Bloggers International Friendship Award

Valerie Cullers 44 Comments

This May, I will have been blogging for two years…yes, my Second Blogiversary is at hand! I have really enjoyed blogging the last two years and consider the people I have met to be one of my greatest joys.

I have enjoyed reading your blogs, hearing your heart on a myriad of matters and getting to know your joys and struggles. I have been enriched by my association with all of you. In total, I have connected with people from over sixty countries, and by far, I am the richer for it.

In honor of each and every one of you, I am creating the Bloggers International Friendship Award. This Award is to be given to one person whom you have connected with from another country who has enriched your life, and you truly consider this person a friend. Mine will be awarded annually…you may award yours as you please!

earth-1617121_640                                                 BLOGGERS INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP AWARD

My pick this year is Kavita and her Sunshiny SA blog. Kavita is a true social justice warrior, and I have greatly benefited from knowing her. She shares much about life in South Africa, including its history, geography, wildlife, cities, and the social issues that people in her culture are dealing with. Today, I salute you Kavita, and present you with this Bloggers International Friendship Award. May you continue to blog for years to come!

The god of Self

Valerie Cullers 25 Comments

pexels-photo-731695.jpeg

A few times a year, I like to go on a fast. The fast could be for several days or several weeks. I fast various things: food, tea, chocolate, television, you name it, it might be in there. This year, before Easter, I decided to fast for several weeks. A few things I usually notice when I fast became more prominent this year.

For starters, fasting sometimes can be compared to dieting psychologically. You don’t really think you are that attached to something in your life, and then Boom! You tell yourself you are going to go without it, and it seems to be the only thing that you really want. This phenomenon usually goes along with fasting.

The first thing I noticed was that I indulge myself. If I want a cup of tea, I make it. If I want a cookie, I eat it. If I want to watch a television program, I turn on the TV and watch it. I don’t normally think of it as Self-indulgence, but when I stop doing it, my Self is not happy.

My Self wants to be catered to. It wants what it wants, and it wants it now. It doesn’t like to be told “No.” It wants to be a little god and sit on the throne of my life, calling all of the shots. It is strong and it is powerful and it is not easily dissuaded. If I want to kick it off the throne, it is going to take some deliberate effort and some discipline.

When I fast, I fast for different reasons. It could be to get God’s attention on a subject or it could be to get a prayer answered. This year, I wanted to draw closer to the Lord. That sounds like something positive to do, but my Self, the carnal part of my nature, doesn’t like it. It wants to be in charge of my life, and it doesn’t want to give an inch. This battle can go on daily and even hourly when I fast. 

I have never been successful on a fast in my own strength. The only way I have managed to give up something for a while is that I was able to do it in the strength the Lord gave me. When He was in charge, i.e., sitting on the throne of my life, I was able to continue the fast. I was able to put Self in its proper place.

The biggest takeaway I learned this year was that this god of Self is real. If I don’t want Self to be in charge of my life, I am going to have to quit indulging it so much. I am going to have to be aware of it daily and make an intentional decision to not allow it to call all of the shots in my life. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.”

The ultimate question for me is, “Which god will I follow…the god of Self or the God I want to follow, the Lord Jesus Christ?” 

He is Risen!

Valerie Cullers 32 Comments

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“And Behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became as dead men. 

But the angel answered and said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen.”  Matthew 28:  2-6

Drama

Valerie Cullers 40 Comments

71o0W6ZZf-L._AC_UL436_[1]                                                                                            The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci

Most of us like a bit of drama…without it, life becomes boring. There is drama all around us, most of which comes in the form of emotional outbursts used to get our attention. But if you like drama, you will love the real, actual drama that took place the night of the last supper. 

Jesus gathered his disciples around Him and instituted a New Covenant.  He took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, saying, “This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” He then took a cup of wine, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood which is shed for you.” Christians around the world continue to repeat this ceremony when they celebrate the Sacrament of Communion. 

Immediately after this, Jesus spoke these shocking words, “My betrayer is with me at the table.” This is drama indeed. One of His twelve disciples, who had walked with Him for three and a half years, would betray Him. This is the scene depicted in Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting, “The Last Supper.” The Scripture says, “Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.” 

Judas Iscariot is the villain in this scene. We know it because we have read the rest of the story. We look down on him and feel self-righteous. Peter also felt self-righteous when Jesus told him that he would be tested. He told Jesus he was ready to go to prison and even die for Him. Jesus told him that he would deny him three times before the cock crowed the next morning.

