Category Archives: life

FIRST — What am I seeking?

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About a year ago, God pointed out to me my phone addiction… God: “Janet, what do you do when you first wake up?” Me: “Uh…grab my phone and check Facebook… then the weather.”

I wasn’t exactly walking in obedience to what Jesus said…

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I came across this video last night and it has been very impactful to me. Take few moments and watch.

Jesus told us: 

““Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We are to pay attention to the Word. “Consider carefully.” Relationship with God doesn’t just happen. If we want to be close to God and experience Him in a close friendship. We have to invest our TIME! The measure of the time we spend seeking Him. Is what we receive. If we are investing in our relationship we will receive from Him and then some!

He’s waiting on us to respond to His invitation to “Know Him.”

This is where true life is! 

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What are we seeking first, to KNOW Him or to KNOW our social media feed…? Only one option gives eternal life!

James: Rotting Wealth…

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(This week we read James 5)

“Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days… You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.”
‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭2‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“He who dies with the most toys wins.” (attributed to Malcom Forbes.) Is this true?

James warns against living in “luxury and self indulgence.” There is danger in pursuing “stuff” over pursuing Jesus! When we believe what we possess materially is of more importance than what we possess spiritually, we are in deep trouble. The love of money will produce evil in our lives.

It is not wrong to possess wealth, but we must keep it in the correct position in our lives. What we own is not ours. All that we have and all that we are belongs to God. If we are blessed with possessions, we are to use those possessions to bless others.

The pursuit of wealth over the pursuit of God will lead to emptiness. In the end, what we have owned here will not follow us into eternity. Wealth will rot… Only one thing is eternal and will matter when we die — Jesus! When it is all done our goal should be to hear Him say, “Well done.”

Whatever our financial status may be, abundantly rich or just scraping by, a life lived after “self- indulgence” will end in death. Once again, life is not about me and what I possess. It is all about Jesus.

Not my will but His be done!

James: Is Your Faith Dead or Alive?

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(Today is James 2)

“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”  James 2:26

Faith is the assent of the mind or understanding to the truth of what God has revealed. (Webster’s 1828) It is receiving and believing the truth. Faith requires action! If we believe something is true we will act upon it.

In verse 25 of chapter 2, James refers to the account in the Old Testament of Rahab. She had HEARD of the great miracles that God performed for Israel in delivering them from Egypt. When she heard the truth, she BELIEVED that God was, “God in Heaven above and on the earth below.” (Joshua 2:11) She wanted to be on the right side when God gave the Israelites victory over Jericho. So she ACTED. She hid the Israelite spies. Her faith in what she had heard was alive! 

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

God has given each of us a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3) We all have the ability to believe. The Word that is alive and active comes to us. The choice is ours. Do we receive the Word and act upon it with our obedience? If we do, we will experience life. But if we hear the truth in the Word and reject it by choosing to do our own thing, we will live in spiritual death.

If Rahab had heard the testimonies of what God was doing for the Israelites and continued doing what she always did, she would not have acted upon what she heard by hiding the Israelites spies. She and her family would have died with the rest of the people in Jericho who did not believe in God and act upon what they had heard about Him.

God’s word is inspired. Which means it is God-breathed. God’s breath of life is in His Word. When we receive His life being breathed into us through His Word, we will come alive and our actions will display the life of God within us.

Is your faith alive? Or is it dead? Do you hear the Word of God and obey it? 

“Faith without deeds is dead.”

James: Sin’s Birth

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(Today we read James 1)

“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Sin is a choice. It doesn’t just happen. We know the good we should do, but we don’t do it. (James 4:17) There is a progression towards sin and death.

  1. Evil desire — i.e. lust. Longing for what we know is wrong.
  2. Enticement — temptation. Baited. Satan schemes against us. He looks for ways to get us to fall into his sinful traps. He places these lures before us with the desire for us to go after them.
  3. Sin — a voluntary turning from what is right.
  4. Death — Sin separates us from God. God is life. Sin keeps us from His life.

