The God of grace
By Dara Fillmore

I’ve been thinking about the difference between Jesus Christ’s way to Heaven and the ways some people believe we can get to Heaven without Him.

With other religions and beliefs, you often serve a god who is waiting to catch you doing wrong. You must try to stay on your god’s good side — and you never know exactly where he draws the line. This god often has a list of do’s and don’ts, and you may be able to earn extra points by depriving yourself of things you enjoy or by helping others.

In other religions, where you spend eternity is most often based on your achievements or lack thereof. It’s all about you, because everything that matters is what you’ve done in your lifetime and what you decide is right for you. You have to be good enough to cross the chasm that separates man from God.

The above options are not reassuring.

Would you like quiet assurance rather than fearful hope? Do you want to know that you truly are forgiven and will be in Heaven when you die?

To know that no matter what happens in all of life, that you will be with the one God who rules by grace for all of eternity is a hope that is absolute. You can have that hope in Jesus Christ. He is perfect and was able to pay our debt to God because God needed a perfect payment to reconcile us to Himself.

Before Jesus died on the cross, He said, “It is finished.” (John 19:30)

What was finished?

His part of the deal.

The only other part of the deal is this: You must accept that He finished paying for your sins and that you’re debt-free. If there was something else that needed doing, “... I would have told you. …,” Jesus says in John 14:2.

In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man comes to the Father except through Me.” Why would Jesus have died if there were another way for us to get to Heaven?

You must realize that Jesus is the only One who can make you right with God, and you must acknowledge that He is enough. It is enough that He died for your sins, that He paid the price you deserved to pay for all the bad things you’ve done and are going to do. It was all up to Him and He did what needed to be done. No other religion can give you that peace.

The true God of the Bible gives undeserved mercy freely to any person who chooses to believe. No other god rules by grace.

Encouraging the team
By Dara Fillmore

The players silently hoard their squares of turf. After a shrill shriek, the whistle falls from the referee’s mouth. The ball drops to the ground with a hollow thump. Player No. 20 swipes the ball with the inside of his right foot. He glances up. Another boy with the same green-colored jersey hops up past a blue-clad girl. No. 20 gets control of the ball and smacks it around the player dressed in blue. Another blue comes up in the way and hits the ball across the midline and up the field toward the green goal.

Three greens start toward the ball; one slams it away, hoping to get it past the blue forwards. One of the forwards leaps in the ball’s path, capturing it with his shin guard. He dribbles his captive back toward the goal. As the green defense closes in, the blue player sneaks a look to his left and sees another blue.

Giving himself time to pass, he fakes right, fakes a strong kick and taps it to his teammate. She in turn catches the ball, fakes and dribbles it toward the net. Eyeing the other players, she skirts around the defense and prepares to score a goal.

The keeper crouches, ready. He tries to see if she will fake or not. She does. Coming to the far right of the netted goal, she almost kicks the sphere into it. The keeper dives; the girl again traps the ball and boots it into the left side of the goal. Everyone with a blue jersey -- inside and outside the white chalk lines -- leaps into the air. The green clad players quietly head to the midline to start again.

Yelling and cheering. Happiness and disappointment. Fakes, kicks, headers and handballs. Coaching, switching, falling, hurting -- all these are part of soccer. Feel the adrenaline as the ball flies your way. Feel the disappointment as the ball rolls behind your goalkeeper. Hear the coach yell, “Nice footwork, great job, good try!” Remember what your job is as midfielder, defender, keeper or forward. Be an encouraging assistant coach for your teammates when you’re outside the white line.

For soccer, there must be a coach, a team and loads of teamwork. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are each a player on God’s team. We each have things we’re good at, and things at which we’re not so good. A team needs every player fully engaged in order to do well in the game. We all need to encourage one another along the way. Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

Pass the ball, make the goal and cheer with the team.

Put Christ back in Christmas
By Dara Fillmore

When the word Christmas comes up we often picture family gatherings, buying presents, eating food and setting up a tree. A person can go crazy buying, wrapping, and preparing things for that day in December.

How often do we forget what we should truly celebrate? Doesn't the answer to what Christmas is about appear in the very word? Why is it now a holiday craze? A madhouse for buying the best, most expensive gifts to proudly hand out? A foolish stuffing of stomachs and saturation of sugar? A filling of malls and stores to return what was given in love or obligation? Christmas is not about any of this, is it? Nor is it about winter vacation or being charitable?

