Jesus…the crux of the salvation story. The pillar of the Christian faith. Why Jesus? Why believe in a God you don’t feel you know, and a faith you don’t understand? Would you listen if He prodded your heart? If you fully believed He saw you right where you are at with all your brokenness and baggage and yet still loves you. There is a biblical account of a Samaritan woman, searching for love, filling her life with empty relationships. Her void in her heart was as deep as the well she sought water from. Yet, Jesus saw her, offering her wholeness, despite the emptiness she felt. Would you allow Him a second of your time to reveal to you, that He loves you despite all the wrongs that you have ever done?

Hollow words fill the room. It is normal. It is accepted. So, as robots, people exchange back and forth this nugatory vocabulary. Perhaps, it is because many feel like the words they speak…empty, depleted of what is needed to carry sustenance. Yet, just like your words carry weight, so do you. Your influence is sending shock waves to those around you, whether you are on board for this responsibility or not. What if we stopped the trajectory we are heading on, and started placing value on ourselves and those around us? Realizing that, perhaps…the words we speak can and do make a difference.

I look at those around me, from the Believers who sit next to me in the pews, to the non-Believers who have never felt the presence of God’s love wash over them. Yet, as we mingle in the world, the lines are blurred. It’s kind of hard to tell anyone apart. Is there anyone who looks different? Who sets themselves apart with convictions in their heart that screams that there is a God? Or do they look and act like everyone else? Does your desire to fit in cause you to be stuck in the elementary teachings about Christ, forcing you to mull over the same struggles you’ve had for years? This begs to ask the question why?

As a society, we live busy, hurried, loud lives, rushing from one place to another, or one thing to another trying to allow our feet to catch up to our agenda. Even when we have time to pause our minds are cluttered. It would take a big theatrical display of God’s majesty to stop us in our tracks, in order for us to really pay attention to God. Yet, God is not a puppet on display. He is the God of the universe that deserves our attention.

Fear limits. Faith builds up. I am not referring to the fear of God, out of respect for His authority, rather the kind of fear that limits our obedience to God rather then drawing us closer to Him. Obedience that requires faith, also has an antithesis known as fear, and it is knocking on the door. The unknown breeds a slew of emotions, especially if we question our circumstances rather than the God who called us there.

It was 2002, my boyfriend (now husband) and I decided to take the next step in our journey of faith. We both had accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior and were ready for whatever God had in store for us. So in a local hotel’s pool we openly confessed to others the proclamation that we so intimately made between God.

Her favorite blanket was missing. Sure she has others, but this is her new favorite. A cute blanket with a cow on it that she lovingly refers to as ‘moo-moo’. We looked for a while, but nothing showed up. So she stopped and said, “I know what to do!” With her eyes clinched together she prayed, “Lord, please help me find my Moo-Moo, Amen.”

I was born in the 1950’s and was adopted by hard working immigrant parents which gave me an idyllic start to my sometimes controversial life. They provided a stable & peaceful home filled with kindness and generosity.

Blink. The moment has passed. Someone else has run out of time. The specific number of days that only God knows, yet because of the busyness of life procrastination trumps the most important decision. Where will you spend eternity?

Do I trust God and believe He is who He says He is? Do I have faith to believe without doubting? These questions are invoked when I think of the Christians who have gone before, who walked the talk and saw people’s hearts changed. Do I take God at His word, and am I willing to stand on the front lines professing God to be the one He says He is, the One and Only true God?