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Day 4: Accept One Another

August 10, 2017 by pattiburris

 

Romans 15:7

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

This passage does NOT say to judge one another. But, that is exactly what we do. We use our Christianity to put ourselves on a pedestal and we judge everyone below us. Why do we do that? Jesus NEVER judged anyone! Jesus was compassionate, merciful and humble. He never put Himself above anyone else. He even said that He was not sent to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:28). Jesus had every right to put Himself on a pedestal. He IS the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! But, Jesus was not like that.

We, as Christians, need to reread the Gospels and really let the characteristics of Christ sink into our hearts. We need to embody Christ. We need to be more accepting of those that are different than we are. We need to be more accepting of those with different opinions and not assume they are wrong because we might not agree. Do we think that God loves one of us more than another? Well, God does NOT have favorites (Romans 2:11). God loves the homeless as much as He loves the millionaire. He loves the drug addict as much as He loves the pure in heart. We ALL have imperfections. We ALL mess up. We ALL have made HUGE mistakes at one time or another. We have ALL lived in sin. None of us has any reason to condemn or judge anyone else.

My challenge to you (and myself!) is to go back and reread the Gospels and write down in a notebook the characteristics of Jesus. Then we need to make an conscious effort to embody those characteristics on a daily basis. Live like Jesus. Don’t expect everyone to serve you. Go out and serve others. If the King of Kings was humble enough to wash the disciples feet, we should be too.

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Day 3: Agree With One Another

August 9, 2017 by pattiburris

 

1 Corinthians 1:10

10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.

The Church of America is divided. We have separated ourselves into our man-made denominations and pick which parts of scripture we feel fits our personal doctrines. We find denominations competing against each other and fighting over which one is “right.” Inside the local church, we find cliques being formed based on social status or demographics. Unfortunately, there is always the group of “undesirables” that get left out. In my experience, it has been those “undesirables” that have the closest relationship with God. We bicker, argue and judge to the point of driving people away. Many people are now saying that non-Christians are more accepting and loving than Christians. Non-Christians stand back and watch us fight among ourselves and they are glad that they are on the outside. A house divided can not stand.

Mark 3:25

If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

We SHOULD be united in the scriptures. We SHOULD be united in obedience to the Holy Spirit. We SHOULD be united in Jesus Christ. We serve ONE God and ONE resurrected Savior. There is only ONE Bible. We should NOT be divided. We SHOULD be united as Sisters and Brothers in Christ. We SHOULD be loving each other. We SHOULD be supporting each other. We need to stop the fighting and come together as the family of Christ. We ARE family! We have been adopted as children of God (Ephesians 1:5, Romans 8:14-17). We need to become that united Body of Christ that stands together in mind and thought. Let us glorify our God by taking a unified stand against Satan and those who are sitting back and waiting for the Church of America to implode. Jesus sacrificed His life for US. Don’t we owe it to Him to get our acts together and present a unified front?

 

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A Promise

August 3, 2017 by pattiburris

 

This is only a section of the magnificent show God put on Tuesday evening (August 1st). It had been raining with the sun still shining, and I commented to my friend that it was perfect conditions for a rainbow. We went into Wal Mart, and came back out about an hour later to this glorious full double rainbow. They both looked like they were close enough to touch. The bottom one was so vibrant that we could see the outline of each color. I don’t think anyone could capture the true magnificence of this work of God. Those of us who saw it were truly blessed because within 5 minutes it was gone. It was gone as quickly as it came.

I had been praying about a certain situation. I have worked in the same job for 6 1/2 years. I was hired in under the assumption that I would have every other weekend off. Although, I would have liked every Sunday to go to church, I was okay with every other weekend, because I had been out of work for 2 years and needed a job. 6 1/2 years later and I very rarely get a Sunday off. I am now on a stretch of working 8 Sundays in a row and possibly more depending on the next schedule. I CAN’T do this anymore! I try to tell myself that I can do without church, if I pray and read the Bible, but you know what? I’m just kidding myself. We NEED that connection with other Christians. I hunger for that connection. We had just left our home church of 6 years right before I started this job and I have not had enough Sundays off to connect anywhere. I have a Sunday off to go visit a church and then I work the next 4 to 8 Sundays. I’m at a breaking point. I have brought this to my bosses attention, obviously, it hasn’t helped. I am seriously at the point of quitting my job, so I can go to church on a regular basis. I don’t have another job lined up, but I know that if I sacrifice for God, that He will provide. God comes first. ALWAYS!!!

