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Category Archives: Books of the Bible

Find Characteristics of God in your favorite chapter in the Bible

My God is…not going to forsake me Hebrews 13:5

10 May

Hebrews 13:5 – Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has ford-escort-5-9-13said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

Keep your lives free from the love of money

This phrase is so counter to our culture. We are told by every commercial and ever advertisement that we want more. We see what our neighbors have, and we are tempted to go out and get something just as nice or better. We don’t want to be left out. We don’t want to miss something that might make us happy. As humans we’re always searching for something to fill a void inside. But we will never be able to fill that void, the yearning for something more on our own. We need Christ.

Each of us has our own things that make us crave for more. Mine is food. I’m sure there are others, but that’s my main one. When I feel empty in side, I’m tempted to eat. I want to fill the void. Others may use alcohol, shopping, people or sex to try to make that empty feeling go away. But there is truly only one thing that fill that void – Jesus Christ. With Jesus Christ, we can find satisfaction and peace that surpasses all human understanding. Here’s something to try, ask someone you know who has a lot of money, works all the time and always has the new gadget, what they need to be happy. They may very likely give you a thing or object that they feel will fill that need. Or maybe they’ll say the name of a person. And that’s very nice, isn’t it? But the truth is other people are going to fail you. You’ll love them, and they may not always treat you well. We can’t rely on others to be the source of our contentment.

Be content with what you have

Yesterday my husband called and told me that our old escort had bitten the dust. We had resurrected this car once before with a “new’ used engine. Now that engine had also failed. We knew we had to let go of that car. It was going nowhere. We sold it to the junk yard, they towed it away as we lamented the passing of a car that has traveled with us for 15 years. They boys were brought home from the hospital in that car. It was a sad day. Now we’re left with one car that is 19 years old. I don’t know how much longer that one will last. But it doesn’t look good.

My mom and dad are kindly bringing us a car in September, but between now and then we need another car. Here’s where I need to be content. It’s hard to go to a car lot and not wish you could have all the bells and whistles. I start to make a list of what I really want.

  • OnStar System
  • Center console with power outlet
  • Touch Screen controls
  • Good sound system (to play music from my iPhone)
  • GPS Navigation System
  • Air Conditioning
  • Power Windows etc
  • It has to be cute too!

Ok, that’s the short list, but it gives you an idea that my warped, commercial influenced mind is more interested in what the car can do for me than how it drives. The struggle will now become balancing what we need (good gas mileage, reliable, etc) with what I want (haven’t even considered what my husband wants yet).

I will never leave you or forsake you

The truth is, I don’t need to worry about all those features. I don’t need to feel I got ripped off if I don’t get exactly what I want. I know that the Lord is with me in everything I do. He will not leave me or forsake me. I can trust Him with everything that’s going on in my life. I know that the Lord will provide us with a car. It may not be my dream car, but we’ll have something that works decently and gets us through to September (or longer).

Definition of FORSAKE 

: to renounce or turn away from entirely

God will not turn away from me. Even though my problems may seem small or insignificant, and I might doubt that the Lord is interested in my car woes, the truth is He won’t turn away from me. I can trust Him with the big things as well as the small things. So as we go out and look at cars and decide which car is going to be best for us, whether it be a new car, used or no car at all, I trust that the Lord can use this all for His glory. He’s got my back and we’re going to trust Him every step of the way (I hope). May the Lord help us keep our focus on Him.

Are you content?

 
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Posted by on May 10, 2013 in Hebrews, My God is not going to forsake me

 

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My God is…Upholding me Isaiah 41:10

03 May

Isaiah 41:10 – do not fear, for I am with you, girl-at-door
do not be afraid, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

do not fear, for I am with you,
    do not be afraid, for I am your God;

The devil is a bully. What do bullies do? They pick on you when you’re alone. They almost never attack or bully when they’re out numbered. The devil wants to separate you from God and those who point you towards God. The devil wants to make you feel alone and helpless. The devil wants to rob you of your joy in the Lord. But WE ARE NOT ALONE! We don’t have to fear, because God is with us. The devil doesn’t want us to feel like God is with us, but He is. In Matthew 1:23, the angel even says that Jesus should be called Emmanuel which means “God is with us.” Have you ever been bullied? Remember how alone you felt? We don’t have to feel that anymore. We need to remember that God is with us and that He’s got the situation under control. Expect Him to show up in cool and unusual ways!

