Celebrate Wisdom

Wisdom!  Doing now what will make sense and give you peace later.  Following the way of God and doing what is right and honoring to Him.  Going deeper than your own thoughts and digging into what God knows is good and purposeful.  Wisdom is living with discernment and putting into practice the things you know are right, good, true and holy.  

One of my new years goals was to start eating better and get more exercise.  Knowledge says this is good for me.  Wisdom puts it into practice.  I have not been all that wise this January.  I've half-heartedly put into practice the eating thing...the exercise, not hardly at all.  I don't think two hikes qualifies as getting in shape.  LOL

But today was the day I stepped up and started back outside walking.  It really did feel good to be in the sunshine and crispy air.  And not only did I get some physical and mental benefits, I got some spiritual benefits as well.  I went back to listening to the Joyce Meyer podcasts.  What a blessing. 

I so related to what she was saying.  She was in another country and a lot of the little every day things are different and she had to figure them out while she was trying to get ready to speak. She could feel herself starting to get irritated.   Now, one of my biggest pet peeves is the small little annoyances that happen every day.  I find myself saying way too often, "Can't anything be easy or go right!?!"  It's the littles.  The spilled drink, the internet not coming up, the stubborn screw that won't come out, the burned toast....on and on, little irritations that piled together make you want to scream sometimes.   And these things always seem to happen when you have to be somewhere.  LOL

Something she said really struck me though.  As she was starting to feel the angst coming up, she "heard" the saying, "Is this wise?"  Hmmph.  Is it wise to start getting upset when things go wrong?  Is it wise to let the trivial bring us to a point of heavy frustration and anger?  

Proverbs 14:29  People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness.

Proverbs 29:11 Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back.

Proverbs 19:11 The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory is to overlook a transgression.

Proverbs 16:32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

How much wiser is it for us to remain at peace than let anger (especially over the smallest of things) rule our spirits and our day?  It's amazing how one little line in a teaching can change one's whole outlook on the way they react.  Now, wisdom will be putting this into practice!  

Lord, help us to go deeper in our reactions to life.  Help us to remain peaceful, thankful and joyful amid troubles both small and large.  You are in control and You have only our good in mind.  Help us to trust in that in every detail of our day.  Forgive me for allowing myself to lose my peace, and fall into bad humor over things that don't really matter.  Teach us all wisdom.  Let it grow in us til all can see You in us.  Thank You.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Read a Proverb a day.  

 

New Perspective

I have not been sleeping well lately.  I've gotten this wretched thing called a c-pap machine which is supposed to help with sleep apnea.  Apparently I stop breathing on and off during the night.  Well, let me tell you, getting used to this machine has been quite the ordeal.  I am still struggling with it.  So needless to say, with the lack of sleep, I've been quite emotionally unstable and vulnerable   

Satan took advantage of this state in the beginning of the week.  He likes to go after us when we are at low points, easy targets.  I'm not even sure what triggered it, but I started to go down the "I'm so wretched, I've done so many terrible things, how can God love and forgive me road." again.  But this time, something different happened.  God stepped in with a new way of looking at it.  Yaay God!  My hero, my deliverer, the lover of my soul.  

Some background here:  I have a friend that has an even worse backstory than me.  Yet she never seems to let those sins of the past keep her chained and captive.  She sees the past as the past.  But not only that, she sees it through eyes of gratitude.  She sees it through God's eyes and mercy. I just didn't get it the way she did.  I often see my past as an ongoing, ever present condemnation and anchor to my present and future.  Anytime I think of it, it drags me down.  So, do you see the contrast here?  She sees it through God.  I see it through me.  Hmmm.  

