Pony Tails and Flat Irons

          Tuesday morning I noticed how cute one of my younger co-workers looked.  Almost all the people I work with are younger than I am; but I digress.  Anyway, I told another co-worker how pretty I thought the other woman was.  
        She was dressed neatly but casually.  Her hair was in a simple but classic pony tail.  I voiced a wish my hair looked that good in that style.  I have plenty of hair but it is fine and straight.  I went on to say my pony tails always looked thin and just hung lifelessly.  Her hair was full and bouncy.  
        My friend said, "You know she uses a flat iron on her hair right?"  I was a little surprised ... I said, "Even when she pulls it back like that?"  She nodded yes.  Well, that made me stop and think.  This meant there was work involved - even with such a simple style. 
        As I thought about the time and effort put into having a pretty pony tail, I began to think about our spiritual lives.  It takes time and effort to grow closer to God -- to be Christ like in our dealings with others -- to develop our faith -- and our love.  Just as we have to be willing to put extra time into our physical appearance,  we have to be willing to put extra time into our spiritual lives.
       Hebrews 11:6 says: "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (NKJ).  There are so many profound thoughts here in just one verse.  Think about it ... do we believe that He is?  Yes!  Do we understand that God rewards those who diligently seek Him?
       At dictionary.com the word diligently is defined as being "constant in effort to accomplish something; attentive and persistent in doing anything."  Do we want our Father's reward?  Are we willing to put in the work it takes?  Or are we satisfied with what is easiest?  
       Doing what is easiest is a dangerous mindset, especially when it comes to our eternal souls!  Just as it takes time and effort to present a more pleasing physical appearance; it takes time and effort to grow and develop our faith.  
       Please let us not be lazy about our souls!  Let us always keep eternity in mind.  Seek Him ...  through constant prayer and Bible study.  This is where we find Him first.  The Bible contains the most beautiful story ever told.  
        Isn't wonderful to see how certain scriptures go hand in hand with each other?  God's word works like that.  According to 2 Timothy 2:15 we are to "be diligent (there's that word again) to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."  
      We must study the Truth and study it attentively.  We will not be ashamed to work for Him if we are using the Truth correctly.  If we do not study we will not know what to do to follow the Father's will.  If we take only part of the Truth or if we twist it around somehow, our Heavenly Father will not be pleased with us.  
      We come to God through His truth.  Remember Christ said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through me"(John 14:6).  So when we study scripture we are essentially learning of Christ.  Hopefully, the more we study and learn about Jesus the more our love for Him will grow.  
     Communication with God is not just a one way street.  We hear from God through the Bible.  He hears us through our prayers.  This is another way to draw closer to our God.  It is  vital to the Christian's life.  
      Scripture tells us to be "constant in prayer" (Romans 12:12) and to "continue steadfastly in prayer being watchful in it with thanksgiving" (Colossians 4:2).  Remember our definition of diligence -- "constant in effort" and "attentive and persistent?"  The very definition of diligence is used in these two passages. 
        Going back to Hebrews 11:6 - if we want to please God, we must diligently seek Him.  We seek Him through diligent Bible study.  Yet 2 Timothy 2:15 mentions something else.  It mentions being a worker.  Paul is talking about working and serving the Lord.  If we truly look for Jesus -- if we truly want to be with Him -- to walk with Him, then we must be willing to do His will.  We must work at what we study.  
        Let us not forget the importance of prayer.  We must remember what a blessing prayer is.  There is an amazing peace that comes with being constant in our prayer life.  Yes, it is a command -- but my oh my, the rewards we will gain!
        Seeking God requires time and effort.  We must train ourselves to spend time with Him and we must teach ourselves to live like Christ did.  It is not always easy.  It takes diligence on our part.  I daresay it takes more time than it does to fix our hair.  
          Do we want to come to God?  Will we be constant, attentive and persistent?  It is totally our decision to make.  No one else can decide for us.  It takes commitment and it definitely is not always easy.  But we must remember "He rewards those who diligently seek Him."  