Anyways, I had been crying out to God about this situation for a few days and when I walked out and saw that double rainbow, I knew it was God telling me that everything would be okay. I knew that it was His promise to me that He would answer my prayer. He will honor my request.

There are times when we cry out to Him about some life situation and He honors us with a perfect double rainbow or some other awesome show of His love for us. In that moment, we know that that gift is just for us, as an answer to our prayers. I know that that double rainbow was just for me. It was God telling me that He loves me and He hears my cries for help. I serve an AWESOME God!

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How Long, Lord?

July 20, 2017 by pattiburris

 

Psalm 13

1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
    and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.

 

How many times have I uttered these same words in my 17 years as a single mom? Too many to count. At times, crying out to God in my despair was the only prayer I could manage. Feeling that God had abandoned me and would never hear my cries for help. For years, I have wrestled with the thoughts of anger, fear, abandonment, insecurity, doubt, you name it, I have wrestled with it. I have spent years with sorrow in my heart, wondering when my situation would change. Wondering when God would deliver me from the oppression of this single mom life. Life was my enemy. My circumstances were my enemy. I eventually realized that Satan is my enemy and he loves nothing more than to see me down in the dumps and not trusting God.

“Answer me, Lord! Help me! Deliver me from this oppression!” This was the cry of my heart. Still is on some days. Life is not perfect. I have my good days and my bad days. As the kids grow into adulthood, the struggles are different, but still ever present. They still need me and I still need them. I still struggle making ends meet financially. I struggle with new issues, more adult issues, that the kids are dealing with as they grow up. I struggle with when not to “parent” them but simply encourage them. I struggle with knowing when to just be that loving, listening ear. In all of this, I cry out to God for wisdom, provision and grace.

Even in the times when I feel that God has left me, I guess I am still rooted deep enough, that I still trust that He loves me. I still trust that God is working in my situation, even when I try to sabotage His efforts. Even when I feel abandoned, I still have faith that He IS there, waiting for me to find Him again. In ALL things I give praise! Times of trial are simply making us stronger in our faith. When I am facing the fire, I know that this is the time to really hang on to HIM in prayer and reading His word. Life is full of trials and struggles, but our God will NEVER change.

If you are crying out today, single mom, know that God hears you! Praise Him in the struggle. Trust in His unfailing love for you and your kids. Whatever it is, He will work it out. Keep praying and keep digging into the promises found in His word. If you need some extra prayer, contact me. I’m always here to lend an ear.

God loves you and so do I!

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God In The Little Things

June 29, 2017 by pattiburris

 

I am reminded daily that God cares about the small things in our lives. He cares about those situations that stress us out. It is my personal opinion that He delights in helping us out in stressful situations. I know that I delight in being able to help my kids out when they are facing struggles in life. God is no different, in fact, He loves us so much more.

I was at our local BMV yesterday with my paperwork to register a car that my 17 year old son, Talon had just bought. A female worker calls my number and I go up to her desk. She looks over my paperwork and asks about my proof of insurance. I had driven a different vehicle and had forgotten it. She was starting to tell me that I would have to step aside and call the insurance company when a worker down the line called another number. I was starting to get stressed, when my worker waved me down to the other worker, for no apparent reason and took the customer with the other number. My new worker took my insurance policy number off of my other vehicle information in the computer system and never blinked an eye. I got everything done and it ended up okay. This may seem like a coincidence. It may seem like a positive alignment of fate or something of that sort, but I know better. It was my God. Why would He help me out in such a simple matter? Because He loves me. Why do I help out my kids in simple matters? Because I love them.

