"The impulse that drives the life of the believer isn't the need to perform for God but to commune with Him." ~Face-To-Face with God, Paul Johnson, pg 3 para 2, 2007, Charisma House, Lake Mary, Florida, USA
What is that we do for those that we love? Do we do it out of "need" to perform, or because we want to be with them---or, at the very least, because we want to take care of them?
We in general appear to "perform" for people that we need to impress---first dates, new jobs and bosses, or acquaintances possibly.
We rarely perform for those we love, but act, instead, in an example of our love. We do things to bring them joy: attending our 2nd grader's dance recital; helping our husband as he fixes his pride and joy of a car by pushing the brake in and out for some unknown but apparently useful reason; taking our mother shopping; helping a dear friend with an emotional crisis.
We do something! We do something because we love, honor and care for this person. We are not putting on a "performance" to impress them, because we know they love us already. There is no need to perform, we are theirs, they have accepted us, they are ours.
And yet others see this love, they hear of it---their children speak of how you saw the play, people see you helping your spouse, people hear the tone of voice and the words you use towards your friends, and family. All those people, strangers included, see the example of your love for different groups of people.
"For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings." Hos 6.6 NIV
"Therefore,
I urge you, brothers, on view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as
living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God---this is a spiritual act of
worship." Rm 12.1 NIV
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3.16 NIV
Look, see how God loves us? A love beyond what we can understand really--dying for us before we even had a glimmer of knowing Him. He continues to help us, communing with us by His Spirit, lending us His peace, strength, joy. He loves us more than we can comprehend. We need not impress Him! He already loves us!
When we love God we do something for Him; we live in a different manner than the world. Walking soundly with God, communing with Him so that He is what drives the day, makes us stand out to others in the world.We worship God by our actions because we are so deeply involved in Him.
Rheumatoid Awareness
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Monday, June 26, 2017
Handiwork
"God dwells in His creation and is everywhere indivisibly present in His works. Nature and God are one, so that whoever touches a leaf or a stone touches God...He is transcendent above all His works even while immanent within them. [In other words] [w]herever we are, God is here. There is no place, there can be no place, where He is not...Adam sinned and in his panic, frantically tried to do the impossible: hide from God." ~Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer (Kindle edition uncertain of page or location number)
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." Ps 19.1-4
since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Rom 1.19-20BibleGateway NIV
Artists and authors, musicians and scientists, anyone who is thoroughly in love with their "job" feels a deep connection with the finished project. The project is shown around, their name floating on the creation in one way or another.
We are surrounded by things God created. The orchids sitting on my table, blooming in all their splendor, the dogs asleep on their beds, the oxygen molecules entering my body, the smallest particle holding creation together (that we have discovered at least).
All this magnificence points out the glory of God. It is simply to overwhelming, too deep, too tall, too wide to make sense of.
"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy, is to go outside, somewhere where the can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be." Anne Frank BrainyQuotes
I love the part of Tozer's quote that there is no place in which God is not also. I cannot be in a place where God is not there with me. The salvation I have been given means I am a beloved child, one to be held in His arms and never forgotten. As a child, I may forget Him, such as we humans forget to give our parents birthday gifts, say. He, the perfect parent, will never forget me.
We are all His beloved ones, beloved enough to die for, to help face any trial or struggle, to bring to a palace beautiful someday.
When hardships come for me, wondering at His handiwork is one of the best ways to feel the wonder of God. Looking about me at the beauty and glory of creation shows me that God is there with me, concerned with me as well--if the sparrow dropping is a note, how much more are we?
Always look toward God, in the good and in the hard times. It is often harder to look towards Him in the good because then we can be forgetful children and not notice that we have forgotten God--even when we continue rote behavior of church attendance, etc. Hardships bring us up short that we desperately need God. Further, hardships remind us in good times that we need God; we recall what happened in that hard time and how He helped us, and so we lean on Him more solidly during good times.
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." Ps 19.1-4
since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Rom 1.19-20BibleGateway NIV
Artists and authors, musicians and scientists, anyone who is thoroughly in love with their "job" feels a deep connection with the finished project. The project is shown around, their name floating on the creation in one way or another.
We are surrounded by things God created. The orchids sitting on my table, blooming in all their splendor, the dogs asleep on their beds, the oxygen molecules entering my body, the smallest particle holding creation together (that we have discovered at least).
All this magnificence points out the glory of God. It is simply to overwhelming, too deep, too tall, too wide to make sense of.
"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy, is to go outside, somewhere where the can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be." Anne Frank BrainyQuotes
I love the part of Tozer's quote that there is no place in which God is not also. I cannot be in a place where God is not there with me. The salvation I have been given means I am a beloved child, one to be held in His arms and never forgotten. As a child, I may forget Him, such as we humans forget to give our parents birthday gifts, say. He, the perfect parent, will never forget me.
