Author: livinginhisgrace

Everything in my life is an unbelievable gift from the Father above to mold and shape me into the person that He created me to be! Yes, even the difficult and hard things in my life! Having said that, life, as I see it, is all about a loving relationship with God, and loving the people He places in our lives. Perhaps the journey is all about learning to love and offer grace to those around us inspite of our differences. Today’s world fights for it’s rights and has gone beyond just making it’s opinions known to a place where differing opinions are attacked and if possible silenced. Is this the world we want for our children and grandchildren? Oh how I hope not! I would love for my children and 10 grandchildren to experience a world filled with grace, hope, love and a chance to experience joy along their journey.

When Life Sends a Detour-Wisdom

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Life certainly has a way of getting in the way of good intentions! That said, 2016 has not been as productive so far as I’d imagined it would. All the plans of productivity for the year came to a delay by the end of the third day. It all started off great! A quiet peaceful beginning on Friday, and enjoyable gathering with some church family who love to write on Saturday afternoon and an amazing first service of the year on Sunday. A few of us girls get together on Sunday afternoons to catch up and study the Word together and that is when it started…a nagging tickle in the throat with a few coughs…really only an annoyance, honestly. Otherwise, we had a very nice time.

Monday morning was pretty typical, just taking care of routine stuff like making phone calls and making plans for a carpet cleaning on Tuesday. Afternoon, I began notice the tickle turning to a cough and allergy symptoms but this is no time to be feeling bad; accessories and small furniture must be moved out of the way for the carpet cleaners. Sounds productive enough…healthy dinner prepared… Tuesday, yep it’s a cold!  Still no time for this; carpet must be cleaned, dry, and furniture returned to it’s proper place!!  Ok, maybe I can finish tomorrow, I’m beat. Wednesday it hit full force, not allergies or a little cough; but a full fledged, two week long head cold with a deep cough that continues to linger despite the vitamins, medications and home remedies!  Enough! Fourteen days just basically gone. I am declaring war on this detour hijacking 2016 and saying NO MORE!

Today, as I began getting back on track with my morning study/quiet time, I read Proverbs 8. No rhyme or reason, it was just where I landed. It is all about wisdom so maybe that is where my 2016 studies should resume. We certainly can use all the wisdom we can get; especially when  coming off a two week detour from where you thought you were going in 2016!!

Just a few words about wisdom:

Wisdom (Biblical) is defined according to christainbiblereference.org as “the ability to judge correctly and follow the best course of action, based knowledge and understanding.” quoted from Lockyer Page. 1103

Webster’s defines it as “knowledge gained by having many experiences; natural ability to understand things that most others do not understand; and knowledge of what is proper and reasonable.”

Cambridge Dictionary says “the ability to make good judgements based on what you have learned from experience or the knowledge and understanding that gives you this ability; the quality of being a good judgment.”

  •  James 1:5-6  “But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it.  But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind.”  NABRE
  • Proverbs 8:12-14   “I, Wisdom, dwell with prudence and useful knowledge I have. [The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil;]Pride, arrogance, the evil way,and the perverse   mouth I hate. Mine are counsel and advice; Mine is strength; I am understanding.”  NABRE
  • Proverbs 8:17-21   “Those who love me I also love, and those who seek me find me. With me are riches and honor, wealth that endures, and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold, and my yield than choice silver. On the way of righteousness I walk, along the paths of justice, Granting wealth to those who love me, and filling their treasuries.”  NABRE
  • James 3:17-18   “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.”  HCSB
  • Proverbs 4:5-9   “Get wisdom, get understanding; don’t forget or turn away from the words of my mouth. Don’t abandon wisdom, and she will watch over you;
    love her, and she will guard you.
    Wisdom is supreme—so get wisdom. And whatever else you get, get understanding.
    Cherish her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you.
    She will place a garland of grace on your head; she will give you a crown of beauty.”
  • Ecclesiastes 2:24-26   “There is nothing better for man than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand,  because who can eat and who can enjoy life apart from Him?  For to the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner He gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.” HCSB
  • 1 Corinthians 1:18-25“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved.  For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the understanding of the experts. Where is the philosopher? Where is the scholar?  Where is the debater of this age?  Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish?   For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the message preached.  For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom,  but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom, because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.”  HCSB

 