Another incident happened a couple of days ago, with my son Talon. He was driving his dad’s 1990 Chevy truck around, doing whatever 17 year old guys do, when he decided that he would swing by his house (he lives with his dad and co-mom). He suddenly felt like stopping by the house and when he pulled into the alley beside the house the A-frame on the truck broke in two. He had no plans on stopping by the house. He just felt the urge to stop by. So, they just had to move it a few feet into the yard instead of having to deal with it miles from the house. I am also, reminded that Talon may have escaped injury because he paid attention to that little nudge to go home. This is not coincidence. This is not some cosmic favor. This is God. I pray over my kids and God hears my prayers.

My 15 year old son, Ty was thrown from a 4-wheeler in March. Had the 4-wheeler landed on him, he could have been killed. Coincidence? Nope! God sent His Guardian Angels to protect Ty and all he ended up with was a scrapped up leg. The Angels made sure that Ty was clear of the 4-wheeler.

Psalm 91:11-12

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

There are little things that God does on a daily basis to help me out. He works out little details to let me know that He is with me and I am not carrying this load alone. When I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders, God shows up and performs little miracles to let me know that I am loved by the Creator of the Universe. Life is not perfect and sometimes I struggle on a daily basis, but I am blessed to be loved by my Abba Father. I don’t deserve His intervention, but I am so grateful for it.

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Finding Peace In The Chaos

June 20, 2017 by pattiburris

kiowahome

I haven’t written in about 6 weeks. It has been a crazy, busy time and still is. I am tired. Life has a way of changing and we have to change with it or we will go crazy. I am trying to find peace in these changes. I am trying to trust God with my future. I will write more about that in my next post, but for now I will catch you up on the last 6 weeks.

Early May was not a great time for me emotionally or mentally. I went through what Mother Teresa called a dark night of the soul. I felt disconnected from God and quite frankly, my mind! I did nothing but cry and I felt like I was going crazy. I was in a dark place and at one horrible moment broke down in front of my daughter and said that I just wanted to kill myself. Would I really? No. I hope I would never get to where I really considered it. But, I understand how the mind can go to a place that dark and you have no control over it. I forced myself to maintain my daily Bible reading and my prayer life. Sometimes those prayers were simply, “God, help me.” I’ve been praying a lot of those lately. God answered that prayer through a Facebook post. It was an article on how Satan attacks the mind to keep us from God and our God given purpose. WOW! I now knew how to fight back and I changed my prayers into rebuking Satan and letting him know that he would not get my mind!!! I feel better. I am still emotionally and mentally tired. God is asking me to trust Him like never before with my future and I feel overwhelmed. But, more of that later.

My daughter Cree was married on May 27th. Cree is 20 and going into her Junior year majoring in Elementary Education. She is so young. I pray that they will put Jesus in the center of their marriage and future family and that they will live out love and grace. The wedding was beautiful. She was beautiful. Cree married Antony, a 22 year old Mechanical Engineering Major from Egypt. God bless this marriage.

Another event was Kiowa getting to come home from Japan for the wedding. Kiowa is my 22 year old Airman. She has been stationed in Japan since April of 2016. We had not seen her in 14 months. She was here for 3 wonderful weeks and has now returned to Japan for another 9 1/2 months and then possibly moving on to S. Korea. It was so great to have her home. I am glad that she was able to be a part of her sisters wedding. My kids have always been close. I think they always will be.

God still speaks to me through every day events. He lets me know that He is always near. Even in the darkest moments, he has not left us. He has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us and that’s a promise I am holding Him to. I don’t know what the future will hold, but I do know that I will continue to hold fast to my God and my loving Savior Jesus.

