Me, too!

 

(picture from Pinterest)

The other morning and God spoke to me so clearly; it made me cry.

I write poetry, often provoking tears in the readers, but usually touching their hearts in a special way. Though I’ve been a Christian, encouraging others for a long time now, I’ve often felt less than worthy of the blessings God pours out on me.

But through the blood of Jesus – I am MADE worthy! Hallelujah!

Someone referred to the gifts God placed inside of us. I naturally thought of poetry; my mind fluttered through the only verses I have memorized – one of my favorite poems. I was halted as I rehearsed the lines in my head with the most wonderful interruption. I’ll include the poem here for reference, I want you to know what I’m referring to:

If you picked a flower for every care in your mind,
how many different flowers do you think that you could find?
If you put them all together and made a huge bouquet,
wouldn’t it give your heart a rest to give them all away?
But, who would want these flowers that represent pains and grief?
I came to bear your burdens, Child, will you give your bouquet to Me?
- Jesus
(Helen Williams! 2002)

The interruption? As I recalled the last line, Jesus lovingly whispered to me, “Yes, that means you, too.”

To you, that might seem obvious. But to me, it felt like my brain had just been dunked into soapy bathwater and pulled out clean! Yes, of course it applies to me, too! I was so excited I cried. But knowing that in my head and knowing it in my heart are two totally different lines of reality.

I am among the redeemed.
I am made righteous by the blood of Jesus.
God doesn’t require perfection from me, He requires that I believe in Him and in His Word; the sacrificial Lamb (Jesus) Who died to pay for my sin.

(picture from 3wordwisdom)

So – why WOULDN’T the poem (and every other word of encouragement) apply to me?

God is always speaking to our hearts. Yet we seldom listen for what He has to say to us as individuals.

Several decades ago, I turned away from God. I stuck my fingers in my ears and didn’t want to hear what He was saying to me. I knew He was still God, and I knew I still wanted His protection and love and blessings, but I turned inward and became very selfish.

It wasn’t long until God once again captivated my attention and by His loving kindness drew me back to Himself. I repented of my sin and turned my heart back to Him. I hurt a lot of people through that painful detour, but God loved me still. Most of those people still love me, too.

The enemy taunted me, insisting that I was no longer worthy of God’s grace. He used truth to weave a lie.

Of course, I wasn’t worthy of God’s grace – that’s what grace is all about! It can’t be earned.

But I was no less worthy of that grace than I was the first time I submitted myself to God’s love and asked Him to reign in my heart. Herein is the message of grace: He loves us anyway.

Satan is like a roaring lion, seeking to kill, steal and destroy – our faith.
(John 10:10)

I took a stance and declared in my heart that even if God could no longer accept me as His own, I would declare His grace to others. How’s that for an oxymoron? How could I effectively share grace if I wasn’t even applying it to myself?

I was the prodigal daughter, willing to return home to be my Father’s slave, yet He wanted me to return to be His bride!

So, let’s talk about worthiness and settle the matter once and for all. In our flesh, we are not worthy of God’s grace or His love. But He chooses to love us anyway.

(picture from pinterest)

There is nothing we can do to stop His unending, unconditional love towards us. Nothing. NOTHING!

No matter how sinful we become, we are not beyond the reach of His love and forgiveness.

He is constantly reaching for us, longing for us to receive His love. When we hear a story about unrequited love, we have NO idea how deep that love can run until we look at the One Who created us, Who walks with us – Whom we don’t even know or desire intimacy with. We search, as through fancy jewelry stores, in every nook and cranny – for plastic baubles to love.

It is the goodness and kindness of God that calls us to repentance. (Romans 2:4)

Nothing can separate us from the love of God. (Romans 8:38-39)

“YES, THAT MEANS YOU, TOO!”

Thought I'm Thinking Part 1

(image from shondaland .com)

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” – 2 Corinthians 10:3-6

That’s power packed scripture!

In a nutshell, this describes how we’re to fight our battles. A lot of information is packed into those verses, and it would take quite the study to unfold it all and understand what Paul is saying to us, so we’ll just break off a baby bite today.

Given that our fleshly bodies abide in a spiritual realm that many haven’t even taken the time to ponder, it makes sense that though we walk among men, our primary enemy is not a man, to be defeated with guns or bombs or the like. Our weapons are mightier than that because we’re warring in the heavenlies, amid spiritual battles.

