More than a pinky- promise

Who would have ever have thought DOORS could be an inexaustable subject?  This year as I continue sharing with you 7 different doors of the Bible, I'm finding that each one has me leaning into what I will learn and share with you. If you didn't read my blog on the Ark Door, here is the link: https://www.opendooraccess.com/blog/arkdoor

Jesus is the Door, the doorway, and the hinges that hold the Door. 

He's everything that we need!

As we dive into the Passover Door, I'm eager to share with you what the night held when the God came through Egypt for the first born of every household.  I have a first born child and you may, too, but, even if you don't you wouldn't be able to read this account and not be pulled into the seriousness of what was about to happen in Egypt.  For the full account of Israel’s deliverance please read Exodus 1-15. It’s a story well worth reading, especially in the Easter Season.

In the Bible we find in the book of Exodus that the children of Israel were crying out to God to be delivered from slavery in Egypt.  God sent them a man named Moses to be the deliverer from their bondage.  Moses went to Pharoah, the leader in Egypt, and asked him many times to let God's people go.  Over and over Pharoah said, "No", and God would send a plague after each denial, to help change his mind.  Infestations of flies, frogs, locust and the Nile River turning to blood, were just a few. The one that rises to the top of all of these plagues was the one that would bring death to the firstborn of every home in Egypt.  

Since the Israelites were also in Egypt, God gave specific instruction to them of how they would not be touched by this final plague. 

Exodus 12:13 NLT

.... the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.

There were very specific instructions given to them, from what kind of lamb was to be used, how they were to apply the blood, and also what was to be eaten of the lamb that night, for the upcoming journey out of Egypt.

These Scriptures show us the True Lamb -

John 1:29

The Lamb of God

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Revelation 5:6

And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

We all have a physical heart or we wouldn't be on this earth.  Did you know that we all have a spiritual heart that has a place for the blood of The Lamb.   The door or entry of our heart requires that we simply ask, and can receive Jesus and then spend time in getting to know Jesus as we journey forward.

Matthew 7:8

For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Have you every made a pinky promise with someone, by hooking your pinky fingers together and swearing to each other about something?  or how bout this one, did you ever spit on your hand and your friend spit in theirs and then you shook hands to seal a deal or a promise between the two of you?  That one is just plain yuck! but pretty sure we've all done it or knew someone who did.  

God’s promise to us is so much better than any promise we could make. Just like the people putting the blood on their door post, we can receive Jesus’ sacrifice and feast on Him through His word for our continued journey of faith here on Earth. He promises that He will never leave us or abandon us on the journey.

Would you open your heart and invite Him in?

Easter is so much more than a church service and dinner with friends and family -

It was! and continues to be The Only Door for us to walk through.

Grace isn’t people pleasing

As I sat at the bottom of the stairs in our family townhome, I can remember the fear and angst that I felt, as I heard my parents arguing upstairs. These kinds of childhood experiences led me to a people pleasing way of doing life. Although, I don't remember what my parents were arguing about, those kinds of experiences began to take hold in my life.

I was a kid that had been trained from an early age to behave well, do well and all will be well. At least, that was my early belief in my life, but as I found out continually, that formula, didn't always work out so well. I would behave but still get the blame and I would do well but not get noticed or validated. It was a cycle that I continued into my adult life, that brought me much pain and frustration.

Pleasing people as a mode of operating life can be so heavy. Everything I would do in life, and I do mean "everything" was always with the motive of how can I get loved, validated, seen, accepted....and the list goes on and on. I'm sure I've hit on something here that you may struggle with from time to time in your own life. I was always on a fix up job in my life in one way or another. I was either letting myself down, other people and primarily God. The bar of expectation for acceptance was always moving and I could never get where I wanted to be.

In the gospel of John, we find that Jesus shared with his disciples that he was all they needed. He loved, validated and shared with them all of the time so that they would come to understand that their works were not going to get them what they wanted. What this means is that faith in Jesus had to come at the beginning of any work that they did. If that key componant isn't in place first, nothing behind the comma matters in the Kingdom of God. When we put faith in God, through accepting his beloved Son, we say that we are in agreement that Jesus is enough for all of our lives. He paid the full penalty of our sin, He loved with his whole self, He provided a fullness in completing the reconciliation that was needed to get back to God. When He said it was finished, it was FINISHED!

Some verses that I have grown to love through the last 15 years of growing in Jesus are these-

John 1:17

For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Acts 20:24

But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Romans 1:5a

Through Him (Jesus) we have received grace...

Romans 4:4

Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.

When I began to see that living “in Grace” was different that “Pleasing Others” my whole life changed. It all starts with the heart! I lived most of my life to the age of 40 with a heart that had been mistreated. I thought it was my job to get my heart fixed. What I didn't realize was that Jesus had already healed my broken heart at the age of 5 when I accepted him as my Savior. But, you may be thinking that a 5 year old doesn't have the wounds of the heart yet, so how does this work? I was always trying to get others to tell me I was worth something, when Jesus had already done that. Life's stuff always got the vote until I came to know that Jesus on board (in my heart) brought all that I ever needed. It's all wrapped up in Him…COMPLETELY! Since he is in my heart or putting it another way, I had His heart in me, we were fully loved and valued by our Father. No matter what I am feeling! Oh, yeah, those feelings are usually what is getting the vote. For example: I don't feel loved, or valued, so I must not be loved or valued. Our feelings can lie to us when we listen to them as the compass.

People pleasing is born out of an old system of feelings verses a gracious spirit toward one another.

People pleasing has an expectation of something at the end of the task. Grace is a gift towards another with no applause required. We can have a desire for fellowship with one another, on the backside of graciousness, but we can't make that happen.

John 3:16 shows us this - God gave His one and only Son and He desires for all to come to Him, but not all will say yes to his gracious gift.

I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to share with you God's grace. We have an enemy that wants you to think that you're just too far gone and that you just need to try harder. Please don’t buy into this anymore. If you'd like to talk more about this, please contact me.