Isn't Christmas about rejoicing for the most important gift that has ever been given to us? Isn't it a time to feast on the forgiveness we can enjoy as those for whom Jesus Christ came to earth to die? Why do we give gifts? To show others our appreciation, love, thankfulness?
Maybe we ought to consider giving gifts this Christmas that will last, that might remind the person receiving them of Jesus' love.

And yet, what is lacking in our celebrations? Why do we feel there are so many things we must do to live through a single holiday? When we forget what to rejoice in and add endless tension and costly traditions, we just might go beyond the real reason for this holiday, making it a season through which we must try to survive.
If we decide that there is truly just one thing to celebrate, we can rid ourselves of all the holiday baggage that has been packed into Christmas. And why not? Is Jesus looking in pleasure at our frantic fuming, stressed speech or sibling rivalry over presents? Does He enjoy how we as stewards are spending His money? Does He watch with content all our Christmas traditions?

We each must carefully consider how we will celebrate this Christmas. Is our goal to thank our Creator for sending His Son to earth one day to make a way to Heaven for eternity? Or do we add traditions to that simple truth?

Decide what the reason is for this season. You will not answer to any human about how you celebrate Christmas. You will answer in the end to the Christ of Christmas.

"For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." - Isaiah 9:6

Being eternally secure
By Dara Fillmore
    
I recently attended two funerals in two weeks. 
   
Both funerals were for men to whom I was related. One death was sadly anticipated. The other was a total shock, unexpected. The first was due to cancer, the second to a farming accident. Both men were just over 70 years old. I loved going to visit them. The way they each could tell a good story kept me sitting motionless, imagining the scene as they spoke.
   
One of the men farmed all of his life. He loved training horses and keeping chickens. He also enjoyed fixing antique tractors and using them to bring in the hay.
   
The other was raised at a poor farm, but went on to work in the machine industry. He loved working with wood and donated many intricately made toys and games to local hospitals.
   
The special thing for me was that each of them had realized his need for Jesus Christ and had started a personal relationship with Him before passing away.
   
It was an honor for me to help celebrate what each man had done during his lifetime. I was able to comfort the grieving families, not with words, but because I was there, crying with them. They knew their loved one had meant so much to me.
   
I generally don’t like to talk about death. The thought of life without a loved one -- the total separation -- is not what I like to have my thoughts dwell on for long. But everything that is alive is going to die. That means I should be prepared to die -- I may know ahead that I’ll die soon, in the case of cancer, or I may have no idea when I’ll go, in the case of an accident. I don’t want to be caught off guard.
    
It is supremely important to choose now where you want to spend the rest of forever. I have decided to follow Jesus and I’m acting on that decision. Where will you spend eternity? 
    
Joshua 24:15 says, “. . . choose for yourselves today whom you will serve. . .” You rarely know exactly when you’ll go. Do you know where you’re headed?

Gone
By Dara Fillmore

She worked herself hard
To live a good life.
She tried her best
To be better than the rest.

She studied hard in school
And tried to obey the Golden Rule.
She said her prayers persistently
And went to her church religiously.

She gave to others what she didn’t need,
And did her best her kids to lead.
She often quilted and she sewed.
She purposed to lighten another one’s load.

She saved every penny and nickel and dime,
And tried her whole life to fill up her time.
She was always so fearful, although she did try,
Lest she not be good enough any moment to die.

Money she gave away;
Friends she invited to stay.
Food she cooked for those with less.
She oft times gave out shoes or dress.

She always tried to cuddle her kids.
All three were to stand as her witnesses
That she had achieved her highest goal
And never in her life tried to hurt a soul.

She taught her kids lessons
In many different sessions,
And taught them wrong from the right
And to never pick a fight.

Then she grew older and weak
And off went life’s timer with a beep.
The Lord called her to fly
And her life went flashing by.

She heard Him say, “I never knew you.
“If you had asked, I would’ve made you new
When I stretched out my hands and died.”
She reached out for Him and cried.

She tried to explain all the things that she’d done,
That in her own eyes she was second to none,
To show Him she’d earned a place in His house.
She felt He was trying to just keep her out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But every good deed,
Though she stayed far from strife,
Never did succeed
To win eternal life.