We are all His beloved ones, beloved enough to die for, to help face any trial or struggle, to bring to a palace beautiful someday.
When hardships come for me, wondering at His handiwork is one of the best ways to feel the wonder of God. Looking about me at the beauty and glory of creation shows me that God is there with me, concerned with me as well--if the sparrow dropping is a note, how much more are we?
Always look toward God, in the good and in the hard times. It is often harder to look towards Him in the good because then we can be forgetful children and not notice that we have forgotten God--even when we continue rote behavior of church attendance, etc. Hardships bring us up short that we desperately need God. Further, hardships remind us in good times that we need God; we recall what happened in that hard time and how He helped us, and so we lean on Him more solidly during good times.
The best remedy for
those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere
where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because
only then does one feel that all is as it should be.
Anne Frank
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/annefrank133186.html
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/annefrank133186.html
The best remedy for
those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere
where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because
only then does one feel that all is as it should be.
Anne Frank
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/annefrank133186.html
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/annefrank133186.html
The best remedy for
those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere
where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because
only then does one feel that all is as it should be.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/annefrank133186.html
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/annefrank133186.html
Sunday, June 25, 2017
RA Post: Discouragement (A rant, so be careful of reading)
Fear and discouragement would be a better title for this post. I've been in a flare the last several weeks. I might feel good one day, be terribly sick and feverish the next three.
It makes me so very discouraged---mainly from constantly having to try to do everything. I have to try to stay up and awake, try to accomplish minute things in my day such as laundry one day, vacuuming another. I have to try and save energy to leave the house, monitor how I feel, whether my face starts to flush and heat up, a major warning sign that my body has about had it. I have to try and try and try. And I am so very tired of trying. I wish so that I could be like the other near 30s I know, raising children, doing normal housework, driving easily to visit a friend, picking up groceries. I wish that so very much that sometimes seeing others do so makes me sit down and cry.
I remember a few years ago when I first got married, first was a nurse. I didn't feel very good at times then, couldn't keep up with everyone else's energy...but I could at least drive myself if I wanted to go somewhere, worked, played. I felt like I was actually alive. Now that person is all a dream. It's like I died in August 2014, died and someone else entered my body to run it. I am not the same person. I do get to do the biblical research I wanted to do, and I can still read articles. I died in August of 2014...my body just didn't stop working. It shut down 90% and someone else took up residence....
It makes me so very discouraged---mainly from constantly having to try to do everything. I have to try to stay up and awake, try to accomplish minute things in my day such as laundry one day, vacuuming another. I have to try and save energy to leave the house, monitor how I feel, whether my face starts to flush and heat up, a major warning sign that my body has about had it. I have to try and try and try. And I am so very tired of trying. I wish so that I could be like the other near 30s I know, raising children, doing normal housework, driving easily to visit a friend, picking up groceries. I wish that so very much that sometimes seeing others do so makes me sit down and cry.
I remember a few years ago when I first got married, first was a nurse. I didn't feel very good at times then, couldn't keep up with everyone else's energy...but I could at least drive myself if I wanted to go somewhere, worked, played. I felt like I was actually alive. Now that person is all a dream. It's like I died in August 2014, died and someone else entered my body to run it. I am not the same person. I do get to do the biblical research I wanted to do, and I can still read articles. I died in August of 2014...my body just didn't stop working. It shut down 90% and someone else took up residence....
Monday, June 19, 2017
Prisoners' Lives
Somehow, since I have not felt as well the last couple of days, I am reminded of the times I have called this a prison. A prison on my body, my mind and my spirit---when I let it settle in that deep. I am so tired of struggling against my body and against my mind which
knows if I overdo I may or may not get a flare. It is such a balancing
act to not make my prison sentencing worse.
How many other things do we settle into as a prison, not to mention actual prison? We allow ourselves to be bullied into a corner in which we curl up and wait for the "inevitable" sentencing to pass over us. But are we acting as we should in those "prison" situations? I would guess not, as the fetal position is not world-changing.
We are in prison for a few reasons: one is actual imprisonment, with the subheadings of legal and illegal. Another is mental imprisonment, done to ourselves with either our own choices or because of someone else's action (rape comes to mind with the latter, nervousness perhaps for the former), or we may do our own spiritual (physical and/or mental) imprisonment because we allow Satan to get a foothold, we choose to go our own way, or we have fallen apart furthest, thinking God does not care.
