Just One - by Stephanie McFadden

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Luke 15:3-7, NIV

About six weeks ago, I made a pledge to read the Bible in 2017 and I wanted to find/follow a daily devotional. I love how devotionals arerelatively short, so I knew it would be a commitment I could keep in my “busy schedule”. I wanted something sent to my email/phone so I could read my devotional before I even got out of bed. I wanted something deep, but yet I had to be able to understand and relate to it. I needed to spend some time reflecting on God’s word. No excuses!

During this time, Rick was also looking for a devotional.  We ended up trying out a few different devotionals, but (for a variety of reasons) neither one of us could find what we were looking for. Then, in the middle of January, Rick told me that he isn’t supposed to just read devotionals, but God was asking him to write and share them- and he wanted me to partner with him in this challenge.

About a week later, Rick came home from work, sat at the kitchen table with his laptop, and wrote his devotional for the next day. After he set up the next blog entry, Rick looked at the blog’s statistics:  He was frustrated that the “Page View Count” wasn’t as high as he was expecting. I responded with some comments of 1.) It’s only been a week-give it time and 2.) It doesn’t really matter.

As you can guess, I got some strange looks for my second comment, so I figured I should elaborate :)

I do not know why God wanted Rick to start writing and sharing devotionals- there are already HUNDREDS of websites, blogs, apps, books, etc. out there.... So why write another one? Why now? Why us?

I honestly do not have the answer to those questions.  We’re two engineers who are good at math... I don’t do the putting-the-words-together-on-paper thing ;) But....If God asks, then I am not one to question His directives. (I read what happened to Jonah!!)

By doing this, the worst thing that can happen is that no one reads this blog and Rick and I spend time reading the studying the bible (Risk = zero!).  I have personally spent more time in God’s word in the last 2 weeks than I have in the past 6 months combined.  I asked for a fire for Him, and by golly, God comes though again AND He gave us a huge assignment in the process. Excuses are no longer valid for not reading the bible this year, that’s for sure! ;)

But.......

I think God wants to use us for something more... I think all of this is because God needs us to reach someone(s) and turn them to Jesus- we need to help find His “one lost sheep” and bring them home. 

Two bible verses are resonating in my head:

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, that He considered me faithful and appointed me to service.    1 Timothy 1:12 NIV

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."    Matthew 19:26 NIV

Maybe God is using us because His Lost Sheep is someone we know (or we know someone who knows someone who knows someone!) and this is a “safe” medium to start a conversation about Jesus. Maybe it’s a total stranger who has been looking for Jesus, but the way we convey a certain topic makes it all “just click”. Maybe it’s someone who can relate to our stories and examples and this gives them a hunger for more. Or maybe it’s just sure “luck” through a Google search that we connect with His Lost Sheep.

Maybe it’s someone new to Christ.... maybe it’s someone who strayed and needs a push to find their way back... or maybe it’s a seasoned Christian who just wants a different view to re-ignite (or keep!) the fire going so they can continue with God’s purpose for their life.

I don’t know. We may never know... and the truth is--it doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t matter how the Lost Sheep find Him.  It doesn’t matter if our blog has 1 reader or 1 million readers...We are not doing this for Rick and Steph.  We are not doing this for a popularity contest or to see how high our “Page View” numbers can go.  We are doing this because we serve a Great God, and we want the world to know that. We want to show you how Jesus makes a difference in your life and your eternity.  We want the world to know that He loves YOU. THAT is what matters.

I know this blog will not turn the whole world towards Christianity... but I am hoping God can work through us to speak to someone and change a life.... make an eternal difference to someone.  I hope we can help guide one person to Jesus.  

....and if we can accomplish that? That IS something to Rejoice about.

What's the Plan?

Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and he will establish your plans.
The Lord works out everything to its proper end—
even the wicked for a day of disaster.
Proverbs 16:3-4

You ever hear of people saying:  "It's all part of God's plan"?  It seems a natural thing that people say, doesn't it?  Why do people say that?  Honestly, I think people say that simply because it sounds like a nice thing to say.  When people really don't know what to say, or don't have an answer to something, they default to that statement.

Is it true?  Is everything that happens really part of God's plan?

You say:  why do you care Rick?  It makes people feel better in a tough situation, doesn't it?  It's not hurting anything.

I believe it does hurt.  I believe it's these kinds of statements that encourage follow up statements, like:  "How could a loving God allow this to happen?"

ahhh, now that's a bigger question, isn't it?  That's dangerous!  Many Christians start to doubt God just by thinking about that question.  Why would God allow these bad things to happen?

Maybe we shouldn't be trying to answer that question.  Maybe the question itself doesn't make sense.  Maybe we're wrong when we say everything that happens is "God's plan."  Did God plan for Cain to murder Able?  Did God plan for Eve to take the fruit from the tree?  No, that wasn't God's plan!  Then why did it happen?  Maybe we should go all the way back to God's original plan.

Why did God create the world?  Why did He create humans?  Isaiah 43:7 says that He primarily created us for His glory.  He wants us to love Him.  In order to love someone, you must be given the choice.  As a result, He gave us free will.  So, in order to achieve His ultimate goal, which is for us to love Him, we must have the free will so we can choose to do so.  If we can choose to love Him, that automatically means we can also choose NOT to love Him.

From our side, that might sound crazy, right?  I mean, look how many people have chosen NOT to love Him.  I think it's the majority.  Clearly he thought the decision to give us free will was still worth it, even knowing that only a few would choose Him.

So, are all the bad and good things that happen in the world all part of God's plan?  No, they're not.  His original plan had no death and no sin.  It is because of our decisions as humans that all these bad things happen in this world.

Do you know what's cool, though?  even among the chaos in this world, God does provide a plan for anyone who still decides to love Him.  Isn't that awesome?  First, He enabled it by dying on the cross to erase the debt of our sin, which then opens the door up for us to fellowship with Him, and follow a very specific plan for our life.

So, in summary, is everything that happens in this world part of God's plan?  No.

But, if I turn my life over to God, I can be assured that God has made a plan for me that I can follow that will navigate through this life and ultimately spend eternity with Him.

Who Are You? - by Stephanie McFadden

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.  But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”. “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one [thing is needed] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:38-42, NIV

Martha was doing a lot of behind the scenes work to prepare for her visit from Jesus and his disciples. As she is frustrated at her “lazy” sister who is “just sitting there,” she asks Jesus for help.  Jesus responds with a very clear message: hearing the word of God is the most important thing you could be doing and having a relationship with Him will last for eternity. 

So my question is... Who are you?  Are you Martha or Mary?

I do believe that Martha had the best intentions.  It’s obvious she loved Jesus- they were friends, she welcomed him into her home, and she spent time and resources getting ready for his visit. I can only assume she was cooking dinner, cleaning her house, and preparing a place for all of them to sleep. I am sure she wanted to make sure everything was just perfect for Jesus’s visit.   The bible tells us to serve others and to love God—isn’t that what she was doing?

I can see a lot of “Martha” in myself. I mean, if Jesus was coming to MY house for dinner, I’d wash the floors, bring out the fine china and serve a 7-course meal- wouldn’t you??? Isn’t He worthy of the red-carpet treatment?
As a wife and a mom of 3 young kids, I am busy ALL. DAY. LONG. I devote much of my time and my resources to my family: I vacuum, kiss boo-boos, wash laundry, make dinner, help with homework, fix the broken doll, chauffeur, find the tape measure, grocery shop,  etc etc etc.  I love being a Wife. I love being a Mom. I love being able to “do all of this stuff” to make this house a home for my family.... but, I’ll be honest: There are times I get frustrated with those whom I love — ‘why does this all land on me? why doesn’t anyone help me? Don’t they see I am doing all of this because I love them?’.... My best intentions turn into resentment because of THINGS: Things need to be fixed, Things need to be purchased, Things need my attention, Things need to get done.
Yep. I’m Martha. 

