Genesis 15:6 Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness
1 Kings 12:25-33 The Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel. Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple f the Lord in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”
After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much fpr you to go to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far a Dan to worship the other.
Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high paces he had made. On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.
Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it
Romans 7:15-20 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, I my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
Ephesians 4:2,3, 22-25, 32 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. . . . You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. . . . Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, as just as in Christ forgave you.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
James 1:21-22 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Ephesians 2:4, 5 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is grace you have been saved.
Ephesians 2:8-10 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Do you ever wonder why Abraham or Noah or any of the others listed in God’s Word believed Him? They had to have gotten personal, up-close conversations and KNEW it was God. Don’t you think? We are told that God told Noah, and Noah and his family responded, following what God told him to do.
Abraham was the “Father” of all the Hebrews. At 100 yrs, he fathered Isaac, and then when God told him to go sacrifice that same son, he willingly went forward to do it. At, seemingly the LAST second, God told him to stop and to grab a ram that was captured in some brush and use the ram as his sacrifice. Abraham believed God would supply, but he went forth as though he would have to kill his son.
And Moses was born while still enslaved in Egypt and the fearful Egyptian leader had demanded that all the male children be killed at birth. Two mid-wives swore to Pharaoh that the Hebrew women were stronger than the Egyptian women and the children were already born when they arrived. He then ordered all to be snuffed out. But Moses’ parents defied this edict. They hid and cared for Moses for 3 months, then put him in a waterproof basket and set him out in the river; his elder sister Miriam watched, and spotted Pharaoh’s daughter gathering the child. She took him in as her own, and Miriam volunteered to get a nurse to feed the child.
It amazes me that these biblical heroes KNEW it was God speaking and telling them to move on “to a place I will direct you.” To tell a mother of an infant to put him in the basket and trust that he would be okay. Thankfully, he had older siblings who could help watch out for him. But along that line, what was Aaron doing. He must have been working as one of the slaves—making bricks? Carrying stones, carving stones to fit? He would not have been educated unless it was in some technical job—cleaning, building, carving stones, perhaps as a house slave caring for the family of Pharoah, maybe a cook. But the Torah had not been written, so there was no Word of God to study and try to understand. But Aaron was younger than Miriam, but older than Moses, so he had to be working at something. Was he close to God? Did he believe what he heard from God?
He obviously heard or was led by God after Moses fled after killing an Egyptian and realizing he had been seen. Aaron showed up a few years later, and together they went to Pharaoh to get the Hebrew slaves freed. That seems an arrogant dangerous plan to me—Moses knew he had a couple witnesses who saw him kill the Egyptian. Now he was returning to “an uncle or a cousin” raised in the house with this leader, and demanding the slaves be allowed to go and worship their God. I do believe he now felt the assurance of God and the Holy Spirit. He was given the ability to persuade Pharaoh.
Eventually, in fear, anger, and frustration Pharaoh did demand they ALL leave. Yet, they left with Egyptian gifts of jewelry and priceless items. They left with the knowledge that they had sprinkled a lamb’s blood over their door, ate the lamb with bitter herbs, and suffered NO loss of a firstborn. But can you imagine the numbers of people carrying their belongings, their herds of animals and fleeing? The numbers are staggering to me.
Yet Moses led all these Hebrew folks for years. It could have been a much shorter time, but with fear and doubt, ten of the men who went out to assess the Holy Land returned with frightening stories which convinced the others it was entirely too risky and a losing battle to even try to get into a battle!
Long story short, only two men from the original greater than a million, entered the Promised Land, saw and felt God’s promise. Moses got to see the land, but not to enter it.
But these original people had no written stories of what God had done. Moses wrote Genesis as God told him what to say; Moses learned the story of Adam and Eve and disobedience in the Garden; Moses was told about Noah building an Ark and a great flood brought about by God Himself to wipe out sin.
We get to read, study and be amazed at the story of creation and God’s first chosen people—and how they sinned and sinned and God would finally punish them by being captured and enslaved, scattering to man other lands, always being under the rule of others, and yet, they managed to hold tightly to their culture, to teach others the importance of Passover and what that means, and they held fast to their faith.