'I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ Mt 25.43
This verse, in the context of proving who were actual followers of Christ, is a pointing out that we should indeed serve others. I do not think that this means we "have" to do it or even all of it, but I think service to our fellow creations in the image shows an understanding of God's love.
I think over the many things people have done for me over the years I have been in various "prisons", and I am so grateful that they stopped and gave me their time. They gave me water, to ease my thirsty stress, they invited me into their confidence, they soothed my sick body, and comforted me in my prisons.
One of the favorite books of the family is called A Lost Princess: A Double Story (or in some versions simply A Double Story). Two very spoiled little girls who are as different as night and day in their spoiling, are kidnapped by a Wise Woman (analogy of Christ) and so change who and what they are. However, at the beginning of the book, it is pointed out that each of these girls is a Somebody, a most important person--and it is this thought process that puts these girls into a prison of sorts.
Christ helps us out of the difficulties of life. Not that they will leave, necessarily. For those hardships are a buffing agent...a way of getting the impure out. Ha, I consider my life ten years ago and the concerns there do not seem to bother me now. Each battle you leave in His hands, walking along by faith, finds in cured---in one way or another.
Think of Peter and walking on water. So long as his mind and focus was on Christ, NOT the water under his feet, he walked along fine. Christ was buoying his up, shoring him up to be above his problems. Once he began to panic, he fell deep into the prison of fear, screaming Lord save me! when his doubt toppled. And what happened? Just like the story, Christ will pick us up out of the water...just not always in a way we want or expect.
Do we see others in trouble (have the ability) and so reach out and touch their lives? It may be as "unobtrusive" as an adult child having a bad day---but that bad day was a form of a prison to that adult child. Someone may actually be incarcerated---how helpful is it to that person that you take the time to meet with them, to remind them of, or introduce them to, God.
Our prisons are the tools to use in the world, to continue to shine with the light of God, carrying the salt with us as we go. It is important that we get help when we are downtrodden from our "prison" sentences, none of course being so faithful or ever-ready as God, but leaning on our fellow followers is of extraordinary wealth.
In me there is darkness, But with You there is light; I am lonely, but You do not leave me; I am feeble in heart, but with You there is help; I am restless, but with You there is peace. In me there is bitterness, but with You there is patience; I do not understand Your ways, But You know the way for me.” “Lord Jesus Christ, You were poor And in distress, a captive and forsaken as I am. You know all man’s troubles; You abide with me When all men fail me; You remember and seek me; It is Your will that I should know You And turn to You. Lord, I hear Your call and follow; Help me.
How many other things do we settle into as a prison, not to mention actual prison? We allow ourselves to be bullied into a corner in which we curl up and wait for the "inevitable" sentencing to pass over us. But are we acting as we should in those "prison" situations? I would guess not, as the fetal position is not world-changing.
We are in prison for a few reasons: one is actual imprisonment, with the subheadings of legal and illegal. Another is mental imprisonment, done to ourselves with either our own choices or because of someone else's action (rape comes to mind with the latter, nervousness perhaps for the former), or we may do our own spiritual (physical and/or mental) imprisonment because we allow Satan to get a foothold, we choose to go our own way, or we have fallen apart furthest, thinking God does not care.
'I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ Mt 25.43
This verse, in the context of proving who were actual followers of Christ, is a pointing out that we should indeed serve others. I do not think that this means we "have" to do it or even all of it, but I think service to our fellow creations in the image shows an understanding of God's love.
I think over the many things people have done for me over the years I have been in various "prisons", and I am so grateful that they stopped and gave me their time. They gave me water, to ease my thirsty stress, they invited me into their confidence, they soothed my sick body, and comforted me in my prisons.
One of the favorite books of the family is called A Lost Princess: A Double Story (or in some versions simply A Double Story). Two very spoiled little girls who are as different as night and day in their spoiling, are kidnapped by a Wise Woman (analogy of Christ) and so change who and what they are. However, at the beginning of the book, it is pointed out that each of these girls is a Somebody, a most important person--and it is this thought process that puts these girls into a prison of sorts.
Christ helps us out of the difficulties of life. Not that they will leave, necessarily. For those hardships are a buffing agent...a way of getting the impure out. Ha, I consider my life ten years ago and the concerns there do not seem to bother me now. Each battle you leave in His hands, walking along by faith, finds in cured---in one way or another.
Think of Peter and walking on water. So long as his mind and focus was on Christ, NOT the water under his feet, he walked along fine. Christ was buoying his up, shoring him up to be above his problems. Once he began to panic, he fell deep into the prison of fear, screaming Lord save me! when his doubt toppled. And what happened? Just like the story, Christ will pick us up out of the water...just not always in a way we want or expect.
