Psalm 103: 1-6
For months I have not written on my blog though I have been musing on the Word of the Lord. Every time I would go to my blog site the right(wrong) Email would come up and when I went in, the notice would say I did not have a blog site(wrong) and would I start one. I followed the instructions and round and round I went. So then I thought, "well, I guess I'm not suppose to write in my blog space." Then I would wait and try again. Now, you have to understand I have several Emails, but only one(the wrong one) would come up on the dashboard. Finally I found a box one day that said that my blog was registered under a certain Email. Now, I no longer use that Email because it was compromised several months ago. Today I logged on from the web site and it said "type in your Email". Where that little box has been, I don't know. But here I am.
The Lord reminded me then of the above passage. I could not over the months overcome the obstacles to enter my blog site. But Psalm 103: 4 says that the Lord redeems my life from the pit. All I need is the key just as I needed the right Email address and the right boxes. But not everything that "seems" right is nor is something that is wrong always right. Confused?
We go in circles in our troubles because we look in the wrong places. We listen to the wrong directions. We try the same paths and end up in the same place. God says, "Read my Word. Follow me. 'Praise the Lord, O my soul...... don't forget what He has done - His benefits:
He forgives our sin, heals our disease, AND lifts us out of the pit." So look up when you are confused. Look up when you are in need of healing and forgiveness. He lifts you out of the pit. No one else can do that.
"Go there," they say. "Try this," they say. But our Father says, "Look up. I will satisfy your desires with good things, and renew your youth like the eagles." That's good enough for me.
Thank you, Lord for helping me discover the key of praise which causes me to look up to You. You lift me out of the pit. Amen.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Musings of the Day
Ponderings for Easter have led me to search my heart as to how this day affects my life. I was led to Daily Light which is a selection of Scriptures for the day. First look at Colossians 3:1, "Since, then, you have beed raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." I asked the Lord to speak to my heart. Here is what He said:
I said, "I was born a sinner, yes, from the moment my mother conceived me."
He said, "Your reputation was great among the nations for your beauty; it was perfect because of all the gifts I gave you, says the Lord God."
I said, "I'm too much of a sinner for you to have around."
He said, "How beautiful you are, my love, how beautiful."
I said, "I loathe myself and repent in dust and ashes."
He said, "You are so beautiful ,my love.
I said, "When I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong."
He said, "Cheer up, son! I have forgiven your sins."
I said, "I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned."
He said, "You have everything when you have Christ." "You are perfect because of what Christ has done."
So this Easter season ponder this: "Your sins are washed away......you are set apart for God......He has accepted you because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you." "You have been chosen by God himself."
Thank you, Lord for choosing me. I celebrate You this glorius Resurrection Day - Easter.
Amen
I said, "I was born a sinner, yes, from the moment my mother conceived me."
He said, "Your reputation was great among the nations for your beauty; it was perfect because of all the gifts I gave you, says the Lord God."
I said, "I'm too much of a sinner for you to have around."
He said, "How beautiful you are, my love, how beautiful."
I said, "I loathe myself and repent in dust and ashes."
He said, "You are so beautiful ,my love.
I said, "When I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong."
He said, "Cheer up, son! I have forgiven your sins."
I said, "I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned."
He said, "You have everything when you have Christ." "You are perfect because of what Christ has done."
So this Easter season ponder this: "Your sins are washed away......you are set apart for God......He has accepted you because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you." "You have been chosen by God himself."
Thank you, Lord for choosing me. I celebrate You this glorius Resurrection Day - Easter.
Amen
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Musings of the Day #5
March 15, 2009
Today at our church we were blessed to have Susie McIntyre as our guest to sing and to challenge us. She is the sister of Reba McIntyre. I'm not much into country music, but I was into Susie's testimony and challenge. The Spirit of the Lord annointed her presentation as she touched on one of the most hush-hush sins of believers. Is there sin among us? Oh, yes. And interestingly enough, the more spiritual we become, the more subtle the sin and the less it is addressd. So what was the sin?