Were they always obedient? No. Were they at times arrogant? Yes. Were they disrespectful of God’s commands, choosing to live by their own judgments and sins? Absolutely. Did they learn God is patient and full of grace? Yes. And did it keep them from sinning after years of being persecuted and punished by others? Did they always seek God’s will and follow it fully? No. They are just like all of us sinners. We want what we want. But we have an entire book about how God loves us, wants the best for us, wants to lead and guide us in His way. We have many stories of God’s love, forgiveness, and how He sent His only Son to be our sacrifice. As the Hebrews wandered in the Wilderness and would choose a sin offering, atonement offering and on and on, killing these animals—it was to imprint on our brains the cost of our SIN on a poor animal.
I mean, after all, we have the ENTIRE book—we know the beginning and we know the turbulent but glorious end. They did not have the book. Moses wrote the first five books, and he was after Abraham and his family, and after Noah. Noah was the first family to procreate and cover the earth with various cultural groups after the Flood. It is estimated there was almost 1700 years between the Flood and the freeing of the slaves from Egypt. Impressive that there were about one million people led out of Egypt after being enslaved for 400 hundred years.
I can’t count the number of times I have read something in the Bible that has shocked or amazed me for any number of reasons. But the idea of these very early Hebrews—Abraham, Lot, Sarah and Moses and so forth moving on His command—how did they know it was His command. They all must have had an internal knowledge of God. And I know all seek something—trying to fill a void. But these knew it was God. Heavenly Father, I am so thankful for these biblical leaders who have left their example—both good and bad example to educate us, to show us the way, sometimes via mistakes, but it is a wonderful book of Your love, patience, kindness, grace and forgiveness for us. Thank You for all You the blessings bestowed on me and ‘mybellaviews.’
Genesis 6:8 Noah, however, found favor with the LORD.
Genesis 15:6 Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness
1 Kings 12:25-33 The Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel. Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple f the Lord in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”
After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far a Dan to worship the other.
Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high paces he had made. On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.
John 20:29 The Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed.’
Romans 4:3-5 For what does the Scripture? ‘Abraham believed God , and it was credited to him as righteousness.'”
2 Corinthians 5:7 For we live by faith, not by sight
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
James 2:14-17 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but no deeds? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes or daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace and keep warm and well fed.” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action is dead.
Do you ever wonder why Abraham or Noah or any of the others listed in God’s Word believed Him? They had to have gotten personal, up-close conversations and KNEW it was God. Don’t you think? We are told that God told Noah, and Noah and his family responded, following what God told him to do. ‘Taking a leap of faith is an act of courage. It’s our action that accompanies the faith we believe we have.’
Abraham was the “Father” of all the Hebrews. At 100 yrs, he fathered Isaac, and then when God told him to go sacrifice that same son, he willingly went forward to do it. At, seemingly the LAST second, God told him to stop and to grab a ram that was captured in some brush and use the ram as his sacrifice. Abraham believed God would supply, but he went forth as though he would have to kill his son.
And Moses was born while still enslaved in Egypt and the fearful Egyptian leader had demanded that all the male children be killed at birth. Two mid-wives swore to Pharaoh that the Hebrew women were stronger than the Egyptian women and the children were already born when they arrived. He then ordered all to be snuffed out. But Moses’ parents defied this edict. They hid and cared for Moses for 3 months, then put him in a waterproof basket and set him out in the river; his elder sister Miriam watched, and spotted Pharaoh’s daughter gathering the child. She took him in as her own, and Miriam volunteered to get a nurse to feed the child.
It amazes me that these biblical heroes KNEW it was God speaking and telling them to move on “to a place I will direct you.” To tell a mother of an infant to put him in the basket and trust that he would be okay. Thankfully, he had older siblings who could help watch out for him. But along that line, what was Aaron doing. He must have been working as one of the slaves—making bricks? Carrying stones, carving stones to fit? He would not have been educated unless it was in some technical job—cleaning, building, carving stones, perhaps as a house slave caring for the family of Pharoah, maybe a cook. But the Torah had not been written, so there was no Word of God to study and try to understand. But Aaron was younger than Miriam, but older than Moses, so he had to be working at something. Was he close to God? Did he believe what he heard from God?
