We all know people who claim to "know it all" or act like they know it all. These people tend to drive others nuts. These people aren't particularly well liked, yet they seem to think they are. I've found that people who think they know a lot want to feel important. I've met parents who defend their kids "know it all" attitude and say that other kids are just jealous of them. Unfortunately, sometimes this attitude carries into adulthood. This is not a good trait to have as a human. It means we aren't humble. Being humble is the opposite of pride. When we have pride.....God is not shining in our life like He should be.
Well.....there is someone who does know it all. Nothing has to be taught to Him. He has never had to learn or will have to ever learn anything. He is all knowing of everything......past, present, and future. An all knowing God is also called omniscient.
In reading "Knowledge of the Holy" by A.W.Tozer, he tells of all the things God has orchestrated and knows 100% without teaching or learning on His part. He has created all these things and needs no instruction. He is all knowing.
These include......
- matter
- minds
- creatures
- mysteries
- causes
- thoughts
- desires
- dominions
- personalities
- visible
- invisible
- time
- life
- death
- heaven
- hell
Our God knows all things equally well and perfectly. He is never surprised or amazed by anything that happens or will happen to any of us. He knows why we sin, so he doesn't accept our lame excuses for why we do what we do. We think we can fool Him, but we cannot. We can be totally honest with him. Even when we tell the truth, He still listens and is slow to anger against us. We are shown grace. We are one of His creations and a great mystery of Himself is that no creature will ever know everything about Him.
The amazing thing about our God is that He knew all the things we would do to go against Him, yet called us, to Himself, before we ever knew about Him. He did this before He created anything. This makes my brain hurt yet, this makes me love Him all the more. After all I've done and will do to go against my God, yet He will keep me close and keep me as His own? Wow.
One more point from the author......."God knows us and cares for us like no one else can". Keep that
in your mind when hard times come. There is purpose in it all......for our God's glory. 😄
Further verses.....
Psalm 139:1-4
Psalm 147:4
Psalm 44:21
Matthew 10:30
Acts 1:24
Hebrews 4:13
1 John 3:20
Monday, October 31, 2016
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Quiet
It's different......when it seems like yesterday you had a house full of kids.....some not even yours, but they were there. Now, today..... not so much.
Our house was always hopping with kids. Our own, their friends, youth group kids, neighbor kids, family, a dog two.....our house was the hang out for everyone. Our house was loud and at times could be a circus. Wrestling matches, tickle wars, games, fights, chasing around the house, running, falling, yelling, fire pits, jumping in leaf piles.....such crazy times we all had. One time we cut boxes and the kids and my husband and I slid down our stairs in the boxes. Another time, my husband took an office chair and he and our boys took turns riding down the hill of our quiet street in it. My daughter had a big SUV that my husband and boys high jacked in the snow to do donuts and left her behind. (She was so mad ☺️)
Today....our house is quiet. Our kids are grown and the crazy loud times of our past are right there......in the past. In our memories and pictures. I'm not getting all emotional and sappy about this, I just saying life takes us on journeys and I love how everything is in its own season. We raise our kids and treasure them when they are small wondering who they will become or what they will be. We are thankful to be alive long enough to witness it all......at least I am. Watching my kids grow into adulthood is my greatest reward on this earth. Being able to be their mom for as long as I have has been such a blessing.
My point to all this is I do love the quiet. When I'm home alone, I miss all the crazy loud times of my family years ago, but just sitting in the quiet with my Bible (and a book or two) with God is such a powerful time. When It's quiet, I can pray, focus, read and learn more about my God. This is all still new to me.....but I'm adjusting well. Oh, and don't forget the cup of coffee too! That is always a given in my day at some point. 👍🏻
What about you? How do you unwind and find God in your day?
Our house was always hopping with kids. Our own, their friends, youth group kids, neighbor kids, family, a dog two.....our house was the hang out for everyone. Our house was loud and at times could be a circus. Wrestling matches, tickle wars, games, fights, chasing around the house, running, falling, yelling, fire pits, jumping in leaf piles.....such crazy times we all had. One time we cut boxes and the kids and my husband and I slid down our stairs in the boxes. Another time, my husband took an office chair and he and our boys took turns riding down the hill of our quiet street in it. My daughter had a big SUV that my husband and boys high jacked in the snow to do donuts and left her behind. (She was so mad ☺️)
Today....our house is quiet. Our kids are grown and the crazy loud times of our past are right there......in the past. In our memories and pictures. I'm not getting all emotional and sappy about this, I just saying life takes us on journeys and I love how everything is in its own season. We raise our kids and treasure them when they are small wondering who they will become or what they will be. We are thankful to be alive long enough to witness it all......at least I am. Watching my kids grow into adulthood is my greatest reward on this earth. Being able to be their mom for as long as I have has been such a blessing.
My point to all this is I do love the quiet. When I'm home alone, I miss all the crazy loud times of my family years ago, but just sitting in the quiet with my Bible (and a book or two) with God is such a powerful time. When It's quiet, I can pray, focus, read and learn more about my God. This is all still new to me.....but I'm adjusting well. Oh, and don't forget the cup of coffee too! That is always a given in my day at some point. 👍🏻
What about you? How do you unwind and find God in your day?
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Right Now
Right now I am sitting and thinking about a study I will teach tonight.
Right now I wonder if I will speak the words to the women how they are intended to be spoken.
Right now I'm asking God for help.
Right now I am wondering what I will eat for dinner.
Right now I am listening to my husband and son talk to each other.
Right now I am not feeling too chipper....the sun is not out today. I'm happier when the sun is out. ☺️
Right now I think of my work day and how I left early.
Right now I Wonder if I filled out that document the right way.
Right now I pray for my friend who has pain.
Right now I'm thinking of temptations I would like to avoid.
Right now I'm wondering why my God chooses to use me for anything.
Right now I love my God.
Our minds go in a lot of different directions at once. I know mine does. At my work I multitask all day. I have to watch and hear and assess and know what's "normal" and what's not when it comes to patient care. Then we have to interact with 3+ people at once.....and keep it all straight. Then someone asks me for reports or what's going on with a person.....I have to answer quick as there isn't a lot of time for chit chat in that situation. Sometimes it's hard to turn this all off.
I read a lot too and if I don't write down or ask my questions right away I will forget. I'm not sure if it's my age or I just got too much on my mind to focus on one thing totally? Or maybe God is using my busy Brain for much bigger things than I can ever imagine.
The great thing about "right now" is that we don't have to wait. God is right here, right now. He is on top of what we got going on in our brain and in our actions. He knows what we will say, do, and how we will act. He's there for us and he's not waiting for us to figure it all out then come to Him. He's got
this.....all. We can count on Him and when we count on Him He gets the glory. So.....right now in the midst of our questions, drama, joy, temptations, sadness, peace, and love our God is right there. Never forget that.
Right now I wonder if I will speak the words to the women how they are intended to be spoken.
Right now I'm asking God for help.
Right now I am wondering what I will eat for dinner.
Right now I am listening to my husband and son talk to each other.
Right now I am not feeling too chipper....the sun is not out today. I'm happier when the sun is out. ☺️
Right now I think of my work day and how I left early.
Right now I Wonder if I filled out that document the right way.
Right now I pray for my friend who has pain.
