Tami Bemis Cole – IAMHIZ.blog

#1 You Are Loved

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

The “world” that is spoken of here is the world of all of mankind…unbelievers, those who do not know God and are against God. That would be everyone. We are all unbelievers and against God until He seeks us and opens our spiritual eyes to Salvation.

God does not want anyone to perish, but to come to belief in Jesus so they can have eternal life. He loved all of us long before we loved Him. While we were neck deep in our own sin, muck and prideful living.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (NIV)

While you were still a sinner God demonstrate His love for you by giving His Son Jesus to die for you. His ONLY SON.

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13 (NIV) These are words straight from Jesus. He gave His life for you while you were still a sinner. Is there any greater love than for someone to give their life for you?

Who would you give your life for? I would dare to guess you would give your life for your children, grandchildren or another loved one, but how about an enemy?

No? Me either… I am not sure I would give my life for an enemy. BUT Jesus did!

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV

What does it mean to be dead in our transgressions?

Transgressions are sins, the wrong things we do against God and His laws. We were dead” in our sins. Look at Romans 6:23.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 6:23

The first section of this verse begins by saying believers “were dead” in their sins. These immoral actions were part of their life, following the lead of Satan, instead of God. The wages or pay that we get from sin is death. Why death?

This spiritual death began as the result of sin in the garden of Eden.

“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:17 (NKJV).

I don’t want to earn death!

Wait! Look at the second part of Romans 6:23, “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Because Jesus, God’s only Son, took your place and my place on the cross and died for all the wrong things we have done and will ever do…we have the FREE GIFT of ETERNAL LIFE!

When we choose to believe in Jesus as our Savior, God makes a covenant with us. Because you and I are loved by our Creator.

“Though the mountains be shaken, and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor My covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you”. Isaiah 54:10 NIV

God’s unfailing love will not be shaken. Can you imagine a world where the mountains and the hills are shaken and not just moved but removed from the earth?! Yet all the while, God remains steadfast.

I wondered, what is a covenant? It is not a word we hear too often. Covenants are not just contracts, and a very serious commitment to God. With God it is a binding promise of far-reaching importance in the relations between Him and His children.

In Isaiah 54:10, we see the covenant of God’s peace will not be removed from us. The Hebrew word Shalom means peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, and tranquility. Philippians 4:7 says, “and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” When troubles on earth make us anxious, seem to overwhelm us and make us want to give up, we can ask Jesus to give us His peace… a peace that is far beyond any earthly comfort.

Also, God’s unfailing love will not be shaken. No matter what is happening in this world around us (and it is pretty shaky right now) or what is happening within our lives, God’s love will not fail or be shaken. He loves us. He has our best interest at heart always.

If that is not enough, God keeps adding! God will continue to have compassion and mercy on us. Mercy is God’s withholding of the judgement we deserve for our sin, but instead He grants us the forgiveness we don’t deserve and we could never earn (We are saved by grace, Ephesians 2:5) because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross.

What an Awesome God! What a Wonderful Creator! What a Wonderful Savior! We will talk more about grace and becoming a new creation next time. Until then, may God bless you as you seek Him.

Find me on YouTube.com Tami Bemis Cole

But Without Faith, Part 2

Welcome back! This is part 2 of a blog I published about a month ago entitled, “But without Faith” where we discussed what faith is. Today we will continue with this topic and look at answering the following questions:

Where does faith come from?

How do you and I get faith?

How does our faith grow?

First, let us recap a bit and look at some definitions for faith:

allegiance to a duty or person,

belief and trust in and loyalty to God,

a firm belief in something for which there is no proof.

The Bible tells us that, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)

If we cannot see faith…how can we get it? To have the faith that is talked about in the Bible, we must open the Book and read the Words of God. As I delve into this topic, please know that this is not based on my own opinion. I highly encourage you to open God’s Word and read for yourself, that is where we find our answers. It is the Holy Spirit that teaches, not I. I can pick a topic and write about it, but I must rely on the Holy Spirit (and so must you) to impart the truth. He does this by the revealing truths in the inspired Word of God.