 

 

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Real Revival Begins With Love

May 4, 2017 by pattiburris

 

Matthew 12:25-26

25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

How did the Church of America become so broken? How did we get to this place where we care more about our Sunday morning productions and many ministries than we do about truly loving each other? When did the Church become a business to be run? People are running from the Church in droves because we have become judgemental, cliquish and mean. Our pastors and church leaders have become selfish. If it isn’t done their way, then it isn’t done. If someone doesn’t agree with their way or their opinions then they are ostracized or defriended. Christianity has become a huge entertainment business and we have forgotten the ONE this whole business is centered around: JESUS! We are mean spirited. We run around gossiping, spreading rumors, tearing each other down and ignoring those we feel are somehow inferior to us. We stand behind our denominational lines and turn our noses up at everyone who doesn’t believe the way we do, because somehow we have gotten it into our heads that we are right and everyone else is wrong. Denominations are man made. WE have divided the church. WE have become so full of ourselves that WE fight against each other to have the biggest church buildings, the largest congregations (whether people are disciples or not doesn’t really matter, as long as they fill the pews), the grandest Sunday morning productions, the most ministries, etc. etc. The Church has become the vehicle to boost our egos. We think all of this is okay because we throw God in here and there. We teach Jesus, so isn’t that enough? Do we actually have to FOLLOW JESUS EVERY DAY OF OUR LIVES? Isn’t giving a good biblical sermon enough?

WAKE UP CHURCH OF AMERICA!!!

We are creating broken hearts…broken spirits and if we don’t fix this NOW, this entire country will pay the price.

So, what is the solution?

A better question is:

WHERE IS THE LOVE?

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

1 John 3:16-18

16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

1 John 4:8

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Proverbs 10:12

Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.

Colossians 3:12-14

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Mark 12:29-31

29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Why aren’t we loving people to Jesus? Why are people leaving the Church in droves because they are being hurt inside the Church? We are not perfect. I know that. I certainly have done my fair share of hurting others, but Jesus expects us to love one another and not just other christians but EVERYONE! That’s how non-believers become believers…we LOVE them to Jesus. If we let go of our judgemental, selfish attitudes and started to love those in our congregations and our communities, we would unleash revival on America like we have never seen before. But, I don’t feel very loving.

LOVE IS NOT A FEELING!

LOVE IS ACTION!

GOD IS LOVE!

The more love you give, the more love you will have to give. It starts with each christian, each pastor, each church leader, each congregation, in each city, in each county, in each state, to bring revival to a nation. It takes prayer, but it takes each of us being willing to obey Jesus and step out of our comfort zones and LOVE those around us. Reach out to the ones who are broken in some way by life. God will NOT answer our prayer for revival and spiritual awakening if we do not take action and start loving people to Jesus.

A REAL SPIRITUAL AWAKENING BEGINS WITH LOVE!

We CAN unite the Church of America.

We CAN bring God back to America:

It starts with you and it starts with me.

IT STARTS WITH LOVE!

GO OUT AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

 

 

 

 

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Where Have You Been?

May 3, 2017 by pattiburris

 

Where have you been?
I’ve looked for you for ever and a day
Where have you been?
I’m just not myself when you’re away

The above is the chorus of a hit 1980’s country song sung by Kathy Mattea. When I heard Where have you been? at work a few days ago, the chorus became more like a prayer:

Where are you, Lord?

I search and search and I still can’t find you.

Why have you left me?

I am deeply troubled without you.

My spirit longs for your presence.

Where are you, Lord?

Why have you abandoned me?

There are times when it seems that God has left me to navigate this world alone. I pray and pray, but it seems that God is just, gone. I feel alone. I feel like I have been left to handle my life issues alone. For years I cry out for relief from the oppression, but my prayers seem to fall on deaf ears. Does He hear me? Does He care? Does He know that the world seems to be crashing in around me? Does He care? I can’t do this alone. I am tired. I am weak. My source of strength has left me. My heart beat fades, until it beats no more.

My spirit cries out,

 I NEED YOU GOD!!!

I NEED YOU JESUS!!!

WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME???

In the stillness, I hear a whisper:

 I have not left you.

I love you.

You are my beloved child.

I am here.

I will never leave you

nor

forsake you.

