It’s Just a Minute…

One minute. Just sixty little seconds and yet they control our lives. While our grandparents counted every penny trying to stretch their money, we scrutinize every second trying to maximize the moment. That’s why we all have cell phones, fax machines, emails, Blackberries, and micro wave ovens!

Trying to juggle our agendas, we race from one appointment to another. We are busy! We have children to raise, meals to prepare, elderly parents to care for, bills to pay, plus run the office. From the moment the alarm clock sounds each morning until we collapse in bed at night, our minds race with schedules and expectations. Our lives are fast paced. It’s not surprising that most of us are tired, on edge, and overwhelmed.

How busy we are has become a status symbol. We judge each other and evaluate our days by how much we can accomplish. “I’m so busy,” has become our battle cry—our red badge of courage. And although we resent the busyness in our lives, we’re not doing anything about it. We need to realize that each day, each hour, each minute comes to us but one. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. We cannot buy it back. And I wonder…is what you are living for, worth dying for?

In your office and in your home, the life you live produces the legacy you leave. Memories fade. Material things disintegrate or are sold in garage sales. And markers show the way for others. What kind of markers are you leaving?

Will others remember your integrity, honesty, positive attitude, godly example, and of being a testimony of God’s love? Or will your markers be that you made Top Salesperson for the past six years; received three promotions; were always on time; and always completed your projects? Will the long hours at the office, missed family celebrations, and exhaustion be factored in? You are either living your legacy or loosing it. You’re either throwing away God’s blessings or treasuring them. Will what you’re doing and the way you are spending your time count for eternity?

While the world stresses the importance of achieving more, doing more, and being all you can be, you soon discover you’re caught in a vicious cycle of never-ending activity. Maybe your hectic schedule and intense lifestyle have robbed you of your sense of humor, peace, joy, and satisfaction in life. And the markers you’re probably leaving are memories of a worn-out, overwhelmed, cranky female. Perhaps you need to take a long look at your life and evaluate it from God’s point of view.

Too often we run through the day without pausing to ask God to fill us with His strength and wisdom. In the rush, we’re saying, “I don’t need Your help, God. I can handle this day all by myself.” And we join the rest of society who edits God right out of their lives. And general speaking, God will not compete for our attention.

We must remember what gains and sustains our attention will ultimately change our lives. If our lives revolve around office responsibilities, schedules, and agendas instead of the Lord, we will experience frustration and lack of peace. Busyness is not next to godliness! Choose to make some changes. Projects can wait, reading to your children can’t. Meetings can be rescheduled to allow you to attend your son’s soccer game. Family celebrations are more important than business meetings. Learn to think. “Life is a gift, savor the moment!”

I’m praying for you!

Edwina

There’s Hope

If the doctor’s report leaves you stunned…
If you are overwhelmed and see no light at the end of the tunnel…
If you feel lonely, trapped…
If you wonder if things will ever change…
You need hope!

“To live without hope is to cease to live. Hell is hopelessness. It is no accident that above the entrance to Dante’s hell is the inscription? ‘ Leave behind all hope, you who enter here.’” Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Webster’s dictionary defines hope as “a feeling that what is wanted will happen; a desire accompanied by anticipation or expectation.” Many people function on feelings and experience roller coaster lives. Up one minute and down the next. While they long for the stability of peace filled lives, their feelings control them. It’s no wonder that they live with hopelessness.

In the process of learning to buy back the past and focus on the future, I’ve discovered that biblical hope has a fuller meaning. It is an optimistic desire with confidence of fulfillment. We do not rely on other people for assurance or to fulfill our desires. We “find rest in God alone; my hope comes from Him,” (Psalm 62:5).

If we know who God is, know His attributes, know even a tiny bit of His great love for us, then we operate on a totally different level of hope. We know that we know—we have a confidence deep down in our hearts— that God will answer us. The answer may not always be what we expect, but it is always what is best for us! Biblical hope does not disappoint us, because “God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” (Romans 5:5)

The possibility of lay-offs at work, car accidents, incurable diseases, identity theft, and concerns about the future no longer control our lives. Biblical hope puts a stop to roller coaster feelings. We can remain secure, stable when the doctor announces cancer; the state trooper’s call in the middle of the night confirms your teenager was in accident; or your spouse announces he no longer loves you. While it’s difficult to walk thought these situations, you can do it because the Lord is walking right beside you…and you know it. That’s hope!