The Holy Spirit calls you, sparks your interest, guides you and teaches you. Do not be afraid to dig deep. The Holy Spirit is your Helper, He will help you to understand.

As a child of God, He longs for you to know Him. Take out your Bible and let’s get started.

Where does faith come from?

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is a gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8 (NKJV)

Faith comes from God in the form of a gift. We would not have faith if not for God having His plan and reaching down to offer it to us. We then have the option to choose to accept faith through salvation. Salvation and redemption through Jesus Christ.

God uses faith as the way to bring salvation to His people. God gives faith because of His grace and mercy, because He loves us, His creation, so very much. He desires for us to have a way to know Him.

How do you and I get faith?

“So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.” Romans 10:17

As we hear the Word of God and the Salvation plan, which is what Jesus accomplished on the cross, we are given faith. Faith to believe that there is something more to life than just existing and going through the motions of living day to day…faith to have HOPE in Someone bigger than us, Someone who has a unique plan for each of His beloved children!

It is the Word of God that produces faith. A person could receive faith while reading about Jesus in the Bible or by hearing a sermon teaching the Good News or by you or I sharing the story of Jesus—any time the true gospel of Jesus is communicated, there is potential for faith! How exciting! That you and I can be part of the chain of events that God has orchestrated!

How does our faith grow?

If we are not in control of even getting faith on our own…how can you and I increase our faith. I wish to be more faithful.

We can pray and ask for more faith just as the apostles asked of Jesus in Luke 17:5,

“And the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’”

Our faith grows as we build our lives on the truth of Jesus Christ, what we are taught about Him in and directly from God’s Word. We model our lives after Him. It is built on the truth of what God says, not what man says. When we are listening to pastors, preachers, spiritual songs, or fellow Christians, we must hold those words/that teaching up to God’s Word. We must stay away from teaching that is not in line with Biblical truths. We need to be careful about who is teaching us.

“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow Him. Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7

We need to always remember that faith was given to each believer as a gift. We cannot take credit for it or tout it in the face of others or think of ourselves in a prideful way.

“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Romans 12:3 (NKJV)

By knowing our saving faith comes from God alone, it should encourage us as Christians to not think of ourselves more highly than we ought; but remember that God decides the measure of faith each one receives.

So, as we can see from reading God’s Word…that receiving faith comes from God and our faith increases by spending time in His Word.

I want to end on a note of thanksgiving. We should be thankful always for the faith God has given us, thankful that He chooses to use us in ministering to others. It is a privilege and honor to serve the Lord and His people.

“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 1:12-14

May God bless you with wisdom and increased faith as you dig deep into His Word.

To Wait Patiently

“I waited patiently for the LORD, and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He also brought me out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the LORD.” Psalm 40:1-3 (NKJV)

These verses make me wonder how patient am I? Have I waited patiently for the LORD? The verb wait is used in the past tense in this verse…waited patiently. Already done. Have I waited? How important is it to “have waited patiently?”

Let us explore what it means to be patient and to wait patiently.

Patience—the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset.

Wow! That is a challenge for many people on a regular basis, and for probably everyone… at least once in a while.

Patience is mentioned over 70 times in the Bible. The Bible encyclopedia describes it as, “A forbearance or endurance. It is a quality of self-restraint or of not giving way to anger, even in the face of provocation, it is attributed to both God and man and is closely related to mercy.”

Patience is the 4^th Fruit of the Spirit and is also referred to as longsuffering.

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…” Galatians 5:22 (NLT)

As a believer in Jesus Christ as my Savior and as a follower of Him, through the Power of the Holy Spirit living within me, I can bear the trials of life. You can too.

How? It is the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit when He is alive and well within us. By allowing the Holy Spirit the freedom to produce this quality within us…by knowing that God is in control . This helps us see hope in every situation. By knowing God that sees the whole picture and He knows & does what is best for each of His children.

I like this caption that I read recently, “Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.”

Are you waiting for things to happen in your life? Have you been praying, and it seems that Heaven is silent? Are you waited patiently? What has been the attitude of your heart? Are you keeping a good attitude while you wait?

I must admit, at times…I have not.

