The Walk Through God’s Green Fields

Written October 13, 2009

I see my reflection in the laptop screen. I am not the same man I arrived here as. My face is thinner. My eyes are different. My entire makeup as a person is different. Before I was a man that had a huge comfort zone insulating and isolating me. The new man has no comfort zone. He is out in the wild with God.  A man who is more alive than he has ever been for better or worse.

I initiated the divorce proceedings because my wife didn’t want to file until after the first of the year for tax purposes. I could not have this hanging over my head during the holidays like an executioner’s ax.  I have a new life to begin. She has already begun hers.

I will never paint her as a villain.  She tells me she doesn’t love me anymore and I can’t make her love me.

God is good. He is my strength and my fortress.

I went to the Post Office and rented a PO Box so I have an address. Strange, after seventeen years of marriage all I am now known only as “Box Holder, PO Box 836 Madisonville Kentucky 42431.”

A couple of weeks ago I lost my mind for a spell and got a tattoo on my right bicep. I completely understand why people get tattoos to mark significant events in their life. I wanted to mark an emotional earthquake in mine.  Not to signify her or what she means to me but an event that brought me to my knees and closer to God. I never want to forget. My tattoo is a cross made of three roman spikes.  And I must say, it’s pretty bada##. I told the artist what I wanted and he came up with a great design. When I got in the chair he asked me why I was getting it and I told him the whole story start to finish. He said, “I’m so sorry. That’s really, really sad. At least you aren’t doing something stupid like getting her name tattooed on you.” If I can talk to someone about Jesus using my tattoo, glory be to God.

One thing I have learned and take heed…if you don’t go to the mountain to really spill your guts you may get dragged there over the rocks. It ain’t a pleasant experience.

I have stopped worshiping at my home church. Too painful. I have been attending my friend Eric’s church. An interdenominational group of believers. The first Sunday I attended I cried the entire time. When the altar team assembled for people needing prayer I almost ran there and found myself in front of a Messianic Jew. I told him I needed prayer for a healed marriage. He grabbed my head and said the most beautiful, powerful prayer I had ever heard. Then I felt Eric’s hand on my back. He was there with me. What a wonderful friend. In fact, recalling it now is making me cry. At the end of the prayer the Messianic Jew uttered in ancient tongues. It caused no fear or confusion in this deep fried Southern Baptist child. It brought only peace. Bring it on God.

A few days ago my pastor JD called to check on me. He asked what I was doing and I said, “To be honest JD, I’m pacing the floor wondering what the hell happened.” He chuckled and replied, “You are exactly right. Hell happened.” Can we have an Amen?

But something great and miraculous is happening to me. God is in the process of making me into a brand new man. I don’t even know who the guy was who left his home in the woods. I am so far out of my comfort zone and so far from ok I don’t know what they look or smell like anymore.

I am in a fire. I can’t jump out of it. I can’t go around it. I have to go through it. And that I am, by the grace of God, to the other side and out to the lushest, greenest pasture I could ever imagine.

God and I have begun work on Cecil version 2.0.

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Written October 9, 2009

As I write this I am no longer where I normally write.

I’m not at my three thousand square foot dream home in the office or upstairs in the prayer room with a cinnamon bun scented candle burning.

No. I’m in a place and time I never thought I would be.

My new home is a small apartment in the barn of my employer who is a local physician. Imagine yourself in a hotel room and in the adjacent room there is a pony named Monica who likes to kick her stall in the middle of the night, eight goats, four dogs, five cats, a rooster named Flower that gets up really early in the morning and a steer with an attitude named Lucky.

As I look around my new and alien domicile, I see the things I hastily brought with me: eleven shirts, seven pairs of pants, a jumbled bag of toiletries, my bible, laptop, cell phone, iPod and a box of Q-tips.

Twenty-one days ago my existence exploded.

I fell out of life.

My wife of seventeen years told me she wanted a divorce. There was no chance of working it out. She told me she wanted space and everything to remain as is. We could live in the house together until the divorce was final and our home sold. Just as friends.

