Get Real

Awakening (Part 2)

Continued from yesterday…

Second, the despondent seeker has already been awakened. All have been “awakened” to notice the emptiness in their soul. The emptiness is the wake up call to seek God. This person says he not religious because he has not had an “experience.” Many people confuse religion with faith; many also confuse faith with experience. These three terms are not interchangeable.

Religion involves rules. Experience involves self. Faith involves a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Can you hear the longing when he says, “one day I may be able to realize that life is change and I can love it for what it is, not what it has to offer me (i.e. a feeling of belonging and love).” What this person does not realize is that the Source of life is what offers the security of belonging and love—even when these warm fuzzy feelings are absent.

The day we meet Jesus Christ of the Bible, is the day that our life will change. From that day forward, each and every day we will have what we need to get through that day and every day of our life thereafter.

Think logically for one minute. What if there really was a God who loved us and created us to have a relationship with Him? What if He really created the universe and evolution is the hoax? Logic says it would be better to trust in a Source that is more powerful than I am to get me through the struggles that are bigger than I am.

I hope you’ll move from logic to faith—faith in God. This is the true awakening.

You can find more intriguing writings like this at http://www.sharonhouk.com/faq.html

What’s your Fate in 2008?

Every year the mantra changes so that it rhymes with the year. Make it Great in 2008! is one I read recently. That seems to imply that last year wasn’t great. But, for some of us, it was. It is only right that I share the faithfulness of the One who allowed me to have a great 2007.

Along with my relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ comes the privilege of prayer. I know without a doubt that I need not toss up wishful inquiries to the “man upstairs.” God allows me to share my needs, wants and desires with Him because he knows me personally. He is faithful, meets all of my needs and encourages me not to worry because he has my best interest in mind.

Last year, his faithful attentiveness to my prayer requests resulted in:

Friend and family relationships renewed and strengthened; college completion for my daughter; near college completion for me along with lots of safe travel and energy to maintain the horrific time constraints that I was under (without losing my sanity or health); a timely job dismissal for my son, which opened the door for an excellent job in his desired line of work; my husband’s continual employment; other family members’ smooth transition which involved the sale of a home, two moves and some health challenges…

The list could go on and on. The picture is clear—the Lord is faithful to meet all of our needs. The only catch is that you know Him, not know about Him.

What’s my fate in 2008? Well, actually, I don’t believe in fate. Instead, I have faith in my Lord and just like 2007, I know 2008 will be great.

Check out some of the many ways the Lord is faithful by clicking here.

Happy New Year!

You can find more intriguing writings like this at http://www.keytofreedom.org/faq.html

Patience at any Cost

I am impatient by nature. I know this about myself. Two ancient proverbs remind the reader:

Sensible people control their temper (are patient); they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.

Through patience, a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

What about when impatience leads to more than just an unkind word? What about when impatience leads to child abuse or dangerous fits of rage? There’s only so much “self talk” can do for some people. Sometimes no matter how patient we want to be, or how much self-control we want to display, a person still does not have enough strength or ability to overcome the situation. To that person I say, don’t feel bad, we’re all just like that—outta control and impatient.

The difference, however, is that when a person knows God through his Son, he or she does have enough to overcome the situation.

In return for surrendering your life to Jesus Christ, you receive His Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit living in you that strengthens you to overcome things like being outta control and impatient.

What have you got to lose? How much could real patience cost? I pray you’ll consider a life with the One who cares most about you.

You can find more intriguing writings like this at http://www.keytofreedom.org/faq.html

Joy to the World!

A recent article on MSNBC entitled “How to be Happy Again” says it all, we all face unhappiness at some point in our lives. I’ve heard it said that being happy is based on what is “happening.” If this is so, then there has to be a better way to go through life merely hoping for happiness.

On the other hand, joy comes from within—but only if we know the Source of joy. You are probably familiar with the old song commonly sung at Christmastime Joy to the World. The first stanza reads:

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room,

And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

But, are you familiar with the promise offered in the third? Turn up the volume and take a look and listen. One day, Jesus will be King here on earth. There really will be a time when Christ will heal the earth and there will be no more thorns and weeds (a part of the curse). Until that time, there will inevitably be sorrow, tears and unhappiness in our lives.

God sent Joy to the world. This truth provides hope, and hope leads to joy, and joy comes from knowing Jesus as Savior. He fills our hearts with joy!

Read more about this good news here

You can find more intriguing writings like this at http://www.keytofreedom.org/faq.html

On the Contrary

At the opposite spectrum of my last post, life with a true meaning leads to life—eternal life in the presence of a loving God. However, until we get there, we live here and “here” requires us to deal with a less than perfect life.

