Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.  Ephesians 4:31-32 

    Last week’s journal was about “cleaning house”, emptying ourselves and allowing room for the Holy Spirit to make His home in us. It may be somewhat easy to “clean house”,  but if we don’t “take out the trash”, (leave our burdens with God), we are tempted to “pick them back up”. Then we are right back to a messy house.

    For many years I struggled with bad feelings toward a couple of people in my past. I routinely prayed for God to change those feelings and give me peace. It was easy to “clean house” by recognizing that I needed to remove my bitterness, hatred, and unforgiveness, but I didn’t “take out the trash”.  Instead, I held on to it by rehearsing in my mind the events that took place and the things that hurt me. I continued to be bitter and not forgive which then led to anger, unhappiness, low self-esteem, and more. Once I started doing what it takes by “taking out the trash”, I began to forgive and find peace which led to patience, kindness and love.

Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. Psalm 55:22

    It doesn’t say to give your burdens to the Lord, then take them back. No, He wants us to let Him deal with them.

    When we take back our burdens or don’t give them to God in the first place, we are telling Him that we don’t trust Him. How does that make Him, God of the Universe, feel?

     Reasons we take them back may be because it’s a habit, we are independent and think we can do things on our own, or we don’t understand how big our God is.

     So, what can you do to “take out your trash”, i.e.: leave your burdens with God?

             -Pray! We can’t develop a relationship with someone if we don’t talk to them, even God. In communicating with Him, you gain trust and begin to shift your focus to Him instead of on your burdens.

            -Be conscience of your thoughts. Don’t let the past replay in your mind. Replace those negative thoughts with good thoughts.

             -Dwell in God’s Word. That’s one way He communicates with us. Find encouraging verses to rehearse. Write them on a sticky note or postcard. Read them often.

             -Find and focus on positive things. Look for the good in others and in situations. Look for God in everything. He’s there.

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.  Philippians 2:5-7

   As Christians who love God, we are His. We want to live for Him, shine for Him, and be a vessel for Him. Likewise, God loves us, He wants to shine through us, and work through us to encourage each other and reach others who don’t know Him. Simply put, the Holy Spirit wants to “make His home in us”. He wants to live in and through us. When our lives are full of sin, idols, and other focuses besides Jesus, there is no room for Him. We need to “clean house”! We need to empty ourselves and allow room for the Holy Spirit to make His home in us.

    Several years ago, I had an opportunity to witness to a very close, non-Christian friend, who was asking about Jesus. I couldn’t find the words to say. It was then that I realized I wasn’t living for Jesus and allowing the Holy Spirit to work through me to be His witness. I wasn’t reading my Bible, I wasn’t praying, I wasn’t going to Church regularly, nor was I spending any time with God. I didn’t have a “relationship” with Him. I was focused on “other stuff”- stuff of this world. I realized I needed to “clean house” (empty myself of the past, my sins and things not of God) before He could fill me and work through me to minister.

    In Philippians 2:5-7 Paul tells us that even Jesus emptied Himself. We don’t think of Him having to do that because He was God. But in order to teach us how to live, He chose to humble himself, take on the form of a slave and be made in our likeness. As a man, he could have had “clutter” in His life just like we do, but He chose to “keep His house clean” by continually emptying Himself. As should we.

    Many people, especially non-Christians, are on “look-out” for when we mess up, then are quick to judge us as Christians. They expect us to “bear good fruit.” Or perhaps, even waiting for us to bear “bad fruit.”

    Galatians 5:22 lists the fruits of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” When we allow the Holy Spirit to dwell in us by having a relationship with God, we begin producing these fruits.

    When I was in college, as a new Christian, I went to many church functions, hung out with the Christian group in college, carried a Bible everywhere I went, wore jewelry with Christian symbols, owned many Christian books, and had a “Jesus Loves You” bumper sticker on my car. I was proclaiming the Christian life but wasn’t bearing good fruits. I was so focused on “Christianity” that I didn’t focus on “having a relationship with God.” Even though God removed my quick temper, I still showed bitterness, envy, hatred, gloom, judgement and many more “bad fruits.”

    In Matthew 7:15-20 Jesus is talking about the difference between false prophets and His disciples. He says, “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

    It’s easy to get “busy with life” and forget to notice the bad fruits that come out of us (bad habits, bad language, bad attitudes, bad temper, etc.) and we forget to notice how those look to others.

 Are you like a good tree that is bearing good fruit?

     Do you have some branches, bearing bad fruit, that need pruning?

Ask the Holy Spirit to remove those branches and replace them with branches that bear good fruit.

 ~Joanie Lawrence-Cain

     As we begin a “New Year”, how many of us will once again make those “New Year’s Resolutions”? You know, the same ones each year, like lose weight, get in shape, get organized, manage finances better, quit drinking, quit smoking, etc. How long do these resolutions last? A few days, a few months? Usually not much past that.

As Christians we might make resolutions to pray more, read our Bible more, memorize verses of Scripture, or give more to our church.

     While all of these are good resolutions, our first priority (not just at the beginning of a year, but all year) should be to love God and to do His will in our lives. Therefore, we should set Godly goals and pursue them for Him and with His help.

