Hitchhiker

I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing.  2 Peter 3:17

A few years ago on my way to work I saw 2 women hitchhiking on the freeway.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  They were actually sitting on a concrete divider in a construction zone near one of the on ramps.  People are already driving 35 to 40 mph at that point and increasing speed in preparation to enter traffic between 55 and 65 mph.  There is no where for a person to pick them up even if they wanted to.  My first thought was the potential danger they were in.  I immediately started praying for them that God would guide them and protect them.  They appeared to be in their mid to late 20's. 

I'm assuming that they were desperate to get where they wanted to be.  It takes desperation to even hitchhike and I would say extreme desperation to be a "freeway hitchhiker".  Either way, you are purposefully putting your life at risk in more ways than one. 

As I talked to the Lord about these girls I began to think about how many times I have done something risky, or shall I say risque (risk-ay) to get somewhere or something?  Hitchhiking requires you to trust a stranger.  When I think of it this way, the same concept applies when you hire someone like a plumber or contractor to come and work on something in your home?  How about babysitters and child care either in your home or another location? 

There are many reasons that we have exercise trust in another human being but we don't have to freeway hitchhike.  You know, stick our thumb out and risk our own safety or the safety of our loved ones.  Choosing child care for my girls was one of the most difficult times of my life.  I'm so glad they are older now and no longer require constant adult supervision and I thank God for watching over them then and even now.  God will give you discernment in situations like this if you go to Him and ask for His direction and guidance.

Do you think those women asked God for discernment?  I'm thinking they chose their own route and I honestly can't stop thinking about them.  I hope they made it to their destination safely and I prayed that God would place someone on their path to lead them to Him.  And if they already know Him, I pray that He would speak to their hearts and they would listen to Him and know that with God, they never ever have to hitchhike on the freeway again.

As I write this, another thing that comes to mind is the hitchhiker of our soul.  The devil has many ways of doing this, no thumb necessary.  His minions have easy access by way of certain shows on TV, certain places, certain kinds of music, certain websites, etc........  You know what I'm talking about.  Most of it isn't even obvious and sometimes we don't even know they have hitched a ride until it's too late.

How can you be safe from the soul hitchhikers?  There is only one way that I know of and that is God through the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit of my soul gives me discernment about certain situations and warns me when danger is near.  The Holy Spirit guards your soul with the "shield of faith" like the best anti-virus program available on a computer.  When something does try to sneak in, your anti-virus program aka shield of faith will automatically block entrance and warn you not to go there, an intruder is there attempting to hitchhike and destroy the network of safety that surrounds your soul.  Now, you know you can override the Holy Spirit just like you can override the anti-virus program on your computer and choose to go there anyway.  If you do, it can wreak havoc on your hard drive aka your soul.

The best way to avoid and defeat the tactics of the devil is to be on guard and ready for anything.  God's word is your weapon that provides you with many ways to fight off the "soul hitchhiker".  That's why it's so important to study His word and obey the boundaries that He has placed in our lives.  We need to avoid being "freeway hitchhikers" and protect ourselves from the "soul hitchhiker".  There is a free ride through Jesus Christ.

Paul/Faith vs James/Works

Our women's bible study group is currently studying the book of James.  I did some in depth studying on our last session:  The role of good works in the believer’s life. This has always been an interesting topic regarding salvation because sometimes we read one or 2 lines of scripture and come to a conclusion that can be a little skewed.  

In reference to the scripture below from James 2:14-26, here are some interesting points that I found.

James talks about the external results; James says this is what saving faith looks like.

Faith and Works

¹⁴ What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can ^[n]that faith save him? Works bears testimony of the inner-man. 

¹⁵ If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, ^[o]be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? ¹⁷ Even so faith, if it has no works, is ^[p]dead, being by itself.  The cause must come before the effect.  As evidence of a changed life, salvation must come first.

¹⁸ But someone ^[q]may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” ¹⁹ You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. ²⁰ But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? James speaks to the man who is all talk and no show (actions).  True salvation always proves itself.

