Day 4: Drawing Closer to God (Dwelling)

Since the retreat this weekend, I have had the thought of God coursing through my veins repeating over and over again. Like a heart beat, God is continually telling me, I am right here within you. Doesn't that fact just blow your mind? The spirit of the God of the Universe is inside of me and each of us who have accepted Jesus as our savior. What does that mean? We have the power of God within us. We can overcome the weak parts of ourselves that we all have. We can overcome temptation because we have the strength of God. We can love others that we don't even really like sometimes because the God of love gives us the means to love in a way that we cannot do on our own. God is dwelling within me. Dwelling as a noun means a place of residence. Dwell means to live somewhere. God is living at home within us. He dwells within us and speaks to our spirit. How connected are you to your own spirit? Drawing closer to God who lives right within you requires you to draw to him through your own spirit. Many of us live day to day only thinking of the body, the part of us that needs to eat and sleep and feels pain and tired but our souls and spirit need those same things. They need to be fed, need to heal from pain and need to rest. Have you taken care of your soul and your spirit today?
Ephesians 2:22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.

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 245

We are well aware of how there are many sides to an issue especially when it comes to politics but I was reminded of how we are also divided when it comes to God. There always seems to be someone with another perspective that does not mesh with your own. I am sure that how we are made as unique individuals is the reason for this but I am also sure that God is the one and only way that we can be unified in spirit. Unfortunately, this takes every person on Earth opening their hearts to Christ. We won’t see this unity of spirit this side of Heaven but we have the hope of being a part of this unity in Heaven. Perhaps, with lots of prayer and working on our own spirit we can see a glimpse of this kind of unity within our own circle of family and friends.

Acts 23:6  Then Paul, knowing that some of t hem were Sadducees and the others Pharises, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 213

I have been going over my class on temperament over and over again preparing to take the test. Each temperament has certain needs and when these needs are not met in a godly way they can lead to trouble for your soul which means trouble for all of you body, soul and spirit. A balance in these areas is the best option. In thinking about these needs, I remembered there is a verse in the bible about God meeting all of our needs. I think that most people read this verse and think mainly of their bodily needs or their life-style needs. We so often overlook the needs within our souls. We all have needs for socialization, control and love but each temperament has a varying degree of these needs and some temperaments have conditions for these needs to be met. People spend most of their lives trying to discover themselves. It is these needs within our temperament and our soul that we have to learn how to meet in ways pleasing to God. But first, we have to know what our temperament is and what are needs are. I am excited about being able to help people discover their temperament and their temperament needs and help them gain balance within their soul, spirit and body. It won’t be long before I will be authorized to administer the 10-minute profile a person needs to answer to start the process of finding out who God created them to be.

Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 209

I was able to get a quilt for my bed yesterday at Khol’s on sale 50% off. It was an exciting moment to see my bed looking so nice. We have been a two-comforter bed for the length of our marriage which is plus 17 years but the heat lately was making me think it was time to do something with our bedding situation and my comforter is falling apart. Of course, I need a new sheet set and still need to get curtains for our bedroom to block out that morning light but I have learned to be content with what I have and enjoy all the blessings that God has already given me. I think this piece by piece putting together aspect of my bedroom is much like how people are put together. There are different areas that we have to develop. We have our soul which I will call the bedroom windows. We have our bed which I will call our physical body and we have the atmosphere within the room which we develop by the colors, light and décor used. The atmosphere is our spirit. All three aspects of our bedroom need to be developed. I may not get to the final perfect bedroom but I focus on the goal and I enjoy the process of shopping for décor, making the bed with a new quilt, envisioning the windows covered with drapes and so on. How content are you with your life? Don’t focus on what is missing. Focus on what you have and keep your eye on the Lord and what is to come and the fruit of joy will fill you.