Just in the above verses, the Word of God tells us that wisdom is much more than knowledge, intelligence, understanding, experience or experiences. Proverbs 8:21 tells us God is the source of wisdom:                                                                                                                                                 ““The Lord made me at the beginning of His creation, before His works of long ago. I was formed before ancient times, from the beginning, before the earth began. I was born when there were no watery depths and no springs filled with water. I was delivered before the mountains and hills were established, before He made the land, the fields, or the first soil on earth.  I was there when He established the heavens, when He laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean, when He placed the skies above, when the fountains of the ocean gushed out, when He set a limit for the sea so that the waters would not violate His command, when He laid out the foundations of the earth. I was a skilled craftsman beside Him. I was His delight every day, always rejoicing before Him. I was rejoicing in His inhabited world, delighting in the human race.”

    Perhaps wisdom in the greatest sense of the word is the compilation of knowledge, intelligence, understanding, experience of both successes and failures, what we have learned from those experiences and from our study of God’s Word; generously mixed together and submitted to God in prayer. It is in His hands that  it can be sorted, tested and tried while we patiently await the true wisdom we so desperately need. He alone is the sure source of true, impartial and untainted wisdom.

Grace and Peace to you!

“Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still;
teach a righteous man, and he will learn more.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:9-10

 

 

Welcoming 2016!

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The last day of 2015 has been an interesting and challenging day. I’ve had the opportunity to be in God’s Word several times. Challenged by Proverbs 31 and Philemon as I drove to lunch and my husband read his portion for today. Both were inspiring and Proverbs 31 is always challenging.

Next, I had the opportunity to watch the first lesson of Beth Moore’s Inheritance Bible Study; a great reminder of who we are in Christ and that In Him we are sons (daughters) of God and co-heirs with Christ. Also, that as co-heirs we share equally with Jesus in His inheritance of the first born Son and not just the leftovers! In fact, she challenged us to allow our life to be a “wild ride”followed up by:  “it can’t be a wild ride if you are in the drivers seat”. ( A challenge to let go of control issues and allow God to be in the drivers seat of our life.)

Next came our New Year’s Eve service with great music and another challenging message to ponder from Daniel. Challenging us to begin this year with fasting and prayer like Daniel did during his three year training period under the King of Babylon. Because of his faith and commitment to keep to the tenants of his beliefs and to the dietary guidelines, Daniel and his friends rose in favor with the king. When all the ‘wisemen’ could not interpret the kings dream, Daniel asked for a reprieve from their death sentence; he prayed and that night received both the dream and the interpretation from God. Because of this lives were saved!

Finally, I was able to have a quiet celebration at home with my beloved. As I ponder the events of the day and getting ready to say goodnight, my mind is still whirling! Today we begin a new year full of possibilities and opportunities. We don’t know what it will bring, but as for me, I plan to hand the wheel over to my Heavenly Father, my Savior and the Holy Spirit. Enough of trying to control things that are out of my hands, none of my business and outside my expertise. Does that mean I am going to be passive? Absolutely not! But let’s look at some scripture…

Romans 8:5-8 Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what He is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored.           9-11 But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of Him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won’t know what we’re talking about. But for you who welcome Him, in whom He dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God’s terms. It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, He’ll do the same thing in you that He did in Jesus, bringing you alive to Himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and He does, as surely as He did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With His Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s!                                                                                                                       12-14 So don’t you see that we don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There’s nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!                                                                                              15-17 This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?”  God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who He is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with Him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with Him!  -Message Translation (emphasis mine)

Wow, this gets my heart pumping! My prayer for 2016 is to let go of the past, forgive others and myself and start fresh with a clean slate. I pray I’ll have the courage and strength to depend less on myself and my own understanding but go deeper in my trust that God has a better plan for me and it is a good plan. Lord, help me take my hands off the stirring wheel of my life and let you take me on the ride of my life; trusting you every step of the way!

Like most people, I pray that a better year is here and that the struggles of the last few years do not follow us into this new one; acknowledging that our God can do exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond anything we can ask or imagine according to His power that is at work in us! Because of this promise, no matter what this year holds, we can find our way through as long as we seek Him and trust Him to work things out with our cooperation. My prayer is that no matter what this year holds, in the end we can declare boldly that this was my best year ever! May His Grace and Peace surround us and the Fruit of the Spirit be abundant in each of our lives as we seek to trust God completely each step of this year! In the mighty and powerful name of Jesus Christ, Amen!!

Happy New Year!!

