Rx for My Weakness: Part 4

"Put on then as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts,

 kindness and humility, meekness and patience, bearing with one another

 and, if one has a complaint against another, forgive each other;

 as The Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive." 

                                                                                        Colossians 3:12-13

So we take of the old self...and then what? Just like we replace our thoughts with the thoughts of God, we replace our old actions with those that imitate Christ. This list of characteristics screams Jesus. Our relationships with one another should be like this.  Are these actions what characterize my life? I am reminded of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control. These are the things that should flow out of me. It is not in my nature to show these traits. How then do I know what this looks like?  I look to Christ. I get in the Word and I get to know Him. I ponder, meditate on, pray, and spend time with those who love The Lord. I look into the mirror of scripture to get a glimpse of The Lord, then I reflect His image. I look to the Light, then reflect that light in my own life. I read about and experience His love so that love can then overflow and spill out of me. Then, and only then will the these things be true of me. The will I desire to bear other's burdens and forgive the sins of others. Then the Lord can use me for his purposes.

Wow! I knew forgiveness was important, but honestly for a long time was only concerned about being forgiven. The Lord has been teaching me much about forgiveness. He has shown me how important it is to forgive the people in my life. How can I accept the forgiveness from God, but not extend that forgiveness to others? It is only right and logical that because I have been forgiven much, I would forgive others much. Guess what, it is biblical too! So in a nutshell; if you are a child of God...it is time to act like one. It is time to get to know the heart of God and begin to reflect it to the world. There are no excuses for bitterness, envy, strife, complaining, backbiting, irritability, and pride. I am just as convicted as any. Lord, help me to apply these truths to my life and to imitate you!

Rx for My Weakness: Part 3

" Do not lie to one another seeing that you have put off the old self 

with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in 

the knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and 

Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; 

but Christ is all and in all. "

                                                                                      Colossians 3:9-11

Lord, what do these verses mean to me? First, it means that I have a choice. My old self, the flesh, is able to be active. I have a new self and I am a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17 states clearly that the old has passed away and a new creation has come. What a blessing to know this truth, but then why such a struggle to live this out? I found my answer here in these few verses. It says that I must put off the old self. This is a command. It requires a choice and action on my behalf. God's Word tells me that I must be renewed with the knowledge of the creator. I must be continually in The Word so that I am renewed. He creates in me a new creation, which must be renewed continually. I can be a new creation. I no longer need to live out the deeds of the flesh! What wonderful news!

I absolutely love the second half of this passage. There is no distinction between persons in God's eyes anymore. Jesus' death opened the door to all to be saved. He made a way for me to be considered as His chosen child. This is amazing and so wonderful. I cannot thank Him enough. I too need to have this mind that there is no distinction of persons in God's eyes. At times I struggle with pride and buy into the idea that there are different levels of Christians. My critical spirit sees "those people," but God sees every believer in Christ. We are equal. I don't have to earn His love, it is already there.  John 3:1-3 convinces me of the fact that I am a child of God.  This is clearly due to His love and not because of anything I can or ever will do. This is such a relief. I can rest assured that He loves me, but this passage does more than just bring comfort. These verses give me a reason to care and respond to His love with obedience. I want to serve Him because of what He did for me. What a wonderful Father and precious Savior I have!

Fallen Lately?

It is late and I should be in bed, but the Lord just gave me something too good not to share.

" His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.  For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.  For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.  Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.  For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have.  I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.  And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things."

