A Cup of Tea With Me

For years, even in childhood, my mother was convinced that we were all going to hell because we did not honor the Sabbath on Saturday. For over a year now, I have been trying to convince her that since Christ rose on Sunday, the apostles and early Christians met on Sunday to honor that. Much like unclean meat and circumcision, the Sabbath day was washed in Christ’s blood and we were free to do what we needed to do on Saturday, and worship God when we wanted, honoring Him always, not just setting aside one day to worship Him, but essentially keeping all days holy. Ok, so maybe my interpetation was not quite right, either, but that is the beauty of learning and studying God’s Word. He teaches you.

Yesterday, while talking to my mom she read to me a scripture that really popped in her mind.

Colossians 2:16-17 (NLT): ¹⁶ So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. ¹⁷ For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.

Being led to do more research when I got home, I read it in the Living Bible. You remember that one, right? Well, I do not open mine very often, because in my mind it is more of a commentary, since it was translated by one man, but this is not about translations, it is about these verses. Anyway here is how the Living Bible reads:

Colossians 2:16-17 (TLB):
16  So don’t let anyone criticize you for what you eat or drink, of for not celebrating Jewish holidays and feasts or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths.
17  For these were only temporary rules that ended when Christ came. They were only shadows of the real thing — of Christ Himself.

Other versions say the same thing, but this spells it out, in such plain English. My mom was almost in tears. She was so happy to learn the Truth, and to be honest, I am too.  We are not sinning by going to church on Sunday. We sin when we let the “laws of religion” interfere with with Blood of the Lamb.

Many of you know I work in the mall, in a kiosk in the middle of the mall. What many of you do not know is that I am close to one of the busiest entrances to the mall and there is a ton of foot traffic passing almost every day.

There is something about this location that attracts people. I do not know what it is. I do know that the hand of God is on this location, because I have had some of the most amazing religious experiences there. I was saved in that location. The Holy Spirit entered my life and has blessed me dramatically there. When I think about that day, I can still think of the depression lifting and the Holy Spirit filling me. It is amazing. The man that stopped and talked to me was a spanish charismatic evangelist, who was also active in prison ministry. I know that God sent Eli into my life at just the right time.

A few months ago, a man came up to me and asked me if I believed in Christ. I gave him a hearty “YES!” with a sparkle in my eye. He asked me what church I went to, and when I told him I attended a Baptist church, he asked me if I spoke in tongues. When I told him I did not he tried to convince me that I was not saved. When I told him that I knew without a doubt that I was, and described to him my experience, he agreed that he may be wrong and that I might be able to be saved without speaking in tongues. He also said “Well, we will find out, if I see you in heaven or not.” and left. While irritated at first, I had to begrudgingly admire his willingness to step outside th box and talk to people about their faith.

Ok, now we are up to last week: There was a family that was hanging around my kiosk for about an hour and a half. Being at a major intersection, I thought that maybe they were just waiting on someone. At one point the dad sat down. The mom and the grown daughter both put their hands on him. I assumed that he was not feeling well.

A little while later, the dad walked up and started asking me about the pecans. Nothing unusual about that. He then asked me about the cross on my hat. I tell him that it is a symbol of my faith, blah blah blah. He asks me about my church, I tell him I attend Central Baptist Church. He proceeds to tell me he is a pentecostal. I get hesitant to continue a conversation with him because the guy I mentioned earlier was pentecostal. I tell him my views on denominations, so that he knows where I stand and that he is not going to change my mind that I am going to heaven. Here is the shocking part. He agreed with me! My jaw dropped.

Anyway, he tells me I have 3 children. I go to correct him, but then I think of Morgan and tell him, “Sort of. Two boys and an angel in heaven. ” He tells me that he has the gift of prophecy, and that he feels there is a message I need to hear, but it is just not coming to him. Yeah, I know he is fishing, but I am intrigued by this point.

