Inspired by . . . what is brave?

I saw a very small, pale yellow butterfly while I was out walking yesterday. I'm amazed at their resilience. Butterflies need sun. Their body temperature must be a least 60-85 degrees before they can fly. So how do they endure the cold wind and rain? Personally, I would fly south. The ones that stay seem to me to be very brave indeed.

I want to be more like a butterfly.

Love God Greatly's new study is called: Choose Brave

Are you following along? 

This word, brave, does not sit comfortably upon my shoulders. I attribute bravery to people who run into burning buildings, wear a military uniform, sacrifice personal safety for the benefit of another. I've never been put in such a position but I would likely be more of a handicap than a help.

I'm no hero. But I'm no victim either. When it comes to bravery in my Christian walk, I stand firmly behind the truths of this week's study.

"But you, man of God, must shun all that, and pursue justice, piety, integrity, love, fortitude, and gentleness." 1 Timothy 6:11

Being a man or woman of God is not a passive call. We must choose each day to actively pursue righteousness.  How do we do this? Eph 6:10, "find your strength in the Lord, in His mighty power."

Each day, at every turn, we step forward with Him in mind. Trusting in His promises. Obeying His word. It's not so much, "What would Jesus do?" but rather, "What did Jesus do?" 

"Put all your trust in the Lord and do not rely on your own understanding. At every step you take keep Him in mind, and He will direct your path." Proverbs 3:5-6

God did not create us and then abandon us. He created us for good, and for a specific purpose. (Eph 2:10) He wants us to succeed! And He has promised to be with us every step of the way. Don't get tripped up by unmet expectations. People will disappoint you. God never will.

"Let us never tire of doing good, for if we do not slacken our efforts we shall in due time reap our harvest." Gal 6:9

Forgiveness is one of the hardest tests of obedience we can face as a Christian. This is especially true when the offense has caused physical or deep emotional harm. It takes a lot of courage and trust in God to forgive and process through such hurts. 

For some of us, if we're honest, our list of offenses against us is more about our pettiness and pride than any real intended harm. Unmet expectations, misunderstandings, and hurt feelings can dig deep trenches if we let them.

Dismantling our pride is hard. Humility is risky. Both are required. [click to tweet]

"Be tolerant with one another and forgiving, if any of you has cause for complaint: you must forgive as the Lord forgave you." Col 3:13

"With the Lord on my side, I am not afraid; what can mortals do to me?" Psalms 118:6

The truth is, mortals can do a lot. But our lives and our salvation are in God's care. Ultimately, our hope is in Him. The question comes down to this:

Do you believe God and His word? 

Do you trust Him?

"Have no fear, for I am with you; be not afraid, for I am your God. I shall strengthen you and give you help and uphold you with My victorious right hand." Isaiah 41:10

Shalom,

Inspired by . . . what we believe

There are two studies which have been impacting me greatly over the last several months and weeks. 

My Dreamer and I have been listening to Alistair Begg's sermons on the book of Daniel entitled And He Shall Reign. (the entire series can be downloaded here for free)

And, more recently, (as I mentioned previously) I have been doing the First5 study, Suffering & Sovereignty which is based in Job, Lamentations, and Ecclesiastes. (This study runs through October 21st so there is still time for you to join us if you wish)

Both studies focus on the sovereignty of God. Daniel gives us the "big picture" which is critical for us to see and understand especially given the current cultural and political climate. While in the book of Job the lens narrows and we get a picture of the reality of God's sovereignty in our personal lives.

We've been camped in the book of Job for the last 12 weeks and the one thing I've noticed about Job's friends is that they had an incomplete and often incorrect view of God. Some of what they said was true, much of it was not, and some of the truth was taken out of context.

This got me to thinking about what we believe about God and what misconceptions we might have. 

The book of Job also, rather alarmingly, reminds us of the role of the enemy in our lives. We should remember that the enemy was intimately acquainted with God. The enemy knows what God's word says. I think it's safe to say that he delights when we get it wrong. 

**I not referring here to those things about God that we don't yet understand. In some sense, until we meet Him face-to-face, we will always have an incomplete view of Who He IS. I'm talking about the things we believe about God that are wrong, i.e. contrary to His word.**

The best lies contain an element of truth. [click to tweet]

You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? (Gal 5:7)

The Galatian's faith was being derailed by falsehoods regarding circumcision relating to justification. What falsehoods are hindering us from obeying God's Word?

How do we view God? Jesus? Does what we believe line up with scripture? 

Beloved, do not believe every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1Jn 4:1)

Is what we believe based solely on what we've been told? Do we look up verses for ourselves and read them in context, praying for God to give us wisdom? 

Remember, it's easy to take scripture out of context and use it to justify an accepted, yet false belief.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, Who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. (Jas 1:5)

The cliche, "God helps those who help themselves." is widely quoted and believed. It is also NOT in the bible. In fact, the principle it alleges is actually contrary to what the Bible teaches.

The truth is, we cannot help ourselves. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. It is true that God calls us to pursue holiness, but He also provides the grace we need to do so.