But she had lacked understanding.
Her only chance
She had resorted to working,
Instead of to glance

At the Book that was written
For her to read through;
To show her truly guilt-ridden,
But to show her grace, too,

That simply faith in Christ alone --
And nothing she had done to be worthy --
Would make her a space right under His throne,
And He could truly show her His mercy

Yet, after all that He’d been through,
And all that He’d done,
She’d told Him she’d earned Heaven
And spurned the Lord’s Son.

This she now understood,
While she shouted and tried
To grasp for His sandal
And make Him revise.

But, then she lay silent,
And when she looked round
She wailed in pure terror
For Jesus was gone.
~~

“But I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.”
-- Galatians 2:21

Shower a spiritual drought with living water
By Dara Fillmore

It was more than 85 degrees at noon. Cicadas sizzled in the sun’s heat. So did my shoulders. But the strawberries couldn’t wait
until later. They needed water. Now. Edges of leaves curled up, hoping for a water drop to land and travel down the wilting stem to the drying roots that were reaching down toward water.

My feet burned and itched in the sweltering sandy dirt. When my toes dug further under the baking sand, it was more tolerable. As I dragged the garden hose out to the garden, the grass crunched like gravel under my feet. There had been no cool relief in the brown shoots.

Slowly I showered the faux rain onto the thirsty leaves of the strawberries. The sand turned darker, slurping the water as fast as
it came. The cicadas became almost deafening, then retreated to a quieter chirping. Cracks in the earth filled up with water.

I wiped my forehead and considered showering the cool water onto my face. I didn’t get a chance.

The buzz of two tiny, feathered wings came toward me from the muggy shade. A male ruby-throated hummingbird peered at me closely. He sped away and came back. He zipped through the water mist in the air, panting with his needle-sized beak as he went. Back one way, the other, and again. I remained immovable.

The hummingbird found a birdsized puddle in a small opening among the strawberry leaves. He dropped down in and looked at me. He flicked the refreshing water onto his back with his swirling wing tips and eyed me. He writhed and shook and wriggled – and watched me. I moved in barely visible increments to shower him with water. He watched and panted, sticking his tongue out like a butterfly. He blinked as the water gently pelted him, then returned to his bathing.

He almost looked giddy as the droplets of moisture ran down his bright, iridescent red, green and grayish white feathers. Then, as
suddenly as he flew into the garden, he left. The event could have lasted two minutes, or 10, I have no idea.

The cicadas grew louder now that I was not so intent on being still and silent. My feet felt hot again and I swiped my forehead once more and walked wilting from the heat to the house.

This experience reminded me about how you and I as believers can be a kind of cool water to a thirsty world – with the spiritual water Jesus spoke of in John 4:13 and 14. And, we can do what Jesus directed in Matthew 10:42, “‘And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”

Is someone you know thirsty today? Give them living water.

By Dara Fillmore

Choose Grace

You walk in the door, throw the keys on the kitchen counter, fill a glass with cold water and grab the TV remote. On the way into the living room, you step on something. You stoop to pick it up and find that someone took the book you got for your birthday and had a crayon party with it. Nearly every page is scribbled with bright blue or yellow, pink, purple or green. You start to get mad ­‑‑ your face feels hot and your hands sweaty.

There is only one person who could've done this. Your little brother loves crayons. And he just got some from grandma and grandpa the other day. That book was worth well over $30 with all the cool photos of owls in it. How could he do that? Why wasn’t your mom watching him closer? Didn't she care about your book?

Now you have a choice. You can blow up when your brother gets home. You can rant, rave and holler. You can use utter disrespect to tell your mom that she should watch him better. You can make your hands into fists and stomp around the house until you go to bed. Or, you can choose to end the story like this:

Your mom probably was on the phone talking to the pastor's wife about the car accident they had yesterday. She probably was asking what she could do to help them out while they recovered. And she most likely was doing the dishes and making lunch for herself and your brother, along with some extra for the pastor's family. It's laundry day besides, so with all the busyness it's possible your mom glanced in to check on your brother and thought he was drawing in a coloring book about the same size.

So, when your mom and brother get back, maybe from dropping off the meal for the pastor’s family, you can choose to explain calmly to your brother that when he has his crayons he should only draw in his own books because that book was special to you. And maybe you can respectfully ask your mom to have your brother under a little more supervision when he has his crayons. It’s not really such a big deal -- you already read the entire owl book twice anyway.

