Lots of talk about the new YEAR and what to do with the YEAR. I've been practicing asking the Lord what to do with TODAY or even more precise RIGHT NOW because I don't know what tomorrow will bring or even an hour from now will bring. I'm not being morbid. I'm being honest.
Jesus said, "Give us THIS DAY our daily bread." He said to focus on today and let tomorrow take care of itself. This is how I am learning to live, and it is because of that that I share this with you.
Yesterday was my birthday, and it was an amazing day with my kids. It was the best birthday ever. I loved yesterday. First time in nearly a month I was both pain-free and med-free from the pain in my sinuses and mouth due to dental work and its complications. I am telling you. It was like a gift hand wrapped by God. It was that good.
Then today.
The hole in the sinuses reopened, so the every time I breathe, nerves are hit...again. I feel like I have a nail stabbing into my upper jaw bone. My amazing body is doing its job to heal it by trying to cover it, so now my sinuses are filled with thick sludge, which further aggravates things when I sniffle, and I am having ocular migraines, which means areas of my vision become impossible to see because they become opaque and blurred. Sometimes it is right in the middle of my vision. Sometimes there are multiple ones.
Between the sludge and the pain, my stomach feels the need to rebel by refusing to hold down food I eat, which isn't a really big deal because the top of my mouth hurts so much I don't even like squishing food against it.
To say I am not the best mom in the world today would be an understatement. Days like today, I pray for God to cover my kids' hearts and let their hearts and souls not remember them...except for my gratitude for how they step up and take care of things.
This isn't the worst day I've had in the last month, but it is certainly not on the level of yesterday.
Y'all, I don't care if you're tired.
Play the game with your kids.
Spend focused time with your spouse.
Make that call you need to make to your friend to make sure things are okay.
Make the most of THIS moment.
Enjoy THIS moment.
BE enjoyable.
It's easy to think we'll fix things or be better tomorrow, but tomorrow is a mirage. Right now is the opportunity God gives. Make this most of this opportunity.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Thursday, January 2, 2014
From my journal...My Side of the Promise
Each one will be like a refuge from the wind
and a shelter from the storm,
like streams of water in the desert
and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.
Isaiah 32:2
Lord, guide my thoughts and impart wisdom and understanding so I know your heart and vision for these words.
Remove all filters, theology, doctrine, and Jerri-ness that stands in the way of your word coming to fruition. If anything in my thinking or belief system taints this or alters it in even the slightest way, remove that error from me.
Lead my steps and renew my mind so that your word does not return void but returns in the absolute filled-fullness for which you sent it forth. Lord, when this span of time for which this word is spoken is finished, I pray that not one person whose life should have been touched would be unaltered.
Lord, may this word invade this world with all the fullness of your power and your intent.
Dear Lord, maybe I be nothing that you would be everything.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
From my journal...When God Makes a Promise, He's Already Made the Plan to Fulfill It
(Written December 28, 2013)
I feel the urge to memorize Isaiah 32:2 (my word for 2014) before the first of the year. I don't want it to be mid-December when I finally get this one like it was for the word for 2013. Praise the Lord I finally got it, though. At least I can carry it with me the rest of my life.
This year I want to take more responsibility for this word. I'm not really sure how to do that. In the past I've tried to make things happen, part of that being and doing has been misguided and not realizing the Lord will make everything happen. It's really a hard concept for me honestly. I have responsibility to do my part, but yet, He does everything.
The analogy of marriage again popped into my head.
I love when He makes things so I can understand them.
He is the husband. He has promised to cover, provide, lead, and make a good life for us. He's given His word.
I am the wife. I am to:
--cultivate our relationship and be open to intimacy with Him
--steward my time so we always have time together, important things are done, others are part of our lives
--take care of myself so I am the best for Him and for us
--steward our resources well
--be in agreement with Him on how we raise our children
--take Him at His word
If He promises something, He will bring it to pass.
Those seem like simple enough guidelines. Think marriage. Not as the needy wife, but as the capable partner who is fully covered, whose weaknesses are not grounds for rejection, but are accepted as part of the whole package and are covered.
Isn't that what commitment in a relationship is?
We are committing to covering the other person's weaknesses.