God knew a storm was coming. In August the Holy Spirit led me to hang up teaching the youth at my church and stop writing for this blog.

I didn’t see the clouds swirling or batten down the hatches of my boat. I was caught on deck and hit full force with a category five hurricane.

Crap happens.

My house was no longer my home. I couldn’t stand it. It was too overwhelming. I had to get out and didn’t care where I landed. The next day my wife was going out of town shopping with friends. I made up my mind I wouldn’t be there when she got back. When she left for her shopping trip I called the only person who could help me. My boss. I told him I had about eight to ten hours to find somewhere to go. I didn’t care where, even if I had to sleep on a dirt floor. I desperately needed a sanctuary. He held up his hand and said, “No problem Cec. I’ve got you covered.” Then he whipped out his cell phone and called his main farm hand. “I have an employee with a personal emergency who will be staying in the barn apartment for a while. Would you get it ready for him?” He looked at me and with a smile said, “Cec, give him a couple of hours then head that way.” It pays to work for a Godly man who loves his employees. Crying with gratitude I hugged him and went back to the house my wife and I had shared. I walked through every room and cried. In anger I went outside and ripped up the five hundred feet of underground fence for our chocolate labs Dolly and Lexi that was almost finished. And then, like a great husband should, I mowed the yard.

After mowing I sat down at the table where we had shared countless meals, holidays, celebrations and prayers and wrote her a  letter explaining why I was leaving.  She wanted space. I was giving it to her. All she had to do was call me. Then I called my pastor JD.  What a great man of God he is. He talked to me for several minutes then prayed for me. It was very comforting.

I went through the house and started grabbing things. Just the basics. When I got to the barn the farm hand was so kind and gracious. He helped take my tattered and torn life into my new home. I was in a stunned stupor. When I got squared away in the barn, I started to pray like I’d never prayed before.

Laying flat on my face on the carpet I was crying out to God for a restoration of my marriage. I was groaning and sobbing. Words cannot describe how wrenched I was. God was so silent, it deafened me. My face into the carpet in between sobs I took a deep breath and discovered the carpet smelled like pee. Very, very fitting. Later that night my boss came down to the barn to check on me. Standing outside I told him, “Doc, I’m smoking to help me deal with this” then pulled out a menthol and lit up right in front of him. “In fact Doc, I’m gonna smoke my brains out. I’m going to smoke at work too. I’m gonna wear the back door off its hinges going outside to smoke. So get use to it.” I puffed like a freight train. I thought he would fall over.

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Someone once told me worrying is like rocking in a rocking chair. You are keeping busy, but getting nowhere.

Being a Christian does not save us from the storms of life. Repeat after me, “Being a Christian does not save us from the storms of life.”

In fact Jesus directly addresses this in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Peace in this life can be a rare commodity. Chasing after this, trying to find that. We often wear ourselves out seeking what the world tells us should be important in our lives. Stress and anxiety push away rest and contentment in Christ.

The world wants us to see wealth and possessions as an indicator of success in our life.

If we are not careful we fall into “possession obsession.” I fell face first into this snare. If you are new this blog, take some time to read the ten part Out Of Egypt series. It is a looking glass to what I was, and who I am now.

Jesus takes the conventional wisdom of the world and stuffs it on it’s head with this passage:

^{Mt 6:19} “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

^{Mt 6:20} But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

^{Mt 6:21} For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

^{Mt 6:22} “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.

^{Mt 6:23} But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

^{Mt 6:24} “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.“

What I have learned in my walk with God is he only going to give me what I can handle and keep in proper perspective. He gives and He takes away.

There are times when I do fret somewhat, but when I read what Jesus has to say about worry; He helps me bring things back into His way of thinking. Once again, and always, Christ’s ways are opposite of the world.

^{Mt 6:25} “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

^{Mt 6:26} Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

^{Mt 6:27} Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ?

^{Mt 6:28} “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.

