Can Time Be Redeemed?

by Barbara Latta @barbaralatta

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15–16 NKJV)

How many of us have looked back through the years and wished our lives had been different in some way? Probably all of us.

What do you think Ephesians 5:15–16 means? We can’t go back and live the past again. Time can’t be placed in a piggy bank and saved like money. Hours can’t be earned like our salary.

Minutes are not retrievable like lost coins. Time passes and disappears. Because of this we can look back and feel guilt and shame over unproductive days or wrongs we have done.

Can time be redeemed?

What can the mistakes of Israel's kings teach us?

by Barbara Latta

Mistakes of Israel's kings

The Old Testament provides us with multitudes of instances where Israel fell into idol worship. What can the mistakes of Israel’s kings teach us? lf we will read their history with open eyes we can be illuminated by their examples and our lives can benefit from these lessons.

Why was their history given to us? Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come (1 Corinthians 10:11).

Saul lost his kingdom because of disobedience. He took it upon himself to offer a sacrifice that only the priests were allowed to do. He decided what to do rather than listening to the Lord.

What should we learn?

5 Ways to be Deeply Rooted in the Love of God

by Barbara Latta

We celebrate Valentine’s Day with expressions of love. We give gifts, dinners, chocolate and flowers. But no matter what we do for each other, our love cannot compare to the love God shows to the world. He sent the valentine of heaven to us in the form of Jesus.

God doesn’t deal with us the way we deal with each other.  He doesn’t just display love, He is love. Love is His very being. He created the world because of love.

It’s not supposed to be hard, but our minds get in the way. Every time we mess up we think we need to run from God until we clean ourselves up and become worthy to approach His throne again. But if we could clean ourselves up, we wouldn’t need a Savior. The best place to be after committing sin is in the arms of the Father.

But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more (Romans 5:20b).

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12).

God’s unconditional love was shown to us while we were still dirty, rotten sinners (Romans 5:8). He showed the one and only kind of real love when he gave Jesus to us as a gift wrapped in a little baby to grow into the man who would have all the foul sin of the world placed upon him.

That was action, not emotion.

Because He loved us, we can love Him (I John 4:10). And because He loved us, we can love others. Not with a feeling, but with a showing, a doing, a becoming what He made us to be.

Here are 5 ways to to be deeply rooted in the love He has for us:

• Find the scriptures about God’s love and write them down.
• Meditate on these verses every day saying them out loud. 
• Make it personal by inserting our own name as they are read.
• No matter how we feel, it is important to believe the Word is true.  God doesn’t lie and when He says he loves us, it means he loves us. His love is not dependent upon our works. This is important to remember when emotions say otherwise.
• Stay in communication with Him. When we go days or weeks without praying or reading His Word, the culture we are surrounded with will take over. Listening to God should be our priority.

The Bible is full of favorite verses, but this one says so much:  For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come. Nor height, not depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39).

The valentine of heaven wasn’t a card sent through an angelic mailbox. It was blood running down a wooden cross to soak into the cursed earth. One drop would have been enough, but He used it all to show us He goes over and beyond and does much more than we need.  He paid the highest cost and we were given the freest gift.

What does this love mean to you? Join the conversation and share your thoughts.

The valentine of heaven wasn’t a card sent through anangelic mailbox (click to tweet)

5 ways to be deeply rooted in the love of God (click to tweet)

The horror of Roe v Wade

by Barbara Latta

Despite scientific evidence of life at conception, secular humanists, atheists and liberals continue the fight disguised as a women’s health care to promote abortion on demand.

The battle has gone so far now as to killing a full-term baby after birth if the mother decides she doesn’t want it. None of their other excuses have anything to do with women’s health, but how this latest act can be promoted as health care only exposes their power-hungry agenda and lack of respect for human life. This same group will push aggressively to protect eagle eggs, baby seals and whales from extinction but a human is relegated to tissue that can be discarded.

Since 1973, when the Supreme Court made abortion on demand legal, over 60 million abortions have been recorded. The worldwide data is over 1 BILLION since 1980. And the total is probably more as this is the recorded data. 

This is one of the most selfish acts a person can commit. Actress Alyssa Milano had two abortions because she stated she was not ready to be a parent and she had a future and a career. But there was no future for those two babies.

God tells us in His word, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you (Jeremiah 1:5a).

For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them (Psalm 139:14-16 NASB).

This is by no means a condemnation to those who have experienced abortion. God has extended forgiveness for all sin through Jesus Christ. It is up to us to receive that gift from Him. 

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12).

But it is a condemnation of the legislation, the fight to keep the law, and the lack of regard for humanity by those who are only concerned about their power and money. Ronald Reagan said, "I've  noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born." 

The anniversary of Roe v. Wade only brings us more aware of the horror we have allowed into our society. Because of the 60 million babies who have died in the United States alone, the effect they would have had on society is gone. Millions of teachers, preachers, parents, doctors, lawyers, politicians, business leaders, scientists and citizens don’t exist. And neither do the children they would have had.

May we continue the fight to protect life. For help in finding pro-life aid or defending the unborn here are a few resources:

National Right to Life https://www.nrlc.org/

National Institute of Family and Life Advocates https://nifla.org/

Silent No More https://www.silentnomoreawareness.org/Index.aspx

Join the conversation and share your thoughts.

The anniversary of Roe v. Wade only brings us more aware ofthe horror we have allowed into society (click to tweet)