And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Php 1:6)

Of this Jerry Bridges (The Discipline of Grace) says, "This thought is both encouraging and sobering. It is encouraging because it assures us that our spiritual growth is not left to our initiative, nor is it dependent upon our wisdom to know in which areas and in which direction we need to grow. Rather, it is God Himself who initiates and superintends our spiritual growth."

Believing that there is something we can do or have to do before Christ can save us nullifies the cross. [click to tweet]

The most effective way we can combat misconceptions about God is to read His Word for ourselves. [click to tweet] Go to the commentaries only after you have read and reasoned, and prayed and wrestled with understanding for yourself. 

You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart. (Jer 29:13)

God does not hide from us. If we honestly seek Him, He will reveal to us the truth about Himself.

Shalom,

Sharing inspiration here:
Testimony Tuesday, #TellHisStory,
Faith On Fire, Grace & Truth,
Inspire Me Monday, RaRa Link Up, Intentional Tuesday,
#WordswithWinter, Titus 2 Tuesday, Thoughtful Thursdays,
Encourage Me Monday, Wholehearted Wednesday,
Women with Intention Wednesdays, Word Filled Wednesday,
#GiveMeGrace, Sitting Among Friends, #Glimpsesofhisbeauty
Counting My Blessings, Grace Moments, Heart Encouragement
#DanceWithJesus

Inspired by . . . Preparing the Soil

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,  from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,  and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.  Ephesians 3:14-19

 

If the warm weather and sunny days haven't done it for you, then certainly the date on the calendar should have you thinking Spring! If you're like me then you've spent the last several months planning and dreaming about your spring garden – it's finally time to prepare the soil! Every gardener knows that good soil preparation is key to how the seed (or plants) will grow, thrive and produce a harvest.

In the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13, Jesus compares God's word to a seed.

 “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”

So how do we prepare the soil of our hearts to receive God's word, so that it will grow, produce fruit and ultimately a bountiful harvest?

 

Textured with Kim's organic texture

 

Just as an organic fertilizer will prepare the soil to receive the seed, Christ's love, the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, prepares our hearts to received God's word.

"The seed looks very sharp," she said shrinkingly. "Won't it hurt if you put it into my heart?"

He answered gently, "It is so sharp that it slips in very quickly. But, Much-Afraid, I have already warned you that Love and Pain go together, for a time at least. If you would know Love, you must know pain too." ~ Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard

 

It is a painful process, as the Shepherd warned little Much-Afraid. It involves change, repentance. A transformation from death to LIFE! We come to God as we are, but He does not allow us stay that way.

 

 

It is only by allowing Christ to dwell in our hearts that we can receive the seed, the word of God. For spiritual things must be spiritually discerned.

 

 

In Ephesians Paul prays for us to be "rooted and grounded in love" so that we might come to understand the fullness of Christ's love for us. This is a blessing indeed, for it is the love of Christ that waters the seed, the word of God, within us.

 

Is the soil of your heart prepared to receive the seed of God's word today?

 

Blessings,

 

 

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Inspired by . . . focus

 

I'm following along with Good Morning Girls and their 8-week study entitled Intentionally Focused.

Here's a quick overview of the study:

Week One – Intentionally Focused

Week Two – Your Spiritual Life

Week Three – Your Mind

Week Four – Your Marriage

Week Five – Your Friendships

Week Six – Your Children

Week Seven – Your Ministries

Week Eight – Your Health

 

 

 

It's been an amazing study so far – and we're just getting started!

Here's a snapshot of what God's been teaching us. . . .

Week one gave us the foundation of our focus: JESUS

Everything else flows out from who we are in CHRIST.

• We are His children – we should act like Him. (Eph 5:1-16)
• Our time here is limited (Psalm 90)
• Pursue holiness (Heb 12)
• Persevere by faith (Phil 3:12-14)

 

 

Week two focused on our Spiritual Life. We cannot hope to achieve any of the things from week one if our souls are starving and lack living water. We must remain connected to Jesus, the vine, to bear spiritual fruit. Apart from Him we can do nothing.

• Pray (Luke 5:16, Mark 1:35)
• Time with Jesus feeds our soul. He is our bread, light, water, our {protector} shepherd (John 6:35, 8:12, 10:11, 14:6)
• Jesus satisfies (John 4:1-14)
• God's word is necessary for right thinking (Heb 4:12-13)
• God's love is better than life. The only true response is to praise Him (Psalm 63:1-8)

 

 

We can all benefit from a little re focusing. Especially when it comes to our faith. It's easy to be complacent and even apathetic when it comes to God.

 

‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.

So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.' (Rev. 3:15-16)

There is a warning here. It is time to re focus and become intentional about the things of God.

The groups for this session are all full, but if you're interested, you can sign up on the Good Morning Girls website to get the study materials for free, and then follow along on their Facebook page!

 

 

Source: all graphics courtesy of GMG

 

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Inspired by . . . a new year

 

"...one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Php 3:13-14 

 

It's that time of year again. After the let down JOYs of Christmas we seem to slip into a thoughtful, sort of half-awake, repose wherein we dissect the past and make new expectations for the future.