                                                                                                    2 Peter 1:3-15

I am so blessed by this passage. God has made a way for us to escape the things of this world. It says we are able to escape the corruption of the world. Do you notice any thing corrupt around you? Take one look at the business world, government, or just the human race in general and you will see signs of corruption everywhere. You may be personally affected or part of something corrupt, but the amazing this is that the Lord has made a way to escape it! So how? Make every effort to add to our faith with virtue. What is virtue? Don't feel bad, I had to look it up to be sure. The Wikipedia definition is this:  is moral excellence. A virtue is a positive trait or quality deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. So we add morals to our faith. I must know God's morals in order to add them to my faith. Taking them from the world and society around me will only lead to skewed virtue. Reading God's word is a crucial part of the equation. Then we are to add knowledge. So we must really get to know the Word. I need to desire to understand the Word of God on a deeper level. This will involved digging in, the commitment of time, and some serious diligence. Then to the knowledge I must add self-control: the ability to exercise restraint or control over one's feelings, emotions, reactions, etc. This takes action on my part. I now know that ability only comes after I have added virtue and knowledge to my faith. Faith then is a critical part in this process. I can not do any of these steps without first having faith. I am starting to realize that the faith is not just for salvation, but in my daily walk with the Lord. Do I have faith each and every day in the promises of God? Do I trust Him at His word? If not, then I am calling Him a liar and questioning Him. Once I am able to assert self-control, then I must add steadfastness to my repertoire. I love the definitions for this word: 1. Fixed or unchanging; steady. 2. Firmly loyal or constant; unswerving. So I must be fixed on the Lord and unswerving. I must not be tossed to and fro by every idea that comes along. This reminds me of the passages that talk about being solidly built on the foundation of Christ. Good stuff... So now the next step after laying a solid unchanging foundation is to add in godliness. And godliness is characterized by: reverence for God and a life of holiness in the world (Baker's Evangelical Dictionary). In order to have a reverence for God, I must first know this God. And when I know this God, I am motivated by His love and His holiness to live a life of holiness set apart from the world. 

I have to break here because reading the following piece of the process is strange. Brotherly love? Isn't this something that should come earlier on? Obviously God knows that true brotherly love only comes from knowing God's love. I cannot truly love a brother or sister if I don't really understand God's love. When I see Christ and his example on earth, I can see what true brotherly love is. It is a love that cherishes other believers and people in general. Ugh, this is convicting. How much do I cherish my brothers and sisters? I can honestly say that I do have brotherly love for some. In some relationships it is easy and comes with very little effort. There are those relationships that are much more difficult and take more work. Lord, you know I need your strength for this one! It is interesting though that this so far at the end of the list. I suppose it can be a tell tale sign of any problem areas. If I am not loving my brothers and sisters well, then I most likely have not successfully added one of the other traits to my walk. Self checkup? I think this could be groundbreaking! Oh to work these things out and apply what He is teaching! I can only imagine what it would look like. 

So the final thing we are asked to add to our faith is love. Why? This is the love of God. It is agape love. This is love beyond human capacity. It is love that goes beyond logic, beyond reason, beyond anything we can come up with on our own. It is unconditional. It is a love that is sacrificial. I always think of the Lord and His death for me. Then I think of the Father and how He gave His son to die for me. Amazing! There are no words to adequately describe what this means to me. This is the love that I hope to show to others. I know it is impossible to do on my own. There is no way I can fabricate this kind of love. It is not an emotion. It is not based on anyone else and their actions. It is simply a response to the love already poured out on me. Hallelujah!

So here it is...the big truth that the Lord gave me. Without these things, I will become ineffective and unfruitful in my knowledge of the Lord. It will not be worked out in me. I will be doing nothing of value when it comes to the work that God desires for me to do. And even more serious is the fact that I will fall. If I desire to be strong in the Lord and withstand the corruption in the world, then I must seek the Lord and diligently add these things to my faith. Faith in itself cannot sustain me. Hmm...this is heavy. I cannot sit back and just hope for the best in life. I cannot just trust and do nothing. It won't work. There is some serious labor to be done. This seems daunting on the surface, but let me tell you, there is nothing more wonderful than hearing from God! There is nothing more rewarding than beginning to change. There is nothing more wonderful than understanding and claiming the promises of God for yourself. There is so much power in knowing who you are in Christ and understanding who God is. It is not laborious, it is not a chore. There is joy, excitement, and amazing peace that comes with obeying the Lord. There is freedom that cannot be described. You must experience it for yourself.  I pray that the Lord continues to open my eyes to these amazing truths. I pray that He keeps on changing me. Now to meditate and pray on these things. 