He obviously heard or was led by God after Moses fled after killing an Egyptian and realizing he had been seen. Aaron showed up a few years later, and together they went to Pharaoh to get the Hebrew slaves freed. That seems an arrogant dangerous plan to me—Moses knew he had a couple witnesses who saw him kill the Egyptian. Now he was returning to “an uncle or a cousin” raised in the house with this leader, and demanding the slaves be allowed to go and worship their God. I do believe he now felt the assurance of God and the Holy Spirit. He was given the ability to persuade Pharaoh.
Eventually, in fear, anger, and frustration Pharaoh did demand they ALL leave. Yet, they left with Egyptian gifts of jewelry and priceless items. They left with the knowledge that they had sprinkled a lamb’s blood over their door, ate the lamb with bitter herbs, and suffered NO loss of a firstborn. But can you imagine the numbers of people carrying their belongings, their herds of animals and fleeing? The numbers are staggering to me; supposedly over a couple million people and herds and herds of animals–rams, sheep, oxen. How do you get all the people and all the animals to move–to GO! At any moment the Pharaoh can change his mind and come after them.
Yet Moses led all these Hebrew folks for years. It could have been a much shorter time, but with fear and doubt, ten of the men who went out to assess the Holy Land returned with frightening stories which convinced the others it was entirely too risky and a losing battle to even try to get into a battle!
Long story short, only two men from the original greater than a million, entered the Promised Land, saw and felt God’s promise. Moses got to see the land, but not to enter it.
But these original people had no written stories of what God had done. Moses wrote Genesis as God told him what to say; Moses learned the story of Adam and Eve and disobedience in the Garden; Moses was told about Noah building an Ark and a great flood brought about by God Himself to wipe out sin.
We get to read, study and be amazed at the story of creation and God’s first chosen people—and how they sinned and sinned and God would finally punish them by being captured and enslaved, scattering to man other lands, always being under the rule of others, and yet, they managed to hold tightly to their culture, to teach others the importance of Passover and what that means, and they held fast to their faith.
Were they always obedient? No. Were they at times arrogant? Yes. Were they disrespectful of God’s commands, choosing to live by their own judgments and sins? Absolutely. Did they learn God is patient and full of grace? Yes. And did it keep them from sinning after years of being persecuted and punished by others? Did they always seek God’s will and follow it fully? No. They are just like all of us sinners. We want what we want. But we have an entire book about how God loves us, wants the best for us, wants to lead and guide us in His way. We have many stories of God’s love, forgiveness, and how He sent His only Son to be our sacrifice. As the Hebrews wandered in the Wilderness and would choose a sin offering, atonement offering and on and on, killing these animals—it was to imprint on our brains the cost of our SIN on a poor animal.,
Yet the Israelites knew only that a Messiah was promised, and He would be a great leader, and defeat the bad guys, and they knew they were God’s chosen people. I mean, after all, we have the ENTIRE book—we know the beginning and we know the turbulent but glorious end. They did not have the book. Moses wrote the first five books, and he was after Abraham and his family, and after Noah. Noah was the first family to procreate and cover the earth with various cultural groups after the Flood. It is estimated there was almost 1700 years between the Flood and the freeing of the slaves from Egypt. Impressive that there were about 400,000 men, probably most married, so counting women and an average of 3-5 children, about one-two million people led out of Egypt after being enslaved for 400 hundred years.
I can’t count the number of times I have read something in the Bible that has shocked or amazed me for any number of reasons. But the idea of these very early Hebrews—Abraham, Lot, Sarah and Moses and so forth moving on His command—how did they know it was His command? Obviously, the Holy Spirit was alive and well and active They all must have had an internal knowledge of God. And I know all seek something—trying to fill a void. But these knew it was God. Heavenly Father, I am so thankful for these biblical leaders who have left their example—both good and bad example to educate us, to show us the way, sometimes via mistakes, but it is a wonderful book of Your love, patience, kindness, grace and forgiveness for us.
What a mighty, miraculous God we serve! Thank You for all You have blessings bestowed on me and ‘mybellaviews.’
Psalm 20:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Psalm 31:14 But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.”
Psalm 37:3 Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Psalm 56:3, 4 When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise–in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
Psalm 62:8 Trust in hi at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding, In all your ways acknowledge Him
Proverbs 11:13 Gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.