Right now I'm thinking of temptations I would like to avoid.
Right now I'm wondering why my God chooses to use me for anything.
Right now I love my God.
Our minds go in a lot of different directions at once. I know mine does. At my work I multitask all day. I have to watch and hear and assess and know what's "normal" and what's not when it comes to patient care. Then we have to interact with 3+ people at once.....and keep it all straight. Then someone asks me for reports or what's going on with a person.....I have to answer quick as there isn't a lot of time for chit chat in that situation. Sometimes it's hard to turn this all off.
I read a lot too and if I don't write down or ask my questions right away I will forget. I'm not sure if it's my age or I just got too much on my mind to focus on one thing totally? Or maybe God is using my busy Brain for much bigger things than I can ever imagine.
The great thing about "right now" is that we don't have to wait. God is right here, right now. He is on top of what we got going on in our brain and in our actions. He knows what we will say, do, and how we will act. He's there for us and he's not waiting for us to figure it all out then come to Him. He's got
this.....all. We can count on Him and when we count on Him He gets the glory. So.....right now in the midst of our questions, drama, joy, temptations, sadness, peace, and love our God is right there. Never forget that.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
My days
I had a thought yesterday......
Where else can I go in a days time and get.....
Hit on
Spit on
Praised
Cussed at
Be a saint
And a liar?
I can only laugh at all of it.
This is amazing to me in that of all the stuff I get to have happen to me in a days time is all part of a puzzle.A BiG picture where I only get to see bits and pieces. It's All part of Gods divine plan for His glory through my life. It's not easy to go through some of the difficult situations, but trying to keep a Godly perspective is key. Knowing I don't have to figure it all out is comforting. Knowing it's already been in the works, so to speak, for an unknown amount of time leaves me with a whole peaceful outcome.
It's no secret that I love to meet new people. The other day I was with my husband at the Burger King. An older gentleman was in front of us in line and I asked him how his day was. My husband just shook his head. This is funny because my husband used to be the one to talk to everyone. He has the kind of personality that when he talks to even a stranger it's like he's known the person all his life....he's that comfortable. He's taught me well over the years. Haha.
Yesterday, I had to get a rental car. I was waiting for the car at the shop where I dropped my vehicle off. When the rental car man got there he said he had to take me back to the office to fill out papers and the car would be given to me there. This wasn't communicated to me at all.... (Another problem with society.....communication is very bad) anyway, this poor man was an introvert......I could tell right away. He seemed shy and nervous and older than me. I felt bad that he had to come so far just to take me back to the office. So....I talked the whole ride back. He was probably wanting me to shut up.....but that didn't happen. I talked of the accident I was in (why I needed the rental in the first place), my job, his job, etc....
However, what I failed to do was talk about Jesus. I had a prime opportunity to talk about how our Savior is awesome and loves us.....and I blew it. I'll be the first to admit I struggle with this part of being a Christian. I'm sure I'm not alone, but it's not easy to talk of Him right off the bat. At least not for me. I am good at establishing a relationship with someone and then getting to what needs said, once we know one another better. This is an area I really need to work on and need Gods help with.
So my days are filled with people from all walks of life. Some hate me.....some love me.....some want to strangle me.....some want to hug me. Whatever the case, I am ok with it. I am ok with being that person just so I keep the perspective that it's all meant for good. Once we lose our perspective on life and how God does things, we can get lost. People are people. God made us all in His time and His ways. We are to love Him first and His people second.
Jesus said that himself......Matthew 22:36-40.
Where else can I go in a days time and get.....
Hit on
Spit on
Praised
Cussed at
Be a saint
And a liar?
I can only laugh at all of it.
This is amazing to me in that of all the stuff I get to have happen to me in a days time is all part of a puzzle.A BiG picture where I only get to see bits and pieces. It's All part of Gods divine plan for His glory through my life. It's not easy to go through some of the difficult situations, but trying to keep a Godly perspective is key. Knowing I don't have to figure it all out is comforting. Knowing it's already been in the works, so to speak, for an unknown amount of time leaves me with a whole peaceful outcome.
It's no secret that I love to meet new people. The other day I was with my husband at the Burger King. An older gentleman was in front of us in line and I asked him how his day was. My husband just shook his head. This is funny because my husband used to be the one to talk to everyone. He has the kind of personality that when he talks to even a stranger it's like he's known the person all his life....he's that comfortable. He's taught me well over the years. Haha.
Yesterday, I had to get a rental car. I was waiting for the car at the shop where I dropped my vehicle off. When the rental car man got there he said he had to take me back to the office to fill out papers and the car would be given to me there. This wasn't communicated to me at all.... (Another problem with society.....communication is very bad) anyway, this poor man was an introvert......I could tell right away. He seemed shy and nervous and older than me. I felt bad that he had to come so far just to take me back to the office. So....I talked the whole ride back. He was probably wanting me to shut up.....but that didn't happen. I talked of the accident I was in (why I needed the rental in the first place), my job, his job, etc....
However, what I failed to do was talk about Jesus. I had a prime opportunity to talk about how our Savior is awesome and loves us.....and I blew it. I'll be the first to admit I struggle with this part of being a Christian. I'm sure I'm not alone, but it's not easy to talk of Him right off the bat. At least not for me. I am good at establishing a relationship with someone and then getting to what needs said, once we know one another better. This is an area I really need to work on and need Gods help with.
So my days are filled with people from all walks of life. Some hate me.....some love me.....some want to strangle me.....some want to hug me. Whatever the case, I am ok with it. I am ok with being that person just so I keep the perspective that it's all meant for good. Once we lose our perspective on life and how God does things, we can get lost. People are people. God made us all in His time and His ways. We are to love Him first and His people second.
Jesus said that himself......Matthew 22:36-40.
Monday, October 24, 2016
Image
All my life I've been told I look just like my mother. This is a compliment to me because my mom is a wonderful, beautiful lady. Her image and mine are similar. It's a good thing I look like her because after I was born, the nurse brought my mom the wrong baby. My mom had to tell the nurse she had the wrong kid. If I didn't have her image, I may have ended up in another family......thank God she noticed this and they took the other baby back to the nursery and brought me back to her. :) Good thing I got my mom back that day too, cause I was such a "momma's baby" it was awful. I hung on her a lot and couldn't be out of her sight as a child, because I was too scared to be.....but that's another story. However, a few weeks ago, someone my dad knows told me he knew I was his kid cause I had the image of him. This man that told me this is only the second one all my life that said that....so I take that as a compliment as well cause my dad is an awesome guy!
Then, when my second baby was born, Zachary, he came out looking just like my husband. I had nothing to do with his appearance. I have laughed all these years at how he doesn't look anything like me, he's all his dad. Whenever you tell him that, he gets the biggest smile on his face. He is so proud to look like his dad. He and his dad share an incredible bond.....maybe it's because they share the same features? One time, a lady that knew my husband saw me and my kids out shopping once. Zach was about 7 years old. She raved at how much he looked like his dad. When we got to the car, my youngest boy, Nick, was sad. He wanted people to say that he looked like his dad as well, but that's just not the case with him. I felt bad for him because he was so little and didn't understand. I told him he would be alright......God made him to look like he was supposed to.....same as he did his brother.