 

Courage to Realize our True Identity

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Knowing who we are, our identity In Christ, truly frees us! Seeing the value He places on our lives frees us to love, forgive, let others off the hook when they mess up. It gives us power to stay strong in the face of betrayal or hurt!

How? The God and Creator of all living things loved us and wanted relationship with us enough to come in human form as a baby. He grew up experiencing all we ever would and because He knew His worth and purpose, He withstood all kinds of accusation, abuse and betrayal without defending Himself or Fighting back.

Consider some of Jesus’ sufferings…

  • His family called Him out of His mind.
  • One of those closest to Him also betrayed Him.
  • Religious leaders marveled at His wisdom yet tried to trick Him.
  • Those same leaders plotted against Him and planned His demise.
  • The disciples often doubted Him either in word or deed.
  • He was beaten beyond recognition, to the point of not looking human.
  • Forced to carry the cross; yet another weapon of torture and death.
  • Finally, placed upon that cross to slowly suffocate to death, having to lift Himself up just to catch a breath, causing great pain as He did so!

Some considered it weakness when Jesus did not fight back, defend Himself or call upon His Father’s help; but consider the strength it took. Jesus was secure in His true identity, His purpose and the power He had; yet despite the world’s treatment, in His last few words He could show Grace and say, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  Oh, what mercy and grace!!

This is God’s tremendous love for you and me. This is where we find our true identity and He labeled us priceless when God’s Son, His one and only Son, came and limited Himself in human flesh born in a humble setting. Then some thirty odd years later the King of Kings submitted Himself to abuse, false accusation, betrayal, brutality and ultimately death as a sacrifice for every sin ever committed; all for us to be able to have a relationship with the living God. At Christmas we celebrate His coming and because His story doesn’t end here we have great hope and victory over not only sin but also over death! Christmas celebrates Jesus coming; Easter, the fact that death was overcome at His resurrection! For now He is seated by God,  at our Father’s right hand ever interceding on our behalf!

This my friend is true love! This is our identity, our value to God and this is Grace! Jesus took all these sufferings and those cruel spikes for us. That’s the Gospel and that is true love displayed! May we have the grace and courage to love like our Savior loved even when it involves some suffering or pain!

Merry Christmas!

Grace and peace to you as we celebrate the Advent of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord!!

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Courage to Share

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“Even when I am old and gray, God, do not abandon me. Then I will proclaim Your power to another generation, Your strength to all who are to come. Your righteousness reaches heaven, God, You who have done great things; God, who is like You?”                 ‭Psalms‬ ‭71:18-19‬ ‭

 

    Even from our youth, may we encourage those coming behind us and share our experiences with God with them. How else will they know? Judges 2 marks a time after Joshua’s death when a whole generation passed and there arose a generation who did not know God experientially. They had not witnessed or been told about the works of His hand, nor were His words hidden in their hearts. Each one did what seemed right in his/her own mind. They abandoned the Lord and worshipped other gods; idols of all types. What are the idols we replace God with today?

 

“The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and He handed them over to marauders who raided them. He sold them to the enemies around them, and they could no longer resist their enemies. Whenever the Israelites went out, the Lord was against them and brought disaster on them, just as He had promised and sworn to them. So they suffered greatly.”Judges‬ ‭2:14-15‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

 

     I don’t know about you, but this sounds a lot like the world around us including our very own backyard, America.  Will we walk in arrogance or…Will we wake up, humble ourselves, repent and return to God before we are given over captive to our enemies?  God is faithful, loving and merciful! He is faithful and just to forgive us, to heal us and to set us free even from our captivity. There is example after example in scripture where He rescued His people and He is the same…yesterday…today…and forever! Whether your captivity is a habit, an ideology, an addiction, a person…He is your way out! In Jesus Christ (not religion), freedom is found! Forever freedom is found in knowing Him, accepting Him and living life in Christ. It is when we know who we are In Christ, that we can have the confidence and boldness to share what He has done for us, to bring comfort and hope to others who are struggling.  May we not neglect those coming behind us nor tear them down because of their struggles and ideologies; but let us reach out with love and share this same comfort and hope to them in the humility and gentleness of Christ. Most folks don’t have issue with Jesus, their issue is with His representatives, so if we share His love and hope in humility, meekness and love as He did; we will be much more effective.  Lord, please give us strength, wisdom, and boldness; tempered with gentleness, grace and kindness to share with others and future generations Your exploits and benefits in our lives! May you find us faithful!