I will strengthen you, I will help you

Going back to that bullying idea. The devil wants you to feel weak. Bullies try to take away your power. Well, our power is in the Lord. He is the source of our strength and our power. When we’re in trouble, when the devil is attacking, God will strengthen you. He will help you. Trust HIM!

WARNING!!!

You’re going to be attacked. And let me tell you the closer you get to God, the more you spend time with Him, the more the devil gets frustrated. He attacks. And he’s good at it. But we have one who is stronger. One who can show us the way. The one who can stop arguments in their tracks by helping us own up to our mistakes. Do you know how quickly arguments end when one person says, “Your right, I shouldn’t have done that.”? So often in our marriages and friendships, we end up trying to defend ourselves instead of owning up to our sin. It’s not easy to do, but boy does it change things. Because we have God on our side, we’re able to admit our sins and restore relationships. Without God, I find admitting my wrongs is almost impossible.

I will uphold you with my victorious right hand

But with God all things are possible. No matter how far wrong things have gone, God is able to fix the problem. Relationships, our needs, our dreams and our faith are all in God’s hands. He can take care of any of them. This part of the verse reminds me of something that happened a few weeks ago on my morning walk with my friend. She and I were walking, and she was on the street side of the sidewalk. We’re walking along fine, when she loses her balance and starts to fall toward the street, where a semi was barreling along. By the grace of God, I was able to grab her arm and pull her back from what could have been disaster. That’s what God does for us. We’re walking along. Everything seems to be going well in our lives, then WHAMO!  We trip up. Life gets hard. We make a mistake, we sin, and fall short of the Glory of God. We don’t reflect Him in our lives. But God upholds us with his victorious right hand. He reaches out and pulls us back to Him. By His grace we are able to continue on.

Have you tripped up?

 
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Posted by on May 3, 2013 in Isaiah, My God is upholding me

 

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My God is…inclined to me Psalm 40:1-3

01 May

Psalm 40:1-3 I waited patiently for the Lord;Jesushuggingcryinggirl
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the desolate pit,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.

I waited patiently for the Lord

I’m not very patient really. If I ask my husband for help, and he doesn’t do it (that minute), I get frustrated. Then usually I’ll do it with a scowl on my face and a bad attitude. He’ll retort that he was going to get to it, just not that second. That reasonable, right. Of course it is, but that doesn’t stop me from justifying my impatience by telling him if I didn’t need his help NOW, I wouldn’t have asked NOW. I think that’s how I am with God sometimes as well. I don’t ask God to walk with me in the beginning of a project or activity. I wait until I’m sure I can’t do it on my own, and then I ask God for help. I don’t want any of that, “In God’s time” stuff. I want it now. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want it now. Perhaps if I had included God from the beginning it wouldn’t have gone the way it went, and I wouldn’t be so desperate, or maybe it isn’t all about me, and God’s timing has bigger plans, plans I may never see, but that He uses to His glory anyway. Patience is a virtue. I need to work on waiting patiently for the Lord.

He inclined to me and heard my cry

Now I find this part of our verse (the part with the theme of the blog in it) very comforting for so many reasons.

  • My Cry – Why does the part about crying out make me feel comforted? Because it shows that I don’t have to have my emotions in order. I can cry or cry out of frustration, pain, anger or suffering. It’s not wrong to have emotions. It’s not wrong to cry out to the Lord and be true to what you’re feeling. I like that freedom.
  • He heard my cry – Another wonderful part of this section of our passage from Psalms is that God hears my cry. He hears me. He isn’t tuning me out. He doesn’t have Skull Candy ear buds in that make it possible to ignore everything that’s going on around Him (like my boys like to do when I need them to help around the house). He hears my cry.
  • He inclined to me: God leaned in to hear my cry better. He has a disposition and a tendency to helping and hearing me. He is inclined to move in my direction. He comes close to me. He comforts me. He leans in. Have you ever noticed that when things are going wrong, some people lean in and some lean out? I have. It’s really interesting who will come to your side or be inclined to you when you’re in trouble. When someone is really listening to you, they often are inclined to you. They lean in and show you with their body language that they’re paying attention. God is inclined to you. He’s paying attention.

