Selah: hebrew- meaning to pause and praise.
In other words, stop what I'm doing, take a pause in my agenda, and thank the Maker of the heavens and the earth!
Happy thanksgiving, everyone!
I hope we all took the time to have a "selah" today, even amidst the busyness of the holiday. It's so easy to get caught up in the little day-to-day details of life that we forget to be thankful.
My Selah for today includes (but is NOT limited to) these thoughts of thanks:
-I am so grateful to the Lord for being all-knowing, all I need, and SO gracious, more than I deserve.
-I am so grateful that He doesn't always answer my prayers in my timing, because His is always better.
-I praise Him that He "gives and takes away". Any time He takes away, he gives us the opportunity for a greater faith, a clearer world view, and more wisdom. He also increases our influence- allows us to help and encourage somebody dealing with the same thing.
-I thank God for seeing the whole picture when I may only see what's right in front of me.
- I thank God for so strategically placing amazing people and circumstances in my life that make me stronger and wiser. A better friend. A better mom. A better person.
A Psalm of thanksgiving:
Shout triumphantly to the LORD, all the earth.
Serve the LORD with gladness;
come before Him with joyful songs.
Acknowledge that the LORD is God.
He made us, and we are His —
His people, the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
and His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him and praise His name.
For the LORD is good, and His love is eternal;
His faithfulness endures through all generations. — Psalm 100
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Don't Judge
"Don't judge, or you too will be judged." Matthew 7:11
This topic is near to my heart for two reasons:
1) I think a critical spirit is the problem that divides us as sisters, and keeps us from loving eachother as God commands us to!
2) I've had years and years of struggling with this issue. God has had to tear "logs" out of my eyes time and time again, until I finally started to see ALL people as God's creation, all sinful and selfish in nature but loved by God regardless!
Exerpt taken from My Utmost For His Highest. (This devotion book is a MUST. If I could only save two books it would be the Bible, and My Utmost.)
"Jesus’ instructions with regard to judging others is very simply put; He says, “Don’t.” The average Christian is the most piercingly critical individual known. Criticism is one of the ordinary activities of people, but in the spiritual realm nothing is accomplished by it. The effect of criticism is the dividing up of the strengths of the one being criticized. The Holy Spirit is the only one in the proper position to criticize, and He alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding. It is impossible to enter into fellowship with God when you are in a critical mood. Criticism serves to make you harsh, vindictive, and cruel, and leaves you with the soothing and flattering idea that you are somehow superior to others. Jesus says that as His disciple you should cultivate a temperament that is never critical. This will not happen quickly but must be developed over a span of time. You must constantly beware of anything that causes you to think of yourself as a superior person.
If I see the little speck in your eye, it means that I have a plank of timber in my own (see Matthew 7:3-5). Every wrong thing that I see in you, God finds in me. Every time I judge, I condemn myself (see Romans 2:17-24). Stop having a measuring stick for other people. There is always at least one more fact, which we know nothing about, in every person’s situation. The first thing God does is to give us a thorough spiritual cleaning. After that, there is no possibility of pride remaining in us. I have never met a person I could despair of, or lose all hope for, after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God." -Oswald Chambers
So, it comes down to this. When you catch yourself being critical and judgemental, be humble enough to allow God to show you the ugliness of that, and ask Him to help purify your heart. It's only with a pure heart and loving motives that we will have any hope of shining the love of Jesus to all people.
Be a woman of grace, love, and encouragement! Resist the temptation to compare and critisize. It only darkens our hearts, and prevents us from loving people the way we should!!! Shine on!
This topic is near to my heart for two reasons:
1) I think a critical spirit is the problem that divides us as sisters, and keeps us from loving eachother as God commands us to!
2) I've had years and years of struggling with this issue. God has had to tear "logs" out of my eyes time and time again, until I finally started to see ALL people as God's creation, all sinful and selfish in nature but loved by God regardless!
Exerpt taken from My Utmost For His Highest. (This devotion book is a MUST. If I could only save two books it would be the Bible, and My Utmost.)
"Jesus’ instructions with regard to judging others is very simply put; He says, “Don’t.” The average Christian is the most piercingly critical individual known. Criticism is one of the ordinary activities of people, but in the spiritual realm nothing is accomplished by it. The effect of criticism is the dividing up of the strengths of the one being criticized. The Holy Spirit is the only one in the proper position to criticize, and He alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding. It is impossible to enter into fellowship with God when you are in a critical mood. Criticism serves to make you harsh, vindictive, and cruel, and leaves you with the soothing and flattering idea that you are somehow superior to others. Jesus says that as His disciple you should cultivate a temperament that is never critical. This will not happen quickly but must be developed over a span of time. You must constantly beware of anything that causes you to think of yourself as a superior person.
