You provided meals, offered all sorts of help to us, prayed for me, and tried very hard not to laugh at my clumsiness.  I appreciate all of that.  I didn't expect it.  I don't necessarily deserve it.  But, I do appreciate it greatly.

As I thought how to thank you all, I was struck by an awareness that this is just what sisters in Christ do for each other.  I shouldn't have been surprised.  You are just acting according to the way you've grown up in the Lord.  You are demonstrating that grace we've been discussing in Sunday morning Bible Study!

See!  I'd recognize you anywhere!  You resemble Your Heavenly Father!

Thank You, Lord, for sisters in Christ who are ready to serve in Your Name.  Amen.

Here’s what happens.  The end of the splint protrudes past the end of my arm into the general area where my hand hits the keyboard.  All day, I have inadvertently hit keys that have sent me reeling into places I didn’t recognize and didn’t know how to get out of.

Funny thing how that mirrors life.  Trying to walk through life when I am not spiritually able-bodied is very much the same.  When I am not “prayed-up” or “read-up” on the Word, or out of fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ, I “hit the wrong keys” on life’s keyboard, too.  I find myself in places I didn’t mean to go and wonder how I got there.  It takes some serious soul-searching and work to get back to the right place. 

So, how do I keep from being a “one-armed wonder” on this journey through life?  I was uncertain of my footing in the choir room Sunday morning and found myself flat on my back looking up into the faces of concerned friends.  If I had been sure-footed and watched my step, it never would have happened. 

Ephesians 5:16-17 says  “So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!  Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.”  (The Message)

With all that said, I am one of the people who believes that the internet can be used to honor God and share the Gospel.  I see the potential to reach homebound people, folks in hospitals, shy people, and people on the other side of the world. I see the opportunity to keep in touch with college students in dorms, far-away friends, and adult children who have moved away to start families.  I see the harvest awaiting the workers who are few.

I do believe it is more difficult online to find uplifting material than to find porn.  I know that inappropriate pictures of women and men are hundreds of times more numberous than pictures of churches online.  I know that hate-filled blogs are more common than blogs that share the love of Christ for a lost world. It's kind of like going to church, if you go looking for the hypocrits, they are exactly who you will find.

It's because of the rampant evil online that I truly believe God is calling Christians to their keyboards. He's calling them to witness, testify, encourage, and inform others about the Truth, and He's calling them to do it online.  Yes, there may be some who yield to ready temptation when the seedy websites pop-up on the screen, but God is sitting right there with anyone on the computer just like He is with anyone sitting in a pew.

Jesus replied, "This is the work of God: that you believe in the One He has sent."
JOHN 6:29 (HCSB)

"In this passage, our Lord is asked: "What can we do to perform the works of God?" (v. 28). ...But the answer Jesus gave was: "This is the work of God: that you believe . . ."

I receive a few daily devotionals in my email and this one came to me yesterday.  The email goes on to discuss belief and God's fidelity.  I enjoyed reading the devotional and studying it.  As is usually the case, God had a personal lesson in it for me as well.  The lesson wasn't written out in the email. It was in my heart as I read. 

I started thinking back to the time before I was saved.  I knew even then that God's promises were real and I believed that the Holy Bible was the Word of God.  I had some knowledge of the words that were written there and the promises that He had given to the world. I just wasn't saved and, as a lost person, I didn't believe that those promises had anything to do with me.  Now, my life is completely different.  I know those promises are for me.  They have everything to do with me and with my son. 

So what's the difference in my life of four years ago and my life now? 

The difference has nothing to do with a change in the words written in the Bible. Much to the contrary, God's Word never changes. It is eternal and has always been the same. The difference has everything to do with the change in me because I am saved. I am saved because I believe in Jesus and through that belief, I have a personal relationship with God. It was all the work of God - just like the Scripture says.  There is nothing I did different other than accept the gift of salvation that God had offered to me on a daily basis for the first 40 years of my life. 

Now, I'll never understand why more people don't let down their guard just for a second and accept God's gift.  Back then, nothing could have been farther down my "To Do" list.   It will always amaze me that the one time I truly opened my heart, God was right there with me and saved me.

I didn't have to track Him down and beg Him to forgive me.  He graciously wiped away my sins and took me in as His own the second I genuinely considered it.  I didn't have to hunt Him up or play phone tag for days. He was "Johnny on the spot" with salvation and overwhelmed me with His Love instanteously.  He didn't have me fill out an application or stand in line.  He swept me away on a sea of Forgiveness and Grace as soon as I cracked open the door for Him. 

I'll never understand how He knew that moment would come when it did.  Honestly, I didn't see it coming. I'll also never understand how He knows when those moments will come with everyone.  I'm always in awe of His Perfection.  Every time anyone anywhere in the world breathes His name, needs His Help, thanks Him or looks for Him - He's there, right there.  He always has been and always will be - from the very beginning to the very end.  Thankfully, it's not ever anything we do that saves us.  It's always the work of God.