Daniel 3:16-18
"16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty.
18 But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”"
This verse is VERY powerful to me! Every time I read it, I'm in awe of the confidence that Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego show here. First of all, they are being told to bow and worship a statue or die in a blazing furnace, and second of all: not only do they tell Nebuchadnezzar that their God is powerful enough to save them, they reiterate that even if God does NOT save them, they will worship no others! Now THAT my friends is a great picture of faith to me! I've talked about the "definition" of faith before how Hebrews 11:1 defines faith this way: "1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." and when I was writing about this faith, I wish I could have remembered this story. When I read that verse from the New Testament defining faith for me, I can see it lived out in the actions of these three men.
I think the "magic" words here that take these verses to the faith level are 18 But even if he doesn’t. I am still just in awe as I am writing this. Can you imagine what our lives, what MY life, would look like if we could live these verses out in our every day lives? I would have no reason to fear for anything, I wouldn't feel like I'd need to "bow" to the peer pressure I see happening all around me. My life could be so much if I would just learn how to live these verses! God has a choice in what He does, but WE have a choice in how we act, or react to life as well. If we can chose to believe that God will save us, and acknowledge that EVEN IF HE CHOOSES not too, we won't bow or worship any other but our God; wow. I'm floored at the possibilities!
Here's to living a life of faith as shown here in Daniel, thanks boys for giving me that example to live by!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
It's simple right? Well, maybe not SIMPLE! :-)
James 4:8a
"8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you."
Come close to God, and God will come close to you. That's it, it's that simple! James has a wonderful way of being blatantly honest with his audience and telling them exactly how it is. I think we sometimes make things too difficult on ourselves. We will continually tell ourselves that we'll "get right with God" when we are better people, or we will ask so and so to forgive us when we are able to forgive ourselves. James points out to us that our way of thinking is not God's way of thinking.
God doesn't care what sins we've committed, how deep in the mire we are right now; God only cares that we love Him. John 3:16, "16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.", states it pretty plan to me as well. If we believe in Christ, we will NOT perish, but will live forever with Him! All that is required of us is to believe, and come close to Him. How simple is that?
Simple, huh...that's funny. When has it every been simple to do that? Believe that is? As a human, I think we all have a tendency to need proof and "hard evidence" of something before we are able to fully believe in it. Faith is different. Hebrews 11:1 defines faith this way: "1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." That is nearly the opposite of hard evidence and proof. Nothing about Faith is grounded in our human efforts to prove things. I have discovered that the process of getting to that belief isn't easy, but once I made up my mind to believe I have followed that Faith path with all my heart.
At this point in my journey I'm learning to grow closer to God. I'm learning what all is involved in growing closer to Him. In a human relationship, it takes work to grow close to someone, right? It takes time, conversations and interaction with that person; and because we are human our relationship with God takes no less. Prayer, reading the Bible and just good old time are required to grow closer to God. I've found that in searching for answers in God's Word, I'm growing closer to Him as well. It's not something that has happened over night, it's been a gradual trek. In fact I was talking to my wonderful husband recently about how much closer I've grown to God in the last 10 years. 10 years, that is NOT an over night kind of transformation, but it's been a pretty big transformation none the less. I've been taking baby steps to get to this point in my life, one step closer to God and He's come more steps in my direction. It's been wonderful getting to this point in my journey and I can honestly say; I can't wait to grow closer to Him more every day!
"8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you."
Come close to God, and God will come close to you. That's it, it's that simple! James has a wonderful way of being blatantly honest with his audience and telling them exactly how it is. I think we sometimes make things too difficult on ourselves. We will continually tell ourselves that we'll "get right with God" when we are better people, or we will ask so and so to forgive us when we are able to forgive ourselves. James points out to us that our way of thinking is not God's way of thinking.
God doesn't care what sins we've committed, how deep in the mire we are right now; God only cares that we love Him. John 3:16, "16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.", states it pretty plan to me as well. If we believe in Christ, we will NOT perish, but will live forever with Him! All that is required of us is to believe, and come close to Him. How simple is that?