If you chose the second way to respond, you chose to give grace to your brother. Grace is undeserved forgiveness. Although your brother is old enough to understand what he did wrong, you have the ability to show him that you are willing to overlook his fault. It’s not that you will always sweep the bad things he does under the rug, but show him that you understand the grace you've been given by Jesus Christ. Proverbs 19:11 says, “A man's discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression.” Is there anything you can overlook today?

Caring for creation — A Christian perspective
By Dara Fillmore

Did you know that on April 28, 1975, Newsweek published an article on global cooling?

Why the big change nowadays with all the talk about global warming?

Maybe an attempt is being made to divert people from the truth; it could be an effort to defame our Creator and control the resources the Lord has put on the earth for our use. Now all the talk seems to have switched to global warming and extreme climate change, not cooling. Not that it’s any comfort to you, but the world is going to get hotter. According to the third chapter of 2 Peter, eventually it’s going to become a ball of fire.

I’ve made arrangements to be in a much better place at that time.

Have you? I hope so.

We are told to take care of the earth, but we must balance our stewardship between an extreme view of protecting the earth from humans and an extreme view of protecting the earth for humans.

In Genesis 1:28, God tells Adam to “... Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing. ...” We are neither to trash things nor treasure them as more important than relationships with others, nor hold things on earth in higher regard than human life.

Which is more necessary – to save wild horses from slaughter or to save human babies from slaughter? Should the priority be planting more trees or planting the love of Christ in people we know? Is it more imperative to save the Alaskan wilderness or to save others from eternal separation from God?
We each must carefully weigh our decisions about caring for creation after we ask God for guidance. Everything from recycling to solar power ought to be taken to the Lord for wisdom.

In Isaiah 55:8, Isaiah writes, “‘For My thoughts are higher than your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord.” He knows what the weather will be like tomorrow. And He knows when the world will burn up.

We must carefully weigh our choices about what to do with global cooling and warming. We must each decide what our stewardship of the earth should be, according to what God has said and how He leads each of us. Psalm 93:1 says, “... Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not
be moved.”

That is, unless God tells it to move.

Being home-schooled
By Dara Fillmore  

I recently graduated from high school and was thinking about my schooling years. I remembered an essay that I wrote a few years back and decided to look at it again. Here’s what I wrote:
     
There are pros and cons to home-schooling, but for me there are many more pros than cons. In this essay, I’m going to relate to you several opinions that come to my mind. One of the things I appreciate about home-schooling is that if I hit the hay particularly late on a given evening, I don’t have to get up at 5 a.m. to get chores done before school, like if I had to be on the bus at 7 a.m. I don’t do well running on limited sleep. I also like our dress code; I can wear whatever’s comfortable. And I don’t even have to wear shoes during bookwork.
     
Having one teacher is wonderful; she’s a principal, nurse, counselor, cook and mom in one. She only has to contemplate helping three or four kids at once (instead of 20 or more), so I get a fair amount of help with my work. I enjoy choosing some of my own subjects, too. I can learn about horse breeds, chicken genetics or stars. For example, right now, I’m studying Vincent Van Gogh and his painting techniques.
     
Being the adventurous sort, there are a few things that I would find interesting to do if I went to school. I’d love to ride a school bus just once, to see what it would feel like. I’d like to play piano in a school concert. I would like to get ideas from classmates about things like how to write stories or do my art. And I love school tater tots.
  
Going back to homeschooling, I can finish nearly of all my work before lunch. In first grade, I sometimes completed my work before others, so I had to sit there waiting to go on to the next subject until everyone was finished. I don’t have to buy “school” clothes. I don’t have to think about being laughed at for liking chickens, wearing clothes that people think don’t match and being kind of short. I don’t have to worry about someone talking about me behind my back because I have foster siblings or because I don’t care if I get dirty while I’m having fun. These are some things I’ll never miss about school.
     
At the end of first grade (the only year I went to school) my older sister and I talked with our mom and dad about how we didn’t get enough time to play with Barbies and our other toys. (We were at school about nine hours every day, including travel.) I don’t play Barbies anymore, but now that I’m home-schooled, I have more time to do things I love. I can play outside, compose stories, draw, read or study Japanese. I can practice the piano, investigate sign language or train my friends’ horses. And I have time to go on day trips or longer trips and take advantage of the weather or opportunities that come my way, even during the school year.
     