 

“You shall not make yourself any graven image [to worship it] or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; You shall not bow down yourself to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, [Isa. 42:8; 48:11.] But showing mercy and steadfast love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.   Exodus‬ ‭20:4-6‬ ‭AMP‬‬

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”                        1 John 1:9  HSCB 

 “It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness.”. Lamentations‬ ‭3:22-23 AMP‬‬

Grace & Peace to you in Him!

Courage to Expand Our Thinking

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Good morning friends!

This morning my scripture reading was Isaiah 41 and last night Job 38. This morning as I pondered the passage in Isaiah and thought of it in context of Job 38’s questions that God posed to Job; my mind kicked into high gear. Both of these passages are great examples of the absolute greatness of our God. We as humans tend to place God in a box with limits on what He can do or what He will do. Many see Him a a harsh Heavenly Father either because that’s their impression from the Old Testament or because of a less than positive experience with their earthly Father. Others tend to see only the merciful and grace filled Heavenly Father. Yet others believe in Him but do not think He is actively involved in out day to day lives but see Him as a distant observer.

There are as many differing ideas of God as there are people who walk this earth! As human beings, some deny Him all together; and those who believe in God tend to limit their belief based with their own experiences with Him or what they have witnessed in the lives of others to whom they are close to. Yet and still we are human and most of us have a preconceived idea of God; if you will a nice tidy box that we relegate Him to in our lives. Whether it is as simple as not bothering God with the small stuff with which we struggle or perhaps being focused on our circumstances or world events to the point of being overwhelmed into believing He can’t or won’t help; God is bigger than the box we try to put Him into!

Consider that many see God as angry and punishing in the Old Testament, but what about His graciousness and His great patience found there. Example: consider Abrahams inquiries to God about Sodom and Gomorrah Not only did he ask about relenting in His wrath once, but Abraham began with “Would you save the cities for 100 righteous men? 50? 25? And finally, 10? There are many examples of patience, grace, mercy and all God’s attributes found all throughout the Old Testament and the New. So today, I am challenging myself and you, if your game, to spending this Christmas season and 2016 considering what kind of box you may have placed God into? Isaiah 41 and Job 38 is a great place to ponder His greatness. What is His true characteristics? What does He think about us? What is the true depth of His love for us? His forgiveness? I submit to you that He truly cares about His creation, His children. Yes, even the small stuff. He sees every smile and every single tear. May we be able to say with great confidence in 2016 that there are no words to completely describe our God and continue to expand our thinking to a greater understanding of Him in this New Year and every year to come! Our God is limitless!

“Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us — to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.””

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3:8, 20-21‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

 

Grace and Peace to you!!

 

 

 

Courage to Consider

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                                           How we should respond when we disagree? 

 

     This morning the little time I had while getting ready for an appointment, I took a few minutes to read an article online.  This article was posted on the Christian site and it was giving information about a group of people in Texas who are opening The church of Lucifer and some members of the body of Christ that were there to protest. There was also a video clip on the site that shows the behavior of both sides.

      As far as protests go, it seemed quite calm and fairly simple though some of the signs were objectionable from my point of you I’m sure those who carried them felt strongly and that they were standing up for other Christians but even more so for God. Something deep inside of me was unsettled even after reading this well-written article. It is a common occurrence to see articles of this nature; almost every article of this type leaves me a bit unsettled, especially when they are aggressive or hateful.  

    As a prepared for the appointment, I prayerfully pondered what I’d read and I came up with a response/comment. More accurately, a few questions. This was the comment I posted in response…

                     I have to say the protest did look calm and peaceful for the most part…

                     BUT I must ask this question to the protesters…Is a protest with large 

                     signs and some that were less than kind the way Jesus Christ would

                     have approached these folks?? Those who are in deception do not 

                     know they are in deception. Jesus choose to walk among the people 

                     humbly, gently peacefully and kindly. He firmly and lovingly taught God’s 

                     ways in a way that compelled lives to change and follow Him and allowed 

                     them the choice to follow or not. He always spoke the truth in love. His

                     harshest words were reserved for the Pharisees and Sadducees who

                     lorded over His people and held them to a higher standard than they 

                     themselves lived up to. Flesh and blood are not our enemies as Christians. 

                     

                       Ephesians 6:2   “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but 

                     against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this 

                     darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly place. 

                     Heavenly places!! That means warring on our knees and loving people into

                     the kingdom and out of darkness.”