We can pull down strongholds. We can bring down wicked imaginations that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. And – we can take our thoughts captive so that every vain thought that enters our mind doesn’t set up camp there.

Strongholds and wicked ideas that exalt themselves against God abound around us, and they’re a bigger bite than I want to chew on today. But, as long as we tread upon the earth, we will deal with our thoughts, both good and bad. People who act upon their bad thoughts wind up embodying the evil among us. But the good news is, we have control over our thoughts.

God would not have commanded us to take our thoughts captive and take account of them if He hadn’t already equipped us to carry it out.

Many of us have been taught that the biggest war we wage is between our ears; that the mind is a battlefield. Many of us have not. It may cause some to worry, and prepare others.

On any given day, we all have more thoughts that we realize we process, thoughts cause our bodies to function, yet muscle memory can kick in before we recognize the thoughts behind the actions. When I’m thirsty, I don’t have to will my hands to pick up my water bottle, yet the thought is there to invoke that movement. Some thoughts are subtle, some are profound. Some bother us, some amuse us. Some disgust us, others arouse us. Some are simply there, for reasons we may not even understand.

(image from WARM 1069.com)

Thoughts like “I wonder why the awnings outside the Panera Bread window are at that angle?” Or “Why do they have a gas fireplace in here if they never turn it on anymore?” Or “Hmm, that’s a new sign.” Or “What’s that design on the cup? Oh, it’s a lemon!” Those random thoughts that never really amount to anything, they’re actually gathering intel on my environment. How much of it I’ll retain is a totally different topic.

Then there are thoughts that explore things, like “Why was I so snippy with Dave this morning?” Or “Is that new soap the reason my skin is so dry lately?” Those kinds of thoughts can help me fix a problem.

I have odd thoughts, random thoughts, hysterical thoughts, critical thoughts, unnecessary thoughts, inappropriate thoughts, curious thoughts, thoughts that are actually set to music, thoughts that are quite rude, because I'm thinking them when I'm supposed to be listening to someone else. I have ugly thoughts, and thoughts of beautiful imagery. Too many thoughts! Do I think more (not better) than the average person? Or do I just notice my thoughts more than most? I tend to question everything, so yeah, there are those thoughts, too. We have helpful thoughts and hurtful thoughts, prideful thoughts, and self-deprecating thoughts. Good thoughts and bad thoughts.  And we have authority over all of them!

My favorite kind of thoughts take place in my conversations with God. Because, with Him, I can be frank. Let’s face it, He already knows my thoughts anyway, why not openly share them with Him and let Him weigh in on the matter?

Philippians 4:8 tells us to “…Fix [y]our thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

Whether culture and society are pouring images into our minds or we’re hiking alone in the mountains, we’ll have all sorts of thoughts to deal with.

This blog post is too long already, but I’m not willing to cut words for the sake of being pithy. So, while you’re pondering YOUR thoughts, I’ll be putting together part two of MY thoughts and I’ll share it soon!

The Scary Prayer

 

(from nationaltoday .com)

I remember, back in the early 80s, first reading in the gospels where Jesus's disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. 

 

I recall the feeling of satisfaction that came over me, thinking there could be no better way to pray than by following His example. 

It was as if a smile took up not only my face, but my whole body. 

 

Then I read the familiar words to the prayer I learned very early on in my childhood, "Our Father Who art in heaven...." (Luke 11:1-4)

 

It's a feel-good prayer. 

It's a traditional prayer. 

It's a comforting prayer, bringing back memories of early childhood before the world ever felt dark. 

As a family, we'd kneel together on the living room floor and pray before bedtime. 

 

Now, as an adult, reading the words for myself in the Bible for the first time, seeing where they came from and discovering that Jesus Himself taught us this prayer, it warmed my heart. 

 

Sometimes when I read, I smooth the paper where the words are written, following my finger as I read... "hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

 

What joy to think of God's will being carried out here on earth just as it is in heaven!

(from nationaltoday .com)

 "Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us...."

 

Wait. What? Back that up a bit. "…forgive us our trespasses AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US..."?????