It took a time of crisis in my life to reach out for help regarding this. You don't have to wait for the crisis to come, just reach out. God is Love and Grace to all who call upon Him.

Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for dying for my sins and thank you for Your grace, forgiveness and love. I receive You.

Ark Door

Plan - Preparation - Purpose, all around a Door?

I’m sure you may have guessed from my previous email that I was going to share with you, about the door of the Ark. I’ve loved diving into this door journey already and hope you are inspired and learn more. We will start our time in:

Genesis 6:14-22

14-16 “Build yourself a ship from teakwood. Make rooms in it. Coat it with pitch inside and out. Make it 450 feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. Build a roof for it and put in a window eighteen inches from the top; put in a door on the side of the ship; and make three decks, lower, middle, and upper.

17 “I’m going to bring a flood on the Earth that will destroy everything alive under Heaven. Total destruction.

18-21 “But I’m going to establish a covenant with you: You’ll board the ship, and your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives will come on board with you. You are also to take two of each living creature, a male and a female, on board the ship, to preserve their lives with you: two of every species of bird, mammal, and reptile—two of everything so as to preserve their lives along with yours. Also get all the food you’ll need and store it up for you and them.”

God's Plan

22 Noah did everything God commanded him to do.

This seems pretty straight forward with what the plan was for Noah's boat building project. God even told Him what the boat was for. But, as I read through this story, I started to think about what was not recorded.

- God didn't ask Noah how he felt about the plan

- We don't hear about what Noah's creditials were for building something, much less a huge undertaking such as this.

- For at least 120 years, Noah's sons had no children?

- The daughter's in law married into a family that they most likely didn't understand

- Noah had to keep his attention on the task at hand, no matter what was being said to him or about him

- Noah didn't know that God would be the one to shut the door of the ark, did he?

- Did he have thoughts about being able to actually close the door on people and not open it when the flood waters came?

These are just some of the things that came to my mind.

God said Noah was righteous, but He also knew he was just a man, with thoughts and emotions.

I encourage you to ponder these things as we look deeper into the Door of the ark and what it might tell us about the human heart.

God's Preparation

Noah was 480 years old when he started this building project. He was 600 when it came to use! There was no instant gratification, just one day at a time for a long, long time.

The plan was spoken to Noah with specific instruction for the materials needed. Starting with what wood to use. It was Teak wood or Gopher wood. This wood was a tropical hardwood tree, which would make sense as it would need to be waterproof for the ark.

Have you ever been given a plan in your life? Then realized that the preparation for it was out of your wheelhouse or would take some education and diligenge to make it happen.

God didn't tell Noah how to find the wood, how to cut the wood, or how to transport the wood. God just told him to build it, with specific dimensions, mind you.

Sometimes, I get inspired to start a project, but quickly start to realize I may not have the proper tool for it. I will get creative, I think, and attempt to do it without the proper tool, because I'm inspired and just want to get started. But, as I'm sure you know, the thing I'm making or building wouldn't stand up to a brisk wind by the time I'm done. I then have to re-evaluate what I have and then proceed to get what’s needed to bring the best project to fruition. Some of us are slow learners and have to be taught this over and over again, myself included.

In Genesis 6:9

...Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.

I think it wasn't just that he was righteous, it was also that he was going to get the proper tools and build this ark according to what was asked of him. No, skimping, or “I don't feel like it today”! He knew that this was to be a testimony to what God had for the safety and rescue of himself, his family and the animals. Can you imagine Noah, saying, well....... Let's just use what we have on hand and then realize once the flood came, he had just sank his family?

Noah was very familiar with God as we see in verse 6. They walked and talked together in life all the time. Up to this point in Noah's life, he was just a regular guy, living his life as a son, a father, a husband, a friend, a church attender and he had neighbors he had to live by, that were evil.

Do we really get this? He just walked with God in his life day to day, and obeyed. He prayed for the people who didn’t listen and he shared God the whole time he was building.

I'm sure Noah had all sorts of thoughts about the people around him. He probably had to direct and re-direct his sons a time or two back to the plan. But, according to the passage, he kept in his lane, served and did what God told him to do and he did this with a good attitude!

This doesn't mean you stick your head in the sand and act like nothing bothers you. It means that we get choices all of the time as to what we make ourselves available to. I could give you a list on this, but I think you get what I mean. If you don't see God, hear God, smell God in what your doing, might wanna reconsider.

God's Purpose

Time to bring the door in!

What do we see when we think about the ark? or even better Who do we see when we think about the ark? You are right - Jesus! He is the ark.

I love these next verses that speak of those people who put there faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:24

they (Christ ones) are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:1

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

These are just a few of my favorites.

We see there is salvation, eternal life and no condemnation if you have entered into Jesus. For many years, I knew Jesus was in my heart when I had asked him to be my Savior. This is very true! but it has a whole new level of truth and life, if I'm….in Him.

John 14:20

Jesus says: 20 When I come back to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

How does this connect to the ark?

Genesis 6:18

18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark,

Do you see what God's purpose was? He wanted to make a new promise with Noah. Our will is always apart of God's purpose!

We have to choose to enter into Christ just like Noah had to make a choice to enter into the ark. Noah could have built the ark and never got on. He would have died with every other person, but, he would have known alot about boat building. Our works don’t matter, it’s only by faith and then working out of that faith that gets the vote in God’s economy.

Genesis 7:10-16

10 One week later, when Noah was 600 years, two months, and seventeen days old, the rain came down in mighty torrents from the sky, and the subterranean waters burst forth upon the earth for forty days and nights. 13 But Noah had gone into the boat that very day with his wife and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives. 14-15 With them in the boat were pairs of every kind of animal—domestic and wild—and reptiles and birds of every sort. 16 Two by two they came, male and female, just as God had commanded. Then the Lord God closed the door and shut them in.

This is such a great truth of safety and security in Christ our ark. There wasn't an anchor, there wasn't a helm for steering or compass for where the boat was going. This was a complete action of faith in what God promised Noah.