Jeremiah 7:8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless
Jeremiah 17:7-8 Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water that sends our its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never falls to bear fruit*******************************
James 1:6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the w
Sometimes it is hard to keep believing when time P a s s e s and P A S S E S and you do not see the results of your prayer. Did I misunderstand? Does God not want this for me? I have prayed believing He will answer, but now a very long time has passed. Maybe this is not His will and I have convinced myself it is. Maybe this is not what was God directing me to do? Am I still supposed to wait? How do I know if I am still to continue praying for this or seeking what God else He wants instead? I know He has my best interests in His plans, but what if my prayer is not for me, but to save the family and friends who do not fully believe that He even exists, never mind that He is the Savior?
But His Word says that if we pray for something according to His Word He will answer. I believe it IS according to His will. His word says He wants no one to perish. But He has given all the ability to have free choice–which certainly means for most of us–definitely for ME–that wrong choices are made, sins committed, but because I CHOOSE to believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior who died for MY sins, and I choose to do the best I can, with my human, sinful nature moment by moment.
It takes time to build faith. As in all relationships, it takes time to build trust, learning that one builds trust in another when secrets are imparted, but not shared with others, when one gets earnest and heartfelt support, when one keeps confidences, when one proves they will be there when needed, even if it means altering their own schedule to help. Trust is like a foundation. You cannot build a building or structure without a solid foundation. It takes skill to build a strong and level foundation. It also takes time to build the foundation of any relationship. Dating couples must spend time to get to know one another, find values that are important, what are the morals, what are the beliefs–Christian, even believe in God, go to church and have a relationship with a church and members? How is the relationship with family? Close to siblings as well as parents, or is there bitterness and distance there? So you feel like things are open, or is there a cautious feeling in your gut at times? how does this person feel about cheating–can they sympathize with a story of one who did cheat–can verify the reasons why it might have happened; or totally feel cheating is wrong until the relationship is fully ended? You don’t want to always have a sense of impending mistrust with someone you are considering for a relationship for the long haul. Marriage is hard enough when both parties are connected, sympatico, and have the same morals and values.
Friendships also require much the same foundation. If one has learned to mistrust someone–because gossip was spread, a confidence was shared, you have heard the other talk of someone else they are friendly with–your guard goes up. You are more aware of sharing things that are private and you want confidential–you might even “set up” the other with a partially true story, only sharing one other person, and you then know if the story is spread there can only be one person who spread this. And you have confirmation that this person is not to be trusted.
So trust is vital to any foundation of a relationship. Vital . . . Like a heart, lungs, your liver. Trust is just as vital to any deep and important relationship you have. We have this foundation with God, if we have met Him, even tested Him. I chose Jesus after hearing a sermon on Judges 6–Gideon doubting he was hearing from God, and God had chosen him–young weak Gideon from the weakest tribe of all the Hebrews; Manesseh, and Gideon could not believe it, then, because of his unbelief and doubt, he tried to argue with God and find excuses to not do what God told him to do, and then apologizing, he tested God. “If the fleece. . . ” and then once the first test was answered in the way Gideon requested, he dared to test God further and ask for the opposite result for the fleece the next morning. And God answered his request.
When I first accepted God as Lord and Savior, I too tested God. “Please help me find a parking space close…then I will fully give to You.” If I had a choice, an important choice, I would give God a “if. . . then” scenario. I let whatever I threw out as a “fleece” rule my life. It was truly like throwing straight dice and letting the first number choose my course. I wasn’t even using my own mind, but trusting a gambling “fleece” situation. Judges 6 was to show us that God chooses us to do something for His kingdom, and sometimes needs to us do something for His kingdom. God already knows our doubts, worries, and mistrusts, so He understand when we doubt and question and “test” Him. And He will tolerate for a specific time, then says “Grow up, put on the big panties (or boxers) and do as I said. ‘Do not continue testing me–do as I have commanded. I have given you the skills, and I am here with you. Stand up and go forth.'”
