Friday, August 24, 2012

God Thoughts No. Sixty Six


I had a funny little thought this morning;
a thought, I am sure, I have seen
written on a sign some where.

It was:
"The more I am around people,
the more I like my cat(s)" - 
HA!

Since one cat is
severely mischievous
and the other is
severely neurotic,
that doesn't say much about
 the human race!

Then I asked myself why I prefer my cat(s)
over people.
The answer was,
"Because you have suffered great injury by people."

Indeed, I have.

Then the Lord said,
"But the injuries you  have incurred from people
have driven you into a deeper relationship with me
and a deeper understanding of my Grace."

Indeed,
this is true.

While every day has the potential 
for injury from others,
the opportunities to go
deeper with God abound!

Taking a risk with people
is definitely worth
the blessings & benefits
of the One who created them!




Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Public Access


The more I learn of
and get to know 
Jesus,
the more I realize just how 
amazing
He is!

As I study 
&
re-read 
Scripture,
the more 
Truth
is revealed.

I look at 
The Ten Commandments
and realize that God gave those things
so that man would know how to live
lives that are pleasing to Him.

Yet, God, in His infinite wisdom,
knew that man could not keep
all of the commandments 
all of the time.

And, so,
Jesus
came, lived, died and lived again
so that every person has
DIRECT
access to God!

No longer bound by law,
but
FREE!

Free to have 
open,
public
access
to
HIM!

AMAZING
indeed!

What a good and gracious Father
He is!



Friday, August 10, 2012

Faith & Fear


Twice within this past week
I have driven past a 
local church marquee
that says,
"Feed your faith
and your fears will starve."

Both times Holy Spirit said,
"Fear is a choice."

As I thought about this further,
Holy Spirit reminded me that,
in Scripture,
we are told numerous times
NOT to fear
(worry, fret, be afraid, dismayed or concerned).

And truly,
since we are commanded
NOT to fear,
then obviously, 
we have a choice in the matter.

On-the-other-hand,
Faith, the Bible tells us,
is a gift;
another wonderful, gracious gift
freely given to us by Jesus.

And as with all gifts,
we choose either to use it
or cast it aside.

When we view these things;
Faith & fear,
in light of what they truly are,
we
see, once again,
clearly
just how simple God made it
for us to access all of the goodness
He intends for us.

Oh what a
Good
&
Gracious
Father He IS!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

When Nothing Makes Sense – Part 2

A few days before my grandmother passed away
(May 2003),
as I sat beside her bed,
she implored me,
“Please don’t move to Yerington.
You will have a lot of turmoil there.”

And in the next breath,
she conceded,
 “Ah. But you will move.
 You have to.”


 As I sat there a little taken aback,
 I didn’t know what to say.
So I didn’t say anything.

Eight months later,
we moved.

In Acts, chapter 21,
after the Apostle Paul
had decided to return to Jerusalem,
a man stepped forward and told him
that if he returned 
He would be imprisoned.

Paul went.
He was arrested.
He was eventually transported back to Rome
and remained a prisoner until his death;
all the while proclaiming
the Love of Christ to everyone he encountered.

God sees the whole picture of our lives.
We only see bits and pieces at a time.
Holy Spirit speaks,
we obey,
thus,
we walk by Faith
and not
by sight.
  
Two days ago,
My fourteen year old daughter said to me,
“Mom, if we hadn’t moved here,
we wouldn’t be in this (tumultuous) situation.
And if we had stayed
(in California),
we wouldn’t be where we are now,
~ Spiritually.
We had to come here.”


Smart girl.

Words & Wisdom


The more I listen to people,
the more I realize that few
actually listen to themselves.

Often, as I sit and listen
to others monologues,
I will hear them contradict
themselves numerous times.

I suppose what it really comes down to
is that people often fail 
to think before they speak.

Yet, on-the-other-hand,
I have had plenty of encounters
with people who do the opposite.

They will think before they speak;
going so far as to rehearse what they want to say.
This isn't an "all bad" thing
(I often do this myself),
yet, I have noticed that often,
there is a hidden agenda
behind their words;
 making sure that everyone knows
just what they think
without any interest in what anyone else thinks.

