Tag: God

james 1.

james 1.

by Kathleen Moulton

Faith and Endurance

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.  But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.  Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field.  The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.

 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.  And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.

Listening and Doing

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.  Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.  So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.  For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.  But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

trusting God.

trusting God.

by Kathleen Moulton

In Proverbs, the Bible says:


Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.


Two things stand out to me.


1. Don’t try to understand everything.
2. Straight paths don’t mean everything will happen the way you want.

We don’t like that.

Do you understand how the universe was formed? Or how a baby is formed in the womb? Or how birds migrate?

Yet, we want to understand the bad things that happen in our lives.

God doesn’t leave us without comfort. He promises us that one day we will understand. He promises us that he will give us comfort and strength to endure the pain we suffer in life. He promises he will wipe away every tear.

For now though, he gives us the strength to endure. The one who created the universe is able to do that.

In this instant gratification world, you are not going to understand. God makes it clear and he tells us to trust him.

I get it. You have heard claims made of God’s love and when things go sideways in life, you want to make sense of it. We even hold God accountable: “If this is how God loves I don’t want any part of him.”


Isn’t it interesting how we get on Amazon and look at all the reviews before a purchase? We research the next car, stove, and exercise equipment before buying. We try to figure everything out so everything will work out.

But this. Eternity. The most important “purchase”.

God has already created us to know eternity is real.


He has set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

We pay more attention here rather than there. When you live consistently with an awareness of eternity … trusting God will be a simple concept.

Photo by Billel Moula on Pexels.com

context.

context.

by Kathleen Moulton

I had a thought this morning.

We are not all okay.

In other words, we think this person or that person is doing well because they look happy.

Not true.

Everyone of us have something on our minds. A place in our hearts or minds that have this empty space of disappointment, sadness, loss.

Then I began to think about people who lived throughout the centuries and what kind of life they had. Particularly, I thought about the pioneers who explored and the settlers who settled. The day to day, mundane, unpredictable existence they experienced.

Their world view was limited. Each day they had purpose and found a life of contentment in what they did. How do I know this? Because it’s in all of us. The ability to be content in undesirable situations. God created us and he put it in us. Some call it human potential or resiliency because you don’t have to be a Christian to have it. Most of us have the ability to get up, brush ourselves off, and keep going.

Fast forward to 2025. Look at all we have. Now compare yourself to them.

Are we any different? Obviously, we have amazing advancements in medicine and technology. And certainly, that has impacted our physical and mental compacity to not only have knowledge, but solutions, and the ability to exceed in ways that our predecessors never had.

Yet, inside, we are the same. We experience all of the emotions to life’s challenges.

That is context.

All of my life, I have taken a step back to consider the men and women who suffered throughout the centuries. It has given me inspiration, courage, and perseverance. What God has put in all of us can only be enhanced by knowing him through the promises of the scripture.

It reminds me of Hebrews 11, often referred as the faith chapter; a list of men and women who endured suffering. They endured because they saw things in context – that their suffering and ultimate death was not the end. They knew that God promised what was waiting for them in eternity.

Then Hebrews 12:1:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us; fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Not only does remembering the bigger picture step us out of our small thinking, exasperated by our tendency to be overly focused on ourselves, but it gives us the reason for context: there is an end to the story.

Get context.

it’s all i’ve got.

it’s all i’ve got.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 2 Comments

There are no words for what happened in Kerr County, TX, last week.

No words of comfort.

No words of closure.

No words that will stop the hemorrhaging or heal the shattered hearts.

In recent months, I was finally beginning to understand what God thinks about me. Maybe it has been a series of events of being abandoned that has taken me this long. I don’t dwell on that but I’ve spent a lifetime searching for meaning. All I know is I was beginning to relax in knowing that God really does value me, really does love me, and will not abandon me.

I was finally coming to a place of reassurance and peace. And then came this. The little girls ripped from their beds, carried away in horrendous fear, and ultimately, death.

Jesus loves me, this I know? Why didn’t he stop it? What is this thing Christians believe?

I am still in the process of trying to figure this out. I want so desperately to comprehend. I am frustrated because there is nothing that makes sense.

I ask God the question: how can I trust you? How can I believe that it is you who are helping me through life’s confusion and difficulties? How can I really believe that you are in tune with my life and that you hear my prayers? Obviously, the parents who left their little girls at this camp prayed for them – among other things – their safety.

And then of course, the triggers of emotions buried within me. I uttered these words so quietly: and you betrayed us. The tears welled up in my eyes of losing him 20 years ago. Tears that cannot fully come because I’ve cried so many there is nothing left. I want to cry. I can’t. But I feel it churning inside.

I remember when the disciples were confused and Jesus said to them, “Will you leave me, too?” And Peter piped up and said, “Where will we go? You have the words of life.”