Abuse - spouse abuse! Surprised? I wasn't. As I sat there listening to her touch this sensitive nerve, I was so aware of spouses around me being touched by the Spirit of the Lord either because they are victims of abuse or because they are abusers. She talked not only of physical abuse, but mental and spiritual abuse. She brought up the old saying, " Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me," revealing this saying for the lie that it is. Her neice wrote a song about this that is on her newest album. "Sticks and stones may break my bones but they will heal. Words cut like a knife in my inner heart that none can see but they never heal." When we wound someone with our words, dear friends, only God himself can bring about the healing needed for that person. For hurting words become a tape played over and over in the victim's mind. And try as they may, they cannot free themselves from the tape. Only the Lord can set us free by speaking blessing into our lives.
Our words are either a blessing or a curse. "The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell," James 3:6. "Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be," James 3:10. So the next time you are tempted to say something nasty to the ones you love, remember you are heaping a curse upon them. God will set them free, but what about you?
Lord, we repent of words spoke in haste and without love. Cleanse us and forgives us. Amen
Today at our church we were blessed to have Susie McIntyre as our guest to sing and to challenge us. She is the sister of Reba McIntyre. I'm not much into country music, but I was into Susie's testimony and challenge. The Spirit of the Lord annointed her presentation as she touched on one of the most hush-hush sins of believers. Is there sin among us? Oh, yes. And interestingly enough, the more spiritual we become, the more subtle the sin and the less it is addressd. So what was the sin?
Abuse - spouse abuse! Surprised? I wasn't. As I sat there listening to her touch this sensitive nerve, I was so aware of spouses around me being touched by the Spirit of the Lord either because they are victims of abuse or because they are abusers. She talked not only of physical abuse, but mental and spiritual abuse. She brought up the old saying, " Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me," revealing this saying for the lie that it is. Her neice wrote a song about this that is on her newest album. "Sticks and stones may break my bones but they will heal. Words cut like a knife in my inner heart that none can see but they never heal." When we wound someone with our words, dear friends, only God himself can bring about the healing needed for that person. For hurting words become a tape played over and over in the victim's mind. And try as they may, they cannot free themselves from the tape. Only the Lord can set us free by speaking blessing into our lives.
Our words are either a blessing or a curse. "The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell," James 3:6. "Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be," James 3:10. So the next time you are tempted to say something nasty to the ones you love, remember you are heaping a curse upon them. God will set them free, but what about you?
Lord, we repent of words spoke in haste and without love. Cleanse us and forgives us. Amen
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Musings of the Day #4
March 14, 2009
Are you feeling helpless in the current situations we find ourselves in? You are not alone. But you there are answers for you, for our families, and for our country. But let's begin with you and me. Where is our focus? What is our main concern? If you answer that it is on the economy and on the lost retirement plans, and where our country is headed, may I suggest that is the WRONG answer? God's Word reminds us that we should not look to men or even to horses and chariots of men for they cannot save us. A friend of mine in Germany is a prophet. He accurately as a Christian foretold the fall of the iron curtain, and several wars in modern day former Soviet republics. He has warned that we in America are sitting on the cusp of what Germany sat on when Hitler took power. Now hear me, I am not saying that we have that kind of president. What I am saying is that this gentleman says the economic situation is similar. The Germans chose economy over standing up for right and wrong. He believes we will make the same wrong choice and suffer the consequences.
But it is not too late. We can make the right choice and do the right thing. So what is that choice?
I put my FAITH in God above everything else - economy, prosperity for me and mine, and my personal comfort. That is the right choice. The Christian Science Monitor had an article recently that stated that the evangelical church of America is far more interested in their personal needs and prosperity than they are in their faith. And they have the view point that if I am a Christian, God owes me. No, my friend. We owe a debt to the Lord for He died for us that we might be saved.