Simple, huh...that's funny. When has it every been simple to do that? Believe that is? As a human, I think we all have a tendency to need proof and "hard evidence" of something before we are able to fully believe in it. Faith is different. Hebrews 11:1 defines faith this way: "1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." That is nearly the opposite of hard evidence and proof. Nothing about Faith is grounded in our human efforts to prove things. I have discovered that the process of getting to that belief isn't easy, but once I made up my mind to believe I have followed that Faith path with all my heart.
At this point in my journey I'm learning to grow closer to God. I'm learning what all is involved in growing closer to Him. In a human relationship, it takes work to grow close to someone, right? It takes time, conversations and interaction with that person; and because we are human our relationship with God takes no less. Prayer, reading the Bible and just good old time are required to grow closer to God. I've found that in searching for answers in God's Word, I'm growing closer to Him as well. It's not something that has happened over night, it's been a gradual trek. In fact I was talking to my wonderful husband recently about how much closer I've grown to God in the last 10 years. 10 years, that is NOT an over night kind of transformation, but it's been a pretty big transformation none the less. I've been taking baby steps to get to this point in my life, one step closer to God and He's come more steps in my direction. It's been wonderful getting to this point in my journey and I can honestly say; I can't wait to grow closer to Him more every day!
Friday, November 18, 2011
Don't forget the next step!
"22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like."
As I was reading my devotions this morning, these words caught my eye and my mind. How true is that? I mean, how often do I just sort of skim over God's Words to me and not really take that next step in the process? As I sat there thinking about that, I had to admit that the answer was probably a lot more often then it should be. All year long, I've been working towards my goal of learning patience, and I've come a long way in that process; but am I as far along as I should be? Could I have gained more knowledge if I had just obeyed more of what I had read?
I've been watching the stats on my blog rise lately, even though I haven't been able to write much in it. When I was thinking about writing this particular blog today, I wondered how many other people were reading the words I've written over the past 9 months and were doing more then just READ the words? I don't mean to say that people aren't getting anything, or "obeying" my blog, what I mean is: am I gaining anything from it, or am I just writing the words that I feel that day and then moving on to something else and not obeying what I'd just listened to? I'm not sure of the answer to that, but I know it's something to think about as I'm going along and living my life.
I don't want to be fooling myself, especially when it comes to writing this blog; I want to be a genuine voice, a voice that speaks only for itself, but still is able to offer something to those who might be reading it as well. If I am just writing things then forgetting totally about the lessons I have "learned" I don't think I'm meeting my goal with this blog. One of the main reasons that I started the blog was so I could go back and read my entries at any time. I've found that when it comes to the "journal" aspect I will write for about five days, put the journal away and never come back to it. This blog has not only provided me a way to keep track of everything I've learned, but to get wonderful advice and feedback from people who are reading it; people who are going through the same things I am, or have survived them already.
My stats show several entries that are more popular then other entries in my blog world, every time I see one of these entries "jump" in popularity, I feel as if God is telling me to go back, read again what I wrote and see what I've learned from that particular lesson, and these verses seem to be confirming that as well. So from now on, ESPECIALLY when I'm feeling scared, or alone, or down; I think I'm going to take God's hints and advice and re-read the wonderful lessons He is trying to teach me on a daily basis. Thank you friends for listening to my lessons and even teaching me some of the ones you have already learned yourselves!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
A Light at the End of the Raod
1 Peter 5:7
"7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you."
Fear, according to dictionary.com; fear is a feeling of concern or anxiety; solicitude. Ever since the Lord blessed me with what I wanted so badly, I've been experiencing this emotion. Have you ever heard that old adage that says "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it!"? I seem to have found myself in that boat. Up until this time in my life, I have been dreaming of holding a baby, of being a "complete" family. Now that my baby is coming; all I can think of are all my fears! I fear if we'll be able to afford this, I fear coming back to work after the baby is born, I fear that I'll somehow mess this kid up beyond repair and I fear so many other things, that it seems to have consumed my every moment.
I've tried giving up my fears to God, repeatedly, but I always seem to turn around and keep worrying about them some more. At a time in my life, when I should be praising God and thanking Him for His awesome goodness, I find myself fighting Him and trying to keep a hold of that fear. It's as if it's my security blanket, which makes no sense to me; because it's keeping me up at night, not helping me sleep!
