Journal of Faith: Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling Philippians 2:12

 I was thinking this morning about how blessed I am to have the family that I have, one that intrduced me to Jesus and has allowed me to see them grapple with the word of God and their faith, but what if they were wrong? What if I am wrong?  What if Jesus isn't the way, the truth, or the life?      If Christianity isn't true then there are millions of people who are trying to live honorable lives.  They are giving to the biggest charity in the world, the church.   They are forgiving people who didn't say I'm sorry because they believe that they have been forgiven.  If its not true then there are Christians out there who have made mistakes and are trying to make it right and/or grow beyond it.  They are trying to live in a way that doesn't harm others.  There are millions of people right now who are clinging on to hope in dire situations.  There are millions of people singing and dancing in spite of what it looks like around them....

As a parent (boy mom of three as of last week!),  my children do things sometimes that they know are not right, and some days I get so angry that I have to pass the responsibility of punishment on to my husband just to make things more objective.  Why do I get so angry?  I get angry because I want my sons to become men worthy of honor that show the glory of the LORD in their lives.  Their willful disobedience is in direct resistance to the legacy that I am trying to build, and it is embarrassing!   Sometimes when we go out, I have one child asking for everything, one child wandering off, and one child (as of last week) crying as if I have done him some terrible disservice.  Now imagine all of this happening in front of some kids that know my family and don't particularly like us.  Spectaters or not it is my responsibility to correct my children and you bet I do, but I also am aware that I still have to protect my family from those who would try to dest...

     I was reminded this morning in my devotion that God wants me to enjoy the best life.  It is funny because I had to explain this to one of my sons yesterday.  He was angry because my husband and I were getting on his case about not listening to instructions before running off to do what "he thought we wanted".  Really, he was just running off to do what he was willing to do rather than what we asked him to do.  This resulted in us giving him unwanted redirection.  We made him start over and do things the way that we told him to originally.  This was a time sensitive instruction because we had a family event to go to.  He was holding us up with his disobedience and lack of cooperation. He bulked and got angry when he realized that we would not be going until he complied.  He cried and insisted that he wanted to go. He thought that he was fast tracking the process by doing things his way when really he was slowing everythin...

The bended knee can represent many things. For some it means defeat, for other it means rearing to go, but for me in means dedication.  If I am on my knees it means that I have refused to quit. I have made a choice not to lay down and die.  To be on my knees means that my pride has taken a backseat to my determination and faith. I am tired, but it's not over. I may be injured, but it's not over. I may have lost some ground, but I am going to find it. I may not know how to win, but I have a God who never loses. As I bend down God stands up for me.  I would argue that the best place to be is down on your knees. From here you can learn things that you may have missed from your previous perspective and from here you can gather your strength. Scripture says that God's strength is made perfect in weakness.  When you bend the knee to God, he will fight for you. To bend the knee is to honor the Lord and when you humble yourself before the Lord, he will lift you up. ...

There are so many times that it seems like people who are doing wrong get away with it, but if I am to remain in the will of God I can not afford to give up when it looks like I am on the losing team.  There are so many people who have committed crimes in broad daylight only to have courts  say that it wasn't what it looked like and let them go free.  There have been so many times in my life when others around me lied or cheated and got away with it.  I have little to no faith in this world's justice system. What sometimes makes things even harder for me is that I've seen people who love God and have put their pride, livelihood, and  relationships on the line for their faith only to be mocked, misunderstood, and written off.  It's upsetting to see God's people treated so badly, but scripture says not to worry about what it looks like because no matter how puffed up the devil and those who follow him get it is a losing battle for him.  No matter how bad...