"Who Shall Separate us From the Love of God"

  We have all seen our share of bad news lately.  It seems living in this old world gets tougher every day - because the world grows farther and farther away from God every day.  As a result we see devastating tragedies all around us.  

       Somehow, in the midst of all the mayhem and madness we still see good in people.   Everyday folks reach out to help their fellowman and in that moment -- that one moment of choosing to do the right thing -- they become heroes.  
     
       In tough times like these, it is good to find encouragement through the scriptures.  When we see the good in people it helps us remember the goodness and the love of God.  

       The Bible - the true and living word of God- gives us comfort and hope.  One such chapter that offers us hope and reminds of God's goodness is Romans chapter 8.  Many of us are familiar with parts of this chapter and in particular vs. 28 -- "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." 
      

      That verse is truly comforting.  It is easy to see why we all turn to it for encouragement.  However, there are other verses in this chapter that give us the reassurance we seek from time to time.  Because you see, as one my friends said once -"This old world just beats you up sometimes." 

       One of the verses I love in this chapter is verse 18 - "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."  We suffer in the world, but God has promised us glory ... if we are faithful.  

     Consider verses 13 and 14 - "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."  

   

     If we put to death our worldly way of life - then we are called the sons (and daughters) of God.  Now how awesome is that!!!  Verse 16 says - "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." 

      Paul talks about earthly suffering in this chapter.  He tells us we have  assurance that God is on our side; and no one can stand against us. (v. 31)  He also tells us the Spirit helps us.  He (the Spirit) intercedes for us when we don't know what to pray for.  

     

       Many times I have become so overwhelmed with sorrow and grief I could not put my prayer into words. How wonderful it is to know the Spirit intercedes for us -- and takes what is in our hearts -- what we can't express ourselves -- and gives that to God in a way that God can understand it (verses 26 & 27).  

      Really folks, this whole chapter is rich and full of treasure.  Read it whenever you are having a tough time.  I don't think anyone can read this chapter without feeling blessed and encouraged.  

      Verses 35-39 sums it up -- "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword?  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord."
    
    Hang in there -- even when the world gets really ugly and we feel like we have gone as far as we can go  - we have the Spirit interceding for us, (vs. 26-27) the love of Christ, (vs. 35) and the love of God on our side! (vs. 39) 

     And if God be for us -- then really -- who can be against us?

Christ above all things,
Robin


   

Body Slam Dunk

He was a stray that hung around at the grocery store where my brother worked.  As time went by, it became obvious to the employees that he had no home to go to – no one was going to come and claim him. 

My brother finally brought the stray home. I think the dog was very grateful.  He must have been because he was gentle and easygoing from the very beginning.  John named him Body Slam Dunk. 

I thought it was a strange name for a dog.  But my youngest brother was a great fan of sports.  I am pretty sure ‘body slam dunk’ is a basketball term.  I know what a dunk is – but I’m not sure about the body slam part. 

At any rate he was a good dog.  He and John were great friends. At some point, his name changed to Kemosabe – or Kemo for short.  Eventually John went to college.  Kemosabe became my parents’ dog then.  They loved him too.  He was a part of the family.

When my two oldest boys were big enough to play outside, Kemo followed them everywhere they went.  He had someone to play with again.  Not to mention he was a great guard dog. 

Once when John came home for a weekend, he set up a tent and camped outside with Adam and Alex.  Naturally, this was a special treat for them.  I remember Kemo slept right outside the tent “door” the entire night. 

Maybe he wanted to be as close as possible to them.  I’m sure he had missed John.  Maybe he was watching over them.  With him there, it was sure nothing else was coming across that tent threshold! 

Shouldn’t we feel toward God the way Body Slam Dunk (a.k.a. Kemosabe) felt about John? Shouldn’t we be thankful He had compassion on us when we were strays lost in sin?  God wants to take us home to heaven.  He sent His Son to die, so we would have the hope of living eternally with Him.

