Author: Rebecca

Rebecca https://transformedheartblog.wordpress.com
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“These are a few of my favorite things”

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beautiful big snowflake on a blue background.

One of my favorite old movies is the “Sound of Music” (minus just a couple scenes). When I first saw the movie many years ago, I kind of felt like I could somewhat relate to Maria (played by Julie Andrews) in personality, character, and actions (especially in the early part of the movie). Interestingly, before I had ever seen the movie, one of my close friends told me that I reminded her of Maria in the movie, but that’s not the main reason I like it. There are so many positive things that we can take from that movie, and the one I’m going to focus on in this blog is the song that Maria sang to all the children when they were afraid of the thunderstorm.

“Raindrops on roses
And whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things…”

During this unusually difficult time of isolation and stress for some people as we all are experiencing the pandemic of Covid-19, it is a good time to think about some of your “favorite things”- things for which you are thankful. You are going to have to choose to turn off the news, and choose to bring “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” as it says in II Corinthians 10:5, and to practice obeying what Philippians 4:8 says: “whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Although sometimes it will be more difficult to stay cheerful, positive, and focused on those “favorite things”, especially in times of pain, suffering, and lamenting, II Thessalonians 5:14-24 (and lots of other Scriptures) has some simple instructions and an uplifting message for us. I encourage you to look those verses up soon.

First, those of you who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ may be experiencing a lot of fear, worry, and anxiety; so my recommendation to you, is to use this time to really seek God through the Bible, and get to know Him personally as His child.

If He is already your Lord, then you can start by thinking about, and then focusing on some of your “favorite things” that bring you happiness. For me, most of those things would be found in God and His creation, like beautifully colored sunsets, rainbows, birds, and butterflies. Other things that bring me joy are the smiles and laughter of babies and children, the variety of songs that the birds sing, and the many different kinds, colors, and behaviors of dogs and cats (especially puppies and kittens). I also enjoy listening to praise and worship music, and writing blogs with the purpose of trying to encourage my readers.

Now, I have a creative challenge for you: See if you can put some of your favorite things to the tune of “These are a few of my favorite things”, and message the words of your song to me; then, I will you and post your name and song on a future blog soon.

Deceitfulness of Riches

Satan is quite smart! He observes and knows what major weaknesses each of us have, and then entices us to sin using them. As I list some of the sins that Christians often struggle with, ask yourselves if you have a weakness in any of these areas: pride, anger, fear, stubborness, bitterness, unforgiveness, worry,  greed,  a desire for fame, power, or wealth. Any of those, as well as many that are not listed, if  not dealt with right away, can lead us down a path of destruction, causing ourselves, and others, a lot of pain and heartache.

I have known several people personally, who started out with God, but soon got their focus off from their relationship with God, and lusted after worldly things–the approval of men, success in the eyes of the world, the desire to be rich, etc. Two of them are back in a growing relationship with God after many years of suffering, and some of the others are still not walking with Him.

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells the parable of the sower. When the sower sowed his seeds, some fell by the wayside, some fell on stony ground, some fell among thorns, and some fell on good ground (bringing forth much fruit). For an explanation of all of these, read verses 18 to 23 in that chapter, but I would like to specifically discuss “the deceitfulness of riches.” Although I know that there are many wealthy people who have done, and are doing, much to further the Kingdom of God, it is interesting that Jesus uses the term, ‘deceitfulness’ to describe riches, and has more things to say about this. In Mark 10:23 and 24, He says twice, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” Then, He adds “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Again, in 1 Timothy 6:9 and 10, we are warned that “those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

I believe that some of the reasons for that is because when a person has a lot of money, he or she can trust in their money to take care of the things for which they would normally rely on God (food, clothes, insurance, etc.); also, when has a lot of money, they generally own lots of stuff, and their stuff has to be stored, cared for, and used, which takes time away from our relationships with God and others. I have visited and lived in other countries in the world, and seen many poor people living without hardly anything, who seem much happier than people in our own country, who are much wealthier.

Good advice for all of us is found in verses 6, 7, and 8 of 1 Timothy 6. “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these let us be content.” Even though I don’t have the kind of wealth that many do, I no longer want the “deceitfulness of riches” to choke the Word in me, and cause me to be unfruitful!

Give Us A Sign

Believers and  unbelievers alike  would often like a sign from God to prove that He exists, or to confirm something that they are praying about. As I compared some of the Scripture related to signs, I discovered that when the Pharisees and Sadducees asked Him for a sign, they were actually testing Jesus, and He sighed deeply in His spirit and responded with the following answer, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” (Matthew 12:39, 16:1-4, Mark 8:12, and Luke 11:29) Although they had the Son of God in their midst, and saw many of His miracles, they were still asking for another sign?