Now I’ve told you why I like home-schooling. I have much more time for pursuing my interests and I can be with my family more than if I went to school. I love home-schooling!           
     
“For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.” — Ezra 7:10

Easter is not about a bunny
By Dara Fillmore 

What did you do for Easter? Hunt for plastic eggs or candy? 
Stick clings to windows or decorate the walls with a spring theme? 
Did you have a reason for joyful celebration that day? Why did you celebrate, or why didn’t you?
    
When stuffing yourself with sweets, searching high and low for trinkets and receiving candy from the Easter Bunny, it is very difficult to focus on the real objective for celebrating Easter. 
Matthew 28:6 says, “(Jesus) is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold I have told you.”
     
Have you pondered what Jesus did for you that first Easter?
     
The only reason we should observe the Easter holiday is because we believe Jesus Christ was dead, having paid the full debt we owe to God as sinners, and is now alive. If Christ had not chosen to die, we would have had to pay that debt ourselves with death and eternal separation from our Creator. And we would not have anything to celebrate on Easter.
    
I know I don’t deserve to be with the God in Heaven when I die. 
I have sinned innumerable times and I deserve to be separated from God’s love. But, I celebrate Easter because it’s about grace. It is God who had enough compassion to make a way to save me.
    
Jesus, in His unimaginable love, endured the Cross and all the pain, just for me. That is why I exult at Easter time. I have a reason to give thanks to God on this holiday and every other day. 
It’s not about candy, dyeing Easter eggs, spring, little chicks or baby bunnies.
     
It’s not a day for dressing up and shuffling religiously into a church. Or it is an excuse to sit around and do nothing because it’s a religious holiday.
     
It is a time to rejoice over what Jesus did for me and thank Him for Easter.

Are you a silent messenger?
By Dara Fillmore

He isn’t the most popular topic of discussion. He won’t often be accepted, and if you’re His friend, neither will you. Sometimes His friends can be picked out in a crowd, but many blend in
too well.

This Jesus isn’t a well-liked Man. He expects a lot from those who decide to be His friend. And He doesn’t guarantee safety, happiness or popularity. He does say that if you’re His friend, people will make fun of you and look down on you; you’ll be considered an outcast, a fool. Mattthew 5:11 says, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.”

You can pass as being a nice person, moral and kind, if you hide your friendship. If you don’t talk about the reason for your atypical lifestyle, many will like you. But if you try to fit into the culture, you can’t show others this friendship.

Luke 6:26 says, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”

Who are you to keep others from being His friend? Are you not as much of a sinner as they? Why do you keep silent while they search for this perfect peace, this joyous hope which is Christ? Life without this Friend is an endless cycle of days searching for something to fill the emptiness. Your Friend may be hated by His enemies, but with His love for sinners, He shows His unbelievable grace in that He died so all can live.

Are you so afraid of being rejected that you’re willing to keep silent about the wonderful hope you have? Eternity is at stake and everyone has the choice to accept or reject His grace. He chose to use you as a messenger to them.

Can you truly be a messenger with your mouth shut?

Contrasting comparisons “Wow, I’m way more Christ-like than her. Look at the way she treats her parents!”
By Dara Fillmore, Columnist

“I would never act like he does. He’s rude and smart aleck.”

“She doesn’t do any work compared to me. She just sits around.”

Have you ever compared yourself to others to see who came out ahead in your estimation?

It’s relatively easy to put someone else’s personality in an imaginary mold to see how they fit. Maybe you’ve tried to put them in a mold of how you think they should act, look, dress or talk.

In Colossians 3:17, Paul says that “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to Him through God the Father.”

When it’s put that way, comparing others to yourself can’t be done in Jesus’ name, can it? And really, are you perfect enough to compare others to yourself? If you compare in the area of how someone dresses, do you also compare if you’re as kind as they are? If you compare your wit to theirs, will you also compare your abilities in sports? Usually in the end, you’ll decide you come out ahead. But if you’re good at one thing, they’re good at another.

What should you compare instead? How about comparing yourself to Christ? Until you’ve been perfected in becoming like Christ, (which will never happen) how can you even begin to compare others to yourself?

Instead, compare yourself to the Perfect One. God tells the Israelites in Leviticus 11:45 “... thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.”