²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? ²² You see that faith was working with his works, and ^[s]as a result of the works, faith was ^[t]perfected; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God.  Abraham’s works mentioned by James were a result of justification which came by faith 25 years earlier.  Abraham was not being saved again.  He was showing evidence of his salvation, confirmed in the justification by faith, accomplished years before.  Paul and James cite 2 different times in Abraham’s life, events separated by 25 years. 

²⁴ You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶ For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.  “Works” are the result of true “faith”.  Jesus Christ and His righteousness is the standard.

Salvation is the result of God’s grace and your faith. 

Paul looks at what goes on internally; Paul says we are saved by “faith”. 

Ephesians 2:8-For by grace, you have been saved through “faith”; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.

Romans 10:6-But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works.

Galatians 2:21-If Righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died needlessly.

Titus 3:5-He saved us not on the basis of deeds, which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy.

I hope this helps others as much as it helped me to gain a deeper understanding of the importance of both faith and works in a believer's life.  I touched a little on Ephesians 2:8 in my blog post titled: Salvation Is A Free Gift.  As humans, we believe that nothing is free and everything must be earned.  After all, hard work is everything and we really seem to struggle with accepting unmerited favor aka grace. Well T.D. Jakes helped me to realize that "Favor Ain't Fair".  This means that God shows grace on whomever he chooses and it's never about earning it.  We just aren't good enough, period.  

Online Reference:  http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2042251/posts?page=155

Salvation Is A Free Gift

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith----and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-----not by works, so that no one can boast.  Ephesians 2: 8-9

Grace is unmerited favor.  It means getting what you don't deserve.  I know that I am a sinner, saved by grace and that makes me a saint.  Not someone who is perfect so don’t get it twisted.  Just someone that loves the Lord with all my heart.

Faith is believing in what you cannot see.  Believers, be ready to tell people how you can believe in someone or love someone that you cannot see.  Love is an emotion from the heart which is connected to our spirit.  God speaks to our spirit, aka heart.

A gift is something that is given to you and is meant to be free.  A gift from God is intended to be used.  You know, such as spiritual gifts.  The gift of discernment, prophecy, etc…….  But these things come once you have received the gift of salvation.  I believe my spiritual gift is exhortation and I plan to specifically write about spiritual gifts.

Works is the means to earn something.   We don’t work for free.  We work hard in order to receive something in return.  But you don’t have to work for something that is free.  And you cannot work for the gift of salvation. 

Boasting is bragging about what you have or what you have done.   As human beings, we tend to talk about what we have or what we have done.  We can’t help it because we are proud of our accomplishments.   We all do it, including me.  For me, I am nothing apart from God and He is the one that helps me accomplish things.  He is the one that wakes me up in the morning and keeps my heart beating for another day.  And when my heart stops beating, I will be with Him in heaven.  Is that boasting?

Apply these definitions to Ephesians 2: 8-9 to see what salvation really means.

You see, it's not about how much you tithe or how often you go to church.  It's not about singing in the choir.  These things come with obedience once you have been saved through your faith.  Only God can save you because He is the one that knows your heart.  A man can fool another man, but a man cannot fool God.  God knows your heart and He will not be mocked, ridiculed or rejected w/o consequences.  He is the one who created you.  He can make a mountain move out of your way.  With God, all things are possible.  Not some things, not a few things but all things are possible according to His will.  If you don’t know God’s will for your life, ask Him to show you and He will do it. 

Stop complaining and start praying. 

Stop gossiping and start praying. 

Stop trying to be what you see, be what you ought to be.

You are created by God to do great things for His honor and glory.  He is the one that will give you the desires of your heart.  

