A Good Deed

I woke up one morning to the sound of a man talking. It was the newsman telling me the latest goings on. My alarm clock is set to the local news station. I like to catch up on the news, weather and sports before climbing out of bed to start my day.

This particular morning, the newsman had a startling story to wake me up with. He was telling me of two children's bodies being recovered after missing for a few days only to find out the father of one of them had taken them and murdered them both.

I crawled out of bed with a sinking feeling. How did we get to a place in this society where father's kidnap their own children and kill them? Are there any good people left out there?

I went about my day. I was driving down a road on my way to the local grocery store when an interesting scene caught my eye. I was passing a school. It must have been recess, because the kids were out playing in the fenced play ground. I watched as a ball came bouncing over the fence into the street.

I then noticed an old pickup pull over to the side of the road. A husky looking man with tattoos emerged from the truck. My defenses went up and I thought he was going to give those kids what for. Instead, to my amazement and delight, the man picked up the ball and threw it back over the fence for the kids. They gave him a smile, a wave and a big thank you and went back to their playing. The man smiled and waved back, got in his truck and drove away.

It warmed my heart to see a good deed done and I realized that we needed more husky men with tattoos in the world.

How about you? What good deeds have you done lately?

John 3:16

It's a passage we all learned as kids. We were forced to memorize it. We can recite it at a drop of a hat. But have you ever stopped and considered what the verse is actually saying to us?

For God so loved the world
This is the great truth that motivated God's plan of salvation. He so loves the world - that in itself is amazing. Look at the world, the people in it, the things that are happening. I look at myself and say "how can God love me, a sinner who constantly stumbles?" But it says so right here: God so loved the world. That is you and me. 1 John 4:10 says "This is love: not that we love God, but that He loved us". We have done nothing and yet God loves us.

that He gave His one and only Son
Isaiah 9:6 says "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given and the government will be on his shoulders and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

God freely gave us His Son. He was sent down from perfection to earth to become human so He may live a life in the flesh as you and I do. Hitting his thumb with a hammer or stubbing his toe. He felt pain like you and I. He became human so He could suffer and die for you and me.

Romans 8:32 says "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"

If God gave the supreme gift of His Son to save us, He will certainly also give whatever is necessary to bring to fulfillment the work begun at the cross.

Romans 5:8 says "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

that whoever believes in Him
This is referring to you and me. You and me who are sinners, you and me who are undeserving, you and me who stumble, you and me who are everyday asking God's forgiveness for the sin we have done. You and me who are believers. Believers in that Jesus Christ bled, died and rose again so that our sins might be washed away. And it is that simple: just believe.

And all that for what??

so that you shall not perish but have eternal life!
And that right there is the goal. We shall not perish because death is not an ending for us but rather a new beginning of eternal life in heaven with Jesus Christ where we will no longer have sin, pain or sorrow. Where we will no longer stumble, but live in perfection with Jesus Christ, boasting in His glory.

So, memorize it. Recite it. And along with that, tell the glorious truth of this magnificent verse.

Taking a break from God

Sitting at home with my family one night, I was trying to have a conversation with my husband, Chris, about an issue that was getting me very frustrated. The kids were constantly interrupting us and the phone rang. I ended my phone conversation with my friend in frustration realizing that I only had a few minutes to eat dinner as I had to be at Bible study soon. Rushing a good bye to my family, I headed out the door.

While I was driving, my frustration grew even more as I realized that I was on my way to lead a group of women in a Bible study; a study of turning from darkness and walking in the light and I was feeling very inadequate about it.

As I got to a stoplight, I figured out what I should do. Waiting for the light to turn green, I said out loud, in a loud voice, "I need to take a break from God". That was it, the solution I was waiting for.

Not even a second went by when something instantly popped into my head: "I will never take a break from you". That was God instantly responding to me and telling me, not reminding me, but TELLING me that He will never leave me. It was a reminder of Deuteronomy 31:6 that tells us "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

I went home after my Bible study anxious for Chris to be awake so we could talk about this. Chris doesn't sleep well when I am not there. He can't fall asleep until I get home. But, when I got home that night, he was fast asleep.

When we did talk about this the next day, he told me something. He said at about 8:15 that previous night, he was sitting on the couch falling asleep. He could not keep his eyes open. So, he decided to just go to bed. As he was laying down and getting comfortable, he felt that God was telling him that everything was okay and he could just go to sleep.

God was working in my heart, telling me that He would never leave me and reassuring Chris that He is working on me and not to worry.

I never took that break that I was so sure I needed. Just the opposite. I reached out to God in different ways and have felt His presence ever since.

When you feel like life is just too much for you and you think you need a break, reach out to God. He promises that He will NEVER let you go!

I have arrived!!

Okay, I finally did it! Here I am blogging, of all things.

The hardest thing about starting this blog was picking a name. I thought about it a long time and with a friend's help, I (we) came up with Never Forsaken. The Lord has brought me through a lot over the last 2 years and one thing I learned through it all is that He will never leave me or forsake me. As many times as I tried to run away, God was always there welcoming me back with wide open arms. God has been my one constant in all things!

He won't leave or forsake you, either. Cry out to Him and He will be there waiting for you, too, with wide open arms.