And then God...So as I was wallowing and asking forgiveness for the thousandth time in the beginning of this week, God spoke a powerful thought to my heart.  He asked, "Why do you focus on what you have done instead of what I have done?  Why do you focus on your sin instead of my grace?"  Oh my goodness!  That is exactly what I've been doing for years and years and years.  Instead of being thankful and amazed at the grace and mercy showered on me, I focused on my own failures.  I made myself bigger than the forgiveness, the deliverance, the love and mercy of my Savior.  Did I think that if I continued to repent of those past sins I would be forgiven more?  Loved more?  I don't know.  Our Father doesn't forgive again.  He forgives once and for all.  Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.  Did part of me believe the Lord was bringing my sins back again?  He doesn't do that, He is the One who forgives us.  He is the One who delivers us.  He is the One who removes our sin. Romans 8:31-34 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.  

Satan is the accuser of the brethren (that's you and me!)  Revelation 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.  But it is God who justifies, redeems, forgives, loves and adopts us as His own.  Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.  Romans 5:15  But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.  Do you see this?  Grace abounds! 

So my message from God is this: Every time Satan brings up the ugly past, the sins of today, the stains that claimed our hearts and lives, we are to recall and celebrate the grace of God we have been shown.  The mercy we are given.  The love with which we are loved.  Instead of going down the road of guilt and shame again and again for the sins and failures that have been repented of, we need to take a new path down the lane of gratefulness and peace.  God's grace is bigger than anything we have or could do.  What joy for those of us who have been forgiven!  We need not wallow in the muddy pit of our past mistakes, but instead revel in the refreshing waters of forgiveness.  

Thank You Lord!  You are amazing and always showing us something new and beautiful.  I love You!  Let this truth reach into each of our hearts and settle there.  Let it secure our faith and grow the lovely fruit of salvation.  It's in our Redeemer's Name I pray.  Amen.  

 

A New God Chain

As I've mentioned before I love when God strings together things to make up one ongoing lesson.  It's definitely one of my favorite ways for a God visit.  

About a month or so ago I heard a statement from one of our BSF teachings directing us to "Be attentive to Christ."  This was a great idea to me.  Going through the day, I definitely lose track of  "being in Christ, abiding in Him, focusing on heavenly things...."   So putting this idea into practice has become a goal of mine.  I am having varying degrees of success. ☺ 

Okay, fast forward to our Pastor's teaching in one of our Bible studies about "abiding in Christ."  To me this is another way of being attentive to Him.  When we are attentive to Jesus, we abide in His Presence and in His Person.  Our hearts turn towards His will, His plan, His desires and His opportunities to share Him with others.  Abiding in Jesus helps keep us on the right track and keep us focused on Kingdom goals instead of selfishly pursuing only our own needs and wants.  This abiding and being attentive creates an intimate communion between us and our Lord.  It's more than just following a set of  dos and do nots.  

And then the last link in this chain (at least for now, anyway) was finding a word in this little book I was given called "52 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know" by Dave Adamson.  What a great little book this is!  The Hebrew word is KAVANAH.  It means to be aware of God's Presence.  

The first line in the devotion is "When you read the Bible, do you have an awareness that God is with you?"  It goes on to include the same thought on worship and prayer.  According to the book, the word Kavanah literally means to be aware that you are standing in the Presence of God.   Think about that!  

I was lead to Psalm 139:1-12.   O Lord, You have searched me and known me.  2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.  3 You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.  4 For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.  5 You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me.  6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.  7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?  Or where can I flee from Your presence?  8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me; 12 indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.

Everywhere we go, we are to remember we are in God's Presence, abiding in Christ through our awareness and obedience.  There is never a second we are not in the Presence of our Savior.  There is never a time when we are not on His mind and in His heart.  And I pray that it is the same for us.  

This was another beautiful chain developed by our God.  And another needed and loved reminder to stay connected and stay aware and be alert.  

Lord, thank You for this lesson.  I am always so grateful to learn and be reminded of You and Your principles.  We are a blessed people to have a loving God and Father that desires our attention and fellowship.  I am in awe of You.  Help us to keep an awareness that You are always near.  Let us be alert to the opportunities to pray, witness, worship and abide in You.  Let You light shine through us.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Read the above verses as if God is speaking them to you directly.  "I, the Lord search you and know you,  I know your sitting down and rising up.  I understand your thought afar off.....

