GIVING GOD RECOGNITION IN EVERYDAY LIFE

GIVING GOD RECOGNITION IN EVERYDAY LIFE

It occurred to me this week that many Christians, including me, are neglecting part of our mission as followers of Jesus Christ. How? You ask. Well, we just don’t talk about the Lord in our everyday speech. God does so much for us, and His son Jesus does too, and yet when we relate our daily events to friends, family members, and strangers, we use a lot more of the phrase “I did this and that, and great things happened” rather than “Jesus did this for me” or “God opened this for me.” When God answers prayers, we give Him the recognition in private, but too often, we don’t acknowledge Him publicly in our everyday speech or our posts on social media.

 

When we’ve taken Jesus as our Lord, our lives aren’t nearly as much about us as they are about our Lord and brother Jesus Christ, and our Father God, the true God of heaven. As it says in Philippians 2:13: “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Whether we recognize it or not, God loves us and is personally interested and involved in everything about our lives every day.

 

God has given us a personal Lord to guide us, talk with us, help us, and be with us all the time. He’s arranged for signs and wonders to happen around us. He’s given us angels to protect us and warn us and push us in the right direction at times when we are hesitant. He’s arranged for other Christian believers to befriend us, and He’s even inspired unbelievers to do certain things that end up benefitting us. When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, God not only rescued us forever from Satan’s hell, but He took oversight of us and continues to orchestrate as many of His blessings toward us as we will accept. He certainly deserves our spoken recognition and praise.

 

I love how the King James version translates Philippians 1:27: “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” I know that several translations replace the word “conversation” with phrases like “your manner of life” or “how you conduct yourself,” and that is definitely the bigger picture, but what we say out loud is a huge part of who we are and who we represent.

 

I think that the saying, “your actions speak louder than your words,” has been taken way too far. We have over-emphasized the action part and nearly annihilated the words part. But I really don’t think any of us have done this on purpose. It’s been a sneaky play on the devil’s part. He’s slowly introduced the idea into our thinking and culture, including the church. So we’ve tried to live for God without acknowledging Him (accept in designated praise and worship time at church, or in our private times in prayer.) This concept and practice has to change.

 

Jesus told his disciples back then, and he is telling us now: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).

 

We all know that the definition of the Greek word for “gospel” is “good news.” But do we know how easy it is to preach it? Every time we tell someone that “Jesus did this for me,” or “God opened that door,” or “Jesus brought that person to me,” or “God got that person away from me.” All of these verbal recognitions of the Lord’s presence in our lives—these are preaching the gospel! We’re doing God’s will, and it’s so easy to do.

 

We just say it. We recognize the source of the good things that happen in a day, giving God the recognition in our daily conversation. If we do it, others will start to do it too.  

 

Remember “Every good gift…is from above” (James 1:17).

 

Love, Carolyn

 

PS: Just now as I finished writing, Jane came in the door and said she had a present for me and handed me an Audubon calendar. She was at a coffee shop and a young couple in front of her were standing in line and had the calendar and didn’t know what to do with it. Jane overheard them talking and said, “I’ll take it if you don’t want it. My friend loves birds.” When she gave it to me, I said, “Thanks Jane. I love it! Jesus did that for me!” Thanks Jesus, and thanks Jane.

 

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IT'S SEEDTIME IN VEGAS

IT’S SEEDTIME IN VEGAS

Here in Las Vegas it’s time to plant new seeds. This past winter I planted a winter vegetable garden. Now I’m going to do one for the summer vegetables. I have quite a bit of mental work to do, like figuring out what seeds to plant, where to plant them, which ones will grow well together, etc. Did you know broccoli and tomatoes don’t like each other much? The tomatoes don’t produce very well when they’re next to broccoli! This principle applies to us humans as well, doesn’t it? We produce better around certain people and not so well around others! There’s much to learn about life from what God has shown us in the physical world He created.

 

On the can in the picture above it says: “Faith plants the seed; Love makes it grow.” That is so true of our relationship with God. He inspired the writing of His many life lessons so we would be able to live a life that is pleasing to Him. The seeds are in the Bible, ready to be planted in our hearts.

