Month: August 2016

scripture friday.

scripture friday.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 2 Comments

I’m not a fan of August.

The crass sunlight accentuates the faded summer blooms. The only hope are the phlox and Maximilian sunflowers waiting for their cue, standing bravely in the blast of heat until the first frost.

It leaves me feeling a bit melancholy.

But God knew what we needed when he gave us this truth:

The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.

Life brings many uncertainties. Faded memories of disappointment.

What a comfort to know God’s word never, ever fades.

faded

Photo credit: Wade Brooks via Foter.com / CC BY-NC

not the end.

not the end.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 4 Comments

It doesn’t end there.

We don’t allow ourselves to get derailed “just because”.

There is more. Much more!

The Christian faith gives us hope. Hope of new life. Eternal life.

That means life continues on.

It means seeing our loved one again.

God made us to see beyond today. He is the one who put hope in our heart.

We hope for many, many things, don’t we?

But do we hope beyond life here on earth?

Very few of us do. Life keeps us very focused on temporal things. We get distracted. We think about here and now.

Getting derailed makes us stop thinking  beyond today and what is waiting for us.

There is light at the end.

sunset-after-the-storm

Photo credit: fireboat895 via Foter.com / CC BY

 

derailed.

derailed.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 1 Comment

derail: 1. To run or cause to run off the rails. 2. To come or bring to a sudden halt

My Christian faith taught me to believe.

It taught me God heard my prayers.

It taught me God would give me the desires of my heart.

It taught me influence and dominion in every area of my life.

It taught me God is good, he wants to bless me, has plans for me, to give me a future and a hope. We can back track and say it didn’t mean an absence of trials, but you and I both know it meant insulation from trouble and rising above it.

It didn’t teach me I would suffer. No, Jesus did that on the cross.

I learned the hard way.

I know there are faiths which embrace suffering. That somehow it made you more acceptable to God when you suffered.

My faith did not teach me that but it resisted suffering for that very reason.

You are more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ!

You can be a conqueror while you are suffering.

If we’re close to God in our hearts (not our activities), we’ll be okay. Because God and you worked together, building faith and trust in him.

Even when it hurts.

Have you been derailed? I almost was. But I had spent years being committed to my faith and when suffering came, I was already anchored.

I hung on for dear life. I remembered what the disciples had said to Jesus when he asked, “Will you leave me, too?”

 Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

Yes, my faith taught me there is no where else to go. I can’t explain it. I can’t understand it.

I only know when I sincerely turned to God long ago, it allowed him access to me. He mysteriously deposited inside of me something that could never be taken from me. When suffering came, it sustained me, even though my soul was being battered.

Let the questions come. Let the anger find its place. Feel the pain.

But eventually, it will be time to settle it once and for all. And only God can help you settle it.

Otherwise, you will be derailed. The epitome of suffering. Complete and utter devastation. Crash and burn. Life coming to a complete halt.

Don’t derail.

It’s worse than the suffering.

train

Photo credit: Timothy Neesam (GumshoePhotos) via Foter.com/ CC BY-NC-ND