The Excellence of the Guard; My Conclusion

(picture from pinterest .com)

Our hearts hold untold treasures. Go ahead, try to list them. That's sure to renew your joy!

We’ve also stored plenty of memories in there; we’ve buried feelings and emotions there.

How can we guard it with excellency?

God said to “Guard your heart above all else,” Why? “for it determines the course of your life.” – Proverbs 4:23 NLT

He doesn’t tell us to do anything we’re not able to do – with Him.

I believe our hearts are that hidden place where our spirit and soul come together; the place where God lives, if we let Him. Just as we have a triune God, we are triune beings. We ARE spirit, the part of us that is redeemed from the sin of the world; the part that joins into union with God Himself. We HAVE a soul (our mind, our will and our emotions) and we LIVE IN our body till we leave this world. When we come to Christ and invite Him to live in our heart, it involves submitting ourselves to Him completely. Many of us want God to save us from hell’s destruction after we leave this world but have absolutely no desire to become one with Him and submit the smallness of our humanity to the only all-knowing, all-powerful, omnipresent God.

Whether we know Jesus or not, we can guard our minds. We can be disciplined and hyper-vigilant about what we take in, at least for a while. We can stive to watch wholesome entertainment, we can study certain topics while deliberately avoiding others. We can limit who and what we surround ourselves with.  But plenty of garbage gets past us. We’d have to live alone on a deserted island to not get input from others. That’s not where we live.

(picture from pinterest .com)

Whether we know Jesus or not, we can guard our bodies, though few of us have the discipline or perhaps resources to do so. Some are very determined to have healthy bodies. We do the best we can with what we have. But we all have unwelcome input that makes its way into our bodies, via our food or the air we breathe or the water we drink. To not get that input, we’d again have to live on that island and now it would have to be an island that could provide for healthy body requirements.

Only when we DO know Jesus are we supernaturally empowered to adequately guard our heart. That power comes from being united with the source of ALL power. By guarding our hearts, we become better equipped to guard our soul and our body.

The ONLY way to guard our heart is to follow biblical instruction, given to us in Romans 12:1-2 (NIV). “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

This means submitting ourselves to God, renewing our minds (spending time with God and His Word) and putting our hearts in His hands. Does doing this mean we will never suffer attacks? No, we’re promised attacks. But the more quality time we spend in His Word, the more easily we’ll recognize the assaults the god of this world and come against them. With God, we are the most excellent of the Guard.

(picture from youtube .com)

With God living on the inside of us and being joined together with us in the most intimate way possible, we can tap into His power. When we do OUR best, we weary ourselves. There’s so much to pay attention to around us. All our energy is consumed by constantly being on guard. We lose our creative energy and abilities to glorify God. By joining WITH GOD, we become capable of guarding our hearts, (where our being comes together), and doing it well. We are too weak to do it without Him and the struggle will make us weaker. The excellence of the Guard comes only through relationship with the God Who created our heart in the first place.

I Thought I Had No Vision.... Part II

(from Pinterest)

PART II

In part one, we read scripture from the Old Testament book, Habakkuk 2:2. I’m continuing to explore what it says in various translations. This one from The Message Bible, makes it pretty plain and simple to understand, and this time I’m including the following verse as well.

“And then God answered: “Write this.
    Write what you see.
Write it out in big block letters
    so that it can be read on the run.
This vision-message is a witness
    pointing to what’s coming.
It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait!
    And it doesn’t lie.
If it seems slow in coming, wait.
    It’s on its way. It will come right on time.”

Digging in to chew and digest what I’m reading, I’ll pull it apart like I would the turkey from its bones.

God says to write what you see, meaning what He is showing ME, as He wanted Habakkuk to do all those years ago. Why do I presume that God is speaking to me the same instructions he spoke to an Old Testament prophet? I don’t make that presumption with the instructions God gave to all the writers of the Bible. I’m taking this one personally because I believe that He has certain instructions for all of us, some instructions that are for only specific individuals. But His vision for His people involves all of us. We are on a co-mission with Him. Even in the Garden of Eden, Adam cultivated the garden, but God provided the life for every living thing in the garden. Adam could have done all he did to cultivate a garden, but if God didn’t make or allow the plants to grow, it would all have been in vain. If God provided the life but Adam refused to do his part in the garden, he would have been in disobedience. I’m born again, I am in Christ, I’m in covenant with God Himself, through the blood of His Son Jesus. I joyfully choose to obey God, because I have a revelation of how much He loves me – and you. He has more to reveal to me (and to you) and I want us to get to the place of continuous revelation. Surely in our lifetime we won’t exhaust the knowledge and wisdom of the God of everything.

(theheavenguy. org)

So, what do I see now that I didn’t see before? The way I’m going to explain this is that I now actually understand that I have a role to play in all of this. I knew it before, intellectually. Of course, we all understand that we’re responsible for how we live our lives. Well, let me take that back, as I look at the behavior in the world around me, it’s evident that this isn’t true. Many people refuse to take responsibility for their own lives. I am not one of them. I choose to be a part of what happens in my life. God has great plans for me (Jeremiah 29:11), but I have my part to play. I DO NOT provide my own salvation – I needed Jesus to redeem my life just like everyone else does. But fulfilling His will in my life isn’t an automatic thing. “Whatever happens happens” is not how life works. We have input as to what happens. Now that Jesus HAS redeemed my life, I belong to Him. I’m His daughter and He wants only the best for me. Note: what is best for me is not always what I think is best for me. Coming to this point of recognition is a huge part of finding God’s vision for my life and life for all of us.