Ephesians 4:30

And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

To close this blog, as a Christ one, the sealing or closing of the door of your heart, is done by the Holy Spirit. God asks us to enter into His Son, then God closes the door between you and eternal death and you are now in Eternal Life. No one can open that door once it's shut.

The door is such a great reminder of the separation between us and the eternal death that is on the other side of that door.

My hope is that you have asked Jesus to be your Savior, your rescuer and to take the ride of Life, in Him. I know that this can be a moment when you may think about what people may say about making this choice. But, just like Noah, he stayed focused on God and didn't let other's opinions or mockery detour him.

I hope this has given you much to ponder this month and I also encourage you to go and read the whole story of this great rescue mission in Genesis 6-7.

Bon voyage and happy sailing!

Love In Christ, the Ark and the Door,

Dayna

Mounting up brings confidence

Isaiah 40:31 KJV

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

This is a verse that many of us know. It has much truth to look at, but the one I want us to spend time with is "upon the Lord".

I remember as a child when I would go to church camp, we would have a day that we got to go horseback riding. I looked forward to going to the corral and having a horse that I could call my own, for at least an hour. There was a bit of intimidation of being around such a majestical animal and a bit of fear would also be present. The horse handler would show me how to approach the horse, tell me it's name and give instructions on how I was to mount up. To me, this whole process each year was as grand as the first time. I would be in anticipation of leaving the ground and trusting the whole way up as I mounted this great steed, probably named "Brownie". From that point, the rest of the kids and I were directed into a line where we would start heading towards the trail. The feeling of being up on that horse, was like non other. I felt powerful and that my horse could do most anything. There would be moments when we would have to go down a slight incline or up a rocky old dried up creek bed, but because I was up on my horse, I had confidence that we would make it through. I can remember having such confidence in the horses ability to walk the trail that I could actually turn around and talk to my friend behind me. As we would be heading back to the corral, we were told to hold tight to the reigns as the horses knew where they were going and could take off to run back home. It would be a little bumpy but oh what a ride it was. I could hardly wait until the next year!

We all have situations in life that we would love to be able to get on top of. The verse in Isaiah tells us that as we wait for things to work out, or come to a different level, we can wait - up - on the Lord. Yes, just like when I mounted the horse, we are told that in our waiting that we can mount UP! and in actual spiritual reality, we are already mounted. He is the beautiful steed or incredible eagle that we can ride or glide on as those difficult situations, places and things are below our feet.

Prayer is a big part of the Christians life and it is where our mounting up is very real. We can tell God all of our ideas, struggles and dreams as we are on the trails of life, learning to trust Him with every detail. We can start to have such confidence in His ability it enables us to begin to look around and talk to others about Him as we go down and up the trails of life.

I end this blog with this Powerful and Magestic picture -

Revelation 6

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

My dear friends, as we enter this year, may we have full confidence in Jesus more and more. We are not below, but upon Jesus.

Happy New Year!

A couple of verses for relection:

Hebrews 1:3

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

Ephesians 2:6

And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

We have a balcony seat looking down!

“Oh” - one little word that can pack a real 👊 punch!

As we enter into the Christmas time of celebrating Jesus' birth, we may find ourselves singing one of the songs from this following list:

O Holy Night

O Christmas night

O Christmas Tree

O Come All Ye Faithful

O Come O Come Emmanuel

O come, little children

O come, Redeemer of mankind

O Jesus, King of Glory

O Little Town of Bethlehem

What wonderful praise we can give our Lord through these songs.

I was reminded of how important a word like "Oh" or "O" can be used in our English languange. The actual definition of it is:

used as an expression of surprise, pain, disapproval, etc.

As beautiful as these songs or hymns may be, we can also use this word in a way that can be harmful and of no benefit to another person.

Have you ever seen the movie "Home"? It's an animated movie with aliens called "Boov's". The Boov's move to Earth and begin a takeover by Captain Smek, who is very self-centered . There is also a Boov named "Oh" who meets a young girl named Tip. Their meeting starts out rocky, but they end up on a quest to find Tip's mom and rescue her and the other Earthlings from complete anilation. As they are on the journey a question comes to Oh about how he got his name. He answered that he didn't have a mom and dad so he got his name by being “called” his name.

A quote from the movie:

Oh : When the other Boov's said, "Oh!" I knew they were not happy to see me. The truth is that among the Boov, I do not fit in - I fit out.

Although this was to be a funny movie, it really does have some insight as to what we may go through ourselves in our daily lives on Earth.

How can one little word change how you think about yourself? Or how others relate to you?

Have you ever heard this?

Oh, it's just you.

Oh, I forgot you were here.

Oh, you're still here.

Oh, you’re a mess!

I'm sure this list could go on in great length if we really let it, but....

Let's take another look at the word "Oh" and what it can truly means for those who know Jesus.

The word Oh is found 100 times in the bible (KJV) and 52 of those times is found in the Psalms. David, the writer of most of the Psalms, was quite experienced with this word, Oh, both in his vocabulary and in his own personal life.

In I Samuel 16 we see a prophet named Samuel go to annoint the new king of Israel to replace previous king Saul. He went to Jesse’s house and asked to see all of his sons. After seeing all 7 and not finding the one God has sent him to annoint, he asked Jesse, if he had any other sons. He replied, “Oh, I have another son that tends our sheep”.

I know I’ve taken a liberty on my interpretation from I Samuel 16, but I think after you would read the story, you'd come to the same. David wasn't a thought! But, it didn't detour him from what God had for him. David was named by God as "a man after my own heart". We see it in this passage:

1 Samuel 13:14 (NKJV)

14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

David could have had the same Oh's that I listed out, but in the Psalms he repeatedly took his Oh's and Wow's and turned them over to God.

My encouragement for you would be to not give your attention to the list above, but instead, if you hear someone say anything that starts with Oh..... just remember David’s words…

Psalm 31:19

Oh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men!

Psalm 31:23

Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints! For the Lord preserves the faithful, And fully repays the proud person.