Goodnight and God Bless

Is There Spiritual Fast Food?

Today a struggle I thought I had mastered came back to haunt me. I pleaded to The Lord to show me why this same struggle was still present in me. He gently answered me with, "Because today you did not trust Me." The realization that my lack of faith today had led me down the same dark path brought grief. For a moment I was again helpless, but then He so lovingly reminded me of how I was to conquer my challenges. I am to look to Him. When I am weak, then The Lord can be strong. I was weak, but was powerless in myself to handle that weakness. God continues to offer me His strenght if I choose to look to Him. I was reminded that much of my weaknesses come from long periods of habitual sin. I worry and am anxious about many things in life. I dwell on the negative and with my thoughts and actions acuse God of being less than good. These habits will take time to break. It should be no surprise that the fight against the flesh will be difficult. My old self does not want to die. It wants to be in control. It is so prideful and arrogant. It questions God. It is not of God, and if not of God, then who? Facing this reality is difficult, but critical to begin to let The Lord work in me. My heart must be broken by who I am in order to allow God to heal it.

The culture we live in is filled with instant gratification. We want immediate results and quick solutions. How long have I lived my life expecting instant spiritual gratification? How can I expect to read the Word and have it permanently change me if I don't diligently seek to apply it to my life? There is no such thing as spiritual fast food. We are to be fed on the Word of God. The Lord is the bread of life. His Word is food for our soul. When we come to know Christ as our Savior we are told to desire and long for spiritual milk like an infant. But we are also told to desire solid food. If I am only looking for an instant quick fix to my problem in the moment, but do not strive against it, then I will only fail the next time it comes my way. I must be active in the process of doing away with those things in my life that are contrary to God. I must learn to chew on the Word and take time to digest it completely. I must meditate on it, pray about it, and ask The Lord to work those things out in my life. I cannot change through simply reading the words alone. I now find myself wanting to have a wholesome fresh meal. I don't want to live on day old stale bread, but on the words that The Lord has for me today. It is not enough to sit through a sermon, listen to someone else talk about how much they love the Lord, or to try to hitch a ride on another believer's relationship with the Lord. This means there is serious  effort to be made. I must seek Him. I must want to know Him. Then I must desire to be more like Him. That is the beginning...then I must act on what He shows me. I must be obedient and trust that His ways are best.

In His infinite wisdom, God allows us to go through different struggles and trials. He does this to bring us to our knees so we will trust Him. He wants to have our eyes fixed on Him alone. I am thankful today for what He used to teach me. Homeschooling is a challenge in itself. Throw in personalities that clash and it can be downright frustrating. Today was one of those days when I wondered why I do this to myself. The Lord quickly reminded me that I can learn in every situation. The lesson today...patience. By no means do I claim to have mastery over patience. I am learning it day by day. I fail often, and must ask for forgiveness more than I would like to admit. But I am hopeful because I know that He has begun a work in me. I know that I can fill my mind with the words that He gives about patience. I can meditate on these things. I can ask for His help and power to apply them, and then rest in Him when the trials come.

Ephesians 3:19-21
1 Corinthians 3:1-3
Hebrews 5:12-14
1 Peter 2:1-3

Prescription for My Weakness: Part 2

"Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead to 

immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts 

to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God 

will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, 

when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: 

anger, wrath, malice, slander and abusive speech from your mouth.

