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About Jill Richard

My name is Jill Richard. I'm a life long Christian. Trying to live my life for my Lord everyday. I've been working in internet marketing since 2003. I want people to look at me and think - What an amazing God she believes in! I want all of my actions to point back to my Lord. They don't always, and for that I am grateful for the Grace of my Lord Jesus Christ.

My God is…Rescuing Daniel 3:29 and Daniel 6:27

15 Mar

Daniel 3:29 – Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a Close-up shot of roaring lionword against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!”

Daniel 6:27 – He rescues and saves his people;
he performs miraculous signs and wonders
in the heavens and on earth.
He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.

You’re going through a lot right now

You are facing a lot of things right now. You have a lot on your plate. I know I do. I have relationships that give me trouble, trying to be successful at work, I have struggles with my health and the health of others all while trying to glorify the Lord and in general get my act together. We definitely all face our troubles.

Ever feel like you’re banging your head against the wall?

As I sit here writing this, I hear the crazy robin in our backyard. He keeps flying into our window. I think he’s eating fermented berries off our tree, sees his reflection in the window and picks a fight with himself. He’s been banging his head against the window so hard it now has blood all over it. I think sometimes we’re like this dumb bird (drunk or not). We see something that looks like a problem, and we try to fix it ourselves, but all we seem to do is keep hitting our head against the wall. Sometimes I think we even truly hurt ourselves, maybe even with some permanent damage. Trying to help, I’ve put our ladder in front of the window. Hopefully that will at least help him to know this isn’t the way to handle this problem.

Are you looking for answers?

So what is the answer? Sometimes our problems are so bad they seem like there’s no way out. That even God couldn’t fix the mess we’ve made. We feel like we’ve tried every possible option. Maybe we’ve tried every humanly possible option, but the verses I selected above are from two amazing stories; Daniel and the Lion’s den and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being thrown into the fiery furnace. In both of these stories these men pissed off the King by not worshiping them or their god. Our first verse is King Nebuchadnezzar’s response to God saving Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego after they had been thrown in the fiery furnace for not worshiping the idol King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. The three had survived and come out unharmed from the furnace, and the king said, “There is no other god who can rescue like this!”. Then later Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den for not worshiping the king, but again the Lord rescued him and closed the mouth of the lion. King Darius sent this message to the people of every race and nation and said, ”

I decree that everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel.

 

For he is the living God,
and he will endure forever.
His kingdom will never be destroyed,
and his rule will never end.
He rescues and saves his people;
he performs miraculous signs and wonders
in the heavens and on earth.
He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.”

Feel like you’ve been raked over the coals or fed to the lions? 

Don’t worry, no matter what you’re going through, God can rescue you. He will save you. We may try everything we can think of to fix a situation. We may think that there is no other way it can be fixed, but that’s only because we’re looking at human ways to fix things. God has his own ways. Ways that defy the normal laws of nature: Fire burns people or Lions eat meat when they’re hungry. These things didn’t work the way they usually do, because God is bigger than those problems, and He’s bigger than our problems too. Whatever you’re going through, whatever is weighing heavy on your heart, let God take care of it, because He can handle anything that’s going on in our lives. We can trust Him to care for us like He did Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

Are you being raked over the coals?

 

 
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Posted by on March 15, 2013 in My God is my rescuer, My God is rescuing

 

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My God is…True 1 John 5:20

13 Mar

I John 5:20 – We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may Survey or Questionnaireknow him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

Definition of TRUE

1 a : steadfast, loyal
  b : honest, just
  c archaic : truthful
2 a (1) : being in accordance with the actual state of affairs<true description> (2) : conformable to an essential reality(3) : fully realized or fulfilled <dreams come true>
 b : ideal, essential
 c : being that which is the case rather than what is manifest or assumed <the true dimension of the problem>
 d : consistent <true to character>
3 a : properly so-called <true love> <the true faith> <the true stomach of ruminant mammals>
  b (1) : possessing the basic characters of and belonging to the same natural group as <a whale is a true but not a typical mammal> (2) : typical <the true cats>
4: legitimate, rightful <our true and lawful king>
5 a : that is fitted or formed or that functions accurately
  b : conformable to a standard or pattern : accurate
6: determined with reference to the earth’s axis rather than the magnetic poles <true north>
7: logically necessary
8: narrow, strict <in the truest sense>
9: corrected for error

Do you know what is true? 