You have the words of life.

Peter was right. No matter what we face in this world with all of its disappointments, sorrow, and confusion – where do we go? We can find temporary solutions but that is the problem. They are temporary. And we wake up the next morning with a hangover or guilt from the night before and what do we do? We go back for more.

You have the words of life.

But I can’t see you, God. And even though my mind tells me that I am seriously limited in trying to understand, it still hurts. 

I know people have suffered since the beginning of time. I know people are suffering today. But this. This hit me hard.

The Bible says God’s ways are not our ways and that his thoughts are not like ours. If we step back and believe he created the universe and everything in it, how can we possibly believe we can understand the why’s of suffering. It’s far too easy to say there is no God if he allows us to suffer. I cannot go there because then, I will find solutions elsewhere and honestly, there is nothing that will help. Every human solution I can think of often makes things worse.

All I have is this:

God says he will keep us in perfect peace when we trust him.

He says to trust him with our whole heart and not try to understand.

He  promises to fix it all someday by wiping away every tear we’ve cried.

That’s all I’ve got.

And Christians throughout the centuries – that’s all they had, too.

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in the context of things.

in the context of things.

by Kathleen Moulton

Have you ever thought about what life was like 100 years ago? 200? 50?

Perhaps there is no other time in history when we have we been so privileged – in the United States and other developed countries. (Although, there are people who live with far less access to wealth and opportunity who are reported to be content).

With all of our advances in science, medicine, and technology, are we much different than people who lived without it? Certainlly, we have it far easier. Even people who live below the poverty level seem to have a cell phone and can afford McDonald’s. It might not sound like much, but it would mean something to people who lived 100 years ago.

I think the context in which we live has an impact on our world view. People who lived 200 years ago did not have the abundance we have now. While there has always been the wealthy, for most people, I imagine there was more motivation to do all it took for survival. Time was spent working to that end. There was no television, Tik Tok, or Door Dash to waste the day away, putting off thinking about things another day.

Am I the only one who thinks about the suffering on the Mayflower? The colonists? The pioneers? People like you and me, hoped for something beyond here and now.

As little as 60 years ago, people sold their home in order to pay medical bills. I know of one person who said his father got up every morning at 4:30 am to take various modes of transportation, including walking, into NYC to work in a factory. This was common. People did what they had to do and I can only imagine the resiliency and perseverance factor was off the charts.

Humans suffered throughout the centuries and humans are suffering today. Perhaps the suffering is different but suffering is suffering no matter how you look at it. Suffering for one might be extremely difficult compared to another. Bottom line, no matter when we live, human suffering is with us.

There are times to fight against it and we should. But then there are times when there is nothing to be done but to accept. Not with a fatalist mindset. With hope.

When there is death of a loved one, there is suffering. I do not contend that people who lived 100+ years ago dealt with loss more easily than we do today but they experienced more of it. I think there was an acceptance of the inevitable since diseases were prevelant and life spans were reduced compared to today.

I think we take things for granted because we have so much available to us. It’s not really our fault. We are a product of our environment.

But I do think we are responsible for our responses to suffering. I think we have to expand our thinking beyond the four walls of our mind and looking at history is crucial.

Some of us look back into history, consider the challenges, and learn from it. If we compartmentalize history with the mindset of “that was then and this is now”, without considering our make-up is really not different than our predecessors, we will be missing something that is meant to help us.

When we lose a loved one, does it help us to consider how our ancestors processed it? Even though wearing black and spending a specific amount of days in mourning occurred, they felt what we feel today.

There is no amount of medical, scientific, or technological advancements that can change the pain. However, today, we have access to help through those entities with medicine, understanding the brain, and access to online resources to help us.

I think one of the best ways to look at death is to consider those men and women who lived throughout the centuries and remember we are “surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses“. There is something about connecting with people that understand. We are strengthened and even comforted.

I believe spirituality is a major component available to us. In the Christian faith, there are promises of hope, comfort, and eternity of being reunited with our loved one. Without this hope, what do we have? We can’t change the fact that if we are honest, we do wonder about life after death.

The Bible says that God has written eternity on our hearts. That means we are hardwired to wonder. What we have to do is respond to it in some way – or not.

Some people get angry at God for allowing bad things to happen. For me, it is very difficult when Christians have a good outcome of prayer and believe God will always give good outcomes. That is not always the case. Some people miraculously survive a car accident while other people do not. We have to do something with this fact. We either ignore it or accept it.

It’s more than just “taking the good with the bad”. We can’t survive only on that thinking. We were created to dig much deepr than that and only God can help.

Why is there suffering? I don’t know. I only know that God promises that one day he will fix it all. He will wipe away every tear and there will be no more sorrow or death.