 

                    “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

                    faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now      

                    those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions

                    and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, we must also follow the Spirit.

                   We must not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one

                   another.”

                    Galatians 5:22-26 HCSB

 

     After responding, I placed my thoughts on the back burner and had some worship and prayer time as I drove to the dentist.  Well as you most likely know, most of us have little to do while sitting in the dental chair whether it’s for dental work or for a regular cleaning. There is usually some music playing in the background, or in my case the TV in the room switched to a station of random choosing that held little interest to me. Some of you will not understand, but others will totally get it; I want to those whose brain never stops.  You see, I have an inability to just sit back, relax  and let my mind go blank. It’s always jumping around back-and-forth on some topic or another and now I’ve come full circle back to the feeling this article provoked! And then more questions…

 

                     Is there any precedence in the Word of God that promotes protests?

                     We are commissioned to tell the Good News (Gospel), but does it tell 

                      that it is the Holy Spirit draws the unbeliever and brings understanding?

                      Are we trying to be the Holy Spirit in someone’s life?

                      Does the Creator of the entire universe really need His creation to 

                      defend Him?

                      Is it true that Biblically, Paul called believers in Christ to follow him as he

                      followed Jesus Christ?

                      Did Jesus Christ ever involve Himself in a protest or take it upon Himself

                       to defend God, His Father? Or even defend Himself, for that matter?

                       If allowing individuals to chose Him or reject Him was God’s idea, 

                       is it really our place to step in and try to force others to choose our way or

                       beliefs?

 

       My point is this, if we are loving God with all our heart, soul, and strength; following wholeheartedly after Jesus and His example; and walking in the Spirit (exhibiting His fruit); people will be drawn to the Christlike lives we live. That opens to door to share the Gospel in power because they will see us living it and be drawn to His likeness in us. Will all listen or receive? Probably not, but with God all things are possible. We may share the things we are against in protest thinking we are doing good and helping others but are we really doing good or being decisive? If we do so in a way that has not been sanctioned by God or His Word, can it really be good thing? These are but a few of the questions rolling around in my head today in hopes of growing deeper and stronger in obedience to His Word and His ways.

 

 Grace and Peace to you my friend!

Courage to Let God Work

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Do I have the courage to let God work or work more in my life?  That is the question on my heart today. This week’s lesson from Armor of God study was all about four types of righteousness. When we believe and receive Christ, His righteousness is imputed to us but we have to accept  it and allow it to be worked out in our life through sanctification. So, just what is sanctification?  In this study, the working definition is “the process by which you are molded into the image of Christ.”; “the Spirit’s progressive influence on you.” (Armor of God- Priscilla Shirer)

    

     This morning I took a look at Ezekiel 36: 24-32 as part of the lesson. I found it very interesting. As I read, it gave greater clarity on how we can understand depth of the work of Jesus Christ in both His life, death and resurrection.  Through His acts we are told He took on the sin of the world and those who believe will have life and life eternal. We are told that He took our sin upon Himself and traded it for His righteousness giving us a new life in Him. Looking at this passage I made tons of notes but the most significant was looking at God’s relationship with the Israelites in this passage and what He said He would do for them. The Hebrew people were in rebellion and idolatry. They had turned from God. As always, our actions have consequences but there are always benefits for repentance and turning back to God. His promise to HIs people was that He would gather them back to their land from all the places that they’d been scattered.

Then God would:  Cleanse them from their sin and rebellion

 

       God would give them:                                                  God would remove from them:

            a new heart                                                                the dirt or sin from them

            His Spirit                                                                    their old rebellious ways

            His ways/rules                                                            their stoney heart

            a soft heart

           the ability to walk in His ways

           the ability to obey

 

      Basically, God was doing all the heavy lifting in this whole scenario! What was left for His people was to accept His gift and from that time walk in obedience to His ways. The only had to cooperate. Yes, it can be a little challenging or difficult to accept God’s authority and His ways and to walk in them… BUT…Did you notice that He specifically gave them His Spirit, and the ability to walk in His ways and to obey? In other words, He had already provided everything they needed for life and godliness. This is also true for those of us today who are in Christ. 2 Peter 1:3 tells us: “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence.”  ESV  God also told them that He was giving them a choice from early in their relationship with Him:

 

Deuteronomy 30:15-20  ““See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in His ways, and by keeping His commandments and His statutes and His rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying His voice and holding fast to Him, for He is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.””

