The closet is under attack and the good guys are winning!

I made it through the winter, that is if it’s finally over. I dare to hope!

I will remain scarce here though because I’ve actually started clearing stuff out around this place to prepare for our move.

The closet? No, I haven’t tackled it yet but soon, very soon.

I’m using the Holly motto when purging. I don’t recall which post she said it in but somewhere she mentioned her criteria. “If I don’t love it or use it, it’s gone.” That one statement is really helping me in this purge. Thanks, Holly. I always learn so much from you!

I haven’t been on my little blog much lately. Instead I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I’ve thought and I’ve thought and as minutes turned into hours, hours into days, still I could be found thinking about the Christ, Jesus the Christ to be exact.

I’ve thought about the definition of the word Christian, which I’ve learned means “belonging to Christ.” I’ve thought about Jesus as my Life, not just in my life. And finally I’ve thought about the words found in Galatians 2:20,

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

I know, I know, that’s probably way too much thinking for someone like me but rest assured no one, myself included, was hurt during this long, strenuous process. I’m sure the padded helmet helped tremendously.

Anyway, this morning my mind seemed to be headed into a new direction, or so I thought. I awoke thinking how foolish I was at times to seek after happiness, fulfillment, contentment, even godliness or righteousness. I thought about how many times I had heard different people witnessing to non-believers say that Christ could save them from hell, if they would just believe in him. Even worse, I had heard others say that they should believe in Jesus to find peace and happiness in this life.

While all of the outcomes may be good, right, pure, and true, should we really be seeking the benefits above the benefactor? Should our goal be to have it all together, to be faultless? Is that what makes us a Christian? Should we be telling people to believe in Christ for the benefits it brings to their life? And if I’m seeking after these things rather than the one who provides them, is there anyway I can ever find them?

I think not.

I’m sure many of us have, even if we don’t relish admitting it, flipped on TBN just in time to catch Benny Hinn or another word-of-faith teacher tell us to send in our seed money or our $1000 faith gift, “even if you can’t afford it, in fact especially if you can’t afford it.” Their reasoning is that God can not be out given so if we give, then God will have to give back to us. The more we give then the more we get, and if we don’t have, it’s because we haven’t given. It’s easy to see the discrepancy between their teaching versus the Word of God. They aren’t teaching obedience to His Word but rather seek the benefits, with their own little twists of the truth thrown in for good measure.

But how is seeking righteousness any different? Isn’t righteousness the outcome of a life surrendered to Christ, one that is laid down in sacrifice to the one who gave His all for us? If I truly no longer live, as Galatians says, but Christ lives in me, then won’t Christ be doing the same today in me, as He did 2000 years ago? That is to say, won’t He be about His Father’s business, living in complete obedience to God? So then the only thing I should be seeking is to allow Christ in me to be obedient to God’s Word.

There will come a day when each one of us stands before the God of all creation and we will have to answer to Him for our life here on earth. Some will have nothing to say for themselves at all, they never believed, some even boldly denied, that the God of the Bible is the one true living God.

Then there will be those who claim the name of Jesus as their VIP pass into heaven, they’ll stand before God and say, “I believed in Jesus, I read the Bible, I went to church every Sunday, and I even put my children in Christian school.” Yet Jesus will be standing next to them listening the whole time that they speak and they will not recognize Him. Not until they hear Him say, “I never knew you, depart from me…” And off they’ll go sporting the perfect hairstyle, the perfect education, maybe even the perfect reputation. As 2 Timothy 3:5 puts it,

“having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.”

I don’t want to be found standing in either of these lines. If the truth be told, I’d rather take the service elevator to my Savior’s throne and be cleaning the leather or polishing the jewels encrusted in it when this is going on.

When all is said and done, the fires of judgment will diminish, and only those things done by Jesus himself through me will remain to be rewarded. The rewards are not the benefit I seek but only to stand approved before God, and it is only Christ in me that can accomplish this goal. Christ in me is truly the hope of glory!

The difference -

Holy people behave in certain ways because they love God.
Hypocrites behave in certain ways because they want others to think they love God.

~~~

Holy people are concerned about being pleasing to God - inside and out.
Hypocrites are concerned about how they are perceived by others.