Before I looked up the definition of the word “True”, I thought, what’s the point, we all know what true means. And that may be, but I did not expect the fullness of the word and how it may relate to my God. Besides the very last definition, I feel like reading the definition of true gives such a full, almost 3-D picture of the True God, my true God. Read the definitions again slowly, thinking about how God is true and see if it feels like more than you thought it did when you first read the Bible verse above. Amazing the depth of it all.

We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true.

Jesus has given us understanding. Before Jesus came, believers were trusting that God would one day send a savior. They had faith that God would do what He said He would do. When Jesus came and fulfilled the many prophecies, He gave us a fuller understanding of God. Because Jesus fulfilled all those prophecies to the nth degree, we can see that God is true to His word. And He is so much more, true in so many ways, so many ways included in the definition above. But I think there is a very important part of this section of our verse that I don’t want to miss. Jesus came to give us understanding so that we may know Him who is true. God wants us to know Him. How do you get to know someone? I’m not talking about acquaintances. I’m talking about those people who really know us. Is it your family? Your best friend? Maybe it’s your enemy. How do they know you?

Spending time with someone and going through things with people is the way we get to see the character of a person. Our perception of someone may not be the same as their other friends, because it may depend on your shared experiences. When you get married and join another family, you quickly realize how well your family knows you and gets you (good or bad). You understand and know each other better than you know your new family. You’ve been through a lot with them (usually years and years). They’ve seen you at your best and at your worst. You’ve not always treated them kindly, but they haven’t always been kind to you either. But you know each other. God wants you to know Him, inside and out too. He wants you to be able to say, “That God, He’s so funny.” or “It’s so nice to spend time with someone who gets me”.

So that we may know him who is true.

Do you get what a miracle it is that the God of the universe wants a personal relationship with you (and me). I’m amazed. The most important being ever, wants you to get to know Him. He wants to spend time with you, be there for you to lean on when you’re going through troubles and to know all of your inside jokes. Oh how different our lives would be if we truly tried to get to know our Lord.

And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ.

So how to we get to know God? By getting to know Jesus Christ. Spending time reading His word, doing Bible studies, worshiping and praying, and by spending time with other believers that build you up in Christ.

We don’t always want to know the truth.

In my Bible study that I do with a friend on Tuesday mornings, there was an interesting example of how we (and the people of Judah) sometimes react to hearing what is true. In Isaiah 30:8-11 it says, Now go and write down these words. Write them in a book. They will stand until the end of time as a witness that these people are stubborn rebels who refuse to pay attention to the Lord’s instructions. They tell the seers, “Stop seeing visions!”
They tell the prophets, “Don’t tell us what is right. Tell us nice things. Tell us lies. Forget all this gloom. Get off your narrow path. Stop telling us about your ‘Holy One of Israel.’”

Some times we don’t want to know what is True. Sometimes we rebel, but pulling away from the True God only leads to destruction. God is always waiting for us to return to Him. He’s always ready to help us get to know Him more fully. Later in Isaiah 30 it says, ”

So the Lord must wait for you to come to him
so he can show you his love and compassion.
For the Lord is a faithful God.
Blessed are those who wait for his help.

O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem,
you will weep no more.
He will be gracious if you ask for help.
He will surely respond to the sound of your cries.
Though the Lord gave you adversity for food
and suffering for drink,
he will still be with you to teach you.
You will see your teacher with your own eyes.
Your own ears will hear him.
Right behind you a voice will say,
“This is the way you should go,”
whether to the right or to the left.
Then you will destroy all your silver idols
and your precious gold images.
You will throw them out like filthy rags,
saying to them, “Good riddance!”

 

What do you want? True or False? 

 
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Posted by on March 13, 2013 in 1 John, My God is the Truth, My God is True

 

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My God is…seeing Genesis 16:13

11 Mar

Genesis 16:13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, eye“I have now seen the One who sees me.”

Do you ever feel invisible? 

Do you ever feel like you’re not important to the people in your life? Maybe they’re not as attentive as you hoped. Maybe you wish they’d pay a little less attention to you. Or maybe you’re abused, beaten, cursed at or neglected. The verse above mentions a woman giving a name to the Lord. Hagar was the name of the woman. She was Sarai’s maidservant. Now Sarai and Abram had been hoping for a child for a long time, but they hadn’t been able to have one. Sarai, taking things into her own hands decided that Hagar should sleep with Abram and give him the son she couldn’t. Did anyone ask Hagar?