If I see the little speck in your eye, it means that I have a plank of timber in my own (see Matthew 7:3-5). Every wrong thing that I see in you, God finds in me. Every time I judge, I condemn myself (see Romans 2:17-24). Stop having a measuring stick for other people. There is always at least one more fact, which we know nothing about, in every person’s situation. The first thing God does is to give us a thorough spiritual cleaning. After that, there is no possibility of pride remaining in us. I have never met a person I could despair of, or lose all hope for, after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God." -Oswald Chambers
So, it comes down to this. When you catch yourself being critical and judgemental, be humble enough to allow God to show you the ugliness of that, and ask Him to help purify your heart. It's only with a pure heart and loving motives that we will have any hope of shining the love of Jesus to all people.
Be a woman of grace, love, and encouragement! Resist the temptation to compare and critisize. It only darkens our hearts, and prevents us from loving people the way we should!!! Shine on!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Truth or Lie?
"If you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." -John 8:31-32
Now re-read that and put emphasis on the IF and the THEN.
IF, meaning that if you do not hold tight to His teaching, the truth cannot set you free! And don't we all long to be free from something? Some kind of physical or mental bondage? Some heaviness that lingers? A nagging sin, the regret of a bad decision, a lie that keeps us from being at peace, the list goes on...
But God didn't die for nothing! He died to free us from bondage and He promises that IF we cling to His teaching, and His truths, the result (THEN the truth can set you free...) will be freedom.
However, it's vital to understand that we won't experience total peace and freedom just because we believe in God. It requires a degree of dedication on our part. Dedication to being life long learners, being humble before God, and holding the words of the bible close to our hearts.
It also requires that we are comitted to putting our thoughts (and other people's words and advice) through a "truth" strainer.
Feelings are not facts.
A half truth is a full lie.
"Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." -1 Peter 5:8
"The devil....is the father of lies." -John 8:44
Satan disguises himself very well in the world we live in today, just as he did in the very beginning, sneaking around as a serpent in the garden. His messages fill our ears through the radio, tv, newspaper, internet, advertising, even "christian" authors and teachers. If we aren't committed to distinguishing God's truths from the world's lies, the grey area becomes huge. And before we know it, we are justifying outright sin, and allowing satan to feed us lies that keep us from experiencing the joy and peace God promises.
I highly recommend the book called, "Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free" by Nancy Leigh Demoss.
Take a look at a few common lies women believe and check your heart to see if you find them there.
1. God isn't really enough.
2. God doesn't love me.
3. I'm not worth anything.
4. I have a right to act how I act.
5. I can sin and get away with it.
6. My sin isn't that bad compared to so and so...
7. God can't forgive what I've done.
8. I have to earn God's love through good deeds.
9. I have to have a husband to be happy and complete.
10. My husband should always make me feel happy and complete.
11. If I feel something, it must be true.
12. I can't control my emotions and I can't control how I respond when I'm hormonal. (hahaha.)
13. It's all about me.
14. I am a product of my circumstances and my past, and I can't change how I am.
15. I can't live up to God's standards so why try?
Start by praying and asking the Lord to give you a spirit of discernment, so that you are quickly able to judge God's truths from Satan's lies. Ask God to show you what lies you have been believing that have kept you from experiencing the fullness of God's love and freedom.
Because the TRUTH is:
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God." - Romans 8:38-39
Now re-read that and put emphasis on the IF and the THEN.
IF, meaning that if you do not hold tight to His teaching, the truth cannot set you free! And don't we all long to be free from something? Some kind of physical or mental bondage? Some heaviness that lingers? A nagging sin, the regret of a bad decision, a lie that keeps us from being at peace, the list goes on...
But God didn't die for nothing! He died to free us from bondage and He promises that IF we cling to His teaching, and His truths, the result (THEN the truth can set you free...) will be freedom.
However, it's vital to understand that we won't experience total peace and freedom just because we believe in God. It requires a degree of dedication on our part. Dedication to being life long learners, being humble before God, and holding the words of the bible close to our hearts.
It also requires that we are comitted to putting our thoughts (and other people's words and advice) through a "truth" strainer.
Feelings are not facts.
A half truth is a full lie.
"Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." -1 Peter 5:8
"The devil....is the father of lies." -John 8:44
Satan disguises himself very well in the world we live in today, just as he did in the very beginning, sneaking around as a serpent in the garden. His messages fill our ears through the radio, tv, newspaper, internet, advertising, even "christian" authors and teachers. If we aren't committed to distinguishing God's truths from the world's lies, the grey area becomes huge. And before we know it, we are justifying outright sin, and allowing satan to feed us lies that keep us from experiencing the joy and peace God promises.
I highly recommend the book called, "Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free" by Nancy Leigh Demoss.
Take a look at a few common lies women believe and check your heart to see if you find them there.
