Taking the Stairs – My Love of Steps

I Love Steps.

Spiral staircases, stone steps, and steps of a forest walk all make me think of a journey, a path to somewhere. Something yearns within me at the sight of them—at the same time, they make me anxious.

There are good steps and bad steps—at least that’s how I remember it growing up. Our side porch had two sets of stairs leading into the house. The “bad steps” were steep without a railing. Either steps took us where we needed to go but you took a chance using the “bad steps” whenever the weather was icy or using them after dark.

Taking the Stairs

How do I know where the steps will lead?  Do I take the risk? Will they be “bad steps” or good ones?

 

Any journey has risks. Planning helps but often we discover that we can’t plan for every bend in the staircase. Taking a step requires faith—trusting that the destination is part of the plan. The steps, whether good or bad, will get us there.

Stepping out to follow God is like that. Life’s staircase may have some bad steps along the way, but God is there, leading us and helping to navigate them.

[Just to clarify] I’m not talking about many different ways to Heaven; I mean walking through whatever life has for us as we trust God for the journey.

Getting to Heaven means taking the way Jesus provided through His death and resurrection—to purchase our eternity with His blood. It means taking His path of grace—free and undeserved—given out of love.

Our life is a journey to eternity, given so we can find God. (Click to Tweet)

Once we take the narrow path, our destination is sure. And when the steps seem scary we know He travels with us.

Photo by Jeanne Doyon 2014

 

God told Abraham to “Go to the place I will show you” in Genesis 12:1. No itinerary—just trust and obey. The journey is all about dependence on God and fostering a relationship with Him.
 

 

There’s Always a First Step

No matter what we do there is always a first step. First steps can lead to life or destruction, so we need to take it wisely.

Proverbs tells us, “The naive believes everything, but the sensible man considers his steps.” [Proverbs 14:15]

When we travel with the Lord and call upon His wisdom for our actions, He will lead one step at a time.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

Our life is like that – made up of steps.

Your first step will prepare you for the next. And you’ll find that the way will open once you have the faith to start moving.

What steps are before you today?

Jeanne

Tweetables:

No matter what we do there is always a first step. (Click to tweet)

 The journey is about dependence on God and fostering a relationship with Him. (Click to tweet)

Throughout God’s Word of Truth, He Gives us Insight about our Steps…

 

For the LORD sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes. [Proverbs 5:21]

My steps have held fast to Your paths. My feet have not slipped. [Psalm 17:5]

The steps of a man are established by the LORD, And He delights in his way. [Psalm 37:23]

Our heart has not turned back, and our steps have not deviated from Your way. [Psalm 44:18]

When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; and if you run, you will not stumble. [Proverbs 4:12]

The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. [Proverbs 16:9]

 

Images courtesy of www.morguefile.com

Suggested Resources:
 

Half-Empty or Half-Full

Is the glass half-empty or half-full? So much depends on our point of view. I have always been a half-full sort of person until a few years ago. A number of things contributed—most I can’t even remember anymore. All I can say is that sometimes life takes over and things can start to look grim; between  struggles with relationships, events, unexpected news—my stuff—other’s stuff—it doesn’t take long for half-empty to take over.  

This was true for the twelve spies who were sent to scope out the land that was promised to them by God. Moses sent one man from each of the twelve tribes of Israel with instructions to find out all they could about the place they would soon be entering. Moses instructed them to, “See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad?…How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees…?” And, so the twelve men set out to spy the land and bring back a report. 

Upon their return, the men said, “We went into the land…and it does flow with milk and honey…but the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.” 

Caleb said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we certainly can do it.” But, the men who had gone with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread a bad report about the land inciting fear in the people. 

Caleb and Joshua saw half-full. The rest of the spies and the fearful people in Israel saw half-empty. Caleb and Joshua trusted when God said, “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites.” It was already promised. 

There are so many things I can apply from this story. The biggest one for me is not to allow fear to keep me from entering the place where God is leading. He prepares the way and gives me the faith to overcome my fearful thoughts of half-empty glasses. Despite what the land looks like, or how big the obstacles appear, He will be the one to bring me there. 

I can apply this to my writing, speaking, new ministry, changes in my circumstances, moving to a new place, or an unknown future. Because of my tendency toward fear, I know I need to assimilate this on a daily basis because fear cannot coincide with faith.  

How about you? What have you spied out lately and how does it affect your response to God’s direction?

 

Jeanne

 

 

Read more about the adventure of the twelve spies in Numbers 13 & 14

Quotations above taken from the NIV

Salvation by Grace—But, What About Works?