~~~

Holy people have a heart to love and serve others, regardless of their socioeconomic status.
Hypocrites like to associate with “movers and shakers” and the “up-and-coming,” to enhance their own standing.

~~~

Holy people bow to the authority of Scripture and live radically obedient lives.
Hypocrites will excuse disobedience to the Word of God through use of pious-sounding logic, while slavishly adhering to their own man-made rules and standards.

~~~

Holy people give themselves unreservedly to God and are patient with others who are still in the process.
Hypocrites expect more from others than they are willing to give of themselves.

~~~

Holy people have a humble estimation of themselves because God is their standard.
Hypocrites compare themselves to others and develop a spiritual superiority complex.

~~~

Holy people base their convictions on the standard of God’s Word.
Hypocrites exalt personal preferences and human traditions to a position of equal (or greater) authority with the Word of God.

~~~

Holy people are real.
Hypocrites pretend…

• to do things they don’t.
  to abstain from things they do.
  to love things they hate.
  to hate things they love.
  to want things they dread.
  to dread things they want.

Well that ought to give us all something to think on for a while.

List taken from Seeking Him: Experiencing the Joy of Personal Revival study, pages 121, 122.

I’m going to be working behind the scenes right now to upgrade my Wordpress and a few other things. If I accidentally send out a couple thousand emails again well then I’m sorry. Please let it be noted that I am a doofus and also I have apologized in advance.

Once I’m done with the bloggy maintenance - and yes I am choosing to do this rather than tackle the closet, thank you for asking - I’ll be back with a list straight from the Seeking Him study of the differences between holy people and hypocrites. This study is working me over. I want to cry at how much closer to God I feel already. Getting rid of the so called “little things” that have been hindering my walk with Him is making a world of difference.

By the way, two emails down… one to go. The hardest one is yet to come.

Are you here because you received a Thank You email?

Have you ever experienced a situation where God chooses to humble you and all you can do is laugh because if you don’t you’ll cry out of embarrassment? If so maybe you’ll understand how I feel.

Yesterday, my husband and I had a very intense discussion about sin. We talked about the need to be able to face and confront the sin in our lives in order to be able to repent of it. The discussion was the catalyst to me confronting the sin I struggle with and that is, avoiding confrontation. I also struggle with forgiveness both asking for and offering it. As you can imagine this means that my relationships suffer. I told my husband the names of three people that came to mind. These are people that I’ve had difficulties with in the past and that I know I should have responded to differently. I should have been honest with my feelings and more forgiving of their sin.

I said that when I was ready I was going to contact them.

Did you catch the, “when I was ready” part?

Hours later I found myself importing my old blog into this blog in order to have a place to save all of the old posts and comments. I made every post private first because I didn’t plan on displaying them. Then I promptly forgot about my plugin that thanks new visitors and began importing.

Those three people received Thank You’s along with hundreds of other people.

I blog under a pen name now so obviously this is a bit disconcerting. I also have a picture of myself in the header so I know many will know who I am.

If you are here because you received one of these emails. I apologize. I’m sorry for any inconvenience I have caused you.

If you are one of the three people I mentioned above consider this God’s intervention and expect an email very soon. Another email, that is.

Oh and one more thing… if you think you’re one of the three people but you don’t get an email from me then feel free to contact me and (gently) tell me what I did wrong.

Please take the time to watch all three parts (links available when first part ends). You won’t regret it, I promise.
Rick Burgess, the man speaking, is a radio host in the south. Boomama pointed me in his direction.

Talk about glorifying Jesus!

Cathy sat on my sofa in tears, she could barely recount what had happened.

Her story began a year and a half ago. Her daughter had been living a life of pretense. She would gladly talk about the Lord and what she’d read in His Word but rarely would she apply it to her own life. It wasn’t long before her daughter was forced to admit her sin. After all, it would only be another seven months before every one would know anyway.

Cathy handled the news with amazing grace; a baby was on the way. Her husband, without the benefit of a relationship with Jesus, had a harder time dealing with it. But he was quick to admit that he saw grace in action through his wife.

Time passed and the baby’s father was faced with the decision to tell his own parents. When he did, to dispel his own guilt, he chose to lay the blame squarely on the baby’s mother. He said such terrible things that his parents decided it would be in the best interest of the child to fight for custody. Their’s too was an unequally yoked marriage and the Christian wife wasn’t sure how to extend grace in such a “terrible” situation.

