So What's Your Story?

This post today, brings you a devotion I keep marked in my Bible.  I am going to share with you the actual devotional as it is written in my Bible, but I am also going to share with you WHY I keep it marked for easy reference.  The title of this post is "So What's Your Story?"  This is my story. 

I grew up in church.  My family attended every Sunday they could.  I was involved in GA's, Acteens, Children's Choir, Youth Group, Sunday School, and basically anything I could get my hands on within my church.  I became a Christian in 1987.  Easter Sunday to be exact.  I was 12.  I continued my church attendance when I went to college in 1994.  I attended Campbellsville University and was an active member in their Baptist Student Union.  I lead the Acteen's group at my church in Campbellsville and was even a camp counselor at GA/Acteen Camp in 1996.  In all those years of service though, I didn't have a story.  I went, one summer, with the Baptist Student Union to Panama City Beach, Florida to witness to others in a program called Beach Reach.  All my fellow sudents and friends had testimonies to share but I felt very uncomfortable with the idea of sharing my testimony because I didn't have any major hurts or disappointments in my life to share.  I felt I didn't have a story to tell.  I didn't have a testimony.

Fast forward a few years and you find I got married in 1998 to my first husband.  Yes, the first chapter in my story......I was previously married.  Made a promise before God and broke it 4 years later.  I felt ashamed and unworthy of God's love or forgiveness.  I mean, afterall, in my mind divorce was not acceptable to God and I quit going to church on a regular basis.  That is until, he got my attention with a bi-polar boyfriend that was somewhat mentally and verbally abusive.  I needed out and the only way I knew to get out was to turn to God.  I returned to church and began working with the preschool aged children.  Soon after, I met my now husband.  It is truly amazing how God gives us gifts.  Did I feel I deserved such a wonderful man or a second chance at love....NO....but He was giving it to me anyway.

That gift God gave me became officially mine in 2006 when we married.  Here comes chapter 2 of my story....we decided to build a house.  We went with a reputable builder.  We moved in January 2008.  The Monday after we moved in, we got a lien notice on our home.  I called our builder and was informed that his company had gone bankrupt.  I was devastated.  He had cashed the last check I had written but couldn't afford to pay all the companies that contributed materials for our home.  When talking to the companies that had liens on our property (yes, there was more than one) they told us that there were about 12 other families in our same situation with our builder.  This was the most devastating time in our lives.  We didn't know what to do or where to go.  We pressed felony charges immediately but our lives hung in the balance.  The time between filing charges and getting news from our attourney was almost unbearable.  I missed a lot of work due to depression and it was on one of those days God spoke to me.

I was flipping through channels and stumbled across The Church Channel.  There it was!  Something caught my eye!  A preacher (don't know his name) was standing there next to a framed building.  He was talking about God being the foundation of your life.  He said, "If God is not your foundation, your house will fall in."  I ran and got paper and pencil and started jotting down everything I could.  At some point, I heard God telling me to write these verses and statements on the basement walls.  I proceeded to go to the basement with pencil in hand and wrote on our foundational walls.  Everytime I finished one verse or prayer, I would pray and then move over a few feet and write another one.  This continued until I was surrounded by verses and prayers on all 4 of our home's foundational walls. 

It was that day, I handed everything over to God.  I had come to peace about it.  It was March by the time our courtdate rolled around.  We went into court not knowing the outcome but believing that God would take care of it.  Our builder's attorney walks over and hands us a list of all companies that contributed to building our home with reciepts that they had all been taken care of.  We walked out of that courtroom with a new faith.  What strengthened it even more was when I called the lien companies to inquire about when they planned to lift the liens, I discovered we were the ONLY ones out of 12 taken care of. 

Now, when I need to witness to others or someone is feeling like their faith is gone, I take them to my basement.  I show them and tell them what God did for us.  That's my story. 

One of the other things I did while in my state of depression was to read my Devotional Bible.  One particular devotion spoke to me and I keep it marked as a reminder of that trial time.  It is a reminder to me to have faith in all I do.

*Taken from On the Anvil by Max Lucado:
On God's anvil.  Perhaps you've been there.  Melted down.  Formless.  Undone.  I know. I've been on it.  It's rough.  It's a spiritual slump, a famine.  The fire goes out.  Although the fire may flame for a moment, it soon disappears.  We drift downward.  Downward into the foggy valley of question, the misty lowland of discouragement.....Passion?  It slips out the door.  Enthusiasm? Are you kidding?  Anvil time....Pound, Pound, Pound.  I hope you're not on the anvil.  (Unless you need to be and if so, I hope you are.)  Anvil time is not to be avoided; it's to be experienced....To escape it could be to escape God.  God sees our life from beginning to end.  He may lead us through a storm at age thirty so we can endure a hurricane at age sixty.  An instrument is useful only if it's in the right shape.  A dull ax or a bent screwdriver needs attention, and so do we.  A good blacksmith keeps his tools in shape.  So does God.  Should God place you on his anvil, be thankful.  It means he thinks you're still worth reshaping!