Being chosen isn’t always good

Hagar was chosen by Sarai to sleep with her husband. She conceived, and then she didn’t like Sarai much anymore. I don’t know if it was jealousy that Sarai was beloved by Abram (the father of Hagar’s soon to be baby) or what, but she hated Sarai. So much so that it was obvious to Sarai. Sarai didn’t like Hagar either, and Sarai asked Abram to punish Hagar for her hatred. Abram said Sarai could do with her what she wanted. Sarai was so mean in her treatment of Hagar, that Hagar left. She had been chosen to carry Abram’s baby by Sarai, but she still didn’t hold much value. Beaten and mistreated, Hagar fled from them.

“You are the God who sees me”

There Hagar sits in the wilderness, pregnant and alone. She has to feel pretty worthless at this point. Her baby daddy didn’t stick up for her and his wife was intolerable. Now that she was gone, it was clear to her that no one cared. But there was someone…God. Separated from the life she once knew, she sat near a spring in the desert. The Angel of the Lord spoke to her, and asked her what she was doing there. She said she was running away. The Angel of the Lord told her to go back and have Abram’s baby. Hagar was astonished. She couldn’t believe that the Angel of the Lord had spoken to her, and that God was aware of her plight and cared about it. God promised to increase her descendants.

“You are the God who sees me”

Like Hagar in the wilderness, I think it’s often in the wilderness, when we are feeling most alone that we find God. He was there the whole time, but when we know we have no more control over our lives, then we are more open to the Lord and His path. When we’re going through those struggles, it’s easy to wonder where God is, but like Hagar, who had every right to be depressed about her situation, God sees us. He knows the path that is best for us. He knows our desires, hopes and dreams. He also knows the plans He has for us, and wants us to achieve. I have quite a few friends who are going through times in the wilderness. They’re struggling. They feel abandoned, hurt and confused. I pray they know like Hagar that they have a God who sees them. He sees and is ready to take action on your behalf.

Do you still feel invisible?

 

 
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Posted by on March 11, 2013 in My God is Seeing

 

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My God is…hearing 1 John 5:14-15

08 Mar

1 John 5: 14-15 – This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his earwill, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

 

Are you confident approaching God? 

I know that the word confidence might throw some people off here. I have been told by several people that they are not confident in praying. Not about their confidence in God, but in their ability to pray. I don’t believe that there is any right way or wrong way to pray. Jesus did give us an example of how to pray. in the Lord’s Prayer:

 

Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever. Amen.

Another good tool is to use a structure something like this: Praise (Saying who God is), confession (asking God for forgiveness for your sins), Thanksgiving (Thanking Him for all He’s done for you), and Supplication (Any requests you have on behalf of yourself or others).

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

Have you ever walked into a room, started talking to someone, then suddenly realize they can’t hear you because they’re wearing ear buds  Maybe you’re like me and when you’re working on your computer or watching TV, you’re so über focused, that you don’t hear your children when they ask you a question. Most humans have a little work to do on their listening skills. Not God. Not only does God listen to you, he hears you. He understands your full meaning. When I’m talking to my friend, we often say, “I hear ya”. We don’t just mean we’re listening (as it might be if my kids are talking loudly to me), we mean, I get it. We understand each other. Why do my friend and I feel like we understand each other? Because we’ve spent time together. We are in relationship with one another. We share our feelings, hopes and dreams with each other. We also talk about our problems and what our plans are. God wants to be in relationship with us as well. He wants us to talk to Him, through prayer about all of those things. He wants us to ask Him about anything and for anything. He understands us. God hears us. You can be confident that when you’re speaking to God, it’s not a futile task. There are no busy lines (most kids don’t even know what that is, do they?) or voice mail  You’ve got a direct line through prayer to the One who can handle all of your problems.

And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

What an amazing promise this is! I must confess, I find it hard to wrap my head around sometimes. Because of this promise, we can be confident in our prayers, assured that He’s listening, hearing and acting on what we pray. God is fully engaged in His relationship with you. He is ready to listen at the drop of a hat. He’s waiting for you to talk with Him, to turn to Him, to trust Him, to believe Him.

Are you confident approaching God?

 
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Posted by on March 8, 2013 in 1 John, My God is Hearing

 

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My God is…My Bridegroom Isaiah 62:5

06 Mar

Isaiah 62:5 – As a young man marries a young womanWedding Groom Waits
so will your Builder marry you;
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
so will your God rejoice over you.

