Day 8: Drawing Closer to God (Life Rhythms)

The sermon today was about life rhythms and how God sent Jesus to us, how God and Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to us and how God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit send us out to others. The passage about Jonah going through Ninevah telling everyone that God said Ninevah would be destroyed in 40 days. The interesting part is that they believe him and declare a fast and put on sackcloth to show their sorrow. They ended up stopping their evil ways. Jesus sends us out like sheep amongst the wolves and we don't know what their response will be but we can be certain that the Holy Spirit is working on their hearts before we even get to them to sow the seeds. Whether they receive it well or out right reject us, the point is we did what God asks us to do and we have to remember that he takes care of the rest in his own time.

Jonah 3:1 the the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time. "Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you."

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-I have lost count of the day!

I went to my church website and listened to the sermon from last Sunday again. We had a guest pastor preaching and there were some things said that were spoken too quickly or in such a way that I didn’t understand. But those things I did understand were so enriching that I had to listen to it again to see if I could hear the other parts. He mentioned that the bible said many are the afflictions of the righteous and the Lord delivers him from them all. The book I am reading on Expository Listening explained that discerning what we are listening to is a part of growth. If we hear someone preaching on something that he says is in the bible, we should be verifying it to be truth. So, I did my research and found the verse the pastor was referring to: Psalm 34:19. In looking over this verse and highlighting it in my bible, I underlined the words “the Lord delivers him”. I can’t think of how many health/medical issues have come up over the past decade of my life. The Lord has delivered me from them all. I wasn’t instantly healed but rather God was refining me in the process of the healing with having more patience, gaining peace in the circumstance, being kind, gentle and loving despite the hurts and pain and so many other aspects. The whole point of the sermon was the truth of our hope in Christ and how we need to focus on the blessing of Heaven awaiting us.

Psalm 34:19 A righteous man may have troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 330

The scripture the sermon was on was Matthew 21: 28-30. It is a short parable Jesus tells about a father and two sons. The father asks the first son to go work in the vineyard today and the boys first response is defiant but later he ends up going and working in the vineyard. The second son is asked the same thing and his initial response is obedient willingness but he ends up not going to the vineyard. What did I learn from the sermon and this parable? My initial thoughts on these verses were that it was about obedience but the preacher of the day, Dr Earl Palmer was given some insight from God that he shared. He didn’t focus on the obedience but rather on what motivates obedience. Our relationship with God should be one of love, respect and total trust but as Dr Palmer pointed out Jesus is very well aware of our humanness. Both of the sons had flaws that motivated their thoughts and actions. We aren’t capable of responding as I considered as the “third” son who says he will go to the vineyard and does. I can’t do it alone. Dr Palmer brought up the idea of “lag” time. This is the time in between God’s call and our response. Instead of jumping the gun and saying I will or I can’t or I won’t, I need to give my heart and soul time in prayer and meditation. Let the Holy Spirit work on my heart and give me what I need to say “I will” and mean it. How can I make prayer a consistent part of my life? I am thinking my two big goals for the coming year will be prepare and prayer so I will be praying and taking notes on how to prepare for my growth in preparing and praying.

Isaiah 30:15 This is what the Sovereign Lord , the Holy One of Israel says: In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 329

Sadly, since I misplaced my little pocket notebook that I took notes in on the sermon each Sunday, I seemed to have gotten to a place where it doesn’t sink in. I have found myself one too many Sundays drifting off into a little worship time nap. What is going on? My heart is not prepared to receive the message that God is giving through the sermon each Sunday. In Expository Listening, I have been reading about this very thing. Being prepared. Oh, there is that word again. Prepared. I have lived most of my life by flying by the seat of my pants so being prepared and doing it consistently is foreign territory. But preparedness is key in so many things in our lives. Not just for our bodies and minds but for our spirit.  I never thought to find out what the sermon is going to be on and read the scripture beforehand. So, I went to my church website and found the worship tab and got the scripture the sermon was going to be based around. Our church goes even further and gives you a study guide for the sermon. Ahhh. Yes! So, I spent yesterday reading the verse and looking over the study questions contemplating… I am excited to hear the sermon and what God will convey to me through the words the pastor speaks. My heart is prepared. Yeah! Of course, the other big factor will be following up and asking myself the 4 questions. See the four questions on the right side on my blog for future reference. These questions will take you through what you have learned and will glue it into your heart.