 

 

      So from these words, we can gain understanding. We always have a choice; to cooperate or to rebel; to choose life and blessing or to choose death and curses. God in His great mercy and grace has given us everything we need for life and blessing, will we choose life?  Will we receive His gifts? A gift is of no benefit if we set it aside and refuse to accept it or to open it! In order to enjoy a gift, we must accept it, open it and use it. In other words we have to cooperate with the giver of the gift to receive the blessing of the gift. In like manner, we can read the Word of God and sit under the teaching of the best of Bible teachers on the planet, but until the Word is applied in our life there is no real change in our life. The process of sanctification is stalled. We must actually apply what we learn to see the blessing it can be in our life. That is choosing life. Now the real question for me (and you if your game) is when the crossroads come and tough times or decision have to be made; will we have the courage to cooperate and let God work to sanctify us or will we rebel? We have the freedom of choice, what will it be?

May HIs grace and peace abide with you!

Courage to Guard Your Heart

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“Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.” Proverbs‬ ‭4:23‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

“Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.”  Proverbs‬ ‭4:23‬ ‭NASB‬‬

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”  ‭Proverbs‬ ‭4:23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”  ‭Proverbs‬ ‭4:23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”  ‭Proverbs‬ ‭4:23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

     While studying this morning I ran across this familiar verse. My context was within studying the armor of God and specifically the breast plate of righteousness. I am currently studying The Armor of God Bible study by Priscilla Shirer and ran across this thought provoking question: “What does Proverbs 4:23 command us to do regarding the heart? Why do you think this is necessary?” This passage is a very familiar scripture and normally I would just give a quick obvious answer based on my gut but today something deep within made me decide to go deeper and not treat this lightly. I began searching it on the Blue Letter Bible site by looking up the chapter and then going to the actual verse and clicking on tools. I started with the word guard. The original word used in the Hebrew was Natsar which means guard; watch over; keep your heart (as in tending a vineyard); preserve; guard from dangers; observe; guard with fidelity; to keep close; watchman.  While I found the whole depth of the meaning of natsar interesting, I found one particularly compelling! Keep your heart, as in a vineyard…tending a vineyard; a garden! This word picture began to form in my mind.

     Keeping or guarding your heart is much more that just being alert and diligent when we think of it in terms of tending a vineyard. Go with me for a minute if you will and let’s look at the many aspects in tending a plant of any type. This process takes much intentional and frequent care long beyond cultivating the ground and planting the plants. The soil must be monitored often for the water content and for the nutrients. If it is found lacking, we must water and treat the soil in order to keep our plant healthy and thriving. We also need to care for our heart this way both physically through nutrition, exercise and water, and spiritually through healthy feedings of the water of the Word of God and fellowship with other believers.

    We must regularly weed our growing area. We need to regularly inspect the ground for any weeds taking root and for any invading insects or predators that will harm our plant and the expected fruit of that plant. If we find any invaders that threaten to damage our plant and the desired results; we must quickly work to make the environment one in which our plant can thrive. By the same token, we also need to be inspecting the environment around our heart. Are there any unhealthy things in that environment that threaten the health of our heart? Is busyness crowding into the spaces we need for our heart to grow strong and healthy? What unhealthy weeds are crowding into our hearts threatening to choke some of the life out or keeping it from flourishing?  Are there any signs of root rot or critters damaging our plants (hearts)? If so what measures do we need to take or boundaries do we need to set up to protect the environment to secure the health and well being of our plants or of our heart?

     Not only do our plants need to be carefully monitored during the growing season, but we also have to watch both the quality of the plant’s fruit and learn to know exactly when that fruit is at it’s peak.  Then it can be harvested at just the right time. For example in the vineyard, they not only monitor the ripeness of the fruit by sight, touch, smell and taste; sweetness, p.h, and acidity levels are checked by using the proper tools. Fruit is picked here and there from clusters all over the vineyard to get an accurate reading of the vineyards readiness. Then when all the levels are just where they need to be the grapes are picked. That’s just the beginning, each cluster is examined removing green fruit, shriveled grapes and moldy grapes in order to get the absolute best grapes.  Finally, they can be processed into juice, jelly, wine or readied for the market.

     Even still, the work is continually being done between harvest and the next growing season. Plants must be protected from cold, pests, weeds, and predators even in the off season and the grower has to know the proper pruning and feeding times for his/her plants. It takes year-round constant and consistent care to have successful growing seasons and even with that detailed and careful care there are still some uncontrollable weathers possibility and hazards.