As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride

Like most women, I love a good wedding. Yes, I love the beautiful dresses, the make up, the rings, the flowers, and the reception. I love it all. It’s a blessed thing to be able to join a couple at their wedding and rejoice with them in their future together. But, one of my all time favorite parts of a wedding is watching the groom. I love to see him as he squirms around trying to catch the first glimpse of his bride. He shifts his weight. Leaning right, then leaning left, he waits to see her enter the doorway. But the most glorious moment? When he sees her for the first time on the day they’re becoming husband and wife. His face beams. Those watching him can feel the love he has for his bride beaming off of him like hot sun rays in summer. My heart warms, my eyes water. It’s a beautiful thing. It’s a truly amazing thing when you’re the bride.

So will your God rejoice over you

Our God rejoices over us just like the bridegroom waiting for his bride. Imagine, there He stands. Waiting for a glimpse of the one He loves so much. He sees all that you’ve gone through. There is no one who knows you better. He’s your soul mate. He’s waiting for you. He’s leaning left and right just to catch sight of your face. He sees you and His face lights up. He’s beaming. Everyone around can tell that you love Him, and He loves you. He’s going to be with you forever. Never leaving you. Never forsaking you. He delights in you and rejoices over you. Everything else is inconsequential when you have His love. His love sees you through, set you free to be you and allows you to have eternal life with Him in Heaven.

I understand that if you’re a man reading this, it might be harder for you to put yourself in the place of the bride, but I think you can understand the feeling of seeing the one you love, and that person lighting up your life and being the only one who can bring you true happiness, joy and peace. God rejoices in you. He sees you and He gets who you are and what you want to become. He delights in you.

Who Rejoices over you?

 

 
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Posted by on March 6, 2013 in Isaiah, My God is my bridegroom, Uncategorized

 

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My God is…feeding Luke 12:23-25

04 Mar

Luke 12:23-25 – For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not girl-hand-on-stomachsow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?

For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.

I don’t know about you, but I like my food and my clothes. I am not happy when I don’t have the right food or the right clothes. How many of us are working to put food on the table and clothes on our children’s backs. We feel it is our responsibility as parents and spouses to provide and contribute to our households. And it is, but sometimes that desire to provide moves our focus onto money, things and food and off of the most important thing in our lives…Jesus Christ.

We worry.

The devil not only wants us to put our trust in money, position and food, but he will be satisfied to make us worry about them. To try to get us not to trust God for all our needs. The devil wants us to doubt that the Lord will actually provide actual money when we need it. He wants us to think that we can’t trust the Lord with our bills, bodies or our clothing.

Provided for

Many times throughout my life, my parents, who are very faithful followers of the Lord have found themselves in situations where we didn’t know how we were going to pay for things. The Lord gave my mother amazing shopping skills, a keen perception for finding ways to make money stretch, but even those gifts were not always enough. Sometimes there just wasn’t any money for what we needed. But then there would be. The one time I remember most clearly (though I’m quite sure I have vague memories of more) was when we were feeling particularly in a bind, because of this bill or that and in the mail we received a check from a company my mom had worked for a year or more before. She had no idea that there was any money out there, but the Lord provided it the moment we needed it.

Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them.

This part of the verse is very interesting to me. And truth be told this may get some of your backs up. I think we often do too much. Maybe this is wishful thinking from a slightly lazy woman. I think sometimes the Lord would prefer that we spent our days focused on Him and less focused on work, cleaning our cars or our house, or even paying the bills. I know those things in themselves are not bad things, but I believe that the Lord can provide for us even when we aren’t doing “enough” to get by in life. I know that this year my husband and I have reduced our income by over $10,000. But by the grace of God, we have barely noticed (at least beyond the first few months). We have been blessed by support of our family and friends, not always monetarily (though my parent’s are very generous with their help), but with their time and talents as well. God may not always provide in the way we want or the way we expect, but we have what we need if we allow the Lord to reveal it to us.

Are you content with what the Lord provides? 

Sometimes it is more about being content with what He provides than whether or not He provided. When we lived in St. Louis, I thought to myself, maybe I should join a gym, then I’m sure I would be motivated to work out. We didn’t have the money for a gym membership (especially when my enthusiasm waxes and wains so). I began to think about how the Lord provides for my every need. I thought to myself, what am I missing. God wants me to be fit, I believe. So how has he provided what I need. At the time we lived on the back of a large park with wonderful walking trails. In our apartment complex there was a small gym (yep – already had one at my disposal). In my own home there were two flights of stairs, numerous workout tapes and plenty of opportunity to work out. I didn’t like those options as much as going to a shiny gym with lots of classes, but truth was, I had everything I needed within walking distance of my couch (which is where I had spent most of my time).