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God as said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 201

Habits can hard to break especially if you have done these things since you were a little. There are the typical bad habits that we can all think of like smoking and drinking which we know are addictions but there are also the more subtle bad habits that aren’t physical addictions but emotional addictions. My biggest bad habit is dessert. It is something I expect to have in the evening whether it’s a simple bowl of ice cream or more elaborate dessert creation. I have a mind-set on dessert. If there isn’t any dessert then I will find something else to eat. I would like to say I am fully led by the Spirit but I know that I am not. My evenings are my danger zone time when I let go of the Spirit and go back to my old ways. I will have to be more mindful of this and prepare and pray so that with the Spirit’s help I can overcome this bad habit. Bad habits can be broken because anything is possible with God.

Romans 8:13-14 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

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 153

One very important point in my recent studies is that because we are triune beings with a spirit, soul and body each of these parts needs to be fed. Without food our body would wither away and die. It is the same for our spirit and our soul. Our soul is the place where our temperament lies and is where our intellect is. We feed our intellect with books, conversation, television, etc. Without daily feeding to our soul, we will become out of balance. The same is true for our spirit. It needs to be fed regularly to ensure growth and maturity. We need to be in the Word and prayer fostering our relationship with God the Father and Jesus, our King. All three parts are interconnected and if one part suffers the other parts will also. God created us to be in balance but sin knocked us off balance. We are cleansed from our sin thanks to the gift of Jesus. He has cleared the way for us to be in relationship with God in ways we could not before we accepted him. If you are not using the gift that Jesus gave in clearing the way so you could have a relationship with the One True God, than your faith is stuck. We need to turn away from the temptations in this world that draw us away from God and our relationship with him. There can be no more excuses because our lives are too busy. Like Jesus did often when he was with us on Earth, he went off to be alone with God. He was intentional about it. He didn’t worry about the time or what needed to be done. He took the time and walked off alone to be with God. I find that my own relationship with God is not that intentional. Aside from my blog writing time, I am an opportunistic praying Christian which means when I find myself in a position to pray like alone in my car. Perhaps with the warmth of summer heading our way, I will get myself intentionally out of the house walking with God; feeding my body and spirit at the same time.

1Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 99

As you may already know from previous writings, I have struggled with hormonal issues for many years. Thanks be to God, they have gone back to the more predictable monthly hormone issues that are not as severe. In studying about depression, I learned it is quite normal for both men and women to experience 5-7 days of blah’s.  These are going to be the days you will not be at your best, when the Evil one will really work on pulling you away from God. We have the Spirit who will give us all that we need but our focus has to be on Jesus. The fruits of the Spirit may not be ripening as well during these blah periods in life but we are to be persistent and keep at it. Keep in the word, keep praying, keep loving, keep doing good and never give up.

Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 76

It's another morning. I am alive and kicking and though it's not the ideal start to my morning with my fragmented sleep patterns I am going to focus on the fact that I am alive and healthy for the most part. I have been reading a book compiled with stories in it from Reader's Digest. It's humbling and really helps put your own life into perspective when you read about the suffering and challenges others have faced or are facing. There's always someone worse off than you. So, I am grateful to God for those challenges he is giving me and will keep praying for strength, wisdom and guidance on pushing through those life challenges I am facing and are yet to come.
Romans 8:10-11 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 5

I took my daughter to see Arthur Christmas this weekend. It was a sweet movie and one of the good points about it was how the two sons of 'Santa', one the military techie Santa-wanna-be and the other the nerdie Arthur who was totally into and filled with the spirit of Christmas but had no thoughts of becoming the next Santa were not on the path they should have been on. In the end, the military techie Santa-wanna-be sees the truth and realizes he was meant not to be in the spot light but be the support. So, I find myself praising God for the gifts that he gives each of us. Like this Santa-wanna-be, I have struggled to discern what it is God wants me to do with my gifts but I believe I am following down the right path with them now. How about you? Do you know what your gifts are and where God is leading you?

1Peter 4:10-11 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyon serves, he shoul ddo it with the stregth God provides, so that in all things God my be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.