"I am eager to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.

 In this way, each of us will be a blessing to the other." Romans 1:12 [NLT]

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 324

Reflecting is such a powerful tool to use for growth. I have been doing it more lately and love the insight I gain from the experiences I have. Yesterday, I realized that I am not a giving person towards my husband in the ways that he needs but in the ways that I want to do. My selfishness is getting in the way of truly meeting my husbands need for recognition. I can’t tell you how many times he has done something for me and my response is either a pathetic thank you or non-existent. He gives and gives to me and my return rate is way too minimal. Reflecting gave me a chance to really look at what I did and how he responded to see the truth of my sin. Sin is like that. It masks itself to the point you don’t recognize it as a sin but reflecting allows you to put a magnifying glass over it and see it for what it really is. Take a magnifying glass and look over your experiences today and reflect on what those experiences show you.

Okay, and to make the point stick even more the sermon at church on Sunday was about saying “Thank you”. Talk about God putting an exclamation point on the insight he brought me.

2 Timothy 1:3

 ... I thank God for you—the God I serve with a clear conscience, just as my ancestors did. Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 307

I have found a three part sermon series on the fruit of the spirit that is very well written. The first part of the first sermon is setting straight that it is not fruits of the Spirit but fruit of the spirit. The nine character traits that are in Galatians 5:22: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are a parts of what we can have with the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. And like all fruit(s) these character traits ripen and grow over time with the guiding of the Holy Spirit and our daily walk with God. Here are two statements from this first sermon that state in a clear way what that “Fruit of the Spirit” is:

Fruit of the Spirit is a physical manifestation of a Christian’s transformed life.

Fruit of the Spirit is the visible growth in Jesus Christ.

Take some time to meditate on this today and let the Holy Spirit speak to you about your character traits and how the ripening process is going.

John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 305

I started reading some sermons regarding the fruit of the spirit and came upon this one that explained what fruit is. The link to the full sermon is below:

Because, you see, these qualities are fruit. And you can’t make fruit, can you – well, there is doubtless an Apple factory somewhere, but that’s something different. You can’t go and watch a banana being made, or the peel being put on an orange. Fruit grows. It’s the farmers and the growers who produce fruit, not factories or mills. The farmer, or the market gardener, does a great deal to protect the fruit trees, and see that they aren’t eaten by pests, or get too dry, and that the trees have been pollinated so that the fruit can grow, but basically they have to be patient, and wait for the fruit to grow and ripen.

And so do we. We can’t manufacture love, or joy, or gentleness, or the other qualities Paul mentions. But we can help them grow.

How? Well, obviously first of all by really being God’s person, not just in Church on Sundays, but allowing what we do on Sundays to affect the rest of our week. Ideally we should try to take time to be with God, even if only for a few minutes, every day. John Wesley reminds us of the “means of grace” of prayer, both private and corporate, the Holy Scriptures and Holy Communion. He points out, in his famous sermon on “The means of grace” that these things aren’t powerful in and of themselves, but only insofar as they bring us towards God. We can pray until we’re blue in the face, Wesley says – well, words to that effect, anyway – but it’s not our prayer that changes things, it’s God working in and through our prayers. And, of course, Wesley reminds us, it’s not praying or whatever that makes us a Christian – it is God’s grace alone that can do that.

http://mrsredboots.blogspot.com/2010/06/fruit-of-spirit.html

Psalm 1: 1-3  Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose lead does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 189

I was very much taken with this message within our sermon yesterday: “God’s main goal in this life is to bring wholeness.” One of the main points in my studies on temperament theory is how we are triune beings with a body, soul and spirit and we were designed to be in relationship with God. Our pastor made a good point in saying that many people hearing this message today will think it a slap in the face because they have been praying for healing for themselves or another and it hasn’t happened or didn’t happen and died. The ways and plans of God are beyond our understanding but I thought it was great that our pastor took the risk stating the truth. We are not just made up of our physical bodies. If our soul and spirit are not healthy and aligned with God, than we are sick. Jesus came to heal the sick not just physically but especially spiritually. People will often put all their focus on the physical and not on the soul or spirit. It is important to feed your spirit and bring wisdom to your soul if you want to be in balance and whole.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 154