As Jesus speaks to Martha (aka...Me), his message is simple: “Focus on what is important. Focus on what is eternal”.

It’s a punch-in-the-gut realization to all us “busy” people out there. There will always be Things:  I washed the dishes this morning, but tomorrow there will be more in the sink.  I put a load of laundry in the washer, but by Tuesday the hampers will be full. I just replaced the toilet paper roll in the bathroom, but give it another day before I turn into the Toilet Paper Fairy again. Even though those Things need to be done, they’re all meaningless in the spectrum of “forever”. 

With all the distractions in the world, let’s make sure our focus is ON Jesus, not just FOR Jesus. He doesn’t need a 7-course meal and the fine china place settings. He doesn’t need things. He wants to be welcomed into our homes and our hearts. He wants our undivided attention.  Jesus Just Wants Us.
Let’s make a continued effort to be more ‘Mary’. If we must do preparations, let’s choose what we are preparing for: Heaven. Praise and glorify him in all we do. Listen, teach, love, pray, be God’s disciples, guide others to Him. Let’s make sure that no matter what events we have throughout our day, we focus on what REALLY matters— our eternal relationship with Jesus.

We Wanted These??

People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.
Mark 10:13-16

I think my favorite line from It's a Wonderful Life is when George Bailey says "Why'd we have to have all these kids?"  Steph and I say it to each other all the time to make each other laugh whenever the kids just get over-the-top out of control.  Other times, when they get really crazy, we look at each other and say:  "we wanted these???"

Jesus says that the only way go to heaven is to become like a child.  Why would He say that?  Why does God constantly refer to Himself as the Father and us as His children?  I believe He does that for many reasons.  There are many similarities that we can use to relate to our Christian life.

First, God says that we need to be like a child because children believe what they are taught without question.  As adults, we've been pre-indoctrinated, so when someone tells us something different, we immediately dismiss it as false simply because we were not taught that as a child.

As I thought about this more, I realized that there are many other ways we can learn about our relationship with God by studying our relationship with our kids.

Many times, our kids can be very frustrating and seem impossible, but we still love them, don't we?  Even while they yell and scream at us and throw the giant tantrum, we would still give up our own lives for them.  That's how God is with us.  Even while we continue to screw up over and over again, He still loves us more than anything, and He still died for us in spite of our tantrums.

Do you know how we feel when our kids curse us?  can you picture the pain that gives us?  we just want to go to a corner and cry when they do this.  Do you think God is any different?  Do you think it hurts God when we curse Him?  Do you think He cries?  I do....I believe He can be easily hurt.

In contrast, we also have the ability to make God proud.  When we go to events where our kids either graduate from a specific grade, or they're being honored for an accomplishment they achieved, what are we doing?  We're just sitting there trying not to cry, aren't we?  We are so proud of them it drives us to tears of joy.  I believe God is also the same way.  When we honor Him, I believe it brings Him happiness.  I believe that's the main reason He created us to begin with.  Think of the privileges we give our kids when they honor us.  We look for ways to spoil our kids when they do the right thing.  I believe God is the same way.  God will look for ways to spoil us if we honor Him.

So, today, let's honor God in what we do.  Let's do it because we love Him.  Then, afterwards, we need to be aware that God is blessing us...because if we continue to honor God even while He's blessing us, He will continue to bless us multiple times more.

First

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.
John 20:1-8

Do you think sometimes that we are Christians for the wrong reasons?  you're thinking:  Rick, what in the world are you talking about?

I think, many times, we do the right thing for all the wrong reasons.  Why do we pray before we eat?  Why do we go to church?  Why do we do the things we do in our Christian life?

