Just?

Just~
I've been noticing a tendency in Christian prayer lately, the tendency is to use the word "just". I wonder when or why we feel the need to ask God to "just" give us this, or "just" do that, as if God is limited in what He might want to give or might want to do? Or maybe it's a burden for Him to answer our prayers? We ask Him, Lord, please just do this today for me and I won't bother You with anything else.
     Our God is beyond limits, our God created all things, He holds the universe in His hands, He made us of dirt with His own hands! He knows how many hairs are on our head! He knows our words before we speak...He  wants to do things for us!
     Imagine your children coming to you and asking if they could "just play outside for 15 minutes". Wouldn't it sound like you were expected to refuse their request and they're trying to bargain with you for "just" 15 minutes? 
     To pray and ask Him to "just" give us, or "just" do anything is like the orphan child asking for just a little more soup. 
     Do we really want to dishonor God in this way? To speak to Him as if it's beyond His generous nature to give, or beyond His ability to do? Our God is generous and nothing is beyond Him, we don't have to creep close and beg, Father, would You just give me a worn out pair of shoes to keep my feet warm today?
     Our Father is a loving God, it pleases Him to provide for us and protect us as it does for any parent to give to and take care of their child. 
     Please, I challenge you to quit using a limiting word like "just" when you speak to the great Creator, the Alpha and Omega, the Potter, our loving Heavenly Father. Use words that honor Him and show your trust in Him.

   

Kodak Moments

Yesterday was my birthday~ and in our family my husband always enjoys asking what the person has gained in wisdom during their last year going around the sun. 
     I would like to share my wisdom for the last year~ I'm sure it's something you've heard before, but the truth has settled into my soul, so now it's truth to me.
     Don't worry so much about the big things, in the end...the little things are the big things. 
     Once you get past 40 you realize that you're in middle age, because if you take 80 and divide it in half, which is the middle...you get 40~ thus you are in middle age! And we all should agree that 80 is a good long life. God only says we should look to live to be 70, so actually 35 is middle age...but I digress from my subject! 
     I have not accomplished anything that most people will remember after I'm gone, but in my memories are many "Kodak moments" spent with my loved ones. Things that my husband puts up with me telling him stories of, even when he's heard them many times before and even lived through the experiences himself!
     People so often think a possession or experience will make their lives complete, but in my life I'm not finding that to be true. It's more the time spent sitting on the deck with the sun shining and enjoying a quiet moment with my handsome husband. Or the special times that my sons are able to visit and let me know that I am loved and special in their lives. 
     I just want to say, thank You Lord for my private photo memories of "Kodak Moments".

Praise

     How then should we praise God?
     What a humongous subject! And how many different opinions! There are churches that have split over this very subject and churches that been created over the difference of opinions!
     And God wants me to write a blog about it? Now I can totally grasp what Moses felt...I am the least of all! I am one woman, with no congregation to teach or lead~ nobody(I mean NOBODY!) will listen to me! I can't even get my family to listen to me!
     I was overcome by the Holy Spirit yesterday during our church praise service, I was shouting! and I have a tough time shouting even when the Pastor tells everyone to shout! Now here I am, tackling a subject like "Praise" including shouting! And raising hands!... At first, when God put this on my heart, I thought I should go through Strong's Exhaustive Concordance and look up each reference to the word "praise", and let me tell you, there are a lot of references! I learned that Judah means praise and that when the Hebrews started planting in a new area of land, they were to let the fruit from their new trees go for three years and the fourth year they were to give the fruit to God as a praise offering. Who knew!? Side note here, did you know we're still supposed to give praise offerings to God? Yes, that is one form of praise to give up something that we desire and cherish~ I'm telling you, those people were looking forward to tasting the fresh fruit from those trees, but they gave it to God! Not part of it, all of it! That is one way to praise.
     But, if I study and become well versed in all the places that praise is used in scripture then I'll write from my own understanding and education, that would not serve God's purpose here (it would just serve mine). God likes to use the weak and foolish, so I do fit His purpose!
     I can write from what I do know, I know that we sing songs claiming that we wait for God and then we give Him a few minutes on Sunday morning to show up, and if He doesn't, then we move on to the next phase of our Sunday routine. I know we say His name is above all names and is worth all praise, we say that our heart sings "How great is our God", then we start checking the time when we think church should be over? How sincere is our praise when we're feeling put out that church is running too long? or when our arms hang limp by our sides, or we stuff our hands in our pockets? Didn't God say to raise our hands in praise?(Psalm 64:1-4) Are we more concerned about what the people around us might think of us if we do raise our hands? What about what God thinks of us? Remember He does see your heart and He knows why you refuse to raise your hands~
     Did God ever tell us a time frame we should allow for praise or a service where we come to seek to draw closer to Him? (Did you know that in some countries people walk for hours to be present at a service lifted to God's glory? They don't even ask who is speaking, they just want to praise God! and be in His presence and with His people! They LOVE God and are drawn to whatever He is doing! Time and inconvenience is not important to them, only God is!)
     We say that "we proclaim that our God reigns!". Do we know what proclaiming means? The definition says it is to "assert", "proclaim". But do we really proclaim that our God "reigns"?
     Let's compare this to a husband-wife relationship, how many wives would feel loved or appreciated if their husbands showed their love quietly in their heart and it never left their mouths? Or how many husbands would believe their wives loved them if the wife put their meals out on the table and while the husband was washing His hands and enjoying the aroma of the meal, his wife cleared the table and said "time is up, I put it out there 15 minutes ago and you didn't sit down, so I thought you wasn't coming to eat!" Isn't that what we often do to God? Is that anyway to praise?
     Yes, God knows our thoughts, but words are important to Him also, He didn't think the world into being, Genesis doesn't speak of God thinking and then it happened, it says "God said" over and over! So does God want us to think and not say? Not likely! If He "said" and then it "was", then most likely we need to "say" also!
     I have to fight myself here  to not get sidetracked with what I believe about praise, for example, I believe that praise should be about how great and wonderful God is, not how pitiful and pathetic I am! Should the focus of my praise be about all of the tough things that I have been through, or should it be about the mighty God that brought me through them? To focus on me and my hardships borders self pity, unless the whole point is to marvel that I came through them in one piece and that it is only because of God that I did come through them! Okay, since I'm not going to focus on my own view here, except for this paragraph!  =/ I'll move on!
     God is holy and we are to enter His gates with thanksgiving and praise! I'm thinking our praise should be for Him, about Him and to Him! It's not about us, it's not about what we want or are comfortable with, it's all about Him!