I saw this verse this morning in my devotions and I thought; that's it! THAT is what God's been trying to tell me; to give my worries to Him, because He cares for me. Now all I have to do is get it through my thick skull! That used to be an easy concept for me, but at this time in my life, when my decisions suddenly effect a tiny life growing in me; I'm finding it harder then ever to lay those burdens at His feet. Then I ran across this second verse while I was looking up the first one, and another light bulb went off.
1 Peter 5:8 "8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour."
Huh, who knew? Could it be, could the devil is trying to derail me here? When I saw this verse this afternoon, I was stunned, not only did it make total sense to me, but it also gave me a plan of attack! My brain works in the way that if I can figure out WHY I'm doing something, then I can figure out how to stop that something. My plan of attack here, is to stop the devil at his game, if I can pray in a way that will help eliminate the problem's source then I can pray in a such a way that will help me finally give it all over to God. As I was typing the first part of this blog, I was feeling all dark and depressed because I have "failed" at getting rid of the fear, or at least dealing with it. But as I've been writing this second half, it's as if a light has gone on. I feel lighter somehow, less burdened.
Peter wasn't kidding when he called the devil the GREAT enemy. He really knows how to push my buttons, he knew right where to go and attack my relationship with Christ. The devil saw me growing and learning though out this year; and when he saw an opportunity to strike he did...hard. I have been struggling with this for three months now, which means the devil did a really good job of hitting that sore spot, and I have been trying and trying to get rid of it. All to no avail, until now. NOW I'm starting to see where this fear is originating from, and can therefore deal with that part first...instead of trying to deal with only the symptoms of the problem.
Let me say, this in no way means that I'm suddenly fear free, because I'm not. What it does mean is that I now have more to talk with God about and that I can kick the devil right out of that conversation. I can pray that I be protected from the devil's antics and be able to heal from the damage he's inflected on my life. I am sure that I will still struggle with this, but now I can fight the DEVIL instead of fighting with GOD! I like the sound of that a LOT more then what I was doing before!
"7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you."
Fear, according to dictionary.com; fear is a feeling of concern or anxiety; solicitude. Ever since the Lord blessed me with what I wanted so badly, I've been experiencing this emotion. Have you ever heard that old adage that says "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it!"? I seem to have found myself in that boat. Up until this time in my life, I have been dreaming of holding a baby, of being a "complete" family. Now that my baby is coming; all I can think of are all my fears! I fear if we'll be able to afford this, I fear coming back to work after the baby is born, I fear that I'll somehow mess this kid up beyond repair and I fear so many other things, that it seems to have consumed my every moment.
I've tried giving up my fears to God, repeatedly, but I always seem to turn around and keep worrying about them some more. At a time in my life, when I should be praising God and thanking Him for His awesome goodness, I find myself fighting Him and trying to keep a hold of that fear. It's as if it's my security blanket, which makes no sense to me; because it's keeping me up at night, not helping me sleep!
I saw this verse this morning in my devotions and I thought; that's it! THAT is what God's been trying to tell me; to give my worries to Him, because He cares for me. Now all I have to do is get it through my thick skull! That used to be an easy concept for me, but at this time in my life, when my decisions suddenly effect a tiny life growing in me; I'm finding it harder then ever to lay those burdens at His feet. Then I ran across this second verse while I was looking up the first one, and another light bulb went off.
1 Peter 5:8 "8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour."
Huh, who knew? Could it be, could the devil is trying to derail me here? When I saw this verse this afternoon, I was stunned, not only did it make total sense to me, but it also gave me a plan of attack! My brain works in the way that if I can figure out WHY I'm doing something, then I can figure out how to stop that something. My plan of attack here, is to stop the devil at his game, if I can pray in a way that will help eliminate the problem's source then I can pray in a such a way that will help me finally give it all over to God. As I was typing the first part of this blog, I was feeling all dark and depressed because I have "failed" at getting rid of the fear, or at least dealing with it. But as I've been writing this second half, it's as if a light has gone on. I feel lighter somehow, less burdened.
Peter wasn't kidding when he called the devil the GREAT enemy. He really knows how to push my buttons, he knew right where to go and attack my relationship with Christ. The devil saw me growing and learning though out this year; and when he saw an opportunity to strike he did...hard. I have been struggling with this for three months now, which means the devil did a really good job of hitting that sore spot, and I have been trying and trying to get rid of it. All to no avail, until now. NOW I'm starting to see where this fear is originating from, and can therefore deal with that part first...instead of trying to deal with only the symptoms of the problem.