My heart cry is this: Turn back to the Lord with your whole heart. Put Him first. Put your faith in Him as your main goal. Don't make the wrong choice! The times are on the brink of turning to a change none of us want. "Seek the Lord, and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you," Matthew 6:33. But be sure you focus on the seeking and His righteousness, NOT on all these things in the last part of the verse. All things will follow only if we truly seek Jesus.
Are you feeling helpless in the current situations we find ourselves in? You are not alone. But you there are answers for you, for our families, and for our country. But let's begin with you and me. Where is our focus? What is our main concern? If you answer that it is on the economy and on the lost retirement plans, and where our country is headed, may I suggest that is the WRONG answer? God's Word reminds us that we should not look to men or even to horses and chariots of men for they cannot save us. A friend of mine in Germany is a prophet. He accurately as a Christian foretold the fall of the iron curtain, and several wars in modern day former Soviet republics. He has warned that we in America are sitting on the cusp of what Germany sat on when Hitler took power. Now hear me, I am not saying that we have that kind of president. What I am saying is that this gentleman says the economic situation is similar. The Germans chose economy over standing up for right and wrong. He believes we will make the same wrong choice and suffer the consequences.
But it is not too late. We can make the right choice and do the right thing. So what is that choice?
I put my FAITH in God above everything else - economy, prosperity for me and mine, and my personal comfort. That is the right choice. The Christian Science Monitor had an article recently that stated that the evangelical church of America is far more interested in their personal needs and prosperity than they are in their faith. And they have the view point that if I am a Christian, God owes me. No, my friend. We owe a debt to the Lord for He died for us that we might be saved.
My heart cry is this: Turn back to the Lord with your whole heart. Put Him first. Put your faith in Him as your main goal. Don't make the wrong choice! The times are on the brink of turning to a change none of us want. "Seek the Lord, and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you," Matthew 6:33. But be sure you focus on the seeking and His righteousness, NOT on all these things in the last part of the verse. All things will follow only if we truly seek Jesus.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Musings of the Day #3
Who owns what? Who owns who? Interesting how we Christians are so into ownership. We want to know who owns something. We want to know who is in charge. And then we set up our own ownership by applying rules to those who are in charge. If what they do doesn't match up with what we expect, we begin to question their actions. Why? Because we are into ownership. And who better to know what should or should not be done than us? And so our thinking goes.
But real ownership belongs to God. He is the owner of the world because He created the world. Now Satan would like to usurp that position. So when we begin to question what God is doing with His world and His people, either individually or corporately, guess what? We have just given ownership to Satan. We are not called to question God or His people. We are called to trust God and His people. Just a minute, you say. What if a Christian doesn't do what is right? Well be sure first of all that you know, not think, that something is wrong. Be sure you don't assume something is wrong because you do not understand what is going on. Secondly, a gentle talk with the one whom you suspect is wrong would be good IF you are a part of the solution. Suspect is probably the operative word here. When we suspect someone we take ownership of knowing better, having the answers. being right in our own eyes.
So how to we get out of the morass of "ownership"? By realizing that we own nothing. We have been entrusted by God with ministries, family, friends, home, children, but they are NOT ours, they are His.
But the really bottom line? You and I are OWNED by God. Interesting how we love to sing, "I surrender all", or "I give myself to you" as though we had something to do with it. God's Spirit brings us to the place where we can rejoice that He owns us. I've yet to hear someone say, "Praise God, He owns me." We would much rather say, "Praise God. I gave myself to Jesus," or "I accepted Jesus for my own." It's wonderful that His grace surrounds us so that He accepts what we say. But as for me - today I will rejoice that He OWNS me. I was bought by His holy and precious blood upon that cross where He willingly and gladly went to take my sin. I was bought by a priceless gift - the love of Jesus.
John 3:16, "God so loved the world that He gave His only son, Jesus."