You aren’t holy like the Creator, are you?

When you compare yourself to others, you’re comparing two sinners, and because neither is perfect, it won’t really work.

Each day, compare yourself to Jesus and work toward being more in line with what He wants from you, so when you meet Him, He can say to you, like in Matthew 25:23, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Concerning contentment
By Dara Fillmore

Can a person survive for a year with just a few changes of clothes and some food and water? Is contentment when the American dream is achieved ‹ or is it being at rest in God's faithfulness?

When I look at my overflowing dresser and closet, I know I have more clothes than I could wear in a week if I changed several times a day. After looking through the cupboards and freezers, I realize I could live for months without buying food.

In Matthew 6:25, Jesus says, "... do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body as to what you put on. ..." He wants me to trust that He is in control and be content with what He gives me.

Here in America, there's a quest for better, bigger, brighter, but when it comes down to it, I am to work at serving God with what I have. 1 John 2:15 says, "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of God is not in him." I cannot wholly serve and please Christ and at the same time want after more things on this earth. Some girls I know went to Mexico on a mission trip and met a family of brickmakers. They were Christians, but they were destitute. The house was made of tin, and the family was paid a pittance for each brick they made.

When the dad was asked what one thing he wanted in the whole world, he said he wanted to tell everyone about Jesus' love. The man could have said he wanted more money, or a nice house or better-paying job, but his priorities were set right because he was content.

When I think about how much stuff I have compared to others, I know I should work on being much more content. I could survive with almost no worldly goods, but should be so very thankful for all the extras God has given me and use them contentedly for God's glory.

Dara Fillmore can be contacted at dara.fillmore@livingstonesnews.com

All the Glory
By Dara Fillmore

Many TV game show producers are enthusiastic about giving money to charity. They’ll have a celebrity help a person win money to give to an organization the celebrity sponsors. Those celebrities are applauded and thought of as superb and generous people.

While giving things and money away is a marvelous thing to do, we must think about our motives. Why are we giving? To make ourselves feel good? Or to help others? Acts 20:35 says, “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than receive.’” Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure -- pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

But when crossing the line between giving to give and giving to get recognition, we leap over the wall of pride. When we tell others what we gave away and the terrible hardship it was on our part, we defeat the purpose of giving the glory to God. If we give quietly, our wonderful reward will come from God; if we give loudly, our reward will be only from men.

Mark 12:41-44 tells the story of when Jesus watched rich people place large amounts of money in the temple treasury. Along came a destitute widow who put in two copper coins -- amounting to less than a penny -- and Jesus told everybody that she put more money in than all the rich people! But that’s because she gave all she had to give. How many people who were watching back then commented to each other about the enormous amount of money the woman gave? The woman could have used the money to buy food, but she trusted that her reward for giving would come from the Lord. When we give, let’s remember to trust that God will provide for us, and let’s make sure He gets all the glory.

Integrity in Secret
By Dara Fillmore

I’ve been thinking about integrity lately and how it means doing what’s right in secret as well as in front of others. So I started asking myself some questions:

“Is there a difference between how I act with my family in public and at home?”

“Am I as patient with younger siblings in the backyard as I am at the park?”

“Do my parents get the same respect at church as they do around the house?”

“If someone heard me chatting with my older sister on the sidewalk and then alone in the car, would the conversations be filled with the same joyful attitude?”

Not always.

It is easy to be polite when others are watching and cruel when peers are not nearby. Would I be ashamed if someone listened to every word I said for a whole day? How often I forget that though there is not always somebody else in sight, there is always a Person listening. God knows everything I think, hears everything I say and sees everything I do.

It would be best to remember that Jesus is listening. If I want to please Christ, I should try to please Him with my family the same as with others around me. Proverbs 11:3 says, “The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.” The writer of Psalm 44 wrote in verse 21 that God “knows the secrets of the heart.” The psalmist David, in Psalm 19:12, says, “Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.” King David’s desire was to have God reveal to him the sins he committed in secret. I, too, want to have that integrity in all aspects of my daily life. Even if no one else knows what I do when there aren’t people watching, God is always watching and I want to please Him.

 

Are you a Christian or a Disciple?
By Dara Fillmore

In Matthew 16:24-26, Jesus says, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

A Christian is a person who has been saved through his faith in Christ. This person understands that Jesus died for him and knows that he has been saved only by grace. No work, no ritual and no baptism have saved him. He may go to church, read his Bible and be kind. But there is more -- how willing is he to give of himself? If his life does not outwardly show that he is following Christ daily, he is not a disciple.