When we are patient, it puts us in control of ourselves. Being patient gives us time to choose how to respond to a given event or circumstance, rather than let rampant emotions take over. Often times impatience makes us react in damaging ways as we look for shortcuts and quick fixes. The enemy of God’s children, Satan uses impatience to derail us from achieving God’s purpose in our lives.

It is beneficial to be disciplined to wait, to learn this behavior and make it part of who we are. We can be mindful of the things that make us impatient. When I feel myself getting impatient, I take a deep breath. I ponder how losing control will not help the situation and I picture how being patient will pay off.

There are many benefits of having patience. Some are that we enjoy better mental health. There is less stress on our body’s as we learn to wait. It makes us a better parent, friend and neighbor. It helps us achieve our goals and not harm others as we reach them.

Patience does not mean we are weak or passive. It is a strength and one that our Creator God tells us to practice. We remain active and continue doing what God has called us to do, while we wait.

I do not always wait patiently. I sometimes want to prod God along and make Him answer my desires in my way and in my time. This thought process has caused me nothing but sorrow. It makes me angry with God as my anxious and worrisome thoughts think He is not doing the job I think He should be doing.

As I learn from Jesus and the Scriptures, as I wait, and watch—I learn how to act and when to react. I become more compassionate. Through time in His Word and learning to patiently wait and worship Him through each trial, I have immense blessings. He inclines His head to me and hears my cry. He will hear yours too. Simple advice but so profound!

What a Friend

Yesterday marked the 33rd anniversary of my beautiful and kind Mom leaving earth and entering Heaven. She left way too soon, at just 56. I miss her as much now as the day she left. She loved the Lord and it has taken me many years to understand her devotion to Jesus Christ. A devotion I now share. She used to sing a song to us, especially to her grandchildren…at least the ones who got to know her. The words echo in my memory but it wasn’t until recently that I thought about the meaning.

“What a Friend We Have in Jesus” is a Christian hymn originally written by preacher Joseph M. Scriven as a poem in 1855 to comfort his mother, who was living in Ireland while he was in Canada. These are the words, look at them closely, read them slowly and let the impact of the HOPE in these words penetrate your heart:

“What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and grief to bear. And what a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer

Jesus bore not only our sin, but He will bear our grief.

Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry, Everything to God in prayer

How much peace of mind have you forfeited? I know I have sometimes worried too much and gave up His peace. Oh, the needless pain we bear. Are you bearing too much? Life can give us a heavy load. Jesus offers to share the bulk of the load.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged, Take it to the Lord in prayer

Are you in a trial or temptation? Who isn’t, right?! Is there trouble anywhere? Oh Yes, there is trouble everywhere I look. Are you discouraged? Life just isn’t what you thought it would be? Don’t give up. Jesus is Hope.

Can we find a friend so faithful, Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness, Take it to the Lord in prayer.”

You will never find another friend so faithful. Won’t you give Him a chance?

Jesus Christ was fully God, yet fully man. Feeling emotions, thirst, and hunger. He was tempted as we are. He came to earth and lived as a man, yet He did NOT sin. He understands human pain, grief and suffering.

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15 (ESV)

He is waiting to become your Savior. He is faithful to listen, and available to help. You need not be discouraged, He is here. He is only a prayer away.

Check out my YouTube channel Tami Bemis Cole

Hope

A very good friend of mine recently gave me a coffee mug with Hebrews 11:1 on the side. I love coffee mugs! I have several and almost every one has a story attached to it.

The word HOPE stands out for me. It is a favorite word of mine. A word that encourages me to hold on.

What is the definition of the word, hope? I found this definition in an article written in 1952 called, “The Christian Hope.” “Hope is commonly used to mean a wish : its strength is the strength of the person’s desire.” 1

What do I hope for? What do you hope for? Perhaps…Calm in this chaos, healing of a marriage, healing from a disease, a reconciled relationship, for your prodigal to come home, for things to be better, to see the light at the end of the tunnel (And have it not be a freight train!)

“Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

Let us look a little closer at this verse. Hope is part of the picture, but faith is a bigger piece. How can you and I be sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see? Faith in God and believing and accepting salvation through Jesus is our Hope. We cannot see faith. How can we be certain of what we cannot see with our human eyes?