Do we see others in trouble (have the ability) and so reach out and touch their lives? It may be as "unobtrusive" as an adult child having a bad day---but that bad day was a form of a prison to that adult child. Someone may actually be incarcerated---how helpful is it to that person that you take the time to meet with them, to remind them of, or introduce them to, God.
Our prisons are the tools to use in the world, to continue to shine with the light of God, carrying the salt with us as we go. It is important that we get help when we are downtrodden from our "prison" sentences, none of course being so faithful or ever-ready as God, but leaning on our fellow followers is of extraordinary wealth.
In me there is darkness, But with You there is light; I am lonely, but You do not leave me; I am feeble in heart, but with You there is help; I am restless, but with You there is peace. In me there is bitterness, but with You there is patience; I do not understand Your ways, But You know the way for me.” “Lord Jesus Christ, You were poor And in distress, a captive and forsaken as I am. You know all man’s troubles; You abide with me When all men fail me; You remember and seek me; It is Your will that I should know You And turn to You. Lord, I hear Your call and follow; Help me.
Saturday, June 17, 2017
The Worth of Woman
What is woman really in God's eyes. Today I read an article that stated the Bible puts women as second class creatures, created second after men, so thus creating a discrimination---and allowing others to see God as a not so loving being. So today we will explore that, because that is not what I have learned and studied of the Word. Women are of great worth
First let's consider creation in general, and God's opinion of it. We all know, I think, that when God finished creation He called it all "good". Pause and read Gen 1-3 Genesis 1-3
Here are some key verses to consider:
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them. Gen 1
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. Gen1
Mankind--meaning all of humanity according to Strong's Hebrew Concordance . If God considers woman to be made in His image, is not woman of great worth? God did not make the animals, nor the plants in His image, He made mankind in His image. Even the angels are not made in His image. We are unique in all creation, just as all creation is unique to us.
Genesis follows Hebrew tradition of giving the broad overview, and then sliding back in the story to tell it in deeper detail. (Sherri Aust). God did not think it good for man to be alone---probably because He was aware that the Fall would happen, and it was needed for woman to be there to be the one who carried Him to miraculous birth.
Woman being made from man symbolizes connection---rather like childbirth. This person is OF me, I love this person because she is OF me. She is part of me, she belongs with me and I with her. Really terribly romantic from this point of view.
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.
"[bone of my bones] A strong metaphorical phrase to denote that the woman is different from all the animals, and is absolutely one with the man. For similar expressions used of near relationship, compare Genesis 29:14, Genesis 37:27; Jdg 9:2; 2 Samuel 5:1; 2 Samuel 19:12-13; 1 Chronicles 11:1. This proverbial expression may have furnished the symbolism of the story." BibleHub
The "helper" part in today's culture leaves a very bitter taste in many a woman's mouth. But the translation is not the best. The word helper is translated from is ezer:
"Evidence indicates that the word 'ezer originally had two roots, each beginning with different guttural sounds. One meant "power" and the other "strength." As time passed, the two guttural sounds merged, but the meanings remained the same. ".......Therefore, could we conclude that Genesis 2:18 be translated as "I will make a power [or strength] corresponding to man." Freedman even suggests on the basis of later Hebrew that the second word in the Hebrew expression found in this verse should be rendered equal to him. If so, then God makes for the man a woman fully his equal and fully his match. In this way, the man's loneliness will be assuaged."
The same line of reasoning occurs with the apostle Paul, who urged in 1 Corinthians 11:10, "For this reason, a woman must have power [or authority] on her head [that is to say, invested in her]."......
his line of reasoning, which stresses full equality, is continued in Genesis 2:23 where Adam says of Eve, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,' for she was taken out of man." The idiomatic sense of this phrase "bone of my bones" is a "very close relative" to "one of us" or in effect "our equal."
God's Word to Women
(Another link that has similar information GotQuestions)
Being a woman is a powerful thing. God uses women to point out positive worship and fellowship with God. By the same token, He uses a disgraced woman to point out sinfulness and turning from God. I think that it is extraordinarily important that the imagery of women in positive worship and honor towards God is used---further, the use that a virgin would bring Christ into the world by the Spirit of God.
"As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you." Is 65.2
"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care." Matt 10.29
First let's consider creation in general, and God's opinion of it. We all know, I think, that when God finished creation He called it all "good". Pause and read Gen 1-3 Genesis 1-3
Here are some key verses to consider:
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them. Gen 1
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. Gen1
Mankind--meaning all of humanity according to Strong's Hebrew Concordance . If God considers woman to be made in His image, is not woman of great worth? God did not make the animals, nor the plants in His image, He made mankind in His image. Even the angels are not made in His image. We are unique in all creation, just as all creation is unique to us.