(from unsplash .com)

 Wait. I've been praying this prayer since I could put a sentence together. I've been asking for God's forgiveness - according to how I've forgiven those who have wronged ME?

 

But sometimes I'm not that quick to forgive!

 

Sometimes I don't think a person deserves to be forgiven!

 

The thought may have even crossed my mind, "I hope they burn in hell for what they did..."

 

That's not how I want God to forgive ME!

 

I don't know what you call them, but that's what I'd call an "aha! moment”. 

 

As tears rolled down my face, I prayed The Lord's Prayer that day for the first time, understanding exactly what I was saying - and truly meaning each word I prayed.

 

Sigh. What a relief. 

 

THAT was a scary prayer. 

 

I survived it.

 

Now - every time I pray it, I mean it. 

(from practicalrecovery .com)

 "…and lead is not into temptation but deliver us from evil."

 

That day I was delivered from evil on a whole new level. 

 

"Amen."

 

Your turn. Can you pray this whole prayer from the heart? Will you let it set you free?

(from wikipedia .com)

Were You Thinking About This?

 

(from ssnet .org)

Do you think God has a big ol' weight scale next to His throne, where He has all of your sins and the ugliness of your past on one side and He's checking out the good things you do to balance out the scale?

Do you think He'll find enough good things to tip the scale in your favor?

Like, maybe if you could stop dropping weight on the sinful side you could catch up a little while trying to place things on the good side?

Well, I've got some great news for you. Here's the secret to getting that weight scale to tip in your favor!

Give yourself, your whole life - problems and trophies, to Jesus and He'll put His thumb on the scale for you. All He has to leave there is one drop of His blood and the scale will be completely tipped in your favor. 

You see, there isn't enough good in the world for you to pile up on the "good side" to weigh it down enough to outweigh the bad side; even if you're really “not that bad” of a human being. 

(from worshipministry .com)

The only thing that can tip the scale in your favor is the blood of Jesus. 

And that's the good news: 

He's offering to do that for you!

He'll wipe out your debt, completely!  

That's why He suffered and died on the cross. What does the cross have to do with you? That’s where He paid the price [death] for your sins and mine.

One drop of His blood. That's all it takes. 

It's yours for the asking. 

Simply turn to Him, tell Him you're sorry for all the junk on the bad side of the scale and give Him your heart. Then He can empower you to do good for yourself, for Him and for the body of Christ. Don't make it harder than it is. That's all He wants in return for His gift of redemption. 

Doing things His way isn't so that He can "lord over you" and boss you around. Doing things His way is for our benefit, to give us the best life we can live; and to cover us with His protection. 

All because He loves us. 

He loves us completely and without reservation or condition. (“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” the famous John 3:16 quote.)

Doing things our own way will never produce enough good to outweigh the bad. If we could pay the penalty ourselves, Jesus wouldn't have had to die in our place to make that payment. 

Like a child, we sometimes whine, "It's not fair!"

No. It's not fair. Jesus took all our sin on Himself and gives us all the blessings of heaven in return. (Romans 3:12 , Romans 3:16 , Romans 3:19 )

We get the better end of the deal, the deal He's been offering you your whole life. Take it. You won't get a better offer. This is God's grace wrapped up in mercy. 

A friend calls this the "almost too good to be true news".

(from guideposts .org)

Ponder it. Pray about it. Ask God to forgive you. Give Him your heart, allowing Him to be Lord of your life – and He’ll do the rest.

Romans 10:9 “That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.”

Processing Anger?

We all get angry at someone sooner or later in life. Some people live their lives filled with anger, getting angry at everyone for every little possible thing imaginable. Some people even wear their anger like it’s a sash from a beauty contest. I wish they could see the ugliness of their anger in the mirror. (Albeit, there is a righteous anger.)

But when you get angry at someone you love, the hurt runs deeper on both ends of the conversation.

I had such an incident recently. I became very angry and enraged on the inside at what I thought was the betrayal of a confidence.

I know and you know that in the Lord’s Prayer, we pray, “…forgive us our trash passing as we forgive those who pass trash against us.” Isn’t that what it says? (And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. - Matthew 6:12)

In the spirit of wanting to walk in God’s forgiveness, I knew immediately that I needed to forgive the transgression, but in the moment, I really didn’t FEEL like I wanted to forgive just yet. I wanted to stew in it for a little while.