Honestly, I think sometimes we just do it because it either makes us look good, or because everyone else is doing it.  I think sometimes we go to church, listen for an hour, and leave getting nothing from it.  It's just routine.  Is that how God wants us to live our lives?  Do we get "points" for attending church or doing good things?  Is that how it works?  Is that the point of it all?

I really don't think so.  In this story, I think John almost lost site of what they were doing.  Peter was running to the tomb because he was genuinely concerned that something went wrong with Jesus' body.  John was physically doing the same thing, running to the tomb.  But it seems like he was so distracted with trying to beat Peter to the tomb that he lost site of why they were running at all.  So much that, when he got to the tomb, he didn't even go inside....he seemed excited that he beat Peter in the race.

Do you think sometimes we live our Christian life that way?  Do we get all puffed up thinking:  look at me, i went to church every Sunday this month, and Bill only went once.  I gave 5 times as much as Bill too!!

How do we think God looks at that?  You think God us up there just clapping for us for doing better than Bob?  No way, right?

Today, Let's be more like Peter.  Let's purpose to keep our focus on what God has planned for our life, and don't get distracted by comparing how "good of a Christian" we are with the people around us.

Smart

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
James 1:22-25

Did you know that Wisdom is not the same as being smart?  I believe we can have loads of wisdom, and still be pretty dumb.

Just take a look at Solomon.  Solomon asked God for wisdom, and God loaded him up.  He probably had more wisdom than anyone else in the Bible, or maybe ever.

Solomon also had 300 wives.  You heard that right....300.  Wow....I don't care who you are.  That's pretty dumb!  I can barely handle taking care of 1 wife.  I think 2 would send me off the deep end.

How is it possible for Solomon to have more wisdom than anyone else, yet he decided to get married to 300 different women?

Wisdom, by definition, is seeing life through God's perspective.  Wisdom is a perspective.  It is the ability to see life the way God sees it.  It is the ability to see our own life the way God sees it.  That sounds incredible, doesn't it?  Wouldn't you like to see life how God sees it sometimes, just to get an idea what He's thinking?  It's amazing.

But, the reality is, even if we have all of that information, it's really pointless if we do nothing with it.  If God gives us wisdom, the smart thing to do is use it, and apply it into our lives.  If we don't apply it, the information is basically useless, isn't it?

If I am trying to lose weight, I've been trained that going to the doughnut shop is going to create a temptation that does not help me lose weight.  That's a pretty good perspective, isn't it?  What if, even knowing that, I still went to the doughnut shop anyway?  That's not smart!  That's dumb!  Since I didn't apply what I learned, the information was completely useless to me.

I believe we do this as well in our Christian life.  Many times we have the wisdom to know what is right and what is wrong, but we still choose to make the dumb decision, don't we?  I am as guilty as anyone with this.  What are we left with?  Guilt?  Regret? Sadness.

Today, let's purpose to continue reading the Bible so we can gain the ability to see life the way God sees it, but let's not stop there.  Let's make sure we apply that wisdom into our lives.  If we apply it, God promises that we will be blessed in what we do!

Off Guard

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly.  
I Corinthians 3:1-3

Once upon a time, a group of people went snowmobiling in the woods.  As the group travels through the woods, one person is designated as the leader, and the others follow that path in single file.  In this story, let's call the leader Larry.

At one time in the middle of the day, as Larry was leading the team through the woods, he came up to a tree and was not able to turn, and as a result, he was stuck in the snow in front of the tree.  A few minutes later, another person in the group came to help him....let's call him Nick.  For a few minutes, Nick and Larry both worked together to turn the snowmobile to the left enough to allow Larry to get past the tree.

Before Larry left, he told Nick to stay back to help the rest of the group get through the area, so they would not get stuck in front of the tree.   So Nick stayed, and as each snowmobile came by, Nick would grab the left ski of each snowmobile, and pull them to the left to help them miss the tree and keep moving.