^{Mt 6:29} Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

^{Mt 6:30} If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

^{Mt 6:31} So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

^{Mt 6:32} For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

^{Mt 6:33} But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

^{Mt 6:34} Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Get out of your rocking chair and walk, with Christ.

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To wrap up Tweet Week is a post by my good friend in Ontario Canada Diane Broos.

Diane is set apart on Twitter my her friendliness and compassion for others. She  “encourages those who forgot to duck when life threw them a curve ball.”

Diane has a great website full of inspiring articles and videos as well as books she has written. She also has a great blog that I hope you visit often!

Thank you so much Diane for your encouragement and compassion in Christ and being a helper to those who forgot to duck.

Cec

Compassion! Who needs it?

by Diane Broos

Do you remember the day that you allowed Christ to rule and reign in your life? I do! For me it was an experience I shall never forget. Like most people I was facing challenges that seemed insurmountable. I felt and rightly so that I wasn’t able to face them alone. I had just plain run out of steam and answers. Yes, it had to come to that! After I turned my heart over to Him I remember driving in my car the very next morning. Looking out my window the sky seemed so much bluer and the grass so much greener. As a matter of fact, it was like I was seeing all of it for the very first time.

My relationship with Christ began when I was thirty-three years of age. So many Christians, including leaders, seemed to be crowing about the fact that they came from a long and strong Christian heritage. At first I felt deprived, then I noticed something peculiar. It seemed as though some were relying on that heritage to procure a special place or privileges in the body of Christ. My conclusion was simple; while a family’s heritage in Christ is admirable, I learned that nothing could take the place of developing a vibrant personal relationship with Him. Don’t ever let anyone make you feel as though you are less spiritual because you had to start from scratch. Remember, God doesn’t have any grandchildren, only children!

A disturbing recent trend in the church is counting the possession of material comfort or wealth as a demonstration of an individual’s spirituality. This is a slippery slope, one that is dangerous on a number of levels. God wants us to prosper, I get that, but He is careful to warn us in, Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” The emphasis is on seeking God first, not material possessions. Let’s check our hearts and see what we really believe. We may fool people but we will never fool God. He sees, hears and knows all. I attempt to remember this each day!

Have you ever noticed that when little children want to hide they cover their eyes? Their belief is that if they can’t see you, you can’t see them. Funny, as adults we do the same thing with God! We spend so much time working on our outward appearance, our standing in society, our bank accounts and our special seats in church. All the while who is looking at our hearts? God is looking to see what is written there. Are we more concerned about what others think, or more importantly what our heavenly Father thinks? Selah

Following God, really following him, not just in word but also in action will always cost us something. Doesn’t any real relationship? For many years I heard that God had already done, accomplished or provided all that He was going to. If you found yourself in a trial, it was because you had brought it on yourself. Perhaps this is true. Just maybe, you have brought it on so to speak, simply because you refuse to quit in the battle for your destiny. Paddling upstream again the current towards destiny is always a much more difficult task than floating downstream going with the flow.

“Mercy saves us from what we deserve; Grace gives us what we did not deserve.”

What does criticizing others in the midst of their battle accomplish? Internal renovations are not always readily apparent on the outside. Let’s not be counted as someone who jumps on the bandwagon of criticism singing the songs of judgment. I’ve gone through a number of trials in my life. What I’ve noticed is, some people only offer to help as a pretext to finding out the gory details in order to judge and then just walk away feeling superior.

Have we been created to be judge and jury of another’s life? How can we possibly judge another person? We can’t possibly know what has been arrayed against them, nor all the details. Could we honestly say that we would have made better choices if we were in their shoes? When we judge others, we find ourselves on the wrong side of God. God is full of mercy, grace and forgiveness. If we fail as the church to walk in compassion, how will we ever be able to reach the world? The world is searching for demonstrated genuine love and can smell a hypocrite a mile away.

The Message translation of Matthew 7:1-5 says it best. “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults- unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.”
C.H. Spurgeon said, “Those who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls.”