God is as near as a bended knee. He is waiting for you to come to Him with a humble, contrite heart, and He’s promised to never forsake you. When the world around you seems to be deteriorating, remember your only real refuge is in Jesus Christ.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake and the swelling thereof…The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge” (Psalm 46:1-3,11).
It’s my prayer that you’ll take time to read, download, and memorize the Ten Truths from God’s Word about Hope.

I’m praying for you!

Edwina

As you prepare for Christmas, where are your thoughts? Are you so consumed with responsibilities that the joy of the miracle Birth has been swallowed up with busyness?

Has the Baby in the manger touched you heart? Have you seen Christ’s faithfulness, protection, and love throughout the year? Did you know that what fills your heart comes out of your mouth? Think for a moment of what you’ve been talking about lately. That’s what occupies your heart. Is it Christ?

Our churches are full of members who’ve never trusted Christ as their Savior. They serve on committees, sing in the choir, and even sometimes teach in our Children’s Divisions. Yet they only have “head knowledge” of Jesus Christ. They believe He is the Son of God, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, was resurrected on the third day, and now sits on the right hand of God in heaven…just as Satan believes it. And—like Satan—they’ve never surrendered their life to Jesus Christ. They need to be told the truth. They need to know that it’s not about a religion, but a relationship. They need a “heart knowledge” of Jesus Christ.

When you think of Christmas, do you focus on the Baby in the manger…or the Savior on the Cross?

Oswald Chambers said, “It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. The love of God means Calvary, and nothing less; the love of God is spelt on the Cross and nowhere else. The only ground on which God can forgive me is through the Cross of my Lord….to put forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony of Calvary. Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace; it cost God the Cross of Jesus Christ before He could forgive sin and remain a holy God. …His death was not something that happened to Him which might have been prevented: His death was the very reason why He came. The greatest note of triumph that ever sounded in the ears of a startled universe was that sounded on the Cross of Christ—’It is finished!’”

If a man is to be saved, there is only one way—the cross of Jesus. If a man is to have victory over temptation, there is only one way—the cross of Jesus. If we are to live daily abundant lives, there is only one way—the cross of Jesus.

Jesus came to this earth knowing there would be a cross…and He came anyway. He knew He would be beaten, scourged, mocked, and humiliated…and He came anyway. As He hung on that cross, He looked out and saw you and me…and all of mankind. Now He wants us to—faithfully—one-by-one, tell others of His great love for them.

How much does He love us? He stretched out His arms and said, “I love you this much!” Now He wants us to live in this world—in our daily lives, driving carpool, going to work, cooking meals, and constantly doing housework—to share His love with those He places in our paths (the postman, the grocery clerk, our neighbors, soccer coaches, and coworkers). That’s God’s plan!

People today don’t want to hear that Jesus is the only way. It doesn’t fit in the new religious order. And avoid the mention of blood of Jesus at all cost. It’s unpleasant and distasteful. It promotes violence in children. Forget about sin and personal accountability. That makes us feel bad about ourselves. Those are the attitudes today’s culture is promoting. Unfortunately, this kind of heretical teaching has maneuvered its way into the theologies of many congregations and many denominations in our land.

Proclaiming the cross of Jesus Christ has never been more challenging than it is today! Clearly, after 9/11 in America, God is back, but the cross of Jesus isn’t

What is your passion in life? What is it that gets your attention? What motivates you in this life? If your life is motivated by anything other than a passion for what Christ did on the cross, than your life is being impassioned by the wrong thing. It is the cross that declares our pardon and salvation. And it’s the cross that demands your passion, your commitment.