But real ownership belongs to God. He is the owner of the world because He created the world. Now Satan would like to usurp that position. So when we begin to question what God is doing with His world and His people, either individually or corporately, guess what? We have just given ownership to Satan. We are not called to question God or His people. We are called to trust God and His people. Just a minute, you say. What if a Christian doesn't do what is right? Well be sure first of all that you know, not think, that something is wrong. Be sure you don't assume something is wrong because you do not understand what is going on. Secondly, a gentle talk with the one whom you suspect is wrong would be good IF you are a part of the solution. Suspect is probably the operative word here. When we suspect someone we take ownership of knowing better, having the answers. being right in our own eyes.
So how to we get out of the morass of "ownership"? By realizing that we own nothing. We have been entrusted by God with ministries, family, friends, home, children, but they are NOT ours, they are His.
But the really bottom line? You and I are OWNED by God. Interesting how we love to sing, "I surrender all", or "I give myself to you" as though we had something to do with it. God's Spirit brings us to the place where we can rejoice that He owns us. I've yet to hear someone say, "Praise God, He owns me." We would much rather say, "Praise God. I gave myself to Jesus," or "I accepted Jesus for my own." It's wonderful that His grace surrounds us so that He accepts what we say. But as for me - today I will rejoice that He OWNS me. I was bought by His holy and precious blood upon that cross where He willingly and gladly went to take my sin. I was bought by a priceless gift - the love of Jesus.
John 3:16, "God so loved the world that He gave His only son, Jesus."
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Musings of the Day #2
I received a great comment on yesteday's blog. "When people feel slighted, they eat rat poison and wait for the rat to die." It put's yesterday's comments in succinct form. Thanks, Pastor Ryan Brons.
Why do we need to control everything we are involved in? Many believers suffer from that delusion, elusion, or whatever. There seem to be several motives for this need. One is that we don't think anyone else can do it as well as we personally can. That means I think I'm better than others - rather arrogant wouldn't you say? The second reason is that I am insecure. To hide my insecurity, I need to be in control. Poor reason, I'd say. Another reason is that we believe our true value is best expressed when we are in control. Many of us want to lead where God has not called us to lead. When this happens, we find ourselvs in a world of trouble. The Lord does not bless leadership He has not established. And if He calls you to leadership even though you feel inadquate, He will lead, guide, and bless if you seek His face and do not lay your hand on the control knob.
We work with an orphanage in Malawi called Hope Childrens' Centre. One of the main issues has centered on this desire to be in control. I have watched the enemy come in to pit people against each other all in the name of control. Who owns the project? Who should run it? Who has the final say so. In such situations, there are multiple parties involved with varied interests and reasons for being involved. There is the government of the country with its rules and regulaltions which must be met. There is the national leadership of the Malawian Church who started the orphanage and registered it with the government. Then there are the missionaries on the ground, the Board in America, and so the list goes on.
What I have seen is that almost everyone has missed the main point. The orphanage belongs to God who called the vision into being through the leaders of the church there. We responded to the call to come alongside and help. So who owns the orphanage? God. Who owns the vision?
God. Who runs the orphanage? I would hope that all could answer that God by His Spirit leads us all in our individual roles so that the glory of the completed vision and work belongs to God.
So what in your life to you want to control that God has not placed in your hands, but rather has allowed you to place your hand in His that He might lead you in His work? You could study that sentence awhile. The truth is there. God gives the vision, the work, the need. He has a plan on how to solve the situation, deal with the person, lead the church, or whatever the need is. If He calls you to be involved in this need, you put your hand in His. You submit your will to His. Then you let Him lead you to your part in the work or solution. But remember He has the bigger hand and so He is in control. Who better to be in control than God who sees all, knows all and loves all? Any other way leads to a big crash.
Matthew 7:24-27, "Therefore everyone who hear these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who build his house on the rock................ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat agains that house, and it fell with WITH A GREAT CRASH."
The choice is yours - a crash or a solid work of the Lord.
