Thursday, January 27, 2011
Faith
To live like Christ, you must live like a dead man....sounds weird? " I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Gal. 2:20-21. We must die daily to ourself. No matter if we mess up or not, God has promised that He will complete the work that He started in us.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Always Relief
Psa 5:12 "For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield."
We, as Christians, don't always have it easy from looking at the circumstances, but no matter what happens, Christ is always there, and He will shield us. We will never stay in the valley forever, and we need to always look to God and know that He is there with us and will see us through!
We, as Christians, don't always have it easy from looking at the circumstances, but no matter what happens, Christ is always there, and He will shield us. We will never stay in the valley forever, and we need to always look to God and know that He is there with us and will see us through!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
How Am I During The Storms??
The devotional today uses Psalm 57 and talks about praising God no matter what. God wants us to have that steadfast heart that will praise Him and glorify Him even when we don't want to or things are not going our way.
I am the worst about that. When things start going bad, sometimes I am just like "I don't want to talk to anyone....." and that eventually rubs off onto my relationship with God (mainly I think because I know he'll tell me my attitude, etc is wrong!).
Throughout the Psalm, it also talks about mercy and truth which tie in to what Rich is talking about - especially last night!
I am the worst about that. When things start going bad, sometimes I am just like "I don't want to talk to anyone....." and that eventually rubs off onto my relationship with God (mainly I think because I know he'll tell me my attitude, etc is wrong!).
Throughout the Psalm, it also talks about mercy and truth which tie in to what Rich is talking about - especially last night!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
What Goes On With Your Mouth
Proverbs 4:24 - "Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee."
A lot of times when I have thought of this verse, I have thought about language. Just a generalized language issue.....But, it's soooo much more than that! Froward means deceitful and perverse can be about anything from gossipping to bitterness to just down right meanness. The Proverbs are telling us to not only watch what words come out of our mouth but to watch HOW they come out HOW they are meant. If it can in any way hurt another, it shouldn't come out - even if that person is not around! A simple "see, I told you that would happen," could come out several different ways - we need to make sure it comes out loving and caring not "Haha I told you so!".
A lot of times when I have thought of this verse, I have thought about language. Just a generalized language issue.....But, it's soooo much more than that! Froward means deceitful and perverse can be about anything from gossipping to bitterness to just down right meanness. The Proverbs are telling us to not only watch what words come out of our mouth but to watch HOW they come out HOW they are meant. If it can in any way hurt another, it shouldn't come out - even if that person is not around! A simple "see, I told you that would happen," could come out several different ways - we need to make sure it comes out loving and caring not "Haha I told you so!".
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
When He Looks At Me
The team that is at our church this week includes Michael and Candace Wessburg. Well, last year when they were at our church, they gave us a CD of a group that Candace's brothers sing in. I keep hearing it on my Windows Media Player
Many times in my life, I have let God down
Sins that I committed, broke the bond that we once had
But when I asked forgiveness, He is faithful to forgive
And when He looks at me, it's as if I never sinned.
I don't deserve God's mercy that He shows His sinful child
And things that I'm ashamed of, He forgives and forgets
And each time when I fail Him, He takes me back with open arms
And when He looks at me, what He sees is His son (daughter :-) )
Now I take a moment and reflect upon my life
I see the love that God commendeth that broke the chains of sin away
It's all because of Calvary and His life He gave that day
And when He looks at me, PRAISE GOD HE SEES THE BLOOD!
I don't deserve God's mercy that He shows His sinful child
And things that I'm ashamed of, He forgives and forgets
And each time when I fail Him, He takes me back with open arms
And when He looks at me, what He sees is His son (daughter :-) )
And each time when I fail Him, He takes me back with open arms
And when He looks at me, what He sees is His son (daughter :-) )!
Where We Go
Proverbs 4:26 "Ponder the paths of thy feet and let all thy ways be established."
We should think about where we are going. EVEN if it doesn't seem reasonable, but we know God has said it, we should do it! We shouldn't try to "jump the gun" on getting to where we should be. For example, Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar. They concluded that the only "logical" way for Abraham to have the son God had promised was to go to Hagar, a younger woman, and have a child. They did have a child, but look where that child's lineage went! God did bless Sarah with a child also, which was the child He had promised. IN HIS TIME!
We must let all of the choices in our life be established by God!