Our purpose is summed up in that we are to love the Lord with all our mind, soul, and spirit. We are to share His love with others. We are to walk along side others and point them to Jesus. We are to equip others to serve the Lord and glorify His name. These purposes are all wrapped up in the cross of Jesus Christ. And we will not back down from proclaiming it. For us, it’s still the cross. We will profess our loyalty and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ in the face of a world that has rejected Him—a post Christian era.

I ask you if the cross of Jesus has made an eternal difference in your life? Or have adversity, pain, heartache and doubt distracted you from the cross? Perhaps you’ve allowed yourself to get so busy that you’ve neglected your quiet time, you’ve replaced your time with Him with schedules and agendas. Have other things drawn you away from the cross?

Would you let your words be those of Paul, “God forbid that I should glory in anything except for the cross of Jesus Christ.”

May your heart be occupied this Christmas season with thoughtful ways to share the wonder of God’s Gift of Love with others. May you be alert and available to recognize and make the most of each opportunity the Lord brings your way. May those around you sense God’s love flowing through you and may it impact their lives.

May this Christmas be different as you focus on the Baby in the Manger who grew to be our Savior on the Cross.

We at Redeeming the Time are praying that this Christmas season will be filled with precious memories of new friends, old friends, loved ones, and most of all of those in your sphere of influence that choose to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ. May this be a Christmas you will always remember–one that changes your life also!

I BURNED THE CORNBREAD!

 

Can you believe it?  Me, one of the world’s greatest cornbread bakers, actually burned the cornbread?  I can stir up a pan of cornbread with my eyes blindfolded and my hands tied behind my back.  I can whip up cornbread in my sleep … without a recipe.  In any family dinner or social gathering with friends, I am always the one asked to bring my “mouth watering” cornbread.  I readily agree because it is so easy and convenient for me.    Usually I wait until the last minute to mix it up, so that the aroma will fill the house, the outside will be crusty, and the inside will be soft and moist.

 

I didn’t simply have one catastrophe, I had two. It’s still hard to believe that I made such a mess.  Following my usual pattern, I chose to wait until the last minute to stir the batter together and pop it into the oven.  While I was assembling all the ingredients, I decided to return some of my phone calls.  I wanted to make wise use of all my time.  Before I knew it, the phone calls were returned and the cornbread was baking in the oven.

 

Satisfied that everything was in order, I retreated to my desk to finish an article that I was working one.   Imagine my surprise when I peaked at the cornbread and noticed that it was flat as a pancake!  I immediately decided that there was something wrong with my oven.  Perhaps the heating element had broken.  It never occurred to me that something might be wrong with the cornbread until I touched the heating coil and discovered that it was indeed working perfectly!

 

I looked at the ruined cornbread and at the clock at the same time.  What was I going to do?  Not only was my reputation was at stake, if I didn’t figure something out quickly, we wouldn’t have bread to accompany our meal.  I couldn’t think of a bakery or store open that I could rush into and buy some cornbread.  As I frantically searched my brain for a solution, I decided that if I hurried, I just had enough time to start over and make another recipe of cornbread.

 

Paying close attention to the ingredients, I carefully measured each item as I mixed them together, mentally checking them off as I added them.  I cleaned the pan, pitched the original recipe into the trash, and gently placed the second muffin pan of cornbread into the oven.  I took a deep breath, glanced at my watch, and decided to take a minute to pick up the house before our guests arrived.

 

As I busily dusted the end tables, I noticed an unpleasant odor coming from the kitchen.  To my horror, it was the cornbread burning!  Pulling the pan from the oven, I simply could not believe my eyes.  The edges were not beautiful golden brown.  They were ugly, appalling black.  Now what was I going to do?  I was out of time and out of ingredients.  With a heart full of shock and disappointment, I quickly grabbed the potato peeler and tried to “peel” the muffins.  When that didn’t work, I tried the cheese grater.  Finally, I discovered a sharp knife was the best tool to scrape off the burned places.

 

With a humble heart and an embarrassed face, I hesitantly placed the cornbread on the table.  As the evening progressed, not one person said a word about the cornbread.  The usual accolades and applause were sadly missing.  At the end of the meal as I threw the unaccustomed leftover cornbread away, the Lord seemed to speak to my heart.  What had this cocky cook learned?  I needed to take nothing for granted.  No matter how accomplished I was at anything or how many times I preformed a task, I was nothing without God leading and guiding me.