How much more valuable you are than birds!

You are the Lord’s greatest possession. He loves you so much. 1 Peter 2:8-10 says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God;once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” He loved us so much He sent His son to die for us that we might live eternally with Him in Heaven. If He has such amazing plans for you in Heaven, why would he want you to be unprovided for here on earth? He doesn’t.

He has provided all you need. 

Outside of our physical needs, God has provided all we need for eternity. He has provided a way for us to spend eternity with Him. He has given His life so we may be forgiven. Our past is forgotten, and only our future with the Lord is in effect. We have hope, peace and a future. When we believe that Jesus, Son of God, died and rose again to save us from our sins, we have all we need. Our future is secure.

Do you have what you need?

 
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Posted by on March 4, 2013 in God is My Portion, God is my Provider, Luke, My God is feeding

 

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My God is…Understanding 1 Chronicles 28:9

01 Mar

1 Chronicles 28:9 – And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with

Wish someone would understand?

Wish someone would understand?

wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.

Lord searches every heart

There is no one who knows me better than God. There is no one who knows you better either. He searches every heart. Romans 8:27-28 reads, And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Understands every desire and every thought

He knows all our dreams, wants, fears, sins and successes. He knows our potential as well. But knowing it isn’t the whole story. He understands every thought and every desire. He gets me. And He gets you too. He understands. He knows your whole history. Everything you’ve gone through, all the pains, all the challenges and all the wonderful things that have happened as well. He loves you and wants to have a relationship with you.

If you seek him, he will be found by you

So who wouldn’t want to know someone who gets them better than anyone else. The one who can be there, understand and know what you’re really going through. God is the best friend we could ever have. He knows us, and understands us. How many of us at one time or another said, “I wish someone understood what I’m going through.” We do, and God promises if we seek Him, He will not be hidden from us. We will be able to find Him. He wants you to find Him. He wants to have a true relationship with you.

But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.

This isn’t a fun part of the verse. People don’t like that God would reject someone, but who did it first. If you forsake Him, He understands you still. But He will reject you. There is hope though, because the moment you confess your belief in Him, He is found. Even if you have forsaken Him before, because you didn’t remain in that, He will be found by you. He understands you.

Do you want someone to truly understand you?

 
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Posted by on March 1, 2013 in My God is Understanding

 

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My God is…a fortified tower Proverbs 18:10

27 Feb

Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; strong-tower
the righteous run to it and are safe.

Where do you go to feel safe? 

I remember when I was little, my grandma would come to visit. She was from California. She hated thunderstorms and was very scared there would be a tornado. She didn’t have a lot of experience with either of them, and they frankly scared her beyond reason. I always thought it was kind of fun when there would be a thunderstorm when my grandma was around. She would make us all go to the basement, we would take the little portable black and white television, set it on the washing machine and keep an eye on the news so we could see the ensuing storm. My sister and I would sit on the floor playing Barbies, and not even flinching a bit. We had seen lots of storms, but grandma hadn’t,so we all did what it took to make her feel protected. The basement, having her family around her made her feel like she was safer. The thick walls of the basement gave her security.

The name of the Lord is a fortified tower

I wonder how my life would change if I took this verse from scripture to heart. If, like my grandma would take off for the basement, when life got stormy I went running to my strong tower, the name of the Lord. Calling on the name of the Lord. This morning, I was a mess. I was having problems with my computer yesterday, so I had my husband take it to the store and ask to get it repaired. He did. This morning, I totally freaked out. I was concerned about my files, passwords and identity theft. I couldn’t contain myself. I looked to my husband to fix it. He had no good answers. I started to blame him, cry and basically go a bit crazy. It was embarrassing.

I had just finished a Bible study the night before where we talked about the power of the Lord’s name, and how we have to call on Him when we’re in trouble. I felt pumped. I told myself things were going to be different now. I was always going to trust God and let Him handle the stresses of my life. That lasted about 8 hours. I was so busy throwing a fit that I never calmed down enough to pray about it and turn it over to the Lord.