We should want to be as close to God as Kemo wanted to be to John.  We should take Him with us wherever we go.  God longs for closeness with us.  He wants us to be part of His family just like Kemo was part of ours. 

Guess what else?  Kemo wanted to protect Adam, Alex and John while they were asleep in that tent.  Christ wants to protect us from the snares of the devil and the cares of this world.  That is why He died for us and built the church. 

A relationship with a pet and his owner is pure.  Unconditional love is involved.  Loyalty and commitment are involved too and obedience.  Before John could take this stray home with him, the dog had to do something.  He had to listen to John’s voice and obey him.

Body Slam Dunk couldn’t go home with John until he got in the car. That really makes me stop and think!  Will we get in God’s car?  It is entirely up to us. 

 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  John 10:27

Christ above all things - Robin

Halloween on Paden Street

 

I grew up in safer, simpler times.  At least it seemed like that to me.  We lived in a residential neighborhood and lots of other kids lived there too. There was always someone to play with. During the summer we played with each other up and down the street.  

And Halloween?  Oh, trick or treating was so much fun. Todd and I walked from house to house with our friends to “trick or treat”.  Our neighbors were quite generous.  We always collected plenty of candy!

Another thing I loved was the decorations.  Some folks loved to decorate their houses with all sorts of things.  I remember one house in particular.  It was a few houses down the hill from us.  The yard and his front porch were decorated with all sorts of Halloween stuff.  When children walked up to the door and knocked, his wife would answer and give out candy. 

 As we got to their driveway, I saw him standing at a window. His arms were moving quickly.  It looked like he was pulling on a rope.  I just happened to notice movement in a big tree right beside their driveway.  I followed the movement and realization dawned on me. 

 The man had a “ghost” rigged up in that tree.  He had just finished pulling it into place ready for the next group of kids.  That just happened to be us.  None of my other friends had noticed.  “Oh this ought to be good!” I said to myself.

Todd was a few feet ahead of me, but I didn’t call him back.  I knew he would probably get scared, but I thought it would be funny.  Looking back on it now I feel guilty.  The Bible tells us we reap what we sow.  Maybe that’s why I am so easily startled now.  Who knows? 

This memory made me think about how we are supposed to look out for our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We should stop them before they run full head on into something that will endanger their souls. 

Scripture says in Philippians 2:4-5 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others.”

Hear is another beautiful passage. “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”  James 5:19-20

Ladies we can’t be like I was that night so long ago.  We cannot just sit back and watch our fellow Christians go off toward the path of sin without even caring.  God wants us to try to help them – to support them in their struggles and to call them back to the Lord. 

This is what loving one another is all about.  Let’s watch out for another. 

Christ above all things – Robin

His First Bowling Game

We were in Myrtle Beach, SC visiting some of my mother’s relatives.  On this trip we met folks we’d never met before.  Mom’s Aunt Ruby, her husband Ralph, Uncle Arthur, and several of Mom’s cousins.  It was a great visit for us. 

Myrtle Beach has always been a beautiful place.  Mom spent her early childhood years there. She remembers when the city was not nearly so crowded – high rise hotels did not line the shore for miles like they do now. 

Mom’s cousin Doris offered to take the three of us bowling.  We had never been before, so we were all excited about it.  Not many people were at the bowling alley that day and it didn’t take us long to get started. 

I think John was about eight years old at the time.  That would mean Todd was twelve and I was fourteen.  I can’t even remember if Todd went first or if I did.  Nor do I remember how either of us did, but I can assure you it wasn’t great.  LOL.

Then it was John’s turn.  We both stood back and watched our little brother.  That bowling ball went slowly down the lane.  John was small so there wasn’t much force behind his throw and I thought it would take forever to reach the pins. 

The ball never swerved.  It rolled as straight as an arrow.  I remember Todd and I looking at each other and one of us said, “Watch him get a strike on his first try ever.”  And he did!!  Neither of us were a bit surprised. 