Genesis follows Hebrew tradition of giving the broad overview, and then sliding back in the story to tell it in deeper detail. (Sherri Aust). God did not think it good for man to be alone---probably because He was aware that the Fall would happen, and it was needed for woman to be there to be the one who carried Him to miraculous birth.
Woman being made from man symbolizes connection---rather like childbirth. This person is OF me, I love this person because she is OF me. She is part of me, she belongs with me and I with her. Really terribly romantic from this point of view.
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.
"[bone of my bones] A strong metaphorical phrase to denote that the woman is different from all the animals, and is absolutely one with the man. For similar expressions used of near relationship, compare Genesis 29:14, Genesis 37:27; Jdg 9:2; 2 Samuel 5:1; 2 Samuel 19:12-13; 1 Chronicles 11:1. This proverbial expression may have furnished the symbolism of the story." BibleHub
The "helper" part in today's culture leaves a very bitter taste in many a woman's mouth. But the translation is not the best. The word helper is translated from is ezer:
"Evidence indicates that the word 'ezer originally had two roots, each beginning with different guttural sounds. One meant "power" and the other "strength." As time passed, the two guttural sounds merged, but the meanings remained the same. ".......Therefore, could we conclude that Genesis 2:18 be translated as "I will make a power [or strength] corresponding to man." Freedman even suggests on the basis of later Hebrew that the second word in the Hebrew expression found in this verse should be rendered equal to him. If so, then God makes for the man a woman fully his equal and fully his match. In this way, the man's loneliness will be assuaged."
The same line of reasoning occurs with the apostle Paul, who urged in 1 Corinthians 11:10, "For this reason, a woman must have power [or authority] on her head [that is to say, invested in her]."......
his line of reasoning, which stresses full equality, is continued in Genesis 2:23 where Adam says of Eve, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,' for she was taken out of man." The idiomatic sense of this phrase "bone of my bones" is a "very close relative" to "one of us" or in effect "our equal."
God's Word to Women
(Another link that has similar information GotQuestions)
Being a woman is a powerful thing. God uses women to point out positive worship and fellowship with God. By the same token, He uses a disgraced woman to point out sinfulness and turning from God. I think that it is extraordinarily important that the imagery of women in positive worship and honor towards God is used---further, the use that a virgin would bring Christ into the world by the Spirit of God.
"As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you." Is 65.2
14 "Therefore the Lord himself will give you[c] a sign: The virgin[d] will conceive and give birth to a son, and[e] will call him Immanuel." Is 7
And obviously, mankind in general is of extreme worth---for God considers even the sparrows, stating that we are worth more than many sparrows, though I am certain that they too have great wealth in God's eyes.
"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care." Matt 10.29
"Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Lk 12.7
God made woman to be a helper to man, but a helper in the sense of completion, a battle companion, a comforter, the exact being to have as a strengthener. How often do we women give a different emotional opinion on things as an example of general observation?
We are an important part of the men in our lives. Therefore, as good helpers, strengtheners, battle partners, it is important that we ourselves are battle ready. We will be ready with the strength of God to fight against the sinful world, be light and salt, be the strong mustard tree.
* all verses used from BibleGateway.com
* all verses used from BibleGateway.com
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
God's Faithfulness
"In His wisdom and sovereignty, He decides the perfect times to respond to your cries of distress, to deliver you, and to display His greatness. God doesn't have to respond at all, nor at all, nor even in the same way every time. He acts because He is merciful and because He is good. He longs for you to get to know Him when you crash." God, as He Longs You To Know Him, Ingrim
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jer 29.11 NIV
13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions."
Gen 15
But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and soul. Deut 4.29
For the Lord your God is a merciful God; He will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which He confirmed to them by oath. Deut 4.31
This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Matt 26.28
It felt like eons when I was fighting with every ounce of strength to get out from under anxiety, anorexia and depression. Every second was a battle. But I learned then that God would not leave me alone, and how much strength He lends us.
Times that ring with the lashes of difficulties make us cringe---for ourselves and for those we know. We feel abandoned by God.
"But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ." 2 Corinthians 11:3
"You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies." Jn 8.48
It is all a lie. God has not abandoned us, He never abandons us. Satan whispers to us, the world whispers to us, that God has left us. But it is NOT so. God does not leave us, God stands with His arms open.
Deuteronomy 31:6, Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; "He will never leave you nor forsake you."
Deuteronomy 31:8, The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
Joshua 1:5, No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you."
1Kings 8:57, "May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may He never leave us nor forsake us."
1Chronicles 28:20, David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. "Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished."
Psalms 37:28, For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. "They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;"
Psalms 94:14 "For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance."
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jer 29.11 NIV
13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions."
