Pick Up the Pieces

As a teenager she thought she was invincible, nothing could detain her. She was confident, smart and beautiful. She was the life of the party. With these kind of attributes, how could she have a care in the world?

Years go by. High school is over, college years ensue. The parties are bigger, louder, and wilder. Everyone is drinking, drugging, dancing, laughing, and having sex. Wild, crazy, "carefree" nights. From one fun night to the next, she’s making many intimate friends. She’s young and beautiful… she’s not hurting anyone… she’s just having a good time. Besides, there are so many guys out there, why not enjoy them?

College graduation comes and goes. She’s in her early twenties, now the real partying begins. Over 21 years old – the world is at her fingertips. She works her 9-5 but makes sure to go out almost every night. Out with the girls. Short skirts and high heels. Guys buying her drinks all night. At the end of the night, his place or hers didn’t matter to her. Many mornings of not knowing who he was or how she got home. But she’s young and "carefree"... it’s all in good fun, right?

More years down the road, she says she’s tamed her ways. An occasional night out, not as reckless as before. From many male encounters to just a handful. She thinks she has it all together. She’s beautiful, successful, and still "carefree." To her, life couldn’t get any better.

"Your test came back positive. You have HIV. We’d like you to come in to discuss your treatment options."

This was crushing. Each spoken word was an anvil-like blow to her heart. Not her! How could this be?! When did this happen? Who did she get it from? How could this happen to someone that was invincible?

She couldn’t possibly know who she contracted this fatal disease from, for there were too many to count. Countless men throughout the years, some even nameless never to be seen again. Her decision to be promiscuous and "carefree" came at the cost of her health.

With no cure, all those years of a "carefree" lifestyle will cost her life.

But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out. (Numbers 32:23)

The bible continuously reminds us to refrain from sexual desires.

Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:18, 20)

Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress? For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he ponders all his paths. The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray. (Proverbs 5:20-23)

We have come into an era where sex is main stream. It’s unavoidable, from commercials to movies to fashion. It is one of the easiest sins to fall prey to. Day after day, so many try to justify premarital sex. But it is, in fact, inexcusable. It is, in fact, against the Word of God.

As Christians, we are held to God’s commands. We should exemplify His words in every way… including what we do with our bodies. Our bodies are His temple. HIS temple. We should not abuse or desecrate it.

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:14)

When you have sex, you are giving that person a piece of yourself. They get a physical, emotional, and mental piece of you. With each thought; with each act; with each person, you lose something within yourself.

When you marry… the day you join your life with the partner that God has intended for you… how can you say your partner is getting all of you? How are you ‘whole’ if you’ve lost pieces of yourself from premarital sex?

Pick up the pieces.

Stop giving yourself away. No matter what your past experience has been, God offers you total forgiveness when you repent. He offers complete healing for the areas that have been broken. Ask the Lord for forgiveness for your lustful desires and sins. He will work within you, making you whole once again.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. (Ezekiel 36:25)

Please realize that from this moment on you can start over with a clean slate. You can decide right now that you want to make good choices about your purity from now on.

Romans 12:1
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

Barbers and God

This is a good analogy explaining why God allows pain and suffering:

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed.

As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation.

They talked about so many things and various subjects.

When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer. "Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things."

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument.

The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt.

The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."

"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber.

"I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"

"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."

"Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me."

"Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

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James 4:8

Hebrews 11:6
Proverbs 4:20-23
Psalm 107:20
Exodus 15:26

1 Corinthians 2:14

The Cracked Pot

A water bearer had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his masters house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.”

"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"

"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your masters house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts." The pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the masters house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the Pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.


The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pots side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

Each of us has our own unique flaws. We’re all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His Father's table. In God's great economy, nothing goes to waste. Don’t be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them, and you too can be the cause of beauty. Know that in our weakness we find our strength.

2 Corinthians 12:10 "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Seeds

Have you ever passed a barren field in the winter that transforms into a beautiful field of flowers in the spring? Or seen someone constantly partying, living their life with the "Sex, Drugs and Rock-n-Roll" motto? And some time later they’ve tamed their ways, go to church, and follow a more humble lifestyle?

Well, the transformations of the barren field and the person have something in common… a seed.