I don't know how to explain it without it sounding warped, but we have to realize we are saying:
"I know you are figuring out conflict resolution and pretty much stink at it right now, are learning to communicate better by learning to trust me, working on your cooking, or whatever. I've got your back. If there is a chasm between us and you can only get 1/3 of the way across the bridge, I'll walk the other 2/3 of the way to get to you."
When He promises something in our marriage, He already has the plan to get us there. He's already factored in my personality, my weaknesses and strengths, and everything else. He's not thinking, "Well, if everything goes just right and she gets her act together and handles this the way I need her to, we should be okay."
Nope.
He's thinking,
"I know my Jerri. I know what she's capable of. I know where she is going to get tired or discouraged. I know where she is going to excel and run wide open.
I know my Bride,
and I am confident we can do this."
In the past, I've seen these promises as something I've had to accomplish, more like a command of who I need to be than a gift of what I get to live.
I feel the urge to memorize Isaiah 32:2 (my word for 2014) before the first of the year. I don't want it to be mid-December when I finally get this one like it was for the word for 2013. Praise the Lord I finally got it, though. At least I can carry it with me the rest of my life.
This year I want to take more responsibility for this word. I'm not really sure how to do that. In the past I've tried to make things happen, part of that being and doing has been misguided and not realizing the Lord will make everything happen. It's really a hard concept for me honestly. I have responsibility to do my part, but yet, He does everything.
The analogy of marriage again popped into my head.
I love when He makes things so I can understand them.
He is the husband. He has promised to cover, provide, lead, and make a good life for us. He's given His word.
I am the wife. I am to:
--cultivate our relationship and be open to intimacy with Him
--steward my time so we always have time together, important things are done, others are part of our lives
--take care of myself so I am the best for Him and for us
--steward our resources well
--be in agreement with Him on how we raise our children
--take Him at His word
If He promises something, He will bring it to pass.
Those seem like simple enough guidelines. Think marriage. Not as the needy wife, but as the capable partner who is fully covered, whose weaknesses are not grounds for rejection, but are accepted as part of the whole package and are covered.
Isn't that what commitment in a relationship is?
We are committing to covering the other person's weaknesses.
I don't know how to explain it without it sounding warped, but we have to realize we are saying:
"I know you are figuring out conflict resolution and pretty much stink at it right now, are learning to communicate better by learning to trust me, working on your cooking, or whatever. I've got your back. If there is a chasm between us and you can only get 1/3 of the way across the bridge, I'll walk the other 2/3 of the way to get to you."
With the Lord, He already knows my weaknesses.
He already has me covered.
He already has a plan to meet me wherever I am.
When He promises something in our marriage, He already has the plan to get us there. He's already factored in my personality, my weaknesses and strengths, and everything else. He's not thinking, "Well, if everything goes just right and she gets her act together and handles this the way I need her to, we should be okay."
Nope.
He's thinking,
"I know my Jerri. I know what she's capable of. I know where she is going to get tired or discouraged. I know where she is going to excel and run wide open.
I know my Bride,
and I am confident we can do this."
And isn't that the key?
We can do this.
In the past, I've seen these promises as something I've had to accomplish, more like a command of who I need to be than a gift of what I get to live.
This year I want to live the gift.
My Prayer for 2014
My prayer for 2014:
To be
courageous enough to
look stupid
by believing and living
REALLY big
by believing and living
REALLY big
instead
of
feeling stupid
for not believing or living big enough.
for not believing or living big enough.
Joshua
1:9
9 Have I not commanded
you?
Be
strong and courageous.
Do
not be afraid;
do
not be discouraged,
for
the Lord your God
will
be with you
wherever
you go.”
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
2014. I'm ready for you.
2013 kicked my butt royally. When I look back, I just think, "God, that was a hard year." And it was. It was also a year of transition. WonderGirl decided she was done with Teenpact. We moved. Relationships changed radically. Archery, firearms training, and kayaking were all lost in the changes. My beautiful truck that I enjoyed so much was totaled. IT WAS HARD.
But we got the sunrise. Every morning. Just over there.
Every time I would sit in front of the Lord and wonder what in the world he was doing and why in the world he would put us here, I would make myself watch the sunrise. Where we lived before here, we never saw the sunrise. It was too full of trees and houses and highline poles. Here, I sit, drink my coffee, rock on my patio, and watch the sky explode into a sunrise. MY LANDS. I always see it as His personal gift to me. Something we share, like the whisperings between lovers...spoken as loud as the sky.