This got me thinking. We may resemble one of our parents looks over the other, but what about personality traits or emotional traits? These we can share a likeness with one parent over the other as well. One parent may be really outgoing while the other is more reserved. A child may share in the likeness of that trait. God tells us in His Word that all of us are made in His image. What does this mean exactly? Well....to be an "exact" image of God is impossible. We can't be exactly 100% like our God, or He wouldn't be God.....if that makes sense.
While we don't look like God does, we share the image of our God in different ways....
- Of all of His creation, mankind is the only one with intelligence. Our God has magnificent intelligence and we could never share that kind of intelligence, but He has chosen to give us this ability and share in His image that way.
- We are also created as emotional people. We can love and we can hate. We can be angry and we can be happy. We can be mean and we can be kind. God gave us this ability to have emotions.
- We share the likeness of our God when we love others, have peace, can use good reasoning when making decisions for the kingdom, have joy, and holiness.
- We have a will to choose. God gives us His commandments. We can choose to follow them, or not. We have the will to choose to eat a steak dinner or a candy bar for supper. We have the will to choose where we will live. We have to choose to share Jesus with others or not.
We have a great God to follow. His image is ingrained in each of us and what an amazing blessing that is. To share these things with the God of the universe? By sharing in His image, we can give Him the glory He so deserves. Living a holy life and being a representation of Jesus to a lost world is quite an honor, if you think about it. That ability isn't given to any other creation, only the one made in God's own image. WOW!!
Then, when my second baby was born, Zachary, he came out looking just like my husband. I had nothing to do with his appearance. I have laughed all these years at how he doesn't look anything like me, he's all his dad. Whenever you tell him that, he gets the biggest smile on his face. He is so proud to look like his dad. He and his dad share an incredible bond.....maybe it's because they share the same features? One time, a lady that knew my husband saw me and my kids out shopping once. Zach was about 7 years old. She raved at how much he looked like his dad. When we got to the car, my youngest boy, Nick, was sad. He wanted people to say that he looked like his dad as well, but that's just not the case with him. I felt bad for him because he was so little and didn't understand. I told him he would be alright......God made him to look like he was supposed to.....same as he did his brother.
This got me thinking. We may resemble one of our parents looks over the other, but what about personality traits or emotional traits? These we can share a likeness with one parent over the other as well. One parent may be really outgoing while the other is more reserved. A child may share in the likeness of that trait. God tells us in His Word that all of us are made in His image. What does this mean exactly? Well....to be an "exact" image of God is impossible. We can't be exactly 100% like our God, or He wouldn't be God.....if that makes sense.
While we don't look like God does, we share the image of our God in different ways....
- Of all of His creation, mankind is the only one with intelligence. Our God has magnificent intelligence and we could never share that kind of intelligence, but He has chosen to give us this ability and share in His image that way.
- We are also created as emotional people. We can love and we can hate. We can be angry and we can be happy. We can be mean and we can be kind. God gave us this ability to have emotions.
- We share the likeness of our God when we love others, have peace, can use good reasoning when making decisions for the kingdom, have joy, and holiness.
- We have a will to choose. God gives us His commandments. We can choose to follow them, or not. We have the will to choose to eat a steak dinner or a candy bar for supper. We have the will to choose where we will live. We have to choose to share Jesus with others or not.
We have a great God to follow. His image is ingrained in each of us and what an amazing blessing that is. To share these things with the God of the universe? By sharing in His image, we can give Him the glory He so deserves. Living a holy life and being a representation of Jesus to a lost world is quite an honor, if you think about it. That ability isn't given to any other creation, only the one made in God's own image. WOW!!
Friday, October 21, 2016
Rightly
Ive been reading a book called "The Knowledge of the Holy" by A.W. Tozer. It's a small book but jam packed with good information. The just of this book is to learn more about God. I am into learning all I can about God and all I read helps me do that.
I was talking with my mom last week and she wondered where all this reading comes from now. She knows as a kid I hated reading and didn't care for school much.....so this is foreign to her to know how much I like learning. I shared with her in the conversation that I would love to go to Bible college just to learn......I wouldn't care if I got a degree....I just want to know all I can. She just chuckled a little. I know it's strange.....but it's how i am.
Anyway the first chapter tells the reader that we must think rightly of God. If we don't have the right mindset when it comes to God we will get off track really quick. Our worship of a holy God will be affected by how we view God. Our thoughts of him can be high and low.....and our worship of Him will reflect that. Think of Sunday services. First of all worship is never about us, but all about God. It's very difficult at times to keep God high and focus during the worship time. There are lots of times I'm distracted during the worship service. Two of my kids don't live with us so I only see them at church. It makes me happy to see them and sit next to them....but it is a distraction. When I get distracted, my view of God goes from high to low and my worship of him takes a toll. Or I think about my week and what i should have done.....or I have let my mind wander to places it shouldn't. I'm not proud to admit that, but it's truth. I want to keep God high, but life and the world creeps in. This is a constant battle. This is why we need the church. We are all in the same boat when it comes to worshipping our God and keeping him held high. We need each other to help us do just that.
The author goes on to say that idolatry is most hateful to God. When we have idols in our heart, we can not give God our full attention or the glory He deserves. Idols can range from anything like a cell phone, music, TV, friends, reading....it's anything we put before our God. This is a human condition of the heart. We are constantly chasing things that don't satisfy and when we have idols, we are telling God he's not enough for us. We think the temporary pleasure we get from whatever our idol is will be better for us. We are prideful when it comes to our idols. We want what we rant when we want it.
However, the gospel of Jesus points us to a right thinking about God. Only the gospel will help us rid the idols we carry. My pastor tells us we need to preach the gospel daily to ourself to keep it fresh. This way we will humble ourself and repent so we can have a right relationship with our God once again. Thinking rightly about God will empower us to live rightly for Him. We have an obligation to God If we call ourselves a Christian. We are obligated to obey.....no ifs, ands, or buts. Obedience is not an option. My friend Luis challenged me on that point one day. He asked me if obeying God and his word is an option. I said yes it is......but He told me if you are a follower of Jesus, obedience is not an option. We must live in obedience to His word......period. I am thankful for the strong Christian leaders that are in my life to help me grow and learn.
We need to, as Christians, we need to lift God on high. We need to put him back to first place in our hearts. We need to give Him his glory both now and in eternity!
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Close
I had the privilege to meet some fascinating women recently. Their love for God and His Word is beyond words and being in their presence is truly a blessing to me.....in more ways than one. One of them gave a talk about joy and I learned something interesting.
First of all she mentioned a word.....intimacy. This word to me is connected with married people in committed relationships, but when I looked it up, it means "close familiarity or friendship; a cozy atmosphere; or an intimate act"
We are intimate with our spouses in that they know us better than anyone. Our spouse is the one person we should be able to tell anything to and be as close to the other person as we can be. We need intimacy with our God. We can only have this when we get into His Word to learn more about Him. The more we know, the more we love Him. Just think of when you first met your spouse....if you are married. If you are like me, in the beginning you wanted to know all you could about them. You spent your days waiting to spend time with him. You thought about him constantly. The more you learn about your spouse, the more you love him/her. The same is true with God. We need to know Him to love Him and then we have intimacy with Him. We are to be as close to Him as we can be.....so close that when people interact with you, they see God first, then you. The same can happen when you get married. After I was married, I became known as "Dustin's wife" to those who knew him.....I am still recognized as such with some people. We had that intimate bond and I am recognized with him. Being intimate with God is not an overnight task. We gain understanding about Him through intimacy with him. This takes persistence. This takes effort even when we are tired.....same as a marriage.