However, when the disciples ask Him what the sign would be in response to His comments about the temple being destroyed, and related to His coming and the end of the age (Matthew 24:3-42, Mark 13:4-33, and Luke 21:7-36), He shared many signs with them.

In recent years, I have read and heard many testimonies of men and women who asked for a sign when they were in a situation or place where they had never heard the Good News of Jesus Christ (as is the case of many Muslims); or of people who were considering suicide because they reached “rock bottom” and were desperate for help. Since God knows their heart, he has actually given them dreams and other signs to reveal Himself to them. Since God loves everyone so much, and ” He is not willing that any should perish….” (2 Peter 3:9), He graciously uses many means to bring people to Himself.

Let’s not put God in a box, nor think that we always need a sign. Thomas said he wouldn’t believe what the other disciples said (that they had seen the Lord alive again), unless he could see in His hands the print of His nails, and put his finger in them, and put his hand into His side. When Jesus actually appeared to them again, He told Thomas he could do those things, and said, “Do not be unbelieving, but believing”, and He added, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

One Small Rose

One of my mother’s favorite poems was called “One Small Rose” (author unknown). Because of difficult circumstances in her life, my mom never had much of anything on this earth. However, even the few possessions she did have, she would share with others. The following is the first stanza of that poem:

“I would rather have one small rose

From the garden of a friend

Than to have the choicest flowers

When my stay on Earth must end.”

Meaningful relationships with others is so much better than money. So many people spend too much of their lives pursuing prosperity, buying more “stuff”, then building big houses to keep all their “stuff” in. Then, they put in alarm systems, safes, and more locks on their doors, pay a lot for home insurance to protect all of their “stuff”, then, often pay people to clean their houses and all the “stuff” in them, and yet, they still continue to buy more “stuff”. Some houses look more like museums than homes. Those kind of people are too busy to take the time to develop  meaningful and lasting relationships with God, their family, and friends. They rarely take time to even spend their money on vacations or other enjoyable experiences. Perhaps they think they will have time for those things when they retire, but if they live to retirement age, will they still have any family or close friends with whom to share those experiences?

If you find that you are caught up in the lifestyle described above, 1 Timothy 6:6-10 is a good reminder: “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we should be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil, for which some have strayed from the faith with their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

Verse 11 then tells us “to flee those things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.” Having those character qualities will certainly make for lasting relationships.

Fear Not! Death is Not The End! Happy Easter!

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many people find themselves experiencing some anxiety due to their fear of death, or the fear that they may lose one of their loved ones to this virus.  People are certainly hoping and praying that the spread of Covid-19 would end soon, but as they think about the possibility of death, I hope they take some time to consider what comes after death. Even if you live a full life to the age of 75, 80, or perhaps 90, this is still so brief in comparison to eternity, and a person should actually be more concerned about eternity than about death. We know that nothing in this life is really certain, except death. That fact  reminds me of a message I once saw printed on a t-shirt that said, “Statistics prove that 10 out of 10 people die”, so unless we are fearing the suffering that may be involved in death, most of us realize that death is in store for each one of us.

Okay, then what comes after death? Science cannot tell us what happens after death; there is no proof for reincarnation or annihilation either. Most religions and philosophies don’t have very satisfying answers to this or to other questions. However, after searching for answers, I found that The Bible, God’s Word, actually addresses and gives the most reasonable answers to all of life’s tough questions. In fact, many  questions are answered just by reading the first eleven verses of Genesis; but don’t stop there– you will find many more answers throughout the Bible.

First, you must believe that there is a God who created all things. That really isn’t so hard to do if you look honestly at the incredible design in everything; and if there is design, then there must be a Master Designer/ Artist. Evolution and random chance doesn’t, and never will, give beauty, intelligence, and order to anything. (Woops! This is actually my topic for another blog)

Now, I want to whet your appetite for the Bible by looking at some verses to see what Scripture says about life, death, God’s judgment, and eternity:

  • “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1)
  • “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let him have dominion… over all the earth, and over every creeping thing upon the earth” (Genesis 1:26)
  • “As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” (Romans 5:12)
  • “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,2a)
  • “For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
  • “But commends His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
  • But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, He has made us alive together in Christ.” (Ephesians 2:4,5)
  • “To live is Christ, to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21)
  • “For we know that if our earthly house [physical body]…were destroyed, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Corinthians 5:1)
  • “You know not what shall be tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14)
  • “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls away: But the Word of the Lord endures forever.” (1 Peter 1:24,25)
  • “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:26)
  • “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:54,55)
  • “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27)
  • “Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)
  • “Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire…And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:14,15)
  • “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25:46)
  • “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth…Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

Therefore, if you belong to Christ, you don’t have to fear death. Isaiah 41:10 says “Fear not; for I am with you: be not dismayed; for I am your God: I will strengthen you; yea, I will help you; yea, I will hold you with the right hand of my righteousness”, and 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear” (and there are many, great verses that give us good reasons not to fear.) So, conquer your fears with the Word of God. I can assure you that death will not have the last word! Jesus conquered the grave when He rose from the dead, and we too, will rise again!