 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 

and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge 

according to the image of the One who created him-" 

                                                                                           Colossians 3:5-10

 I have been struggling with this exact thing...putting off the dead parts of myself. WHy is it that though I am alive, I still choose to live as though I am still dead? I think of what the apostle Paul wrote about his own struggle with the flesh and how he did what he did not want to do. There was a battle raging within him. I have become grossly aware of this battle within myself. My pride had kept me from seeing those things in the past. I had it all together. My life was in control. I lived a life that seemed to be inline with God. I was deceived, thinking I was ok and that I was right with God. It is amazing how we can weave such large webs of deception and believe such lies. The Lord has begun to lift the veil from my eyes and I am able to see my true self. My trust was not in The Lord. I had been trusting in the things of the world, my health, the people in my life, and our things. Unfortunately I think it is hard to see these things when we live in such a prosperous country. It is easy to place my faith in things other than God. It is also so easy to forget to be thankful in all things because of this.

 A friend and sister in The Lord brought a song to my attention this week. It was powerful and the lyrics are amazing. It is filled with the truth of the power of God. I realized that I could benefit from an arsenal of music that I can listen to in times when I struggle to see the light. There are time when reading the Word feels impossible. My mind cannot focus and I wonder in my thoughts. Music has been a huge part of my life. It was given to us by God to praise Him, and there are so many wonderful songs out there that "Turn our eyes upon Jesus." In my search for songs I came across these lyrics by Meredith Andrews in her song, "Burn Away,"

 "Burn away everything in me that breaks your heart. 

 Burn away everything that is not love. 

 Purify my every thought. 

 Take away everything that comes between us, 

 everything that is untrue. 

 Jesus make me more like you. 

 Make me holy, as you are holy. 

Refine me in your fire, O God. 

Make me holy, as you are holy. 

In my life be glorified."

Video of "Burn Away"

These words are powerful. They cut deep, but isn't this what The Lord is asking me to do? The harsh truth is that I can't do this on my own. I need His help and the power of the Spirit to work this in me. It goes back to my focus. Is my focus on The Lord and on things above, or is it on this earthly life and the things of the world? The truth is that the things in life that matter to me most are often not the things above or the things of God. I am so easily distracted by the world and by my own flesh. I have had many health issues in the past few years and these often become my focus. I fix my attention on the "thorn in my flesh" when I should be focused on The Lord. I pray that He strips me of those things and burns them away. I don't want to break His heart. I know that He is more than happy and able to do this work in me. Praise The Lord!!

Prescription for My Weakness Part: 1

"Therefore if you have been raise up with Christ, keep seeking the 

things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 

Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth. 
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ, in God. When Christ, 
who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory."                

                                                                                                   Colossians 3:1-4

There have been a few things in the past few weeks that have challenged me like never before. They are things that come from within. I feel like I am on guard for those things that come at me from the world, but I know now that I was not watching for the things that would come from within. The Lord has been dealing with my pride. This, I believe is the root of most of the issues I face in life. It infiltrates relationships, skews the Word, and spurs on a judgemental and critical spirti. It is damaging to my family, friends. and most importantly my relationship with God. The Lord has brought humbled me and brought me to my knees. He needed to do this in order to teach this  very important lesson. I hear so clearly now, "Rest in Me. Trust in Me. Let Me be your strenght. I am sufficient for you." Of course every word of this is backed with scripture.

Through a few rough days of darkness, the Lord began to draw me closer to Him. I was in a pit and He reached out and rescued me. He is still in the process of rescuing me. It has become so clear that the biggest problem is the flesh that I will continue to wrestle with until the day I die. The Lord has been consoling my heart and strengthening me with His Word. His promises are ringing in my ear! There is power in the Word. Oh, sister, I hope you can come to know this for yourself. The Lord cares, He loves you, and He wants to free you from yourself. We are new creations, but knowing that we are and actually claiming that truth as our own are very different things.

