DAY 1: 365 DAYS OF DRAWING CLOSER TO GOD

I spent this weekend at a women's retreat with my church. Despite being physically tired, I find that spiritually I am wide awake and inspired. The weekend was spent learning about the Sabbath and how we bring the practice of observing Sabbath in our lives. There were no techniques shared but rather a simple explanation of it being a choice. We have the spirit of the Creator of the Universe coursing through our veins so our rest lies in choosing to rest in his spirit within us. The gateway to resting in the presence of God is gratitude. Expressing our thankfulness to him opens us up to hearing, seeing and feeling his spirit within us and allowing us to just be with Him. So, I invite you to join me on a 365 day journey of resting in the presence of our God and drawing closer to Him more than ever before.

Psalm 22:25-26 I will praise you in the great assembly. I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you. The poor will eat and be satisfied. All who seek the Lord will praise him. Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 102

The fruits of the Holy Spirit won’t be within us without first having faith. Faith is the beginning point that we have to go back to over and over again. Faith can be on shaky ground or as is told in the bible seeds in rocky soil. We must be proclaiming our faith through our words and actions everyday and especially in our prayers. Abraham had so much faith in God that when God told him to move his family 800 miles to another country, he did it and when he told him to sacrifice his only son Isaac, he did it but thankfully God stopped him before Isaac was killed and gave him a lamb to sacrifice instead. Jesus displays faith and obedience on an unfathomable scale. He came from his home in heaven, from the very presence of God to become a man on earth.  Why did he seek his alone time with God? He missed him. He missed being in his very presence but he did what God asked of him. I have had a small glimpse of what it must have been like for Jesus to have left the presence of God to be in this world. When I was in the hospital back in 2003 for 4 ½ weeks hoping to keep Faith from being born to early. Those weeks were filled with Spring snow storm, one after another. The snow kept many of my friends from coming to visit me. I was mostly alone in my room day in and day out. Actually, I wasn’t alone. I was communing with God as I had never done before. Without being able to even get out of bed, I was in a situation where all I could do was pray to God, read the bible and think of Him. Many months after this experience, I realized I was suffering from grief from the loss of that extreme closeness I felt with God during my stay in the hospital. How Jesus must have grieved as well! It puts a different perspective on what Jesus did for us. He came from his home down here to be with us in our fallen world surrounded by sin. How willing would you be to leaving your home and everything you have there to follow God and do his will? Faith is a life-long pursuit. Keep at it so those fruits can ripen within.

Hebrews 11:8 By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.