Yes, I knew that was wrong. That’s not how I want Jesus to forgive me. I want His forgiveness to be swift and complete.

I felt the Spirit of God speaking to my heart, “Forgive and let it go. Don’t bring it up again.”

What?? Don’t throw it in his face until my anger subsides on its own??

No, God wanted me to forgive immediately and completely, just like the forgiveness I want from Him.

You know, when your heart is tender towards God, it’s so much easier to do what He requires of you.

Immediately, my heart began to melt. Yet I wanted to fuss about the ‘not bringing it up again’ part.

It’s a choice.

It’s MY choice.

Do I submit to God and do things His way? Or do I do my own thing? (Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. - James 4:10)

That’s where the biggest choices we have to make every day lie, in our submission to God and His will for our circumstances. And – sometimes, what we perceive to be His will won’t make sense in the moment. But, do we trust Him, or not?

I choose to trust Him.

So, I won’t bring up the petty issue again even though it caused so much fluster in my heart. It’s a waste of energy. I don’t have energy to waste on things like that. I cherish every ounce of energy I can muster up – and I need to put it to good use!

So yeah, that’s my challenge to you for the day (and upcoming days). Let go of the anger, and if God so instructs, don’t bring the issue up again. It’s not worth it. So I guess the challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to honor God and submit to His will in all things. (Submit yourself, therefore, to God. - James 4:7)

I love you!

 

This Chick Has a Lot to Discover

 

(from mypetchicken.com)

Sometimes on the road to discovery, we uncover fantastic or magical new things we’ve never seen before, or that we had no clue even existed. Things that take our breath away and our thinking to a whole new level.

Sometimes, though, we discover new things about old things. Those new details about things we thought we already knew everything about can take us to new levels, as well.

Years ago, I discovered that God loves me, personally. That literally blew my mind. The God Who created the universe and everything in it not only created me, too, but He created me for a purpose, and He knows me, and HE LOVES ME! Yes, my heart exploded all over my brain and this discovery launched me into a whole new level of living.

But, what about the man I’ve been married to for more than forty-five years? Can there possibly be anything I don’t know about him? Indeed, there are many things I don’t know about him. We’re constantly evolving and growing to be the man or woman God created us to be all along. How could I possibly know everything about a man who is constantly changing?

Take a step closer and ask yourself, what do I not know about ME?

                                                                 (from Thesarus.plus)

We live in a world within a universe where there’s always someplace new to go, something new to explore, and new adventures where no man has gone before.

But there’s just as much to discover looking inwardly as there is looking at the vast world around us. As a matter of fact, realistically looking at ourselves might make us function better in the world and help us discover more of the things God created for us to explore and do.

What do I about myself? In general, I’d say I ignore myself. That can’t be good.

I already know my brain never stops thinking, but for goodness’ sake, what in the world am I constantly thinking about? Most of the thoughts that randomly cross my mind seem menial and pointless, but are they? Some of my thoughts are deep; those thoughts can intimidate me. How funny is that? Many of my thoughts amuse me. You do it too. I know you’ve caught yourself laughing at a thought you didn’t share out loud.

Maybe it’s time I take inventory of my thoughts. But, then what? Maybe we’ll look at thoughts in my next blog post.

There’s plenty to discover about myself and why I do the things I do the way I do. No doubt it’s because I believe that my way is the best and most efficient way to do things. You probably think that about the way you do things, too. This is probably one of the biggest causes of conflict in the world.

I’m discovering that I need to pay closer attention to myself and my thoughts to learn better ways of taking care of myself and interacting with God and those around me.

One of the biggest questions I have for myself is, “Why do I think the way I do?” Because, well, I’m not always right, yet usually insist that I am. Boom! Mental hand grenade! That hurt.

My “word for the year” is DISCOVER. What better place to start than to discover more about myself and who God created me to be? This is an adventure of discovery I can take with me everywhere I go and assess who I am in every situation. Yes, I morph. Do you?

Here’s my starting point:

“O LORD, You have examined my heart and know everything about me....” – Psalm 139:1 (NLT)

Check Your Perimeter

(picture from zinginstruments.com)

What stands between you and your enemy (or your perceived enemy, the one that rubs you the wrong way or downright hurts you)?