Definition of INCLINED

1: having inclination, disposition, or tendency
2 a : having a leaning or slope
  b : making an angle with a line or plane
He drew me up from the desolate pit,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
When reading this I was reminded of my Stephen’s Ministry training (a Christian peer counseling program), I was taught that we had to be careful not to get in the pit of troubles that our care receivers were currently experiencing. We had to remain attached to the Lord so we could reach in and help, but not fall in our selves. They explained that the truth is God is who draws us out of the desolate pit and sets us back upon a rock and helps us get our secure footing back. God is inclined to us, leaning over and reaching into the pit and pulling us out.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.
So many times people ask why they’re going through what they’re going through, and it’s never easy to answer without sounding trite or inconsiderate, but the truth is going through those tough times allows us to grow and become stronger. To know that our true strength comes from the Lord. If you ask most strong and confident people about their story, you will almost always hear some talk about some of the struggles that led them to this point. There isn’t a truly easy road in this sinful earth for any of us. Every hardship is an opportunity to grow in our faith, our perseverance and to give glory to God. After you have come through something painful, and you can see it behind you without feeling the full pain, you feel the feeling of victory. The feeling of overcoming the impossible, knowing that without God it could not have been done. We can put our trust in God and rely on Him to see us through.
What are you inclined to? 
 
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Posted by on May 1, 2013 in My God is inclined to me, Psalm

 

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My God is…a consuming fire Hebrews 12:28-29

26 Apr

Hebrews 12:28-29 – Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and Flames so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken

What a blessing it is to know that the kingdom of God will endure. We don’t have to worry that it won’t be there when we die, or that someday it will cease to exist. God is eternal, and his kingdom cannot be shaken. Nothing, not one thing, in all of time will be able to destroy the Kingdom of God. The devil for a time will try, but we know he has lost the war. God is almighty and has overcome the devil.

Let us be thankful

When someone does something nice for you, do you thank them? I’m not always as good at this as I would like. To be honest, I’m kind of ashamed of it. Who takes the brunt of that? Maybe my boys who are so kind to me and never refuse bringing me popcorn or tea. They’re not argumentative or defiant. They’re agreeable young men. I sometimes take their kindnesses for granted. I don’t always use the good manners my mother gave me. They deserve my thanks. If I am capable of forgetting to thank my sons who daily do amazing sacraficial things for me, how much more awful is it that I sometimes forget to thank my Lord and savior Jesus for his true sacrifice for my eternal life. Not only do I not say it often enough, I also don’t act grateful. I become selfish, unkind, impatient with Him. I don’t always act as He would call me to act. I don’t always treat others better than myself, and I don’t always put Him at the center of my life. Let us be thankful. Let us cast off our old ways and focus on the Lord!

Worship God acceptably with reverence and awe

Why do we have the traditions we do in our church? I think most of them are to help with this action, so that we might worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. I want to get better at this and not get too comfortable. I want things to not become rote or commonplace, but that I remember why I am worshiping, and more importantly Who I am worshiping. I want to show my Lord reverence and awe. I want to do that by putting Him first in my life. Lord help me do this, please.

God is a consuming fire

When we allow the Lord to be the center of our lives, He is an all consuming fire. He burns out the old cobwebs. He adds excitement and change that we would otherwise not embrace. God is amazing and has so much planned for us. In a Bible study I’m doing, (The Calling: Living a life of significance) it mentioned that sometimes we ask for silver when God wants to give us gold. When we put God at the center of our lives, as He is an all consuming fire and fills every nook and cranny of our heart, we will find the excitement of having God in charge. Having Him burn away the junk that gets in the way of our relationship with Him so that new life might grow in our hearts. When there is a fire in the wilderness, it can be devastating  It can look as if everything that was good is gone, but after some time, new life grows, stronger and healthier than before. May I be refined by the all consuming fire of God.

 

 
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Posted by on April 26, 2013 in Hebrews, My God is an all consuming fire

 

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My God is…The Lamb John 1:29

24 Apr

John 1:29 – The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God,who takes lamb-of-godaway the sin of the world!”

