Not giving up...

November 11, 2013

Perseverance. Stick-to-it-tivenes. Endurance. Patience.

"Be patient until the coming of the Lord." What does that mean?

"Establish your hearts. For the coming of the Lord is at hand."

"My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and
patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job
and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful."

 I want to lose weight, but I don't know that I have the will to do it. Does this have anything to do with these Bible verses?    Persevere.     Endure.    Be patient.

 Living the Christian life is a lot like going on a diet. You know the end will be good for you, but the process in the middle, well, it can be challenging to say the least. Remember how new and vibrant the Word of God seemed when you were first saved? It was a new world of adventure. It was a new world of discovering the Scripture, of learning about God. It's like the first couple of days of a diet are relatively easy. Then what happens? Temptation. How I handle temptation determines whether or not I achieve the goal, doesn't it?

...to be continued...

Things

November 9, 2013

Things.  We all need some things.  We all want some things.  What does the Bible say about this?
Is having things wrong?

James 5

¹Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! ²Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. ³Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.


Do I judge others by the clothes they wear?  Do I judge others by the jewelry they have?  the cars they drive, the homes they live in?  the school that their children attend?  the brand of the purses they carry? the youthfulness of their skin?  the fitness of their bodies?  the eloquence, or lack thereof, of their speech?  the smell of their perfumes?  the degrees they have earned?

More importantly, do I value myself my these things.  Do I have to have the most stylish clothes?  the most current jewelry?  Recently, I just had to have a new watch.  It wasn't necessary, but I wanted it.  Is that wrong?  No, not in and of itself, it's not.  The watch is beautiful and, yes, I did get it on sale, but will it one day be "corroded"?  Yes, of course it will.  Have you every wanted something really badly.  Longed for it even.  When you finally got it, you just loved it!  But when the first thing went wrong or the first scratch appeared, it lost its allure?  I know I have.  I need to discern between what is necessary and what is desired.  I know that God says He will give us the desires of our hearts.  BUT have I conformed my desires to His desires?  All of us like new and pretty things, but does that give us worth?  I think of Mother Teresa.  She had nothing but the love of Christ to give others.  Who among us would not say that she was rich?  Look at Jesus.  He walked and had no home.  What do we think about about the homeless today?  Would we listen to a homeless man tell us that he and the Father are one?  He didn't go to any fancy schools.  He may not have even gone to school.  Maybe Mary taught Him.  Do we judge homeschooling parents because they choose a different path?  Do I judge people because they don't use the correct tense of a verb with the noun in their sentences?  I have to admit that I have.  Is that person any less valuable in the eyes of God?  What do I value in life? Things will pass away.  How do I want to be remembered?  Do I want to remembered like Mother Teresa or Bill Gates?  Do I want to be remembered for my sacrifice or for my riches?

Now, here comes the hard part.  HOW have I sacrificed for anyone?  Have I?  What have I denied myself in order to meet the needs of another?  I live in a nice home, drive a reasonably new car.  I have food on the table.  My bills get met.  God has provided for all my physical needs.  How am I providing for the needs of others?

Lord, train me to ask myself, "Do I NEED this?"  I can't imagine how much money I have spent unthinkingly that could have helped someone else.  And it's not just about money.  What have I DONE to help someone else?  And the things I have done, would I have done them if I had not gotten acknowledgement for them?  Would I have helped if I were anonymous?   Father God, help me to use the resources you have given me to honor You.  Help me to use these resources to lead others to Christ.  Open my eyes, Lord.  Help me to find my value in You and not in my possessions.

November 8, 2013

I am thinking about yesterday.  How was I a friend of the world?  I sat there and listened to a friend
make inappropriate innuendos.  What should I have done?  Should I have gotten up and left?  Yet, I am not without sin.   I made a comment in response that was equally unnecessary.

James says in Chapter 4:11-12 "Do not speak evil of one another, brethren.  He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law.  But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.  There is one Lawgiver, who is able to destroy.  Who are you to judge one another?"

I often mentally judge my friend.  What is the difference between judging and having discernment?   I was definitely wrong to engage in that conversation yesterday, and equally wrong to participate in it.
What should I do next time it happens?  I really should have left the room.  I had the opportunity to do that, but chose not to.  If I couldn't leave, maybe I could try to redirect the conversation in a more positive way.  If that doesn't work, maybe I should just redirect myself.  Read some notes, write to myself, think about something else.  Is it wrong to be rude when someone is persistent in their conversation?  It's easy to be pious and say, "No, walk away."  Is that always the loving thing to do?  I don't really know, but I do know that the Holy Spirit is allowing me to recognize my part in the sin.  I am accountable for my sin.  I must first take the log out of my own eye before reaching for the splinter in another's.

Watching certain tv programs is just inviting the world into your living room.  I was more aware of what was on the television yesterday; however, I allowed certain programs to fill my environment even though I knew they were not edifying.  I tried to close my mind to the broadcast.  Why didn't I just turn the tv off?  Laziness.  I don't have a remote, and I was too lazy to get up and turn off the tv.
Nothing like compounding sin upon sin, is there?  I have got to realize that this world is not my home.
I did nothing to increase my fellowship with God yesterday.

Dear Lord, please help me to want to be with You.  Thank You for making me more aware of my shortcomings.  Help me to change.  Help me to be more like You.  Help me to want to be more like You.  Help me today, dear Father.  Guard my tongue.  Protect my ears.  Shield my mind.  Give me wisdom and discernment.  Help me to love others.  Help me to edify.   Thank You, dear Jesus, for loving me so much that You have allowed me to be Your child.  Thank You for Your sacrifice on the cross for my sins.  I cannot imagine the sorrow you must have felt.

