Love With God’s Love July 31, 2009

“Whenever we cannot love in the old, human way…God can give us the perfect way.”

- Corrie ten Boom

When I saw this quote it reminded me of the post I did not that long ago, “We Are All Fallen Creatures”. I, personally, know how hard it can be to really love everyone. I have come across people who have made it VERY hard for me to like them, let alone love them. And for a while I tried to love them…yet, I kept failing because they would do something to make me like them even less. I am slowly learning that God is the only one who can give me the love to give to those people I do not like much. I cannot love them in a human way because I’ve seen how that has failed…but I can love them through the love that God gives me. Thing is, I cannot have that love to give unless I first ask God for it. And, yes, even when asking God to give me to the love to show to these people, I still find it hard to love them. I have to constantly remind myself to love them God’s way. I was discussing this subject with a friend, and she told me of how she went through a similar time…there was someone she disliked very much and couldn’t seem to love. Then she discovered that she didn’t have the right kind of love…the reason she couldn’t love the person was because she had only a selfish kind of love…the kind of love where she expected something back from the person. She told me that she finally realized that it was not the right kind of love…what she needed was God’s kind of love. A selfless love. This friend made me realize that I have not been trying to love the difficult people in my life the right way…I have been trying to love them with a selfish love. I need to love them with God’s love.

Psalm 42 July 30, 2009

Psalm 42

¹ As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?^[b]
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
While they continually say to me,
“Where is your God?”

⁴ When I remember these things,
I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go with the multitude;
I went with them to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and praise,
With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.

⁵ Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
For the help of His countenance.^[c]

⁶ O my God,^[d] my soul is cast down within me;
Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan,
And from the heights of Hermon,
From the Hill Mizar.
⁷ Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
All Your waves and billows have gone over me.
⁸ The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,
And in the night His song shall be with me—
A prayer to the God of my life.

⁹ I will say to God my Rock,
“Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”
¹⁰ As with a breaking of my bones,
My enemies reproach me,
While they say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”

¹¹ Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God.

Speak No Evil July 29, 2009

“…to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.” ~ Titus 3:2

This verse really stuck out at me, since it is a whole list of things that I struggle with. However, the thing that stuck out at me the most was “speak evil of no one.”

It’s very easy to be critical of people, point of their bad points, or the bad things they have done to us, or how we think they are doing something wrong, etc. It is especially easy to do this, or think it, which our own families. It’s also very easy to gossip about people, and say things that will tear them down, and make others think badly of them.

But I want to challenge you today to “speak evil of no one.” When those critical or gossiping thoughts rise in your mind, push them away. And don’t speak them! When others are criticizing or gossiping about someone, don’t join in.

No, this doesn’t mean that you should recognize when someone is doing something evil, but I’m speaking about being critical or gossiping.

So, go out there and build each other up!

And remember – “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a mulitude of sins.”"

Let Tomorrow Worry About Itself July 28, 2009

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empites today of its strength”
— Corrie Ten Boom

 

There! It’s in writing. And I know it to be true…when I worry and stress it uses up all my energy. I feel listless and weighed down so much that I can’t move or do anything…I just sink lower until I’m depressed. And, all my worrying doesn’t make tomorrow a better day…more likely than not I’m still worrying! An dthere goes another day where I’m depressed.

I was a born worrier…it’s one of my biggest faults, and it’s definitely one of my hardest to overcome. Perhaps to some people it comes easy to not worry, to not think about what’s coming up, but I find my thoughts constantly straying to all the “hard things” that are coming my way. And sometimes I can make myself sick just stressing out about them. And the thing is, most of the time I don’t even know what will happen for definite sure…it’s all in my thoughts straying to those “What if, what if”.

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
— Corrie Ten Boom!

Do we know what’s past the bends in our roads? No, we can’t see past the bends, no one can except God! And, we know God, right? We can learn about and grow closer to Him through reading His word and praying to Him. So, as Corrie Ten Boom so wisely put it, we should “never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” We know what God can do, and we know our futures’ are in His hands, so let’s not use up our strength in the uselessness of worrying. Let’s use our strength to serving God to the BEST of our ability today. Let tomorrow worry about itself!

How the lost get found July 27, 2009

I just heard this song for the first time the other day, and listening to the words really encouraged me to keep shining my light, to keep living a set apart life. If we don’t live differently, how will the lost be found?

“The Lost Get Found”
by Britt Nicole

Hello my friend
I remember when you were
So alive with your wide eyes
Then the light that you had in your heart was stolen
Now you say that it ain’t worth stayin’
You wanna run but you’re hesitatin’
I’m talkin’ to me

Don’t let your lights go down
Don’t let your fire burn out
‘Cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe
Why don’t you rise up now?
Don’t be afraid to stand out
That’s how the lost get found
The lost get found

So when you get the chance
Are you gonna take it?
There’s a really big world at your fingertips
And you know you have the chance to change it
There’s a girl on the streets, she’s cryin’
There’s a man whose faith is dyin’
Love is calling you

Don’t let your lights go down
Don’t let your fire burn out
‘Cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe
Why don’t you rise up now?
Don’t be afraid to stand out
That’s how the lost get found
The lost get found