I wish I had some fabulous metaphor about the sunrise and 2014, but the truth is I realize 2014 may be another hard year. I have things I hope to accomplish and hope to receive. I have things I would like to see happen and ways I want life to change, and I know good things will come.
But I also realize I may spend a lot of it on my knees like I did this one. I realize what I am hoping for may not happen in those 365 days. I realize changes are inevitable, and some are going to be hard.
I also realize God is good, and whatever comes there will be something He gives me that I can hold onto. Something is going to break the darkness and shine, and when I'm in tears and broken, I will stop and make myself look at that and realize I am not forgotten. I am not abandoned. I am loved. He has a purpose. He is whispering. We are still lovers, and His heart is still for me. Big as the sky.
2014, I'm ready for you.
But we got the sunrise. Every morning. Just over there.
Every time I would sit in front of the Lord and wonder what in the world he was doing and why in the world he would put us here, I would make myself watch the sunrise. Where we lived before here, we never saw the sunrise. It was too full of trees and houses and highline poles. Here, I sit, drink my coffee, rock on my patio, and watch the sky explode into a sunrise. MY LANDS. I always see it as His personal gift to me. Something we share, like the whisperings between lovers...spoken as loud as the sky.
I wish I had some fabulous metaphor about the sunrise and 2014, but the truth is I realize 2014 may be another hard year. I have things I hope to accomplish and hope to receive. I have things I would like to see happen and ways I want life to change, and I know good things will come.
But I also realize I may spend a lot of it on my knees like I did this one. I realize what I am hoping for may not happen in those 365 days. I realize changes are inevitable, and some are going to be hard.
I also realize God is good, and whatever comes there will be something He gives me that I can hold onto. Something is going to break the darkness and shine, and when I'm in tears and broken, I will stop and make myself look at that and realize I am not forgotten. I am not abandoned. I am loved. He has a purpose. He is whispering. We are still lovers, and His heart is still for me. Big as the sky.
2014, I'm ready for you.
"Mom, How Do You Study the Bible?"
My thirteen-year old asked me this question this week, and I've been praying about a good answer for him. The truth is studying the Bible is just what I do, and I don't really think about how I do it. Sort of like a weird spiritual shoe-tying thing. I had to think it through to explain it, and like shoe-tying, there isn't more than one way to study the Bible depending on the purpose.
Let me explain.
FOR GENERAL STUDY
I want to know the Bible--I often get asked how I know the Bible so well. How I know what is in it and what it says. Simple. I read it. Every year for several years, I made it a point to read 30 minutes a day. Started in Genesis and worked my way through Revelation. No fancy reading plan, just starting at page 1 and working my way to the end. Easy. I like easy.
I also found out I could read 3 chapters a day and finish the Bible in a year. I also found I missed some days, but no problem because there is Psalms! Psalm 119 is day on its own, but so many of those can be read together that missed days can easily be made up. I also found taking my Bible to things that would require my time worked well, too. A chapter here or there adds up. Far easier now to do with the apps on the phone, too. If you just want to know what is in the Bible, read it.
What kind of Bible? "Regular or Chronological"?--Yes. I don't like the chronological Bibles because I'm a goal oriented person. I like to easily break things up into pieces and finish those pieces. Chapters and books let me do that. I see the progress I'm making. Easy. Chronological Bibles are like the never ending page of a Nook. You just read and read and read, and how do you know when you're done? Read a certain number of pages, maybe? Now, the perk of chronological Bibles is the big picture. You can actually see how all the parts fit together. This is THE great thing for some folks. I love that. I love that we have the choice. I love that whichever you choose, you will learn the Bible when you just read it. You want to know it better? Read it again. And again. And again. :-)
Which version? -- Yes. Okay. Not all versions are the same, and I don't want to get into translation trash talking, so I'll just give you a general overview. I use the NIV mostly. I like it. Easy to understand. BUT, it does not have all the text the New King James Version has, and some things left out are important in my opinion. The Message is a VERY loose interpretation, more like a storybook. The Amplified gives a wealth of deep word meanings, but I find it can be hard to read through all the explanations and word meanings, but if I am really trying to understand a passage, it is a good resource. In my opinion, if you are simply reading for an overview, the NIV, NKJV, or American Standard are good.