We all know that little cliche
that says, 
"We were given two ears and one mouth
so that we can listen twice as much
as we speak."
Yet, few actually put this into practice.

Much of what people speak
is driven by emotion without any thought
of  effect.

Now, I've certainly been guilty
of all of the above,
otherwise, I would have no room
to speak of it.

But as I have allowed God to reveal myself to me,
I have also allowed Holy Spirit to
show and teach me how to change.

In John 14 (vs 10),
Jesus says,
"The words that I speak to you
aren't mere words.
I don't just make them up
on my own.
The Father who resides in Me
crafts each word into
a divine act."

And we are told many times 
in the Bible that the tongue
is a mighty force,
wielding the power
of life & death.

Jesus' example reveals to us
the purpose of God;
which is to
give Life.

Further along in John 14,
Jesus tells us that because of Him,
we also have this same power and ability;
to speak Life and goodness over people.

However, the opposite is true as well.
If we choose NOT to allow
our words to cooperate with the purposes
of God,
then we allow them to cooperate with
the purposes of the evil one.

So, how do we know the difference?
Simple.
If our words are not
kind, loving, honorable, noble, uplifting, edifying, true -
- Good,
then they are not of God.

Holy Spirit has two things He does with me
when I have conversations with people.

The first is to quicken my pulse 
when He is prompting me to say something 
He wants them to hear.

The other thing is
to place His hand on my arm
when I am tempted to say something
that is better left unsaid.

By following these two little "checks",
I am able to rest in knowing that
my conversations have been pleasing to Him.

They key is
obedience.

I do this even with my blog posts.
Many writings have ended up in the garbage
as I allow Holy Spirit to choose 
what goes public.

Why?
Because 
I want to be like
Jesus!

As David said,
"May the words from my mouth
and the things in my heart
be acceptable in the sight of the Lord."

Indeed,
these are wise words 
to live by!

Sunday, August 5, 2012

One Thing Remains

It has been an interesting week.

A window was opened,
and then closed.

Others were involved,
so it was a bit sticky.

As I awoke this morning
(with a pounding headache),
Holy Spirit whispered,
"Give thanks to the Lord,
for He is good!
His faithful love endures forever."

Naturally, the song
which is based upon this Scripture
began playing in my head.

As I sat down with my cup of coffee
& my Bible,
Holy Spirit said,
"Psalm 107".

As I read the passage
certain verses stood out
and resounded within me.

"'Lord help!' they cried in their trouble
and He rescued them from their distress."
(verses 6, 13, 19, 28)
(Notice the repetition.)

And

"Let them praise the Lord for His great love
and for all His wonderful deeds
to them."
(verses 8, 15, 21, 31)
(Again, the repetition...)

And finally,

"Those who are wise
will take all of this
(the wondrous works of God)
to heart;
they will see the faithful love of the Lord."
(verse 43)

You see,
in and through all of life's
difficulties & challenges,
one thing remains;
the Lord IS good
&
His faithful love endures forever!

Hallelujah!




Wednesday, August 1, 2012

& Sacrifice


My immediate need has been met.
Mission accomplished.
As I trusted,
He provided.
Hallelujah!

His ways are  innumerable.
Yet, He so delights in
using His people to bless others.
As His children extend grace & generosity,
His nature is demonstrated.

Having been told by Him
to depend on no one but Him,
I am always amazed when others
act in obedience to the nudges of His Spirit.

Because, 
sometimes,
obedience
 IS
sacrifice.

Using resources to bless others,
without restrictions, limitations,
or expecting anything in return,
is a selfless act.

To hold on too tightly
to what we have is a common error
in our society.

All provision is a gift from Him,
regardless of the method
of obtainment.

To give freely 
is to
bless Him.

There are others in my life
who are facing difficult challenges as well.
Though I cannot provide for them
the way in which I have been provided for,
I give them what I do have to give;
words of life & encouragement,
prayers for provision & blessing.

I ask our Heavenly Father
to provide for them by whatever means
He chooses.

What a blessing it is
to be used by God
in whatever manner or capacity
He sees fit.

Never underestimate the power 
and blessing
of your sacrifice and obedience.

A willing
&
obedient heart
is never disappointed.
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