     I can not help but wonder how many of us truly understand the depth of care needed to tend the vineyard of our heart.  After this time looking at the care needed to tend the vineyard or a garden, it has become clear to me that it requires a balance of nourishment; examination; looking out for those who would prey on our heart; pulling out unbecoming weeds within and weeds that crowd out our ability to grow; making wise choices; staying strong in adverse situations; and monitoring our fruit for sweetness, ph and acidity. Priscilla noted in this lesson that the heart is the center of our soul which is made up of our mind (our intellect), will (our ambition), emotions and conscience ( defined as our “moral compass”). With that in mind, I would say that examining each of these areas would be another required step in guarding/tending our hearts. At first glance, most see this verse as mainly an defensive move.  Protecting ourselves from external predators, the enemies tactics, pests, weeds, weather, etc. After looking deeply at the facets of the responsibilities of the vinedresser, I have come to see that it incorporates much introspection. Are we providing proper nutrients?, adequate exercise and water? Are we the proper balance of ph, acidity and sweetness? Are we balanced and congruent in our emotions, mind, will and conscience? Perhaps when we are tending to all these things and bringing them into alignment with who we are in Christ and with God’s Word, we will find true peace and contentment in our hearts no matter our circumstances.


Grace and peace to you!

Courage to Stand Out

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Lately, I have been focused on the book of Isaiah and the book of Matthew during my times of study and reflection.  Many think or assume that the book of Isaiah is just an ancient book about an ancient kingdom and that it is not relevant to us today. On the other hand, many scholars will tell you that many of the prophets writings though already fulfilled in many cases, will have a future fulfillment. It is possible that we will see them within our lifetime. For example, as I read Isaiah 5 a couple of weeks ago, I could not help but see some of those very things God had pointed out among the Jewish people were also very prevalent in our world and in our nation. God was loving and patient with His people during the time of Isaiah but eventually, when they did not turn back to God; He acted.

     His people would begin to fit into the culture of the people around them. Honestly, isn’t that the tempting and easy thing to do? It is much harder to hold ourselves accountable and guard our heart by following God’s guidelines while others pressure us to go along with them. God loves His people so He would send prophets to encourage them to return to Him and His ways. They were warned about fitting into culture and worshipping false gods of the neighboring people groups. When they returned to God all was well. Then there were the times after many warnings and a refusal to return to God and His ways; they ended up in captivity to another nation or some other punishment. It was easy for those people to blame God when they ended up serving as slaves to other nations! But realistically it is not God who is to blame. 

      The people were given guidelines to live by, not to hold them back but for their protection. They were told if you follow these precepts, you will be blessed and enjoy life and then very clearly they were told the curses that go along with disobedience.  These precepts were taught to each generation from childhood. (Deuteronomy outlines the law and the blessings and curses can be found in chapter 28)  God spoke to them in Deuteronomy 30 an said in verse 19-20  “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” 

       If we look objectively, it was not God who put the Israelites into captivity. They put themselves in compromising situations through their disobedience many times to fit in or make alliances with enemy nations and the result of their compromise was captivity and loss. Fitting in is always easier than standing out!  This is still true in our world today. When you stand out from the ‘norm’ of culture in years past you might have been labeled as different, peculiar, odd, weird and similar labels but over the last few years it has escalated to being labeled as a hater. This is true from political points of view to religion, marriage, abortion and list could go on and on. Once upon a time civil debate was a welcome exchange of ideas where people discussed differing opinions intelligently and those who were not swayed by the preponderance of the evidence presented would agree to disagree agreeably. Not so much today! Todays debates more resemble duels of words with the intent to eliminate the opponent. 

         How do we find the courage to stand out? To hold fast to our beliefs as the world often runs in the opposite direction from the beliefs and morals we hold? How do we respond when despite our outrage over a captive lion being wrongly killed; we are even more outraged over Planned Parenthood employees talking about illegal selling body parts of aborted babies for profit over a lunch?  How is a lion worth more than a human baby? A life is a life! How is it if you are pro-life it is twisted to say your are anti-choice? Most pro-lifers will tell you they are all for choice and there were about a dozen of choices that could have prevented that unwanted pregnancy before it ever happened. When did it become almost a crime to stand out in how we live or to have an opinion other than the ‘vocal majority’? When did we decide to just give in to those who are “vocal”?  How did one lady’s offense at prayer in school win out when statistics say at the time 78% of the nation identified with some form of Christian religion?  How did we get to a time where we allow life to happen to us or around us? 