Well, near the end of the line was a very nice lady...let's call her Kristen.  As Kristen was driving her snowmobile through the area, Nick leaned over and grabbed her left ski just as he had done for the others, and the sled missed the tree just as planned.  Only this time, when Nick stood back up, he noticed that Kristen was no longer sitting on the snowmobile.  After looking around for a minute, he found Kristen about 10 feet away laying in the snow. Nick looked at Kristen, puzzled, and said: "Kristen, what in the world are you doing laying in the snow?  Your snowmobile is way over here?"  Kristen just looked back at Nick, threw her hands up into the air, and said:  "I wasn't ready for you to turn the snowmobile, and i went flying off to the right when you pulled the ski to the left."

As I was thinking about this story, I realized that, many times, we act like this as Christians, don't we?  We are just living our lives and enjoying our stuff, and one day God comes along and suddenly makes a change in our lives.  Because we don't take the time to get to know God daily, the change comes to us as a surprise, and we don't know how to react to it.  We panic and worry, we lash out against others, and we become insecure.

God doesn't want us to live this way.  God tells us not to worry about the future, or the things that happen in this world.  He tells us to stay focused on Him, and he will guide us through our circumstances.  How do we do that?  We do that by studying God.  Get to know Him.  Get to know how He works and how He thinks.  How do we do that?  We do that by reading the Bible.  We can study the history of how He handles situations to predict how He will handle similar situations in the future.  I think many people would be surprised to see that God really isn't all that difficult to understand, and that His next moves can be predicted easier than we think.

So, today, don't be like Kristen.  Let's take the time daily to get to know God and understand how He thinks.  That way, when God comes along and pulls our ski to the left so that we miss the tree, we will be prepared for it, and we will not be  thrown into the snow.

Getting Back Up with God - by Carol McFadden

Did you know that when you fail, you're supposed to grab God and get back up again?

Proverbs 24:16a The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.

Perfection would be nice, but it won't happen until after we are raptured. We are going to trip up. We are going to fail. No one is immune to failure. Whether you tripped up 7 times or 77, shake it off and get up again. This is what God wants you to do.

To be worthy doesn't mean we live perfect lives. It means we get up again, we forget what is behind and we press on toward the mark.

"No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead." (Philippians 3:13).

Thinking on those things are excellent and worthy of praise, Philippians 4:9, (whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think on these things) means that we must THINK ABOUT what God wants and IS accomplishing in our life.

Think about what God has accomplished in your life.

We do that by looking at what we think WE have accomplished and realize that it was GOD who accomplished it. And THEN we think on THOSE things because now we see them from a CORRECT perspective.

I used to sing a song that I wrote called "The Housewife Song." God allowed me to sing that song in so many Christian settings including on live television. I believe that's because this song not only brought Him glory, but it also shed light on this very perspective of seeing our accomplishments as HIS yield in our lives.

One of the verses went like this:

"My children are a blessing,
My husband is my strength,
My home is a haven,
God's blessed me at great length.

My heart is protected
by God's holy shield;
His grace abounds forever -
I can see that in MY yield."

I wasn't bragging there when I talked about MY yield. I was focusing on HIS yield through "undeserving me."

As believers in Jesus, we must stop focusing on our failures. Rather, we need to focus on what God has accomplished in our lives. Look at YOUR yield; focus on EVERYTHING you did right because it was actually GOD working HIS accomplishments throughout your life by giving you HIS wisdom and HIS smarts and HIS power and HIS grace to accomplish them.

Think on THOSE things because those were HIS things.

In summary, when you fail, think of all that God has accomplished in your life; then grab God, and get back up again!

When you are weak, HE is strong.
(2nd Corthinthians 12:9&10)

Whoop Whoop!!

"When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless stand before the throne"

I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to Heaven. Can you imagine a life with no pain and suffering?  No getting old.  No death!

Do you like to eat?  I think the buffet is open 24 hours a day!  and you can eat as much as you want without having to count the calories!!  My diet pretty much prevents me from eating pizza and ice cream anymore, so you all can just plan on a low supply of those 2 things as soon as i get there!!

