Day 7: Drawing Closer to God (Clothed in White)

I was reading this scripture this morning and was able to close my eyes and imagine myself before Jesus. He is handing me a pure white robe. I put it on and embroidered on the front is "Child of God". He is my Father and I am his daughter. How potent and powerful is this when you really feel this in your heart. We often forget that God is our Father and as a father, he provides for us, keeps us safe and loves us unconditionally. I am forever thankful for God's heart being SO big that he would send his son to die for us and take away our sins. The filthiness of our sinful nature is clothed in white and we are adopted into the family. Thank you Jesus for handing me the robe.
Galatians 3:27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.

WHO'S IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT?

My final day of the Daniel Fast was yesterday. As I had my first cup of coffee in three weeks and read my bible, it was impressed upon me the analogy of the Holy Spirit being in the driver’s seat and we who are now believers sit in the passenger seat. Those who are still controlled by the sinful nature and do not have faith in Jesus are still driving their cars and they will only lead themselves to destruction by driving over a cliff or head on into another car. We who have chosen to believe in Jesus now sit in the passenger seat but our sinful nature that is connected the our bodies is still at war and will do what it can to persuade us to take our focus off looking out the front window which is where the Holy Spirit is leading us to, to looking out the side window at things on the side of the road. We see signs that are from the evil one that may say food and gas next exit and we are tempted to tell the Holy Spirit take this exit and may even go as far as grabbing the steering wheel to pull us off onto the exit. We are trying to control and guide ourselves.  We are trying to satisfy our needs and wants and we are not remembering that God will take care of all our needs, will bless us and is leading us to Himself. During this Daniel Fast, I realized I had put the Holy Spirit in total control of my eating. Those road signs that advertised homemade pie or frozen yogurt bar up ahead were not in control. I fully gave control and faith to the Holy Spirit and my needs were met. I discovered the sweet treat that God created in dates, I realized that meat is a yummy gift from God but it is not to be worshipped and discovered that caffeine is a blessing from God but again not to be worshipped. So as we step into our cars figuratively each day, we need to stop and say out loud to the Holy Spirit, take the wheel and lead me in this day that I may produce good fruits and glorify God in all I do and say. You may have to stop and tell the Holy Spirit this throughout your day to remind yourself that you are putting your faith in Him to guide you and keeping your focus out the front window and on the road ahead. It reminds me of that first year with my husband and having him drive. I was critical about how he drove and his ability to get us where we needed to go. I was constantly saying something or gritting my teeth and speaking those controlling thoughts in my mind but the trust in him was built up enough that I was able to let go of the controlling thoughts and be at peace knowing he was getting us safely to where we needed to go. Our trust in the Holy Spirit can be built up too through time spent in the Word of God, in prayer and worship. We must feed our spirits with spiritual food in order for us to be able to put a “stopping hand” to the evil one and looking ahead to the glory we will have in meeting Jesus in our final home that he is preparing for us. Imagine it! Him being a carpenter, he is designing the home I will live in specifically for me. A home with high ceilings, lots of light and views out the windows of mountains, beaches, sunrises, freshly fallen snow. A home with a kitchen that never needs cleaning and is always fully stocked with everything you need to cook up a feast for the family coming for dinner with Jesus at the head of the table. Imagine it. Believe it. Let the thought of your final home and hope guide your days here.

Romans 8:1-4 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Quinoa cereal recipe

Cup cooked quinoa

2 tablespoons Date Honey (made by covering pitted dates with water in a saucepan and simmering pitted dates for 45 min. Blend and store)

1 tablespoon Nikki's Chocolate Hazelnut Coconut Butter (found on Amazon)

Combine all ingredients. Heat in microwave for 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup almond milk and enjoy.

 

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challege-Day 171

In these beautiful days of spring, it is so easy to see the glory of God all around us. It is really hard to imagine a person not believing in God just based on the wonderful world he created. These people are truly blind and don’t even realize the darkness they are living in. The order and beauty of our world is a living testament to God. The birds singing and the grass growing green in the spring didn’t just happen. The world is an intricately designed work of art that was created by a loving God. Do you know someone who is living in darkness? Pray for them today that they may truly see the proof of God all around us.

Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 309

Despite my calling from God to be a biblical counselor, doubts and fears about my capabilities keep creeping up. Thankfully, with prayer and God's word, I am able to conquer those creeping up doubts and fears about myself. Can I overcome my audiotory processing issue? Yes. Can I make a person comfortable to talk with me about everything? Yes. Can I let go and let God? Yes. All things are possible with God. I got an email from Fuller Seminary with a message that helped me strengthen my faith and conquer my doubts and fears yesterday. I listened to the full sermon that Dr Richard J Mouw gave for the 65th anniversary of Fuller Seminary and found that we really can't imagine what our future will hold. Those questions often asked in an interview or in setting goals for yourself: where do you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years? I cannot imagine it! Neither did Fuller Seminary when they started back in 1947 imagine how much they would accomplish for Christ nor how things would change thanks to more knowledge. God will set our coarse and give us more than we can ask for or imagine. This scripture from Ephesians will be my mantra, my goal, my inspiration. Through God and by God, will I be equipped to fufill his purpose. I am excited to start my studies on becoming a biblical counselor and will keep my faith in the Lord that he will give me all I need to fulfill his purpose.

Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurabley more than all we ask or imagine, accoriding to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Chirst Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 250

My son went to a youth activity at the church last evening called Crud Wars. Let me let your imagine wonder what the heck that entails for a moment. Imagine a slip-n-slide, water balloons, shaving cream, flour and goopy gel of some kind and a bunch of teenagers running around trying to throw all this on each other. I almost wished I had gone to pick him up sooner just to see some of it but when I arrived to pick him up the clean-up process had already been in full-swing. He walks up in his jeans and t-shirt soaking wet, has no towel or change of clothes and says "uh not sure what to do". Thankfully, my creative problem solving brain kicked into action. I used the sun shade in my car as a seat cover so we made it home without him soaking the passenger seat in my car. It was fun to hear the stories of how the evening went. I really wish I was there when he got the pie of shaving cream in the face! Apparently, they took a group photo so I am hoping to get a copy and create a scrapbook page of his memories of this activity. Thank you Lord for our church and the people who make these kinds of activites possible. What a fun bonding experience!

Colossians 3:14-16
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.  Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.