traffic – The (Not-So) Newlywed Lefebvres

Happy Monday Y’all!

I don’t know where all of you live, but here in the Atlanta area, it is BACK TO SCHOOL MONDAY!! Traffic was just dandy and my fellow drivers seemed to be in such relaxed moods!!! 🙂

Obviously, I speak sarcastically, but it brings me to the My Choice Monday topic of the day:

Turning Traffic Into Tranquility

5 Tips For Making Your Drive To Work A Blessing

Audible: Download the app on your phone and discover the joy of listening to great books on the way to work. It’s inexpensive and if you’re busy like the rest of the world, it can make reading that book you’ve been meaning to read a possibility!
Podcasts: Learn about subjects and topics that interest you or delve further into the subject your pastor spoke about on Sunday!
- Podbean http://www.podbean.com/religion_and_spirituality
- Stitcher https://www.stitcher.com/stitcher-list/
The Bible From 30,000 Feet: Skip Heitzig, pastor of Calvary Chapel Albequerque in New Mexico, did a series several years ago that is available on both Audible & as a podcast. It goes over every single book of the Bible, not verse by verse, but in detail with attention to historical background and Jewish custom. Craig and I typically read a book of the Bible and then follow-up by listening to Skip’s podcast/chapter on that book.
- http://www.biblefrom30k.com/subscribe.asp
  - Options for iTunes & Android users!
  - Via Audible
Prayer: Make your travel time your prayer time. I find some of my best conversations with God happen in the car. I can worship and belt out some of my favorite songs to Him. I can pray, cry, scream out loud to Him with abandon. Consider this your first meeting of the morning. You won’t have to worry about dialing-in or being late, because He is always right there. Waiting.
Two of my favorite devotional books are by the same author, Sarah Young, who wrote both “Jesus Calling” and it’s ‘sequel’ – “Jesus Today”. This past Friday’s “Jesus Today” reading had this to say:

“When world events are swirling around you and your personal world feels unsteady, don’t let your mind linger on those stressors. Tell yourself the truth: ‘Yes, this world is full of trouble, but Jesus is with me and He is in control.’

I don’t know about you, but I need to write that on my hand with a Sharpie and make a sticky note to put in my car too:

“…but Jesus is with me, and He is in control!”

That should be our mantra for traffic, stressful work situations, family squabbles, disagreements, political issues, the disturbing news of the world. Let us be reminded that no matter what, He’s got the whole world in His hands. We are His children and as long as we follow Him closely, we will be just fine.

When the horns honk and my blood pressure begins to rise as a car cuts me off, I will take a deep breath and, instead of yelling, remind myself:

“…but Jesus is with me, and He is in control!”

If you didn’t grab our free printable on Friday, here’s another chance, because this also fits well into the theme of tranquility in the midst of stress. Isaiah 43 is one of many places in the Bible to be reminded of His great and wondrous, overwhelming love for us:

But now, O Jacob, listen to the lord who created you.

O Israel, the one who formed you says,

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.

I have called you by name; you are mine.

When you go through deep waters,

I will be with you.

When you go through rivers of difficulty,

you will not drown.

When you walk through the fire of oppression,

you will not be burned up;

the flames will not consume you.

For I am the lord, your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom;

I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place.

Others were given in exchange for you.

I traded their lives for yours

because you are precious to me.

You are honored, and I love you.

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you.

I will gather you and your children from east and west.

I will say to the north and south,

‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel

from the distant corners of the earth.

Bring all who claim me as their God,

for I have made them for my glory.

It was I who created them.’”

Bring out the people who have eyes but are blind,

who have ears but are deaf.

Gather the nations together!

Assemble the peoples of the world!

Which of their idols has ever foretold such things?

Which can predict what will happen tomorrow?

Where are the witnesses of such predictions?

Who can verify that they spoke the truth?

“But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says thelord.

“You are my servant.

You have been chosen to know me, believe in me,

and understand that I alone am God.

There is no other God—

there never has been, and there never will be.

I, yes I, am the lord,

and there is no other Savior.

First I predicted your rescue,

then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world.

No foreign god has ever done this.

You are witnesses that I am the only God,”

says the lord.

“From eternity to eternity I am God.

No one can snatch anyone out of my hand.

No one can undo what I have done.”

The lord’s Promise of Victory

This is what the lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“For your sakes I will send an army against Babylon,

forcing the Babylonians to flee in those ships they are so proud of.

I am the lord, your Holy One,

Israel’s Creator and King.

I am the lord, who opened a way through the waters,

making a dry path through the sea.

I called forth the mighty army of Egypt

with all its chariots and horses.

I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned,

their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick.

“But forget all that—

it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.

For I am about to do something new.

See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?

I will make a pathway through the wilderness.

I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

The wild animals in the fields will thank me,

the jackals and owls, too,

for giving them water in the desert.

Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland

so my chosen people can be refreshed.

I have made Israel for myself,

and they will someday honor me before the whole world.

“But, dear family of Jacob, you refuse to ask for my help.

You have grown tired of me, O Israel!

You have not brought me sheep or goats for burnt offerings.