John was thrilled.  I guess some would say it was beginner’s luck.  It didn’t matter to us what it was, he was so excited!  We were thrilled for him.  Why wouldn’t we be?  He was our little brother. 

That is the way our family has always been.  We always rooted and cheered for each other.  Mom and Dad taught us that. It is just the way we always were and still are now. 

The family of God is supposed to be that way too.  We are always supposed to be happy for one another when we do well.  It is part of loving each other as Christ commanded in John 13:35. 

Members of the church are supposed to celebrate with one another.  Being part of the body of Christ means we are part of each other (Romans 12:5). 

There should be no jealousy in our church family.  We can’t think of ourselves as more than we are.  In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul wrote, “love does not envy or boast, is not arrogant or rude” (verse 4).

We need our church families to encourage us and be happy for us.  We need to “rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” Romans 12:15 

This is not just some kind of feel good statement we do with just a few of our close friends.  This is a commandment for all Christians. 

So the next time someone in our church family rolls a strike, get excited and celebrate with them!  God will bless you for it!

Christ above all things – Robin 

She Believed She Could So She Did

 

For a good long time now, I’ve seen the quote on home décor, jewelry, and T-shirts.  It is encouraging and inspirational.  What we think does indeed have a lot to do with setting and achieving goals. 

I was curious, so I researched the origins of the quote.  The first thing I found said it was written by R.S. Grey in the book Scoring Wilder.   This is a book about a female college soccer player who sets her sights on one of her coaches. 

You guessed it, the “scoring” does not have anything to do with the game of soccer.  I was disappointed when I discovered this. 

Then I found a book by Sam (Samantha) Lacey with this quote as part of its title.  “She Believed She Could So She Did: A Modern Woman’s Guide to Life.”  Really?  I thought that was the Bible. 

 I don’t know either of these women and I haven’t read either book.  But I do know Ecclesiastes 1:9 tells us “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.  Is there a thing of which it is said, ‘See, this is new?’  It has already been in the ages before us.”

Now that is something isn’t it?  Even as young as the world was when Ecclesiastes was written, God said nothing was new.  Everything had already been said and done.  I find this truly fascinating! 

But the passage is not speaking of discoveries, inventions and developments in technology.  It refers to the nature and emotions of mankind. It is about the way we think and feel, and the way we treat each other. 

One may ask how is it that “she believed she could, so she did” is not new?  Go all the way back to Eve. 

She saw that fruit.  Satan convinced her she would not surely die.  She believed she could eat it without suffering any consequences – so she did – and with disastrous results! 

What about Sarah who was impatient regarding God’s promise of a son to Abraham?  She believed she could speed things up by giving Hagar as a concubine to Abraham.  So she did – with heartbreaking results!!

There are also positive examples.  Naomi didn’t plan for Ruth to go with her to Bethlehem.  But Ruth thought differently.  She thought she could choose Naomi’s God as her God too.  So she did - and both women were blessed!

There was Shiphrah and Puah, Jochebed and Miriam, Hannah, Esther, Abigail, Mary, the mother of John Mark – and many, many more! 

These are real-life examples of how believing and doing was played out for both bad and good in the Bible.  It is what we choose to think that will guide our words and deeds. 

The line itself conveys the same message Jesus gave to His apostles in Matthew 17:20, but with a twist – “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

That’s it.  Faith.  That is the twist.  What we do, we do through our faith in Christ our Savior. 

Love to all - Robin

Lyla's Horrible Day

If there was one thing Lyla knew after fifty plus years on this earth, it was that she really didn’t know anything.  It seemed like nothing ever stayed the same.  

“It certainly isn’t like it used to be, is it Henry?”  Head tilted to one side,  her dog looked at her questioningly. 

 “It seems as if the whole world is turned around backwards or something,” Lyla continued.  “Everybody is out for themselves and they don’t care what they have to do to get ahead.” 