I know many of you make new year's resolutions, or choose words to inspire your focus for the upcoming year. Nothing wrong with either - - in fact, I admire you for it!

But for most of my life I've done little of either. I'm more of a 'by the seat of my pants' kind of gal, albeit in a controlled sort of way.  {I'm sensing some not so quiet laughter from some of you out there}  And, although this may sound cliché to some of you, I really do trust God for what's next.

I suppose, though, if your life happen to take a 180 and/or as you get older you're more apt to be thoughtful about the past and more concerned about the future no matter what personality tendencies you had before.

With all those wonderful, inspirational words floating around out there in blogland it shouldn't surprise me that I'm in a debate with myself about choosing one. Did you get that? The debate is more about the choosing of a word, than about the word itself. Why? Because, as I've already explained, this isn't really my sort of thing and I didn't want to do it just because others were doing it.... blah, blah, blah.

So, although I had a word, I had decided not to choose it. 

That is until Good Morning Girls announced the topic of their January study.

 

 

 

There was no escaping it. The word had chosen me.

So now, like many of you, I have a word to help keep me focused in 2014.

My word is: Intentional

 

And, I am going to begin this year by being intentional with all of YOU and invite you to join my Facebook group for the GMG online winter study, Intentionally Focused. If you're interested you can request to join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/236810263143915/

 

Wishing you all a healthy and JOYfilled

New Year!

 

Blessings,

 

 

 

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Inspired by. . . hope

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. A time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the nativity {birth} of Jesus Christ.

 

This first week as we prepare our hearts and wait expectantly for what we know is to come, we focus on the word – hope.

 

 

There are many in our world today who have no hope. For many, the sheer desperation of their circumstance produces this state of mind. For others, looking out upon the world with a full belly, from the warmth of an "easy" chair, they simply see the reality of a world that seems to be imploding upon itself. Still others believe that as products of evolution, we are programmed to continually seek to better ourselves, and as a result shall never find true contentment. There is nothing after this. All is lost.

But the truth is that all is not lost.

That very first Christmas we were given the gift of hope. God's gift to us. His Son. Our Savior.... our Redeemer. Our hope for a better tomorrow.

Hope came into our world.

Hope ...... that God can take any life, no matter how broken, and make it beautiful.

Hope ...... that the best is yet to come!

This gift of hope that entered our world so many years ago has never left.

It is still here today. For some, it still lies beneath the tree . . . wrapped . . . waiting.

 

 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,

so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. ~ Romans 15:13

 

Some of us need to be reminded of the hope we have. This Advent season is the perfect opportunity to refocus our hearts on Jesus, the Giver of all hope.

And some of us need to unwrap the gift. Let hope give birth to faith and . . .

 

Believe.

 

With expectation,

 

Join us -

 

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Inspired by. . . the arrival

Is there something that you're looking forward to with eager anticipation?

When I was young, summer vacation and Christmas topped the list of most anticipated events. As time goes on, weddings and babies mark important and much-anticipated milestones in our lives. But not all of us get married, not all of us have children. And, I realize,  not all of us celebrate Christmas.

But Christmas is the ONE event that celebrates ALL of us.

Imagine God's growing anticipation as He carefully prepared and planned to reveal -- to send His Son, the Savior of ALL mankind, to earth. There are hints, some subtle, some not so subtle, of this much anticipated event all through scripture, beginning in Genesis 3.

Advent is the final crescendo of this great anticipation. And every year it fills me with JOY, excitement, HOPE and thanksgiving. It is a season, a holiday, like no other. And it is one that everyone in the world can identify with and celebrate as their own. Because Christ was given to ALL mankind.

My dear friend, Margo, said this about Advent:

 

The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. Thus, Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000-year-old-event in history. It is celebrating a truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God. Advent also symbolizes the spiritual journey of individuals and a congregation as they affirm that Christ has come, that He is present in the world today, and that He will come again in power.

 

There are many different ways to celebrate Advent. Some are, and should be, very fun. Like Jacquie Lawson's animated advent calendars. These beautifully animated calendars have been a tradition in my home for the last three years. Advent calendars are a fun way to count down the days before Christmas. I've shared with you in the past the beautiful advent calendar my Nana made for me when I was a child.

 

 

And I've started a pin board to keep track of all the wonderful Advent calendar ideas I've found through the years!

 

Celebrating Advent also can, and should be, solemn, reflective and thankful. Some of the examples on my pin board include DIY Advent Candle wreaths, which are a meaningful way to celebrate the four Sundays of Advent.

 

There are wonderful devotional books available, too. Watch for the Light is one I would definitely recommend.

 

And, if you're still with me, I would love for you to join our online bible study group for our upcoming Advent Study: Keeping our Hearts Focused on Jesus.

 

We have a private Facebook page set up for the group. If you're interested, send me an email and I'll send you an invite to the group!

However you and your family choose {or not} to celebrate Advent, I pray that the JOY and excitement of this fast-approaching season will stir your hearts and minds with anticipation of His arrival.

 

With anticipation,

 

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