Spring Cleaning

Now, I know it's not Spring yet. But don't we all have junk in our rooms/homes/lives that we just need to get rid of? I sure do. I've been reading Romans lately, which is awfully dangerous if you are harboring sin in your heart. Paul just cuts to the heart of the matter. No matter your situation in life, you have no excuse for sin. So cut it out!

"So they are without excuse . . . their foolish hearts were darkened . . . therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity . . . because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie . . ." Romans 1:20-25

"But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant hear, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath . . ." Romans 2:5

What are you holding back? What lies has the world convinced you of, instead of the truth of God's world?

I actually made a list in my journal of lies from the world that I have spent a good deal of time believing. Then I found scripture to disprove them. Here's a sample:

• Lie #1: Your body is your own. What you do with it is your choice.
• "You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body." 1 Cor. 6:19-20. And this goes for finances, time, and other resources that God has blessed us with. God has given us gifts, but they are on loan, and we must honor him in how we choose to use them.
• Lie #2: It can't be wrong if it makes you happy.
• "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Phil. 2:3-4. We should not seek our own pleasure. We are called to serve our Creator and his creation. As Christians, we are servants. We must live sacrificially, not selfishly.

I challenge you to think about sin/lies in your own life. What is God calling you to give up, to confess to him? Lay it at his feet; seek his forgiveness, and his help in removing it from your life. I'll be the first to admit: I'm weak and I can't root out the sin in my life alone. I need divine strength to resist the temptation. And it's even harder when the sin lies in your thoughts. Actions are so much easier to control than thoughts. When I was in high school, I used to pray this verse as I fell asleep, "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," (Phil. 4:8) because I felt that my thoughts were so hard to control.

Think and pray about the sin in your life. Don't hold back, because God already knows what you've done. He's already forgiven you and covered you sin in his blood, he just wants you to admit your guilt, humble yourself before him, and ask for his forgiveness.

Belated Christmas Greeting

I know it's already February. (February, where did the time go???) But, here is a quick update about my Christmas break.

Here's a funny story: I spent Christmas in the hospital. Christmas Eve we had a lovely evening with my family, including my Uncle Pat, and a friend, Lindsay, from church. We always make three kinds of soup (this year's menu included Seven Onion Soup, Broccoli Cheddar, and Minestrone) and eat a late meal following the Christmas Eve service. I went to bed that night with a full tummy, but was unable to sleep. Sometime in the night, an intense pain shot through my abdomen. I'll spare you the details, but the short of it was, I thought I had appendicitis.
Throughout the night in the hospital (accompanied by my wonderful and long-suffering Mother), while being poked, prodded, and scanned, the pain began to lessen. Around seven am, the doctors determined that I did not have appendicitis, because they couldn't see my appendix in any of the scans or tests. I went home and was back in bed before the rest of the household even noticed our absence. After a brief nap, we resumed our Christmas morning festivities. Imagine the surprise of our well-rested relatives when Mom and I came to breakfast with our tale. However, it was not over. The hospital called, requesting that I come back in for one last consultation with the surgeon, who had seen something else on the CT scan. I spent two more hours in the hospital (with my Dad), which added nothing to our knowledge of the cause of the phantom pains, but took time away from our Christmas brunch at my Aunt and Uncle's. I hope this story brings you a smile, because I can only laugh about it now. Did I simply overreact to a stomach ache? I suppose I'll never know.

Stay tuned for more (recent) updates!