Posts with the label christian
Showing posts with label christian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label christian. Show all posts
Friday, February 1, 2019
Top 5 Reasons Christians Fall Off the Wagon
We most often associate the familiar term "Fall Off the Wagon" with a recovering alcoholic who has turned back to the bottle. I want to use the analogy of "The Wagon" as it applies to Christians demonstrating a safe place or haven where all our needs are met, namely Jesus. I've been trying to improve my diet since August 2018. Well, I've been trying to improve my food choices for years. Recently, I'm seeking to allow the Holy Spirit to guide my daily food selections toward good for me food and avoid bad for me food.
Yesterday, I didn't feel well. My stomach was a tad nauseous with an overall feeling of yuck. I'm strange. When I feel like this, I want a plain McDonald's burger with fries and one of their unparalleled, deliciously-filtered fountain Cokes. I went. I bought. I ate. Sometime during the afternoon, pondering why I ate it,(because I had been doing so well), God spoke these truths into my ear concerning the Top 5 Reasons Christians Fall Off the Wagon.
- REASON No. 1: This Christian has never gotten in the wagon. It's hard to fall off if you've never gotten in, right? But you are in. You've accepted Jesus as your Savior but you won't accept him as Lord of your life giving him full control. You've either walked behind or alongside the wagon feeling the pain in your feet and the burden on your knees with every step. You know him. You just can't seem to trust him with your whole heart. Get in the wagon.
- REASON No. 2: This Christian likes the easy life. It's easier off the wagon than inside of it. How can it be easier to walk alone than be carried? Jesus carries the people who believe, trust, obey, sacrifice, are patient, longsuffering and kind. I can name more Christ-like attributes but do you really want me to? Those ACTION verbs are hard. Walking singularly without anyone expecting anything from you. especially Jesus, is so much easier.
- REASON No. 3: This Christian relies on other people for their life example instead of Christ. We've all heard it before, "If they're a Christian, the woods are full of them." Just stop it. Stop trying to justify your wrongdoings by comparing yourself to the next best born-again sinner you know. Christians are supposed to be better people because we have the Holy Spirit inside of us, but unfortunately, all Christians don't exercise those action verbs above and unfortunately, we still sin. Be like Him, not every Tom, Dick or Harry!
- REASON No. 4: This Christian wants his cake and eat it too. Eating causes crumbs in the wagon. What happens when we see morsels of bad food lying around? We eat it. Then, we want more! There's never been a Christian that dabbled with sin without wanting more. When you're on the wagon for Christ, you're off of entertaining temptation for Tammy (insert your name here). Perfect example of this for me is if I eat one Entenmann's Chocolate Doughnut, I'll not stop until I eat the entire pack. Little Bites, big bites, they're all sin to me because I can't practice moderation. This Reason No. 4 applies to any temptation you are apt to succumb to, certainly not limited to food.
- REASON No. 5: This Christian falls off the wagon because she doesn't get the results she's expecting or they are happening way too slow. Notice I said they ARE happening! We are a fast car, fast food, microwave, direct deposit, instant gratification society that wants Jesus under our thumb or fingertips instead of giving honor to his place of King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We want to use him like a medicine: as needed. We get bored when we're not entertained. We lose interest if the thrill we seek requires too much effort on our part.
The wagon isn't full. Want to get in with others who are selfless, God-seeking, life-surrendered, saved by grace, mercy-showing followers of Christ? I do! It's gonna take an action verb...
Saturday, August 25, 2018
5 Things I Learned from Divorce
My week has been rough. My week contained so many variables; some favorable and some unfavorable. (I'll admit it, I have an accounting background.) I've been blessed. I've learned things. I've been schooled. I've lost my temper. I've exercised self-control. I went to the movies. I ate out too many times. I weeded my pool fence. I broke my left prosthetic. I made me a new left prosthetic. I could go on, but you get it. It has been a week!