In the meantime, Cathy’s daughter had recognized her sinfulness and repented. She had been cleansed of all unrighteousness. She was now determined to trust and obey God and God alone in her life. When she was notified that she was to appear in court she told God she’d trust Him with the outcome. When the other family hired a high-powered attorney she decided that Jesus would represent her in court. Cathy watched her daughter finally live out the faith she had so long claimed to have.

Through prayer and faith the other family’s hearts began to soften. They were impressed by this small, young woman who came to court on her own and calmly told the judge she would abide by whatever decision that was made. The baby, a beautiful little boy, was already a couple of months old by that time.

Cathy experienced peace during this turmoil. She was so committed to whatever God wanted that she suggested to her daughter that they take the baby to the other family’s home and attempt to talk things through. They offered to share custody and said they wanted the baby’s father to be a part of his life. As time went on so many things happened. The other family fired their lawyer. The judge gave custody to the mother. The two grandmother’s became fast friends and the baby’s father began to recognize and take responsibility of his sin.

All of this was in the recent past but now Cathy had more to add to her story.

The baby’s father had admitted to his parents that while he’d been away at college he had spent all of his money. He admitted to drinking daily and even his failing grades. He asked if he could move home, enroll in a college nearby, and become the father that his son needed. Both of the older women had been praying daily for him and God was answering prayer. His mother agreed but said the one condition was that he would attend church with her. He agreed.

Last Sunday, only weeks after he arrived home, as he sat in church listening to a sermon he didn’t understand he decided to talk to God. While the pastor spoke, the young man asked God why so many people seemed to understand and he didn’t. He asked why his son’s mother was so different now than when he knew her. He asked the only God who is real to show Himself to be real. He asked God to make him believe.

The pastor stopped his sentence short. He said that the Lord had just impressed upon his heart that someone in the congregation needed to know if God was real. “He is real,” he said. “He is real and He wants you to know Him.” The pastor explained that he would be standing outside his office after the service and who ever it was that needed to know this should come meet with him. And the baby’s father did. He met with the pastor and then he met Jesus Christ that Sunday morning.

And all because a small, young lady finally chose obedience.

In the interest of being completely honest… I haven’t purged even one thing from that dern closet. It seems to taunt me the last couple nights as I pass it on my way to bed. The door remains slightly ajar no matter how many times we attempt to shut it. I assume it’s the closet’s way of rubbing in it’s overwhelmingness that has now become my nemesis. I hate that closet and I don’t even want to discuss it until I find the time to tackle it.

On another note, while I’m being completely honest…

I am a 45 year old woman who has given birth to three children. As most women who’ve committed this incredible act can attest to, this makes sneezing and in my case even coughing an unpleasant - oh how should I say this? - somewhat moist experience.

Unlike most women though, and here’s the real kicker, when I get cold I tend to cough, a lot!

Now here’s the weather prediction for our weekend:

So what are my plans for the weekend besides watching the Packers in the playoffs? Depends.

Dear Journal,

I took a look in the closet this morning and quickly decided that I wasn’t feeling nearly as ruthless as I needed to be. I picked up my cup of coffee and headed downstairs in order to recruit some help.

Hubby said he thought cleaning out that closet was a great idea and that tomorrow would be a better day for him. He didn’t need to say another thing to convince me, tomorrow it is.

Although… we may have a bit of a problem. Sierra overheard the conversation and has since been upstairs trying to make her twelve-year-old body fit into some of her favorite size 8 clothes. Besides her clothes, the closet is filled with winter coats we forgot about, box valances that don’t fit over any windows in this house, and an excess of hubby’s casual clothes that he seems to have forgotten about. I was pleasantly surprised that, although I had completely forgotten about it, I had already cleaned out all of Steven’s old clothes though. I must have done it while I was sleeping. I wish I’d do things like that more often.

So if tomorrow is closet cleaning day then today just turned into grocery shopping day. I believe I’m just about ruthless enough to get that accomplished.

Me thinks their ice cream freezer needs to be cleaned out. Who’s up for Peanut Butter Panic for dinner?