 

Then Jesus shows us, in a practical sense, how we can choose to love God and see those wonderful seeds of faith grow in our everyday life. Luke 2:52 says: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”

 

We can grow in wisdom too, as we plant the seeds of truth from the Bible into our minds and hearts. Faith plants a seed when we read a Bible verse to our minds and agree with our mouths by saying, “I believe it.” Then professing our love to God and love for each other sparks the spiritual seed to grow. Since all natural things start with spirit, once the spirit in us receives the message that we believe, the spirit itself nourishes the seed’s growth into a manifested reality.

 

The tiny seeds I’ll bury in the soil this week will seem to be nothing: won’t be able to see them at all, just have faith they’re still there. Then in a few weeks they’ll pop up as sprouts, then grow into full-size plants producing yummy vegetables. Similarly, all spiritual things have to look like something when they are manifested into our physical realm.

 

Let’s plant a scriptural seed in our minds and hearts this week, saying “I believe it.” Let’s tell God we love Him and love Jesus and each other, and see how fast the seed will grow and manifest in our physical lives.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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IF WE SHOW UP, HE SHOWS UP

 

IF WE SHOW UP, HE SHOWS UP

I get a little nervous every time before I write one of these preach letters and sometimes have no idea what’s going to come out. But I do know this much: If I just show up, the Lord shows up. We all have certain places we go where the Lord meets us, a certain chair we like, a bench out in the yard, a path in the woods, or behind the wheel of the car on a favorite roadway. One of the places I go to is my chair at my desk where my laptop lives. If I show up to write, He will be there every time.

 

Our Lord Jesus had His favorite places to go, where He could talk to God alone. One of those places was a mountain. “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone” (Matt. 14:23). And John 6:14: “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.”

 

John 7:53 to John 8:1 tells us that after a long day of preaching and ministering to the people, “every man went unto his own house. Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.”

 

Just think about it for a few minutes. When you have a really tough situation you’re facing, where do you go to get calm or clear your head? Jesus had his favorite locations. You do too. You may not have recognized it as such, but let’s start paying attention to what touches our souls. Intimacy with the Lord has to look like something in our natural realm.

 

Jesus went to a mountain, and sometimes He went to a garden. “When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples” (John 18:1). “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, ‘Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder’” (Matt. 26:36).

 

When and where is it that you feel the closest to God? Is it when you’re sitting in your bed in the middle of the afternoon when there’s no one else around? Or is it when you’re on an early morning ride on your motorcycle? Or on a brisk walk around the block in your neighborhood? Or is it sitting quietly in your church on a day and time when hardly any people are around?

 

Inside of you, you already know where one of your special places is, a physical place where the Lord has met you before. If you are trying to think of where it is, and you don’t really think you have one, that’s okay; this will be a new adventure for you to find it.

 

Prayerfully ask the Lord to show you and then do the first thing that comes to mind. Often when we’re learning to hear the voice of the Lord, we practice by asking a simple question and then just doing the first thing that comes to mind. 99% of the time, it will be the Lord. He wants you to hear His voice even more than you do! Don’t second-guess yourself. Take the first thought and go for it. Don’t be afraid. If you just show up, He’ll be there the first time and every time after.

 

Our real-life intimate locations already exist. We don’t have to go overseas to find them. They are within easy reach of where we live. Recognize and report for duty. The Lord is waiting for you.

 

God is everywhere, but intimacy with Him has to look like something. Let’s find those special places with the Lord and visit often.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

I’m getting ready to put another book together, about what God teaches us from nature. Meanwhile, check out my other books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=WINGS%3A+A+Journey+in+Faith+by+carolyn+molica&crid=3GBPN2RO8RZMF&sprefix=wings+a+journey+in+faith+by+carolyn+molica%2Caps%2C257&ref=nb_sb_noss
 

"HEARTILY, AS TO THE LORD"

 

“HEARTILY, AS TO THE LORD”

A few months ago, I started working on my transitional painting. It’s complex and quite a challenge. These photos are just two different sections of the painting. I’ve got a long way to go, but I’m giving it my all. When I was a young girl, my earthly father would tell us kids, “If you’re going to do a job, do it right.” He wouldn’t allow us to cut corners, and if we did, we’d have to go back and do it again. Whether schoolwork, chores, or whatever, we were told to “always do the best you can.” Our Heavenly Father puts it this way:  

 

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ” (Col. 3:23-24). Living this verse will help us to retain the right attitude about just about anything we do.

