A Heartbreaking Statistic

A little more than two weeks have passed since we returned from a fabulous cruise around the Baltic Sea. These two weeks have been filled with memories of that adventure, but also filled with trying to catch up on life. Getting over jet lag; catching up with laundry; lots of appointments; just trying to get regular life back on track.

And in the middle of all that - well, actually going back to the beginning of the cruise - I have been dealing with identity theft of my social media account. Now that I have established a new account, I’m trying to catch up with that. Reestablishing contact with friends. Trying to prove to people that I am the real me. Just trying to get regular life back on track.

A lot happened in the world and among my friends’ lives while I was banned from social media. I missed a lot of birthdays. I missed seeing a lot of photos. I couldn’t communicate with people. It was all very frustrating. I felt pretty cut off from the world, and not just because I was miles away from home.

Reconnecting with social media has put me back in touch with friends near and far. It also gives me the opportunity to see what they post. And yesterday a friend shared the results of a survey from Lifeway that was very disheartening.

According to the survey, among Protestant churchgoers, only 32% read their Bible every day. 27% read the Bible a few times a week. And the next statistic is 12%. 12% of Protestant churchgoers read their Bible either once a week or rarely/never. (There was a tie for the 12%).

My first reaction was shock. But that was followed by extreme sadness. And the question why? Rarely or never reading your Bible while at the same time professing a faith in the God of the Bible is a heartbreaking statistic. Even more heartbreaking is another statistic that 66% of evangelicals access Facebook every day.

It seems we have our priorities way out of line.

And that breaks my heart.

If we don’t take time for God’s Word, how can we know how to live for Him as we ought?

Where do you fit into these statistics?

Something to think about.

“For the Word of God is living and active…..” (Hebrews 4:12)

“I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” (Psalm 119:16 NIV)

An Update

 Many of you access these posts through Facebook. My account there was compromised, so a new account was opened. This makes it also necessary to open a new account for this page.

Please look for me at susanssittingroom2022.blogspot.com.

Looking forward to connecting with you there

What’s Your Identity?

We hear much these days about identity theft. In fact, there’s an entire industry devoted to protecting your identity. We take steps to protect ourselves from the identity thieves with passwords and RFID wallets. Even so, your identity may be stolen or compromised by a hacker or a thief who captures your password or your personal details.These cyber crimes are a fact of life in our digital age.

But is our identity really determined by our bank account or our social security number or our social media presence? Of course not!

For those of us who belong to Christ, our identity is defined much differently.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.”                          (Ephesians 1:3-4 NASB)

This is our true identity. Not a set of digits. Not a social media page. Not a public persona. Our identity is in Christ.

Blessed.

Chosen.

Predestined.

Adopted.

Redeemed.

Forgiven.

All this is ours, and more, in Christ. 

And this has been lavished on us by a loving Heavenly Father so that we might live “that we who hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:12 NASB)

As you and I begin this new week, my prayer is that we we remember who we are in Christ. And that we may each live to the praise of His glory. Amen.

It’s Worth It

Almost a week has passed since we ended our fabulous trip around the Baltic Sea and began the long journey home. The trip home was long and tiring, but the jet lag is worth it for all that we saw and experienced.

Just one week ago, we were touring the Aland Islands off the coast of Finland. The next day we were in Stockholm, Sweden, with views like this one:

On this trip we visited places I had never seen, and some I had never even heard of before. This remains one of my favorite photos of the trip:

This was taken from our ship as we were docked in the village of Eidfjord, Norway. The fjords are stunning, with their crystal clear water reflecting the mountains and sky above.

We had a fabulous trip. And now we are in re-entry mode. Dealing with jet lag. And mountains of laundry. Trying to figure out what time it is. Getting back into normal routines. It’s hard work. But it’s worth it.

That’s true of so many things in life, isn’t it? Being a parent is hard work, but it’s worth it. Mastering a skill like playing the piano or learning how to throw a good curve ball is hard work. But it’s worth it. Achieving a fitness goal or a health goal or any other goal is hard work. But it’s worth.

The same can be said about living the Christian life. Maintaining the disciplines of the Christian life - prayer, Bible reading, worship, faithful church attendance, among others - might be considered to be hard things. They require commitment. Discipline. Focus. Determination. 

But it’s worth it!

“Therefore, since we have so great a could of witnesses surrounding us [so many examples of faithful men and women who have lived the Christian life], let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfected of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2 NASB, emphasis mine)

Compromise

What comes to mind when you hear the word compromise? Does this word hold a positive or a negative connotation for you?

One definition says that compromise is the settlement of differences by mutual concessions, or an agreement reached by adjusting conflicting or opposing opinions.

That sounds positive, doesn’t it? If we don’t make some compromises, how do we ever get things done? For example, if one party wants blue carpet and the other wants red carpet, unless there is some sort of compromise, there will be no carpet! That’s a silly example, but you get the point.