Gen 15
But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and soul. Deut 4.29
For the Lord your God is a merciful God; He will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which He confirmed to them by oath. Deut 4.31
This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Matt 26.28
It felt like eons when I was fighting with every ounce of strength to get out from under anxiety, anorexia and depression. Every second was a battle. But I learned then that God would not leave me alone, and how much strength He lends us.
Times that ring with the lashes of difficulties make us cringe---for ourselves and for those we know. We feel abandoned by God.
"But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ." 2 Corinthians 11:3
"You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies." Jn 8.48
It is all a lie. God has not abandoned us, He never abandons us. Satan whispers to us, the world whispers to us, that God has left us. But it is NOT so. God does not leave us, God stands with His arms open.
Deuteronomy 31:6, Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; "He will never leave you nor forsake you."
Deuteronomy 31:8, The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
Joshua 1:5, No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you."
1Kings 8:57, "May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may He never leave us nor forsake us."
1Chronicles 28:20, David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. "Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished."
Psalms 37:28, For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. "They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;"
Psalms 94:14 "For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance."
Isaiah 42:16 "I
will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths
I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and
make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them."
The Journey
God doesn't leave us, but we allow ourselves to be told by the world that He has. The world is full of confusing, distracting, flashy things, anything to confuse us from focusing on God. Once we are unfocused from God, we can be all the more convinced that God has forgotten us.
Focus on God, literally force yourself to focus on Him. Think of God, lean on Him. Force yourself to read the Word.
God doesn't leave us, but we allow ourselves to be told by the world that He has. The world is full of confusing, distracting, flashy things, anything to confuse us from focusing on God. Once we are unfocused from God, we can be all the more convinced that God has forgotten us.
Focus on God, literally force yourself to focus on Him. Think of God, lean on Him. Force yourself to read the Word.
Monday, June 12, 2017
Joseph's Righteousness
I have always found the righteousness of Joseph a little confusing. And, of course, I'm sure it depends on his faith in God. I will study deeper...
"Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly." Matt 1.19
I never got this--would it not still be a public disgrace to be pregnant before the wedding ceremonies were complete? To then be divorced?
Marriages came in two parts. The couple became betrothed, which meant legally married. The man then went to prepare a home for them. At that time, he came and gathered his wife to him, and they consummated the marriage.
Joseph knew that the child was not his, yet did not declare before the courts that it was not his. By the legal understanding, a child formed between the betrothal and the "consummation" stage was not illegitimate. Mary's child would be known as Joseph's, since he was not saying it was not.
Joseph would have his reputation tarnished by behaving this way--divorcing his wife for no cause would taint him, but would not harm Mary. Joseph would have to give back all of the bridal fortunes given by Mary's father. Finally, Joseph would have to pay a 50 shekel fine for backing out of the marriage. If Joseph had claimed her "adulteress", he could have kept everything that had been brought into the marriage with Mary.
He, it seems, was doing everything in his power to protect his wife, even while considering divorce. He would be the one looked down upon, apparently, more than Mary.
Jewish Wedding Customs.Click here to read over all of this in detail
"Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly." Matt 1.19
I never got this--would it not still be a public disgrace to be pregnant before the wedding ceremonies were complete? To then be divorced?
Marriages came in two parts. The couple became betrothed, which meant legally married. The man then went to prepare a home for them. At that time, he came and gathered his wife to him, and they consummated the marriage.
Joseph knew that the child was not his, yet did not declare before the courts that it was not his. By the legal understanding, a child formed between the betrothal and the "consummation" stage was not illegitimate. Mary's child would be known as Joseph's, since he was not saying it was not.
Joseph would have his reputation tarnished by behaving this way--divorcing his wife for no cause would taint him, but would not harm Mary. Joseph would have to give back all of the bridal fortunes given by Mary's father. Finally, Joseph would have to pay a 50 shekel fine for backing out of the marriage. If Joseph had claimed her "adulteress", he could have kept everything that had been brought into the marriage with Mary.
He, it seems, was doing everything in his power to protect his wife, even while considering divorce. He would be the one looked down upon, apparently, more than Mary.
Jewish Wedding Customs.Click here to read over all of this in detail
Saturday, June 10, 2017
Plans
Currently working on a research project---which makes for posting difficulties...since naturally I want to try and be correct, try to have words given to me that line up with God.
I was thinking about Christ's calling us to be servants of one another. I am mainly thinking of that because of vibes.
I had felt, lately, that a couple people were unhappy with me. There was nothing I could think of that I could have done, and wasn't willing to ask if I had done anything---because I was afraid to ask.
I did, however, start treating these people as if they knew more than I did (quite possible, really), asking their opinion on many things.