Let me say, this in no way means that I'm suddenly fear free, because I'm not. What it does mean is that I now have more to talk with God about and that I can kick the devil right out of that conversation. I can pray that I be protected from the devil's antics and be able to heal from the damage he's inflected on my life. I am sure that I will still struggle with this, but now I can fight the DEVIL instead of fighting with GOD! I like the sound of that a LOT more then what I was doing before!
Monday, October 17, 2011
My Prayer for the Bean
Proverbs 23: 15-16 "15 My child, if your heart is wise,
my own heart will rejoice!
my own heart will rejoice!
16 Everything in me will celebrate
when you speak what is right."
when you speak what is right."
This is an "official" announcement that at least part of my patience journey has come to an end. As of last Friday, October 14, 2011; I am 12 weeks pregnant! I've been wanting to blog about this for a very long time, but having had so many issues getting TO this point, I was overly worried about complications; which only proves that a good portion of that patience journey is NOT over! :-)
Several weeks ago, while I was reading through my daily devotions, I ran across this verse in Proverbs. What a beautiful prayer that is for my unborn child. The first time I read it, I was nearly brought to tears, because it truly is my prayer and wish for my baby; that my child have a wise heart and speak what's right.
The Message Paraphrase of this verse is beautiful "15 Dear child, if you become wise, I'll be one happy parent.16 My heart will dance and sing to the tuneful truth you'll speak." I ADORE this version of this verse, partly because it's so true and partly because I love the image of my heart dancing and singing! As I look at this, it becomes apparent that not only is this my prayer for my Bean (that's what my sister lovingly nick named my baby!) but it is also God's prayer for ME. My Bean isn't the only one who needs to become wise, I still have a long way to go in that journey as well.
If being pregnant has done anything for me, it's made me realize that I need God more then ever now. I've been struggling with fear since the day I found about the baby, I've had so much fear that I haven't really let myself enjoy the pregnancy part of this journey. My wonderful husband and I have been married for 10 years, and they have been AWESOME years, but with a baby on the way; our whole lives are about to change. The number one key to our relationship (in both of our humble opinions!) is communication. The last 10 years have been one big talk about every little thing. One of the fears, is that we will some how lose that communication and along with it, some of our closeness. How do we go from being a "couple" to a "family"? How can we afford for me to work? How can we afford for me NOT to work? The fear has, at times, been crippling.
I often find myself praying desperately that God would take away my fears and bring me to a place of peace, which He does, then I end up picking that fear right back up and trying to walk around with it again...I don't appear to be the quickest learner out there! As I've been using this prayer for a Bean prayer, I'm starting to see how God is saying the same thing to me, nearly begging me to invest some time in becoming wise. I need it too! Being a parent isn't going to be easy, and I WILL mess it up, but I know that by the grace of God and the wisdom He grants me that I can do this! I can leave this baby in His hands and know that all will be well.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Challenge in Patience Update 4
Ephesians 1:15-19
"16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdomt and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.
18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.t19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him.
Last month, I updated that I was learning so much through this practice, and that is still the case this month! I do not have daily contact with any of my patience peeps any more, but I do have daily contact with God; and through that daily contact I have kept my prayers for my peeps flowing. The more I learn about patience, the more I understand that it's a process. I am not going to achieve it in five minutes, as I had originally hoped. But I will have to work at it, and continue to discover new aspects of it everyday of my life. That's how I have started to feel about my Challenge in Patience. The original challenge will be up next month, but I plan to keep praying and waiting to see the awesome things God has in store for these five people.
The verses I chose this month are as much for me as for the challenge. I want to pray this prayer, and mean every line of it. Have you ever said a prayer, just because you "had" to? I've fallen into that several times through out my challenge. I pray for my peeps purely because it's what I promised to do...not because I MEAN what I'm praying. Six months is a very long time to pray, and not feel like I'm seeing many results, but I can not see what God is doing in a person that I don't have daily contact with, now can I? But I can learn to trust in Him whom I'm praying to.