Jesus explained in Luke 14:27: “Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow after Me cannot be My disciple.” A disciple must understand that he has been bought with a great price. He should then make every effort to glorify God in everything. His every thought and action should be focused on becoming more like his Savior.

There will be no perfect disciple, simply because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but striving to be more like our Savior will be worth it all. The difference between a disciple and a Christian is shown in what measure one is willing to live for Christ. A disciple is a person who does not live for himself, but lives every day with the mindset of growing closer to his King. Being a disciple is the hardest challenge any person can choose.

Creation groans from sin
By Dara Fillmore

Before Adam and Eve sinned -- as recorded in Genesis 3:6 -- nothing suffered or died. When Adam and Eve decided to go against God’s directions by eating fruit from the Tree of Life, they found that, like the Serpent said, they knew the difference between righteousness and sin.

Since Adam and Eve sinned, all of creation has been put under a curse. Romans 8:19-22 says, “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”

But, after the Second Coming of Christ, a new earth will be created. Isaiah 65:17 says, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.” And verse 25 says, “The wolf and the lamb shall graze together and the lion shall eat straw with the ox; and the dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,’ says the Lord.”

Watching one animal kill another is sometimes sad to see. But by sinning, we made the earth become imperfect so that animals and all living things have to die. Fortunately, the Lord decided that though we sinned, we were worth saving. So, He made a way for us to be perfected -- we can be counted as sinless, now, if we accept that Christ died for our sins, in our place.

Salvation by Grace
By Dara Fillmore

"It sounds way too easy to me! There's no way all I have to do is accept that God had His Son die for me!"

You're right; it does sound too easy, but don't other religions sound too hard? In all the other religions, you work your heart out on the chance you might be good enough to get to heaven. That doesn't sound very reassuring.

Jesus told Thomas in John 14:6, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." It seems that accepting the grace given by God through Jesus' death is easier than working for salvation.

What if someone told you: "I'll give you $100 million dollars, but only if you work hard enough for 50 years. At the end of the 50 years, I'll tell you if you earned it or fell short."

How discouraging! But think about if someone else told you this: "I'll give you $100 million dollars, though you don't deserve it, because I want you to have it." Which of the two ways to the $100 million dollars would you decide to go?

Romans 3:23-24 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus." There's nothing you can do to earn your salvation. You can work until you drop, give away all you've got, beat yourself up, try not to lie -- but you might as well give up since nothing you do can meet the absolute perfection necessary to live with Christ in heaven.

Galatians 2:16 says, "Nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh shall be justified."

Obeying the Ten Commandments will not get you a ticket to heaven; being kind to others and giving of yourself will not pave your way there. The only way to get to heaven is to believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and that He came alive from the dead after three days. There's no working for salvation, no hoping for it; it's reassuring just to know that salvation comes by grace, through faith.

Singing Psalms
By Dara Fillmore

Do you enjoy singing or writing poems?

Moses and all the people of Israel sang when God delivered them from the Egyptians. David spoke the words of a song when God delivered him from his enemies and from King Saul. David also sang and danced when the Ark of the Covenant was coming back from captivity. In Psalm 92, David speaks of praising God day and night. Psalm 45:1-2 says, "My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer." The sons of Levi ministered in song in front of the Tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting.

After the last supper, Jesus and His disciples sang a hymn before going to the Mount of Olives. In Colossians 3:16, Paul said to "... admonish one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God." The creatures and the elders in Revelation 5:9 will sing a new song to the Lord in praise.

The Bible is filled with songs to the Lord. Most are found in the Psalms. There are 150 songs (psalms). They were written primarily by King David, some by King Solomon and a few by other authors such as Moses. There are different types of psalms: laments, testimonies, and praise psalms telling what God did for the author. Some psalms are songs of joy; some psalms were written to repent from sins.

Though the psalms don't rhyme in English, the words were wonderfully put to synchronized rhythm in Hebrew and still convey the authors’ emotions well. Reading a psalm tells you what the writer was thinking about and what concerned him. Some psalms have been made into songs and are beautiful to sing.

"Clap your hands, all peoples; shout to God with the voice of joy." -- Psalm 47:1