Christ above all things, 
Robin 

Holding On

    

       A certain verse has come to my mind quite often over the last few months.  Somehow this passage keeps coming back around to me.  It is short and easy to remember, but goes straight to the point.  “But test everything; hold fast to what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21 ESV).

         In context, the verse refers to the word of God.  The verse directly before tells us “Despise not prophecies” (v. 20).  We are to heed teachings of God’s word but it is important to ‘test the teacher’ … read and study on our own to make sure the teaching is Truth.  We know false prophets (teachers) have always been around.  It is up to us to sort out what is good and hold on to it. 

         Yet for the student of God’s word, holding fast to the good can be applied to many (if not all) situations in life.  This makes sense to me because what is good inevitably goes back to scripture anyway.  Maybe that is why the words keep coming to my mind over and over again.  They are actually a comfort to me, for holding on to the good means doing the right thing. 

         Suppose someone at work is rude – maybe she comes through the office speaking to everyone but me or you.  Do we greet her anyway?  Well, if we are holding on to what is good we certainly do.  Why?  Because the Christ tells us not to return evil for evil. 

If we walk up to a group who happen to be gossiping about someone do we eagerly join in or do the good thing – the right thing?  Test the scripture to see what it says.  You will find Matthew 7:12 – what we call the Golden Rule.  Is it good to “Do unto others as we would have them do unto us?”  Yes!!  Would you want someone to gossip about you?  No?  Then don’t participate.  Hold on to the good! 

         This verse is applicable in so many ways.  When a sister in Christ is rejoicing over a promotion or a new car, what should we do?  Do we complain and pout about how old our vehicle is?  Romans 12:15 says “Rejoice with those who rejoice.”  So we hold on to the good and share in her joy! 

         When we are weary – when we are so bowed down with all the sorrows, storms and trials the world throws our way – Christ tells us “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”   This is wonderful!  Hold on to it … hold on with all our heart!  Take His yoke and walk with Him.  He promises we will find rest for our souls. 

         The world is so full of darkness – strife and division seems to be all around us.  Jesus says “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).  We can “cast our cares on Him, for He cares for us.”  If we are faithful followers, we can hold on to His promises.  He has promised not to leave us or forsake us.  We can find strength, courage and comfort in God’s faithfulness.  We can hold on to what is good. 

         Think about Job.  Even with all the losses he suffered, when the devil afflicted him with those painful boils his wife said, “Do you still hold fast your integrity?  Curse God and die.”  Job replied, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this Job did not sin with his lips” (Job 2:8-10).  Job held on to the good. 

         When we are overcome with the beauty of the earth and sky – when the magnificence of what we see literally takes our breath away – we can praise Him for His awesome creation.  We can thank Him for our five senses we use to take it all in. “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31a).   We can hold on to the fact our Creator is good. 

          What about after an illness or injury the health of a loved one is restored?   When we thank the doctors and other care givers, do we remember to turn to God and thank Him?  Psalm 92:1 says “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High.”  Shouldn’t we hold on to that too? 

         And when we look back over our lives, as we all do sometimes, we should remember where all the good comes from.  “Every good and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17).

         All these things are good.  All these things are worth holding on to.  I was actually surprised to find the phrase ‘hold fast’ or ‘holding fast’ appears in scripture 36 times.   All but four of these refer to the Lord, the scripture or something within God’s will.  It is definitely a topical study one could benefit from. 

Holding fast means to hold on tight!  Don’t let go.  Don’t give in and don’t give up.  Thank God for the goodness in your life.  Realize it is there.  Especially thank Him for our spiritual blessings through Christ Jesus.  

Romans 12:9 says “Let love be genuine.  Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.”   Why is holding on so important?  Why should it matter? 

Here is why.  Jesus says: “I am coming soon.  Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown” (Revelation 3:11).

Christ above all things,

Robin