When He said that to me, I was afraid, anxious, unsure–could I really do this? Me? Can I do this? God, do I really have the ability to do this without You showing me clearly each step? “Yes, You know I am with you, I love you, and as long as you truly seek Me, want to know Me in your heart, you will be able to follow the steps I have for you.” Did I know how to run my life n my own. I had come to depend on the answers to the fleeces. But what had I done when there was no answer at all to the fleeces; there was no clear answer to the If this. . . then that. ? then what had I done. A decision had to be made, so I had made one, then fretted about the rightness or error of my decision. That way of living, I was basically in a state of flux, anxiety, stress, and fear. I was not only responsible for ME, I had a beautiful child I was responsible for–and yes, a wonderful family who helped, but they had shown me how to work hard, success, be a responsible adult with good work ethics and knowing the satisfaction of finishing a job to the best of my ability. I had to be the best at my work, and caring for myself and my son — it was all on me. My growth with the Lord was slow. It was full of me making mistakes, and FINALLY learning I needed to pray for guidance, read His word, get the direction that He wanted me to find, and to follow. Took a while, with travel up and down hills. . . but I finally started following DIRECTIONS. So much for the arrogance of thinking I was fairly high ranking (definitely valedictorian or whatever, but 3.5 level anyway. . . it did not mean I was smart. Or next to near intelligent. It took a long time before I was reading the Word and saying “Ah-ha!” or “Oh, my, look at that?” “Wow, God, Wow, oh You are so generous, I had NO idea that was the meaning behind these Words of Yours. Oh, thank You for opening my eyes, showing me the Light.” Instead of praying as much as I should, seeking His will the way I now know to do, being diligent in seeking HIM, and wanting MORE of HIM. Thank You, Lord.
It has been a slow trudge I chose to follow You–probably full of my own doubts and mistrusts–which You would know all about since You KNOW me, I no longer want to trudge, I want to hurry to You to know You deeper, better, and full of trust, and looking toward wherever You lead me. Thank You for staying patient with me and guiding me and ‘mybellaviews.’
6rd 5s 2e*t safe.
When you pray BELIEVE you receive and you will (not our time schedule, but God’s)
Psalm 130:5,7 I wait for the Lord: I wait and put my hope in his word. . . Israel, put your hope in the Lord. for there is faithful love with the Lord and with his is redemption in abundance.
Psalm 147:11 The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
Proverbs 13:12 Hope delayed makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 23:18 There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.
Jeremiah 29:11 ” For I know the plans I have for you,: declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Romans 5:6-9 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer
Romans 15:4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit
1 Timothy 4:10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.
I believe we have a hole, a need to feel there is something out there that is “beyond” our ability to see, feel in tangible ways, but we mostly have a sense there is something more we are missing in our lives. I am not sure all feel this void. It seems that many feel they are totally in charge of their life, and don’t feel they are missing anything. Many people do not seem to feel a need for anything other than what they can purchase, or spend time working toward, perhaps fill their time after work taking children to one sports event or dance class, or theater class or something else to fill the child’s time. Many parents tend to run to all these errands which helps fill their time as well as their children’s time. Sometimes I wonder if folks sense the hole, the missing something, and just try to run and fill it with something. creative, vital, alive, and just out of reach–until He is not. We hurry along in our lives, with our intentions, and by all means our successes–good grades, school achievements, diplomas, then out working for a living and progressing in our fields of employment and believing our success (or failure) is all on us. Many just feel they have always received what they wanted and that is the way it should be. They justify that they have worked hard and excelled — they do not feel there was anything else that contributed to their success.
But those who feel and recognize “something” is missing, they try to fill it; yet so many do not know how to fill this. they are not even sure what is missing from their lives. I know several people who feel like this, and when I suggest coming to church or an event with me, it is ‘Thanks for the invite, but that is not for me.’ Without giving the community a chance, how do you know it is not for you. So many think ‘I just don’t have the time.’ And yet we all have the same amount of time. But when you need Him, what if He says, “I just don’t have the time.”
I grew up saying prayers before bed, usually more rote than heartfelt, and then carried on with my day. I did work hard, tried to get assignments done earlier than needed, and certainly read them through a few times, ensuring myself it was the best I could do. Generally my grades were more A’s than B’s and I was mostly satisfied with my success. I never gave any thought to the fact God had placed me in a hard-working loving home where I got accolades for jobs well done, where I was taught to strive for goal achievement, and it never crossed my mind that there was something more. Always, I appreciated nature. We grew up close to a farm so would spend hours running in the fields and woods, I even was able to watch a cow birth her calf in the field one day and felt the wonder and miracle that was. But mostly, I took things for granted.
