so easy to forget that it’s the lost world’s viewpoint I’m hearing and not that of someone who truly knows Who’s in control.

God will never leave me nor forsake me no matter how many historic dips, twists, and turns our economy, government and climate take. He is in this for the long haul and I’m sticking as close to His side as possible. It’s where that warm, fuzzy feeling can be found after all.