When we look at this painting or read this story in the gospels, we should not feel so self-righteous. We are all guilty of betraying the Lord and denying Him. Every time we harbor hatred in our hearts, we are betraying him and everything He stood for. Every time we choose the world over Christ, we are denying Him. When we examine ourselves, we find that we are guilty, too. We realize how far short we have fallen in following Christ.

You want drama…real drama? We should put ourselves in the scene and realize our own shortcomings. That should engage us emotionally and enhance the drama of the scene that was enacted two thousand years ago. 

The Crux of Christianity

Valerie Cullers 23 Comments

christ-of-saint-john-of-the-cross[1]                                                                                 Painting by Salvador Dali.

Today begins Holy Week, the most sacred week in Christianity, the week that Christians remember the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. So what is Christianity about, what do Christians believe?

1. Christians believe that man is lost in sin. He cannot by his own merits enter heaven when he dies. (For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23)

2. God in his mercy sent his son, Jesus, to die on the cross for us and pay the penalty for our sin. (For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16)

3. That if we come to God and confess our sins, He will forgive them. (If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9)

4. That we must be born again. (Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3)

5. We must ask God for this new life and that He will give us the gift of His Holy Spirit. (And Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins ;and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”)

6. It is a free gift for all who will ask Him. (For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9)

This week, especially, we think of Jesus and we meditate on the price He paid for our sins. We are thankful for what He did for us and that is why Friday is called Good Friday; his death on the cross was good for the world. Sunday, the day known as Easter Sunday, is the day He rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples. We can live in victory and hope because of his victory over death, hell and the grave. This is the crux of Christianity.

May you all have a blessed Holy Week!

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

Valerie Cullers 34 Comments

wolf-in-sheeps-clothing-2577813_640Courtesy of SarahPickertArt.

Have you ever seen a wolf in sheep’s clothing? If you have, you know that when you first see one something seems “off,” something is not quite right. Initially, it is hard to identify what it is, but sooner or later, you are able to put your finger on it.

Not a week goes by that we don’t read in the news of a wolf that has taken advantage of a sheep, someone more innocent and unsuspecting than they are. It could be that the wolf is a parent, relative, pastor, priest, teacher, coach or boss. The wolf has one goal in mind, and that is to take advantage of an unsuspecting individual.

Young people must be taught to be on the lookout for wolves. Parents must also recognize the signs and signals these wolves give off in order to take advantage of their prey. Here are a few signs that I have seen:

1. Overly Friendly – the wolf is usually overly friendly with the child or teenager. He or she wants to be the young person’s “friend.” It should strike us as odd that an adult would want or need a younger person as a close personal friend.

2. Gift Giving – the wolf will use gifts to lure the young person into their sphere and will continue to lavish gifts on them and their family to keep them there. As adults, we must not be taken in by this materialistic hook that is used to hold our children captive in an unhealthy relationship.

3. Flattery – the wolf will use flattery on the adult to disarm their sense of danger and allow them to have access to the young person they are interested in.

4. Trips and Travel – the wolf will want to get the young person off away from their parents and will offer to take them on special trips or travel with them to out-of-town destinations to be alone with them for several hours or overnight.

Sometimes we don’t recognize the wolf until it is too late, and they have damaged our child. We look back and we see the signs and signals that we didn’t pay attention to, and we regret that we were not more aware at the time. We may also have turned off our warning system because of one of the ploys the wolf was using to distract us from the natural sense of danger we have when we were around the wolf.

Jesus Himself gave us some good advice regarding wolves in sheep’s clothing. It would be good to listen to it and think about it the next time we are tempted to be seduced by a wolf:

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. THEREFORE, BY THEIR FRUITS YOU WILL KNOW THEM.” Matthew 7: 15-20

If we suspect that our children have been seduced by a wolf into an unhealthy relationship, what can we do? The first thing we must do is Talk to our children. We must get them talking and tell us what is really going on in the relationship. We need to provide an atmosphere of safety and security for them to open up and trust us with what is happening to them.

Next, we must Pull Back. It is never too late to pull back from this kind of relationship. We must use whatever means necessary to break off the relationship with the wolf. We must hold a hard line and not allow our children to have further contact with the wolf.

Finally, we must Tell Someone. If the wolf has violated our child sexually, we must alert the authorities about what has happened. It will do no good to protect the wolf from the legal consequences of his or her actions. If we do, the wolf will just go off and find another unsuspecting sheep to lure into a relationship with them.

Wolves in sheep’s clothing…they are everywhere. Let’s be on the lookout for them and not allow ourselves or our children to become their next prey.