Confirmed!!

No, this is not a story about eighth grade confirmation class, although I have many tales I could tell. Rather, this is a brief appreciative note about how God works and how the Holy Spirit leads.

The further along I get in my faith journey, the more I appreciate the signage along the route, confirming that I am traveling in the right direction. God is WAY better than any GPS system or Google Maps app. Here's the latest example.

I wrote a Bible study for our youth group at church. I presented it this past Friday night actually. It was initially about giving our testimony. But as I was writing it, it turned into more of a discussion about the Holy Spirit and how we can tell if He is living in us. In the study was this verse from 2nd Corinthians.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." - 2 Corinthians 5:17

Weeks after I "finished writing" the Bible study, our pastor was giving a sermon out of Romans 6. He used this scripture.

"Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. ⁹For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. ¹⁰The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. ¹¹So you too must count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." - Romans 6:8-11

During his message he then said this: "Turn with me to 2nd Corinthians 5:17."

Really?

So, I turned, and there it was. The verse I was going to use in my Bible study. Was this a sign that I was on the right track? Does God use signs and confirming "God-incidences"(sun, moon, stars, animals, other humans) to guide our thoughts and actions?

You betcha der heh!

If you Google "signs from heaven" and click on "Images" you will notice something. Lots of birds in particular. Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Hummingbirds. People seem to think creatures deliver confirming messages. But what does the Bible say?

"And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years." - Genesis 1:14

"There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven." - Luke 21:11

"The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes." - Joel 2:31

There are more examples than these, of signs from God.

Have you ever encountered one of God's signs? Was it delivered by another human? An animal? A very real and true prayer is for God to "show me a sign."

"And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs." - Mark 16:20

That's good enough for me!

Straight Paths

Have you ever been on a road like this? I hope so. Some might say it looks boring, but others would say it's perfect. Like God for example.

"Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them." - Deuteronomy 28:14

It's hard to turn to the right or to the left if there are no right or left turns on the road you are traveling.

So, what does God want us to do exactly? Who are these other gods? Do they still exist today?

Oh, they most definitely still exist. Think of the road in the picture as a sinless life. What happens if we take our eyes off of the road? Or when we are distracted and not paying attention?

We tend to start weaving, or straying over the centerline, or into the ditch. None of those things are good. Do you suppose that's why God wants us to stay on the straight and narrow highway?

Here's a cool verse.

"And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it." - Isaiah 35:8

What is "the Way" that Isaiah is talking about nere, and why is the word capitalized?

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6

If Jesus is The Way, what's the destination? What's at the end of this highway we're on? You know.

The road might look easy. It's all straight. No problem, right? The road gets narrower and more difficult to travel. At a moment's notice, or so gradually that we barely even notice.

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." - Matthew 7:13-14

There is a simple way to navigate this "road of life" we are traveling on. Follow Christ. Follow His example. Let Him drive! When in doubt, pull over and ask for directions (prayer) or check the road map (the Bible). There are so many helps to get us to our desired destination. We just have to remember to use them.

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

Lines

From our youth we have been encouraged to stay within the lines - to color within them and to stand in them. The lunch line. The line to get on the bus. The marching band marched in a line on a field that was painted with lines.

Lines seem to form nearly everywhere we go. We wait in line for all kinds of events - to get in, to get out, to buy food, to go to the bathroom. Lines are everywhere!

What IS a line anyway? Geometry class teaches that a line is a point with direction. If that's the case, aren't we ourselves just lines? Do we have a point to our lives? Are we going in the right direction?

I watched 13 coffins being unloaded from a plane yesterday. The soldiers marched in a line, the mourners stood in line. What's "the point?" Are we as a nation going in the right "direction?"

If you haven't figured it out by now, the "point" of this life is to learn. We learn good things and bad. Happy and sad. It's easy to be "a point." Things just happen to us and we move on. Or do we? Movement implies direction. Which way are we moving then?

Jesus tells us that He is "the way, the truth and the life." Hmm. The way . . . that sounds like . . . a direction. We Christians ARE lines!! We have a point AND a direction!

We are told in Luke 21:28 . . .

"So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your redemption draws near!”

That was Jesus speaking and those "things" are all happen right now. Wars, rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, plagues, earthquakes, floods . . . and here we sit, little "points" in search of direction. Jesus has already given us that direction. Look up!

Where's The Line To See Jesus - Becky Kelley