Thought for Dec. 7th

"So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows."~~Matthew 10:31

If the Lord cares for the birds and even knows the number of hairs on our heads, we never have any reason to question our value to Him.  Yet, we do.  We allow our circumstances to determine the way we think the Lord feels about us.  We believe the lie that since life is difficult, He must not care about us.  The enemy of our soul revels when we fall into this trap.

We continue in the enemies deception when we say, "I can't help the way we feel."  The truth is, we can.  Our feelings are determined by our thought patterns and what we choose to dwell on there.  It's the reason we're told to capture all our thoughts and bring them into obedience to the Lord.

When we line our thoughts up to God's truth, then we actually change the way we feel.  We gain His view on what is happening in our lives.  The truth is:  the Lord values us and proved it.  Of all His creation, we're the only one He created in His image and sent His one and only Son to die for our salvation.  We have no reason to fear, so may we live in this truth!

Thought for Dec. 6th

"You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever."~~Psalm 16:11

In this short verse three promises have been bestowed to us.  It's the Lord's desire for us to see them, to want them, and to seek after them.

1)  The path of Life
2)  Fullness of Joy
3)  Pleasures Forever

Here they are made known to us, but they become our reality when we seek to be in the presence of the Lord.  He wants us to pursue Him.  He yearns for a relationship with us but will not force us to want one with Him.

The truth is, whatever depth we seek to have with Him, He freely gives it to us.  If we seek a shallow relationship with Him, we will get it.  However, if we desire one that is filled with knowing and being known, we will get it too.  The deepness and richness of our relationship with the Lord is entirely up to us.

He promises so much when we seek Him with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, but we only receive that which we seek after.

What are you seeking with Him today?

Jesus, may I?

Ever play the game, "Mother, May I?"  It's usually played during recess and when I was little tended to be the favorite game for the girls.  One girl stood a distance away being "mother" and gave the instructions to the others. You responded by asking, "Mother, may I?" The object of the game was to be the first one to reach "mother".

It never occurred to me at that time in my life that "mother" actually controlled who reached her first and won the game.  I just remember the sense of pain and disappointment stirring within me every time I lost.

I see now that it was another situation in my life when I anticipated the possibility of a happy ending that only turned out to be just another time of being kept at arms length from others.  I had no clue that each time I lost it reenforced a deep root of rejection within my soul.

Oftentimes we buy into lies that we believe apply to the Lord's view of us, too.  However, Scriptures make it abundantly clear that His ultimate goal is to bring us into a close and intimate relationship with Himself.  Lies block us from seeing the truth about how the Lord really feels about us.  

Jesus invites us to come to Him, so that He can provide us with the rest we need (Matthew 11:28). When we draw near to Him, He instantly draws near to us (James 4:8). If we seek the Lord with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, we will find Him (Matthew 22:37). A confession of our sins guarantees His faithful forgiveness (1 John 1:9).  We receive peace when we sleep in the safety of His protection (Psalm 4:8).  

Jesus' instructions always bring us toward Him. Will we respond with, "Jesus, may I?"

Get What's Planted

We bought a farm.  An acre of land surrounded by fields.  Last year the other farmers around us planted soybean, and this year it's corn.  When it's time for them to harvest this year, they will reap corn.

The other day, we went out to our garden to pull what we planted.  We have produced an abundance of zucchini, squash, and tomatoes.  Though a smaller crop, we also have watermelons and pumpkins, too.

The fact that we reaped the fruits and vegetables we planted months ago reminded me of Paul's encouraging words in Galatians 6:9 when he said, "Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

Seeds of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control harvest these characteristics in our life and heart.  They come because of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.  When we extend grace, mercy, and forgiveness toward others, our returns will be the same.  

Maybe not always from the same people, but good seeds produces healthy fruit. So as we plant these seeds into the lives of others, we can definitely expect this kind of harvest when the timing is just right.  We do reap what we sow, because God promises that He is not mocked.

Want to Love Others?

Love flows from a heart that has first learned to receive the love of God and give it back to Him.  Loving the Lord with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind is key to loving others.  If it wasn't, then why did Jesus, the Son of God, instruct us in this way?

You see, when asked what was the greatest commandment, Jesus responded by telling us to love the Lord with everything we've got. (Matthew 22:37) We can't do that if we are unwillingly to receive His love for us first.

The Lord loves us.  These may be words we say, but do we believe it?  Do we truly comprehend His love for us?  Do we realize that we manifest the Lord when we love like Him, and we can't do that if we've withheld ourselves from first receiving His love.  We love like Him when we believe Him about His love for us.

We can truly love others when the love of Jesus has been born within us.  His love is patient, kind, not rude, not arrogant, or not self-seeking.  His love believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. His love never fails.

We can love like this when we learn to truly abide in His love for us.  His love can then flow from us to others.

How Do You Spell RELIEF?

When I read this on Facebook recently, it took me back to a time in my life not too long ago when I use to seek comfort from others by pouring out my woes over and over again to them.  I didn't seem to understand that no matter how willing they listened, the pain remained when my sharing finished.

I realize now that the person listening at the time did care about me, but they couldn't erase my pain.  My talking only provided temporary relief for that moment, but when alone again, the problem still loomed heavily over me.

However, several years ago, it finally dawned on me that I needed to break this unhealthy pattern in my life.  The Lord revealed to me that the reason my talking brought no healing was because I expected other humans to solve my hurt.  One can barely handle their own emotional wounds let alone someone else's.

When I understood this, a veil came off of my heart.  I saw Jesus inviting me into His open arms and lap. He assured me that He wanted to be near me even when I didn't react properly to a situation.  He didn't require me to get my act together first.  Instead He reminded me to bring all my fears, anger, hurts, and disappointments to Him.  Not only could He handle my problems, but He could bring about a solution too.

I love and appreciate all my friends.  They are beautiful sisters who have extend the same grace and mercy they have received back to me.  Many of them are still willing to journey with me through the ups and downs of life.

What I realize though is that it's important for every answer to point us back to Jesus.  He is in the business of making something beautiful from our ashes. Temporary relief from someone's listening ear is a nice gift, but praise the Lord for the One who satisfies entirely!!

Words of Healing

It's been several years ago, but the impact of that moment remains with me forever.  I sat in Starbucks with a dear friend, pouring out the deep hurts oozing from my heart.  The loss of a friendship that came with painful words and unkind actions left me reeling.  When I shared my struggle about wondering whether I had much to offer, she grabbed a 3 x 5 index card from my Bible and wrote the following message:

The spelling error adds the uniqueness of this card!

It took some time for me to grasp the full truth of these words.  As I read it over and over, I began to think of all the people that messed us in the Scriptures.  David called a man after God's own heart.  Abraham referred to as God's  friend.  Paul once a murderer of Christians becoming a great evangelist of his day.  Peter the one who denied Jesus and later dies for Him.

I began to realize that if God could transform their willing hearts, He could do it for me too.

In time, I came to appreciate the friends that loved me over the years with all my quirks.  They have strived with me to reach toward my full potential.  They helped me along the way and were instrumental in pointing me toward the truth.  It was through their commitment to me that I finally believed God and begin to appreciate the person He made me to be.

Yes, we can look to the Lord for our acknowledgment and restoration.  He is pleased to do it!  

Thankfully, it also please Him to send Himself in the package of His children who willing extend the grace and mercy they received toward others.

Pleasing Him needs to be our goal, and when it is, there IS freedom!