dar334

It’s not a secret that some have criticized my choice to become a better Christian.  Jokes have been made, fingers have been pointed, and hurtful things have been said.  Maybe not directly to my face, but things get around.  Little remarks made without actually calling someone out, when enough is said to know who you were referring to.  People talk, people tell things they shouldn’t, people like to criticize.    It’s no secret, we are all human, and that kind of stuff is human nature.  I’ve done it myself on more than one occasion.  I still do it without thinking, but I’m working on being a better person by correcting my bad behavior.  I’m a work in progress.  I’m not giving up on it, I’m going to keep working at it, and when you criticize, well, I guess that’s just my light finally starting to shine; after all, if you didn’t see it you couldn’t criticize it.  Perhaps it’s the essence of the Holy Spirit?   Either way, it’s a change for the better, but there’s still a whole lot of work to be done.  That’s why I’m determined to stay in study, it’s the only way to stay focused on the goal.

My parents didn’t have me baptized when I was a baby.  I’ve thought about that several times, and I’ve had several different feelings about that.  I now have a better grasp of just what that decision involves.  I was baptized in 2008 with Tonya, Josh and Isabella.  It was my choice.  And with that baptism were some things I had to agree to do.  I accepted those things, now I’m trying to uphold my end of the agreement.

People do change.  Let me tell you about Saul.  Saul was a devout Jew.  He knew the Bible inside and out and when the Christian movement began, CHRIST-ian movement, he fought it with all his might because he thought it was a threat to Judaism.  Now I want to emphasize, he knew the Old Testament.    The Old Testament was full of predictions of a savior that was yet to come.  What Saul failed to recognize was the fact that Jesus Christ was THAT savior.  The New Testament which brought the good news of Jesus as our savior had not yet been written, but it was being talked about by Jesus’ disciples, THAT ALSO HAD CHANGED.  Long story short, after Jesus’ ascension  to Heaven, Saul took off to Damascus to round up some of Jesus’ disciples and their followers to bring them back to Jerusalem and throw them in jail.  While he was on the road to Damascus he heard a voice say “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”  It was Jesus.  Jesus then told him to go into the city where he would be told what to do, and then Jesus blinded him.  The Lord then instructed a man name Ananias to go to the city and restore Saul’s sight.  Ananias went to Saul, put his hands on his eyes and told him the Lord who had met him on the road to Damascus had sent him to restore his sight so that he would see again and be filled the Holy Spirit.  That convinced Saul that Jesus was Lord and Savior.  Saul’s name was then changed to Paul, he went through many trials and persecutions himself, and is accredited to starting the church.  He is also the author of several of the books in the New Testament.  Now I hope you pick up a Bible or find a Bible online and read Acts; it was written by Paul/Saul.  Then maybe read Matthew or Mark, you don’t even have to read them in order, they are all separate books.  Just like the other 63.  #66.Separate.Books.

In closing, I often think of something a dear friend of mine told me after lung cancer was diagnosed in my husband.  She said “This is what God has been training you for.”  So go ahead and continue to criticize, it lets me know my light is shining.

Always pondering,

dar