We were made to look ahead. It doesn’t stop at death.

It begins there.

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optimism isn’t faith.

optimism isn’t faith.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 2 Comments

“To choose to be optimistic or pessimistic is to set up a confirmation bias of your own mind to view the world the way you want it.”

-AzaRaskin

I am optimistic by nature. It’s natural for me to have hope and believe for the best.

My favorite chapter in the Bible has always been Hebrews 11, known as the faith chapter. I was inspired by these men and women of faith who believed. They resonated with my optimism and active lifestyle.

After the Jesus Movement of the 60’s, evangelical, charasmatic, and/or non-denominational churches sprung up everywhere. People wanted more of their church experience. Not to be entertained, but to know God in deeper and richer ways, understanding throughout the scripture that God wanted this, too.

Many of these churches emphasized faith and/or word-of-faith.

But faith can really be optimism and not faith at all.

Hebrews 11 lists the exploits of men and women who had faith. They were “history makers” and “moved mountains”… all the things you hear in many churches today. I think this resonates with our Western minds. Compared to other cultures, we excel at burning the candle at both ends.

But then, the end of Hebrews 11 says this:

“They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground.

These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. God had planned something better for us, so that together with us they would be made perfect.”

What? Why? Look at all they did for God. If this happened to them, could it happen to me? But what about all the promises found in the scripture of God’s protection, etc., etc.? What about the full armor of God? What about asking anything in Jesus’ Name?

Can our faith really be optimism viewing the world the way we want it?

When our world has been shattered, when it didn’t turn out the way we had prayed for, there is no optimism. Only pain and sorrow. But in the abyss, we can find real faith.

It’s not easy for Christians with the sword of the spirit in one hand and the shield of faith in the other hand to hear hard truths.

Faith isn’t based only on good outcomes. There is real suffering that goes on in the world and not everyone who prays in Jesus’ Name receives what they want or need.

If we say one day in His courts is better than a thousand elsewhere, then perhaps one day in the abyss with God is better than anywhere else. Emmanuel, God with us, who promises never to leave us or forget us.

The abyss only reveals Him in the way you’ve wanted to know Him all along. The shadow that hid His face from you for so long is gone. You would never have seen Him completely had you not entered the abyss.

God sees the shattered pieces all around you and promises He will take care of that. If not here, the promise of eternity when He will wipe away every tear.

Amazing how the darkness can show us the true way.

the end of the story.

the end of the story.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 4 Comments

When you are a Christian, when you have invited the Lord and his word to be a living, breathing, part of your life, you not only experience the peace and comfort He promises during suffering, but you know the end of the story.

The end of the story is important. But first, the beginning of the story.

The world is enslaved to sin.

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.

We can see the affects all around us. Rust, corrosion, moth eaten, disease, pain, death.

Yet, Emmanuel – God with us. God reveals His presence all around us. In the midst of disatrous and destructive life experiences, we still smile at breath-taking sunsets and the fresh, green buds of spring.

The world is not detached from God. He is with us in our suffering. He promises never to leave us.

We won’t understand everything in the Bible but we understand enough. I don’t know why some suffer more than others. In my own suffering, I said, “How can I hurt so bad but love God even more?”

It was because I had experienced his closeness to me. No earthly power or distraction would have sufficed. Suffering allows us to feel God’s presence and connects us with Him in ways we wouldn’t have known otherwise. Could this be part of why we suffer?

For now, we don’t understand suffering. It seems at odds with a loving God.

But we do know the end of the story.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

For centuries, the end the story has brought comfort to those who have suffered.

The Apostle Paul, who suffered in ways foreign to many of us, said this:

For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

The world offers numerous ways to bring happiness and comfort. Some good. Some bad. But all is temporary.

Only God gives us exactly what we need. And He gives us the patience to endure

… until the end of the story.

books.

books.

by Kathleen Moulton

Books.

So many books have been written about how to live the Christian life.

I’m not opposed to the offering of knowledge, understanding, or personal experiences.

Yet, over the years, I have been very selective only because there is this thing about me – not wanting to jump on bandwagons – expecially when it’s a book everyone is reading.

I’m cautious about trendy things. I think about this scripture found in 2 Timothy:

For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear.

If we’re honest, it’s human nature to gravitate to an easier way. Sometimes I think many contemporary Christian books do this unknowingly through appealing to our soul (intellect, will, emotions) first which will then hopefully affect our spirit second. This isn’t necessarily bad but I wonder if authors can appeal to our spirit first?

Many Christians understand the “natural” or “carnal” man which is our soul. They know being a Christian means to “crucify the flesh” with all it’s worldly desires which are in direct opposition to the scripture. I think many are weary of what they have defined as a continual battle.

Instead of thinking about winning a battle, how about focusing on strengthening the spirit?