Psalm 34:3

Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.

As we move into this Christmas season, I hope you've now seen that you are not just an "Oh". You have a name given to you and it is backed up with all of the love that Jesus provides. You're never an Uh-oh in Him.

I'm so grateful for you and your support of this ministry.

Have a wonderful time singing the songs and giving praise through this Christmas season.

Oh, what a wonderful Life we have in Jesus!

Unusual Collection

An “Unusual Collection” was the theme on display at the Aldrich House in Elmwood, NE this past fall.

Many people submitted their unusual collections to be used so that as people toured the house they could see them. There was a description of what the collection was, who the collector was and why they started collecting this particular item.

For example: My cousin, had been collecting all sorts of Pez candy dispensers since he was 10 years old. From the presidents, to Star Wars, to KISS.

My granddaughter, had collected feathers from walks we would take when she was a very little girl.

Another couple of collections by friends of mine were some old cameras, with flash bulbs and cases. A wonderful collection was “Into the Woods”, showcasing books, a bonnet to the doll that Laura Ingalls had (not the original).

My son-in-law, collects old vintage jean jackets and overalls and has pulled them out of the most disasterous places to put them on display. He enjoys finding them and then learning all about their maker and time period.

There was a collection of Perler beads that had everything from sunglasses to a pirate boat. This sweet collector is a friend's daughter who made me smile everytime I walked by it.

One last to mention, was from a friend who loved to take walks and search. She would look for rocks in the shape of Nebraska. From little to big, it was a sight.

Why do I mention all of this? it's because yesterday was the day we took down all of the collections to make room for the new Christmas display.

This got me to thinking and then it turned into a conversation with God and then it turned into this blog.

Here's a question for you. Did you know that you and I are God's unsual collection?

Psalm 139:14 VOICE

I will offer You my grateful heart, for I am Your unique creation, filled with wonder and awe. You have approached even the smallest details with excellence; Your works are wonderful; I carry this knowledge deep within my soul.

Collections we have here on earth can be fun for a moment, but then they go right back in the box and get stored for another occasion.

God says that we are His unique designed person and that we have a purpose. We don't just have a shining moment and then get put away, we get to be on display all of the time. Some of us were found in disasterous places, some of us on a gentle walk, some of us went on a journey and some of us were wooed by His colors and fun. But, all of us are unusual and purposefully brought into His family, when we say “Yes” to His Son, Jesus! You can be unique and be on diplay in a museum of dead things, or you can be displayed at the right hand of Jesus, with His Life, for all to see.

John 3:16 is our way out of death and into Life.

I remember reading in Rest of the Gospel, a book I highly reccommend, about how God uses every dimple, scar, wart and color for His glory. Do you ever think that your oddity could be an open door for a conversation with someone? or how bout that crooked tooth you have that sticks out? Could it be that there is someone who might be drawn to it. I know this sounds silly, but believe me, I've had people come up to me with the most uniqueness that drew me to them. We are not to be cookie-cutter Christians, but to be the wonderful Christ-one that God made.

Today, is the day that we can praise Him for our uniqueness and be encouraged that we are apart of his family.

Let Him Shine in you today!

One of my favorite songs as a child was "This Little Light of Mine". It might be a good one to sing outloud and share with your kiddos and grandkiddos. It's simple truth shared in a fun way!

Weight training

Have you ever signed up for a gym membership?  I have!  I remember the whole process like it was yesterday.  It was most likely in the early part of the year when the gyms offered a reduced rate to join.  I had only to buy some new workout clothes and make my appointment to sign a contract and give them my monthly payment. 

After I arrived I was directed to a desk and listened to the person explaining all that the gym offered. As I began to take the tour, I was always a little intimitated when they would walk me by the area where you could lift weights.  I usually saw many people picking up weights and putting them down over and over again.  Questions I may have had were...how did they know how much weight to pick up?  how did they know how many repetitions to do?  how on earth did they get the muscles they had?   Then the person showing me around would ask me, if I'd like to have a personal trainer to teach me all about lifting weights?  I would think about it and then usually end up on the treadmill or the stationary bike.  It just seemed too much for some reason.

A few years ago, I remember thinking about how the Holy Spirit is likened to a trainer.  When we accepted Jesus as our Savior, we received a teacher or trainer, called the Holy Spirit.  Unlike working on the physical body, He is a trainer for spiritual growth of the body of Christ.

The verse that show us this is in John 14:26

(Jesus said) ....the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost (Spirit), whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

When we are in difficult situations or relationships, we have a great trainer who will teach us things through them.  We are encouraged to come to Jesus with our weaknesses.  I have many weaknesses in my life that I've tried to lift and carry on my own, but I've failed miserably.  When I pray and share my heavy situations with the Holy Spirit, He reminds me that I'm to let Jesus lift the weight for me.  This is so awesome!  At the gym on earth, I had to lift the weight and always walked away feeling like a failure.  But the holy heavenly gym is where I can share everything with Jesus and he will manifest himself through the Holy Spirit by giving me His strength.  Everytime I trust Him with a situation, I start to see my heavenly muscles develop.  Maybe you're asking ....what are heavenly muscles?

In Galatians 5:22-23 it says as Christians we have:

the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

To have my heavenly muscles worked out, it's when one of these is put under pressure, just like at the gym.  The only way a muscle can grow or be shaped is by bringing a resistance to it over and over again.  As we experience difficulty we can have one of the fruits or several be pressed in to for development. 

For example:

If it was easy to love everyone, we wouldn't need Jesus' love for people.  Each time I exchange my weak love, He gives me His strengthened love.  Every time I exchange my lack of patience He reminds me that He is my patience.  Do you see how this works?  I have all of the Spirit in my spirit and He and I are walking IN this life together.  That's how we can live through difficultly in this life and know that our Trainer is working with us through to the otherside.  Sometimes it's a short time and sometimes a longer time, but our spiritual muscles are being defined each and everyday, if we let Him lead, guide and direct us.  