The truth is what we decide to listen to matters. Our evil desires/ lusts are fed by our selfish choices. Our selfish choices are fed by our thoughts.

In Jesus we can live victoriously over sin. He gives us a new heart that desires to follow Him and obey. He has given us His Word that renews our mind to think His thoughts. 

“How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God has created us to desire. He wants to be our one desire!

Don’t be “dragged away” by choosing to listen to the old lustful desires of your self life. Focus on Jesus and His Word. Let Him be the One Thing you long for!

Show Us The Father — Life

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Today is Mark 15 and 16.

Every time I read the account of the crucifixion, I feel a sense of sadness. To think of the accusations, the false trial, the mocking, the beatings, the carrying of the cross up the hill of Golgotha, the nails being driven into Jesus, and Him being lifted up on the cross… such sadness.

But Praise God the story does not end in death.

Jesus came to show us life! Not only show us, but to make the way for us to experience His life. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life…” We experience Life when we experience Him! He and the Father are one. Our Heavenly Father is life!

From the moment of creation, when Our Heavenly Father breathed life into every living being, until now. He is the ultimate source of life. The very breath of life we experience in our lungs comes straight from Him. However there will be a day when that breathing will cease in each one of us… What then?

Jesus showed us on resurrection Sunday what God’s good plan for us is — resurrection life! Eternal life!

We do not have to fear death. Our Heavenly Father desires for us to experience His eternal life. Sin brought death into our world, but we do not have to experience an eternity of the separation of death. 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?””
‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Love Birds

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“Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 9:9 Berean Study Bible

When Rich and I were dating we exchanged love letters via mail since long distance phone bills were a thing back then. In one of the letters I wrote “When we get married, we need to get a couch and a big TV. So we can talk through the commercials and kiss through the show.” Young love… ☺️ It turns out we have two recliners that sit side by side. Most evenings you will find us there.

I went out to have my time with Jesus this morning and these two doves sat there on my roof, for the longest time, just hanging out. It made me think of us.

Time has flown by. It was 32 years ago that I made the suggestion for our couch and TV in that letter I sent. Solomon was right when he wrote that life was “fleeting”. Time has went by fast.

There are times I don’t show how much I appreciate just hanging out like these two Doves/ lovebirds did this morning. But I truly do.

Rich and I had a whirlwind romance that was mainly in the summer of 92 or as we like to call it our “Summer of Love”. It was one of the happiest times of all. But I’m thankful for the 32 years of a “Life of Love” that we have had hanging out “Enjoying life” together. God has given us a very good “portion in life”.
Love you Baby! 😘

We Stand Between Two Offers

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Make no mistake about it, we were made to receive. We will accept what is offered to us by one of two choices what God gives freely to us or what the world gives with a price we cannot afford to pay. To not choose God will by default be a choice to receive from the world. We will either know God in intimate relationship, or we will know the world and its ways in a destructive relationship with it, being shaped by its influence and receiving only what it gives.

Jesus spoke of the choice that we all must make and the fruits of that choice:

”“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”“ John 16:33 NIV
”The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.“ John 10:10 ESV

Jesus offers us a life filled with peace and life. The world offers us a life of trouble far from the relationship with our Creator, God, for which we are designed. What the world offers us will steal from us and destroy us. Ultimately it will kill us. Anything short of a living in a vibrant relationship with God is a life filled with death, darkness, and destruction.

It is important to take a look at what you are experiencing in your life. We can see that God created us for experience. He gave us our senses to hear, see, touch, taste and smell. He also has given us our spiritual senses to understand and know the things we cannot with our five outward senses. What are you experiencing within yourself? What you are experiencing reflects who you are receiving from.

If your life is a life of turmoil within— anger, anxiety, bitterness, fear, etc. You are being robbed from. You are being destroyed. Your connection with God is at the very least clogged, if not non existent making it impossible to receive from your loving Creator, God.

If your life is a life of peace, joy, and love. You are connected and receiving from God. You are experiencing a close relationship with the giver of all good things.