 

Many years ago, there was a phrase being passed around in the Christian community. It goes like this: “What would Jesus do?” But we need to change it up a bit. Jesus Christ is alive now, and as Paul writes to the believers in Rome:

 

“Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Rom 8:34). Jesus Christ is our Lord and our brother in the present. And “we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8: 16b-17a).

 

Because Jesus Christ is alive now, we don’t have to ask what Jesus WOULD do, as if in the past, but we can ask him directly, “What do I do now?” Let’s think more about Jesus being with us. He always does things with his whole heart, serving God in everything. We can be with him and do the same. Jesus is always with me as I work on my painting, and I know his presence because he inspires me to change things, colors, shapes, etc. It’s really exciting.

 

Let’s have a great week doing our “whatevers” heartily unto the Lord. Colossians 3:23.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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THE BIRDS AND THE BEES

 

   

THE BIRDS AND THE BEES

At my house, the birds and bees share the hummingbird feeder. God gave them perfect timing when He created them. When the season for bees comes around, the hummingbirds know to come just before dawn and at dusk to have private dining. The bees like it best when the sun is out, so they show up about 8:30 a.m. and stay until it starts to get dark. During the daytime, they share, but the hummingbirds mostly squeeze in on the nozzles that are unoccupied. The birds and the bees instinctively know their optimum timetable. We have been given the word of God through the Bible and through the presence of the Lord Jesus with and within us, to guide us and help us to know and tap into the perfect timetables for our own lives.  

 

I thought about what God says in Ecclesiastes 3. Read it slowly.

 

“To every thing, there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up” (Ecc. 3:1-3).

 

“A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing” (Ecc. 3:4-5).

 

“A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace” (Ecc.3:6-8).

 

God gave animals their instincts. The birds and the bees instinctively know about times and seasons, and many animals have been proven to have a type of intelligence too. But God has a very special relationship with His humans. He wants us to walk and talk with Him, to carry out His perfect will. To do that, we will need to believe in our spiritual selves and listen to our spiritual head, who is Jesus Christ. Our physical brains are working 24/7 to lead and guide our physical organs and every part of our physical bodies. Jesus Christ is with us to lead and guide our spiritual bodies just as much and just as often. As it is written in 1 Corinthians 12:27:

“Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” “And he [Jesus] is the head of the body” (Col. 1:18).

 

When we tap into the true presence of Christ in our lives, I believe we can be at least as sensitive to the seasons and times as the birds and bees. Our loving God is a loving Father, and He wants us to understand and know the significance of the wisdom of Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3. We will know by the Spirit when the time is right for everything and anything.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

AGREED ON GOD

 AGREED ON GOD

My friend Doug posted photos on Facebook of things in nature that caught his eye. A friend responded: “Are you seeking a refuge from the next virus (or continuation of this one), or just having fun?” His answer was: “A little of both, I think. I want to also show the beauty of life and that life continues.” Doug and I are opposites in our opinions politically, but when it comes to God’s creation and the reality of Jesus Christ the Messiah, we agree. No person could logically argue over the magnificence of God’s creation.

 

We are always going to have differences of opinions on things, including the Bible. Christians will never completely agree on every Biblical doctrine, that is until we get to heaven, and what a great class that will be! But for now, I firmly belief that not one denomination has the whole truth. Can any Christian honestly say he or she understands every verse of the entire Bible? I don’t think so.

 

As an example, I’ve read the book of Proverbs several times in my life but recently started to take a closer look. I didn’t think it would be that hard to understand, but I was wrong. I quickly realized I would need to get my dictionary and Bible research books out to help me really grasp some of the concepts King Solomon presented.