Why do we need to control everything we are involved in? Many believers suffer from that delusion, elusion, or whatever. There seem to be several motives for this need. One is that we don't think anyone else can do it as well as we personally can. That means I think I'm better than others - rather arrogant wouldn't you say? The second reason is that I am insecure. To hide my insecurity, I need to be in control. Poor reason, I'd say. Another reason is that we believe our true value is best expressed when we are in control. Many of us want to lead where God has not called us to lead. When this happens, we find ourselvs in a world of trouble. The Lord does not bless leadership He has not established. And if He calls you to leadership even though you feel inadquate, He will lead, guide, and bless if you seek His face and do not lay your hand on the control knob.
We work with an orphanage in Malawi called Hope Childrens' Centre. One of the main issues has centered on this desire to be in control. I have watched the enemy come in to pit people against each other all in the name of control. Who owns the project? Who should run it? Who has the final say so. In such situations, there are multiple parties involved with varied interests and reasons for being involved. There is the government of the country with its rules and regulaltions which must be met. There is the national leadership of the Malawian Church who started the orphanage and registered it with the government. Then there are the missionaries on the ground, the Board in America, and so the list goes on.
What I have seen is that almost everyone has missed the main point. The orphanage belongs to God who called the vision into being through the leaders of the church there. We responded to the call to come alongside and help. So who owns the orphanage? God. Who owns the vision?
God. Who runs the orphanage? I would hope that all could answer that God by His Spirit leads us all in our individual roles so that the glory of the completed vision and work belongs to God.
So what in your life to you want to control that God has not placed in your hands, but rather has allowed you to place your hand in His that He might lead you in His work? You could study that sentence awhile. The truth is there. God gives the vision, the work, the need. He has a plan on how to solve the situation, deal with the person, lead the church, or whatever the need is. If He calls you to be involved in this need, you put your hand in His. You submit your will to His. Then you let Him lead you to your part in the work or solution. But remember He has the bigger hand and so He is in control. Who better to be in control than God who sees all, knows all and loves all? Any other way leads to a big crash.
Matthew 7:24-27, "Therefore everyone who hear these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who build his house on the rock................ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat agains that house, and it fell with WITH A GREAT CRASH."
The choice is yours - a crash or a solid work of the Lord.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Musings of the Day #1
How easy it is for us to take offense from others because of our perceptions. Our perceptions are based on who we are, where we have been, and how we view those with whom we take offense. This means that offense is the responsibility of the one who feels offended. Most often in our Christian lives, we perceive offense much more easily from other Christians than from the non-Christian. This stems from our belief that Christians and especially Christian leaders should act a certain way. That 'certain way' is clouded by who we are and how we feel on a given day. We don't often realize that the source of the offense is within ourselves.
It is true that there are those who offend. They deliberately make someone angry or hurt someone. But the offended still has the choice and the responsibility to take or leave the offense. If we take the offense, we have to deal with its consequences in our lives. If we leave it on the table and refuse to pick it up, we are the richer and more blessed by our decision. We make this decision many times in a day. Those closest to us who offend us are the most difficult for us to choose not to be offended. But the offense is often caused because our expectations of them are not realistic or beyond where they are.
How do we get out of this dilema? The Scripture says, "Love covers a multitude of sins."I Peter 4:8. Love is the key to overcoming offense. Read I Peter 4:7-11. Powerful words for these days in which we live.
It is true that there are those who offend. They deliberately make someone angry or hurt someone. But the offended still has the choice and the responsibility to take or leave the offense. If we take the offense, we have to deal with its consequences in our lives. If we leave it on the table and refuse to pick it up, we are the richer and more blessed by our decision. We make this decision many times in a day. Those closest to us who offend us are the most difficult for us to choose not to be offended. But the offense is often caused because our expectations of them are not realistic or beyond where they are.
How do we get out of this dilema? The Scripture says, "Love covers a multitude of sins."I Peter 4:8. Love is the key to overcoming offense. Read I Peter 4:7-11. Powerful words for these days in which we live.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
