God lovingly disciplines His children~

The Christian walk is not always an easy path, but it is worth every trial, every roadblock and every blessing that the Lord bestows upon us.

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, he puts a seal on us and we belong to him. It's a done deal forever, for eternity. We are branded as one of His and our name appears in the Book of Life.
2 Corinthians 1: 22 tells us "He set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."

                                                                  In His Light © Greg Olsen

We belong to the Lord! What a blessing and comfort that is! When the world is falling apart around us, we can take great comfort and rejoice in knowing that our eternal destination is set in stone.  Luke 10:20 says we should ..."Rejoice because your names are registered in heaven."

What an awesome thing that is, but you're probably saying, what about my life now? My life seems to be falling apart? We all have times when things aren't going our way. You say, 'wait a minute God, I have things that I want to do with my life.' That's not my plan! We all make that statement. But, here's the thing:

Once you surrender your life to Jesus Christ, you belong to Him for eternity. There is no turning back, you can never take that away. You can rebel all you want, but he's not leaving your side. You can stray for days, months, or even years, but he'll still be there waiting for you to return, while lovingly trying to show you why things are not working out your way. Mind you, you can live any way you want, God give us all free will, but He won't bless you or your plans when you are living against His perfect will for you.

But how do we know the way. How will He show us? By closing doors that you want open. He is the God of the Universe and He can do anything he wants with you or me. You might think you have the greatest plans in the world, but if you belong to Jesus and are living outside of His will for your life, all of your plans will fail miserably. I can guarantee you that.

                                                   God can close any door he doesn't want you going through~

So, how do you get the wisdom to know what the Lord wants for your life? James 1:5 tell us to “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” 

The Lord want to help us on our way, but we have to seek after Him and His will. If you seek the door will be open. Matthew 7:7-8 says "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

                                                                            Let Him In© Greg Olsen

Seek, trust and obey. It's really is that simple. Proverbs 3:5-6 says you should “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight”

I remember when our oldest son was a teenager. He kept getting caught in all these unsavory situations and couldn't understand why all of his friends got away with things and he never did. I told him 'that's because you belong to the Lord.' He is disciplining you and trying to teach you the right way.' He wasn't real happy about that, but I told him the truth. God had His loving Hand upon him.

Jeremiah 29:11 says: "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." When we do not do what we should be doing, he has a way of "slapping us down,(if you will) to make it real clear that we are going in the wrong direction. It took me many years of Bible Study and prayer to finally surrender to His will for my life. But surrender I did.

Our youngest son is having a hard time right now. He gave his life to Jesus Christ about a year ago during his brief 3 week incarceration. Once he got out, he was a changed man. He was like the boy I knew from so many years ago before he started down his path to destruction. We all had 5 wonderful months of sobriety while he was living in God's will for his life. He was attending church willingly and regularly and he was encouraging us with bible verses and attending weekly Bible Study classes. It was an unbelievable transformation that could have only come from the Lord. But Satan wasn't happy about this new child of God that was shining for the King and he came after our son with a vengeance. He gave in, as so many of us do. Satan is a strong force, and believe me, he is alive and well in 2012.

Now, unfortunately, our son is back on the other side of the coin. He's not been living in God's will and he is seeing his "plans" fall apart. I feel so badly for him, yet I know exactly that what is happening. It's clear as a bell to me and to my husband. The Lord is disciplining his child. He's trying to tell him that he doesn't like some of the things he's been doing or saying and the way he's been living. It's so hard for him because my son is young and so full of pride. But the Lord wants us to live with a humble heart. Psalms 25:9 says "He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way." 

                                                                   Lost and Found © Greg Olsen

So, we wait and we pray. We wait patiently for the Lord to soften our son's heart to Him again. We wait for our son to turn from his rebellion against us and against the Lord, hoping that it will come sooner rather than later. We are confident in knowing that the Lord Jesus will not let go of him in the process. 

We pray for God's Hand of protection upon our son and we ask for Him to guide him and give him wisdom. Your kids are yours until the day you die, you never stop thinking about them or praying for them. It's true what they say - Little kids...little problems. Big kids.....big problems. Thank God that we know Jesus Christ and can lean on Him and His promises. Amen~

My verses for today are above in red.

My prayer for today:

Dear Heavenly Father:

Thank you for the life of our son. Thank you for blessing us with this young man. Thank you for what you did for us on that Cross. Thank you that our son has accepted your precious gift. Help us to guide him in Your way, back to you. Please watch over him and protect him during this trying time for him. Help him to come back to your loving arms of comfort.

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen and Amen