The Apostle Paul says in:

2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Over and over throughout our day, we can lift weights and not be intimidated because Jesus is lifting them for us, in us and through us.  We soon find that we are able to love the not so lovely, be patient with things that make us wait and so on.

My cousin, Pastor Mike Roncaglia spoke on this very subject just last Sunday.  He shared that "God purposes that pressure should lead to enlargement"  IF you would like to watch it, the sermon is only available for one week, so watch before next Sunday.  The sermon starts at the 37:00 minute marker.  https://thurston.church/home

The next time you're under a weighty situation, instead of running away or skipping the weight, embrace your weakness in it and ask Jesus to strengthen you through it for your maturity in Him.

He's the best trainer out there.

Counting that matters

Psalm 130:5 NLT

I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word.

There was a children's show I watched as a child on television that had a character I liked. He would count everything! He was actually a "Count". I can hear him right now as I write this, saying, " one, ringy-dingy, two, ringy-dingy, three, ringy-dingy, as he rang a door bell. I wonder if you can guess who I'm talking about? Although, this is a fun memory, and we may laugh a little bit, I'm reminded in Psalms that it is Him we count on. How often do we count on things and people to meet our needs in life, only to have disappointment quickly set in?

Did you know that God counts all the time? He uses numbers all throughout the Bible for us to know this. The word "count" means to reckon up, calculate or compute.

For example; when Jesus paid our debt for sin, God was counting. What I mean by this, is that as far as God was concerned He counted our debt and pulled out the big rubber stamp, through Jesus’ accomplishment at the cross, and said "Paid in Full".

When we have financial debt in our lives it can feel weighty. When we think we owe people it can seem it will never come to an end. But with God, when he says paid in full....He truly means it!

I once heard a story about a couple that had oil discovered on their land in Texas. When they were informed of the discovery, the couple had been living in extreme debt. Although, they moved on to the land years before when they purchase it, they had no knowledge of the full wealth they possessed. I think as Christians, God inheriter’s, we can live like these people. We are in Christ, and in Him is the fullness of God, but we get stuck looking beyond Him to the circumstances and measurement sticks. We put our gaze on the bank to be reliable, or people and places to be our answers, but He is the only reliable One and the only Authentice Debt Payer! Whether you live in uptown, midtown or downtown, the question is this: Are you relying on you and your accounts, or are you reckoning with Him.

The next time you find yourself wanting to count on something or someone, you can ask yourself this, has God already settled this? Did He put it in the paid column? If the answer is " yes" then you can hold that thing or person with an open hand instead of clutching tightly.

His bank is full and you can cash your spiritual checks each day, in complete confidence.

Who’s on your mind?

Are you a mind reader?

What a question to start out with right? Ok, here's another one....

Do you think other people can read your mind?

If we are very honest with ourselves, we would have to answer "Yes" to both.

How refreshing it is to know that the only one who knows what we are fully thinking, is ourselves and of course God, who made us.

In the following verse, it says exactly that.

1 Corinthians 2:11

For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

Our minds are very important to God and he has a lot to say about them.
Here's another verse to look at:

Romans 8:5-6

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Focus our time thinking on Jesus, instead of what we think others are thinking? Wow! this a huge game changer to living in peace and joy.

Let's look at one more:

Psalm 115:12a

The Lord has been mindful of us;

Here is a verse worth spending time with! God thinks about us with His mind. He loves to think about us! Right now He is thinking about us.

I heard a statistic about how many thoughts a person has each day. Somewhere around 70,000 thoughts!

If we practice setting our minds on God through out our day, we are thinking alot about Him. What an incredible way to get to know your Creator, the One who loves you.

One more thought, we could speculate with our minds on what others are thinking, but what a waste of a perfectly wonderful day.

I'll close with this last verse -

I Peter 1:13 AMP

So prepare your minds for action, be completely sober [in spirit—steadfast, self-disciplined, spiritually and morally alert], fix your hope completely on the grace [of God] that is coming to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

You have control over your thoughts, so choose right now to think about Him, cuz, He's thinkin' about you.

Blessings and honor in Him!

He knows where He’s going

Did you know that transporatation is important to God?  He uses it all the time to move people and things from where they are to where He wants to take them.  

I was reminded of this when I read the story of Noah.  He was instructed to build an ark for rescue from the upcoming flood.   What He didn't realize was this would be an object to get him to where he needed to go.

What an awesome faith journey for Noah, as for 100 years he listened and obeyed God as he built the transportation needed .  It would eventually take him, his family and many, many animals where they needed to go.

What can this mean for you and me?  In Acts 17:28 it says: For in Him we live and move and have our being.  It means that if you are In Him, He is your Transporter, He moves in our lives!   His gift of Jesus was a way He moved and continues to move people from death in Adam to Life in Christ.  He always has places for us to go with Him! 

In Matthew 7:13,14: Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it.  For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.  

God is a transporter who made a map, has a compass and reads and adheres to road signs.  I love what Mike Wells said in his book, Problems, God's Presence & Prayer.  He uses a funnel as an illistration of how God transports us.

"Jesus indicates there are two roads men can follow:  the wide path heading to destruction and the narrow way directed toward life.  Believers are moved out of the wide path and into the narrow way through what I like to call God's funnel".

Today I was reminded of how we can have our day all planned out with what we think is a good road map.  Then you get a "detour sign" through a text asking for help with childcare.  I then looked at the road map for the day and saw I needed to talk through the detour option with my Transporter for the day.  He showed me how to adjust and move in a different direction.  Did you know that a detour is set up to protect you from something?  I heard Dr. Tony Evans last year talk about the subject of detours in our lives.  We can think they are an annoyance or hinderence to where "we" want to go, but He has a different plan that always involves our safety.

One last thing to think through...did you know that transport also means rapture?  I find this encouraging, because eventually our Great Transporter will take His family to live with Him in heaven.  Our final destination!

