3.13.14

Romans 15:30 I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. 

My Thoughts
Look at those words, "by the love of the Spirit." I love it... It tells me that even when I find somebody unlovable that the Holy Spirit inside me loves that person, and He will help me pray for and love that person in spite of myself.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:44 to love our enemies and to pray for them, that can seem impossible. That is when we call on the Holy Spirit to makes us able. This just makes my heart smile.

3.12.14

John 14:26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

My Thoughts

There was a time in my life as a Christian I would have said that nobody was reminding me of anything. I would get nudges. The Holy Spirit was trying, doing His best with what I had given Him to work with. But how could he remind me of Scripture, of what God has told us all, if I didn't know what God had told me? He couldn't! I also didn't know to recognize that still small voice as the Holy Spirit talking to me, leading me, protecting me. Now I hear and recognize Him all the time...more every day, and He does bring to my  remembrance Scriptures. I can recognize the scripture because I have now read the Scripture. 

Just this last week when I was living in all the days ahead that this week held, beginning to feel overwhelmed and exhausted from all that lay ahead of me, The Holy Spirit reminded me of   Matthew 6:34 and not to worry about tomorrow today was big enough all by itself. So each day I have made myself stay focused on just that day, being reminded by The Holy Spirit each time my tomorrow's tried to steel my joy for today...and I recognized Him and His love for me and I listened.... I lived in that day... Accomplishing enough not to be dragged down by my past once that day was my past... And keeping my tomorrows from exhausting my present before it even got here. This past week I have learned the importance if this verse... It is huge to my future todays.... This verse alone will give me strength by keeping tomorrow from taking my strength.... This verse alone will help me stay present in the moment so that I can feel the joy that God gives me and intends for me to have. I was able to grab hold of this verse because I recognized it when the Holy Spirit reminded me of it and told me how to use it in my life! 

3.9.14

Numbers 10:31 "Please don't leaves us!" Moses pleaded (with Hobab) "You know the places in the wilderness we should camp. Come be our guide. If you do, we will share with you all the blessings The Lord gives us." 

My Thoughts

I couldn't help but think when I read this that we should live our lives in such a way that we have blessings to share. So often we get lost in providing for ourselves and our families, that we overlook our blessings. We get so busy getting that we stop noticing all the blessings that have been poured out on our lives and when we forget to notice, it is much harder to share. God sends His blessing down all the time on our lives. We are to share and God tells us in Luke 6:38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.

It is so easy to be stingy..so easy! But when we let go of what God has blessed us with that is when we really begin to see blessings abound in our lives. 

3.7.14

Numbers 9:15-23 15 On the day the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered it.[a] But from evening until morning the cloud over the Tabernacle looked like a pillar of fire. 16 This was the regular pattern—at night the cloud that covered the Tabernacle had the appearance of fire. 17 Whenever the cloud lifted from over the sacred tent, the people of Israel would break camp and follow it. And wherever the cloud settled, the people of Israel would set up camp. 18 In this way, they traveled and camped at the Lord’s command wherever he told them to go. Then they remained in their camp as long as the cloud stayed over the Tabernacle. 19 If the cloud remained over the Tabernacle for a long time, the Israelites stayed and performed their duty to the Lord. 20 Sometimes the cloud would stay over the Tabernacle for only a few days, so the people would stay for only a few days, as the Lord commanded. Then at the Lord’s command they would break camp and move on.21 Sometimes the cloud stayed only overnight and lifted the next morning. But day or night, when the cloud lifted, the people broke camp and moved on. 22 Whether the cloud stayed above the Tabernacle for two days, a month, or a year, the people of Israel stayed in camp and did not move on. But as soon as it lifted, they broke camp and moved on.23 So they camped or traveled at the Lord’s command, and they did whatever the Lord told them through Moses.

My Thoughts

We often pay close attention to what the  Israelites didn't do. We wonder to ourselves, "How could they not do this?  Didn't they see the miracles?"  We get lost it what they should have done that we think we would have done that for sure. But look at the story above..these people went to sleep each nigh not knowing if or where God would have them move the next day. Could you imagine having to pack up all you had at a moments notice and move yet again?  Could you imagine thinking you were going to get a break only to open your eyes, step out front to stretch and see that cloud rushing up ready to take you somewhere new? Could you imagine feeling all settled in after a year...they that cloud rushing up again? Yet the Israelites in all they did wrong, picked up and moved at a moments notice!