We should think about where we are going. EVEN if it doesn't seem reasonable, but we know God has said it, we should do it! We shouldn't try to "jump the gun" on getting to where we should be. For example, Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar. They concluded that the only "logical" way for Abraham to have the son God had promised was to go to Hagar, a younger woman, and have a child. They did have a child, but look where that child's lineage went! God did bless Sarah with a child also, which was the child He had promised. IN HIS TIME!
We must let all of the choices in our life be established by God!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Where Your Eyes Look
Proverbs 4:25 "Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee."
A lot of times when I think of "keeping your eyes pure", I tend to think of men, not women, but that is not so! Even as women, there are many things that we could be looking at to keep our eyes not looking right on and not straight before us. The straight path is the one God wants us to take, but along the path are many many things that are appealing to our eyes. It could be a hobby. It could a TV show. It could be the kinds of books that leave us wishing for a better life than we have (and, yes, that can definitely apply to Christian fiction as well - been there!). Regardless of what our sight temptation is, we have to make sure that we follow God, and we follow Him diligently. A song I used to know goes something like this:
Keep in the middle of the road
Don't you look
To the left
Don't you look
To the right
Just keep in the middle of the road
A lot of times when I think of "keeping your eyes pure", I tend to think of men, not women, but that is not so! Even as women, there are many things that we could be looking at to keep our eyes not looking right on and not straight before us. The straight path is the one God wants us to take, but along the path are many many things that are appealing to our eyes. It could be a hobby. It could a TV show. It could be the kinds of books that leave us wishing for a better life than we have (and, yes, that can definitely apply to Christian fiction as well - been there!). Regardless of what our sight temptation is, we have to make sure that we follow God, and we follow Him diligently. A song I used to know goes something like this:
Keep in the middle of the road
Don't you look
To the left
Don't you look
To the right
Just keep in the middle of the road
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Our Hearts
Proverbs 4:20-23 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
God tells us that we are the keep wisdom in the midst of our hearts. He also tells us to keep our heart with ALL DILIGENCE. He doesn't just say, "Hey, make sure you watch over it". He says to "keep thy heart with ALL DILIGENCE for out of it are the issues of life". This is something He can't do for us. I should rephrase that.....He can, but He will not make us. Just like salvation. Yes, He could make us all follow Him, but He's not that way. He wants us to truly follow Him because we want to, not just because we're made to. And, He wants us to give Him our whole heart and take the steps to discipline ourselves to keep it guarded and safe, and not let our emotions rule us.
God tells us that we are the keep wisdom in the midst of our hearts. He also tells us to keep our heart with ALL DILIGENCE. He doesn't just say, "Hey, make sure you watch over it". He says to "keep thy heart with ALL DILIGENCE for out of it are the issues of life". This is something He can't do for us. I should rephrase that.....He can, but He will not make us. Just like salvation. Yes, He could make us all follow Him, but He's not that way. He wants us to truly follow Him because we want to, not just because we're made to. And, He wants us to give Him our whole heart and take the steps to discipline ourselves to keep it guarded and safe, and not let our emotions rule us.
Blinkies
Yes, I probably went overboard with the blinkies over there, but I liked them all :-) Sorry!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Having a Purpose
The Christian life is not one you will grow in if you just sit in a pew every Sunday, go home, put your Bible on the shelf, then live your week, only to do the same routine the following week. We will not get anywhere without digging in. How else are we going to ever begin to understand the heart of God and conform to be like Him? Certainly not just from someone speaking to us for an hour out of every 168 hours in our life!
We have to be diligent. We have to commit. We have to hear His Words and do something about it! He even gave an example of such which His parable about the seeds falling on the four different types of soils. Which were the ones that flourished and grew the most? The ones that were planted in the good soil and GOT PLENTY OF WATER AND SUN. We can be like the seeds that grew just a little but had their growth stunted because of not enough water and not enough sun, OR we can be like the seeds that got what they needed and grew to be beautiful and full of life.
We have to make sure to pull out our Bibles everyday (I like it in the morning because it starts me off. It reminds me of what direction I need to go in and what my focus needs to be for the day). We have to make sure we take time to pray everyday, and not just the "Lord, thank you for today. Help us to have a good day. Amen." Not that prayer. When I say prayer, I mean to really get specific. Let God know your heart. Tell Him. He knows it already, but He will not act upon it until we communicate with Him the deep deep things that we feel. Take time when you're praying to let Him speak back. Take that time to just "Be still" and let Him work on your heart and your soul and just give you that "full feeling". I don't know how to explain that "full feeling" but I feel like He's heard me and has filled me up with what I need as long as I keep Him in the forefront of my focus for that day, if that makes sense?