Powerful.  You see, that experience my husband and I went through deepened our Faith in God.  He put us through that storm to strengthen us.  We know that to be a Christian, we have not seen the last of our trials.  None of us have perfect lives where nothing goes wrong.  The secret is, to have Faith that God will take care of you and that He knows what is best for you.  We were blessed soon after our courtdate with the pregnancy of our precious daughter.  God allows storms to happen for several reasons.  He allowed the storm to happen to us not only to build up our Faith in Him.....but He gave us a story we can share with others!  That testimony I never had, came from that storm.  So now I ask you, what's your story?  Share it with someone today!  If you don't have one, you will.  Allow God to be your weatherman and you will come out of the storm stronger than you were when you went in.  Allow God to shapen you so that you can be a tool in His field!

Who Are You?

Bro. Ed Deaton, yet again, shared a wonderful message with the members of Sparta Baptist Church.  Each week, we are blessed by what God lays on his heart.  If you are looking for a place to land and call home, please consider visiting Sparta Baptist Church.  I am sure you will feel as blessed as we all do, to be listening to God's word spoken through someone as fluent as Bro. Ed.

Our message for this post comes from James 1:1.
¹James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

This may not sound like much of a passage to use in gathering life information but if we look deeply, we find it.  Do you know who James was?  It says above in the verse that James was a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.  But that wasn't all.  Do you know who James was?  You may not since James obviously didn't brag about who he was in the passage above.  Never did James brag about who he was but he certainly could have.  If we were in James' shoes, we would have.  James was Jesus' half brother.

You know, when people ask me where I live.  I don't tell them that I live in a county between Cincinnati and Louisville.  I tell them that I live in the same county as the Kentucky Speedway.  Why?  Because they are bragging rights and maybe, just maybe someone will say, "Oh, I have been there!"  Do you think if you ran into a famous person's long lost 15th cousin they would simply tell you their name?  No, they would say, "My name is so and so and I am so and so's 15th cousin."  James certainly could have bragged about who he was, but he didn't.  It didn't matter to him.  He cared more about spreading the word of the Lord than who he was.  He thought of himself as a servant to his very own half brother.   He wanted us to know he viewed himself as a servant. 

The number one thing killing America is our pride.  We are too proud to do anything the Lord wants us to do.  Think about this....who are we serving?  Are we serving ourselves?  Are we spending enough time serving the Lord?  You have 30 minutes before bed.  You have a choice to either watch your favorite show on telivision or spend time reading your Bible.  What do we choose 99% of the time?  Yep, you guessed it, the television because we are too busy serving ourselves to serve the Lord.  You know what is going to happen?  The Lord is going to look down at America for such pride.  Where will you be when He returns?  Will you be glued to the television or will your nose be stuck in the Good Book? 

What is a good servant?  The definition could be confusing and possibly leave room for argument.  Some may view servanthood as a 5 minutes a day thing while others view it as an every minute of every day thing.  If you think about a waiter or waitress in a restaraunt it can help with understanding the definition of a servant.  When you go to a restaraunt, do you want to sit at a table where the waitress gives you 5 minutes of service or would you rather sit at a table where the waitress waits on you the entire duration you are there?  Most likely you wouldn't tip the first waitress!  Now, what sort of tip would the Lord give you for your service? 

How can I be a good servant?  The Bible says, "Deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow me."  Wait, wait, wait.....what was that first part again?  "DENY YOURSELF".  That means get rid of your pride and selfishness!  To be a good servant you must, labor for someone else, care enough about something to pick up and take care of it, spend quality time in prayer (remember, God will help you discover what he wants you to do), associate yourself with good people, music and books, and seek opportunities to witness/tell others about His love.  However; be careful and choose your path wisely.  Don't fall into the trap of wanting things in return for your services either!  God loves a cheerful giver.  You must serve without thinking you will get something in return!

A lot of people are scared to serve or feel they aren't qualified to serve.  We all need to realize that we all have the same mercy upon us as the preachers, deacons and EVEN the apostles in the Bible!  You are never too old to serve the Lord.  Your retirement begins the time the Lord takes you home.  Stop being a servant of the world and become a servant of the Lord.  Your tip depends on it!  You have a choice.....no tip at all and spend an eternity in Hell or the best tip ever offered.....an eternity in Heaven.  What kind of tip will the Lord give to you for your service?