People often have some other personal issue going on, which flavors their actions and reactions. Goodness knows I struggle mightily with not being irrationally angry/irritable because of the pain and illness I feel.
When we treat others as if they are the masters of the world, it seems to smooth over a multitude of problems. Naturally if the world was perfect, the other people would be treating you as if you were the master. It would have the give and take that everyone in the word is trying to force into existence.
I was thinking about Christ's calling us to be servants of one another. I am mainly thinking of that because of vibes.
I had felt, lately, that a couple people were unhappy with me. There was nothing I could think of that I could have done, and wasn't willing to ask if I had done anything---because I was afraid to ask.
I did, however, start treating these people as if they knew more than I did (quite possible, really), asking their opinion on many things.
People often have some other personal issue going on, which flavors their actions and reactions. Goodness knows I struggle mightily with not being irrationally angry/irritable because of the pain and illness I feel.
When we treat others as if they are the masters of the world, it seems to smooth over a multitude of problems. Naturally if the world was perfect, the other people would be treating you as if you were the master. It would have the give and take that everyone in the word is trying to force into existence.
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Pleasing Man Instead of God
"There is a disposition, at the present day, to undervalue doctrinal knowledge. Many people think it of little consequence what they believe, if they are only sincere, and manifest such feeling on the subject of religion...Those principles which are believed and received into the heart govern and control our actions."
~A Practical Directory for Young Christian Females; Being a Series of Letters From a Brother to a Younger Sister. Harvey Newcomb, Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, 7th ed., 1883, ebook, location 690
Please note, dear reader, that this passage was written in 1883.
Many are worried, and rightly so, by the shift in numerous church faiths. The Bible's worth has shifted at times into some sort of fantasy novel, used to soothe hurt souls at the hardest points in life.
18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Matt 5 Bible Gateway
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” Jn 14 Bible Gatewau
I am not saying so much that we must follow the exact letter of the Law--one, it is impossible for us, which is why Christ was the perfect sacrifice. He was able to follow the letter of the Law but was also God, making His death for us an extraordinarily powerful sacrifice.
Rather I am pointing out that we must have the Word within us.
When we go through life, we must base our choices on whether it pleases God---not whether it pleases man. This a difficult and sometimes distressing issue.
Today, are you pleasing God with what you are doing? Are we focused on what the Word says, what it means in context...or are we basing our daily life on "what feels good", or what we have "heard is right with God". NO! Read for yourself. Find what are good pastors to read.
Remember this passage:
11 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. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men." Ac 17 Bible Gateway
These Jews make an important point...they checked what the Scriptures said to make sure what Paul was telling them lined up with the Word.
I have found that the more I read Scripture, sound authors and pastors, the deeper I understand God. I am by no means perfect...but I know God more. And knowing God more is so much more important that pleasing men. The pleasure of God and His presence and peace is deeper beyond our understanding, and so much more stable than that of man. How many times have we been hurt by our fellow humans? The human emotional and thought process is so often selfish, and because of that, it is not a reliable thing. God does not change, and He is always there for us, steadier than anything else we might even imagine to use as an analogy.
Check facts, look at the Word. Know the Word...because without it, it is too easy to be snatched away into the thinking of the World, and find oneself feeling like a bedraggled orphan at one point or another.
~A Practical Directory for Young Christian Females; Being a Series of Letters From a Brother to a Younger Sister. Harvey Newcomb, Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, 7th ed., 1883, ebook, location 690
Please note, dear reader, that this passage was written in 1883.
Many are worried, and rightly so, by the shift in numerous church faiths. The Bible's worth has shifted at times into some sort of fantasy novel, used to soothe hurt souls at the hardest points in life.
18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Matt 5 Bible Gateway
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” Jn 14 Bible Gatewau
I am not saying so much that we must follow the exact letter of the Law--one, it is impossible for us, which is why Christ was the perfect sacrifice. He was able to follow the letter of the Law but was also God, making His death for us an extraordinarily powerful sacrifice.
Rather I am pointing out that we must have the Word within us.
When we go through life, we must base our choices on whether it pleases God---not whether it pleases man. This a difficult and sometimes distressing issue.
Today, are you pleasing God with what you are doing? Are we focused on what the Word says, what it means in context...or are we basing our daily life on "what feels good", or what we have "heard is right with God". NO! Read for yourself. Find what are good pastors to read.
Remember this passage:
11 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. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men." Ac 17 Bible Gateway
These Jews make an important point...they checked what the Scriptures said to make sure what Paul was telling them lined up with the Word.