Because you are in Christ, Jesus comes between you and your enemy. You can’t do a thing to your enemy without going through Jesus. His Name is the authority we use to cast out demons and His Name is the Name by which we command the forces of evil to flee from us. His is the only Name through which we can triumph.

(picture from clearsy.com)

As believers, we are hidden in Christ. We are protected from the things that come against us, whether it be sickness, injury or disease, financial frustrations, or relationship disasters only to the degree we are willing to find ourselves in Christ. It’s not enough to say that we are Christians, or to shout amen and hallelujah from time to time. It’s not enough to pray when things get tough. It’s not enough to go to church or to give your tithe or to sing in the choir or volunteer to help those less fortunate than ourselves. All those things mean nothing if they’re not done in love – in Christ.

Scripture tells us that God IS love. We need to be completely wrapped up in that love, which means we need to be completely wrapped up in Christ. When we stick out our hands to do harm, or our eyes to watch sin, or our foot to go to where we know we shouldn’t be, we are creating an opening through which the enemy will run in a heartbeat, if given the chance.

When we allow the cares and affairs of the world to threaten us, we are exposing our weaknesses to the enemy. Jesus paid the price for all our sins, our guilt, our shortcomings and even our unbelief. But if we’re not willing to live inside that shelter of protection, we’re going to get hurt because our faith will be compromised.

Repeatedly throughout the New Testament Jesus tells us to make sure that we are abiding in Him and allowing Him to abide in us. He tells us to make sure His Word abides in us and that we abide in His Word. To abide means to make our abode within, to LIVE there. Not to just visit on Sundays or at bedtime.

When we’re feeling threatened or intimidated, overwhelmed and defeated, when we’re feeling depressed or frustrated, when we feel anxious or fearful, we’ve likely exposed ourselves somewhere.

As a woman, I recall feeling breezy on the backside only to discover that I’d accidentally tucked my skirt into my pantyhose. I left myself exposed – and I felt it. What I felt clued me in to check out the problem.

What clues me in to check out where my REAL problems lie?

When I feel the cold of the enemy stepping onto my turf, it’s time to check my borders. When the lies of the enemy overwhelm what I know to be God’s truth (therefore MY truth), it’s time to check my borders. When I’m feeling fearful or depressed or afraid, it’s time to check my borders.

(picture from skweldedmesh.com)

If I’m in Christ, I’m safe.

If I’ve allowed the devil to stick his toe into the doorway to my soul, he’s certain to take as much ground as he can. Did I start examining my perimeter the moment his ugly toe showed up? Probably not. It’s likely his whole foot or leg is through the door already, maybe he’s stepped completely in to try to sabotage my faith.

My job isn’t to fight the enemy. My job is to fight the good fight of faith. (1 Timothy 6:12) God is my defender. He’ll take care of my enemies – as long as I am found in Him.

God won’t keep me from sharing myself with the world. He’s given me the freedom to choose. And sometimes, Satan is so stealthy, I don’t pay attention to some of the bad choices I make. (Just like in my daily diet. If I paid better attention to what I consume, I’d likely be much thinner.)

If I’m not in God’s Word, and if God’s Word isn’t my staple daily diet, I’m exposed.

I don’t repeat myself in these blog posts to beat you up. I repeat them because these are the things God is talking about with ME. Surely, I’m not the only one, so I share with you.

(picture from keepcalms.com)

Is your go-to thought one of fear when the doctor says something you don’t want to hear? Is your go-to thought one of depression when your checkbook is getting a little too close to the negative? Is your go-to thought one of anger when someone disappoints or disrespects you or hurts you?

If so, you may want to check your perimeter. You may have left a door open somewhere. The enemy doesn’t come and kick in your door. He can’t. He doesn’t have the power or authority to do so. He patiently sits there, waiting for you to open it.

Ask Jesus to live inside of you. Turn away from your sinful habits. Read God’s Word (the Bible) every day. Meditate on what you read there. Pray for guidance. God says that when we lack wisdom, to simply ask Him for it! (James 1:5)

Closing your perimeter doesn’t keep people out. It keeps sin out. It lets the love of Jesus pour through you to the very people and circumstances that seem to give you the most trouble.