Lyla never dreamed Janine would take credit for the work she did on the Martindale project!  But she had.  Worse yet, Janine got a big promotion out of the deal!  Lyla was devastated by the betrayal.  It had been a horrible day for her and she felt all alone. 

Her phone rang again.  It was her best friend Vicky.  She had already called three times; but Lyla just couldn’t bring herself to talk right now.  She put the phone down without answering. 

Henry jumped up on the couch to sit beside her.  Lyla was happy to have him there.  He scooted right up next to her.  She drew comfort from his closeness.  “At least you won’t double-cross me will you, Henry?” 

She leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes.  She sighed deeply, trying to blink back the bitter tears.  Then Lyla prayed.  Well, she prayed as best she could. 

She was still so hurt; and at first she didn’t even know what to pray.  But once Lyla got started, she poured her heart out to God and told Him what had happened.  She was honest about her anger and how unfair it was for Janine to claim she did all the work on her own – especially when Lyla did most of it. 

She began to feel a little better.  Her prayer helped her feel more at peace.  She remembered 1 Peter 3:12.  “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,  and His ears are open to their prayer.  But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”  That verse always gave her such great comfort.

God had never failed Lyla before and she knew He would not fail her now.  She thought about Jesus’ life while He was here on earth.  He was rejected and reviled. 

Christ lived a sinless life.  He served others throughout His ministry.  He healed the multitudes of all sorts of diseases and He fed them because He had compassion on them.  Yet on the night, He was crucified, a crowd of people chose a known murderer to be released rather than the Son of God. 

Lyla realized Christ truly knew all that she had been through today.  He knew how these hurts felt.   She knew the Lord would take care of her. 

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”  Romans 8:37.

Christ above all things - Robin

An Apology on the Blue Ridge Parkway

My mother’s parents lived in Hampton, Virginia.   We lived in rural northeast Mississippi.   The two places are about 866 miles apart.  We were blessed to be able to visit them once a year during the summer and I have such great memories of those times. 

Thinking about it now, the memories come flooding back all at once.  They were truly special times.  Being with my grandparents was great fun.  Mom and Dad always made the road trips back and forth extra special time too. 

I guess we really got to know each other – five people in one car – on a trip that long.  Once they decided to take the Blue Ridge Parkway at least part of the way home.  This Parkway is nearly four hundred seventy miles long.  It starts near Waynesboro, Virginia and goes through Blue Ridge Mountains ending near Cherokee, North Carolina. 

We did not stay on the Parkway from beginning to end, but Mom and Dad wanted us to experience the beauty of the mountains.  It is a gorgeous scenic route.  Somewhere along the way we stopped for a little break and to stretch our legs. 

When we got back on the road, Dad turned on the Parkway again.  My youngest brother, John, said, “Dad, you turned the wrong way.”   Now Dad was very good with directions.  He seemed to always know where he was going.   And my brother was pretty young. – maybe about ten. 

“No, John.  We’re going the right way,”  Dad said.  He drove on. … for several miles.  

I’m not sure how far we went, but Mom and Dad saw a road sign giving the distance to the next town.  It just happened to be a place we went through a little earlier in the day. 

They looked at each other in surprise as they realized John had been right along. 

As Mom said a few days ago when we talked about this, “As good as Dad was about not getting lost, he wasn’t perfect.” 

What I remember the most about that trip – what has stuck with me all these years – is that Dad apologized to John.  I can still hear his voice just as clearly as I did that day.  He turned and looked at my brother and said, “John, I’m sorry.  You were right.  I went the wrong way.  I’m sorry, buddy.” 

Dad didn’t try to find a way to save face.  He didn’t look for an excuse or try to blame it on anyone else.  He admitted he was wrong right then and there.  My dad gave his ten year old little boy a heartfelt apology. 

True humility is not something we run across very often these days.  That’s a shame because it is a command from God.   Philippians 2:3 reads, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”

I am so thankful to have such a wonderful example of humility~!

Christ above all things -- Robin