     As I ponder these things, I can not help but think about John the Baptizer, Jesus and the disciples! Their goal was to follow God; to please the Father; to love Him completely and to love others. They stood out in their culture and there was no doubt that they were different. People knew everywhere they went that they were not like others around them. Had they just fit-in, they would have never found themselves persecuted, imprisoned, beaten, and even martyred. Maybe that is part of the problem…do we keep quiet or conform to the world out of fear? Are we just to busy with living life? 

      Christ drew people to Him by the way He lived and loved, as should we draw people to Him by loving like he did.  Jesus also drew large number of religious leaders that hated Him, were threatened by His faith and how He loved and followed His Father. We should not be surprised when that happens to us. Religious leaders of His age labeled Jesus and if we all out follow Him, we will also be labeled by some. He was labeled possessed of the devil, crazy, a rebel; just to name a few. He suffered immeasurable pain and grief to bring us access to the Father and to bridge the separation that came through sin; to restore that which was lost in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. He bought us the chance to have right relationship with God the Father. Can I/we do more to stand for Him resulting in people being drawn to Him? Are we fitting in or are we standing out? Are we allowing life to happen to us or are we happening to life by being a living demonstration of His love, mercy and grace to those around us? 

Courage: This is War

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       As I sit at my desk on a sunny Sunday afternoon with humming birds flitting and playing right outside the window; I find myself reflecting on a new book I began reading yesterday evening. But first, let me say that I don’t believe in coincidences. Nope, divine appointments yes; happenstance no way. Because of this belief, I fully believe that my need to go into town to the bank to pay a bill that was due the next day and my daughter’s desire for a new translation of the Bible on Friday were no accident or coincidence.  During our trip to the bookstore, it was no fluke that we spotted a new book by one of our favorite women in ministry. Not even scheduled for release until August first, yet here it was not only available but also on sale beckoning to us!  Not a mishap or happenstance, no my friend; this was favor!
 
      After only reading the forward and Strategy One, I know without a doubt that this was a divine appointment for me. If you’re anything like me, sometimes life goes through rough patches. When that happens, sometimes we weather it with grace and other times we can tend to let what’s happening in our life, health, or the world zap us and drain us of our desire to push forward; to march on. In those times, it is easy to fall prey to marking time or even consider just quitting since it just seems too hard. Most of us are quick to realize it is no real option and usually after a short time resume our march forward. Other times we can get stuck marking time. When we aren’t moving forward, whether on not we want to admit it, we are really loosing ground. We think we are standing still when in fact we are actually retreating because the world around us keeps going even if we do not. 
     One look at the headlines around the world and you can see everything is moving faster and life is changing at warp speed. Technology has put information at our finger tips. Things change fast and social media is full of posts and blogs about this or that subject. Information can be helpful and good but much of what I am seeing lately is also very polarizing. Almost warlike. In many circles, it just isn’t ok to have a different opinion than someone else. There are battles over politics, religion, flags, historical statues and much more.  While it’s important to know current events, events such as those above can be discouraging and draining on us. World or local events are not the only things affecting our lives; our health, wealth (or lack of) and relationships also can be a drain. Lord help us if they all converge at any given time.  Sometimes we feel like casualties of the constant battle around us. At least I do.
 
   That brings me back to our trip to town. Fervent: A Woman’s Battle Plan for Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer by Priscilla Shirer seems like just what the doctor ordered for me; for such a time as this (if you will). There are ten strategies for the battles that we face. Unlike any other book on prayer I’ve read, this one outlines a battle plan using prayer and I can already see benefits after just the first step. Whether we realize or acknowledge it or not, the Christian life is a war and we have a real enemy that wants to take us out. (John 10:10) We also have a real hero who wants us to be victorious because He has already bought and paid for our victory! Our enemy is not flesh and blood! It is not that surly person that keeps driving you crazy. Normal strategies are seldom effective when things just keep coming at you; but I can say first hand prayer works and I believe the information and techniques in this book will be perhaps the best prayer journey to date because it not only informs but draws a plan of action. It outlines tactics of the enemy and effective ways to combat those tactics. As I begin this journey, I am confident that it is a great tool for life and can develop  a prayer warrior in each one who dare to read its pages…more to come.  Keep the faith.
 
Grace and peace to you!