The next word she mentioned is understanding. We gain understanding from God's Word about who He is. When we understand things, we can feel better about what we are trying to learn. Years ago I worked in a school cafeteria. I cooked for my family every night, but that was small in comparison to cooking for a whole school. I am not so good at math, but....when I got that cooking job, it was constant math. I had to count and figure and measure for all the kids. One wrong count or answer to a math equation left dozens of kids without lunch. I had to be on my game. Then throw in the time crunch factor and it turns into a more stressful day than you want. We had to have the food ready at a certain time.....and some menus were difficult to have done on time. Too much food wasn't good either as the budget was tight. My point in all this is that I had to gain understanding. I had to know what I was doing and act accordingly. I got all this understanding from my boss and co-workers who had more experience than me, and we all worked as a team. Those kitchen days were some of the best days of my life......even though math was involved. :) We gain understanding in this life when we are willing to learn. We must be willing to learn from God and what He puts in front of us. Having a humble attitude can make all the difference.
The last word she mentioned is joy. I've talked of joy before in other blogs, but when she talked of it, I had to listen and write this down.
"Intimacy comes from Understanding;
Understanding comes from God's Word;
God's Word leads to joy"
Psalm 119:103 tells us that..."How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth"
Did you catch that? God's word is sweeter than honey. I like honey on bread and when my kids were small they would ask for it too....with butter. This verse is telling us that God's Word is better and sweeter than honey.
Psalm 19:8....."The precepts (Word of God) of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart"
Here the psalmist is telling us that total joy is found in God's right words. Joy isn't found in anything on this earth. It's only found in the eternal being of God and that is the only thing that will stand the test of time.....forever.
First of all she mentioned a word.....intimacy. This word to me is connected with married people in committed relationships, but when I looked it up, it means "close familiarity or friendship; a cozy atmosphere; or an intimate act"
We are intimate with our spouses in that they know us better than anyone. Our spouse is the one person we should be able to tell anything to and be as close to the other person as we can be. We need intimacy with our God. We can only have this when we get into His Word to learn more about Him. The more we know, the more we love Him. Just think of when you first met your spouse....if you are married. If you are like me, in the beginning you wanted to know all you could about them. You spent your days waiting to spend time with him. You thought about him constantly. The more you learn about your spouse, the more you love him/her. The same is true with God. We need to know Him to love Him and then we have intimacy with Him. We are to be as close to Him as we can be.....so close that when people interact with you, they see God first, then you. The same can happen when you get married. After I was married, I became known as "Dustin's wife" to those who knew him.....I am still recognized as such with some people. We had that intimate bond and I am recognized with him. Being intimate with God is not an overnight task. We gain understanding about Him through intimacy with him. This takes persistence. This takes effort even when we are tired.....same as a marriage.
The next word she mentioned is understanding. We gain understanding from God's Word about who He is. When we understand things, we can feel better about what we are trying to learn. Years ago I worked in a school cafeteria. I cooked for my family every night, but that was small in comparison to cooking for a whole school. I am not so good at math, but....when I got that cooking job, it was constant math. I had to count and figure and measure for all the kids. One wrong count or answer to a math equation left dozens of kids without lunch. I had to be on my game. Then throw in the time crunch factor and it turns into a more stressful day than you want. We had to have the food ready at a certain time.....and some menus were difficult to have done on time. Too much food wasn't good either as the budget was tight. My point in all this is that I had to gain understanding. I had to know what I was doing and act accordingly. I got all this understanding from my boss and co-workers who had more experience than me, and we all worked as a team. Those kitchen days were some of the best days of my life......even though math was involved. :) We gain understanding in this life when we are willing to learn. We must be willing to learn from God and what He puts in front of us. Having a humble attitude can make all the difference.
The last word she mentioned is joy. I've talked of joy before in other blogs, but when she talked of it, I had to listen and write this down.
"Intimacy comes from Understanding;
Understanding comes from God's Word;
God's Word leads to joy"
Psalm 119:103 tells us that..."How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth"
Did you catch that? God's word is sweeter than honey. I like honey on bread and when my kids were small they would ask for it too....with butter. This verse is telling us that God's Word is better and sweeter than honey.
Psalm 19:8....."The precepts (Word of God) of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart"
Here the psalmist is telling us that total joy is found in God's right words. Joy isn't found in anything on this earth. It's only found in the eternal being of God and that is the only thing that will stand the test of time.....forever.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Knowledge
I've had this word knowledge on my mind for some time. Knowledge is acts or skills learned through experience or education. We all HAVE knowledge of different things. We all learn at different levels. We all WANT to know different things. That's what makes us unique.
I don't like football......however my husband and my kids LoVE football.....especially EAGLES football. They have great knowledge in football. I don't and have really no desire to learn about it. I'm being honest when I say I love spending time with my family but spending time with them watching football isn't a good time for me. You get the point I'm making. We all have things we want to learn. On the flip side.....I love my ER job. However when I talk of bloody messes or not so pleasant things or use medical terms......my family tells me to stop talking. They don't have as much knowledge of these things and don't want to hear about them at the dinner table. I understand that.
I was reading Proverbs 1 the other day. Verse 7 tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Now when it talks of the fear of the Lord....it means respect. We respect God and His Word and when we do this we begin to have knowledge about Him. We gain knowledge of Him so we can be sanctified ( become more like Jesus). My study Bible has a great progression of this idea in the notes.
1. We are taught about God.
Who first taught you about God? My mom told me about God when I was little. She took me to VBS when I was young to be taught about Him. Think of Sunday school teachers, pastors, elders, mentors, etc. that teach us about God. Being taught about God should never stop no matter our age or maturity in Christ.
2. We learn about God.
Once we get teaching we can learn about God. We learn in different ways. I am a visual learner. I have to see things and look at them for myself for it to make sense. Some are audible learners and can learn well by hearing. We should need both to learn. The Bible tells those that have ears to let them hear. We need to be open to God and what we can learn about Him from others.
3. We fear (respect) God.
We respect a holy God because He is God. We shouldn't need any reason to respect our creator. He's God and that should be enough.....but He wants us to have knowledge about Him, His creation, His son, His ways.....so we can love Him more And serve Him better.
4. We know God.
We won't fully know God until we get to heaven. In the meantime He's left His Word for us to know Him. He expects us to know what it says. He wants us to know it and tell others about Him and the gospel of Jesus. If we never open His Word or read and grow...how can we teach others or tell them about God?
5. We imitate Gods wisdom.
The second part of this verse tells us fools despise wisdom and instruction. Being a fool is the opposite of God and how He expects us to be. We should want to know all we can about our God. I have found that I love to learn about God. I read anything I can get my hands on so I can learn more. I have sought out people who can help me learn and grow. I have made new friends recently to show me and help me in my walk to have more knowledge. Having wisdom like God is that we put the knowledge we have to good use. We gain knowledge to help others learn. We in turn can be wise and not fools.