We don’t have to live a life of suffering in order to mature as a Christian. There are times of suffering but there is also this truth found in Proverbs:

The blessing of the LORD enriches, and He adds no sorrow to it.

I’m saying the Christian faith requires some serious thought. It challenges us. It confronts us. And the soul (intellect, will, emotions) may feel some suffering to turn away from sin and choose God’s ways.

The Spiritual Man by Watchman Nee, written 92 years ago, explains the three components of every human being: spirit, soul, and body.

According to Nee, our soul (intellect, will, emotions) joins the spirit and body. The soul makes it possible for the spirit and the body to communicate and cooperate.

Spirit: The spirit part of us is awakened when it connects through being reconciled with God through Jesus Christ. The spirit part can also connect with Satan wherein we find witchcraft, et al.

Soul: The soul is our intellect, will, and emotions. We use these everyday. Nee says, “ … he [man] is still powerless to uncover the Word of life by his much thinking and theorizing. How untrustworthy are human reasonings! … without the guidance of the Holy Spirit intellect not only is undependable but also extremely dangerous because it often confuses the issue of right and wrong.”

Body: Our actions seen by everyone communicated through either our spirit or our soul (intellect, will, emotions).

Which one dictates the most in our daily lives? Is our soul determining more than it should and is it what causes our continual daily struggles? Always learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth?

I have learned about our spirit, soul, and body in a church setting. One sermon might deal with our emotions or another about being led by the spirit and not the flesh. I don’t remember learning about all three together in the way Nee presents it.

Learning, and most importantly, wanting to yield to the spirit instead of the soul is life changing. Christians understand “obeying God” or “submitting to God” but too many of us have viewed it as a life long struggle. We view it as the old cartoons with the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other shoulder. Everyday we are presented with choices (gossip, lying, gluttony, etc.) and we should listen to the angel, right? But if we listen to the devil, well, God loves us and forgives.

Yes, He does forgive. But we are delaying the work in our spirit maturing us.

God wants us to be free from everything that entangles us. Instead of living with daily battles of the soul, we learn to draw from our spirit. As our spirit matures, the stronger we become as we face life with all its challenges. We experience peace, joy, contentment, and more.

It becomes a lifestyle of abiding in the vine.

We may soon forget what we read in the newest book, but when we allow God to mature our spirit through yielding our intellect, will and emotions, we will have all we need on this side of eternity.

be of good cheer.

be of good cheer.

by Kathleen Moulton

The hay is swaying in the breeze through the old porch windows centered between peeling paint.

The ceiling fan hums, an occasional bird sings, the dog sighs.

Sweet paprika and thyme begins to permeate from the oven while the carrots, turnip, onion, and parsnips are waiting.

Tears well up in my eyes now and then.

There’s this. And then there’s that.

All the thoughts of what is not just, what is not right, and just plain why – tumble around in my head.

They’ve been there for quite some time.

I guess today, it was time for them to come forward.

An over used scripture (if there is such a thing) will not do.

A chin up! or this too shall pass, will not suffice.

Only God will do.

But wait. Isn’t scripture God? Isn’t faith and patience and perseverance God?

Maybe we’ve confused one for the other.

When you’ve walked through the darkest place on earth, and do not come out with shouts of praise and hallelujahs, people are strangely silent.

But they don’t know what to say she said.

And the words poured caustically into my bleeding heart.

I thought God spoke through his people. I thought we would do greater things than Jesus.

No one knows what to say?

Instead, they move along at an intentional pace.

To the early Christian, trusting God meant more than a teary-eyed testimony about the time I came to trust the Lord. It meant believing that even if obedience to God entailed great suffering, God was trustworthy to bring a person through it.

No time to sit and be silent and know.

No time to ask, what did you see in that valley? Was God there? What did he say?

But no one asked.

God tells you secrets. And I will tell you what to share and not to share.

But no one listened.

If you can’t speak to your own, how will you speak to the world?

wild iris

In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

the brokenhearted.

the brokenhearted.

by Kathleen Moulton

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

-The Bible

I wonder what God thinks ..

I wonder how God feels ..

When someone is overwhelmed by disappointment, sorrow or grief.

When someone’s spirit is crushed.

He is close to them.

I wonder what God thinks ..

I wonder how God feels ..

When someone does those things to another.

And does not acknowledge.

And does not admit.

And does not apologize ..

knowing the disappointment, sorrow or grief

they caused.

I wonder what God thinks ..

I wonder how God feels ..

When it happens in his Church.

And the brokenhearted continue to diligently watch over their hearts ..

forgiving

shunning bitterness

over and over

and over.

I know what God thinks ..

I know how God feels ..

He is close to them ..

since He knows all things.

Just a lonely heart...:))

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