I tell him about my husband’s faith, thinking that is what it is. He talks to me about it. Then he says “I sense you nag at him a lot about going to church.” I called him on that one. Pointed out what Peter says about showing our faith with our actions, not our nagging. He graciously admitted he was wrong.

He tells me to get anointing oil and anoint the walls of my house, while praying. He also tells me to anoint my husband’s head, while he is sleeping and pray, asking the Holy Spirit to fill him. **Honestly, I feel like that is manipulating the situation. **

Then just before he leaves he says, “You are in a unique place to witness to people. You are set aside to do mighty work for the Kingdom.” My jaw dropped.

I do not know what part of my life he is saying is in a unique place. I thought he meant the mall, but I am not 100% certain of that. I just know that his message, much like Eli’s came to me at just the right time. I do not know where God is leading me, but I know I am ready for the journey.

I will admit, if he is talking about me staying in the mall, I just might cry. I want out of retail so badly, and to be honest, the retail hours are hurting my family.

So, here is the start of yet another spiritual journey.

I have some things I want to share with you, but before I do, I need to share my take on the denominations of our churches.

When Christ did most of His teaching, He was not in the synagogue. He did most of His teaching out in the open.  The apostles went to the synagogues to start, but they moved their ministry to homes, then churches. The division did not start until men came along behind them and started setting up rules.

When Jesus returns, do you really think that He is going to say  “You belong to this denomination, you are coming with Me.” and “You belong to that denomination, you are not coming with Me.”? I do not believe He is. It is my firm belief that He is going to say something more like “My beloved child. I dwell in your heart on earth, now come with Me.” and “I do not know you.”

What denomination we belong to does not matter, as long as what is in our hearts is the Word of God. If the Holy Spirit indwells you, you are going to Heaven.

My friend Becki at A Walk Through the Valley is doing an awesome series on 30 Days with Jesus. I highly recommend you take a look at what she has to share. It is great!

Psalms 139:7-10 (NASB)
⁷ Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸ If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
⁹If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
¹⁰Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.

After reflecting on those verses, I came across a fourth-century prayer that is just beautiful.

Christ be beside me, Christ be before me,
Christ be behind me, King of my heart;
Christ be within me, Christ be below me,
Christ be above me, never to part.

Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left hand,
Christ all around me, shield in the strife;
Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting,
Christ in my rising, light of my life.

Christ be beside me, Christ be before me,
Christ be behind me, King of my heart;
Christ be within me, Christ be below me,
Christ be above me, never to part.

Just thought I would share.

*this is cross posted at Faith Filled Wives.

I may step on some toes with this post. I welcome all comments, both in agreement with what I say and in disagreement with what I say, but please be polite. That is all I ask.

Recently, I have heard people saying that God is both masculine and feminine. My question is, where in the Bible does God refer to Himself as a Her? When anyone in the Bible speaks to God or about Him they always use the masculine.

Jesus came as a male. Every time He spoke about God, he called Him “Father”.

Even the Holy Spirit is referred to in the masculine.  Three aspects, one God, all male.

Yes, God has some feminine personality traits, but that is because He had the traits first. We are made in His image. He made man first, then completed man with his helper, woman. The traits of God are in us both, just some are stronger in man, who is by nature a hunter/gatherer and other are stronger in woman, who is by nature a nurturer/caregiver.

Gen 1:5 (NASB) God called the light day, and the darkness He called night And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

Matt 6:9  (NASB) Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.

There are many other scriptures in which I could post.

This is one of those “goodies” circulating the internet. I do not know the original author, but I had to share. How very true.
Cell Phone Vs. Bible

I wonder  what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we flipped through it several time a day?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it?

What if we gave it to Kids as gifts?

What if we used it when we traveled?

What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go….hmm…where is my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing. .Unlike our cell phone, we don’t have to Worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the  bill.

Makes you stop and think “where are my priorities?

And no dropped calls!