When my dad died, my mom gave me his Bibles. He had one of every translation out at the time. One time I asked him why he had so many, and he said he realized at some point he was no longer really reading what the Bible said but reading what he had always known it to say. He read different translations to force him out of his rut. It made him see things differently, allowed him to see what he had never seen before. I use the same tactic now when I study specific passages. It allows me to see what I might not had seen before.
FOR SPECIFIC STUDY
What Should I Study--There really are two simple ways to find topics:
1. Have them given to you. A friend of mine told me he goes to his Sunday school to get topics he can study on his own. In fact, he thought that might be the whole reason he even goes. He thought this was more sensible then going through an alphabetized book on biblical subjects because it mixed things up, and he didn't have to wait until the end for the words that started with the "latter letters". True, but really, it is the same thing. Someone else is assigning the topics. The good thing he is learning about those topics, and when he needs the information, he'll have it. The negative is the topic may not relate to his life right now.
2. Study what is relevant. What are you dealing with right now? Study that. For instance, I'm the single mom of two teenagers. They are good kids, but they are kids. I know the kind of adults I want them to be, so I go to the Bible for guidance. Only I don't read about the rod and the spoiled brat. I read about being a good leader, an example of godly character, a place they know they are safe, a person of vision who embraces that they are God's first and mine second. I pray for wisdom, for them to have grace to forgive me when I mess up, for me to be humble and ask forgiveness, for me to be an example of who they need to be both in being strong and weak.
I'm having some problems with some authorities who have power over a project I've been asked to lead. So, I've been studying leadership again. What makes a good leader. Characteristics of a good leader. What it means to be humble. What it means to be a servant leader like Jesus. I'm praying for God to lead them. I'm also asking Him to lead me and give me wisdom, and I'm making things easier for Him by being in the Word studying how to honor the leaders over me and flourish when others' have power. It sounds simple, but being a leader is very complex. It requires patience, love, compassion, accountability, humility, honor, truthfulness, respect for others, valuing others. I study all of those things.
What is relevant to you? Marriage? Being a good spouse? Work? Handling a bad work environment well? Sickness? Healing? Grace? Self-forgiveness? Whatever you are praying about this morning is probably a good place to start studying what God has to say about it. It is far easier for God to fix something when we are acting in agreement with Him and His concepts than when we are sabotaging ourselves and His efforts to fix us.
Word study -- So much richness is lost when important concepts are put into the vernacular because, let's be honest, we live in a society that does not value real mean of words. We gloss over them with general meanings, which is really our interpretation of the term or concept. If we truly want to understand the Bible and what God is saying, we need to look at real word meaning. Loose translations allows us to read what we want to read or what we've always read. I have found word study makes me take responsibility for what is really being said. One of my favorite resources for this is a Key Word Study Bible.
Concept study -- I also take time to really dig into one concept. I will use a program like BibleGateway.com and search for all the verses on something, like grace, and copy all of those to a Word document. I start reading from top to bottom. What is grace? What is the benefit? How do I get it? What is my part? What does it mean by it is a gift? I saturate myself in that concept until I feel like I understand it and can absorb it correctly into my belief system and apply it to my life. My goal isn't necessarily to get it "perfect", but I get a strong foundation that the Lord can come back and work on later and adjust as He needs to. This may take days or weeks or sometimes months, like my study of the armor of God, but it is good, rich stuff.
Specific passage studies -- These include word study and background study. To do this, notes in a study Bible are good. I tend to compare them from a few different Bibles to avoid getting the personal filter problems that can arise from one author or theological group. Knowing the writer, who he was writing to, why he was writing, and such are important. ALWAYS take the passage in context.
Books of the Bible study -- I've tried this, but it doesn't work for me. I've found I could spend a lifetimes studying any given book of the Bible. It is just that rich. I know folks who do this though, and it is good for them. The spiritual revelation and growth is obvious. If this is what you are lead to do, jump in and do it!
Other "stuff" -- Here is the fact. I did not learn the Bible from a preacher or a study book or a class or a DVD series. I learned the Bible from the Bible. Now I've learned from pastors, study books, classes, and various teachers, but they added to what I knew and deepened my understanding. They did not build my foundation. Studying the Word did. They only built onto what the Lord laid in me through my study and seeking Him.