We can read God’s Word and believe what He says. As we study His Word, the Holy Spirit opens our spiritual eyes to the truth. Truth that one day, things will be resolved. Not always on earth, but one day in Heaven.

Another thought I had on this verse was that you and I can have hope that God is with us through each tear and trial, each heartache and disappointment. Our faith in who He is gives us hope, gives us encouragement to go on. To be able to face another day, even though things aren’t all nice and tidy in our lives…we can go on. We can have the courage to not give up.

When I am nearing my limit to what I can bear, my faith reminds me that I have hope.

Let us look at another definition of hope.”In the Bible hope is the confident expectation of what God has promised and its strength is in His faithfulness.” 2

I realized that I cannot have hope without faith. I am a person of hope, but really, I am a person of faith. The hope comes from knowing and having faith in Jesus as my Savior.

For me, and maybe you too, life continues to be messy, unpredictable and hard… however, it is also joyful, rewarding and oh so worth it! All because of our confident expectation of what God has promised and the proof is in His character of faithfulness.

He is who He says He is and He will do what He says He will do. He gives us faith and faith gives us hope. If your hope hinges on faith in God, you hope is not in vain.

Find me on YouTube.com Tami Bemis Cole

1 & 2 Reference: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ Christian Hope Chapter 1 October 1952

Guidance

Have you ever come to a place in your life where you did not know what to do, what action to take, or what direction to follow? Voices demanding a response from many directions. Perhaps you are there today? Caught in the grip of fear, sadness, disillusionment or maybe even anger. Our emotions are so complicated.

Oh, if we could just have some true guidance from Someone who has our best interest at heart.

I have Good News! You and I have a Father in Heaven. If you and I profess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior…you and I are a child of The God Most High!

This is what God promises in Psalm 32:8 (NASB)

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.”

God, your Father, will instruct you, guide you, teach in the way you should go and as He instructs, guides, and teaches…He is watching with the loving eyes of a father. To get us back on track when we fall or when we fail or even when we are tripped up by another. No condemnation from God, just a lift back onto the RIGHT path, the BEST path for each of us. The path to LIFE.

How encouraging! I pray for you right now…Dear Lord…that whatever you are facing, that you, His precious child will feel Your Father’s love.

Open His Word and bask in the beauty of His Glorious Presence and drink in His love. He will give you direction on what to do next!

You can find me on YouTube Tami Bemis Cole

Words

Words, once spoken (or written) can not be taken back. We must be very careful what we say. Are they harming or hurting? Building up or tearing down?

Proverbs 16:24 (NIV) says,

“GRACIOUS WORDS ARE A HONEYCOMB, SWEET TO THE SOUL AND HEALING TO THE BONES”

What a beautiful verse! My words and your words should be sweet like honey to the soul of those we are talking to, pouring into them a healthy dose of inspiration, mercy and compassion. It is like a healing emotional balm right into the very bones of a person. Soothing, uplifting, building up, nourishing. That is what I want to be remembered for.

A difference of opinion with someone does NOT give us the right to attack their character. It is even more critical, I think to those who don’t see as we see. We do not know what is going on in their lives or what is in their heart. God says He is the Only One who knows the heart. Who are we to judge?.

“… For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV)

We all live in this world together. Let’s us choose kindness. Let us not attack a person who sees things differently. Let us agree to disagree.

The real enemy, the prince of darkness, Satan delights in strife and division. Petty arguments steal our time from more pressing matters, like showing the light of Jesus to a dark and hurting world.

This is my prayer for myself, from Psalm 19:14 NASB,
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.”

Check out my YouTube channel Tami Bemis Cole

How Can We Save Our Country Part 2

God says in Joshua 1:5, “…I will not leave you nor forsake you.” He was talking to His people, to those who believe in Him, call him their LORD and follow His ways. Those of the “world” are on their own unless they accept what Jesus did to pay for their sin, repent and turn to God.

If Jesus Christ is not your LORD and Savior, then you are not operating under the Guidance and Truth of the Holy Spirit. You are under the influence of another spirit. The spirit of darkness that is permeating, confusing and polluting the minds of people and destroying our land by pitting us against each other. Like I said in part 1, we are NOT each other’s enemies.