Perhaps we can have peace like a flower—even in this crazy, chaotic world we live in. It is our tendency to borrow trouble from the future—especially during this season. We spend our energy worrying about the right gift, the right card or the right tree. We become frantic and pressured looking at the many demands on our to-do list. We lie awake obsessing over plans for the upcoming weeks.

Meanwhile, there is a gift of peace waiting for all who will stop and simply ask for it. The gift I speak of is what the Christmas season is all about—Jesus Christ. The gift of peace can be ours for the asking. There is a simple but profound principle in the Bible about peace:

Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I don’t know about where you live, but here, every piece of vegetation is still covered in ice from a recent ice storm that came through. However, when springtime comes and the flowers bloom, they will do so without any worry or stress. They will simply sit and soak up the sunshine of their Creator.

Children go through life in a similar fashion, delighting here and now untroubled by the future. When we find that wholehearted simplicity, we too shall know the peace that transcends the chaos of our lives.

Contrary to those who feel their lives are meaningless there are those who know their life has meaning. It is this knowledge that gives them peace—like a flower.

You can find more intriguing writings like this at http://www.keytofreedom.org/faq.html

Meaningless Existence Leads to Death

This week’s news of Matthew Murray, the gunman that opened fire not once, but twice at two religious organizations in Colorado, leaves me nauseous. Not for the crime, nor for the locations, so much as for the dark, driving force inside this young man. He said it himself on his blogsite, "I've just snapped. I can't take this meaningless existence anymore…”¹

It doesn’t have to be this way. Yes, Matthew grew up going to church, but that doesn’t mean he knew God as his Savior. If he did ever meet God and give his life to Him, he stopped depending on Him to be his strength in time of trouble—he had no hope. Murray was not alone in his misery:

·         Four days earlier a gunman in Omaha opened fire into a crowded mall, killed eight people and then killed himself.²

·         Studies show, “Mental health problems and suicide rates have increased among U.S. troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.”³

·         A woman leaped from an 11-story Tokyo apartment Wednesday in an apparent suicide, striking and seriously injuring a passer-by, a news report said Wednesday (the same day as Omaha).⁴

·         The suicide rate among preteen and young teen girls spiked dramatically in a disturbing shift that federal health officials say they can't fully explain. For all young people between ages 10 to 24, the suicide rate rose 8 percent from 2003 to 2004 the biggest single-year bump in 15 years ." These rates include older teen girls, those aged 15-19 shot up 32 percent. ⁵

The statistics could go on for pages. I know you know that. However, what federal health officials cannot explain can be explained in one word—hopelessness. It is here I will sound like the “broken record” and repeat myself yet again. God is our hope, the only hope for mankind. It’s a daily journey of knowing him through his Word (the Bible), depending on the principles therein and trusting that our lives are not meaningless. Our existence is not some futile random chance.

There really is a God. There really is life after death—either in the presence of the loving God or in eternal darkness away from God. Jesus really is the reason for the season. I pray his peace will surround and encourage all of those whose lives have been affected by the tragedies of this last week.

Know God; know peace. No God; no peace.

Know God; know hope. No God; no hope.

Find words of comfort and encouragement here.

You can find more intriguing writings like this at http://www.keytofreedom.org/faq.html

1 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,316387,00.html

2 http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/05/mall.shooting/

3 http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=3860587

4 http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3801575

5 http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=3574114

A White, Black or Blue Christmas?

The images that come to mind of a white Christmas come from many movies and Courier & Ives Christmas cards from times past. I always idealized the idea of waking up to snow, a glowing fireplace and a house full of laughter and lots of people on Christmas morning. I had none of these growing up in California. But, in my heart, I’ve always had a white Christmas, so there must be more to it than the external things.

In the past few years, moviemakers have gone out of their way to make the point that not everyone has a white, but a black Christmas. I respect free speech and creative artistry, but I also think Hollywood could spare us the darkness of their horror films and nightmare stories after Halloween.

Google revealed to me that some independent film captured our last title “Blue Christmas.” I had no knowledge of that, but a melody of an old song sure comes to mind as I say the words blue Christmas. Depending on your age, you can hear the tune in your head now that I’ve mentioned it, especially if your mom subjected you the Elvis’ Christmas album every December. The poor guy in the song was going to have a blue, blue, blue Christmas if he couldn’t be with his girl. Ah, it is here that we begin to capture the reality of Christmas.

A White Christmas is probably not very idealistic for the majority of the 6 billion people in our world. Millions are homeless, starving and in poverty. I’m unfamiliar with the black side of Christmas as some films seem to depict, but I believe there is a dark side, an evil adversary that oppresses. So perhaps some will identify with a black Christmas. However, a Blue Christmas could easily describe the emptiness and loneliness many feel during this time of programmed merriment in societies all around the world.