 

But He didn’t stop there.  He dug deeper.  He revealed to me that hidden down in the recesses of my heart was the root of pride.  I was proud of my ability to bake delicious cornbread.  And I thought I was so good at it that I could do it all by myself.  That’s when the Lord decided to teach me that I could do nothing on my own.  I was nothing without Him.  He gently reminded me that pride is one of the sins He hates.

 

With tears in my eyes and a broken heart I remembered that Satan’s sin was one of pride.  He wanted to exalt himself above God.  He decided that he did not need God, that he could do things by himself.  As these thoughts pierced my heart, I realized that I was guilty of the same sin that caused Satan to be cast out of heaven.  As I fell to my knees, I begged God to cleanse me from my prideful independent self.  I acknowledged that I was a small, insignificant, puny individual that sincerely needed Him in every area of my life … including baking cornbread.  I asked Him to change me and to keep me focused on Him.  I asked Him to help me to stay yielded to Him, sincerely seeking to please Him.  After all, nothing else really matters.

 

I wonder if you might need to fall on your knees beside me and confess that you’ve been trying to control your own life?  Are there areas in your daily routine where pride has slipped in and now subtly dominates?  The enemy would love for you to continue to allow pride and independence to govern your life.  Don’t allow him to continue to curb your dependence and submission to God.  Right now determine to make some changes in your life.  Choose to forsake your attitude of independence and ask the Lord to help you become abandoned to Him.  The joy that you will receive will be a million times better than any applause of man!

 

 

For Further thought:

The Issue of Pride

We all have the natural inclination or tendency to a certain amount of pride.  If everything goes well, we feel self-sufficient.  When we receive a blessing, we often think we received it because we deserved it.  Society has taught us to cover up the real issue of pride with phrases such as self-confidence and self-image, and many today have been deceived into believing pride is not an issue after all.

 

Over and over again in the Scriptures, God cautions us about developing a prideful, independent attitude.  Read Proverbs 16:18 and 29:23 to discover some results of pride.   Other consequences of pride are found in Proverbs 11:2; Jeremiah 49:16; and Deuteronomy 17:12.   Are you beginning to grasp God’s viewpoint of pride?

 

To make sure that we understand the consequences that pride causes in our lives,    take a moment to read 2 Samuel 24.  What is David’s heart filled with?  Even Joab perceives David’s growing pride of accomplishment, which is not in harmony with his profession of humble dependence upon God in Psalm 22.  David becomes distracted and chooses to focus on the military strength of his kingdom rather than continuing to maintain simple trust in God.

Another biblical example of pride and the resulting consequences is found in Daniel 4:28-37.  Pride turned a boaster into a creeping beast, just as it made an angel into a devil.  Pride always leads to disobedience.  God abhors haughty attitudes and never fails to bring them down.

 

Another word for pride is independence, which can silently creep into a Christian’s heart.  We delude ourselves into thinking that we do not need God.  We mistakenly believe that we can handle things on our own.   Satan loves it when we share his viewpoint.

Are you glorying in your accomplishments or talents?  Are you proud of your patience, ministry activities, or service for the Lord?  Do you feel as if you can handle things on your own? Do you realize that the dictionary states that synonyms for pride are conceit, self-esteem, vanity, arrogance, self-sufficiency, and haughtiness?  We would never use any of these words to describe ourselves.  Their inference is too ugly.

 

As we tentatively peal off our masks and reveal our true heart attitudes, most of us are grieved with the pride issues we discover.  Please take a moment and read Proverbs 6:16-19 to discover God’s concept of pride.   He very clearly states that He __________ it.  He does not sugar coat or soften His view of pride.  If we forget to live at the foot of the cross in deepest humility of spirit, God will make it a point to remind us.  He loves us too much not to.

 

If a news reporter were to interview our family, friends, neighbors, or fellow church members and ask them to describe us, would they use the word humble?

“… He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord,” (1 Corinthians 1:31).

 

I’m praying for you!

Edwina