"God and His truth are to be treasured more than any other affection of our heart." -Chris Tiegreen
We have to be diligent. We have to commit. We have to hear His Words and do something about it! He even gave an example of such which His parable about the seeds falling on the four different types of soils. Which were the ones that flourished and grew the most? The ones that were planted in the good soil and GOT PLENTY OF WATER AND SUN. We can be like the seeds that grew just a little but had their growth stunted because of not enough water and not enough sun, OR we can be like the seeds that got what they needed and grew to be beautiful and full of life.
We have to make sure to pull out our Bibles everyday (I like it in the morning because it starts me off. It reminds me of what direction I need to go in and what my focus needs to be for the day). We have to make sure we take time to pray everyday, and not just the "Lord, thank you for today. Help us to have a good day. Amen." Not that prayer. When I say prayer, I mean to really get specific. Let God know your heart. Tell Him. He knows it already, but He will not act upon it until we communicate with Him the deep deep things that we feel. Take time when you're praying to let Him speak back. Take that time to just "Be still" and let Him work on your heart and your soul and just give you that "full feeling". I don't know how to explain that "full feeling" but I feel like He's heard me and has filled me up with what I need as long as I keep Him in the forefront of my focus for that day, if that makes sense?
"God and His truth are to be treasured more than any other affection of our heart." -Chris Tiegreen
Wonderful Message Last Night
In RU, we have 3 separate parts - the 2 "talk, talk, talk"'s. In the first talk, we talk to God through praise and testimony. In the second talk, we talk to each other through counsel time. And, in the 3rd talk, God talks to us through His Word and His man. Last night was absolutely wonderful and lightbulbish (not a word, but work with me here :-) ).
It was based upon realizing our new identity in Christ. "Nevertheless I live yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Galatians 2:21. He defined identity as "A set of characteristics (behavior) by which something is positively recognized." How wonderful it would be for people to look at me and see me, and just know that my identity was in Christ! But, it seems that often, my "old nature" rears its' VERY ugly head and lets my old identity shine through. That's what always confused me and baffled me. How can I, a Christian, be so awful when I am "supposed to act good"?
Then, last night it hit me: I have been trying to change the old nature! I wasn't always just going with the new nature. Does this make any sense? It's hard to convey what is in my mind sometimes!
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a NEW CREATURE; old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17. It doesn't just say "he has to work on himself to be like Christ." No, not at all! It says a NEW CREATURE! Old things (my old nature, my old ways, every awful and sinful thing about me) are passed away. It doesn't mean that it's easy. I still have to "die to myself daily", but now I have God in my heart also. While I can't do it, He can!
"Your identity is such that WHO you are in Christ determines HOW you behave." Not the other way around. It is not How you behave determines who you are, which is the way we make it a lot of the times. If a person lies, he is a liar, etc. No, with Christ, if we fully surrender and fully die to ourselves everyday, we will begin to behave as who we are.
It was based upon realizing our new identity in Christ. "Nevertheless I live yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Galatians 2:21. He defined identity as "A set of characteristics (behavior) by which something is positively recognized." How wonderful it would be for people to look at me and see me, and just know that my identity was in Christ! But, it seems that often, my "old nature" rears its' VERY ugly head and lets my old identity shine through. That's what always confused me and baffled me. How can I, a Christian, be so awful when I am "supposed to act good"?
Then, last night it hit me: I have been trying to change the old nature! I wasn't always just going with the new nature. Does this make any sense? It's hard to convey what is in my mind sometimes!
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a NEW CREATURE; old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17. It doesn't just say "he has to work on himself to be like Christ." No, not at all! It says a NEW CREATURE! Old things (my old nature, my old ways, every awful and sinful thing about me) are passed away. It doesn't mean that it's easy. I still have to "die to myself daily", but now I have God in my heart also. While I can't do it, He can!
"Your identity is such that WHO you are in Christ determines HOW you behave." Not the other way around. It is not How you behave determines who you are, which is the way we make it a lot of the times. If a person lies, he is a liar, etc. No, with Christ, if we fully surrender and fully die to ourselves everyday, we will begin to behave as who we are.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Doing What Doesn't Come Naturally
Being a servant. We hear that and we think, "yeah, that's easy, I know God told us to be", but when it really comes down to it, are we? I know it certainly does not come naturally for me and probably not for almost anyone else either!