     I’m a “list maker”. I feel inspired when I write down all that I need to do daily such as read my Bible, pray, exercise, take my vitamins, eat healthy, clean house, make a craft, etc. I would eagerly and excitedly write them all down with anticipation and confidence that this time I will succeed in doing them all forever. Then in reality, I may do them all one day, some I’d do for a week. Then I’d fail, not doing any of them. Feelings of inadequacy, failure, etc. would flood my mind. I finally realized that I couldn’t do these things on my own. Instead of trying to change everything at once, I needed to ask God what He wanted me to change and ask Him to help me. I have a long way to go but together, one change at a time, we are succeeding.

     My “resolution” became one of my prayers. I replaced each bad habit with Godly things. I made small changes like listening to Christian music instead of secular, reading Christian books & my Bible instead of magazines and surfing through Pinterest, listening to sermons/Christian podcasts instead of computer games, praying more for my family and loved ones instead of criticizing and judging them, making time for relaxation, and spending time with friends instead of making excuses that I’m too busy. What we fill ourselves with is what we become.

~Joanie Lawrence-Cain

Are you a member of your church or a disciple of Christ?

Is your primary relationship with the congregation or with Jesus Christ?

     In and out of your church, what do you hear about most: conversations about people and activities in our lives or our relationship with Jesus Christ and what He’s doing in our lives?

Membership – Members in a congregation are expected to:

Nowadays, a lot of churches have few members and even fewer disciples.

Therefore, Christ’s call to discipleship is not an option but the livelihood of the church.

Our VISION should be on the Kingdom of God, NOT the church itself.

Are YOU a church member or a disciple of Christ?

¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:19-20

-Joanie Lawrence-Cain

    The Christmas Season is here, Christmas Day is near. This is supposed to be a joyful time of year but for many people it isn’t quite as joyful as it should be. Many have lost loved ones during the holiday season, some have lost their jobs, disasters happen which create extra expenses, etc. These occurrences don’t make for “happy times” in ANY season but especially during the Holidays.

     My mother died in November of 1976. Because her death was so close to the Holidays, for many years I didn’t want to decorate for Christmas. I found it difficult to go through the process of getting gifts under the tree, and cooking was way too much effort. After many years, some friends came into my life who changed that. They inspired me to do things I used to do for Christmas. They helped me decorate, encouraged me to cook and went shopping with me. 

     When I began focusing on the true meaning of Christmas, the reason God created us and the reason Jesus came to earth, I began to realize that we are just a speck in the “Big Picture”. James 4:14 says Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

     This verse tells me that it’s not THIS life that is most important, but the life we will have for eternity with Jesus Christ. And knowing my mother and other loved ones are in a wonderful place, knowing God is taking care of them and knowing I will see them again is comforting and gives me reason to celebrate again.

     When I found myself: on my knees, crying out to God for healing, began living my life for Him instead of for my own selfishness, regular prayer time and reading my instruction book for life (my Bible), I became more at peace, more joyful, and more inspired.  Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

     During this joyful time of year, I want to encourage you to pause in your own “busyness”, look around, and find someone who needs a dose of “Christmas Joy”. Offer to help them decorate, cook a meal, bake some cookies or just sit and visit over hot chocolate. It always seems my own joy rekindles when I work to bring joy into someone else’s life.

     We don’t get well on our own…that’s why there are over 59 “one anothers” in the New Testament.

    I still think Christmas was a LOT more fun as a kid…but I have found a lot more joy now that my focus is on Jesus.

May you all remember the TRUE JOY of Christmas and share Him with others!

-Joanie Lawrence-Cain

     Most of us have experienced the transforming moment when we realized in our heart God’s salvation plan for us, the moment when we made the decision to turn our life around and live for Him. (If you haven’t, we need to talk) Remember that feeling of being “stirred”? Excitement, fulfillment, relief, joy…. just to name a few emotions you may have had. Remember the almost instant understanding of it all? Were you inspired to learn about Him? Were you inspired to serve Him?

     Do you still have those feelings and ambitions or have they faded and you have gone back to your daily distractions with God in the background. Is your knowing you’re saved by His grace enough for you?

-Joanie Lawrence-Cain

-Joanie Lawrence-Cain

I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and

I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.   Psalm 7:17 

    We wake up on Sunday mornings and get ourselves ready for church. We are caught up in the hustle and bustle of making ourselves look good and making sure everything is ready before leaving the house. We prepare for worship physically, but do we prepare ourselves spiritually? Do we enter the church being full of gratitude or are we there just going through the motions?

    As followers of Christ, worship is an opportunity to offer Him something He dearly wants from us: gratitude, thanksgiving, and praise. Worship is a way to express our souls and spirits to God as a response to His blessings. True worship begins in our hearts with knowing and understanding God’s love, grace and mercy for us.

    It’s easy to expect the music, the liturgy and sermon to prepare us and give us the “feelings” needed for worship. Many church-goers leave churches because the worship service didn’t “do anything for them”. Hmm, maybe they didn’t have gratitude in their hearts before they came in, therefore are looking for something that is missing in their hearts and not in the church.

    Worship is: to honor with extravagant love and extreme submission. Therefore, worship should not be limited to just Sunday mornings.

    The connection between us and God is the Holy Spirit. When, in our hearts, we show gratitude, thanksgiving, and praise to God through worship, the Holy Spirit becomes alive in us and pours out among others. That, is not only encouraging to our brothers and sisters but it is contagious.

Is worshiping on Sundays just a routine?

Do you truly know and understand in your heart God’s love, grace and mercy for you?

Do you take the time to prepare your heart for worship before you leave home on Sundays?

-Joanie Lawrence-Cain