" The fear of the Lord is a state of mind in which one's own attitudes, will, feelings, deeds, and goals are exchanged for God's" ~~John MacArthur
This quote is beautiful. It sums up everything and it comes full circle yet again. We get knowledge and can fear our God all for His glory. Everything we do is for His glory. And to think he left His book for us to know Him in an intimate way.....that he gave us great teachers and leaders to teach us.....and people to encourage us while we pray and ask him for guidance! How can you not want to learn all you can? What an amazing God we serve!
I don't like football......however my husband and my kids LoVE football.....especially EAGLES football. They have great knowledge in football. I don't and have really no desire to learn about it. I'm being honest when I say I love spending time with my family but spending time with them watching football isn't a good time for me. You get the point I'm making. We all have things we want to learn. On the flip side.....I love my ER job. However when I talk of bloody messes or not so pleasant things or use medical terms......my family tells me to stop talking. They don't have as much knowledge of these things and don't want to hear about them at the dinner table. I understand that.
I was reading Proverbs 1 the other day. Verse 7 tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Now when it talks of the fear of the Lord....it means respect. We respect God and His Word and when we do this we begin to have knowledge about Him. We gain knowledge of Him so we can be sanctified ( become more like Jesus). My study Bible has a great progression of this idea in the notes.
1. We are taught about God.
Who first taught you about God? My mom told me about God when I was little. She took me to VBS when I was young to be taught about Him. Think of Sunday school teachers, pastors, elders, mentors, etc. that teach us about God. Being taught about God should never stop no matter our age or maturity in Christ.
2. We learn about God.
Once we get teaching we can learn about God. We learn in different ways. I am a visual learner. I have to see things and look at them for myself for it to make sense. Some are audible learners and can learn well by hearing. We should need both to learn. The Bible tells those that have ears to let them hear. We need to be open to God and what we can learn about Him from others.
3. We fear (respect) God.
We respect a holy God because He is God. We shouldn't need any reason to respect our creator. He's God and that should be enough.....but He wants us to have knowledge about Him, His creation, His son, His ways.....so we can love Him more And serve Him better.
4. We know God.
We won't fully know God until we get to heaven. In the meantime He's left His Word for us to know Him. He expects us to know what it says. He wants us to know it and tell others about Him and the gospel of Jesus. If we never open His Word or read and grow...how can we teach others or tell them about God?
5. We imitate Gods wisdom.
The second part of this verse tells us fools despise wisdom and instruction. Being a fool is the opposite of God and how He expects us to be. We should want to know all we can about our God. I have found that I love to learn about God. I read anything I can get my hands on so I can learn more. I have sought out people who can help me learn and grow. I have made new friends recently to show me and help me in my walk to have more knowledge. Having wisdom like God is that we put the knowledge we have to good use. We gain knowledge to help others learn. We in turn can be wise and not fools.
" The fear of the Lord is a state of mind in which one's own attitudes, will, feelings, deeds, and goals are exchanged for God's" ~~John MacArthur
This quote is beautiful. It sums up everything and it comes full circle yet again. We get knowledge and can fear our God all for His glory. Everything we do is for His glory. And to think he left His book for us to know Him in an intimate way.....that he gave us great teachers and leaders to teach us.....and people to encourage us while we pray and ask him for guidance! How can you not want to learn all you can? What an amazing God we serve!
Monday, October 10, 2016
Grace And Discipline
I Am a note taker. I'm finding that as I get older I have to write things down.....everything down.....to make me remember. I heard a message about grace and discipline......and took a page of notes.
Grace is getting what we don't deserve. I've drilled this into the heads of the kids we taught in youth group for years. I'm hoping that now that they are in their 20s they still remember my voice and the definition of this word. Think about all the things you have that you don't deserve. Well....I don't deserve a lot, but God sees fit for me to have it anyway.....that's grace. Think about breathing, or a heart beating and staying in rhythm? Just the fact I can get up out of bed without pain, or remember my son needed a stick of deodorant from the store is full of grace from God. These are little things we take for granted, but we shouldn't. We all know everything can change in a heartbeat. Life as we know it can be totally turned upside down in a split second, so we should know not to take anything for granted, but we always do. We are human. We look for routine and some adjust easier to change than others. We can find grace in all of this, if we look for it.
I heard this quote yesterday...."grace is not a license to do nothing". This hit me in that how many times do we not do anything because we need to pray awhile.....or wait for God to move.....or let God lead me? I'm not saying all these things are bad to practice, but when we are sitting stagnant "waiting" for God to give a sign or move our feet for us, we have a problem. Yes, we are given grace, but that doesn't mean we can be lazy. Yes, I believe everything happens in Gods timing, but we can't just sit idly by and do nothing in the meantime.
This is where discipline comes in. We all struggle with something. I've written a few things about temptations.....so I'm aware of struggles in my own life. We were encouraged yesterday to find the things in our life that are hindering our walk with God or what we could be doing for Him. If we struggle reading our Bible and praying, set a goal to wake up 10 minutes earlier in the morning to use the extra time for study......or if you aren't very outgoing, practice speaking the gospel to a friend before you try on someone else, to build your confidence. If You struggle with prayer, pray more today than you did yesterday. Set small goals and once you meet them, increase the goal a little more. This is discipline. When the motivation is there and we have enough of it, we can do anything for our
God. As time goes on we will be able to do more and more for our God and His kingdom without as much effort. We will have disciplined ourselves to a new way of life.
So....grace should humble us in making us love our God so much we want to live for Him and tell everyone about His love and mercy toward us. All God ever wants is for His children to love Him and give Him his due glory. That's why we praise Him. All for Him......all for His glory.
Grace is getting what we don't deserve. I've drilled this into the heads of the kids we taught in youth group for years. I'm hoping that now that they are in their 20s they still remember my voice and the definition of this word. Think about all the things you have that you don't deserve. Well....I don't deserve a lot, but God sees fit for me to have it anyway.....that's grace. Think about breathing, or a heart beating and staying in rhythm? Just the fact I can get up out of bed without pain, or remember my son needed a stick of deodorant from the store is full of grace from God. These are little things we take for granted, but we shouldn't. We all know everything can change in a heartbeat. Life as we know it can be totally turned upside down in a split second, so we should know not to take anything for granted, but we always do. We are human. We look for routine and some adjust easier to change than others. We can find grace in all of this, if we look for it.
I heard this quote yesterday...."grace is not a license to do nothing". This hit me in that how many times do we not do anything because we need to pray awhile.....or wait for God to move.....or let God lead me? I'm not saying all these things are bad to practice, but when we are sitting stagnant "waiting" for God to give a sign or move our feet for us, we have a problem. Yes, we are given grace, but that doesn't mean we can be lazy. Yes, I believe everything happens in Gods timing, but we can't just sit idly by and do nothing in the meantime.
This is where discipline comes in. We all struggle with something. I've written a few things about temptations.....so I'm aware of struggles in my own life. We were encouraged yesterday to find the things in our life that are hindering our walk with God or what we could be doing for Him. If we struggle reading our Bible and praying, set a goal to wake up 10 minutes earlier in the morning to use the extra time for study......or if you aren't very outgoing, practice speaking the gospel to a friend before you try on someone else, to build your confidence. If You struggle with prayer, pray more today than you did yesterday. Set small goals and once you meet them, increase the goal a little more. This is discipline. When the motivation is there and we have enough of it, we can do anything for our
God. As time goes on we will be able to do more and more for our God and His kingdom without as much effort. We will have disciplined ourselves to a new way of life.