Be a Berean -- The Bereans are only mentioned once in the Bible, but their example should be one for all of us to follow.
I do not believe in following blindly. That is how Holocausts and David Karesh situations happen. Here the Apostle Paul's words are being tested. Do they line up with the Word? Is he taking anything out of context? Leaving anything important out that might contradict what he wants them to believe? He seemed solid, but how would they know...unless they tested what he said? Be a Berean.
MOST IMPORTANT
Put into practice what you read and learn. It doesn't matter if I study how to be a great leader and spout passages on the outcome of great leaders or blessings of God as a result of godly character if I don't really live that.
KNOWING the right thing to do is meaningless.
DOING the right thing is what makes the difference.
Knowing the Bible isn't enough.
LIVING the Bible is what will change your life.
You don't have to know the whole Bible to start making huge change. Start with one thing. Take one concept and ask the Lord, "How do I apply this?"
Maybe start by giving grace. Give grace to the person trying to squeeze into your lane at the last minute. If nothing else, it keeps you from feeding a frustrating morning.
Give grace to the wait staff that brought you the steak cooked the wrong way.
Give grace to your spouse who didn't get it all right today.
Give grace to yourself. You are a work in progress. Let yourself see the progress, not just what you need to work on.
Maybe start with forgiveness.
Accepting God forgives you.
Giving forgiveness to others.
Forgiving those who hurt you today...those who hurt you a decade ago.
Forgive yourself. Jesus came to set the captives free. He never intended for you to keep wearing your prison clothes.
One thing. Really applying one biblical concept can alter your life so radically you crave the rest. Seeing one piece of the Bible really make a difference can catapult you into wanting to learn everything in it. What makes me so sure? Let's just say I don't keep reading it and studying it because I love the book of Leviticus. When you read it, you'll understand. :-)
Let me explain.
FOR GENERAL STUDY
I want to know the Bible--I often get asked how I know the Bible so well. How I know what is in it and what it says. Simple. I read it. Every year for several years, I made it a point to read 30 minutes a day. Started in Genesis and worked my way through Revelation. No fancy reading plan, just starting at page 1 and working my way to the end. Easy. I like easy.
I also found out I could read 3 chapters a day and finish the Bible in a year. I also found I missed some days, but no problem because there is Psalms! Psalm 119 is day on its own, but so many of those can be read together that missed days can easily be made up. I also found taking my Bible to things that would require my time worked well, too. A chapter here or there adds up. Far easier now to do with the apps on the phone, too. If you just want to know what is in the Bible, read it.
What kind of Bible? "Regular or Chronological"?--Yes. I don't like the chronological Bibles because I'm a goal oriented person. I like to easily break things up into pieces and finish those pieces. Chapters and books let me do that. I see the progress I'm making. Easy. Chronological Bibles are like the never ending page of a Nook. You just read and read and read, and how do you know when you're done? Read a certain number of pages, maybe? Now, the perk of chronological Bibles is the big picture. You can actually see how all the parts fit together. This is THE great thing for some folks. I love that. I love that we have the choice. I love that whichever you choose, you will learn the Bible when you just read it. You want to know it better? Read it again. And again. And again. :-)
Which version? -- Yes. Okay. Not all versions are the same, and I don't want to get into translation trash talking, so I'll just give you a general overview. I use the NIV mostly. I like it. Easy to understand. BUT, it does not have all the text the New King James Version has, and some things left out are important in my opinion. The Message is a VERY loose interpretation, more like a storybook. The Amplified gives a wealth of deep word meanings, but I find it can be hard to read through all the explanations and word meanings, but if I am really trying to understand a passage, it is a good resource. In my opinion, if you are simply reading for an overview, the NIV, NKJV, or American Standard are good.
When my dad died, my mom gave me his Bibles. He had one of every translation out at the time. One time I asked him why he had so many, and he said he realized at some point he was no longer really reading what the Bible said but reading what he had always known it to say. He read different translations to force him out of his rut. It made him see things differently, allowed him to see what he had never seen before. I use the same tactic now when I study specific passages. It allows me to see what I might not had seen before.