We have been given a choice of whom we will receive from. May our hearts long for a pure and free flowing connection to the one who generously gives life to those who will receive it, Jesus!

Don’t be a Fool — Reflections on Proverbs 26

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A fool- . “In scripture, fool is often used for a wicked or depraved person; one who acts contrary to sound wisdom in his moral deportment; one who follows his own inclinations, who prefers trifling and temporary pleasures to the service of God and eternal happiness.” (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary) 

”The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.“…” Psalms 14:1 NIV

Years ago, as a young college student, I spoke the words of the verse above on campus during my lunch hour. A passerby turned to me and said, “There is no God.” My reply was, “Don’t be a fool.”

Proverbs often warns of being a fool. A fool cannot hear the truth or follow wisdom. Today’s Proverb warns of giving honor to them by listening to their voice or following their advice.

The footnotes in my study Bible say, “A fool remains a fool whether he is answered or not.” A fool only wants to follow self. His wisdom is his own thoughts. His deeds will reflect him. He will repeatedly do what is wrong, sin, no matter the consequences.

Today’s Proverb puts it this way:

“As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.“ Proverbs 26:11 NIV

The foolish person serves only himself and his sin. Being foolish is a trap. It is a cycle of disappointment, distress, and pain, but there is no desire to come to God and be free. The fool doesn’t believe it worth his while to acknowledge God and follow God’s ways.

As I warned the passerby years ago, I warn you now. Do not be a fool! A fool’s way seems to be right to him, but it only ends in death, darkness, and destruction.

Choose life! Choose Wisdom! Choose God!

Established – Reflections on Proverbs 24

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Nelson Family – Established January 2, 1993

Thirty one years ago Rich and I began. Through a formal ceremony and the exchanged of vows God ordained our home. We have worked to build a life together ever since.

Today’s Proverb once again speaks of wisdom:

”By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.“

Proverbs 24:3-4 NIV

Wisdom is the knowledge of the fear of the Lord. It comes from us seeing God for who He is and having a reverence for His greatness. This gives us the desire to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. It also gives us the desire to hate sin, not want anything to do with it.

Wisdom is what builds our house— our lives. Understanding, agreeing with, that wisdom establishes them.

Deep within us all we desire to see something firm and fixed within our lives. Something that will look forward to the future with hope that does not waver or be destroyed by life’s storms. Jesus is the wisdom from heaven. He is the firm foundation on which our lives are built and they will not be shaken no matter what storms may come. When we come into agreement with Him and understanding of His Lordship over our lives we are established. When we find Him, our Heavenly Wisdom, we can rest assured of this promise.

“…there is a future for you, and your hope will not be cut off.” (Verse 14)

How is your life established? Is it built on the Rock of Jesus or on the shifting sands of a life built on self? A life built on Jesus is the only one that will stand.

What’s in Your Heart — Reflections on Proverbs 21

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”A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.“ Proverbs 21:2 NIV

What is in your heart? Your spiritual heart is the most important thing about you and me. It is very important for us to understand this. We are free to choose our ways. We often think our ways we choose are the best for us. Simply put we think we are right.

The problem is our desires often are self focused. This comes from a heart that is not entirely, totally and completely given up to God.

God weighs our heart. He examines it. If we ask Him to, He will reveal it to us. This is why David prayed:

”Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.“ Psalms 139:23-24 NIV

If we want to live the blessed life, the life that is happy in God, our hearts need to be cleansed of any offensive or wicked way it may have. Sin needs to be cut away from it!

”Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.“ Proverbs 21:21 NIV

Pursuing righteousness, purity of heart, by obedience to God and what He says in His Word is how we give our hearts to God. Pursuing love or denying all our selfish wants and desires to give ourselves to God in total obedience is how we “find life.”

The question becomes “What is in my heart? What does it desire and pursue more than anything?”

What God finds when He examines or “weighs” our hearts is very important. It is a matter of spiritual life or spiritual death.