Handling grief and sorrow will be a daily internal exercise for many who find themselves in the middle of a season designed to use external devices as a catalyst to accomplish an ideal internal feeling of happiness. How are we to combine the two? We can’t. So the quicker we stop trying the better we’ll be.

Jesus the Christ came into this world. Yes, he is called “Wonderful Counselor…Prince of Peace” but he is also…a Man of sorrow and acquainted with grief…Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…any by his stripes [and death on the cross] we are healed. He also heals the brokenhearted.^1-3

There’s more to Christmas than what we see going on “out there.” Christmas is for you. Jesus came to heal your broken heart, to give you peace in the loneliest hour of your grief, and to be your wonderful counselor. He is God’s gift to you. Will you accept it?

Click here for insight into the Hope that comes because of what Christmas signifies.

References 1 2 3

You can find more intriguing writings like this at http://www.keytofreedom.org/faq.html

Vacuum and Vortex

By definition a vacuum is “a space with nothing at all in it; a space from which most of the air or gas has been taken.” Interestingly, a vortex is “a whirlpool, whirlwind or anything like a whirl in its rush…”

The “holiday” season is upon us. This means that for the next 20 days people all over the world will be living in a vortex while trying to fill a vacuum. You know what I’m talking about if you visit a mall any Saturday in December. You’ll also moan and groan as you fight an enormous entourage of traffic or drive round and round at that same mall parking lot. Last but not least, there are the airports. Every one rushing here and there, coming and going, and for what?

If it is merely the “holiday” season for you, you most likely are trying to fill a vacuum. Although shopping fills our trunks, it empties our bank account. Similarly, traveling afar to visit friends, families and loved ones can temporarily fill your heart with comfort and happiness. But, when you return home, routine will pull the plug on your bliss and the emptiness will return. The vortex of the holiday season did not fill the vacuum of your heart.

Only an understanding of the reason for the season, the Christmas season, will fill the void. For 2000 years, Jesus has been the reason for the season. The Christ child was born away from the hustle and rush of the city. He came into the world to fill the vacuum of humanity—one at a time.

Could the reason for the season really be the baby in the manger? Let me know what you think.

You can find more intriguing writings like this at http://www.keytofreedom.org/resources.html

Who Can You Trust?

Once someone betrays my trust, it takes a long time and a lot of care on the offender’s part before I freely trust them again. Today, please consider who you have trusted (family, loved one, authorities, educational system, politicians—okay now I’m just kidding). Who has kept their word and who has let you down, or worse yet—betrayed you?

I recently spoke to someone who said, “I used to trust God, but not anymore.” He felt as though God had let him down because things didn’t go right in his life. I am certain this man is not alone in his assumptions about God’s responsibility to humans. Unfortunately, it is a naïve assumption that concludes that God is required to make us happy or keep our life pleasant.

As I consider all of the various people and entities in my life, there is only one with a proven track record for always keeping his word and his promises. That one would be God.

Before you click the red X and close this window, consider what you know about God personally and from independent research. If you’ve not read His words (the Bible) for yourself, you’re being cheated. He does not promise life to be a bed of roses and free from trouble. In fact, those whose stories are captured on the pages of Scripture reveal just the opposite. However, throughout 6000 years of recorded history, God has kept his word. He does not change. He is trustworthy.

Who can you trust? You can trust God through Jesus Christ his son.

Read the prologue to the story here.  Let me know what you think.

You can find more intriguing writings like this at http://www.keytofreedom.org/resources.html

A Bug's Life

A recent conversation with my daughter about a book she read made me stop and think.

Here’s my summary. The book tells a story of the main character that woke up one day and found he had turned into a bug. The family handled this peculiar change by closing the bedroom door, bringing him food twice a day and waiting. But, for what did they wait? I’m not sure. Eventually the bug—the family member— died and the book ended.

Speaking of how does that make you feel (see 11/14 post), aside from the absurdity of a human physically turning into an insect, don’t you feel empty at the end of that story? To think that a human life has no more value than a creature with six or eight legs which at the end of his or her existence ends up in a dusty corner, like a dead  spider or dehydrated cricket is a meaningless life.

We are not insects. We are not part of the animal kingdom. When we die, it means something to someone. If no one on earth notices, there is a God, the creator of all life, who notices and who cares. He cares about our life as well as our death.

Insects do not love, do not think and do not feel. Humans do. God created us in his image, so he does too.

Do you feel like your living a bug’s life, that someone could squash you and no one would care or notice?

God cares. Look up and ask him if what I’m saying is true.

You can find more intriguing writings like this at http://www.keytofreedom.org/resources.html