DON'T WIND UP LIKE THE SPOTTED LANTERNFLY

This summer we have had a serious infestation of spotted lanternflies in my neck of the woods, and the plague is not yet over.

At first it was just one interesting looking bug sitting on a leaf on a plant on my balcony. It must not have liked it much though, because after I flicked it off, I never saw another one on any of the outdoor plants. They do however enjoy walking around and around the floor of the balcony and the table the plants are on.

They have also swarmed my windows.

At first it was just a few of them walking up the outside of the screens, but the few turned into hordes of them in the corners and all across the glass.

Despite how careful I have been not to open my windows, and to make sure I quickly close the screen door behind me when I go out to water my plants, a couple of them have found their way into my apartment.

They are actually quite pretty, and I need to constantly remind myself of how destructive they are, and not be deceived by appearances.

I still can't bring myself to stomp on them, but I do scoop the ones that manage to get inside up in a piece of tissue and flush them down the toilet.

The other day I saw one get caught in a spider web, and felt overwhelmed by sadness as I watched it try to escape. And I know that what I am about to write next is probably a real stretch, but I thought about how even though God does not want anyone to perish, but for everyone to repent and receive the gift of salvation Jesus purchased for us on the cross (2 Peter 3:9), He will not impose His will on us or force us to accept it. The choice is ours.

In the case of the lanternfly, I'm sure it was oblivious to the trap it was about to walk into. It was just going on its merry way, not realizing there was any danger ahead, as would be the case if you were headed towards a cavernous hole in the sidewalk hidden from view, unless someone warned you about it or yanked you aside.

So that is what I am doing now. If you have not yet received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I am begging you not to be deceived as I once was, into thinking that there are many paths to God, or that we get to Heaven by our good works.

Regardless of what anyone else may have told you, or what your intellect tries to convince you of, or how foolish you feel the message sounds, please, please don't ignore it. Please don't let pride stand in your way.

The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," and in Romans 6:23, that "the wages of sin is death." Because of Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden, a vast gulf separates us from our Heavenly Father, and there is no way we can cross it through our own efforts. Only one path can lead us across the bridge to eternal life, and that is Jesus, who is "The way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through [Him]" (John 14:6).

Jesus stands at the door of your heart knocking and waiting for you to answer and let Him in (Revelation 3:20). I pray that you would open the door before it is too late.

PRESERVE

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--PRESERVE

Five minutes to free-write about it

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This image came up in my Facebook memories the other day and I thought of it with a pang of sadness when I saw this week's prompt. 

9/11/2001 was an evil day in the history of our country, and there are many memorials to preserve the memory of it, lest we forget. But I can't think of any erected to preserve the memory of 9/12, when for a brief time people put aside their differences and came together, and many even turned to God.

From the very beginning, God called us to use visual aids to help us remember. The Israelites, for instance, regularly preserved memories of His miraculous works by erecting altars of remembrance, as in Joshua 4 when the Lord had them erect a pillar of 12 stacked stones taken from the middle of the Jordan River in remembrance of how He parted its waters to enable them to cross over on dry land. 

Without something to trigger our memory, we tend to forget the good things and focus on what is wrong. We forget who God is and what He has done. 

Reminders of God's mercy, grace, and faithfulness can lift us up and encourage us on dark days and preserve us from the danger of forgetfulness , which leaves us vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy and opens the door to fear and doubt.

Today we take communion in remembrance of what Jesus did for us on the cross. We can also preserve memories through journaling, pictures, and keeping a written record of the ways He has worked in our lives. We also have His Word to use as our guide, and I preserve memories in it as well by writing dates next to the promises I've seen fulfilled.

SUNDAY SELECTIONS - 1

Elephant's Child is hosting a link-up called Sunday Selections where we can post unused photos languishing in our archives. I have so many, I'd love to participate.

It involves posting the photos under the header, Sunday Selections, and linking back to her. My problem is that I don't know how to do that unless there's an actual linky to click on. Can anyone reading this tell me how to do it? 

This week's theme is Spring.