There are many great examples of  what it means to be transported when we look at the life of Jesus.  He was transported into in a womb.  He was carried on the hip of his mother.  He was taken to the cross.  He was moved to a tomb.  He was raised and ascended to the right hand of Father.  This is a small look at how Jesus was transported through each day as he lived here on earth.   The main thing to be aware of is that his Father was always His driver.  In the book of John we see this.

John 5:30 YLT  I am not able of myself to do anything; according as I hear I judge, and my judgment is righteous, because I seek not my own will (road map), but the will of the Father who sent me. (my words)

Some times the roads are clear, sometimes they are bumpy, sometimes they are narrow, but the most beautiful views are usually the roughest roads to be travelled on.

Today is a new day to let God drive your life to where He knows the best road to get you where He wants to take you.  

Let Him drive, He knows where we're going and He's always great company on the trip. 

Let's enjoy the ride.

Making a Joyful Noise

Romans 6:13

Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.

When I was 9 years old, I received a piano, I got signed up for lessons and began learning to play. It was quickly that I realized I was not going to be able to just sit down and play any ole song I liked. There was steady practice involved with lots and lots of scales. Oh, the scales! For me to get better though, I had to show up for each lesson, and I also needed to practice during the week. As time went by, I began to actually do well with the scales and learned to play pretty songs.

One thing about playing an instrument I found is that it never had any feelings about me playing it. What I mean by this, is that it was a thing that I put my hands on and it made music with each stroke of the keys. Feelings were never involved, atleast for the piano.

When I read this passage of scripture, I find that there is a word that goes along with this instrument it speaks of. The word "offer" is used 3 times, so that's got to be important, right? My piano never had to offer itself to me, it was always there. We are an instrument that has a living soul and thus we have a mind, emotions and decisions we can make. Think about this...the maestro or musician, namely, Jesus Christ, wants to play his instruments (his children) everyday. How do you think this happens?

Here's a thought...

In the morning, we wake up, and say "good morning, I'm here and ready for every tune you want to play today, Lord". This is how we offer ourselves to Him. It's really just a simple heart attitude toward our Father. Then, He will sometimes play soft music, other times he may take a rest, then other times he may bring in other instruments. Just like a concert. I don't know if you've ever thought about this like I'm describing, but it's kinda fun. The next time you look at a sheet of music, you will see that there are so many options for a complete and harmoneous song to be played.

One final thought, I can choose to offer myself as an instrument to God or I can choose to play my own tune. Even the "triangle" has a perfect spot in a band, that when called upon adds much to the song. But, if the triangle wants to only be a soloist, it can become just a loud clangy noise, that takes away from the other instruments, instead of adding something beautiful.

May His song be an opportunity for us to be apart of what He wants played today.

All glory and honor to Him!

2 Chronicles 5:13

It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord;

A Question For Gramma

One of my favorite verses in the Bible, is Philippians 3:10. The first five words of this scripture is where I want to spend some time with you.

They are...That I may know you.

I was with my oldest granddaughter this past week and she asked me a question that brought such a deep joy to me.

She asked, Gramma, will you tell me some things about yourself, because I don't really know things about you?

I chuckled and said I'd love to tell you things about me and I shared with her something from my growing up years.

Here is a question for us as God's children. Do we come to Him in prayer and ask Him a question like this?

Father, will you tell me something about yourself today?

I know for so many years, when I prayed I may have had many things on my mind I wanted to share with God. Not until a few years ago, did I see that Phil. 3:10 starts with - That I may know Him! This was something new to me and I welcomed the mind shift.

Many people grow up in church settings, and may see the Bible and prayer as tasks to complete, instead of a Person to know.

My granddaughter has been around me for her entire life, but it's not until now, at the age of 10, that she's realizing, I'm a person to get to know.

She and I have had many, many days together that we’ve shared our lives together. I've loved on her, I've snuggled her, fed her, taken her places, I'm sure you're getting the point. I've been being known to her throughout her life by what I do with her, but it's now that she's seeing me as more than her Gramma.

As Christians, this is applicable for us, also. We get saved, we go to church, we're taught to pray, and taught many other things to do as Christians. There comes a time though, when we see beyond our parents and the church people and have a question for God himself.

I became a Christian when I was 5 years old, but I can remember a time at the age of 21 that I had a question in my mind for God. I wanted to know if He really existed. I remember talking out loud to God in my car outside of a church building one day. There I sat, just having attended a funeral of a sweet woman our family knew, when suddenly I began to wonder if she had gone to heaven. I knew she loved Jesus and He was her Savior, but for some reason I was now having a question. This question was for God! So, I said out loud to Him, I know I prayed for Jesus to come into my heart when I was 5 years old and I believe that happened. I'm now having a doubt about it. What if I believe in You only because my mom and dad and the preacher told me to believe but You're not real. Wow! This was just like my granddaughter asking me her question that day. I had come to a point where I started to see God as a Person and I wanted to know Him, beyond salvation. The last thing I said to Him that day was I want to believe and I'm asking you to show me that you are really real.

Then, the clouds opened up and I heard God's voice....No, that's not what happened, ha, ha! But what did happen was through the next several years He began to show me how I couldn't make my life work apart from Him. I always looked to other people in my life to confirm my worth and I tried to use "things" to make me feel better. I also strived to make relationships work, and that didn't work either! Once those people, places and things came up empty, I finally came to the point with God that He was enough! and He loved me through it all as He showed me I was enough, too.

A book I read during this time of discovering God, as a Father, was “Captivating”, by Sherri Eldridge. A book that taught me how God spends each day, highlighting things with the sole purpose of captivating our hearts. He used this book to help me see how intentional He was and is toward me and that I get to know Him in a deeper way.

I hope this encourages you today, to ask God the Father a question about Himself. He delights to answer us!

Matthew 19:14

But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

A life sentence!

Have you ever watched a court show on television and heard the judge say these words to the defendant? "you will have a life sentence without the possibility of parole" and then the gavel comes down and the defendant's life is over as they knew it. It can be a very somber moment in the show leaving you thinking there's no hope for that person.