My life has been enriched over the past months with my high school bff, Mary Ann. I credit Mary Ann for my marriage to Steve. God placed her exactly where she needed to be in my life to accomplish his goal for Steve and me. Shortly after the "lost my temper" stage this week, Mary Ann sent me the picture above with the following message. "I bet God finds our efforts to do anything amusing. These are plants I threw in my trash pile that wouldn't grow in the greenhouse. They are not even planted and look how pretty." God used those words to teach me but also to show me some things divorce has taught me. Here are the top 5 Things I Learned from Divorce (in no particular order):
- Divorce hurts. It hurts everyone it touches, especially this ex-mother-in-law. Divorce is one of those excruciating hurts like a kidney stone. You know you have a stone. You wake up feeling pretty good and BAM! Within the next five minutes the blood supply is cut off to your kidney! You immediately find yourself rolling around in the floor begging, screaming, praying for comfort, even if it's only for the shortest while. The pain subsides. You think it's over but here it comes again...worse.
- Divorce is necessary. My parents' 60th wedding anniversary was yesterday. Kudos to them! Steve and I will celebrate 33 years in November. Divorce was not in my vocabulary until God showed me, sometimes, it is so necessary. I couldn't even ask him to stop it.
- Divorce is ugly. I can't find one thing pretty about divorce. My daughter's tears of sorrow are ugly. My grandchildren riding off for the weekend is ugly. The destruction of the completeness of my family is ugly. The mistrust and resentment are ugly. Being wronged is ugly. Period.
- Unconditional love is unstoppable. It is difficult for me to understand why I still love my ex-son-in-law so much. He makes me so mad I could rip his head off! But, I can't stop loving him. I can't stop feeling for him when he creates his own demise. I can't stop making concessions for him when he deserves none. God's love in me for him cries out for mercy, grace and above all, forgiveness. If unconditional love were stoppable, Jesus would have succumbed under the weight of the cross. He fell, but got back up, not once but three times. Praise be to Jesus for his love for us!
- I can't change things. This is the hardest lesson ever.
Overcoming 365,
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
A Modern-Day Miracle
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Thursday, February 2, 2017
The Fear Whisperer
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Father, tame my fear 365, Tammy |
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Back to the Basics
What do you think of when you hear "Back to the Basics"?
Do you think of a basic wardrobe? I would say basic clothes include black pants or skirt, khaki pants, something navy, a must-have white shirt and who doesn't own a pair of black shoes that goes with everything (I own four basic pairs of white Pumas with different colored stripes that I wear with just about everything). The key to making a basic wardrobe work for your style is the ability to mix and match.
The best basic biscuit recipe I've ever eaten or cooked was given to me by my friend Tony. The recipe has three basic ingredients; flour, butter and buttermilk. He says to knead and roll the dough precisely six times for the best biscuit. The other day I had an idea to knead the dough only once and see what happens. The biscuits didn't rise as high or taste as good. For best results, follow the recipe!
If asked what pops into your head when you hear the word basic, you might say reading, writing and arithmetic or the abc's. Army Basic Training is what I see in my mind. Everyone knows before you become a soldier, you must complete ten weeks of grueling combat and mental training. Many enlistees do not complete the course while others finish and exemplify the branch's slogan "Be All You Can Be!"
Our world accepts and encourages a lot of basics. Some basics are good, some bad, some are forgotten or worse, never known. The Bible explains the basic gospel in John 3:16. What Christian cannot recite the verse by heart? God's Word will never allow us to forget his gift to humanity for everlasting life. God's love for us is the basis for his gift. Jesus is the foundation of Christianity. The basic fact is you must believe in him.
After you become a Christian, what ARE the basics? The Bible has 66 books with 1189 chapters. So how you pick out the simple basics? Matthew 22:37-39 states Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' Two basic commandments that encompasses the entire gospel.
The basic wardrobe of Christianity is love. Can others see you have it on? Do you wear it? The gospel doesn't require a mix and match ability but a daily putting on of the body of Christ. The basic recipe of Christianity is love. Do you prepare it, eat it and serve it to others? For best results, you'll need three ingredients; The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. The basic training of Christianity is love. Are you trained? Staying the course as a soldier in God's army takes more than ten weeks, it requires a lifetime of devotion and spiritual acuteness. There are enemies on every hand. Loving your neighbor as yourself WILL BE GRUELING at times. But, don't you want to be all you can be, all that Christ wants you to be? Our slogan - "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith"!
Sometimes we have to look at where we came from to get to where we're going. This new year, let's all get back to the basics that rewarded us salvation and freedom. Get back to our first love, Jesus.
Determined to return,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
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