When we sit on the sidelines of life, we add nothing to the game. We will never break a sweat. We will never be weary or at odds with the majority. We will never be criticized, ostracized or demoralized. We are neither a threat to the enemy nor an asset to the kingdom. We will simply just exist!

“Remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That’s why it’s a comfort to go hand in hand.” Emily Kimbrough

My grandfather introduced me to boxing when I was four years old and it has always served as an analogy of life for me. I learned that life was not a popularity contest. Perhaps that is why I have always fought for the underdog. I was raised this way and have raised my children to defend the weak and less fortunate. As a mother what I am the most proud of in my children is not who they know, where they live, where they went to school or even how beautiful they are. I am most proud of the fact that they have compassion resonating on the inside of them and it freely flows out to others. What a wonderful and priceless gift!

Abraham Lincoln said, “I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.”

Let us dare to walk in compassion with others. Some take advantage of those that do, others, see this as a sign of weakness. Isn’t life more than “Me, myself and I?” Try living a compassionate, caring and loving life. Lets imitate our heavenly Father.

Warning: This lifestyle is not for the faint of heart.

My Prayer:
“Dear Lord: As in this world I toil and through this world I flit, I pray make me a drop of oil and not a piece of grit.”-Anonymous

© 2009 Diane Broos All Rights Reserved

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This guest post is by my  friend in Singapore Thomas Tan.

His Tweets are always on target and on mission for Christ. What a gift he has. He never wavers while on Twitter while myself on the other hand tend to blather sometimes about food or yard work. Thomas stays focused like a laser beam pointing people to Christ.

Thomas’ blog is a great read. Full of wisdom and compassion. I visit it often and encourage you to do the same.

Thank you so much Thomas for your efforts in reaping a harvest for Christ.

Cec

Christian Witnessing On Twitter

by Thomas Tan

A dear sister in Christ, Juanita, whom I came to know on Twitter, wrote an article entitled “Are Christians wimp?”. In it, she asked if Christians are actively witnessing to atheists and if they do support one another in online witness, such as that which often takes place on Twitter. I encourage you to read her full post to better appreciate the context of this article. My response to her was as follows:
Hi Juanita,

This is your fellow Twitterer, Thomas (twhtan).

The Bible says in 2 Tim 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

Many Christians are sadly, Christians in name only. They are saved but have yet to bear fruit or experience the power of GOD beyond salvation. They are the spiritual babies the Apostle Paul spoke about in Heb 5:11-14. They are not ready to even testify of the hope they have in Christ Jesus. The growth of a Christian comes about by giving & making ourselves available to GOD, which many Christians struggle with, citing family, personal commitments, etc as reasons. As the rest of us who serve give through our service to GOD, our faith in Him grows, and we receive even more from Him in response to the challenges we face in ministry. We learned to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to drink of the Holy Spirit daily, and to go forth “by His Spirit”. We also appreciate the importance of & need to seek GOD daily, spend time in His Word so as to understand His will for us, and to equip us with the right words for the occasion.

In the process, we grow to rely on Him & to share His heart for the lost. We are gradually conforming to His image. We now know His voice as the sheep recognizes the Good Shepherd, and we trust in His rod & everything about Him as David described in Psalm 23. These are the ones who will go into the crowds as Jesus & His disciples did. They are not afraid to stir up controversies by their proclamations or actions arising from their faith in Christ. They are ready, in season and out of season, to share the eternal hope they have in the LORD. These are the ones who will rise up to the challenge, but herein lies the question. Where are they when you need them?

Not all are on Twitter. Some are witnessing offline as I am sure. Some are on Twitter as you can discern. Yet again, not all are online when we are ministering. I have personally had a sister on Twitter pray for me as I ministered, and I believe you did too. Another responded directly to the atheist I was witnessing to, while I slept due to timezone differences. Some prayed and told me so. In a way, these have supported me as far as they could, and I know that even beyond that, they are praying for the lost & those among us who are witnessing to the lost.