My heart beats again. My spirit quickens with joy again. I am not alone. I cried out and He heard me. He wiped my tears gently. He whispered my name and calmed my fears. He loves me. I am alive, because He lives within me. I can conquer anything, because He is with me.

I’m just not myself when you’re away.

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A Holy Week Reflection

April 9, 2017 by pattiburris

As I read the events of the crucifixion of Jesus in John 19:1-30, I am overwhelmed by the sacrifice that Jesus made for me. These verses always have the same effect on me, a deep sense of gratitude for His love for me and a sense of sadness that I will never measure up to that level of sacrifice.

I was talking with my daughter, Cree, yesterday and she said something interesting. She said that when she and her co-workers talk about their families, she tells them that her mom is married to God. She tells them that I live for God and God alone. I have always felt called to religious life. I have always known that I was called to a deeper relationship with God. Maybe, that’s why my earthly marriage failed. I knew from early on that I had to live for God only. By giving myself wholly to God, maybe I can, in some small way repay Him for the enormous sacrifice He made for me. In my imperfect way, I am fully committed to Jesus, my Lord and Savior.

We can never love enough, do enough good deeds, or be good enough to get into heaven on our own. This is why Jesus died. Jesus died so that if we believe in Him and devote ourselves to living for him in this world that we will live with Him forever when this life is over. He wants our hearts. He wants a relationship with us. He wants us to be one with Him, so that we can be His ambassadors in this world. He wants and expects nothing less than our everything. Doesn’t He deserve that for the sacrifice He made on the cross? I think He does. I am wholly devoted for life to being married to God.

This week I want you to read through John 19 and reflect on the sacrifice that Jesus made so that you may live eternally with Him. What change can you make in your life to deepen your relationship with Jesus? What do you need to do to show that you are wholly committed to Jesus? How can you be an example of Jesus in this world?

Jesus loved us so much that He gave His life for us. He wants your everything and nothing less. How can you honor that request this week?

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The Persistent Widow

April 6, 2017 by pattiburris

 

Luke 18:1-8

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

There have been times when I have felt frustrated at God’s “neglect” of answering a prayer that has been on my heart for some time. I feel that He does not hear me or simply does not care enough to answer. However, Neither one of those things is true. He wants us to be persistent in prayer.

He wants us to be like the persistent widow who went time and time again to the judge seeking justice against her adversary. I believe that she was desperate for justice, Desperate for an answer, and maybe even desperate for closure. But, the point is, she NEVER GAVE UP! She wore down that judge until he couldn’t take anymore and he gave her what she wanted. When I was 20, I applied at our local American Red Cross for a job to call people who had donated blood in the past to get them to donate again. The manager kept putting me off. I called every day or every other day for 3 or 4 weeks until he finally gave in. He finally gave me a job. He had told me that he thought I was too quiet for the job. I was there a year and there were a few months when I was the top recruiter. I needed a job and I wouldn’t give up. I wore him down. He knew that the only way he was going to get rid of me was to give me a job.

God wants us to be like that in our prayer time. The persistent widow was desperate for an answer. Are you desperate enough for justice that you bombard heaven day and night with your prayers? Are you desperate enough for an answer that you cry out to God with all of your heart? Are you desperate enough for closure that you leave God no other choice but to give you what you are praying for?  Don’t give up, even if it takes years for Him to answer. God’s timing is perfect. I don’t know why He takes as long as He does to answer some prayers. I don’t need to know. I just need to have the faith enough to keep praying and trust that He is at work in the situation. NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER QUIT PRAYING! The day you give up could be the day He planned on answering. God will answer and He will see that you get justice.

When Jesus returns, will He find you praying? Will He find faith in your prayer life? Will He find that you trust Him to answer no matter how long it takes? I hope I am that faithful. I don’t want to be the one who gives up right before the miracle. When Jesus returns, I want Him to find me faithful. Keep praying. Pray through, even if it takes 20 years before you get your miracle. Never Give Up! God will reward your persistence!

 

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