Unwrapping

The ladies of my church have started a new Bible study called, "Praying the Names of God" by Ann Spangler.  The first Name we were given was "Elohim," God, Mighty Creator.  He was the One who began it all, made something out of nothing, gave us and everything around us life. 

As I was reading this weeks chapter I unwrapped a new aspect to God and His relationship to me and to creation.  The Scripture this is based on is Genesis 1:1-10, 31.  I read through the Scriptures and noticed how methodical God was.  In fact one of the questions we had to answer was, "What can you observe about who God is from this passage about beginnings?  

Look at the Scripture.  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.  3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.  So the evening and the morning were the first day.  6 Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.  9 Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

Everything was done in an orderly, methodical fashion.  Each step built upon the previous step.  I got this silly picture in my head of God making things out of order.  Pretend with me for a minute, that God made man first, then the animals and trees.  He would have had to have them floating out in space waiting for a spot to put them.  LOL.  That's so illogical!  And our Lord is logical and organized.  

Now, let's look at our lives.  So often they seem chaotic.  Timing and events don't seem to make sense to us.  But God does not see it that way at all.  The same God, Elohim, that made the universe which such care and precision has made us the same way.  And He has ordered our lives in a way that makes perfect and complete sense to Him.  Isaiah 55:8-9 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.    “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.  9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.  Jeremiah 29:11For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  Romans 8:28  And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Nothing in our lives is accidental or in disorder.  It's like God has a "to do" list written out in exactly the right order with the exactly right things, events, people, circumstances that will bring us to the beautiful plan He has for our lives that bring glory to His Name and build His kingdom.  Even our gifts and talents were meant for us to use in a certain way, a certain place to build and work withing the body of Christ.  

Romans 12:4-13 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.  6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.  9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

Our Father is methodical!  Even our salvation was planned out and precisely timed.  Romans 5:6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.  What an amazing God we serve!

What peace!  What comfort!  What security and rest!  Our God is not the author of chaos but of order and that includes us.  And don't forget to note, when God looked at His creation, (including us!) He thought it was very good.   

Thank You Lord for showing me this new aspect of Who You are.  It's a place we can rest in even through the darkest and most difficult circumstances.  You hold us.  You work in us and through us to complete Your work and plans for us and for Your kingdom.  Thank You!  I praise You this day for Who You are!  In the Name of our Mighty Savior, Jesus Christ.  

Celebrate our God!  

New Year, New Scriptures

Scriptures for the new year

Obedience with promise.    

John 14:21   Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

Prepare

Hosea 10:12  Break up your fallow ground for it is time to seek the Lord til He comes and rains righteousness on you. 

New Year, new mercies, new beginnings

Isaiah 43:25  “I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.

Encouragement for the year

Micah 7:18-19  Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people?  You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love.  19 Once again you will have compassion on us.  You will trample our sins under your feet  and throw them into the depths of the ocean!

Instruction for the year

Ruth 3:3-4  Now do as I tell you—take a bath and put on perfume and dress in your nicest clothes. Then go to the threshing floor, but don’t let Boaz see you until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 Be sure to notice where he lies down; then go and uncover his feet and lie down there. He will tell you what to do.”

1 Thessalonians 5:11-12  12 Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance.

Philippians 2:3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

Example to follow

John 5:1-15  Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. 2 Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. 3 Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches.  5 One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”  7 “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”  8 Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”  9 Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, 10 so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!”  11 But he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”  12 “Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded.  13 The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. 14 But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” 15 Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.

Praying these Scriptures build you up, encourage you, guide you and draw you closer to God.  The more the world around goes haywire, the more we need to prepare and grow stronger in the Lord.  Wishing you all a blessed new year, with growth and shining!