I have been sending out calls to brothers & sisters on Twitter to support each other in all ways possible. For those who are not ready to engage the lost verbally, they can always pray and in the process build up their faith as they witness how we witness to the lost. I see this as mentoring via Twitter. Others will come forward with prayer support. For the pastors & Bible scholars out there on Twitter, I would encourage them to play an active role in reaching the lost for Christ. Ministering to the congregants is one thing, reaching out to the lost is another thing which pastors need to keep abreast with, and for which Bible scholars come in handy, since we don’t have all facts to respond to the myths that atheists put forward.

Above all, the love of Christ in us must propel us forward to reach these lost ones. We must weep as He wept when He surveyed Jerusalem in Luke 19, and see the lost as He sees them. We are but many members of the same Body, each with his/her own gifts in Christ. Let us exhort one another to grow in Christ first, so that they may join the rest who are serving on the front line.

In His Love,
Thomas
I want to focus on the paragraph in bold above on how Twitter can be effectively used for Christian witnessing today.

I am a new but fairly regular user of Twitter, having started in Mar this year. In the beginning, I used it along the lines of Ephesians 5:19 which exhorts believers to “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs”. It was the perfect platform to encourage & lift up the Body of Christ with GOD’s Word, and I know I have been encouraged many a times from scriptures tweeted by fellow believers.

Soon, I discovered another use for Twitter - its “soapbox” potential to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Since Twitter has a large and growing user base & I linked it to my Facebook account, it provided just the right opportunity for me to share nuggets from the Bible & personal thoughts, aimed at provoking a response from unsaved souls to GOD’s salvation plan for them. In fact, it was my tweets on atheism, hell, GOD’s judgment and homosexuality that elicited strong responses from unsaved souls, and which first revealed this potential.

As I witness on Twitter, I came across other believers doing the same, like sister Juanita mentioned above. Once, when Juanita was witnessing “live” to an atheist, I prayed and sent her verses in support of her sharing with the atheist, whom I subsequently also witnessed to. On another occasion, I was witnessing to a couple of atheists when I tweeted for prayer support, and received more than that - a brother in Christ actually helped me respond to an atheist while I rested for the night due to timezone differences. Yet on another occasion, a fellow believer helped follow up with an atheist I had ministered to earlier.

These are but examples of how Twitter offers Christian witnessing a whole new dimension. It allows Spirit-filled Christians from around the world to come together as informal teams sharing GOD’s Word with non-believers, as the Holy Spirit directs them. Team witnessing also strengthens the bond between members of the Body of Christ as we support one another in prayer and in love. As mentioned above, it also allows Christians to learn from one another as we witness online.

Having said that, we should keep in mind the whole objective of witnessing, that is, to share the love of Christ with the aim of leading the lost to Him. This should never be used to run down unbelievers, especially atheists and gays who often claim to be victims of hate campaigns, or be perceived as bullying. Always pray in the Spirit to ask for directions & wisdom in team witnessing. Also consult & clarify with one another privately, either via Direct Messages (DM) or email when working together. Team witnessing doesn’t mean 2 or more believers concurrently tweeting the person being ministered to. Although more than 1 atheist and gay person have ganged up on me & other fellow believers on Twitter, this isn’t the behaviour we want to encourage here as it will put the person being ministered to on a defensive mode.

From my experience, it’s better to have one person witness at any one time, while the rest pray or offer scripture/domain knowledge support, eg. facts surrounding evolution, flood, interpretation of scriptures, as they can follow the tweets being exchanged. We can, however, take turns to witness to the same person.

It is my sincere desire that mature & Spirit-filled Christians will tap on this opportunity to evangelize on Twitter, and by extension, Facebook and other social networks which accept status updates from Twitter.

In His Love,

Thomas

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This guest post for Tweet Week is written by my friend Marci Woodruff from the great state of Texas.

Marci’s testimony is very powerful. From deep personal tragedy came Spiritual triumph in Christ.

Her great blog “Life Reframed” is touching and powerful.