What if we could have a life sentence that we would be glad to receive? A life sentence that would actually add to our life and not subtract from it.

In Romans 5:12 we see that the first person who was created, Adam, had a life sentence that brought death to the whole human race through his choice. What this means is that God gave him the choice to choose from the Life tree to receive eternal life but he chose the fruit of the tree of good and evil, and from that moment on he had no life of God in him.

There is a quote by Christopher Bullock back in 1716 that sums this up well I think:

"Two things we know are certain on this planet - death and taxes!"

Although, we cannot escape either one of these on our own, (at least the death part) we do have a person who has stepped in to our world and made the death sentence a Life sentence.

In Romans 5:17 (King James version) we see this:

17 For if by one man's (Adam) offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.

I like the way the Message version of this scripture weaves it out for us to understand a little more clearly -

Romans 5:17 (The Message)

17 Yet the rescuing gift is not exactly parallel to the death-dealing sin. If one man’s sin put crowds of people at the dead-end abyss of separation from God, just think what God’s gift poured through one man, Jesus Christ, will do! There’s no comparison between that death-dealing sin and this generous, life-giving gift. The verdict on that one sin was the death sentence; the verdict on the many sins that followed was this wonderful life sentence. If death got the upper hand through one man’s wrongdoing, can you imagine the breathtaking recovery life makes, absolute life, in those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life-gift, this grand setting-everything-right, that the one man Jesus Christ provides?

This is the life sentence that we would all want if we understood that we can reign in life.

When we think about what it means to reign we probably think about royalty. This is exactly where we need to start from. Reigning in life sounds great but how does it come about and truly become a way to experience Christ as our Life?

Have you ever been in a circumstance that is restrictive and feels like your going to have the literal life sucked out of you? I've experienced this in my life and I know the reality of not thinking you could have joy or peace until you're out of it. As we have read this passage of scripture we can understand that circumstances may come and go but through Jesus we can reign or rule over them.

How can this be possible? Let’s look at these ways to reign in our lives -

1. we need to know that we belong to the King of Kings, the ultimate One who reigns. You can't reign if your not in His kingdom.

2. having an attitude of thankfulness and praise to Him in the midst of the trouble.

3. asking Him for guidance and wisdom brings about humility as you go through the situation.

4. waiting on Him to renew you thoughts it is very important! If we have thoughts that don’t bring life, we need to have them changed or renewed.

5. trusting Him with whatever the outcome may be, no matter how long it may go on.

These are just a few life giving ways to expererience our Life sentence in Christ.

We all have things we're going through in our lives, but if we truly know that Jesus is the way, the truth and the Life we can rest in Him as we walk through those things.

If you are a Christian what this means is that He is the way in and out of what's going on in our lives. Next, He hears and sees all things, so I can turn to Him in prayer and ask Him to show me the truth of what is happening to me and around me. Sometimes, we are not able to see things because of all the hurts and wounds in our lives, but take your situation to Him, discuss it with Him and leave it with Him. He never promised us that we would get out of the situation or problem, but He did say and show us many times in the Bible how He can work in the prisons we feel we’re in. Just go read the story of Joseph in the Old Testament and learn how he was wrongfully accused and then sold by his family and then thrown into circumstances beyond his control. If you keep reading you will see that God was with him the whole time and never left him. I know we can feel so alone in our struggles but do not believe this lie, because as God's children we are never alone, even if everyone leaves you, lies about you or just to put it plainly, they just flat out reject you. We have an opportunity right now to turn our attention towards Him, our wonderful Father. He is wonderful, counselor, peace, He's got it all. Then after all is discussed and left in His hands of protection and care we then remind ourselves continuously that we trust Him!

Today, is a day that can be in a life sentence unto Life not death! Today is "In the hands of the Living God! To know more about this I encourage you to check out the classes I teach on the home page.

Our lives are not to be lived any other way than through the Life of Christ in us. I'm so thankful for His Life Sentence!

Scripture references and encouragement:

Colossians 3:1-3

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Genesis 39:20-22

20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison,

21 the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.

Psalm 42:2a

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

Enjoy His Life today!

We’re just passing through

My life is a simple one and from the outside looking in it may seem small and very ordinary. My home is 500 square feet, YES! you heard me right and my wardrobe is minimal along with a car that is over 10 years old. In each one of these things I just shared, the main thing that comes to the fore is that these are all just things. But, in the hands of the Almighty God, these things are now apart of a great story of God's provision and faithfulness to me.

Did you know that houses, tents and possessions were a big part of the stories in the Bible? The word "house" is found over 1760 times, along with the word "tent" (I include tents, because people lived in them and didn't just go camping) being found around 235 times and possession is found 130 plus times. You may be asking yourself "so what does that matter to me?" The reason I bring these stats to your attention is because we can learn a lot about ourselves when we see how we value our homes and stuff.

In 2012 I moved out of a 3 bedroom house with a 2 car garage into a room at my daughter and son-in-law's house. You heard me right, I said a room! I put my things into a storage unit and stayed there with them for over a year and helped take care of my granddaughter who had come into the world at just 27 weeks old. I may write more about her in another blog, but needless to say, she is a miracle and at the age of 10 she is thriving and beautiful. So, back to the one room accommodations I had for that year, although it was small, I had all that I needed and was able to be apart of what God was doing there. Shortly after that year I began to think it was time to move back out to my own home again and I knew that I wanted something smaller than I had before and by living the way I did for the year, I actually welcomed the downsize. I had prayed that I would find a one bedroom, one bath home that I could buy, not rent and God provided exactly that. I drove by the little house one day later and saw the for sale sign in the yard exactly 1 block from where I was living. It had been for sale for a while, but I never saw it until I had prayed for it. I have now lived there for 9 years and it has been the best home I've ever lived in for no other reason than God provided it for me. He gets all the glory! He gets all the praise!