I love how God works. I learn about certain things and than they are reinforced with a sermon at church. I liked how Pastor Graham explained how we often perceive ourselves negatively but what God thinks is we are wonderful. We have to take that negative sketch of ourselves daily and toss it in the trash and hold up the beautiful sketch that God created. Our perceptions of how others will react to us is determined by our temperament; about who God created within each of us. If we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit filling us each day, than we can see each person as a child of God. When we see others and ourselves through God’s eyes, our behavior will become that which God intended for us. Moses questioned God and his calling for him but God saw Moses for who he really was and who he would become. Moses perception of himself was negative but God only saw the inner man and knew he would lead the Israelites out of Egypt and to the promised land. Did Moses know he would become the greatest figure in all of the Old Testament? No, but God knows the plans he has for us and when we trust in him he will take us through them no matter how equipped we are for them.

Exodus 3:8-12 So I have come down to rescue them up out of the land of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? And God said, “I will be with you.”

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 106

Unfortunately, my brain is not engaging. I read something but nothing wants to sink in. It is a time in my cycle that I feel the furthest from God. My brain just doesn’t want to focus. I know it is a temporary thing but it is pulling at my heart now because I want my brain to cooperate but I read scripture and I can’t engage. Well, no one is perfect, least of all, me. The sermon yesterday went in one ear and out the other. This is one of those monthly struggles that I am sure most women go through. My prayer is this no brain function issue will end soon.

James: 3:2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 353

I learned recently that our former pastor asked the front desk ladies to not tell anyone who was to be teaching the sermon on Sunday. He wanted people to come not to hear him but to worship God. It is funny because I have often felt that little let down when I get to church and see that it is not the senior pastor speaking but always, without fail, I end up enjoying, learning from and being inspired by the sermon no matter who is doing the talking. The truth is our Lord is up front speaking to us through the temperament and life experiences of the speaker. Considering how very unique each and every one of us are, it is a great blessing to be able to hear from different pastors and other believers in the worship experience. Nate Stratman was passionate, funny, engaging and very inspiring.  Thank you Lord for this gift of your words through the lives of all who share, teach and witness.

Romans 1:25 Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.



365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 325

It’s Stewardship season and with that comes the sermons on giving. I am not the best at tithing but have improved over the last couple of years but I have tried giving in other ways like being a Sunday school teacher, bringing food donations to church on the first Saturday of every month and getting the family to raid their closets to weed out clothes for the clothing drives. I am in a season of life where doing anything with my time is tough because my kids and family is where my time is spent. The sermon yesterday was about you guessed it, time. I really liked how our pastor said that we can start with giving our time in prayer and worship. In thinking about this, I realize that what I do everyday with the 365 Days of Praise Challenge has been a form of worship. I have managed to give of myself everyday to write up a praise for the day and hopefully have passed some blessings on to others who read it. In giving my time this way, it has been one of the greatest blessings to me. So, if you are in a season of life like me where spare time is hard to come by, think about starting with just 5 minutes everyday to pray and/or worship the Lord. Time is our greatest gift to God and each other. Find a way to give some everyday.

Eccelesiates 3:1-10 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; ...

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 319

My church has over the last couple of years had on display artwork from artists in the church. They create pieces that have to do with an upcoming sermon series and often are shown on the big screen during the sermon as a visual. After seeing a piece of jewelry that someone had made on display this last go around, I realized that I should look into this so I can submit a faithbook page. So, I went to the recent meeting for all artists with our new pastor to go over his thoughts and expectations and we went over a little bit about the upcoming series which will be called Faces on the scripture Isaiah 9:6. The sermons will specifically be about the names in the scripture: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.  These are the faces of God but because we are made in God’s image and have the Holy Spirit dwelling within, we can be a humble glimpse of these faces of God, we reflect in little ways these faces of God in our own faces. A counselor is someone who listens and shares truth and wisdom. We get this all the time from our spouses, parents, friends and co-workers. The friend who listens patiently to you all the time when you need to express the challenge you are facing or the co-worker who empathizes with you as you vent your frustrations or your spouse who will hold you as you cry out your hurts. We see our Mighty God in the faces of people standing up for their faith, in people loving in big ways and in the creative people in the world who can express how great is our God. We can see a glimpse of our Everlasting Father in the dad that has sacrificed his career to take care of his daughter, the mother who in her exhaustion still shows her love to her children, the friend who is always there when you need them. And finally our Prince of Peace can be seen in the face of a family member suffering from cancer with a smile on their face, the friend who lives cheerfully with chronic pain and the neighbor who brings you fresh baked cookies just because. These faces of God are all around us but do we see them in our daily busy lives as the faces of God? Start living each day looking into these faces and recognize that God is with us and working through us all each day. Thanks be to God for showing us who He is, in and through those that are all around us.