That is the real reason that we celebrate Easter. Praise God! We serve a risen Savior! This weekend, I hope that you focus on His resurrection, and rejoice that soon He will be coming back for those who are His. (Also, instead of weakening your immune system by eating too much candy on Easter, why not spend some extra time praying to the God who created you and who loves you dearly, and reading His Words of Truth in the Bible? You won’t regret it!)

Parenting God’s Way

Parents aren’t perfect, and in many situations they aren’t even loving or nurturing. Neither my husband nor I had particularly nurturing mothers, and neither of us had any relationship with our fathers. And nowadays, there are so many dysfunctional families that many children are raising themselves, or in foster homes being raised by people other than their parents. They may not have much of a relationship with their own parents, or even with any parental figure that they can really trust.

However, if you are a parent or a substitute parent, you should be praying diligently for wisdom and guidance from God in order to do a good job of raising your child (or children) for the Lord. There are some specific guidelines in God’s Word that will help. Deuteronomy 6:6 and 7 are two of my favorite verses: “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” It seems to me that these verses are telling us that we should be living in a way that is pleasing to the Lord and teaching our children to do the same, both with words and actions.

Somehow, families have strayed so far from this teaching. I know many parents who quote Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Without being diligent to follow the above teaching, they expect their children to eventually follow the Lord, or they question why that didn’t happen to their children when they thought that they had “trained up their child in the way he should go.” However, Satan has deceived many parents by making them think they are actually training their children in the way they should go just by taking them to Sunday School and church, praying with them at mealtime and/or bedtime, and perhaps even having a short family devotional time.

Although doing those things are fine, just think about all the time that children spend away from their parents, either in a public (or even in a private school), and possibly taking music lessons, playing sports, maybe playing video games, watching television, or even just hanging out with others. I honestly believe that we need to start thinking differently about this, rather than going by what we have experienced ourselves, or see around us. If God wants parents “to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” from the time they rise up until the time they lie down, then there has to be some lifestyle changes within families. There really are resources out there that can be a help to parents who realize they need to make some changes. Contact me if you need some encouragement or ideas.

If you would like to read more on a similar topic, here is a link to another blog post: “God’s Formula for Raising Children in 2020” from Road Less Traveled Tours.

Time is Running Out

I’ve discussed the different seasons of life in a recent post; now, which season you are in? Are you aware that time is running out for all of us on earth? Have you thought about eternity? No matter how old you are, no one knows how long they will live, or if Christ will return while you are busy pursuing  prosperity, fame, or success. “What good is it if a person gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?” Other versions say,” loses his own soul “(Luke 9:25). Hebrews 4:7 says, “Today if you will hear His voice, do not harden your heart “(Matthew 4:7), and 2 Corinthians 6:2b tells us that “now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation.”

Some people think God would be unfair or evil Himself if He would send someone  to Hell for not repenting; but Ezekiel 33:11 says: “As I live, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but I want the wicked to turn from his evil ways and live”, and 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that He is patient and “longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” These verses remind us of just how loving and merciful He is.

Stop and Smell the Roses

Whether you are a workaholic trying to prove something to someone, or someone trying to get rich, someday you will “wake up” and realize just how much you  missed out on by never “stopping to smell the roses”, or by never choosing to slow down and enjoy God, your family, and friends.

Movies and television, video games, shopping, Facebook, surfing the web, etc. are different methods of escape for us, especially when we feel lonely or depressed. However, none of them satisfy our longing for love and deep, meaningful relationships with our family and friends. Instead, when we escape into these things, we often end up getting more depressed, because we wasted the time that we could have spent in God’s Word and prayer, walking, fellowshipping with others, or getting to know our loved ones more personally. Try taking a walk in a park, watching the birds, sitting on a porch swing and talking about your favorite memories, planting a garden together, or just lying down in the grass and looking up at the clouds. Those are just some of the ways that you can find rest, and stop to “smell the roses”.