FOR SPECIFIC STUDY
What Should I Study--There really are two simple ways to find topics:
1. Have them given to you. A friend of mine told me he goes to his Sunday school to get topics he can study on his own. In fact, he thought that might be the whole reason he even goes. He thought this was more sensible then going through an alphabetized book on biblical subjects because it mixed things up, and he didn't have to wait until the end for the words that started with the "latter letters". True, but really, it is the same thing. Someone else is assigning the topics. The good thing he is learning about those topics, and when he needs the information, he'll have it. The negative is the topic may not relate to his life right now.
2. Study what is relevant. What are you dealing with right now? Study that. For instance, I'm the single mom of two teenagers. They are good kids, but they are kids. I know the kind of adults I want them to be, so I go to the Bible for guidance. Only I don't read about the rod and the spoiled brat. I read about being a good leader, an example of godly character, a place they know they are safe, a person of vision who embraces that they are God's first and mine second. I pray for wisdom, for them to have grace to forgive me when I mess up, for me to be humble and ask forgiveness, for me to be an example of who they need to be both in being strong and weak.
I'm having some problems with some authorities who have power over a project I've been asked to lead. So, I've been studying leadership again. What makes a good leader. Characteristics of a good leader. What it means to be humble. What it means to be a servant leader like Jesus. I'm praying for God to lead them. I'm also asking Him to lead me and give me wisdom, and I'm making things easier for Him by being in the Word studying how to honor the leaders over me and flourish when others' have power. It sounds simple, but being a leader is very complex. It requires patience, love, compassion, accountability, humility, honor, truthfulness, respect for others, valuing others. I study all of those things.
What is relevant to you? Marriage? Being a good spouse? Work? Handling a bad work environment well? Sickness? Healing? Grace? Self-forgiveness? Whatever you are praying about this morning is probably a good place to start studying what God has to say about it. It is far easier for God to fix something when we are acting in agreement with Him and His concepts than when we are sabotaging ourselves and His efforts to fix us.
Word study -- So much richness is lost when important concepts are put into the vernacular because, let's be honest, we live in a society that does not value real mean of words. We gloss over them with general meanings, which is really our interpretation of the term or concept. If we truly want to understand the Bible and what God is saying, we need to look at real word meaning. Loose translations allows us to read what we want to read or what we've always read. I have found word study makes me take responsibility for what is really being said. One of my favorite resources for this is a Key Word Study Bible.
Concept study -- I also take time to really dig into one concept. I will use a program like BibleGateway.com and search for all the verses on something, like grace, and copy all of those to a Word document. I start reading from top to bottom. What is grace? What is the benefit? How do I get it? What is my part? What does it mean by it is a gift? I saturate myself in that concept until I feel like I understand it and can absorb it correctly into my belief system and apply it to my life. My goal isn't necessarily to get it "perfect", but I get a strong foundation that the Lord can come back and work on later and adjust as He needs to. This may take days or weeks or sometimes months, like my study of the armor of God, but it is good, rich stuff.
Specific passage studies -- These include word study and background study. To do this, notes in a study Bible are good. I tend to compare them from a few different Bibles to avoid getting the personal filter problems that can arise from one author or theological group. Knowing the writer, who he was writing to, why he was writing, and such are important. ALWAYS take the passage in context.
Books of the Bible study -- I've tried this, but it doesn't work for me. I've found I could spend a lifetimes studying any given book of the Bible. It is just that rich. I know folks who do this though, and it is good for them. The spiritual revelation and growth is obvious. If this is what you are lead to do, jump in and do it!
Other "stuff" -- Here is the fact. I did not learn the Bible from a preacher or a study book or a class or a DVD series. I learned the Bible from the Bible. Now I've learned from pastors, study books, classes, and various teachers, but they added to what I knew and deepened my understanding. They did not build my foundation. Studying the Word did. They only built onto what the Lord laid in me through my study and seeking Him.
Be a Berean -- The Bereans are only mentioned once in the Bible, but their example should be one for all of us to follow.
Acts 17:11
Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica,
Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica,
for they received the message with great eagerness
and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
I do not believe in following blindly. That is how Holocausts and David Karesh situations happen. Here the Apostle Paul's words are being tested. Do they line up with the Word? Is he taking anything out of context? Leaving anything important out that might contradict what he wants them to believe? He seemed solid, but how would they know...unless they tested what he said? Be a Berean.