You have not honored me with sacrifices,

though I have not burdened and wearied you

with requests for grain offerings and frankincense.

You have not brought me fragrant calamus

or pleased me with the fat from sacrifices.

Instead, you have burdened me with your sins

and wearied me with your faults.

“I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake

and will never think of them again.

Let us review the situation together,

and you can present your case to prove your innocence.

From the very beginning, your first ancestor sinned against me;

all your leaders broke my laws.

That is why I have disgraced your priests;

I have decreed complete destruction for Jacob

and shame for Israel.

Have a blessed Monday, friends!

Good Morning Friends,

Today, I wanted to talk about something that seems to have been a recurring theme in my quiet time with Jesus, where I am currently reading a devotion called “Good or God: Why Good Without God Isn’t Enough” by John Bevere via my awesome Bible app.

In today’s society, we have made laws, built standards around what we deem as good, rather than what God says is correct. When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, God told them they could eat anything they chose in the whole garden. Really, from what the Bible tells us, there were no restrictions on what they could do and how they spent their time. The one and only rule was that they were unable to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, because, God said, this tree would give them the knowledge of good and evil.

The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” Genesis 2:15-17

Hmmm…’you are sure to die’…Death, from eating fruit? That’s interesting…or perhaps, did God mean it would be separation from Him – which is death?

Let’s look at the serpent’s reply to Eve when he tempted her to eat from the Tree of Knowledge:

²“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied.³“It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

⁴“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. ⁵“God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

⁶The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. Genesis 3:2-6

Why would God keep Eve from something so beautiful and delicious? Why would He keep her from knowledge? Perhaps this is the exact moment we should come back to whenever we are tempted to strike out on our own path, when some thing or idea or action or person looks really good, we should ask ourselves…Is this good or God?

Sure, the fruit looked delicious. After all, that serpent has assured Eve that only good and wisdom would come from eating it. Why was God withholding something so wonderful from them???

Maybe, He was withholding something that appeared good because He knew it would lead to horrible consequences…

Because they disobeyed and chose their own good, Adam and Eve were subject to numerous consequences, but most importantly, they were separated from God.

I don’t know about you, but in my mind, the image of the Tree of Knowledge looks like a drawing from the cartoon I remember (and dearly LOVE) from my childhood: School House Rock. The trunk is spelled out with the word REASON and the leaves and fruits of the tree are all words like SELF-LOVE, GREED, SELF-RELIANCE, CO-EXIST:

Eating from that tree’s fruit literally poisoned the human race. So many times we try to reason things out, according to our standards, our knowledge, our experience…and I believe we can all agree, our knowledge, experience and standards don’t even begin to hold a candle to the vastness of God. The Bible tells us we are to have child-like faith:

^“I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Luke 18:17

Think of a small child. Now, imagine this child has had a nap and woke up in a good mood or this illustration may not be helpful for you to visualize! J The child is about 3 years old, tiny. He can’t see over much of anything, but he wants to walk…and he’s still not the steadiest on his feet, so you – the parent, not wanting your precious child to fall, have to hold his hand and guide him as he walks through even the living room in your home – making sure he isn’t stepping onto a stray tack on the floor, keeping him away from the sharp corners of the end table. He doesn’t even see those things – but you do, and you don’t want him to get hurt….

That is how we should approach our relationship with our FATHER GOD. He is able to see those things, those consequences, those results that we cannot. He wants us to hold out our hands for Him to reach down and be our guide through life. Just as that child trusts his parent to keep him safe and lead him steadily across the living room, we need to trust our Lord to lead us to Heaven.

Making decisions based on our knowledge is as treacherous as allowing your child to run across the street unsupervised and alone: He can’t see the oncoming traffic, and neither can we in our own lives. Aren’t we blessed to have a Father in Heaven who not only knows what is ahead for us, but wants to guide us and lead us and direct our paths.

Imagine you’re sitting in traffic. It isn’t hard for me to do at all… 🙂

The cars in front of you just are not moving. People are honking their horns. You have somewhere to be, and you are going to be late if this mess doesn’t clear up!! Argh! So frustrating!!

But lucky you, you see a road just a little further ahead that you can turn off onto. A shortcut!! Yes! You’ll make it to your appointment on time, and you can skirt around all of this traffic…

That’s what you think…

But what you don’t know, is that on that road is a stalled tractor. It’s taking up the entire road, both lanes. And because it’s a side street, and not the main road, it’s going to take a lot longer for help to arrive to move the tractor out of the way.

What you thought – based on your knowledge, experience, and reasoning – would be a shortcut ends up putting you completely off track. You’re going to be greatly delayed in getting to your destination…

If only you had been able to see the road ahead, you would have seen this coming and never taken what appeared to be a shortcut…

God has this ‘vision’. Being omniscient, He knows what is on the road ahead and He has the very best in mind for His beloved. What may seem like a frustrating traffic jam, might be heading directly for your ‘destination’, while what seems like a shortcut could be taking you in an entirely different direction, delaying or even completely derailing your arrival.

What blessings are we delaying or possibly, derailing, because we want to take ‘shortcuts’ or our own perceived “best routes” through life, rather than letting our Father lead us, in child-like faith?