I am studying the book of James; His letter is very vocal about works (James 2:26). You’ve heard it said: Nothing is ever truly free. Yet, in the case of our salvation, Scripture says it’s a FREE gift to all who believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord (Ephesians 2:8-9).  

Many may be trying to earn favor by keeping checklists of what to eat, what not to eat, church attendance, serving in soup kitchens, donating to food banks, and other activities. Doing good things is good but it’s not what gets us into heaven.  

How do we reconcile these passages?  The answer is bigger than my blog space today but let me offer a few thoughts to ponder.  

1.      We believe in salvation in Jesus Christ by grace, by that I mean we don’t deserve it.

2.      God’s mercy gives us what we don’t deserve.  

What Jesus did on the cross accomplished it all. By His death and resurrection, sin is paid in full. We are made clean, acceptable to a holy God. 

There’s always been the need for sacrifice in order to receive forgiveness. In the Old Testament, it was by the blood of a spotless animal. This foreshadowed what Jesus would become for us. Jesus was the perfect, sinless and final sacrifice. He offered Himself willingly in our place because He loves us.  

But, if that’s all God cared about I think we would’ve been beamed up to heaven as soon as we professed Christ as Savior. Instead, we receive the Holy Spirit – God’s very presence to give us power to be witnesses and ambassadors in the world for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Ephesians 2:10 says He prepared work for us to do ahead of time – this work touches those who need to see God through the work we do; we reach out and become His hands and feet. As we meet their physical and emotional needs their spirits are touched as well. 

So our works can’t save us. Only the blood of Jesus can do that; so, why the importance in James’ letter?  

Our works are evidence of faith’s transformation. A result of the outpouring of God’s love and grace on us. He died a gruesome death to take our punishment so we can have life. When we as unworthy sinners grasp how much it cost, we desire to offer our lives in return – to serve him and share his message with a needy and dying world. We respond in love by surrendering our lives to Him; Romans 12:1 calls us a “living sacrifice”. 

Gratitude for what God has done spills over into working to spread the hope we received—we must share it. Not everyone will receive it but that’s not our concern – ours is to touch the world with God’s love and leave the outcome in God’s hands. The same grace we received is offered to everyone who receives Jesus as Savior and Lord. Works are simply a vehicle to transport the understanding of God’s grace to the world. 

 I love the quote by St. Francis of Assisi:  

“At all times share the gospel and when necessary use words” 

Works don’t save us, but they are faith’s footprints, echoing from the heart God has redeemed.

 

I know I need to be more willing to serve in response to what I have received from God. How about you?

 

 

 

Jeanne

My Spin on Philippians 4:6-9

Telling someone not to be anxious is like asking them not to breathe. It is certainly true of me. Worry just seems to be the natural response to anything I fear or lack knowledge about. 

You might as well give me the middle name, Fear, because it's been such a big part of my life since I can remember.

I was a little girl who was afraid of Santa Claus, floral arrangements, cemeteries and music. It took me forty years to figure out the roots of those fears. Not that it took away my fear of things, but I began to understand how intrinsic fears are to humanity. It's no wonder then, that the words 'fear not' appear 365 times in Scripture. 

One for every day of the year.

So passages like this one in Philippians begin to be life-verses for people like me. The words and truths roll around in my mind so much that I begin to paraphrase them by heart. My spin on these verses in Philippians goes something like this:

I won't worry and fret about things; instead, I'll talk to God about them - a lot.

Every time I start to worry again, instead of letting it get to me, I'll bring it to God because He is the one who takes care of everything I need. He knows what the trouble is and He knows how to fix it.

When I start to worry, I'll think about all the amazing things he has done for me in the past—I know there are plenty of them. It will help to focus on the ways He has answered prayer and come through for me before. That's why the Bible tells about setting up memorial stones; they are markers to help me remember everything that He has done in my life.

When I find myself getting overwhelmed by all the darkness and worries, I think about the things that are true; the good and pure things; the silver lining things; the things I have praised Him for, and I'm thankful for them.

Because I know deep down that He will take care of this stuff - Because He has come through for me in the past. When I do these things, I have God's peace even when it is hard for others to understand especially with everything going on around me. Because whatever is going on, He promises to be with me. And if He is with me, I will not be afraid.

What are you afraid of? What do you worry about?

He says, "Fear not. I am with you. I am your peace. I will accomplish everything that concerns you" (Psalm 57:2, Psalm 138:8)

Fear is the opposite of faith so my prayer is that I can grow stronger in my faith and my trust in Him so that my fear will become less.

Praying for you too,

Jeanne