My Secret Recipe

Have you ever tried to get credit for something you didn't do?  I made a delicious dish, Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken, that amazed my family.  My husband is still on the Keto diet, so this recipe was perfect for him.  Once everyone started praising my culinary efforts, I was tempted to pass this recipe off as my own creation.  In the end, I admitted that Pinterest was the inspiration for my dish, not my creative imagination.  

 This made me think of Philippians 3:12-14.  12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it (resurrection from the dead) my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  

 How many of us lean on our church attendance or works as the meter for which our Christianity is measured?  Being in a garage does not make me a car.  Being in a church does not place me in right standing with God.  Paul mentioned that he presses on to make it his own.  He even used the word "straining" to define his pursuit of God.  You may not always have it perfect, but are you pressing on, straining through hard times to make your relationship with God real?  Or do you pass off your parents', friend's, spouse's, pastor's relationship with God as your own?  You can never earn your salvation.  You are justified (made in right standing) with God because of the work Jesus did for you on the cross.  But once you believe in that work He did, do you make a relationship with God your own?  This is clearly shown in Matthew 7:23. And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’  

 So I have these questions for you.  Have you taken your relationship beyond just a prayer?  Have you read His word and made it your own?  Have you created a trust in God that is built only through spending time with God?  Is your relationship with Christ your own?

 For those who are tempted by the picture, I've included the link to the "not my own" chicken.  You should really try it.  It is amazing! https://www.pinterest.com/pin/209628557641688272/

 Have a great week high-heeled warriors!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Is Love? Loving When It's Hard.

Image
  I want to start by saying this has been one of the most straining weeks my husband and I have experienced in a while. As many know, my husband's father nearly passed away this week. He has been sick for a few weeks. My husband had a feeling, prompted by the Holy Spirit, that he needed to get his dad to the hospital on Sunday evening. His dad had a doctor's appointment for Tuesday, but he felt like it needed to be right away. He was admitted into the hospital, and by Wednesday, his dad had sepsis. The doctors gave his dad eight hours to live. We watched his pulse and blood pressure plummet and waited for the inevitable. Meanwhile, we prayed that God would move. A miracle occurred, and he began to improve. He has been taken off the ventilator and is breathing on his own with a steady blood pressure. During all of this, my husband and I celebrated our 27th anniversary. Neither of us had hardly any sleep the first 24 hours. My husband only had 3 hours of sleep for 72 hours, so
Read more

Update: My Daughter's Latest EEG Six Years This Week After Brain Surgery

Image
  A couple of weeks ago, I went with my daughter to her yearly neurologist appointment. They have slowly been lowering her seizure medication. It's easy to worry after all that we've been through, but as we visited the bathroom in the waiting room, we had a little reminder to trust God. There on the paper towel dispenser was a little Jesus. It reminded us He's always with us, even in hard times. The neurologist wanted to do a new EEG. The last one was a couple of years ago and was inconclusive. We scheduled the new EEG for last week. After prayer and remembering Jesus is with us, we went. She received the results the next day. No seizure or abnormal activity! Every year that passes is good news. We are so thankful that God is faithful, and Jesus is always with us! Have a great week high-heeled warriors!
Read more

Ready to Die?

Image
  We celebrated the home coming of one of the longest-attending members of our church. I've been to funerals that were extremely sad, and I've found that I'm an empathetic cryer. I attended a funeral with a friend. I didn't know the deceased, but as we walked by the casket at the end of the funeral, I messy cried. As I heard and saw the family crying, I couldn't help it. I've been asked to sing in a lot of funerals. This empathetic crying has made it difficult to sing. A few years ago, I mentioned to a couple of friends about my messy crying and worried about losing my composure during the song. The husband had shoulder surgery the day before and was on some really strong pain killers. As I sat behind the piano and looked out at the crowd, he smiled extremely big in his painkiller-induced state and gave me a very visible thumbs up sign. At that point, I struggled not to laugh. Crying was forgotten. I say all of this because this weekend, I was preparing for cry
Read more