The Lord spoke so clearly to me through Colossians 2:20-3:17. He says that we are never going to be able to deal with ourselves alone. Without God's hand in our lives, we are fighting a battle we can never win. Our sickness, may it be depresssion, addiction, fear, anxiety, materialism, bitterness, or anything else that keeps us in bondage is from within. In order to defeat and overcome these strongholds we must have God's power. So you might ask, as I did, how do I get this power? What can I do in order to make this more than head knowledge and actually apply it to my life. It seems impossible to attain. I know, I was there. I believed the lies that I would forever be this way and that there is no hope for me. Oh sister, there IS hope. 

Reading through Colossians 3, I realized that God was giving me a prescription against my own flesh. He was giving me the process with very clear directions. He says we must seek Him and stop seeking to be filled by the world. Nothing in the world is going to cure our sickness, heal our pain, or help us get to a happier place. Searching for these things in the world is a futility.  

In Colossians 3:1-2, God lays out the first step to treat our problem. The solution is to seek the things of God. When we are seeking God and the things of God, we no longer find ourselves preoccupied and bound by the cares of the world. If our minds are occupied with Jesus and spiritual things, our hearts will not be consumed by material things. This is so imporant to understand. There is a two step process to begin the process of transforming and renewing our minds. This can be found in 2 Corinthians 10:5-6. We are to take captive those thoughts that are not of The Lord. I can remember hearing this verse quoted many times and I understood that I had to take control of those thoughts. I had learned to stifle them and push them into the deep recesses of my mind, but this is not a solution that works. What does the rest of the verse say? As I was petitioning The Lord and pleading for His help, He brought these verses to mind. I must make our thoughts obedient to Christ and then replace them with His Word. I realized that I had only been doing the first step, and even failing to do that part well. It is not good enough to take a thought captive if I don't intend to change it. Those thoughts only brew and fester to later rear up their ugly head even worse than before. Sister, if we are at all serious about allowing God to change us, then we must be actively involved in that change. It takes searching out God's thoughts and ways. I need  to know His ways to make them my ways. 

Did you know that your life is hidden in Christ? Colossians 3:3-4 tell me that because I have placed my faith in The Lord Jesus, I am then hidden in Him. This is such a wonderful truth! I am hidden in Christ. My identity before the Father is in Christ. Nothing in the world can alter or change my identity. I am secure in Him. Oh the freedom of knowing that and resting in that promise. Not only am I hidden in Him, but some day, maybe soon, I will be revealed with Him in glory. This is a truth I can not comprehend. It is mind boggling, but it is a truth given to us by God. I have a choice to make, will I trust Him at his Word? Will I walk moment by moment in His truth, or will I choose to remain in my pride and continue to struggle against God? 

May My Words Bring Him Praise

I am very excited and somewhat nervous to begin this blog. Through the years The Lord has laid it on my heart to write about my relationship with Him. It is a scary thought to have my thoughts out there for anyone to see. I know that The Lord has brought me through many trials and struggles in the past few years. The journey has been filled with hardship, depression, and the feeling at times to give up and quit fighting. It was through these times that The Lord got ahold of my heart for the first time. He stripped me off all my securities and brought me to my knees. He turned my eyes from myself and onto Him. I am ever thankful to The Lord for his patience, loving kindness, and willingness to make me face my true inner self. The process of burning off my weaknesses and the things in me that is not of Him is difficult, but results in a life full of joy, thankfulness, and peace. If given a choice, I would relive the past few years over and over in order to learn these lessons. My God is so good. He has proven me over and over  that He is faithful and that He loves me. I am glad that He loves me enough to change me. Oh, the joy!! My God is greater than any stronghold or enemy that will ever come my way! I want to bring Him glory and honor. I want to redeem the time, moment by moment. I do not want to live in fear and worry, for this is not of the Lord. His spirit is love, power, and self-control. This is the spirit by which I write. This is my own personal experience as I walk with God and allow His spirit to guide me.  I pray that The Lord will speak through me, and that He will use these words to reach others. If I can encourage just one person, then The Lord has been good. May God bless you in your walk with Him day by day, redeeming the time!