Sat this next sentence out loud. We are not enemies of each other. The enemy is invisible… although as believers, we can smell the stench of him and his evil entourage. The enemy is Satan. He is a formidable foe to us, HOWEVER by the POWER of JESUS CHRIST, the enemy is DEFEATED. We have the power of Jesus within us. Resurrection POWER!

“And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places]” Ephesians 1:19-20 (AMPC)

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4 NKJV

This battle is of a momentous proportion and cannot be fought in our human strength. We NEED JESUS, we NEED the HOLY SPIRIT!

God said, He will not leave us, but I do you think He has turned His eyes away from the sinful, disobedient mass we have become.

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers , against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual host of wickedness in heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 NKJV

We have the armor to not only protect us but to give us the strength, endurance and wisdom to fight and to know what to do.

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the LORD and in the power of His might.” Ephesians 6:10

We have the armor to do our part in this battle, but we have to put it on and know what each piece does. Read Ephesians 6:10-18 to know the full gear available to believers!

Suit up my friends, be strong in the LORD, He has not left us to battle alone or unprotected. Victory is in the POWER of HIS MIGHT.

We cannot be gathered with more than 10 people, but we can protest with up to 100. Come on people. We need to WAKE UP!

I will be the first person to say that I have been a lukewarm Christina. I liked the comfy seat at church. Loved Jesus and proclaimed His name when it was convenient to me. When I got push back, I went silent. I am ashamed of myself and my inaction.

I know that one day the final battle will take place and I will be gone before that happens, thank You JESUS!

I am concerned right now for the path this country seems to be heading down. It is a path of destruction. I am concerned for my children and grandchildren, my nephews & nieces. I am concerned for you and your children and grandchildren, those who are just getting started with life, new babies and generations to come.

What will America look like to them if I remain silent?

If you remain silent? Good question.

Squirrel Story

To set the stage…7:30 a.m. Starting today, I have the privilege of watching my grand babies, a 17 month old grandson and a 3 month old granddaughter…as our daughter-in-law Colleen went back to work.

It would be this morning, of all the days that have gone before…This morning that it happened. I was just 1 minute from my house. Two squirrels playing and chasing each other, as I was right there upon them…they run from the safety of side of the road to…directly in front of me. Oh course I hit my brakes, but not so much as to upset my precious cargo in the back seat of my car. There was not much else for me to do as they ran under my car.

One of them crossed to safety and I heard that sickening thud of something hitting under my car. I looked in my rear view mirror and sure enough, one was lying in the road. I didn’t know the extent of the damage, so I pulled into my driveway and turned around. Maybe he was okay and maybe he wasn’t still lying in the road. Maybe he got up and ran away, in the span of 2 minutes. My heart was beating so fast as tears streamed down my face, thinking what I had done.

Now if you know me, you know that I am the type of girl that catches hornets, bugs, and spiders that have gotten into houses (and even one time at church) and let’s them go to be free outside. I would never do any harm. Why did these silly squirrels have to run out in front of me?!

I came back upon the scene of the accident and there he (or she) was, lying in the road. I pulled over into a safe spot. Remember, I have my grand babies with me and their safety is my priority.

The least I could do for this squirrel was get him out of the road. You can imagine my surprise and joy when I could see he was moving. But he could still be minutes away from death if he was hurt badly.

By the Grace of God, there was no traffic, so I got out of my car, still standing on the side of the road.

I walked closer and he was moving!

Getting even closer, I look down and this little guy is looking up at me, trying to sit up, turning his head. He most likely bumped his head as he jumped under my car. I had to get him out of the way of more harm in the oncoming traffic.

I just happened to have a clean, heavy blanket on the front seat of my car. I scooped him up into the blanket and held him in my lap as I made the one minute drive back to my house.

I knew I had a dog crate in my garage. I pulled up close to the garage, so I could keep and eye on my grand babies while I checked out the injuries on the squirrel.