We make compromises every day. You go to the grocery store intending to buy steak. But the steak is too expensive, so you choose ground beef instead. That’s a compromise. You go to your favorite dress shop, intending to buy the perfect LBD (little black dress), but they don’t have the one you want in your size. Instead, you make a different choice. That’s a compromise. These compromises are perfectly innocent and acceptable and necessary.

We often hear about compromise in the political arena. Each political party has strongly held opinions. In order for the work of government to move forward, these politicians must find common ground, the points on which they can agree, with each being willing to give a little on points of disagreement. That’s compromise. Unfortunately, in the current political climate, each side just digs its heels in and refuses to budge an inch. That wasn’t always the case. In the not so distant past, politicians would work together to find solutions, points of agreement, that would lead to a compromise that would benefit the nation. History books are filled with these compromises (the Missouri Compromise of 1820, for example) where compromise was a good thing.

However, there’s another definition for the word compromise: an endangering, especially of reputation; exposure to danger, suspicion, etc.

This is the negative side of compromise. We use the word compromise in this way to refer to the compromise of a person’s integrity, or we often here it in a medical sense, such as when a person’s immune system is compromised. I have recently been more aware of compromise in this sense than I ever wanted to be, as I recently became aware that one of my social media accounts had been compromised. The result was that an unknown person took over my account and posted things, in my name, that I never would have considered posting. My account was compromised, and I feel violated.

We must be alert for compromise. We must be on guard for the negative compromises. And we must be willing to make compromises in our personal and family relationships. (How else will we decide where to go to dinner?)

But there are some areas where we must never compromise. We must guard our integrity. And we must never compromise when it comes to God’s Word. No matter what the world or social media or political whim may say, the Bible is our authority. The Bible is our plumb line. 

How do we avoid compromise in this area? We must read the Scripture. Study it. Memorize it. This is our safeguard against compromising our spiritual integrity.

“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11 ESV)

The Bucket List

Do you have a bucket list? Most people do, even if they may not refer to it in those terms. We all have a list of things we would like to accomplish or places we would like to go. 

One of the things on my bucket list was to visit all 50 states. Thanks in great part to having lived in many parts of the country, and having traveled a lot with my husband for his work, I was able to check that off a few years ago. Another thing on my list is to visit all the National Parks. I’m not sure that is actually within reach, so I have another goal in mind - visiting all the State Parks in my state.

My husband and I just returned from a fabulous cruise around the Baltic Sea. While I had never had that on my bucket list, I’m so glad we decided on that region for our 50th wedding anniversary celebration. We saw stunning scenery and visited places that I not only had never dreamed of visiting. We went to some places I had never even heard of! Eidfjord, Norway. The Aland Islands, Finland. Alborg, Denmark. 

Because I’m a list maker, I think I will add this “Viking Homelands Adventure” to my bucket list just so I can mark it off! The beauty of that part of the world is breathtaking and had me often calling Psalm 19 to mind: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.” 

Bucket lists are often focused on places we want to go. Things we want to accomplish. But have you ever considered having a spiritual bucket list? For some help making that list, turn to Psalm 37 and look at the verbs.

Fret not.

“Fret not because of evil doers….” Have you ever found yourself fretting over the evil in the world? Being distressed by what you see around you? It’s easy for us to be overwhelmed by the craziness in our world. To be discouraged and frustrated. That’s why this imperative - don’t fret - is a good item for the bucket list.

This is an imperative, which means we have a choice to obey or disobey/ignore this instruction. We are able to “fret not” as an act of the will. Not by our emotions, but by deliberate choice. It doesn’t come easily or naturally to us, so we must accompany this choice with prayer. Lord, Your word tells me not to fret, not to worry, but I’m finding myself overwhelmed. I need Your help. Help me to remember that you are my refuge and strength. (See Psalm 46.)

Trust in the Lord.

Trust in the Lord. Not in your feelings. Not in the news media or in social media or in any other person or thing. Trust in the Lord. It seems so simple, yet sometimes is so hard to do. But it’s a very basic discipline of the Christian life. Trust in the Lord. Period. 

Delight yourself in the Lord.

Again, this seems so obvious, doesn’t it. And we think to ourselves, well, of course I’m delighting in the Lord. 

But are you? Really? What brings you the most joy? How do you spend your time? Is the way you spend your time, your energy, your money, a reflection of your delight in the Lord? If not, then why not? This item on the list leads to some time in prayer and reflection, perhaps to some repentance and recommitment. It leads to the question, are my eyes “fixed on Jesus?” (See Hebrews 12:1-2)

And the list goes on…..

Commit your way to the Lord.

Be still before the Lord.

Refrain from anger.

Forsake anger.

Fret not. There it is again. At least two more times, depending on the translation you are using. Since it’s repeated, it must be important. Really important. So, as you’re working on your spiritual bucket list, this might be a good place to start. 

This is a repeated instruction throughout Scripture. It isn’t limited to this Psalm. It sometimes is phrased a little differently.

Fear not. Be strong. Don’t be afraid.

It all leads us to the same place. Don’t worry. Trust God.

Because God is in control. Of all things. And He can be trusted. So there’s no need to fret.