MOST IMPORTANT
Put into practice what you read and learn. It doesn't matter if I study how to be a great leader and spout passages on the outcome of great leaders or blessings of God as a result of godly character if I don't really live that.
KNOWING the right thing to do is meaningless.
DOING the right thing is what makes the difference.
Knowing the Bible isn't enough.
LIVING the Bible is what will change your life.
You don't have to know the whole Bible to start making huge change. Start with one thing. Take one concept and ask the Lord, "How do I apply this?"
Maybe start by giving grace. Give grace to the person trying to squeeze into your lane at the last minute. If nothing else, it keeps you from feeding a frustrating morning.
Give grace to the wait staff that brought you the steak cooked the wrong way.
Give grace to your spouse who didn't get it all right today.
Give grace to yourself. You are a work in progress. Let yourself see the progress, not just what you need to work on.
Maybe start with forgiveness.
Accepting God forgives you.
Giving forgiveness to others.
Forgiving those who hurt you today...those who hurt you a decade ago.
Forgive yourself. Jesus came to set the captives free. He never intended for you to keep wearing your prison clothes.
One thing. Really applying one biblical concept can alter your life so radically you crave the rest. Seeing one piece of the Bible really make a difference can catapult you into wanting to learn everything in it. What makes me so sure? Let's just say I don't keep reading it and studying it because I love the book of Leviticus. When you read it, you'll understand. :-)
Monday, December 30, 2013
From my journal...Maybe it is what I make me that really matters
I've started blogging again. I'm not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe it is neither...and both...as most things in life are. Maybe it is what I make it." Funny. I actually wrote, "Maybe it is what I make me."
Certainly not what I had in mind, but probably far more realistic.
I have prayed for years to be the place where God invades earth. If my writing is really a piece of God in this world, it has to be where heaven invades earth.
That is the simplicity of what I want it to be. In which case MY wanting to be profound, MY wanting to be wise, MY wanting to be a great writer, MY words being memorable has very little--okay, NOTHING at all to do with what I really want. If what I really want is the Lord, if what I really want is people to see Him, I cannot desire to be seen at all. Or, if in my honest human state, I do desire to be seen, I have to give that back to Him, consciously put it in His hands and let go.
This morning as I sat down with my coffee for my usual prayers and journaling time, I thought about my blog. I have had posts for the last three days. I don't want to fall off the planet for another two months, but I can think of nothing to write. I just kept think, "I want to write something profound, something worth their time to read."
Faithful as always, the Lord spoke profound Truth. "All of it flows from time with me."
Of course I know that. Everyone knows that. So I did the mature Christian thing and prayed.
"Lord, I want to be profound."
I swear I heard Him laugh, and He said, "Talk to me."
And in the talking, He struck Truth.
"Maybe it is what I make me."
If I make ME known as profound....
If I make ME wise to the readers....
If I make ME great and MY words memorable...
what am I making Him?
Certainly not what I had in mind, but probably far more realistic.
I have prayed for years to be the place where God invades earth. If my writing is really a piece of God in this world, it has to be where heaven invades earth.
That is the simplicity of what I want it to be. In which case MY wanting to be profound, MY wanting to be wise, MY wanting to be a great writer, MY words being memorable has very little--okay, NOTHING at all to do with what I really want. If what I really want is the Lord, if what I really want is people to see Him, I cannot desire to be seen at all. Or, if in my honest human state, I do desire to be seen, I have to give that back to Him, consciously put it in His hands and let go.
This morning as I sat down with my coffee for my usual prayers and journaling time, I thought about my blog. I have had posts for the last three days. I don't want to fall off the planet for another two months, but I can think of nothing to write. I just kept think, "I want to write something profound, something worth their time to read."
Faithful as always, the Lord spoke profound Truth. "All of it flows from time with me."
Of course I know that. Everyone knows that. So I did the mature Christian thing and prayed.
"Lord, I want to be profound."
I swear I heard Him laugh, and He said, "Talk to me."
And in the talking, He struck Truth.
"Maybe it is what I make me."
If I make ME known as profound....
If I make ME wise to the readers....
If I make ME great and MY words memorable...
what am I making Him?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)