You Do You!

                Look around you any day and you will see people posting or reading social media sites.  Whether you love or hate social media, it is a part of all our lives.  Facebook is one of the largest sites that allow people to gather and express themselves.  It is full of groups of people looking for some common ground to connect on.  Case in point, just about every city has a “hip” page associated with it and everyone that has even the slightest connection to that city can join their page. 

                Normally I don’t have any problems with these “hip” pages.   But recently I have started to pull away from reading these pages because people are constantly trying to pick fights with their “neighbors”.  Christians are falling right into these traps at an alarming rate.  The other day on one these pages, a guy was looking for a “church” that was open to homosexual relationships, allowed women pastors and didn’t judge people for their beliefs.  This post did exactly what the person posting it wanted the outcome to be.  People that call themselves Christians started making comments and condemning this person for their way of life.  They were defending what they felt was right but instead caused a greater divide between God and the person posting.

                The bigger question I have to ask, why do we feel like we need to be the judge, jury and executioner of someone else’s decisions.  We are not qualified to fill any of those rolls, so we should allow God to be the one in charge.  When we take that approach and love our neighbor as our selves (Matthew 22:39), then we will no longer feel the need to tell people they are sinning.  We can give them the verses in the Bible and pray that they change their ways without creating a greater divide in their life.  God is the only one that can change a person’s desire. 

                So the next time you see a post on social media that you feel like condemning someone for, stop for a second and pray for God’s direction before you respond.  You will find out that when you allow God to direct you first, then your response will either be to leave it alone or plant the seed of change without driving a wedge between them and God.  But either way, God will be in control of the situation and you will know that you handled it in His way. 

                Lord, I pray for anyone that reads these words and has gotten into an argument on social media trying to “defend” your word.  You are the only one that can change the hearts of people and I pray you soften all our hearts.  Lord you taught us to love you first with all our heart, soul and mind and secondly, to love our neighbor as our selves.  So I pray that we can fulfill those commandments as we are entangled in the traps in this world and we allow You to flow through us to the people setting the traps.  Amen

Are YOU still there?

                Normally I use my blog to bring a message that is laid upon my heart in hopes of it finding someone that needs to hear that message.  But lately, it’s been hard for me to sit down and put anything down on paper.  The past year has taken a toll on me mentally, physically and spiritually.  The days pass at a lightning pace in a snail race.  I can’t remember what day it is because they are all the same now.  The things that made life normal are changed or don’t exist at all anymore.  It has made people ask me several times, are you still there?

                 2020 started off like any other year.  The first couple months were filled with the kid’s school and sports.  We were moving along without a care in the world.  Life was normal!  The normal all started to change for us in March.  A tornado ripped through the Nashville area taking out two of the schools that are in our county.  Thank God it happened in the middle of the night.  Had it happened during the day, the schools would have been filled with kids and there probably would have been several students and teachers lost.  That tornado knocked out power and phone service to the area for weeks leaving others to ask, are you still there?

                As if a tornado ripping up the city I live in was not hard enough, the world came to a screeching halt due to a mysterious illness.  The pandemic caused governments to shut down businesses and made it where everyone was to stay at home.  Schools were closed, jobs were lost and normal activities were stopped until the “experts” could figure out how to handle the virus.  The two weeks turned into month after month of waiting on answers from the powers that be.   There was never a clear directive on when things would go back to normal.  The mental stress of not knowing what to do or how this would affect people caused people to take drastic measures.  Families were cut off from each other for months on end. They didn’t know the emotional state of loved ones and asked again, are you still there?

                The year of tragedy hit very close to home as well.  My grandparents lost not one but both of their sons during the pandemic.  Both of them were not in the best of health, but they both passed away in a hospital alone.  A family of five was cut down to three in a matter of months.  Now my grandparents only have the pictures and memories to hold onto until they are reunited again someday in glory.  Life is too precious not to take a moment to tell your loved ones that you love them before you are asking for the last time, are you still there?

                As I said earlier, this past year has taken its toll on me spiritually as well.  And I know I’m not the only one that feels this way.  With all the shut downs and stay at home orders, the churches have closed to in –person services.  Most of them have done a good job adapting and going virtual, but church is more than a sermon and music.  Without the fellowship that goes along with church, are you really getting the most out it?  The past nine months, I have seen my walk slipping and my relationship getting weaker with every passing day.  I know this is a me problem but it still makes me ask the question, God, are You still there?

                 I don’t make resolutions at the beginning of a new year, but I will answer that question.  Yes, God is still there.  He never left.  I was the one that allowed the situations around me to pull me away from Him.  Instead of looking to Him for the answers, I turned away and asked are you still there?  I was looking in all the wrong directions instead of being still and listening to Him.  He is the same today as He was yesterday and will be tomorrow.  All we have to do is quit asking if He is still there and start listening for Him.  When we start listening for that still, small voice, we will probably here this simple question from Him.  Are you still there?

                I usually end all my posts with a prayer about the post and for anyone reading it, but not this time.  I am going to ask for prayer for myself and anyone else that needs help in hearing God today.  I would ask that if you need prayer, then message me or comment on this post so I can make a list and pass it on to the pastors I know.  I want to be able to have anyone that needs prayer to be added to a list to be prayed over.  Next time you hear, are you still there, I hope you can respond with Yes Lord I am.