 

But, I know that my friend Doug and I agree on Jesus Christ and the magnificence of our God’s creation, and so we can communicate and grow in our appreciation of each other. We understand that we are both members in the body of Christ, and we love each other like 1 John 2:10 says: “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. We don’t stumble because we push the rocks on the path out of our way and get back to looking at the glory of our God together.

 

When I want to remind myself of the magnitude of our God, I go to the book of Job and to the Psalms.

 

Psalm 33:6-9: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.

 

“Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

 

“For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.”

 

Psalm 96 says: “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord” (Ps. 96: 11-13).

 

In Job 37, God commands Job to halt and consider. Sometimes we need to do that too.

 

“Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God” (Job 37:14).

 “God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend. For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength” (Job 37:5-6).

“Then the beasts go into dens, and remain in their places. Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold out of the north.  By the breath of God frost is given” (Job 37:8-10a).

 

Then in Job 39:

 

“Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?  Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings. He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver. The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.

 

“Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust,  and forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them.  She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labour is in vain without fear;  because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding. What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.

 

“Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible. He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men. He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword. The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield. He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

 

“Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south? Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high? She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place. From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off” (Job 39:5-8, 13-30).

Job gives us some of God’s thundering magnificence, but In the Song of Solomon, we are also encouraged to see our God as the tender lover that He is. And He does this by calling us away to share the intimacy of His tenderest creations.

 

“My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; the fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away” (Song of Sol. 2: 10-13).

 

Whether we need to be boldly confronted with the magnificence of God like Job, or tenderly coerced into a quiet place where the loudest thing you hear is the voice of a turtle, let’s take a quick or maybe longer look at some of God’s creations this week and see what we can learn.

 

Love, Carolyn

GETTING RID OF THE GRUDGE

 GETTING RID OF THE GRUDGE

At the end of each year, I like to look back and make sure I’ve forgiven anyone who hurt me this year. And I also look in my memory to see if I still hold grudges against anyone who hurt me in the past. Most likely, the people who hurt us have forgotten about it. According to the Bible, every wrongdoing we do here on earth is paid for on earth or later when the final judgment comes. God promises that we don’t have to be concerned about people who wronged us getting what they deserve. Consequently, if we are still holding grudges against people who wronged us, then it's us who are hurting, not them. We don’t need nor want them occupying even one little part of our brains.

 

The only way to get rid of a negative person’s vibe in our brains is to forgive them. They did what they did, and that isn’t going to change. The only change will be in how we respond. They were stupid; they were mean; they were self-indulging; and what they did was totally wrong. But we couldn’t fix them at the time, and we can’t fix them now. But we can forgive them for being so foolish. God will either change them or He won’t—not our problem! Our problem is us.

 

When his disciples asked Jesus how they were to pray, He said: “And when ye stand praying, forgive” (Mark 11:25). And in Matthew 6:15, He said: “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” We know we do wrong things, and we want God to forgive us: we get mad; we say mean things; and sometimes we do wrong things that we don’t even know are wrong until later when we find out. We want forgiveness, and Jesus says we don’t get it unless we do some forgiving too.

 

Here’s a great thing, though: We want to do God’s will, right? So even if we’re not totally into forgiving that person, we want to do God’s will, and we can still say, “I forgive so-n-so.” And it will work in our hearts from that point. Why? Because of what Jesus said in Matthew 9:6: “The Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins.”

 

And the Bible tells us we have Christ in us, so we absolutely CAN forgive as well! If we will just say, “God, I want to do Your will, and I want You to forgive me when I mess up.” Then we say, “I’m saying that I forgive this person, and I believe You will make it a reality in my brain.”

 

I know that for many of us, this may be hard to believe, but it’s just one of those things that are mysteries, and it even says so in Colossians 1:27: “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

 

Yes, God tells us that having Christ in us is a mystery. The more intimately we get to know Him, the more we realize this. And being able to forgive people is a part of the mystery. We do it even when we don’t feel like it; we say it, and God makes it real. We are worth way more to God, and He’s going to bless us way beyond our wildest dreams.

 

God fills the grudge with His blessings from above! Bring it on!! I’m forgiving everyone.

 

Love, Carolyn