Now you may think I am crazy, but just ask my husband, Michael about my nature loving, creature saving, tender heart, and how I save everything! And many of you will understand. I was on my knees, praying and crying for God to save this beautiful creation. I opened the wire cage and gently laid him on the floor of the crate. He was dazed and just looked at me. While he was quiet and recovering, I quickly & carefully checked his head, back and feet for signs of damage. He had some blood on one of his hind leg from a scrap, but otherwise looked okay. Could it be?!

I put a few sunflower seeds in the cage, closed the door and let him be. I brought my grandson & granddaughter in the house and got them settled. When they were napping, I would quickly sneak outside and see how Mr. Squirrel was doing.

Around 11:15, while the little ones were napping. I cautiously looked in on my new friend. He was sitting up , peering at me and probalbly wondering what happened.

I pulled on the cage and he started jumping around. He seemed good to let go. I pulled the cage outside and he continued to jump around. I got him near the woods and opened the door. Out he bolted, ran across our lawn and into a grove of maple trees and headed toward his home.

What an experience! It could have ended in a very different way. I give praise to God that it had a happy ending. I know to some this was “just a squirrel”, but to me, he is a beautiful creation of God’s…if I had been the cause of his death, I would have been heart broken. I am thankful for all that God has created. Life is so precious and can be changed in an instant. Thanks be to God for saving him. I shall not forget this day.

His tail was a little scruffy but otherwise ready to be released!

Check out my YouTube videos Tami Bemis Cole too!

Stubborn Weeds

It was a beautiful mid spring day in New Hampshire, a totally different atmosphere from the snow of just a week ago. I was itching to get to my flower beds as it looked like weeds were taking over. I got my gloves and pruning shears and started to work.

On my hands and knees, I began pulling up plants and grasses that I did not want in my garden. Some came out with very little effort, while others I struggled to remove.

Smaller vine that is everywhere in my yard!

One vine in particular gave me a lot of grief. It seemed the more I pulled on it, the harder it held on and the root system went several inches under the soil and ran in more than one direction.

As I continued to pull, I noticed the vine had several off-shoots that I was eliminating as I pulled on this main root.

I’m not sure if the vine is bittersweet or Japanese hops, but I do know that it grows over everything, creating a barrier so sunlight cannot get through to the plants trying to grow in its’ shadow. It intertwines with other plants, climbing up their branches, and choking the life out of them.

After several hours, I had removed most of the plants I did not want to grow. I was amazed at how that one main vine looked like individual plants, but the root system underneath was actually attached to many plants growing on the surface.

Sin in our life is like that, a thought or group of thoughts within us that leads us to say or do things contrary to God and His Word. Groups of thoughts or behavior that stem from one main sin. They may look like it is only one “problem” area, but others are attached to it. We think they are helping us grow, but they are strangling us.

Choking out other plants as it entangles and grows over them

I think of how God must feel when He is pulling the roots out of the sins I am carrying, thoughts about myself & feelings that I don’t want to let go of.

I am sometimes uncomfortable when God is pulling the weeds out of my heart. I think I need them, and what harm can a little weed here or there do?

They are strangling the Kingdom fruit He wants to produce in and through my life.

Some of the roots of continued sin in our lives can be very deep, similar to the vine I was describing.

Let’s look at pride as an example. The dictionary definition of pride is “a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.”

“The Bible defines pride as arrogance, haughtiness and conceit. Pride emphasizes self over others, and it rejects God’s greatness. It leads to destruction.

Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride leads to destruction and arrogance to downfall.”

Pride is a big “weed” with deep roots that sprawl across our lives and grow other weeds on the surface. It is hard to uproot and does not like to be disturbed or pulled out. If we are to walk in the ways of Jesus, pride has to go and take along with it, the off -shoots that hide within its root system.

What other weeds grow along or stem from pride, you may ask? How about lack of empathy or indifference, wanting control or manipulating others, stubbornness (just like those weeds I was trying to pull out) and defiance, to name a few.

When God starts His “weeding” process, it can be quite painful. sometimes when He starts with one sin, He pulls out others that grow from it. But it is worth it, He is shaping us to be like Jesus, our perfect example.

When I was done with my weeding, my plants were standing tall, unencumbered, and free from the life-choking tentacles that were killing them. Just like you and I, as God continues to weed away our sin, we can be free to grow as He leads, and bear fruit.