So....grace should humble us in making us love our God so much we want to live for Him and tell everyone about His love and mercy toward us. All God ever wants is for His children to love Him and give Him his due glory. That's why we praise Him. All for Him......all for His glory.
Friday, October 7, 2016
My Dad
My dad has always been a constant in my life and he's been a man I could always count on to have my best interest at heart. He's always had my back and knows what's good for me. He knows when to talk and when to listen.
Growing up I was somewhat of a whiner. I knew how to get my brother in trouble just by whining about this or that. This is not a good thing to admit, but I could get all the attention I wanted just by being a brat. My dad is very close to my brother, but when we were little he would take my word on how my brother would beat me up or hit me......and would take care of it. We would ride around in the car and fight in the back seat. One time my dad threatened to pull the car over and we both stopped right away. We knew what would happen if had he have to pull over.
My dad has always worked hard. He would put in long hours....especially in the summer. He would get home just to grab a quick bite to eat and go right to bed. Then get up and do it all again the next day. He never complained or called in sick. He went to work sick and tired a lot of days, but you'd never know it. I learned how to work hard from him.....well both my parents work hard so I have to credit my mom too on that one. ☺️
My dad worked extra to take us all to Disney when I was 16. That was a great trip and we all had such fun for the week. In 2008.....my dad took all of us to Disney again. This time we had 9 people to go instead of 4. He wanted the grandkids to experience that place with him and my mom before everyone grew up and moved on with their adult lives. He and my mom were always looking for ways to keep our family tight.
Camping......beach trips.....railroad museum trips....sleepovers......parties.....movie nights.....dinner.....coming to visit, just because......you get the idea. All of us always laugh and have a good time together. Camping was so fun too. We would sit around the fire and talk and joke and make fun of each other. Over the years the kids friends would come and go.....but our family time would stay the same.
When I look in the Bible about how a husband is to treat his wife and how a father is to treat his kids......my dad is doing his roles well. He is the husband of one wife and even though they had their share of issues....they remained together for all these years. As a father to my brother and me....he practiced Ephesians 6:1-2 in making sure we obeyed honored him and my mom. God chooses which kid goes with which parents long before we are even thought of. How He decides who goes with who is a mystery, but I trust and know my God gave me my dad to be MY dad. He knows what He's doing and puts us right where we need to be for His glory. My dad has and always will be an inspritation to me. The lessons he taught me are with me and I'm sure my brother could say the same. Thank you God for what you continue to do in my life and giving me a dad to love, honor, and respect. ❤️
I love you Daddy! Don't ever forget that.
Temptations #2
I was awake at 2am again this morning. Instead of getting frustrated that I was awoken (is that a word?).....I simply have learned to use that time to pray. The other day as I was awake at 3am.... I told God of my struggles and I know he knew them already......but to say them felt good. To tell Him what was on my heart at that moment and be able to tell Him things no one else knows was really nice. And so I did the same this morning.....very early. I also thought about my post yesterday about temptations. I have a few things to add.
When I read my Bible, there are plenty of examples of people who were tempted and failed. The first ones were Eve and Adam. Notice I placed Eve ahead of him in the list? Haha.....but In reality she was the one tempted by the snake to eat the fruit and Adam followed. Long story short from Genesis.....Eve was alone in the garden. This was Adam's first mistake because he was to be protecting her. He was no where around when the snake came and tempted her to eat the fruit. She knew she wasn't to eat it as God told her and her husband NOT to.....but the snake (satan) convinced her and she fell. When I say fell....I mean she fell into the temptation and ended up sinning. She could have asked her husband before she ate it.....(which would have been the smart thing to do) and she could have asked God (which would have been an even smarter thing to do) but she felt she knew best and ate anyway. When Adam came back on scene, he asked what she was doing and she got him to eat it too. I'm sorry, but he had a choice right then and there.....but instead of asking God, he disobeyed too. Each one of these two blamed others for their fall. They didn't take responsibility for their own actions. We still do this today. We pass the buck and blame everyone else for our mess. These two taught us well.
Now God wasn't happy with them, but guess what? He did punish them for their sin yet He still in all His grace and mercy loved and protected them. Yes they had to work now and the consequences of their sin affected all mankind, but God never left them. This is an amazing example for us. He still protects His children.....even when we mess up.
Skip ahead to Joseph and his brothers. Joseph was the son of Jacob. Jacob had 12 sons, but Joseph was the "favorite" son of Jacob. This is sometimes hard to grasp for me because being a parent, we aren't to have favorites when it comes to our kids, but maybe Jacob doesn't understand this? It's not important as God had a plan for it all. So because of Joseph's status with his father, his brothers hated him. They wanted him dead so their dad would love them more.......so they plotted and planned. They were tempted to kill him, but decided that placing him in a well and lying to their father was a much better idea. What they didn't realize when they left him in that well, is that what they wanted for evil.....God used for good. In the end.....Joseph was brought out of the well.....adopted by Egyptians......sent to prison without just cause......interpreted pharaoh's dreams..... And became a great leader in Egypt. Eventually he made amends with his brothers and was reunited with his father. He became very powerful and was able to help the family who ditched him for dead in their time of need during the famine. Only God can have this type of grace and mercy and pass it to His children.
Jesus was tempted 3 times by satan. Now I used to wonder how Jesus could be tempted, but the Bible tells us he was so I believe he really was. Jesus on earth was fully human and fully God. He experienced what we experience on this earth. What's so amazing is when we pray and go to him with our troubles and struggles, he can relate because he's been there.....he knows what it's like. Satan tried to tempt Jesus, but it didn't work. The Bible tells us that when we are tempted God will provide a way out for us to stand up under it. (1 Corinthians 10:13). We don't have to give in. We can follow his leading and take the way out like Jesus did. (You can read of Jesus temptations in Matther chapter 4). This is the example we need to follow. Jesus was perfect and never sinned. We can never say that. We will sin until the day we die and get to heaven. However.....we can pray and think before we act. We can go to our Father and ask for help.....unlike Adam and Eve. The reality is though....we will be tempted and we will fall. We need to repent and get back up. Satan wants nothing more than to keep us down and not have us serving and loving our God....but we need to choose to get up and keep going. Then we will be stronger and more like Jesus as we live for Him!
When I read my Bible, there are plenty of examples of people who were tempted and failed. The first ones were Eve and Adam. Notice I placed Eve ahead of him in the list? Haha.....but In reality she was the one tempted by the snake to eat the fruit and Adam followed. Long story short from Genesis.....Eve was alone in the garden. This was Adam's first mistake because he was to be protecting her. He was no where around when the snake came and tempted her to eat the fruit. She knew she wasn't to eat it as God told her and her husband NOT to.....but the snake (satan) convinced her and she fell. When I say fell....I mean she fell into the temptation and ended up sinning. She could have asked her husband before she ate it.....(which would have been the smart thing to do) and she could have asked God (which would have been an even smarter thing to do) but she felt she knew best and ate anyway. When Adam came back on scene, he asked what she was doing and she got him to eat it too. I'm sorry, but he had a choice right then and there.....but instead of asking God, he disobeyed too. Each one of these two blamed others for their fall. They didn't take responsibility for their own actions. We still do this today. We pass the buck and blame everyone else for our mess. These two taught us well.