I have found that the more I read Scripture, sound authors and pastors, the deeper I understand God. I am by no means perfect...but I know God more. And knowing God more is so much more important that pleasing men. The pleasure of God and His presence and peace is deeper beyond our understanding, and so much more stable than that of man. How many times have we been hurt by our fellow humans? The human emotional and thought process is so often selfish, and because of that, it is not a reliable thing. God does not change, and He is always there for us, steadier than anything else we might even imagine to use as an analogy.
Check facts, look at the Word. Know the Word...because without it, it is too easy to be snatched away into the thinking of the World, and find oneself feeling like a bedraggled orphan at one point or another.
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Child of God Growth
"Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life., and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Ps 23.6
"One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple. For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle." Ps 29 4-5
My view of God has changed over the time I have lived. I truly believed God existed from childhood, I do not remember God "not" being there. But my view of Him has changed. Not drastically, but to a deeper understanding.
"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as a in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." I Cor 13.10-12
God fully knows us, yet we do not fully know Him. As we age in our faith, in our understanding of Him, we see Him differently.
As children, we saw our parents in a certain light. As we grew, the parental light shifted to allow a larger understanding of what and why our parents did things---right or wrong.
As we grow in faith, we see and understand more of God. We trust deeper, we hold tighter; our faith becomes firmly rooted into the soil, as the parable speaks of in the Gospels. We are not so easily disturbed by dry times, we are not so easily lost to the "birds" of the world. Our roots are deep and strong, holding us firmly in place.
"Suddenly, the dealing of being surrounded by the love of Go the Father--enveloped in it, cradled with infinite gentleness. Awe swept through me, followed by the conviction that it was not necessary to ask for anything. All I had to do was to commit...our future to this great love." (Beyond Our Selves, Catherine Marshall, 1961, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, pg 37-38)
As a child of God, it was harder to just "let" God be God. Prayer was a duty, to make sure God knew that what you asked of Him was important to you. Little comfort came from praying, because it was an effort. It was if asking a parent for something possibly forbidden. No extra allowance. No extra time up.
Yet as an older child of God (not daring to say an adult of God), it has been learned that He already knows what i wanted or needed. It is learned that He may or may not answer the desires of the heart, based on what He knows and understands of the past, present and future.
But there is a great comfort in that. Now, as that older child of God, one is able to lean on God, become so enveloped in His love that all fear is driven out. Peace and joy fall over one, as God's great and wonderful presence is present.
Prayer becomes an open invitation to lean on God, to open one's eyes and heart to feel His love. Prayer is not merely to ask God for things, to tell God of the woes He knows you have. It is the chance to build deeper roots, to stand firmly in place and be so surrounded in His love that it is nearly overwhelming.
Growth as a child of God is indeed an experience worth telling.
"One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple. For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle." Ps 29 4-5
My view of God has changed over the time I have lived. I truly believed God existed from childhood, I do not remember God "not" being there. But my view of Him has changed. Not drastically, but to a deeper understanding.
"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as a in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." I Cor 13.10-12
God fully knows us, yet we do not fully know Him. As we age in our faith, in our understanding of Him, we see Him differently.
As children, we saw our parents in a certain light. As we grew, the parental light shifted to allow a larger understanding of what and why our parents did things---right or wrong.
As we grow in faith, we see and understand more of God. We trust deeper, we hold tighter; our faith becomes firmly rooted into the soil, as the parable speaks of in the Gospels. We are not so easily disturbed by dry times, we are not so easily lost to the "birds" of the world. Our roots are deep and strong, holding us firmly in place.
"Suddenly, the dealing of being surrounded by the love of Go the Father--enveloped in it, cradled with infinite gentleness. Awe swept through me, followed by the conviction that it was not necessary to ask for anything. All I had to do was to commit...our future to this great love." (Beyond Our Selves, Catherine Marshall, 1961, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, pg 37-38)
As a child of God, it was harder to just "let" God be God. Prayer was a duty, to make sure God knew that what you asked of Him was important to you. Little comfort came from praying, because it was an effort. It was if asking a parent for something possibly forbidden. No extra allowance. No extra time up.
Yet as an older child of God (not daring to say an adult of God), it has been learned that He already knows what i wanted or needed. It is learned that He may or may not answer the desires of the heart, based on what He knows and understands of the past, present and future.
But there is a great comfort in that. Now, as that older child of God, one is able to lean on God, become so enveloped in His love that all fear is driven out. Peace and joy fall over one, as God's great and wonderful presence is present.
Prayer becomes an open invitation to lean on God, to open one's eyes and heart to feel His love. Prayer is not merely to ask God for things, to tell God of the woes He knows you have. It is the chance to build deeper roots, to stand firmly in place and be so surrounded in His love that it is nearly overwhelming.
Growth as a child of God is indeed an experience worth telling.
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