First blog post for Inspire Christian Writers

I'm excited and nervous! Today, Inspire Christian Writers posted my blog entry. The only other times I remember being this nervous was when I taught teachers' workshops ...I've done that twice, and there is something unnerving about teaching others in your profession about your profession.

I'm finding that God is pushing me out of my comfort zone a lot lately. I kind of like comfortable! But there's not much growth or forward motion in "comfortable." I want to move forward in my writing career, and most of all, I want to follow God into whatever He has for my life. But sometimes that tests our faith and stretches our abilities.

We have to adopt a "Nike" attitude when it comes to times like this...Just do it! Waiting, hesitating, over-thinking, or giving into the anxiety simply cripples us. We have to take a deep breath and jump in with both feet. So, that's what I'm trying to do.

I've put more books on Amazon. I'm building my website, and I'm putting more of my writing "out there." I'm also doing more speaking engagements. As God opens doors, I just want to be obedient and walk through the ones He's leading me to. How about you? Are your comfort zone boundaries being tested? I bet they are if you're in a relationship with God. It's one of His specialties! With God all things are possible. I don't think He would have reminded us of that in Scripture if we weren't going to be facing situations we felt were impossible.

I had a good time writing the post, and I hope you enjoy reading it.

https://www.inspirewriters.com/a-recipe-for-success-in-writing-and-in-life/

Who Told You that You Were Naked?

“Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” Genesis 3:11, NLT

This verse was brought back to my attention today as I was reading a post on Facebook. When I read that verse, I don't hear a judgmental, angry God, but a simple question from a loving Father. Yes, He confronts the sin in the next sentence, but not with unneeded anger, and certainly, not with unwarranted judgement. 

Who told you that you were naked? - Both a natural result of disobeying God and the shame resulting from the lie of Satan. They realized they were naked because of the shame they felt. They had been naked all along, but not in shame and sin. 

We must learn that with God nothing is hidden. We are always, in that since, naked in His presence. He knows our thoughts and our hearts. He knows our desires and "secret" sins. He knows our anger and unforgiveness. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is hidden from Him.

And...yet...He still loves us! He still wants a relationship with us. 

Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat? - God simply confronts our sin. There is no need for anger most of the time. We are usually well-aware of our sin and choices to disobey. We are usually already heaping guilt upon ourselves. His Spirit simply comes and confronts our sin so that we can be cleansed. 

I think this is where I have trouble with what some believe. I believe God confronts sins or problems of any kind because He has the solution. I believe God offered forgiveness to Adam and Eve. We read in other verses later in Genesis that they acknowledge God regularly. They taught their children to make offerings to God. Why would they do these things if God simply cast them out of His kingdom and presence forever? I believe their faith and hope in God saved them just as it saves us. They lost the garden, and maybe they lost that daily walk with God in the garden too, but they didn't lose God. Just like Abraham's faith was counted to him as righteousness, I believe it was for them as well. Unrepentance would have kept them from God, but I believe after their little blame-fest when confronted that they repented. They accepted God's gracious gift of clothing and worshiped him outside the garden. They put their hope in a future Messiah who would take away the sins of the world.

I just needed to share that with you even though it is off point a little. 

So, back to where I was going with this...who told you that you were naked? You see that question carried more than just the fact that they were indeed naked...even with those sad little leaves attempting to cover themselves. They were still naked, ashamed, and hopeless. They had failed. They had disobeyed. They had done the only thing they'd been commanded not to do, and the consequences were eternal and far-reaching for all mankind. 

But Satan had added the lies and accusations to it: That the situation was hopeless, that they could and needed to hide from God, that they could not be reconciled to God, that they were now unlovable and useless to God's plan.

It's interesting that we read the conversation between Satan and Eve before they ate the fruit, but we don't need to read the conversation afterward because we are all too familiar with it! We know in our deepest hearts that Satan then turned on them and accused them. He told them they could no longer be loved by God. 

Satan still tells us this on a daily basis in one way or another. He's trying to get us to bite into the same fruit of hopelessness and despair. If he can get us to do that, then we won't run to the Father who can forgive and cover our sin. We won't trust in God but try to sew leaves together to keep looking good to the world around us. We continue to live in fear that someone is going to find out the truth about who we really are and what we're really like. 

It's a trap. It's a lie. It's not what God wants for us. Living that way is living a lie! The truth will set us free! Let it!

Don't blame anyone else, just come to God and confess. Let Him cover your sin with His love and forgiveness. Let Him show you His ways, and let Him set you free from the shame and lies of the enemy.