In Matthew 10:42-45, the Bible says, "But Jesus called them to him and saith unto them, "Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And, whoseover of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."
Jesus, who had all of the power in the world, humbled Himself (even with how powerful He was/is), and served others. Not because He had to, but because He wanted to and because He wanted to set an example for us to follow. Jesus is definitely not one of those "do as a say, not as I do", and for that, I am GRATEFUL!!
In Matthew 10:42-45, the Bible says, "But Jesus called them to him and saith unto them, "Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And, whoseover of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."
Jesus, who had all of the power in the world, humbled Himself (even with how powerful He was/is), and served others. Not because He had to, but because He wanted to and because He wanted to set an example for us to follow. Jesus is definitely not one of those "do as a say, not as I do", and for that, I am GRATEFUL!!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Seeing Things Through Eternity's Eyes
Isn't it funny how we tend to get so wrapped up in things on a day to day basis that we forget to consider what is going on in relation to the ultimate eternity? One of my biggest things is nonsubmission (I am ducking and hiding now!). A lot of people get a bit freaked out over that word thinking people mean you are supposed to be a doormat, but that's not the case. If you're being physically hurt, get out! If he's sleeping with everyone in town (or even just another person), get out. Don't be a doormat like that.
No, submission is something totally different. It means dying to your pride. It means waking up every morning and sacrificing yourself to God - BUT, that's what He commands us to do anyway! In Romans 12:1, it says "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the MERCIES of God, that ye PRESENT YOUR BODIES a living SACRIFICE, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your REASONABLE SERVICE." How could you not do that, after all God has done for you?
That will be another topic another day though :)
Today, I am mainly focusing on today vs. eternity. No matter what we are going through right now. Be it money problems, family problems, reputation problems, health problems, how does it really compare to eternity? As long as we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, we are going to heaven when we die where there will be no problems. We may have to suffer through somethings on earth, but it is all for the benefit of eternity.
My stepbrother died a few years ago a few months before he turned 25. Did we feel like it was a good circumstance? No, of course our emotions didn't feel like that, but taking a step back, we could see God working things for His glory even in the dark times. At his 2 funeral services (in 2 different towns), a total of 18 people came to know Jesus, including his fiance. Who knows if any of those people would have gotten saved if God had not allowed this to happen. What is giving up a few years with a loved one when you know you will see them again for ETERNITY? Not that you won't be sad, or you won't miss them, but you can have a hope and an assurance that God is in control and that He sees the bigger picture, and that we can trust in Him for everything!
We have to let go of any fear that we have about letting God take over. Any fear of complete sacrifice!
No, submission is something totally different. It means dying to your pride. It means waking up every morning and sacrificing yourself to God - BUT, that's what He commands us to do anyway! In Romans 12:1, it says "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the MERCIES of God, that ye PRESENT YOUR BODIES a living SACRIFICE, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your REASONABLE SERVICE." How could you not do that, after all God has done for you?
That will be another topic another day though :)
Today, I am mainly focusing on today vs. eternity. No matter what we are going through right now. Be it money problems, family problems, reputation problems, health problems, how does it really compare to eternity? As long as we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, we are going to heaven when we die where there will be no problems. We may have to suffer through somethings on earth, but it is all for the benefit of eternity.
My stepbrother died a few years ago a few months before he turned 25. Did we feel like it was a good circumstance? No, of course our emotions didn't feel like that, but taking a step back, we could see God working things for His glory even in the dark times. At his 2 funeral services (in 2 different towns), a total of 18 people came to know Jesus, including his fiance. Who knows if any of those people would have gotten saved if God had not allowed this to happen. What is giving up a few years with a loved one when you know you will see them again for ETERNITY? Not that you won't be sad, or you won't miss them, but you can have a hope and an assurance that God is in control and that He sees the bigger picture, and that we can trust in Him for everything!
We have to let go of any fear that we have about letting God take over. Any fear of complete sacrifice!
A Fresh Start
I have not been on here in quite some time, but as a way to keep up with my RU (Reformers Unanimous) journaling, I am at it again! This is just going to be a time to take my personal devotions and expound on them to whoever may happen to read this! And, most importantly, as a way to be accountable for journaling!
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