Now God wasn't happy with them, but guess what? He did punish them for their sin yet He still in all His grace and mercy loved and protected them. Yes they had to work now and the consequences of their sin affected all mankind, but God never left them. This is an amazing example for us. He still protects His children.....even when we mess up.
Skip ahead to Joseph and his brothers. Joseph was the son of Jacob. Jacob had 12 sons, but Joseph was the "favorite" son of Jacob. This is sometimes hard to grasp for me because being a parent, we aren't to have favorites when it comes to our kids, but maybe Jacob doesn't understand this? It's not important as God had a plan for it all. So because of Joseph's status with his father, his brothers hated him. They wanted him dead so their dad would love them more.......so they plotted and planned. They were tempted to kill him, but decided that placing him in a well and lying to their father was a much better idea. What they didn't realize when they left him in that well, is that what they wanted for evil.....God used for good. In the end.....Joseph was brought out of the well.....adopted by Egyptians......sent to prison without just cause......interpreted pharaoh's dreams..... And became a great leader in Egypt. Eventually he made amends with his brothers and was reunited with his father. He became very powerful and was able to help the family who ditched him for dead in their time of need during the famine. Only God can have this type of grace and mercy and pass it to His children.
Jesus was tempted 3 times by satan. Now I used to wonder how Jesus could be tempted, but the Bible tells us he was so I believe he really was. Jesus on earth was fully human and fully God. He experienced what we experience on this earth. What's so amazing is when we pray and go to him with our troubles and struggles, he can relate because he's been there.....he knows what it's like. Satan tried to tempt Jesus, but it didn't work. The Bible tells us that when we are tempted God will provide a way out for us to stand up under it. (1 Corinthians 10:13). We don't have to give in. We can follow his leading and take the way out like Jesus did. (You can read of Jesus temptations in Matther chapter 4). This is the example we need to follow. Jesus was perfect and never sinned. We can never say that. We will sin until the day we die and get to heaven. However.....we can pray and think before we act. We can go to our Father and ask for help.....unlike Adam and Eve. The reality is though....we will be tempted and we will fall. We need to repent and get back up. Satan wants nothing more than to keep us down and not have us serving and loving our God....but we need to choose to get up and keep going. Then we will be stronger and more like Jesus as we live for Him!
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Temptation
When my husband and I taught the youth at church......we talked a lot of temptation. Teens can relate to temptation each day because of all they face at school, jobs, extra curricular activities, studies, and peer pressure. However......just because one day you wake up and are no longer a teen, that does not mean temptation leaves too. It is always there......it never leaves us.
First of all.....temptation in itself is not a sin. Once we give into it, then it becomes a sin. We as humans love sin. We are born that way, but once we accept Christ the desire to sin is less. We get a new way of thinking and want to please God so we think before we act, so to speak. We are always tempted to do wrong......but that doesn't mean we have to fall into it.
A few years ago I was struggling with my relationship with God. I chose to listen to music that wasn't Christian and as a result, I was distancing my self from Him. Let's be clear.....I'm not blaming the music for my distance, but I was choosing to listen to what didn't honor God and as a result I started to fall into old habits. Music and I go way back. I can hear a song and remember an event or a situation or a relationship just by hearing it. Song lyrics don't ever seem to leave my brain. The way I feel when I hear the song doesn't leave my brain either.....so I get wrapped up in a mess I don't need to be in just because I choose to listen to what I shouldn't. This series of events becomes a stumbling block for me. No one knows what makes me stumble but me....so I am my own worst enemy.
When I was 18, I loved hanging out with my friends and drinking. Jack Daniels was my favorite. I had friends over 21 that would buy my whatever I wanted. Back then, I lied, cheated, and broke my parents trust just to get a good buzz on. I am not proud of this, but the temptation was so great, I could not say "no". Today.....I don't drink at all. I am afraid of what would happen to me as a result. I had a real problem back in the day, but even though it's been years and years, the "feeling" of it all may be too much for me. It would create another stumbling block for me so I avoid it. I have come to a place where I want to please my God and this is a way I can do that without sacrificing anything. I can say "no" now and I do. The temptation to party and be drunk isn't there like it used to be. I don't hold anything against people who want to drink. Just for me.....I choose not to.
I get tempted everyday....as we all do. The thing is we have a choice. We can run or we can give in, But once we give in, we have stumbled. The thing that is so great about our God is that we can follow 1 John 1:9.....confess and repent and be forgiven. That means we can get back up and keep going. We don't have to be stuck in our sin and shame. We can get back to what we need to do for Jesus without guilt. This is not a green light to do what we want when we want......it's a way of restoring fellowship with our God despite ourselves.
God knows we will fall and slip. He has made a way for us to be restored to Himself through Jesus and the cross. He died for us to be forgiven. So each time we give in to our temptations we have a way out from under it. We don't have to be stuck in our shame and misery of sin. Let Jesus love.....let him heal.....he will if we ask. ☺️
Saturday, October 1, 2016
Choices
We all have choices to make. We have to choose everyday what we will wear.....eat....drink.....which roads to take to work.....if we will get out of bed.....
Some choices don't require much effort. Some things in our life are so routine we don't have to think about choosing.....we just do it.
When we first got married we rented a home. We knew we wanted to own a home so in less than a year we, (my husband and I) chose to purchase a mobile home from his mother. It wasn't much, but it would be ours and we would own it one day when it was paid off. Before we signed the contract we had to sit down and figure out our budget......compare that to what we paid monthly......and chose what was best for us as a family. It was an easy choice. We packed our stuff and moved in a few weeks. We were so happy back then to be in that little place. Like I said it wasn't much, but some of the best years of our married life were spent in that trailer. At that time, we only had 2 kids and they were real small. In time we had our third and they all began to grow......grow to where this little trailer was too small for us.😔 So......back to where we were 7 years earlier. We had a choice to make.
Once someone wanted to buy our home we were on a quest to find a new one......looking all over....but finally finding one that would work for our family. This time, our kids were big enough to have input in the choice we had to make. We took them house hunting with us and they helped choose our next place to live. These examples of choices are big ones and thankfully ones that don't come along too frequently in our lives. It's the small choices we tend to struggle with....at least I do.
Small choices In whether I should have my afternoon coffee.....or get gas when the needle is 1/4 full......or eat a salad or cheeseburger.......pay electric bill or buy food......say what's on my mind or keep quiet......fall into the temption I want so badly.......be nice or not......have someone over for dinner or go to their house......spend time with people or read alone in my room.......
All these things I have to choose, same as anyone else. We all have to choose all day long. This is part of our free will. We can choose one thing or one way over another.
Our God gives us free will to make choices.......however the biggest and most important choice we will ever make is for Him or against Him. We all have to choose to follow Jesus or not. We cannot avoid this decision. One day we will all give an account for our life on this earth. One day we will bow before a holy God and have to answer for our choices we made in this life. I didn't make the choice for Jesus until I was 26 years old. Don't be like me in living for self and sin for too many years before realizing how great and merciful our God is. We all deserve punishment for our rebellion against Him, but in His grace he will forgive us and come into our life. Jesus died so we wouldn't have to. He died and make us righteous with a holy God. He died to live and give us eternal life with Him. There is no better choice we can make.....especailly when our eternal life is at stake.
