Short legged cows?

I can be bribed. Pretty easily in fact. It has not happened often, someone bribing me that is, but yes, I can be bought. Paid off. Bribed. Persuaded. If my husband wanted to buy something for himself that he did not necessarily "need", he could buy me off with a shopping trip or flowers, or much easier, dessert. (No joke, I just checked my email after I wrote this and he sent me a link to something he needs me to order for him. Folks, I can't make this stuff up. He better get me flowers. Or chocolate. Or both.)He knows how to persuade me, that rascal! Now I don't make this public knowledge, on account of me being labeled an easy target and what not, but if you want something, just throw a cake my way and it's about as good as done. I can be persuaded.

And so can you.

We all come to different crossroads in our lives that cause us to throw the towel down on one side or the other. What do we believe and why? How far are we willing to go to defend that belief? How do I raise my kids? What kind of marriage will I have? Where will I spend my money? What will I take a stand for?

Persuaded. What will persuade me? What will persuade you?

Persuaded defined is: "to cause someone to believe in something."

I can be gullible. I remember a time when I was driving through England with my Aunt and Uncle and I took notice of the cows on the vast hillside. I recall being amazed at how they stood so well on a sloping hill! My Uncle told me that those particular cows were born with shorter legs on one side so as to stand without falling on the slant. I believed him. No really, I did. What's wrong with me you ask? I don't know. I guess I take the whole "blonde" thing a tad too far but yes, I have been persuaded to believe some pretty bizarre things over the years! What can I say, I want to believe people! Luckily I've gotten a little wiser in my, ahem, old age, but if your counting, I'm easily bribed AND gullible.

In the book of Acts Paul is sharing with some folks about Jesus. Acts 28:24 says some extremely powerful words, "And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved."

When I hear people speak about Jesus, it's not hard for me to be persuaded. I love Him. He has done so much in my life. It sounds cliche to say that so simply but it's true. I'm so so so so persuaded that He loves me. The Holy Spirit moves upon my heart so often when I hear preaching, or when I'm reading His Word or a great Christian book, or when worship music plays, or when I'm having a God centered conversation, my heart just leaps with persuasion!

But some disbelieved. Why? Why did they not believe? Were they too hardened by the things of this world that anything so great and so good and yet so simple was something unfathomable? Oh it's not. It's so so real.

You first have to be persuaded that He loves you. That you are the most precious, most valuable, most prized creation there ever was. That He loves you with a ridiculous kind of love. That He longs to just be with you, to hang out with you, to walk with you. Persuasion must start there.

And from there, you have to know that He delights to get you the desires of your heart. It's in Psalms 37:4, He absolutely wants to get you what you need and what you desire. Be persuaded in that.

Then, one of my absolute favorite verses that I first memorized in Bible College is found in Romans. It's a scripture about the faith of Abraham, who, being very much up there in age was not about to give up on a promise that God had made him. It says in Romans 4:20-21 20 "Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised."

That's where we need to land as believers in Christ, persuaded. FULLY persuaded in fact. That there may be no shadow of a doubt in our minds that absolutely God has the power to do what He has promised. Hmmm. Think about that for a moment: "fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He had promised." It does not say, "God will do what He promised." But it says, "God has the power to do what He had promised."

Your dream may not come to pass when you want it to. Your hearts desire may be on hold, for whatever reason, but the moment you move your peg away from the persuaded, you then lie in a scary and dangerous place, on the side that disbelieves. God has the power to do what He has promised you. That does not necessarily mean that the promise will look like what you think it will look like. God does not operate according to what we think it should be, He moves according to His will. Remember the scripture in Isaiah that says, "God's ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts." We can't hold fast to the Promise, we have to hold fast to the Power. And that power is Jesus. That's the connection, that's the source. We have to be fully persuaded that God has the power to do all that He says He will do! End of story. Our focus cannot lie on the promise. If we are "promise focused," what will we do when the promise tarries? What will we do when we don't see the answer in sight? What will we do when our road seems to be going backwards, farther away from the promise? I'll tell you what we will do, we will doubt. We will not believe. We will no longer be persuaded.

But if we stay on the side that says come hell or high water, I AM GOING TO BELIEVE GOD NO MATTER WHAT BECAUSE HE HAS POWER TO DO ALL HE SAYS HE WOULD DO, then we stay fully persuaded and can't nothing, NO-thing, no body, no issue, no setback, no pause in life, no worry, NOTHING can separate us from the love of God that's in Christ Jesus because we are FULLY PERSUADED!!!

I may be easily bribed, and yes, I may be gullible at times, but one thing is for sure, I know what side of the road I stand on. I'm fully persuaded. How about you?

Now excuse me while I go order my husband some random thing he needs. I mean wants. And perhaps I'll order myself my own little bribe while I'm at it. After all, I'm fully persuaded.