Even better than that is we'll be able to talk with God one on one....purified, perfect, without shame!!  I can't get over that.  Don't you just get excited thinking about it?

Sometimes we don't show that excitement very well, do we?  Even at church.  When someone says something at church that is exciting, we should be up on our feet cheering and making noise!  When someone gets saved, we should be jumping up and down cheering for them!  A life was just saved!! How can we sit there quietly?  The Bible says, when someone believes and turns their life over to God, the angels rejoice!  Can't you just picture the angels up there jumping up and down, cheering, giving high-fives!!  YEAH MAN!!!!!  Why aren't we cheering?  It's His breath in our lungs, right?  So we should be pouring out our praise!

So, here's my proposal:  the next time you are at church, and you hear a song that gets you excited about God, or you see someone scared going up to share a story about their life, or you hear the pastor say something awesome, don't be afraid to shout out some praise or cheer!!  Go ahead and clap a little!

Why?  Because Christ alone is our cornerstone, He's made the weak strong in His love, and through the storm, He's still Lord, LORD OF ALL!!!

Don't be afraid to get up and cheer for Him!!!!!  We've already Won!!

Stress Free!!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.  
Proverbs 3:5-6

Do you ever get frustrated trying to figure out God's plan for your life?  I know I do.  I can't tell you how many times I thought I had God's plan figured out for me, only to end up realizing that I was wrong.

Just look at Abraham.  God told him he was going to make a great nation out of him, yet he had no kids.  When Sarah started getting pretty old, he started to get worried that she wouldn't be able to have any kids, and that God would not be able to keep His promise.  So, what did he do?  He thought:  I know, God must have wanted me to get with the maid.

Ha!  Doesn't that just sound stupid?  We hear that and think:  how dumb could he be?  Why would God need him to make a nation with the maid and not his wife?  He created the whole world!  Don't they realize that God can handle this?  I bet Abraham never thought his little mistake would create 2 nations that would be at war with each other for what seems like forever!!

We laugh....but how many of us think things just as dumb in our own lives?  Honestly...I know I do.  So many times, I think I got God figured out, and i start to map out multiple steps ahead in my life, instead of just worrying about what God wants me to do today.  I end up completely wrong every time, and then i get frustrated!

Can i tell you something?  God doesn't need us to help Him out with his plan.  In fact, God doesn't even want us to worry about His long term plans for our life....He just wants us to trust Him, and do whatever He's asking us to do today, and let Him worry about what we're supposed to do tomorrow.

So, today, I say let's drop the stress!!  I know i could use a little less stress, ha!  I already have enough stress with 3 kids running around!  I say let's ask God what he wants us to do today, and then tomorrow, let's get up and ask Him again.

What do you say?

Persecuted

 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."   Matthew 5:11-12

I don't know about you, but for me, the reason I don't like to talk to people about God is because I know there's a good chance they're going to think I'm crazy.  You hear it all the time, don't you?  

"why would a God who created the world allow this much pain and suffering?"

"We don't need religion anymore.  We have science."

"Why don't you just keep your religion to yourself, and let me live my life my way."

The list goes on.  No matter the response, I always walk away feeling stupid and insulted, you know?

But, you know what, God says we shouldn't let that get us down.  He says we have great reward in heaven waiting for us when this happens to us.  We should keep at it!

Do you know what many of us do, though, to compensate?  Many of us become arrogant when we talk to others about God so we don't have to look insulted.  Then, when people reject us, we take that as being persecuted.  The reality is that those people are not reacting to the message of God.  They are reacting to our prideful, arrogant attitude.  There's no reward in heaven for us in that situation.

So, today, when we speak to others about God, let's make sure we do it because we truly care about them, and let's leave our pride at the door.  That way, if people decide to reject it and respond with insults, we can still have the joy of knowing we have reward in heaven, and it will motivate us to keep talking.