by Carol Roberts | Sep 17, 2018 | Hope
Our defeats are God’s chances to be the Victor. We may not understand why we continue to be the victim of numerous circumstances but God stands firm in lieu of us. While we are tempted to tackle the task of handling certain things on our on, wait.
When we retort in anger people see us. When we are silent people experience God through us. It’s true that many injustices come to us and there are times God will prompt us to speak but until God leads we are to stand firm. As we stand in His strength and not retaliate in our own strength we end up being used by God to strengthen others in ways we may never understand. It’s important to remember our reason for being here.
Exodus 14:14 New Living Translation
The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.
by Carol Roberts | Sep 9, 2018 | Friendship
The imitation of love is all around us. It has become accepted because it has gone on for so long. One person summed it up not too long ago when he said his love is automatic.
Automatic means never having to demonstrate any act of love. Automatic means a person should know love is there without ever getting any type of acknowledgement or response. Automatic means knowing overtures and efforts are enjoyed but receive no acknowledgement in return. Only silent treatments are returned for even the best efforts. Automatic means being placed on one’s shelf and forgotten, but keep those efforts coming anyway.
This has become the normal routine for many people these days. Once trust is earned by proper responses and godly fellowship a “no need to respond” attitude develops. Earned trust for some people means a trophy and not a life long friend. Once people have become a trophy they can forget about being treated any way but with a silent treatment.
Who needs friends like this? There is no need to apologize to them and for sure no need to have such trophy winners in our lives. It is no honor to be a trophy on a human being’s shelf. Even with God, the only people He places on His shelf are the unusable people.
We are to hate this type of wrong doings by arrogant people and hold tightly to the genuine love of Jesus Christ. Jesus will see to it we are used wisely in this life and He will see to it we have friends of value to accompany us along the way.
Romans 12:9 New Living Translation
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.
by Carol Roberts | Sep 8, 2018 | Hope
There are times when life gets the best of us. We come across situations we can do nothing about and even if we try it will just make matters worse. Something we say is taken the wrong way or a smile of approval is interpreted as we are poking fun at somebody.
People these days are angry. Officials have removed God from the equation as a result of a handful of protesters. Political correctness has replaced God in many situations and unfortunately nobody is able to please this correctness. If we meet the standards of this correctness there is always something new we do not satisfy. The ones pushing this correctness are empty inside and they are searching for answers through bullying and protesting. Even if we give them everything they want the emptiness inside them still cries out as they seek their answer through this correctness.
Life without Christ is the absolute worst type of loneliness anyone can experience yet Christ is the one some people protest the most. What does God require of us when we encounter such angriness from people? Many times we are required to just remain still and silent and let God do His work. Our focus is to remain on Him and He will protect us and allow things to work out. Confronting these people adds fuel to an already raging inferno and it will surely leave us walking away totally defeated.
Leaving them alone with their anger will cause them to eventually burn themselves out, especially if we are trusting God to bring these situations to a quick close. Prayer is always the best thing when we ask God to deal with their emptiness and broken hearts. Only then can a person realize their answer lies in the very one they reject. God takes care of us and He makes sure we are tucked securely in the shadow of His wings until the storms pass.
Psalm 62:5-6 New Living Translation
Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.
by Carol Roberts | Sep 5, 2018 | Salvation
Jesus is our true Cornerstone. He is the way, the truth and the life. We either accept Him as Savior and turn toward Him or turn away completely. There are no half turnarounds.
As we seek to live our lives for Him there will be many to listen to us and observe the way we live our lives. Others will laugh at us or make our lives miserable because they either do not understand or they don’t want any part of us.
The responses of other people are things we cannot control but we can always choose to stand firm in our commitments to our Lord. God never judges us on the opinion of others but instead His love toward us. He sees us at all times and His loving arms are always reaching out to us. His love is greater than anything we can own or achieve here.
Psalm 118:22 New Living Translation
The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.
by Carol Roberts | Sep 3, 2018 | Salvation
The truth is all around us. We look to the sky at night and it’s plain to see the stars, moon, sunsets, comets and meteors. In the day the sun shines too brightly to look up but we also can see various cloud formations that let us know what type weather to expect. On earth are many signs of God’s greatness.
The different types of soils throughout the world allow a variety of crops and plants to grow. The deserts and streams have unique types of beauty that only God can create. The mountains and oceans are bigger than anything humans can create. If God can do all of this, why is it trust in Him is difficult for us.
We look at our friendships and we know who is loyal and who tends to turn on us when we need them. Jesus is always loyal. He never changes. The unfortunate thing with people is we are all inconsistent at times because there is always the pull between what is right and what is wrong.
The devil is notorious for inching a little at a time until one day years of lies erupt like a volcano. When lies are exposed things can get nasty between people. Lies will rebel, especially when they have been told for years on end and people have slowly accepted them as normal. However the dust will settle and people can heal. People will know the truth and be free to place trust in more reliable people.
Truth heals and truth promotes spiritual growth. It’s true that people do not want to confront lies because of the retaliation in relationships of all types; friendship, marriage, business or political. However once truth and trust are established the healing begins.
Romans 1:18-20 New Living Translation
But God shows His anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.