1. God isn't really enough.
2. God doesn't love me.
3. I'm not worth anything.
4. I have a right to act how I act.
5. I can sin and get away with it.
6. My sin isn't that bad compared to so and so...
7. God can't forgive what I've done.
8. I have to earn God's love through good deeds.
9. I have to have a husband to be happy and complete.
10. My husband should always make me feel happy and complete.
11. If I feel something, it must be true.
12. I can't control my emotions and I can't control how I respond when I'm hormonal. (hahaha.)
13. It's all about me.
14. I am a product of my circumstances and my past, and I can't change how I am.
15. I can't live up to God's standards so why try?
Start by praying and asking the Lord to give you a spirit of discernment, so that you are quickly able to judge God's truths from Satan's lies. Ask God to show you what lies you have been believing that have kept you from experiencing the fullness of God's love and freedom.
Because the TRUTH is:
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God." - Romans 8:38-39
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Are you filling buckets?
I once told a homeless man, a total stranger, that I loved him. Sounds totally weird but it just came out. I guess I could say it was an overflow of the love God has shown me...and it just spilled over. But he was touched, and smiled, and said, "God bless you." And I am pretty darn sure God knew he needed to hear it, and let me be the messenger. I am also pretty sure that in that moment, God put his heart for that man into my heart, because I genuinely felt like I meant what I said.
I am grateful that someone once said to me, "When you wake up, you should pray that you will have the eyes to see who God needs you to bless today." Because there is someone, every day, for you to minister to, if you only have your eyes open to see. It may be someone in your close circle, it may be a stranger at the grocery store, and it may be someone who is downright unloveable. Ever since I started to pray that way, God has opened my eyes.
When Selah was in preschool she participated in an activity called the "joy-giver." Each student is to go around and say something kind to someone else, and then they respond with, "thank you, joy giver!"
Aww, sweet isn't it? But also very practical. And the concept is highly minimized in this self-serving world we live in.
Micah came home from kindergarten and told me the "bucket story." He explained that everyone has a bucket, and everyone deserves a full bucket. When we love other people, or are kind to them, our buckets get filled, and so do theirs. But when we are hurtful or unkind to others, we empty their buckets, AND our own.
If we were willing for God to use us this way, to see each person as having a bucket that you yourself are capable of filling, how blessed would we all be?
Jennifer Kennedy Dean wrote, "We are the dispensers of His life. What He wants to do in your world, He will do through you. The Father will put you where He wants you. He will bring into your life or to your attention everyone He wants to love through you. You've already been assigned. You will not have to find God's will; God's will finds you. When His life flows through you to others, you will have the privelage of seeing the power of God at work. It will produce in you exuberant joy. "
"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." -2 Tim. 3:5
So I challenge you to see each day, each interraction, as having the potential to be a God-ordained moment. It may not mean telling total strangers you love them. Just slow down long enough to make eye contact and give a warm smile to someone who may be hurting and losing hope in humanity. Stop and ask how their day is going. Buy a stranger a coffee. It's really really simple to make a deep impact. How did we ever get moving so fast that we forgot that the girl who checked us out at the grocery store is human? Might sound silly, but since I've been thinking this way, God has allowed me to witness some amazing moments, just by showing His love to total strangers. If christians aren't "being" Jesus to the hurting and lost world, who will be?
I am grateful that someone once said to me, "When you wake up, you should pray that you will have the eyes to see who God needs you to bless today." Because there is someone, every day, for you to minister to, if you only have your eyes open to see. It may be someone in your close circle, it may be a stranger at the grocery store, and it may be someone who is downright unloveable. Ever since I started to pray that way, God has opened my eyes.
When Selah was in preschool she participated in an activity called the "joy-giver." Each student is to go around and say something kind to someone else, and then they respond with, "thank you, joy giver!"
Aww, sweet isn't it? But also very practical. And the concept is highly minimized in this self-serving world we live in.
Micah came home from kindergarten and told me the "bucket story." He explained that everyone has a bucket, and everyone deserves a full bucket. When we love other people, or are kind to them, our buckets get filled, and so do theirs. But when we are hurtful or unkind to others, we empty their buckets, AND our own.
If we were willing for God to use us this way, to see each person as having a bucket that you yourself are capable of filling, how blessed would we all be?
Jennifer Kennedy Dean wrote, "We are the dispensers of His life. What He wants to do in your world, He will do through you. The Father will put you where He wants you. He will bring into your life or to your attention everyone He wants to love through you. You've already been assigned. You will not have to find God's will; God's will finds you. When His life flows through you to others, you will have the privelage of seeing the power of God at work. It will produce in you exuberant joy. "
"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." -2 Tim. 3:5
So I challenge you to see each day, each interraction, as having the potential to be a God-ordained moment. It may not mean telling total strangers you love them. Just slow down long enough to make eye contact and give a warm smile to someone who may be hurting and losing hope in humanity. Stop and ask how their day is going. Buy a stranger a coffee. It's really really simple to make a deep impact. How did we ever get moving so fast that we forgot that the girl who checked us out at the grocery store is human? Might sound silly, but since I've been thinking this way, God has allowed me to witness some amazing moments, just by showing His love to total strangers. If christians aren't "being" Jesus to the hurting and lost world, who will be?
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