This made me think of how we judge our neighbors and friends... Often by the things they don't do that we do, sometimes only because we already have hindsight. What if we stopped and looked at all our neighbors and friends do right! What if we looked at the people around us in only positive light, asking ourselves, "What can learn from them today?"  

From this story about the Israelites we can learn to wake up and say, "God, where would you have me go today?" 

3.6.14

Psalm 49:2-3 High and low, rich and poor--listen! For my words are wise, and my thoughts are filled with insight. 

My Thoughts
I love this! It is so true. Each day that I read my Bible I grow and learn... Sometimes I take two steps forward and one step backward... But I am learning every day. Growing every day. Every day my life gets better... Every day my faith grows stronger... Every day my self-esteem grows...  Every day I love people more than I did the day before....  Each day I feel more loved than the day before... Decisions in my life are so much easier .... Standing strong is easier... I never feel alone.... My list could go on and on.

My journey reading God's word has been amazing. I get so much more from it than I could have ever hoped to imagine. When others let me know they have picked up their Bibles and started reading, my heart explodes with excitement.... I love watching others grow when they pick up their Bibles.

3.5.14

Psalm 48:9a Oh God, we meditate on your unfailing love 

My Thoughts
 This line took my breath away today. For days I find myself singing about how much God loves me. I wake up in the middle of the night singing if His love for me. For each and every one of us. And I just feel such joy! Last week was a stressful week with my dad, then when I would atop and meditate on God's love I would feel peace.

Yesterday a psychiatrist on TV was talking about cognitive therapy for depression and anxiety. He said...and I have alway heard ..what we thin about what happens determines how we feel about what happens. Even when we don't want to believe this, deep down we know it's true. He said that depressions was caused by, and caused thoughts of being all alone in the world, not feeling loved, feeling useless. It made me smile... I thought God gives us things to think about on all these subjects, positive things to thin. No wonder I am never depressed or anxious any more. God's word is in my heart telling me the truth. It's gems me I am wonderfully made,that I can do all things through .christ who strengthens me. God's word tells me that I am never alone that He is always with me, that He sent the Holy Spirit to live in me so I would never be alone.  God' sword tells me just how much God loves me...and His love shows up in my life every day. It was always there but God's word taught me how to see Him in my life.

When I meditate on God's unfailing love my life is in balance, it is full, it is whole. It makes me sing!

3.4.14

Mark 12:7-8 But the tenant farmers said to one another, "Here comes the heir to the estate. let's kill him and get the estate for ourselves!" So they grabbed him and murdered him and threw his body out of the vineyard.

My Thoughts
The owner of the estate had built he vineyard built a wall around it and leased it to the tenant camera for a small price. They had to work the vineyard... But the owner of the estate had built it and shared it with them. He had given them a way to make a living. They had become selfish. This man had given them a way to make a living, to have a fruitful life yet they resented him.

I know that this is a story about how the people of the world were about to take the life of Jesus about how God had given them so much and how they became selfish.

But today I saw something else in this story. I couldn't help but thin about how on Sunday mornings God ask for our ten precent...  It made me see my ten precent as an acknowledgement  to God that I understand that what I have belongs to God and He has given me the opportunity to use it to better my life...but it is still His. If I don't give my tithes on Sunday I am saying I deserve this more than you do God, I worked it, I am going to keep it for myself.  If I don't tithe I am saying to God that I think I matter more than Jesus, that I think that all that He did so I could have this opportunity inlife doesn't   matter to my success and what I have been able to accomplish.  My giving back to God his ten precent is saying, "I know this world belongs to you God, I thank you for the opportunities to have the life I have. Thank you for trusting me with this much!"  I believe from the story of the talents that this vineyard was taken and given to the person that treasured what God had given them. We are saying on Sunday mornings when we tithe, "God, I treasure all that you have entrusted me with." Don't miss out on a chance to tell God you treasure what he has done for you!