How different that is for so many. They may live in poverty and do not have enough, and may have to check dumpsters for clothing or food. But there are other countries who still live in the bush, receive little to not healthcare, and food can be very difficult to get to feed the entire family. Many watch some of their children die from malnutrition. some walk great distances to carry back water that the family needs for the day, and they wear donated clothing that some mission has collected, and they struggle to learn techniques to better their farming methods, or hope to be able to get a goat for milk and cheese, and try to better the situation for the family and the community.
There are others who live in abusive and deplorable conditions. The abuse may be verbal, physical, sexual–all of it is mental and emotional. Many of those persons are unable to have much in the way of hope. it is difficult to have hope when one day is the same or worse than the previous, and it feels as though there is no help, no one to turn to. There are families which are not that overtly abusive. Instead, there may be no time for the children, no interaction between the adults–they are busy doing whatever they want to do, and seem more like roommates that people who are supposed to love one another, yet never share time with one another, and treat the children the same.
Sometimes infants don’t receive the care, interaction, and attention they need. These children can then not interact and grow and develop normally. They don’t interact, they don’t always eat well, their little minds have already learned there is little for them to hope. They exist, no eye contact, they don’t usually follow mobiles, or look at toys, no response to stimuli, and frequently they only eat just enough to satisfy, and these children are without hope. I am not sure if they are able to engage and learn hope and positive feelings if they are placed in a family where they get interaction, enticement, love, and positive stimulation. I would love to know how the infant I cared for in nursing school for three days with failure to thrive–and seemingly no hope–how did this baby grow?
I would not want to be a person who did not know the Lord. Times can be very frightening for those who do not know Him–facing illness, violence, kidnapping, murders, abuse, the horrors we hear about daily in the news feeds between wars, mass shootings, and the list seems endless. Certainly hopeless and overwhelming IF you don’t believe in a Savior and know His plan. Only some people are led to learn about God and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and begin to have hope. I think many don’t realize they are missing something. There is a persistent, insistent need to be doing something; working, reading books or research, getting children involved with after school activities–sports, dance, theater, taking to library for reading sessions, filling time to escape the vague hole we live without hope–without knowing God. Things change a lot when we learn there is hope–and learn that God forgives sin; that His son Jesus died in our place to take our sins to Himself, so that we could be forgiven and have everlasting life.
There are many reasons for people to be afraid and losing hope in this day and age. There are wars, abuse, fires burning much of North America, there are many natural disasters–earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, and volcanoes. Many are in abusive relationships–spouses fighting, ignoring or abusing children, child pornography, sexual slavery, drugs, alcohol abuse, mass shootings, and general worldly unrest. So many people have no hope; and some refuse to listen or hear about God and the everlasting hope he gives to all who believe in Him and the His Son, Jesus Christ. God’s plan is simple, but needs to be heartfelt. One must believe in His Son, Jesus who came to earth, died for OUR sins, the defeated death, rose and is alive sitting on the throne beside His Father. One must believe and repent. The simple act of believing–and if you don’t, read the bible, get someone to help you understand anything you do not. You can’t read and see the true words and not believe. You can choose to not follow the Words, and try to refute the truth, but over 40 authors writing God given and inspired words written over 1500 years–you can deny all you want. That does NOT make you right.
God had a plan many centuries before the time was right to send His Son, Jesus. And Jesus fulfilled every bit of His job, and the prophecies which had been written–told to the prophets by GOD. And He did all this to save us so we could have the hope–the assurance of eternal life.
I am so blessed to know I have the assurance that although I still sin, I am saved by my knowledge that Jesus waled this earth, died for my sins, defeated death and sits at the right hand of His Father, and because I have repented of my sins, and because I still sin, do so daily, but I know He waits for me to spend eternity with Him in heaven. thank You for issuing the most important invitation to me and ‘mybellaviews.’
Psalm 33:11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.
Psalm 128:2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands: you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
Proverbs 12:11 Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.
Proverbs 13:4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.
Proverbs 13:11 Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it
Proverbs 16:3 Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.
Proverbs 21:5, 25 Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. . . .The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
Acts 18:3 and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for there were tentmakers by trade.
Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Jesus Christ you are serving.