Thank you Marci for the witness you project for Christ.

Cec

The Reality Of God’s Amazing Love

by Marci Woodruff

In August 2005, I began the hardest chapter of my life. My family and I were involved in a SUV rollover accident leaving me paralyzed from the shoulders down. Though told I’d never walk or be able to care for myself, through much work and miraculous intervention, I am now walking and taking care of myself.

Because of the disability that has followed, I have had massive amounts of time alone with God, his Word and my questions about life. It has been beyond precious and has forever changed me. I often tell people that of course I would love to be healed fully but if it meant going back to the “old” me, I would choose to stay the “new” me, fully in love with Jesus Christ and keenly aware of His grace each day.

If I had one thing I believe is just absolutely essential to understand if you are to have an effective joy-filled walk with Christ it would be that God REALLY loves you with an amazing incredible, undefineable and everlasting love. A love we can only begin to possess as we spend time seeking Him. I love Romans 5:6-8.

Romans 5: 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

In my prison ministry letters, I always point these 2 things out to the inmates: 1-You are deeply loved 2- No matter what you have done, you are forgiven. Why? Because I find that these are the two things that we as Christ followers find hardest to believe. We can’t understand why God loves us or why, knowing us, He would forgive us. WE wouldn’t be that kind and often we aren’t!

Love is most overused word in our culture. We say we love the smell of fresh ground coffee in the morning, cool rain in the midst of a hot summer, and a good book! We love our favorite restaurant with friends we love getting and giving gifts and who hasn’t seen a t-shirt with “I ? NY”? Thankfully, God’s love is deeper than any emotion we can imagine and something we only begin to model once we drink it in and believe it about ourselves. In a nutshell, We “like”, God LOVES!

Jeremiah 31:3-”I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”

He has drawn you to Him! Let that fall on you!! You are his chosen! Our love for Him grows as we spend time with him- in prayer, in his word, and with his people. We have to cultivate our love for him.
If we truly believe that God loves us as the bible says He does, that is when each area of our daily walk will be transformed. Obedience to God comes out of a supernatural change he causes in our hearts. If we are just trying harder, we will give out!

Go to God, the lover of your soul. Tell him that you don’t understand this love but you want to love Him and follow Him. When the gospel of Jesus Christ changes your heart, you will begin to love like He loves, forgive like he forgives and then you will impact those around you for Christ. You will never be the same!

If we truly believe that God loves us as the bible says He does, that is when each area of our daily walk will be transformed. Obedience to God comes out of a supernatural change he causes in our hearts. If we are just trying harder, we will give out!

He already knows you are struggling with being his beloved. Start reading about his love and asking him to help your unbelief.

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This guest post for Tweet Week is authored by my friend Kurt in Reno.

Kurt’s Tweets are always very sincere, kind and most of all Christ centered. When I am Tweeting I always look see if he is online so I can say hello to him.

Kurt also has a great blog called Broken Yokes. I visit it a lot and I hope you will too.

Thank you Kurt for your sincerity for the Kingdom and being a strong Brother in Christ.

Cec

The Soothing Voice Of Encouragement

by Kurt

As Christians we are called to build one another up in faith, to consider others as better than ourselves, to love one another as Christ loved us.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves” Philippians 2:3 (NIV)

How many times do you see in the secular world, people tearing each other down, hurling insults at one another, criticizing each other, or taking delight in seeing someone else fail. Sadly, many times, we are also witness to this same type of behavior within the church.

Don’t you think the revival of the church and the Christian community at large starts in the hearts of men and women? Don’t we suffer through enough strife in the secular world already? Isn’t the example of God’s grace and mercy in our own personal lives good enough? As followers of Christ, shouldn’t we be the voice of encouragement?

In one form or another, the word “encourage” appears in the bible roughly 70 times. It goes against everything we stood for when we lived in darkness, but God has shone His graceful light upon us and now we have been called to shine that light upon others. We, as the body of Christ, must encourage one another in love. We must be the selfless givers of encouragement to those who have stumbled, to those who are in need, to those who just need to hear the caressing voice of someone who loves them.

