Let God out of the box.
We know about God speaking to us in a still, small voice. It’s an aspect of Him that frustrates me sometimes because it makes me stop and wonder, did I just hear Him or not? Maybe that’s why I love it when He gets noisy, Continue reading
Waiting on God can change everything.
There are answers to prayer and promises that I have been trusting God in for many years – many, many years. Continue reading
Being perfect is not what you think.
We sure know how to beat ourselves up if everything we do isn’t perfect. Other people seem to be able to (insert everything you’ve failed at), why can’t I? Continue reading
God can find treasure anywhere.
Just for kicks, I did a word search through the Bible. Guess what? The word coincidence doesn’t come up. It’s not in the Bible. There’s no coincidence in His word or His plans. Continue reading
There’s so much we don’t know.
I am baffled by the grace of God. Can it be that He has given us so much and yet we are aware of so little of it? This amazes me: you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge. (Rom 15:14) How can that be, that we are filled with all knowledge? It doesn’t seem like I know everything. In fact, I’m pretty sure that a lot of what I think I know is wrong and most of what I used to know I’ve forgotten. So how do I account for this very clear statement that I have all knowledge? Continue reading
Prayer should be a day long conversation.
One area that I know I have trouble in is praying without ceasing. (1Thes 5:17) I think most people would admit it too. It’s just too easy to be caught up in the things that make up our day. It’s not that we live sinful lives, or we don’t want to remember God always, but we have jobs to do and they require our full attention.
It is with humility that I remember Emmanuel. God is always with me. Always. He never ceases to think of me. He has plans for me and blessings I can’t begin to imagine. The failure to communicate is not on His part.
I believe that the Holy Spirit will partner with me to pray more. By this I mean that I will ask Him to remind me during the day to stop and talk. Praying is conversation. I need to talk to Him about my day, my thoughts, my goals, my concerns for other people. The other end of that conversation is listening. He wants me to hear Him as much as He wants to hear from me. If He nudges me for my attention, I want to stop and listen. Maybe He knows a better way to work the spreadsheet or sew the hem. I believe that He’s concerned about the things I have to do and He probably knows the best ways to do them. I’ll listen to that. Because I stop to listen to what He says about earthly things, I can hear Him better when He talks about heavenly things.
Holy Spirit, I ask you to make Your presence known to me all day long. Nudge me when I drift way from that reality. Pull me back to remembering Emmanuel. I know You never leave me, but help me to not forget you. Help me be obedient to pray always.
Love God and allow Him to change you.
This renewing of the mind fascinates me. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Continue reading
Start thinking God thoughts, see what happens.
Love is a choice. In a marriage, two people choose to love each other. It’s a relationship that takes work. Continue reading
Does heaven seem closed to you?
Why do prayers seem to go unanswered in the middle of critical times? We pray because we know we need help and we turn to the One who we are told will answer. But then, nothing happens. What gives? Continue reading
What do we love more than God?
“Now a certain ruler asked Him saying, Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
So Jesus said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One that is God. You know the commandments:Do not commit adultery. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Honor your father and your mother.
And he said, All these things I have kept from my youth.
So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come and follow Me.
But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful for he was very rich.”
Ezra closed the book and began to pace, his fingers playing with his gray beard unconsciously. He turned back to the heavy oak table and raised his eyes to the young men sitting pensively before him. “Why was the ruler so sorrowful?” he asked in a voice that could sound like thunder when he was angry.
Not a sound could be heard in the study room, either inside or out. It was as if all the universe held its breath to contemplate the cosmic question.
Ezra scanned the faces lost in thought. He had taught them well. No one jumped at the obvious answser. They were all working, digging to find the hidden meaning. He waited, he was a patient man and these young men would go on to rule the world. This answer must come from the very depth of their souls. It must be understood and reverenced. It must change their lives. Then he saw it.
Sitting in the middle of the class, a slender, dark haired boy stared hard at the floor then looked up, nodding ever so slightly. He raised his hand slowly, not from fear, but because he was still working through his thoughts. “Master Ezra,” he said quietly.
“Johnathan,” the old man barked.
“The ruler said that he kept all the laws from his youth, but the one law that Jesus didn’t quote is the one the ruler did not keep.”
Ezra’s eyebrow flicked. “Which law did he not keep.”
The young man straightened his back. “The great commandment. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
“Why do you say that? He was a ruler in Israel. He said himself that he followed the laws from his youth?”
Johnathan hesitated a mere second. “He put his wealth before His love of God. If he really followed the great commandment, then he would have cheerfully obeyed Jesus and sold all he owned.”
Ezra crossed his arms over his great chest and looked down his nose at the student while the rest of the class watched in silence. “Wasn’t it flippant of Jesus to tell him to sell everything he owned? How would a person survive without income, without a house?”
A rustle drifted through the room and Johnathan relaxed the grip he had on his stool. “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” he quoted. “Jesus promised that God would meet all our needs, so the ruler didn’t have anything to fear.”
Ezra didn’t show the slightest sign of the approval that he felt inside. “And what is the condition for this divine safety and provision? Everyone!”
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” The room filled with all the voices reciting in unison.
The old teacher leaned his bulk against the table and drilled his eyes into every one of them. “And what will you do when your hear the Lord say, Sell all you have and follow me?”