One seed started the chain. One seed started the change from barren to beautiful. A seed within helped cultivate that person into a child of God. In our lives, God’s Word (the bible) is our seed.

Mark 4:30-31
Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground."

You see, God's Word is as alive as a seed. On the outside, the bible looks like just another ‘book’ with stories of yore, stories you might not imagine to be true. At first glance, the words look lifeless and powerless. But it is quite the opposite!!!

1 Peter 1:23-25
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For,
"All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you.

So why is the bible compared to a seed? Let’s list the similarities:

LIFE GIVING
A Seed - Its outside look is very deceiving. A seed has the ingredients needed WITHIN to produce tangible life, one that appeases the senses.

The Word of God - Its outside look is very deceiving. The bible has the messages within its pages needed to familiarize you more with God and ways to transform yourself into His vessel. He speaks through them to accomplish His purposes.

Luke 8:11
This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.

2 Timothy 3:16
Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action).


PLANTING
A Seed - Seeds can’t grow as they are… they must be planted in the right place to see fruitful results.

The Word of God - In order for the Word of God to produce in your life, you must plant His Word in your heart and mind. READ and SPEAK the Word!

Romans 10:10
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.


SIZE
A Seed - A seed is tiny compared to the size of the plants is brings into being.

The Word of God - The problems we face in life seem enormous at times and scripture seems so minimal in size compared to it. If the word of God is well planted, it will grow within you and will prevail over your trials.

Matthew 13:31
He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.


POWER
A Seed - A seed is able to grow through dirt and rocks. It pushes its way to the light.

The Word of God - If God’s Word is planted in your heart and mind, it will also push through the dirt and rocks in your life.

Proverbs 30:5
Every word of God is tried and purified; He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him.


TIME
A Seed - A seed does not produce over night. It takes time to see its harvest.

The Word of God - It takes time to see the fruit of God’s Word working in your life. You must remain strong and steadfast, well planted in His Word, and when God is done preparing or molding you, He will use you for His doings. As anxious as you may get; as prepared as you think you might be, you must remember that this is all done in God’s timing. His timing is perfect and only He knows when we are truly ready.

Psalm 92:12-13
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the LORD,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.


NOURISHMENT
A Seed - A seed which is dug up, or not watered, will not produce.

The Word of God - The seed of God’s Word (in you) must be protected and taken care. This is accomplished by being in the Word, praying and living out the Word. We must put our knowledge into practice. If we are only seers (reading) and not doers then we will not grow. We must act.

Isaiah 55:8-11
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.
9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.


HARVEST
A Seed -The more seeds planted, the greater the harvest.

The Word of God - The more seeds planted, the greater the harvest. Grow in God’s Word. Apply it to every aspect of your life and you will reap a bountiful harvest! Keep in mind that you are planting seeds by the way you live your life. People are always watching so even if you are not actively witnessing to someone, you may be planting a seed by what you actions.

2 Corinthians 9:6
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.


We are taught as babes to cherish the miracle of growth, to embrace the natural beauties of the world. We are taught that plants and fruits all begin with a seed; a planted, well nourished seed.

Our lives should be viewed the same way. With God’s Word planted in us; with His scriptures of life growing in our hearts, we will develop into a natural beauty in His eyes… a child of God! We will emulate His design. We will prosper in every corner of our lives. We will triumph over all challenges.

And it all begins with a little seed.

It all begins by reading the bible.

Acquainted With Grief

Today marks the 10 yr anniversary of my father's passing. Although it's easier to cope with as the years go by, there is still, and will always be, a part of me that misses him terribly.

To a hero through his daughter's eyes...
Dec 24, 1952 - Feb 4, 1999

I've gotten used to missing you,
My grief's begun to ease;
I don't sit down to write you notes
Or phone to shoot the breeze.
When in a crowd someone may laugh
Or sound a lot like you;
And then the pain will grip my heart
And flood my soul anew.

I've gotten used to missing you,
I'm learning day by day
To focus on good memories
And put the rest away.
On strong days I scan photographs
Of happy times we knew;
I picture Jesus in my mind
And place Him next to you.

I've gotten used to missing you,
And though it's been ten years;
I still am just a thought away
From aching and from tears.
But my sorrow will have an end,
So let the teardrops pour;
Until I'm once again with you
And the One who loves you more.