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” Eph. 4:29(NIV)

The body of Christ has many different parts and when one of those parts breaks down, who among us will come to help put that part back together. After all, aren’t we all part of the same body?

“There is one body, and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all in all” Eph. 4:4-6 (NIV)

There are times when many of us are weakened in our faith; when we feel somewhat separated from God; when we can’t seem to feel His presence, or hear His voice. It is in those times that the oneness of love that we all share in Christ Jesus, must be given graciously to the brethren in need.

My hope and prayer is that we, as the body of Christ, would build one another up; would sacrifice our own needs for the needs of others; would be the soothing voice of encouragement to those who have stumbled. Father give us the heart of a humble servant. Help us to be more compassionate; to be the soldiers that stand as an example of the new revival within the church. May God strengthen us in our commitment to the well being of His body so that we can boldly bring His message of Truth to the world. Amen.

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Kicking off Tweet Week is my friend Nita from somewhere “stuck in suburbia”.

She does most of her Tweeting via her Blackberry and some days she just flat burns her phone up with Tweets. I once remarked to her the battery for her phone must be as big as a Volvo.

Nita’s witness on Twitter is so strong in Jesus. I always look forward to what she has to say.

If you use Twitter I highly recommend Nita to follow. Her profile is here .

Thank you Nita for your inspiration and friendship in Christ.

Cec

The Best Things In Life Are Free

by Nita

I spend a considerable amount of time with some really great people who happen to believe very differently from me.

Somehow we tend to get along very well and we are able to agree to disagree on many differences regarding faith. At times I find myself learning some great life lessons from this group, and I am able to (relax at times) and be myself without being judged or ridiculed for my way of life and belief. I have learned a great deal of open minded rationales and actions that call for great commitment and devotion toward all humanity.

This group of well educated Quakers consider themselves the “Hands of God”. They are some of the most devoted individuals that I have ever known. They work for the downtrodden and the homeless diligently all the while holding firm to their belief that God is a light in all man. They value the love of morals and nature. They take time with all men, and try to understand everyone’s way without judgment. They appear to aspire to the righteousness of God.

My question to one of my dear friends recently was one that I, as a bible believing child of Jesus, felt the strong desire to ask without judgment. Very gently, I inquired.. of all the great things you have done for the poor, with two advanced graduate college degrees, and all the kindness that you have shown to humanity….”When you die, where will you spend eternity”? The friend laughed and politely said:”the body and soul ceases to exist upon death”.

We began to go back and forth with a discussion that seemed to go nowhere. I became frustrated. That night I prayed that God would send another messenger from him to water the seeds of salvation discussion that had been sowed.(1 Corinthians 3:6) Considering that there are some wonderful people on this planet, they do great things in the name of saving humanity.

There is only one Saviour by which we are saved, and his name is Jesus Christ! Scripture tells us in John 14:6 that Jesus is the way. Society finds that answer too easy and close minded. They have been blinded by the cares and the snares of the enemy. Salvation is free and simple, but society wants to make it harder than it is. Ephesians 2:8 tells us that it is by grace that we are saved, not by works.

We as believers must continue to remember the “good people” in our neighborhoods, the smiling people that we meet in the supermarket and our co-workers.

We must remember them in prayer and by sharing Jesus Christ with everyone we meet. One never knows when they will come face to face with eternity, and what a great insurance policy to have by knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour!

ROMANS 10:9 the best thing in this life is free!

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Hi Everyone,
Starting Monday August 10 I am proud to be hosting “Tweet Week” on this blog.

Five days of guest posts from fellow Christians I have met through Twitter who really inspire me with their Tweets.
I have read and re-read all of the pending posts several times. I am already blessed by what the Holy Spirit is teaching through these writings.

Please don’t miss it and let your friends know about “Tweet Week” on God’s Green Fields!

Blessings!
Cec

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