I have often thought of the question “If God plans everything, why do we make mistakes? Where does the free will that humans were given fit into God’s will being accomplished?” I recently had this explained to me in a way that made a little light bulb come on.

“God is like the divine Chess Master. He puts the board and the pieces before you, and you can move anyway you want on the board. There are limitations to the moves you can make, but you have freedom within limits. He is so wise, that whatever His creatures do, He still brings all moves to fulfill His purposes. No matter how rebellious the choices you make, or the demons make, history is not out of control. His has it under His rule. Nevertheless, there is real choice within it.” — Barbara K. Mouser - Five Aspects of Women - Mistress of the Domain - Created Aspect.

I am telling you, this changed my way of seeing so many things. The direction of the world right now, yes, it is falling apart, but remember that in the end, we know Who will win. The Bible is very clear on that. So while we are praying for our nation, our political leaders, our military and the world, let us remember to thank Him that we have the assurance of the outcome of the battle.

I knew I would forget something… Editing to add:

When you make mistakes, do not be discouraged. No one is perfect. We all make mistakes. Repent and return to the Lord. He will forgive the mistakes. I cannot tell you the number of times I have ran from God. I have acted like Jonah more times than I care to count. He gave me something to do, and I hid. You cannot hide from God. He knows where you are always. He is always with you. He loves you and wants you to love Him. He will always take you back, much like the father with the prodigal son, only He loves you more, and the celebration for you, in Heaven, will be even greater.

Ok, well, not really, but I can do it now, because of what I did do.

My old readers know, and some of my newer readers might have scrolled back that far and read. I had trouble reading the book of Job. With my bi-polar and some of the health things I have been going through, the book just depressed me more and more. Well, I got my hands on a used copy of With the Word by Warren W. Wiersbe, and have been using it to help with my Bible study. It is not a full commentary, but it does have commentary on each chapter of the Bible. Anyway, I was at work yesterday, and it was not real busy. Busy enough that I did not want to pull out my Bible, my note pad and With the Word, so I just pulled out With the Word, for some light reading.

Well, to my pleasant surprise, I had the idea to start reading the book of Job in there. I am so glad I did. I now feel that I can open my Bible and read the book of Job without the depression and the pain. I now will be able to look deeper into the meaning of the book, and see that Job had it bad. Real bad, and that my problems are not near as bad as what he had. I also know that in Job, and in my life, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

While reading this commentary, I got through the entire book, with lots of quotes to help me through my life. It was wonderful. However, the best part was, when I was on the last chapter or 2, I got an answer to a prayer, dealing with my own health problems. I will be calling the Dr first thing Monday morning.

Anyway, I am not finishing the Psalms before I go back and read Job. I am just going to go read Job, then come back to the Psalms when I am finished.

Ang, I am still looking for a copy of The Gospel According to Job. Well, I have found it on Amazon, but I am trying to get an order together, so I can get free shipping. I really want to read this though. It looks like a great resource. Thanks again for suggesting it.

I was at work today, and we had a slump in business. I just love it when we have a slump in business, because it gives me a chance to read my Bible. I love getting to spend time in the Word, at work.

Anyway, as I was reading I was getting more frustrated. Then it dawned on me. I am reading the Bible through from Genesis to Revelation. I read at least 3 chapters a day, and some days I am blessed to be able to read more. Anyway, I am in JOB right now. I am thinking I will skip Job for now, and come back to it, when I am no longer taking medication and feeling old. Job is a very depressing book to read, until you get the end.

I know that I should be reading Job and praising God that I do not have it as bad as Job. When I realized this was part of the problem, I read two chapters, trying to look at it that way.

I will be starting Psalms later today. I look forward to it. I got to Job 22, but it will still be there when I get out of this funk.

I apologize for all the ranting. Most of you know I am not always this negative. I do not like being negative. I really do not. I like being positive! Positive is good!

God bless you all!