Sometimes I feel like the Lord has to knock me down a peg or two so He can lift me up again. I’m not saying that’s exactly what’s happening, I’m just saying that’s what it feels like.
Today was one of those days. In church, the pastor said things I felt sure were being said directly to me, and they weren’t exactly pleasant. Does that mean my pastor is targeting me? No, it just means I recognize myself in what he was saying, and my spirit is aware of my own wrong-doing.
To top it off, I get home only to end up in an argument with my husband and two of my sons, all separately, and on different topics. So the common factor here, is me. Four people can’t be wrong and only one right. Well… they can… but it’s unlikely. No, I’m pretty sure I’m the wrong party here, and I need to fix that.
So what is it I’m doing that’s so bad that it seems everyone is coming against me? Okay… I will admit that I’ve been a bit on the irritable and harsh side lately. There are some things in my life that have directly affected my body, and my mood in some negative ways, and I have been taking it out on those around me.
Even here on my blog, I’ve been harsh with the general population, and that’s something I really have no right to do. I don’t have the right to do that with anyone, and I apologize. Besides, it really isn’t my nature to be mean or harsh. Quite the contrary, I assure you. I am normally a fairly nice person, but have let some bad days get to me. That’s not an excuse, and I will try to do better in future. Let me tell you a little something about why I started this blog. I’ll try to keep it short.
It really started with the same reason the Lord lead me to become an ordained minister; to help people, and lead them to the Lord. That’s really always been my desire, and the Lord put it in my heart a long time ago. Interestingly, the Lord reminded me of those things in the sermon my pastor delivered this morning, and I’d like to share that with you now.
Colossians 1:24-29 says it perfectly from the reason I felt compelled to minister, to the reason I come before you and humble myself to you today:
“Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.”
And then in Colossians 4:6 is where we find my correction:
“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”
Now as my pastor so eloquently put it, salt is supposed to make something taste better. My words of late have had either not enough and been too bland, or way too much and burned going down. For that I do apologize once more. I’ll do my best to remember the Lord’s good lessons and behave more kindly.
Many Blessings,
Crystal
C.A. Bennett 