A Brand New Day

Greetings Everybody,
Let's start with a wee little Question and Answer session, shall we?

Question: How did my Aunt suddenly become my Sister?

Answer:  She was recently baptized into Christ!

Earlier today I called her because my dad told me that she had been baptized. 

She does not live in the same town that I live in, or else I would have gone to see her and hug on her for a while.

Truth-Being-Told...We have not spent much time together.

It's complicated to try to express why, but sometimes families just drift apart.

Yet, I have wonderful childhood memories of her. 

And then... there is giant time gap in which I only saw her for a few minutes at graveside family funerals. 

That giant time gap is so hard to fathom.

I'm a Grandmother now, and its been quite a few years since I was in elementary school.

I keep asking myself "How in the world did this much time go by without us being in touch with each other???" 

Upon reflection, I think that today was the first in depth conversation that I have had with her in my whole life.  

It was wonderful.

She was filled with joy.

We talked about the days leading up to her decision to be baptized, and about the involvement of a neighbor and of my very own dad.

And the entire conversation centered around topics having to do with God and Jesus.

She told me that she has spent alot of years knowing who God Was but not actually KNOWING GOD!
And she expressed the idea that she had wasted so much time.

So I visited with her about a phrase used in Scripture...and that phrase is "at just the right time".

We see it in Romans 5:6-8
"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us"

There is another phrase that is similar to that and is also found in scripture..."in the fullness of time".

Galatians 4:4-5
"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

The reason that I shared that concept(about time)with her 
is to put her heart at ease. 

But she was already ahead of me on that. 

She knows that her sins were washed away 
and that it's a brand new day.

And so my Sweet Aunt is now my Sister in Christ.

In celebration of that, I am sharing a little photograph with her on this blog and with all of you who may read this post.

I share this to remind her to claim 1 John 1:7 and to remember to Seek The Light!
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

Linda, may every day of the rest of your life be "A Brand New Day!" 

And may you continue to do as Mark 12:30 says "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

This was taken while sitting on a ferry heading toward Maui at Sunrise.

The boat was smack-dab in the middle between 3 islands: Molokai, Maui and Lanai.

You can see the tail end of Molokai on the left and start of Maui on the right, but Lanai doesn't show up on this photograph. 

Blessings to you Linda...

and to each of you who may read this post.

In Him,

Grace

A Tiger's Gotta Do What A Tiger's Gotta Do

Greetings Everybody,
I happened across something a few minutes ago that I just have to share with you.


Most of the time the photographs that I post are mine, but this one is not.


I'll give the credits for the pic in a minute, but for now...just take a look...

Have you ever felt like this???

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/animal-photos-of-the-week-slideshow/a-bengal-tiger-named-akasha-dives-into-the-water-after-a-piece-of-meat-at-six-flags-discovery-photo-1340312990.html

                                                Photo credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images on June 20, 2012

I certainly have!

Most often this occurs when I am hungry lol.

As it happens, this tiger was hungry too.
He dove in because he was going after a piece of meat that was chunked into that water.


He knew what he needed.
He knew what he wanted.
He knew that the only way to get it was to Jump In.
He knew that there could be No Holding Back.


He committed his whole self to the cause.


And if you look at his mouth, you will see that he was successful in his endeavor.
He received what he was hungry for.


Some of you may be wondering "What does this photo have to do with this Christian Teacher's Blog premis?"


lol...here ya go:


Are you familiar with this scripture?
"Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." Luke 9:62


Now if we look at the verse just prior to that one we will see that Jesus said those words to a fellow who was not quite ready to completely commit to the cause.


Take a look at verse 61
"Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." "
Luke 9:61


Here's the connection between the photo of the Tiger in the water and Luke 9: 61-62.


1.  The Tiger was convicted to pursue what he needed in 
      order to live.
          -Are you convicted to pursue what you need for 
           Eternal Life?


2.  The Tiger was willing to completely "commit to the      
     cause" of getting what he needed to live.
          -Are you willing to completely "Commit to Cause of 
           Christ"?


3.  The Tiger once having realized how to access what he 
      needed to live, acted swiftly.
           -When you realized what you needed to gain 
            access to(Salvation), and how to get it (Baptism), 
            did you act swiftly in Faith?


Hopefully those 3 questions have lead you to mentally connect the actions of the Tiger to the concept of Christianity, but for many of you who are reading this, this may seem like a forced correlation.


For some people, the notion of Tigers correlating with Christians probably has some visual "dis-connects" to it.


Afterall, Tigers are aggressive and have teeth and claws.


And Christians are supposed to be meek and mild like Lambs and Doves right?


But let me ask you something else...


Does the Apostle Paul come across to you more as a Tiger or more as a Lamb?


Does the Apostle Peter come to you across more like a Tiger or more like a Lamb?


Do you see my point?


It's not that Christians don't possess the full complement of aggressive human tendencies...we do indeed have our "teeth and claws"...it's just that we are compelled to shut our mouths and velvet our claws in submission to Christ.  


But the Lord needs those who are willing to Commit to the Cause of Christ and Jump In To His Work with the Faith, Purpose and Dedication of Tigers.


The Lord desires us to do His Will and to Seek and Save The Lost.


And that work calls for strength, stamina and courage.


The World is Hungry for Christ.
And We Christians, who are called be Meek and Gentle still require the Strength, Stamina and Courage of Tigers.


Let us not put our hands to the plow and look back.


Committing ones self to the Cause of Christ is not a weak and passive thing.
We can not be lukewarm about it. Scripture talks about the penalty to those who are passive and uncommitted.

"So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth." Revelation 3:16


Clearly, if we accept Christ in baptism we are called to be people of Faith, Purpose and Action for Christ.


And so, in my own Cause for Christ... I write, teach and speak about The Lord.


And the lesson comes full circle right here.


This is the time for action:


1.  If you have not yet come to Christ, and have been sitting there hungry to know of Him...well perhaps it's time to learn more.



2.  But know this, once you understand what you need to  do There Can Be No Holding Back, because to do so is to   reject The Son of God and to reject The Son of God will lead to Eternal Damnation instead of Eternal Life.


     A.  God wants all men to be saved.


"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior,who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.? I Timothy 2:1-6 


      B.  There is a price to be paid for rejecting Jesus Christ, and that price is eternal damnation.


"And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life."Matthew 25:46


3.  Christ died to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins, and he defeated death, and rose from the grave. He is ascended to Heaven and is even now preparing a place 
for you there.


"In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”John 14:2-3


4.  Will you accept his free gift of salvation, submit to Him in faith & be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins?


5.  If you are ready to Commit to Christ, here's how to do that:


"Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:38


Jesus will help you.


"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19


May His Blessings Be Upon You.


In Him,
Grace