1 Thessalonians 2:9-10 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
Our country is now producing generations that feel they are entitled to things—almost anything they want. Work ethics seem to be on the downhill slide, and people want to have money to spend and to buy, but many do not want to work to get there. Somehow, good work ethics and the pride and satisfaction one gets when they have EARNED or SAVED for something special is missing. How often are you in a store, hearing a child whine for something, the parent says no repeatedly, then within 3 minutes or so, gives in, and warns, “But this is it. You are not getting anything else.”
Has that parent done the child any favors? Has he/she proven they will stand on their word? ‘No, You cannot get anything you think you want. No, things do not come to you just because you whine and create a nuisance. The answer is no, and if you continue to carry on, there will be consequences.’. Or has the child learned whining and brattiness can get them what they want with little effort other than annoyance to the parent? Seems to me we have PLENTY of that immature behavior throughout our country.
There are many negative issues I see with that feeling. To me, there are many who are just lazy—‘just gimme duh bucks, huh?!’ We have seen more limited shop or restaurant hours since COVID with the government handing money to those who legitimately could not go into work—restaurants closing, many people fearful to go into smaller shops—boutique, gift shops, and such. People had to get groceries—either that meant putting on protective gear and maneuvering through the store quickly, looking about suspiciously and fearfully, or calling for all the products they needed and paying for delivery.
But those who had to deal with no work as places of employment were closed—they needed to still pay their bills so received funds—but how nice is that to get money but you don’t have to put in the hours and labor to get it. It increased the feelings of entitlement, I think.
Not that those feelings started with COVID. I believe they have been becoming more prevalent since the end of WWII. Many women had had to go to work in factories and other places to keep production of equipment needed to fight the war; many had to continue if their men came home too injured to work a normal position. Children became more dependent on nearby relatives to keep an eye on them after school, or dependent on an elderly neighbor if anything was needed. And although there were cash issues, money slowly became more accessible as our country began getting back on its feet. But children would beg and wheedle for that special pair of Keds or PF Flyers—and sometimes out of guilt because of two working parents, and sometimes to stop the whining, the purchase was made. We began to think all could be readily at our fingertips without too much effort.
Then credit card companies saw how they could slide in and “help out and let you purchase. . . and you could pay it back over time.” And suddenly people were purchasing things they did not always NEED, to keep up appearances to others, and then were suffering to pay back exorbitant interest rates. And the thought process was, “Well, aren’t we entitled to have the same thing(s) in our home?” It seemed easy, and so enticing to start a little credit to get what one needs—’after all we need a living room set for when people come over. . .’ but before that purchase can be paid off, another is made.
Years ago, we had to work and save for what we wanted. I feel blessed my parents did not buy everything I asked for (although I did get the pair of PF Flyers that Saturday morning!) but if I wanted something, it came mostly out of my allowance and what I was able to save. That made the object that much more precious to me. It COST me something—sometimes a good length of time before I had enough to purchase what I wanted. I was thrilled to get some cash for birthdays or Christmas. But the working toward and then being able to attain was a source of pride, satisfaction, and accomplishment.
Jesus did not say God would give us everything we want (entitlement). He said He would give us all we need—food for the day, protection, love, care, guidance. Entitlement can lead us into all sorts of things that are NOT good, healthy or necessary for us—smoking, drinking, drugs, porn, over-spending, and so forth.
Paul and his friends traveled throughout the areas of Ephesus, Lystra, Corinth, Rome and all the other places, but worked for their lodging and food while teaching the Good News. They did not abuse someone’s hospitality but would make the tents, sell them, and contribute to whatever household they stayed in.
Because working toward goals was an important ‘child rearing tenet’ in my home, we all work steadily, are not abundantly wasteful, recognize waiting before making most big purchases, and as I am the only one who had children out of my nuclear family, am proud to say that their Dad and I also instilled that concept of responsibility to work, save, wait, then purchase.
It saddens me to see the people who are seemingly content to wait for a hand-out. I recognize how blessed I am that my parents and grandmother instilled a good work ethic to us, and we have been blessed to attain much.
Thank You, Lord, for placing me in a home where the working, being dependable and accountable was important; and learning that achieving after a time of saving and then being in a position to purchase later, helped me realize the difference in a getting a handout versus a goal achieved purchase. You have so blessed me and ‘mybellaviews.’
Hi, I'm Kathy. Welcome to my website!