The righteous run to it and are safe

God promises when we come to Him believing that He will take care of us, we will be safe. I didn’t trust that this morning, and for that I am ashamed. I don’t want to live like that anymore. I want to live in the freedom of Christ in me and letting Him handle things for me. I don’t have to fix everything.

Putting our trust anywhere else is futile

Isaiah 50:9-11 says,”Behold, the Lord God helps me; who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up.

Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant?
Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.
Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches!
Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled!
This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.”

 

In these verses, we can see that we can trust in the name of the Lord and rely on God. The Lord God helps me. I spoke to a friend about my embarrassing behavior this morning, and she encouraged me that at least I was now recognizing my lack of faith. I can now start to practice having faith more often, even in the face of trials. Each moment is an opportunity to react differently than the world. To not freak out, trust in the Name of the Lord and give God the glory by our unusual reaction to trials, tantrums and torment.

Have you ever thrown a tantrum?

 
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Posted by on February 27, 2013 in My God is a fortified tower, Proverbs

 

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My God is…disciplining Hebrews 12:4-13

25 Feb

Hebrews 12:4-13

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you disciplining-daughtercompletely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

Who likes to be disciplined?

I know, you do, don’t you! I’m sure when you were a child and your parents disciplined you, you said, “Thank you mom and dad for not letting me go to my friends party. I really needed to learn a lesson about respecting you more.” RIGHT! I don’t think any of us respond that way in the moment, but it is true that sometimes we can see the wisdom in our parent’s discipline.

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
Truth be told,only parents who don’t care about their children ignore their responsibility to discipline. God loves us so much that He is willing to discipline us. God wants us to grow in our relationship with Him, and sometimes we need redirection at least and full on discipline at the most. When we struggle with a sin, we can find ourselves replacing God as the most important thing in our lives. Problem is, when that happens we can get off track and end up someplace neither of us wanted it to end up.

God’s discipline is perfect
Our parents did their best. Sometimes they got that discipline thing just right. Other times, they over punished, or maybe let us get away with something that later became harmful. Our Earthly parents sometimes discipline out of frustration and anger instead of out of loving care. God always gets it right. He knows how much, when, and how it is best delivered. God’s discipline is always in our best interest. He never has his own agenda, except to have a closer, stronger relationship with you minus our distractions.

Now do you like discipline?

 
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Posted by on February 25, 2013 in Hebrews, My God is disciplining

 

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My God is…opposing the proud 1 Peter 5:4-6

22 Feb

1 Peter 5:4-6 – 

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.thumbs-up-fonz

In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

 

Humble yourselves

Are you humble? Can anyone answer yes to that question without instantly making it untrue? I think of my Grandma who was probably the smartest person I’ve ever known. She was humble. I imagine her answer to that question might be some wonderful quip that would surely show her as humble without actually saying it. What exactly does it mean to be humble?

Definition of HUMBLE

1: not proud or haughty : not arrogant or assertive
2: reflecting, expressing, or offered in a spirit of deference or submission <a humble apology>
3a : ranking low in a hierarchy or scale : insignificant,unpretentious
b: not costly or luxurious <a humble contraption>
Humble does not mean self-deprecating
Even though one might be humble, that doesn’t mean they are honest about the achievements in their lives. The problem comes when you say you’re better than someone or take credit for something you didn’t actually do. For those of us who are Christians this comes down to giving God the Glory for the things that happen in our lives. It reminds me of the study of David were doing with my women’s group. David didn’t have much to do with being picked to be the King of Israel. He was out minding the sheep when the Lord selected him and had him anointed. Even after he was anointed, he didn’t become king right away. He first did an “internship” as a musician in the King’s Palace.
God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble
God knows that He is the source of all the good that comes in my life, but too often I try to take all the credit for myself. But all good things come from God. James 1:17 reads, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” So anything that is going well in my life, all the blessings I have are from the Lord. He is the creator of my blessings. When I try to take the credit for the things in my life, I’m missing the opportunity to glorify God. To point to Him as the source of my blessings. I try to pretend that I am more than I am. Could I have done any of the things I have done without the brain He gave me? Could I be a blessing to others without the soul He created for me? No. I don’t have much to do with the successes of my life. God is the source of all of it.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
So if we are to be lifted up to a high position in the society, education or career, it will be by the grace of God. He will be the one lifting you and I up with His mighty hand. We must give Him the glory, allowing Him to be revealed in all we do.
So I’ll ask again, are you humble?
 
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Posted by on February 22, 2013 in 1 Peter, My God is opposing the proud

 

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