November 7, 2013

James 4: "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?  Whoever wants to be a friend of the world, makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think the Scripture says in vain, 'The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously'?

How am I a friend of the world?  I don't drink, smoke, carouse.  But I still seek friendship with the world.  How do I spend my time?  I labor in shame because I seek to "relax" when I get home from work.  I tell myself that I deserve some time to myself.  I seek no one's fellowship, but my own.  I replace real fellowship with vicarious living through Facebook. Why do I keep people so far from me?
Even God.  I don't come home and seek His fellowship.  I turn to a game on-line or turn on the tv to "relax".  Yet the Holy Spirit yearns for my fellowship.  Why do I resist Him?

Television is an interesting medium.  If what I see on tv were to come into my home, would I welcome it.  Scenes of people backstabbing other people, people in relationships with others who are not their spouses, vocabulary and innuendo that would bring a blush to my face.  Would I want those things
in my living room?  Probably not, yet I fill my mind with "entertainment" like this every day.  Is it wrong?  Not in and of itself, no.  But do I give the Spirit a chance to fill me and renew my mind?
No.  I am sorry to say that I have sought friendship with the world.

Dear Holy Spirit,  help me to resist the devil.  Your Word says, "Submit to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." James 4:7-8

It is hard for me to discipline my flesh and my mind.  God I am a failure at these things.  Please help me
to long for You,  to seek Your face, to love your Word.  Thank you, Holy Spirit, for yearning for me,
for not leaving me, nor forsaking me because I do not deserve You.

November 3, 2013

What a lousy Christian I am.  When we say, "Jesus is my Lord and Savior,"  what do we really mean?
What do I really mean?  Who is God?  I know I think about weird things, but I often think of God as being one of those "beings" one sees in Star Wars type programs.  The all-knowing "Eye."  It is hard for me to envision a Creator so expansive that the universe itself is His footstool.  How small I am!
Have you ever seen those alien films where the creature from outer space comes to earth and takes over the body of a human?  An example of this is is "Men in Black."  Some giant roach-type creature overtakes the body of a farmer.  I am not equating God with a roach.  Heaven forbid!  I am just think about how we can accept an alien coming to earth to overtake us, but we (I) don't totally understand Christ indwelling us through the Holy Spirit.  Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me;  and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."  So, upon salvation I traded my life for His?  I have died.  How come my selfishness keeps raising its ugly head since the Holy Spirit lives in me?  It does give me courage to know that when others see me, they see my Lord.  It gives me comfort to know that when others reject me, they are rejecting the Lord.  My God is big enough to take that kind of rejection.  The balance of man's spirit and the Holy Spirit dwelling in the same body puzzles me.  Unfortunately, I see more of me than I do of Him.  How does one discipline his own soul?  How does one yield to the Holy Spirit?  How does one fight his flesh, his soul, and allow Christ to be the victor?  How does one get to know the God who bigger than the universe?  Why would God
put part of Himself in me?  That's not to say I am God.  I certainly am not.  But He has chosen to work through His people by His indwelling Spirit.  How does one become more like God?  I know the answer is to submit to His Spirit and meditate on His Word.  Why does my natural self not want to
be with my Savior?  Why does my natural self struggle with  the Spirit that lives within me?  Forgive me, Lord, for I certainly fall short of Your glory.  I can do nothing and am nothing without Your Spirit and Your guidance.  Help me to follow You.  Help me love You.  Help me to diminish and allow Your
Spirit to reign in me.  I can't do this without You.

October 13, 2013

These are my sweet grandchildren.  

October 12, 2013

I have been thinking about relationships lately, and I realize that I don't think I have any real relationships.  I listened to Pastor Scott say that Jim would speak into his life with some Godly council or correction and Pastor Scott would take it to heart.  I don't think I have that kind of relationship with anyone.  What really concerns me is this, do I have an intimate relationship with Christ?  Or is he just a bunch of rules and regulations?  I long to have Someone who I could go to any throw myself in His arms and just rest.  Feeling the love and comfort of the the Great IAM.  It's hard for me to imagine this kind of intimacy.  There is no one in my life with whom I can throw myself in their arms, so how can I know the true comfort of the Lord.  The reverse of this is also true.  I say I love the Lord.  How does one love another?  I am not really sure.  I know it's not a feeling, but at the same time it is (I think).  I think of love as more of a commitment than a feeling.  I guess love is when you do the best for the other person.  You make a commitment to uplift, encourage, support, help, respect, honor, and reflect positively upon another.  If this is love, I guess there's a couple of people I genuinely love. But is it possible to love someone, without have a relationship?  I love my mother, for example.  She and I uplift, encourage, support, help, and respect each other.  But there is that barrier of her being a mother and me being a daughter.  We share, but there are things we keep private. We hug, but it's usually a hello or a good-bye hug.  I don't rest in her arms like I did when I was a child.  I don't think I have anyone's arms in whom I can rest.  Which makes me wonder, how does one rest in the Arms of God
when your earthly experience is so limited?  How does one trust in a Holy God, when your earthly experiences are so limited? How does one love an Almighty God when your earthly experiences are so limited?  I thank God that His experiences are not limited.  He can and does love with unwavering
commitment and compassion.  I might not be able to feel it yet, but I know that He is there. I guess that is what is called faith, the realization of things hoped for; the evidence of things unseen.