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 318

Our sermon yesterday was the beginning of our Stewardship Season. It is the time of year when the church focuses on giving. It can be a challenging topic considering the state of our economy but it is a part of our church and living as the body of Christ that we do need to be reminded of. Rather than focus on money, the sermon was about all the various ways we can be giving back based on our gifts. I was especially tickled by our pastor’s challenge to give for 365 days. Hmmm….. sounds familiar. The truth is that when we focus on one aspect of giving each day it can be a huge blessing to not only yourself but countless others. So, our challenge in the days ahead before commitment Sunday is to figure out what our challenge will focus on. What will I give each day for the next year? It could be just doing a kindness for someone everyday, an encouraging word shared everyday or forgiving others everyday. Take a look at your gifts and decide how you can be giving using your gifts everyday in the year to come.

Romans 12:6-8 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it s contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy let him do it cheerfully.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 290

Our sermon yesterday was about God's calling for us. The "us" is all of us, not just pastors, deacons or teachers but everyone. God calls us each of us to specific tasks. For some it will be as a prayer warrior, for others it will be adminstration and like me it will be to help the hurting. I have been wavering with my own lack of confidence in who I am and my skills to be a Christian counselor and thankfully have always come back to the same conclusion it is my calling. I have been focusing too much on what I lack instead of on the Lord and what he can equip me with. This is his call, not mine. It is bigger than me. Jesus started his ministry with the calling of two simple fisherman, Simon and Andrew who the bible says dropped their nets and followed him. They may have had their doubts along the way to becoming the disciples Jesus called them to be but with his help they got past their doubts and fears and just took on the job they were called for. I got home and was thoroughlly energized and motivated with creativity and put this faithbook page together. The photo is of me but created with a patchwork filter to send the message that the focus isn't on ourselves but on the big umbrella covering the whole universe that is God and his plan and purpose. Thanks be to God for helping me see the bigger picture and taking on the job the Lord is calling me for.
Mark 1: 16-18  As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew Casting a net into the lake, for they were fisherman. "Come, follow me, " Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.

365 Days of Praise Challege-Day 220

This is a praise that we should be praising everyday and was a good reminder from the sermon yesterday by our new pastor who incidently was on the national evening news about the Waldo Canyon fire and how the community is supporting each other. Our pastor arrived here on the Saturday the fire started and had to preach after the devastion of 346 homes being lost, many people hurting and dealing with the loss and emotions of what they are going through and sadly the loss of two people. Walk thru with God was the mantra he had us practice during the sermon. My faithbook page on this is coming together very nicely. Sooner or later, I will get my started projects finished. LOL!  Thank you Father for being with us, for walking through with us, for always being with us.  Even when we may not feel your presence or realize that you are right here with us, in looking back it can always be seen.  We are to live in the present, learn from the past and be prepared for our future and keep in our hearts that you are with us every step of the way. Walk thru with God, walk thru with God, walk thru with God....    I woke up with this song ALL THIS TIME by Brit Nicole in my head. This is so about God walking with us.. Listen to it here...ALL THIS TIME

Isaiah 43:1-2 But now, this is what the Lord says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you;  I have summoned you by name, you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flame will not set you ablaze.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 193

Our sermon on Sunday was definitely profound for me because I feel I am at a crossroads with my fears and my faith. Do I take the road with my fears or do I follow the straight path to God with Jesus by my side and the Holy Spirit within me? There were so many good tidbits in this sermon that my mind was having trouble just keeping to one.  Let's start with the disease I now have a name for... the disease to please. Pastor Singleton said this fear is rooted in self-love and the desire for wanting others to love us. I think the lesson that I thought I knew about God's love being the most important and only love that a person needs to feel hasn't sunk in enough. I do care what others think of me and it is stopping me from taking my dreams of my ministry onward. I looked up some quotes about fears and one that really nails it is "You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith." Mary Manin Morrissey. Thank you Lord for making me aware of this disease to please and giving me the medicine I need to cure my sickness.  Intentionally focusing on my faith all the time and growing it is the first step. More on step two tomorrow...
Matthew 10: 31 So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.