Why do we always want to know what God can do for us?  What does God expect you to do for Him?  Hmmmmm…………

Your Faith Is on Front Street

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. Hebrews 11:1  But what is front street you ask?  That is where the christian faith is showcased.  Let me give you some examples.  As a Christ follower, we should stand out like a sore thumb around those who do not follow Christ.  I'm not saying that we should go around giving people a sore head by knocking people upside the head with our bible so calm down.  But we should be allowed to do that every now and then too.  I'm just sayin because I know some hard headed people that probably wouldn't even feel it the first few times. 
My point is, our actions should speak louder than any sermon.  We don't have to tell people that they should know better when they act like a fool but if we don't join them, they will  begin to wonder about you.  When your co-workers complain, how do you respond?  If you join them which I am guilty of doing when I am in agreement, but what kind of faith am I displaying when I do that?  None, you are exactly right.  But when you don't join the complaining or if you say something encouraging, they might think you are crazy at first but thats ok because it will spark their curiosity.  What makes Miss Starla Sunshine think that things will get better?  What makes her avoid assuming that our employer won't listen to our ideas?  I use work as an example because that is where I spend a lot of my time.  But what about your friends and family?  Your actions can show them the high road too.  When you express your gratitude for answered prayers that is such a good witness to them.  Now people, please learn the difference between bragging and sharing what the Lord has done for you lately.  Every conversation gives you the opportunity to shine God's light in you.  The next time you have a conversation about the economy (because that is the topic of daily conversation) how can you give God glory? 
Example:
Someone says, "The government is going to shut down by midnight.  The last time that happened, the democrats were in office so what does that tell you?" 
You respond, "All my blessings come from above and God can use anything or anyone to bless you, including the government.  It really doesn't matter whose in office politically because if God is in office for you personally you don't have to worry about what the government is doing and when they are going to do it."

I really overheard someone at work say this the other day but I didn't respond because at the time I was quite annoyed because this person is my friend who knows my political views so my reaction would have been more like this, "Why do you have to be so negative and loud?"  Besides, no one else responded so maybe they were thinking the same thing.  Or maybe it was because most people try to avoid discussing politics or religion at work.  The other day someone told me that they don't talk about religion at work and my response to them in a very loving way was, "I don't talk about religion either but I do talk about God."  No response but I do think they got the point.

Actions really do speak louder than words and sometimes it's what you don't do that can be a positive witness.  So by not complaining and saying negative things that says a lot right there. God has been working with me on my complaining for years and years.  I'm not where a I should be, but I'm also not where I used to be.  You see, I'm a talker and I wear my feelings on my sleeve.  I always thought it was good for people to see all your emotion's but I'm learning that it's good to hide them sometimes to avoid hurting people.  You can be saved and act like the devil, trust me.

Where Your Treasure Is, There Your Heart Will Be Also

Matthew 6:21  is a very powerful and comforting verse to me. It causes me to ask myself, "Where is my treasure?" The first thing that comes to my mind is my family. I care about them and love them so much and they love me back. Of course my number one treasure is God. You see, He is the one that wakes me up every morning. He is the first person that I speak to. I thank Him for not only waking me up, but for waking up my family as well.


As long as I have God, my needs will always be met. My desires will often be placed before me, but only in His timing and His will. But the main point is, my treasures are in Heaven. We work so hard to have material things, but they are temporary and we cannot take them with us when we die. But if we have a relationship with God, then our treasures are in Heaven, which is eternal. Our treasures in Heaven cannot be destroyed or stolen.


That leads to very important question. "What does a relationship with God look like?" Well first, you must have faith and believe in Him. You must believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and you must believe that the Holy Spirit is God that dwells in us when we are saved. You must acknowledge that you are a sinner and Jesus died for your sins and was raised again to sit on the throne at the right hand of God.


Communication in any relationship is extremely important. By praying and reading God's word, you are in communication with Him. You speak to Him in prayer and He speaks to you in His word.  For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  Hebrews 12
It is one thing to read the word, and an entirely different thing to apply it to your life and put it into action by obeying His commandments. When we obey God, He blesses us abundantly and sets us up to receive our treasures in Heaven.

Oh, and don't let me forget about trust which ties in with faith.  "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen".  Hebrews 11
What does that mean to you?  When we send a package to someone, we have faith in the postal system or UPS and hope that it will arrive at it's destination right?  When the package arrives, we don't see how it gets there but it took our exercise of faith to send it anyways.  So trust and exercise your faith in God that He will keep His promises.  Try Him out and see if He delivers.