In the Bible we read in the book of Joshua about the 12 tribes of Israel and there is an account of how they came to the river Jordan and needed to cross over it to go to their new home called, the Promised Land. 9 1/2 of these tribes went over the river Jordan but 2 1/2 stayed behind because they didn't want to leave their tents and possessions. Without telling the whole story to you, the 2 1/2 tribes valued their tangible stuff more than the provision of God in the new land. Our perspective is so important when it comes to living here on the earth because if things have you then you spend all your time managing things, but if you have things you can hold them with an open hand and be fluid in where and what God has for you.

There is an old song that tells the story of this world not being our home, were just passing through. If you have been a person who grew up living in the same home, going to the local school and church, you may have a hard time seeing this as a place you are passing through. My family moved every couple of years as I grew up and I went to many schools. I learned early on in my life how to let go of things, but what I did have trouble with was letting go of my heart. I guarded it very tightly and didn't let people really know the real me. God used the things of my life to help uncover the wounds of my heart. I thought if I had the house, the car and the stuff that I would be fulfilled, but if you think about it, Jesus was not all about those things. Right out of the womb, he was on the move from the cave, to the house that the wisemen came to, then, they were on the move again from Bethlehem to Egypt to escape King Herod's decree. There is another account of Jesus and His family travelling when he was 12 and then we are given details of the moves Jesus experienced starting around the age of 30 for 3 years and he had no house and very little stuff.... but, he was rich in His Father.

As we have arrived at our destination for this new year, may we remember that every "thing" is to be summed up in Jesus from beginning to the end of our time here on the earth.

I leave you with this verse as a reminder that Jesus the Master Carpenter is at work right now preparing for us our true home with Him. Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus and not on this temporary place we live, is the truth to The Life worth living.

John 14:1-3 (NKJV)

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

The door is open, come on in!

Dayna

Statistics and scripture referred to can be found at biblegateway.com

Joshua 3 and 13

Philippians 4:12

I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need.

1 Timothy 6:6

Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

1 Timothy 6:8

And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

Hebrews 13:5

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

I Peter 2:11

Dear brothers, you are only visitors here. Since your real home is in heaven, I beg you to keep away from the evil pleasures of this world; they are not for you, for they fight against your very souls.

Matthew 2:11

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

The “In” and “out” of Christianity

I think it is timely that I would begin a Blog here at Open Door Access at the beginning of the Christmas season.  This was not really my plan to launch in 2022, but after I was finished with the content of this blog, I wrote the title out and then decided this would be a great time to launch it.   It all just seemed to make sense.  I hope you enjoy and Merry Christmas everyone!

The In and Out of Christianity

Did you know that Jesus' entry as a babe into the human race was met with…. "sorry there's no room at the Inn"?  Wow!  have you ever felt like this in your life?  I know I have.  Like, wanting to be "in" with the popular kids or "in" a different family or even "in" another place and time.  Well, we are in good company!  Jesus could have said those very things too.  But that was not the "in" that had value to him or to us. 

This year my church spent time going through the book of John in the Bible and I can't tell you how many times I saw that Jesus had an "in" with His Father.  One thing that stood out to me, was that because He was "in" His Father, he walked in full confidence as he faced daily challenges.

Jesus was written about in the Bible by men that were witnesses of His ministry life, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.   In those accounts and others, you will find these two words  "In Christ" over 90 times, which began me pondering how important it must be to know Jesus as the "In".  And even more importantly that I have an in, with Him.  Let me explain....

Recently, I shared at a women's retreat in Colorado about what a newly adopted child can go through after they have left an orphanage.  They get a new name, they get new parents, they get a new home and so on.  But, at first they don't know anything about these new things they possess, all they know is they left one place and entered into another.  For a while they live as an occupant of the house, just like at the orphanage.  They may even look at the new parents no different than the people who were placed over them at the old orphanage.  In the beginning of the new relationship the child may ask questions like...Will they forget me today? Will they feed me today? Will they protect me today?  The child brings their experiences with them from the old life and doesn't know how to live any other way.  The relationship is in place but the identity and security have not been established yet in their mind.  A lot of Christians live this way too!  They got into the family of God, but brought with them their old habits and ways to cope in their lives, not realizing that there is a whole new inheritance they have in Christ.   

So, how does one begin to live the new "In Christ"  life?  Just like this newly adopted little child, it's on the parents to show up, love up, put up and hug up.  Sounds pretty simple but it is indeed the way it works.  

This is what God offered Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in the book of Genesis.  He showed up regularly for their walks, to talk, spend time and to let them get to know Him and be loved by Him.    A verse that is dear to me is the one that says He will never leave me nor forsake me, what a wonderful promise from my Father.   So, just like the newly adopted child, I come to know my Father, because He shows up in Christ to be known.  They share themselves with me and teach me and love me through their faithfulness and provision.  Trusting Him moment by moment day after day as He remains faithful to me is the only "in" I'm interested in.  

As far as the "outs" well....there are none! when it comes to the family of God, once "in" always "In" .  I once heard it's like running water through coffee grounds and then trying to take the water back out.  You can't!  You just can't!  They can never be separated!   I've heard other great analogies, but since I'm definitely a coffee gal, I just had to get it in here somewhere.  See, you're getting to know me already. 

In future blogs, I'd like to expound on "in"  more in depth.  This is only the beginning and  I'm looking forward to showing up, spending time and getting to be known as we share in this "in Christ" Life.

There is always room in His In,

So, come on in!

Scripture references:

John 14:20 MSG

18-20 “I will not leave you orphaned. I’m coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me because I am alive and you’re about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I’m in my Father, and you’re in me, and I’m in you.

Luke 2:7 KJV

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

John 13:5-6 MSG

Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help;  I’m fearless no matter what.  Who or what can get to me?

Genesis 3:8a KJV

And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day:

Romans 5:15 PHILLIPS

But the gift of God through Christ is a very different matter from the “account rendered” through the sin of Adam. For while as a result of one man’s sin death by natural consequence became the common lot of men, it was by the generosity of God, the free giving of the grace of one man Jesus Christ, that the love of God overflowed for the benefit of all men.