Shout to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with joy;
come before him with singing.
Know that the Lord is God.
He made us, and we belong to him;
we are his people, the sheep he tends.

Come into his city with songs of thanksgiving
and into his courtyards with songs of praise.
Thank him and praise his name.

The Lord is good. His love is forever,
and his loyalty goes on and on.

Psalm 100:1-5   

O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;
My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips will praise You.
So I will bless You as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.

Psalm 64:1-4

The custom of raising hands during worship was a common practice in the early church, especially during prayer. In Paul's letter to Timothy he writes, "I desire, then, that in every place the people should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument" (1 Timothy 2.8)

I did find this writing about raising our hands and I enjoyed it, so I thought I'd share the site with you~  http://www.hcna.us/columns/lifted-hands.html 

Tightly Woven

     I know this is not a new teaching, or even an earth shattering revelation for most bible readers, but God has put it on my heart for quite awhile that as the body of believers, the bride of the returning King, we need to be tightly woven together, so closely woven together that as a fabric we can not be torn apart or ripped asunder.      In Philippians Paul writes to the Christians in Philippi about unity, not only unity but also being "together"

      Do you think some of them were insisting that thIey could find God without going to church? I've heard a lot of people in this day and time say that there are many ways to God, but maybe this was an issue they dealt with a long time ago also? Scripture does say that "there's nothing new under the sun"!

     Here Paul says "above all", that means it is pretty important to conduct ourselves in the way he describes. 

     Paul says to:

1. Conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ.

2. Standing together.

3. With one spirit.

4. With one purpose.

5. Fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News of Christ.

     This teaching takes away the idea that you can go your own way and still be living the life that God would desire for you. You may not believe that you need to be joined with other Christians and maybe it's not for you, maybe it's for them? Whatever the reason, it is the instruction for the way we should walk out this life.

     Above all, you must live as citizens of   heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see 
you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. Philippians 1:27 NLT

Sweet-Smelling

     Now that Lane is sharing a teaching or scripture for tithing each week at church scriptures or teachings in the bible about tithing seem to be everywhere I read! 
     The scripture that I'm sharing now is written by Paul and he's teaching the Philippians, in the book of Philippians, a principle of God's nature. 

Several times you sent me things I needed when I was in Thessalonica. Really, it is not that I want to receive gifts from you, but I want you to have the good that comes from giving. And now I have everything, and more. I have all I need, because Epaphroditus brought your gift to me. It is like a sweet-smelling sacrifice offered to God, who accepts that sacrifice and is pleased with it. My God will use his wonderful riches in Christ Jesus to give you everything you need. Philippians 4:16-19 NCV

     The principle in this case is that God wants us to give "gifts", this is beyond our regular tithing. Tithing and giving is not a subject that most people like to hear about, kind of like children on the playground aren't always eager to "share" the toy that they have desired and finally been given. We'd rather hear about what God is doing for us, right?
     Nonetheless, God's principles about tithing and giving is that He gives to us, so we can in turn give back to Him and to others. It's a never ending cycle, unless we stop it by not giving! 
     In scripture, we're even told that the giving we do for His purposes, whereas it is a sacrifice to us, is "sweet-smelling" and pleasing to God. And also, God's principle follows that as He is pleased with our gifts, He will in turn give you everything you need! Here I know you start thinking of God giving you all of your "wants", right? I do that too! but God's promise is to give you everything that you "need", let's learn to be content with having our "needs" supplied...that in itself is a true gift and blessing from our Heavenly Father. 