Some choices don't require much effort. Some things in our life are so routine we don't have to think about choosing.....we just do it.
When we first got married we rented a home. We knew we wanted to own a home so in less than a year we, (my husband and I) chose to purchase a mobile home from his mother. It wasn't much, but it would be ours and we would own it one day when it was paid off. Before we signed the contract we had to sit down and figure out our budget......compare that to what we paid monthly......and chose what was best for us as a family. It was an easy choice. We packed our stuff and moved in a few weeks. We were so happy back then to be in that little place. Like I said it wasn't much, but some of the best years of our married life were spent in that trailer. At that time, we only had 2 kids and they were real small. In time we had our third and they all began to grow......grow to where this little trailer was too small for us.😔 So......back to where we were 7 years earlier. We had a choice to make.
Once someone wanted to buy our home we were on a quest to find a new one......looking all over....but finally finding one that would work for our family. This time, our kids were big enough to have input in the choice we had to make. We took them house hunting with us and they helped choose our next place to live. These examples of choices are big ones and thankfully ones that don't come along too frequently in our lives. It's the small choices we tend to struggle with....at least I do.
Small choices In whether I should have my afternoon coffee.....or get gas when the needle is 1/4 full......or eat a salad or cheeseburger.......pay electric bill or buy food......say what's on my mind or keep quiet......fall into the temption I want so badly.......be nice or not......have someone over for dinner or go to their house......spend time with people or read alone in my room.......
All these things I have to choose, same as anyone else. We all have to choose all day long. This is part of our free will. We can choose one thing or one way over another.
Our God gives us free will to make choices.......however the biggest and most important choice we will ever make is for Him or against Him. We all have to choose to follow Jesus or not. We cannot avoid this decision. One day we will all give an account for our life on this earth. One day we will bow before a holy God and have to answer for our choices we made in this life. I didn't make the choice for Jesus until I was 26 years old. Don't be like me in living for self and sin for too many years before realizing how great and merciful our God is. We all deserve punishment for our rebellion against Him, but in His grace he will forgive us and come into our life. Jesus died so we wouldn't have to. He died and make us righteous with a holy God. He died to live and give us eternal life with Him. There is no better choice we can make.....especailly when our eternal life is at stake.
Disciplines #12
Humility is a strong word. We are called to be humble by God. Humility is choosing love over power. It's thinking of oneself less and others needs more. The opposite of humility is pride. We have to be careful not to cross over into pride.....ever. Humility is lovely......pride is not.
The other day I was talking with a couple. They recently became homeless and just wanted something to eat. This was not easy for them to talk of their situation as I could tell it was hard for them. They had to be humble and ask for help. The girl was pregnant and their situation broke my heart. I know there are people out there who take advantage......and I know people who would say these two were doing that to me. This may be the case, but it's not for me to figure out or try to fix for them. I know God put them in my path that day to humble me. To show me my priorities get mixed up sometimes.....that people need others to help them, same as we all need God to help us.
We can also be humble in our learning. God places people in our life to teach us. I am fortunate to work with some very educated people. If I want to learn a procedure or how certain medicines affect the body, I can ask anyone and they will help me understand. I ask because I don't know and they do. There are always people in our life who know more than we do. When we realize we don't know everything and can ask others that know much more than us, that is being humble.
Now....if I go to one of my coworkers and tell them they are wrong about how they are doing a procedure just because I read an article on it and it's different than they are doing it......that makes me prideful. That makes me think I know more than they do.....and they been doing it for years and have a degree.....and I don't know what I'm talking about, yet I think I do. I am not only not being humble, I'm being arrogant to them. I try to look at my teachers and respect what they have to teach me....even if I don't understand right away. I listen and if I need to look up or research further what they tell me, then so be it, but trying to be "all that" is wrong. There is no room for arrogance in healthcare because someone's life is usually on the line. That has to be priority.
What about being humble before God? This is the most important. God does not tolerate pride or arrogance. Jesus was never proud. He despised the pride of the Pharisees. We can't let Jesus light shine if we aren't humble. When we are humble to God we recognize we are wrong and have sinned against Him. We need to confess and repent so our fellowship can be restored with Him. If we let our sin consume us, our communications with our God is stifled. He hears our prayers but can't act on them because our sin is in the way. We have to acknowledge we hurt him and repent so we can restore the relationship. This is humility. We realize we have offended a holy God and take action because the fellowship with Him is the most important thing in our life. We humbly come before that cross and let our God know we messed up. He will forgive us....according to 1 john 1:9.....he forgives us every time we confess. Prideful people don't think they need to confess anything. Humble people know they need to confess and know God is the ultimate authority in their life. Pleasing him is above all else in this life is how they live.
So....we need to be humble, teachable, and help others along the way to see these traits are important.
The other day I was talking with a couple. They recently became homeless and just wanted something to eat. This was not easy for them to talk of their situation as I could tell it was hard for them. They had to be humble and ask for help. The girl was pregnant and their situation broke my heart. I know there are people out there who take advantage......and I know people who would say these two were doing that to me. This may be the case, but it's not for me to figure out or try to fix for them. I know God put them in my path that day to humble me. To show me my priorities get mixed up sometimes.....that people need others to help them, same as we all need God to help us.
We can also be humble in our learning. God places people in our life to teach us. I am fortunate to work with some very educated people. If I want to learn a procedure or how certain medicines affect the body, I can ask anyone and they will help me understand. I ask because I don't know and they do. There are always people in our life who know more than we do. When we realize we don't know everything and can ask others that know much more than us, that is being humble.
Now....if I go to one of my coworkers and tell them they are wrong about how they are doing a procedure just because I read an article on it and it's different than they are doing it......that makes me prideful. That makes me think I know more than they do.....and they been doing it for years and have a degree.....and I don't know what I'm talking about, yet I think I do. I am not only not being humble, I'm being arrogant to them. I try to look at my teachers and respect what they have to teach me....even if I don't understand right away. I listen and if I need to look up or research further what they tell me, then so be it, but trying to be "all that" is wrong. There is no room for arrogance in healthcare because someone's life is usually on the line. That has to be priority.
What about being humble before God? This is the most important. God does not tolerate pride or arrogance. Jesus was never proud. He despised the pride of the Pharisees. We can't let Jesus light shine if we aren't humble. When we are humble to God we recognize we are wrong and have sinned against Him. We need to confess and repent so our fellowship can be restored with Him. If we let our sin consume us, our communications with our God is stifled. He hears our prayers but can't act on them because our sin is in the way. We have to acknowledge we hurt him and repent so we can restore the relationship. This is humility. We realize we have offended a holy God and take action because the fellowship with Him is the most important thing in our life. We humbly come before that cross and let our God know we messed up. He will forgive us....according to 1 john 1:9.....he forgives us every time we confess. Prideful people don't think they need to confess anything. Humble people know they need to confess and know God is the ultimate authority in their life. Pleasing him is above all else in this life is how they live.
So....we need to be humble, teachable, and help others along the way to see these traits are important.
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