Why do we go with the flow
Or take an easier road?
Why are we playin’ it safe?
Love came to show us the way
Love is a chance we should take
I’m movin’ out of the way

Don’t let your lights go down
Don’t let your fire burn out
‘Cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe
(Stand out)
Don’t let your lights go down
Don’t let your fire burn out
(Stand out)
‘Cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe
Why don’t you rise up now?
Don’t be afraid to stand out
That’s how the lost get found
The lost get found

So when you get the chance
Are you gonna take it?
There’s a really big world at your fingertips
And you know you have the chance to change it

Get Up July 26, 2009

We Are All Fallen Creatures July 24, 2009

Know that kid who annoys you beyond distraction? Know that person who knows exactly how to bug you? Know that person who resents you? Know how angry you can get just by talking to that girl? Know how upset that family member can make you? Guess what?

 

“We are all fallen creatures and all very hard to live with.”

C.S. Lewis.

There’s an awakening…so let’s wake up and see that we’re not as perfect as we may think. Do all people think we’re sweet and perfect? I’m sure to someone else, we can seem annoying, we can seem obnoxious…before pointing out the splinter in our sibling’s, friend’s, or acquaintance’s eye, let’s take the log out of our own.

Trust in the Lord July 23, 2009

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

God’s Will July 22, 2009

“For a bishop^[b] must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed…” ~ Titus 1:7

I read this verse today while getting ready for my Bible study with my friend, HannahBeth, and “not self-willed” stuck out at me. Now I know that Paul was speaking to Elders, however, I think we can apply this to our own lives as well.

In our lives we are not to do our own will, but God’s will! We are supposed to let Him have complete control over our lives!

So, next time you are tempted to do something selfish, remember instead to do God’s will!

“Have Tine Own Way Lord”

By Adelaide A. Pollard

.	Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way!
	Hold o'er my being absolute sway.
	Fill with thy Spirit till all shall see
	Christ only, always, living in me!

Pray & Listen July 21, 2009

 

I’ve heard from alot of my friends that they find it hard to pray…they find it hard to remember to pray during the day, and when they do remember they don’t know what to pray for.

Over the years, I’ve come to realize that prayer is more than just stopping to thank God for food, blessings, etc. Prayer is the time that I grow closer to God! I know a one of my friends thought me strange when I told her that I talk to God like my sister. lol. It kinda threw my friend for a loop…”You talk to Him like your sister??” I had to explain what I meant was that I confide in God like I do with my sister or with my closest friends. I tell Him things that I don’t tell everyone. I tell Him what’s on my heart, what’s on my mind, what’s troubling me, I ask Him for advice, I can tell Him anything and everything.

My siblings and I have been (and still are!) huge “Adventures in Odyssey” nuts. And I remember an episode on prayer that I heard a while back…I can’t remember the exact episode or what happened exactly in it, but I do remember how Whit made a prayer machine. He had a machine where the kids could press a button to receive an answer to their prayers…of course, it was all just an example to show kids that God is not a machine. And it makes a great point…God is not a machine that we just push the right buttons and we get the answer we want. To often our prayers are merely requests of God. How often do you pray to God as if He were a machine?

Prayer can be viewed so lightly…I’ve seen myself taking it lightly! Sometimes, I’m in such a rush, that I just hurry through a “typical-thank-you-for-this-day” prayer during my morning devotions, and then don’t give another thought to it. But prayer is so important! Prayer is how we grow closer to God! Think about it…let’s say you’ve just met this new girl. She’s very nice, and you decide to be friends. Do you get to be closer friends by not talking? Can you remain friends by not talking? No! You need to talk with each other, learn about each other…that is what makes you grow closer together! And it’s the same with God! You can’t be a Christian who goes through life saying that you ARE a Christian when you won’t even take the time to get to know God! You need to talk to Him!

There are other kinds of people…the kind that talk too much to God. “What??! How can a person pray/talk to God too much?” you might ask. I know it’s true, because I do it all the time…too often, I’ll prattle on and on to God, complaining about my troubles, and I don’t STOP to listen to Him. Again, like the situation with the new friend…you don’t get to know a friend by doing all the talking! You need to listen to the friend to learn about them! And it’s the same with God…you need to stop and listen to Him. And how do we listen to God? We all know He doesn’t speak out in a loud voice very often…but guess what? God has LOTS to say! And He says it…drumroll please….in His Word! *gasp* Surprising, huh? But it’s true! The Bible is God’s voice to us! There you can find the best and the most precious advice ever! There you can find comfort! There you can learn ALL about God! There you can find answers!

On a last note about prayer…I recently read somewhere (can’t remember where…might’ve been the Rebelution blog, but I’m not positive, so don’t take my word on it. ) that William Wilberforce and his men prayed 3 HOURS every day during their long, long, long fight against slavery. And guess what? Slavery was ended. If that doesn’t tell you that God answers prayer, I dont’ know what will! And I don’t know about you, but that motivates me to take out my Prayer sword and use it diligently!

So, gals, I guess what this post boils down to is…

PRAY & LISTEN