It's amazing what lessons I've realized are hidden within my "big" lesson. This issue of trust, it's been a big one for me lately, and I see how it's directly related to my patience issues. If I am not trusting in God, how can ANYTHING happen? All of the miracles that I'm waiting to see, they are directly related to my trust in God. I have to learn trust, to accomplish patience. I've written about this before, only I called trust by it's original name (at least in my opinion) of faith. Dictionary.com defines faith as: confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability. The Bible defines faith for us in Hebrews 11:11 "1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." So it appears, to me at least, that my trust/faith issue is a big part of my lack of patience.
"16 I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly,17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdomt and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.
18 I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.t19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him.
Last month, I updated that I was learning so much through this practice, and that is still the case this month! I do not have daily contact with any of my patience peeps any more, but I do have daily contact with God; and through that daily contact I have kept my prayers for my peeps flowing. The more I learn about patience, the more I understand that it's a process. I am not going to achieve it in five minutes, as I had originally hoped. But I will have to work at it, and continue to discover new aspects of it everyday of my life. That's how I have started to feel about my Challenge in Patience. The original challenge will be up next month, but I plan to keep praying and waiting to see the awesome things God has in store for these five people.
The verses I chose this month are as much for me as for the challenge. I want to pray this prayer, and mean every line of it. Have you ever said a prayer, just because you "had" to? I've fallen into that several times through out my challenge. I pray for my peeps purely because it's what I promised to do...not because I MEAN what I'm praying. Six months is a very long time to pray, and not feel like I'm seeing many results, but I can not see what God is doing in a person that I don't have daily contact with, now can I? But I can learn to trust in Him whom I'm praying to.
It's amazing what lessons I've realized are hidden within my "big" lesson. This issue of trust, it's been a big one for me lately, and I see how it's directly related to my patience issues. If I am not trusting in God, how can ANYTHING happen? All of the miracles that I'm waiting to see, they are directly related to my trust in God. I have to learn trust, to accomplish patience. I've written about this before, only I called trust by it's original name (at least in my opinion) of faith. Dictionary.com defines faith as: confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability. The Bible defines faith for us in Hebrews 11:11 "1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." So it appears, to me at least, that my trust/faith issue is a big part of my lack of patience.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
If We don't....then who will?
Last night on my way home from work, the radio station I was listening to was discussing a guest that had been on the Ellen Show recently. You may have seen the show; with Marc Martel, lead singer of a Christian band, singing a Queen song on Ellen. The controversy began with the fact that he was singing a song written by a man who lead a gay life style and died from it as well, then to have him preform the song on Ellen, who is currently living in that lifestyle got the debate going more. The station (a Christian station) DJ made a wonderful point that we are all sinners, and that if we heard any song on the radio during his show, the button was pushed by a sinner, so we could hear it.
I thought about this all evening long last night, and during my prayer time, I found myself praying about it. I'm a FIRM believer that we, as Christians, are to show Christ's love to the world. By doing this, we are to model ourselves after Him, at least that's how I see it. If I'm modeling myself after Christ; then I would see how He hung out with the sinners all the time, even his closest friends had some pretty serious flaws. But the Christ I see in scripture (this would be where my handy dandy search machine would come in handy!) He loves them, He sees them as His children! What an awesome image that is, because if we are all honesty, even just a little bit; we have sinned. I have sinned, I doubt, I judge (notice how these are all in the PRESENT tense?), I lie, I do all kinds of things that are sin. Yet, through all my sinning; I can see God growing me and teaching me lessons; lessons on love and forgiveness. If Christ loved ME enough to show me those things, who could I assume He loves someone ELSE less?
All this to say, If WE don't show people the love of Christ, who will? When I die, and get to meet my Savior face to face, I want to hear Him say "Well done, my good and faithful servant, well done." I don't want to hear Him say "Who are you? I don't know you." I want to be an agent of His love, because His love, grace and mercy are the things that have saved me; how could they do less for others?
The Queen song that was sung, Somebody To Love, says a lot about how Freddie Mercury must have been feeling at that point in his life. In the song, he is actually praying and begging God to find him somebody to love, what a picture that is to me! I know that I have felt that way before, and I know that my reaction was the same, PLEASE God, find someone to love me! God's reassuring answer is, I already have; I sent you My Son who loves you very much. Thank you so much Lord! How can I ever thank You enough? I know one thing, I can't keep this love to myself, I have to share it with those who need it, long for it, are searching for it. Lord, give me Your eyes to see the lost and hurting everywhere around me.
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