Voices

I will listen and believe the voice of truth.
Jesus You are the voice of truth, I will listen!

There are voices on the radio
voices on TV
voices in magazines
voices on billboards
voices from friends
voices from enemies
voices from the past
voices of fear
voices of lust
voices of envy
voices of jealousy
voices of judgement
voices of criticism
voices of flattery
voices of deception
voices of self congratulation
voices of self pity
voices of self centeredness
voices of self condemnation
voices of self accusation
voices of self pride

     Most of the voices listed are voices of our own, of the world  and of the enemy of our soul. 
     There are many voices in the world, which one do you listen to?
     If you want to hear the voice of Truth you have to seek it...Praise, Prayer, Study of the Word, Meditation...yes, it is a challenge, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes...you have to tune out from the other voices and tune into God.
     Change the channel of your voice tuner! Turn from the channels of the world, turn off your TV, radio, telephone(OH MY! Not the phone! Yes, turn off all of the texting!). God speaks to us when we listen, then we can hear His voice.
     Sometimes God speaks past all of the other voices, but if it's your desire to hear Him, why not make it easier to hear? Take time, quiet the voices from the world and listen for your Heavenly Father. He will speak to those that want to hear.

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

The New Year!

The New Year!

What does that bring to mind for you?

     For Lane and myself we always wonder where God is taking us this year. We've been known to spend New Year's Eve in the prayer room at IHOP in Kansas City when possible to be close to God at a time when things seem brand new and the future happening before us!
     This year my goal is to hear God more clearly, to walk more completely in His path.
     So far I've been able to hear 4 messages from different Ministers, they are calling us to a more complete submission to God in this year. 
     I have a lot of concern for people that continue to call their lives their own, and to make their decisions as if they are the Captain of their own ship and they don't choose to submit to God's will or purpose in their lives.
     I used to live like I was my own Captain also, so I understand the thinking process. They believe they can go their own way and then ask God to bless them in the choices they've made, without even asking His counsel before the choice was made.
     In the messages I've heard recently I believe the ones that are plotting their own course are going to be so out of touch with God that even when they realize their need of His direction they'll be so lost in the storm they won't know which way to turn.
     Of course God is always there when called upon, but when we're too lost we don't even realize what a mess we've gotten ourselves in and instead of calling to God for help, we blame Him! That is the mess that concerns me. A self made mess, and then bitterness from the results!
     The messages I've heard bringing God's leading for His people, for the year ahead have a common thread from all 4 Ministers:

1. Walk with passion and zeal, there is no room for a tepid Christian life.
2. Don't depend on your own understanding, depend on the Spirit, pray in the Spirit in all circumstances, on all occasions
3. We are to set ourselves apart, to live a life of integrity and to remove the pollution that we've allowed to creep into our lives that disqualifies us from being carriers of God. Remove wrong thinking, wrong speaking, wrong habits, stop being self-focused.
4. This is only the beginning, we're being matured for the next step...if we don't mature, we will miss the step.

     I have felt a very strong pressure to create new habits that will bring me closer to God, I've been trying to walk closely with Him for quite a while now, but as the verses that Paul shared:
 Philippians 2:12-13  So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; fo  it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure, we need to be doing this with "fear and trembling"!
     I believe that even though we know God loves us, we need to remember "the fear of the Lord". It's time for us to quit being the children that rebelliously do what we want because we know our Father loves us and will forgive us and remember that our Father is our Creator and it should be our sole purpose to please and honor Him. It's time for us to grow up! It's time to walk with steadfastness knowing who we are in God and what He wants us to do, it's time for us to seek His pleasure, not our own.



   

Life Is Short

     Do What You Can

     Too many times we take for granted the strength and health that we have. We assume that we can put things off until tomorrow if we're not in the mood to make it happen today. 
     I want to caution you that what you put off today may never happen. We don't really know what we will be able to do today, much less tomorrow. 
     I know that we've heard these cautions many times, and easily brush them aside, but we're brushing these things aside with no facts in our corner to know what tomorrow will bring.
     Today's verse for me is Psalm 20:12 Teach us how short our lives really are so that we may be wise.