Tag: confusion

The Mission Field

On By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

There are so many people living on this earth who do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Jesus being Lord of their lives sometimes causes fear that if they accept Jesus they can no longer do what they want in their lives. God gave every human free will, we have the ability to choose what we do with our lives and what we believe. Within those choices, there are tremendous blessings and also curses depending on every decision we make.

God does not want us to make decisions that result in curses, pain, suffering, or hurt. The Bible tells us the consequences of each decision so we will know what the outcome is before we make the choice. He tells us how to live a life full of joy and peace, nothing that the world offers will bring us perfect joy and peace – never has and never will. We see this in John 14:26 and 27. “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

In these verses, followers of Jesus are promised the Holy Spirit to teach us all things. The Holy Spirit reminds us of Truth, the Word of God, our instructions on how to have lives full of joy and peace. And finally, Jesus gave His followers His peace. This is not a peace that the world can find or discover no matter what path is taken. This peace is only gifted to the followers of Jesus.

When you consider that the vast majority of people on earth do not have this peace as they do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, it may feel overwhelming. There are so many people to reach , so many people who are sinning and doing terrible evil acts – it can feel overwhelming. But the Holy Spirit encourages all followers of Jesus to see the world as full of opportunity. Opportunity to share Jesus and provide desperately hurting people with the answers they seek. The opportunity to expand God’s family and actually share with Him in the work of showing His love to every person. God loves every single person on earth, how can we join Him in showing everyone who He is?

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, help us to share about Jesus with everyone. Help us to stay focused on You and Your Word alone. Fill us with strength and patience and Your peace. Help us to walk by faith in You and Your Word. Help us to be an example of Your love to everyone we encounter. Lord, help us to grow in You each day. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

When you are surrounded by confusion . . .

On By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

We are living in odd times. It is difficult to know what is truth. What news outlet can you trust, what statements can you trust, what leader can you trust and who in your personal circle can you trust? Even the weather apps on our phones and devices are consistently wrong every day. It seems that we are living in a time of chaos and confusion.

With all that is going on around us, can we even trust ourselves? Can we trust the emotions we feel? I would offer that it depends on what prompted the emotion. Was it something we read, or saw, or heard about? And if so, what is the source of that information, is it reliable?

It seems that much of the information that is available to read, hear and watch is not true. The search for truth is an age old journey. Pilate, as he was sentencing Jesus to death asked, “What is truth?” In John 18, starting in verse 36 “Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

38 “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.” 

Jesus was sentenced to death by a man who was confused by the shouting crowd. Whether Pilate believed what the crowd said or felt pressured to go along with them, Pilate’s journey is the same as ours, we are all looking for truth. Truth brings stability, predictability and a sense of peace. The only truth we have available to us is THE Truth, God’s Word, Jesus. Everything else should be treated with skepticism. Jesus even told us the whole reason He was “born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” It is that simple, listen to Jesus.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, help us to listen to Jesus. Help us to stay focused on You and Your Word alone. Fill us with strength and patience and Your peace. Help us to walk by faith in You and Your Word. Help us to be an example of Your love to everyone we encounter. Lord, help us to grow in You each day. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Living in Times of Chaos

On By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

There are many situations occurring all around us each and every day that cause chaos. Chaos is defined as complete disorder or confusion. God is not a God of confusion, 1 Corinthians 14:33 says, “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. . .” Yet we find ourselves unsure of what will occur day by day and how our lives will be impacted from one minute to the next. How should we behave in chaotic times such as these?

Stand in the truth, God’s word is the only source of truth. In it, we discover the steps on how to live in times of chaos.

  1. Trust in God, not what is going on around us. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6. Submit to Him and he will guide you in the path that you should walk. Focus on what you are doing, saying and how you are behaving. . . we are to show the world Jesus.
  2. Shine His light into a dark and dying world for all to see. “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.13 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. 14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”  Matthew 5:11-16

3. Anchor to the peace of Jesus. Jesus promises us that we will have trouble in this world, but we are not to fall into the chaos and confusion like all those around us. We are to anchor to His peace and be courageous, take heart in standing firm in the truth Jesus gave us. “I have told you all this, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.

4. Recall Genesis chapter 1. “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” Genesis 1:1-3. God brings order to chaos, that is what He does…in His time and in His way. When you feel impatient or confused, refer back to step #1.

Let’s pray. Father- Help us not to be confused or discouraged by the current times, or what will occur in the future. Instead, let us trust in Your plan and stand firm in Your word. Give us strength. Help us to pray for those who think differently and stand for things that are contradictory to Your word. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

Why We Need Our Own Relationship With God

On By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

There are many wonderful spiritual leaders in the world. If we are blessed, we have amazing Pastors, mentors, husbands, Deacons, Elders and others in our lives. Regardless of how wonderful and smart and close to God those around us are, we must have our own personal relationship with God. We must pray to Him daily and read His Word daily. We cannot and should not solely rely on the spiritual leaders or people in our life to guide us in the same way that God would. I was reading a very familiar set of verses that highlighted this topic for me.

“As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to the Lord, and they said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt? Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!’” But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving! Pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea. Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground.” Exodus‬ ‭14‬:‭10‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In the last few verses, Moses tells the people to stand still. But then God tells the people to get moving. While there are many ways we can look at these verses, the point to focus on is that Moses had an incredibly close relationship with God. Yet, perhaps he told the people his opinion or he was just wrong – this is why we need to have our own personal relationship with God. We cannot and should not rely on anyone to have a relationship with God for us, we need to be in daily contact with God. Reading His word, praying to Him, and learning Him to know what He would and would not want us to do as His children.

Let’s pray. Lord, thank You for those in our life that lead us, please give them wisdom and discernment. Help us to not rely on their relationship with You but to build our own relationship with You. Help us to hear You, see You and feel You as we seek You in our daily walk. In Jesus’ precious name, we pray, amen.