(from slideplayer .com)

I’ll wrap up today’s thoughts with a place to ponder this. A space to think about how we fit into God’s plans. Take a minute right now to ask God what He wants to do with your life – then give Him a few minutes of your time to listen to what He wants to say to you – right now, today.

Looking forward to part III!

I Thought I Had No Vision.... Part I

 

(picture from pinterest. com)

Publish the Good News

PART I

Okay, it’s time to “write the vision and make it plain….”

“Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions.” – Psalm 119:18 NLT

Not feeling like I have a vision has helped me to procrastinate about writing one down. But the vision is already there, I just need to discover it or uncover it.

I’ve always thought about vision as in a vision board that crafty women and people desiring to be high-powered go-getters created to help them focus on what they wanted to get out of life. I actually made one once. A change in my thinking has begun to occur simply because of a book I read, helping me to understand and focus on what God wants to do with me. Pastor Mark Cowart, of Church For All Nations, in Colorado Springs, Colorado wrote the small book, The Power of Vision, Charting Your Spiritual Course. (The book is available here: The Power of Vision )

Hopefully the desire to quote directly from the book can be dismissed. But he provides some very tasty nuggets you’ll want to read for yourself. Revelation comes through a myriad of channels. But the revelation of God and His Kingdom come only through His Word, both logos and rhema. (The written word of God is (the Greek word) logos. It becomes (the Greek word) rhema when we believe it. Reading the Bible and believing what it says are two different things. Mark Cowart goes into much more detail about this in his book.) God can, will and does speak to us through whomever and whatever He chooses.

Knowing that I want whatever lot God has prepared for me, good or scary, easy or requiring more faith than I think I have, I’ve left things up to Him. I’m, by nature, a Pantzer; one who flies by the seat of my pants. I detest calendars filled with plans and appointments. My brain just isn’t made that way, I’m not generally organized. I try to be from time to time, and it works for a project or two, like cleaning and organizing a drawer or the kitchen. But life? How can I put into finite, detailed plans what God destines to do with me? Especially since from day to day, that may change. Or will it? My movements or daily assignments will change. But the vision does not.

Vision is there waiting to be uncovered. Like new life sprouting from the ground before the snow has melted, it’s already there. Now, the snow is melting and I’m beginning to see the tiny sprout poke through. In the past when this happened, I looked away. Was it fear? Was it laziness? No matter. Today that all changes.

The Lord has instructed us, even from the Old Testament.

“And the Lord answered me, and said, ‘Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that reads it.”  - Habakkuk 2:2 KJV

When I read that, I’m straining my brain to understand what looks like it should be simple to grasp. I’m sifting through the grate of various translations to discover what God says to ME through those verses. The Complete Jewish Bible reads this way, a little easier to understand: “Then Adonai answered me; he said, “Write down the vision clearly on tablets, so that even a runner can read it.”

(from 9newsng. com)

So, write it clearly and LARGE! If I were to run, the words on the paper would jiggle around and my focus would be unclear, jumping up and down, making it hard to read. So, when I write out this vision the Lord unveils for me, I’ll write it down plainly and in a very large font, so that I cannot ignore it at all. Hopefully He intends to show it to me in plain, easy to understand language. However, it kind of feels like a significant part of the vision is in the unveiling of it – because there I am becoming more intimate with Him, I’m allowing Him to express Himself inside of me! This is time well spent; time and experiences meant to be savored.

The Amplified, Classic Edition puts it this way: “And the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision and engrave it so plainly upon tablets that everyone who passes may [be able to] read [it easily and quickly] as he hastens by.”

So, where are these tables or tablets that everyone can pass by and see them? A week or so ago, God spoke to me, “Publish the Gospel”. So far, what I’m getting from that is to write – and let people see what I write. Coincidentally, that’s the premise of the life group I facilitate. Is this that tablet?

It’s easiest for me to write here on my laptop. But no one sees what I write here unless I share it through social media or through my blogsite. I consider myself a writer. Maybe God does, too! Publish doesn’t necessarily mean to publish a book. Publish means to make known. Paul Revere published throughout the land that the British were coming on horseback with his bellowing voice. Words painted on the side of a barn publish a message.

(fromzazzle. com)

The Good News Translation makes it even clearer to me. It says, “The Lord gave me this answer: “Write down clearly on tablets what I reveal to you, so that it can be read at a glance.” In place of the word vision, it reads “what I reveal to you”. I love this! So, everything that God reveals to me (through His logos and rhema word)– is part of the heavenly vision! Part of the picture that God sees when He sees man and His plans for man – includes me. I’m a piece of the puzzle that’s still being put together right now. Look, on the table before God’s comfy chair is a puzzle. He has the box; He knows what the picture will look like when it’s complete; when His bride is perfect and His story continues with her. I’m one of those pieces! And so are YOU! You share a piece of this vision, too. Without you and me, the puzzle is incomplete.

More in part two. Stay tuned as I “publish the Gospel [the Good News]”.