365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 336

I have been pondering the word rely since Monday when I got through my day without calling on God for help. I resorted to doing it my way and I was frustrated, angry and even said something that offended someone. To make matters worse, I knew I was not being a very good example of Christian love and the fruits of the Spirit had turned sour. I was a mess and instead of taking my stress to God and dealing with it in godly ways I went home had a glass and a half of wine (that is a lot for me these days) and then proceeded to let go of self-control and ate too many chocolate almonds. I woke up the next morning feeling very sorry for my pathetic display and asked God for forgiveness and help on being better prepared to handle my day at work that is extremely challenging right now. That word “rely” popped in my head so I tried looking it up in the concordance of my bible but it wasn’t there so I did a search on line for scripture about relying on God and was led to what I needed. I gave me a good visual and for me a visual works so well. God led me to another visual too of a father walking with his daughter holding her hand and as they go down the path they encounter a big pile of sticks in the way so the daughter looks up to her father and asks what they should do. My pile of sticks is my current workplace and the challenge of dealing with another culture and a communication barrier in the middle of 5 butt-loads of work that keeps piling up. Prayerful preparation with my Daddy and the visual tools helped me get through my day with patience and gentleness and my self-control was focused on what would glorify God.  The visual brought me instant peace and a smile to my face every time. If you have encountered a pile of sticks in your path, look to our Daddy and let him help you decide the course you should take.

Jeremiah 17:5-9 Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 114

Through my Bible concordance and the leading of the Holy Spirit, I came to read this scripture David wrote. He wrote this after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan for his sin of adultery with Bathsheba. Rather than excuse his sin or try to cover it up, he bared his soul and asked God for his help and mercy. Though are sins are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, we too must confess them to God and ask him to help us overcome and renew our spirits. The word in this scripture steadfast had me going, “huh?” I found steadfast to mean firmly fixed, unchanging, steady, resolute, established and unwavering. In our world, we are surrounded by sin and evil that can distract us and turn us away from God even if it is just a moment. Steadfastness is something we need to be praying for everyday. David’s Psalm gives the perfect words for this prayer. This is one to put to memory.

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 22

This last verse of 1 Corinthians 13 is probably one of the most known: And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. My home, like many homes, has these three words displayed in a decorative way. I picked mine up at a garage sale and was thrilled to get them for only a couple of bucks and got them up on the wall at home as soon as possible. I am so a “word” person so having them on my wall meant so much. It is not only a reminder to me but my family and everyone who comes into our home.  These three words are the core of our Christian faith with love being the absolute central part that everything else revolves around. If something seems amiss in your life or you are feeling stuck, take a look at the core of you and your beliefs. Is love shinning out of your center? Or has it been pushed outward and has sin taken root in your center? Just as the Sun is the key to our solar system and our life on Earth, love is the key to our relationships with each other and our amazing God. Have you ever looked up the word “love” in the concordance of your bible. There are over 300 verses regarding love. Love is the most written about topic in the bible. Love is everything. God is love.

1 John 4:16b God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 33

Today I am praising God for giving us some visual symbols that remind us of him. The cross is the most obvious one but as I sat in my hot tub last night reflecting on the events of our Christmas day here at home, I found myself just in awe of the stars out shinning and thought of how Jesus is the bright morning star. I wondered where that term came from exactly. In my study of the bible I couldn't recall where it might be written but thanks to the concordance in the back of my bible I was able to look for 'star' and find the scriptural reference. It is from Revelation 22:16 I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star. I thought about this symbol of a star and realized that it was the perfect symbol for hope. Morning star is the name given to the planet Venus when it appears in the east before sunrise. Jesus is this star that brings hope. They say that it is darkest before dawn. Jesus, The Morning Star is like a beam of light coming across the sky going off in the darkest of night and helping lead us to God who is the brillance of the rising sun. The star is our hope in our dark world. I am thankful to God for the gift of Jesus and putting that into a visual of a brillant star that we can hold on to. May our Morning Star bring you hope this day and all the days to come.
Numbers 24:17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob, a scepter will rise out of Israel.