John the Baptist bears witness to Jesus being the Christ

John the Baptist had a lot of followers. He was a well-known and respected Jew. He was a teacher and leader. So much so many people of the day thought that he might be the Christ. John the Baptist was always quick to point them away from himself and back towards God. He loved the Lord and knew that he would one day meet God.

Look the Lamb of God

In these times in Jewish history, lambs were common place. The lamb was used in meals, festivals and as sacrifices. There are many different theories on what John the Baptist meant when he said “Lamb of God” in reference to Jesus. I don’t claim to be a scholar or theologian, but I have always thought that in this instance that John was pointing to Jesus as the Messiah. The one who was sent to save the people of Israel. Whether it was as a triumphant lamb, sacrificial lamb, passover lamb or whichever, John the Baptist was clear that this was the Messiah. This is the one who was more important than him. He was the one who they had been anticipating. In verse 30 it reads, “This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’” Those who were following John knew that John had been sent by God. He was the closest they had ever seen to the Messiah. Many kept asking him if he was the Messiah. John would remind them, that there was one who would come after him who was the Messiah.

Bearing witness

This whole section of scripture is amazing, because we get a first hand witness to Jesus. Someone who saw Him, confessing that He is the messiah. Clearly telling people this is the one that is more important than him. Why does this matter? It’s one more piece in the puzzle of our faith. We have witnesses telling us the truth about Jesus. John the Baptist was well respected. His word was not in question. That’s why it mattered that he was the one bearing witness to Jesus.

Selflessness – to God be the Glory

One of the things that I love about this verse is the way John the Baptist gives us an example of always pointing back to Jesus. Everything we do should be a reflection of our lives in Christ. The way we behave, the words we choose, the kindnesses we share are all opportunities to shine for Jesus. Pointing back to Him as the one who is greater than us. John the Baptist was doing that in these verses from John. He says, I’m not great, God is great. Now that Jesus was on the scene, John the Baptist was pointing people to Jesus. He wasn’t worried about the fact that his followers were now following Jesus. He was glad. He knew that Jesus was the one. The one true “Lamb of God”.

Who takes away the sin of the world

This is an amazing part of the verse. It shows that John the Baptist truly knew what the goal of Jesus was here on earth. That Jesus was truly the Messiah sent to take away the sin. Like the sacrificial lamb or the passover lamb, Jesus was going to be sacrificed, shedding His blood on the cross so that we wouldn’t have to suffer after death. What a blessing to have John the Baptist as a witness to our Lord. We can use his strong testimony to strengthen our faith. We can stand assured of Jesus role in our salvation.

 

 
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Posted by on April 24, 2013 in John, My God is the Lamb

 

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My God is…Greater 1 John 4:1-6

22 Apr

1 John 4:1-6 – Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, Listening-on-phonebecause many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist  which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Don’t believe everything you hear. How many of you heard that from your parents at one time or another? I know I did as a child. Sometimes I need to be reminded of that as an adult. The other day I mentioned to my sister that I had read that those who chew gum are more likely to have more wrinkles. This basically made me think I should probably stop chewing gum. My sister instantly retorted that she didn’t think that was true. She said that probably those who smoke make up a large group of those who chew gum, and it’s more likely smoking that makes someone more wrinkly than chewing gum. I don’t know if she’s right (she probably is – I always think she’s right!), but I did think it was a good reminder not to believe everything I hear. It’s important as residents on this earth to be discerning about what we hear. It especially important when we’re talking about spiritual things. There are so many theories out there. So many ways people say you can be your best you, live your full life and be all that you can be. Some of the information can be useful, but some can lead you away from the Lord, putting your faith in things that have no truth and pull your attention away from Jesus.

But test the spirits to see whether they are from God

It is important that we test the things we hear against what we know is true in scripture. We can sometimes learn something from the self-help books, studies and gurus of this world, but the verse above tells us exactly how to test these spirits and ideas, “Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.” Any theory or idea that doesn’t acknowledge Jesus came as a man, but is also God is a pitfall for leading us astray. Even if they do have good pieces in them, they can be more damaging to us than they are edifying. Don’t believe everything you hear!

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

We have overcome these false spirits, because we have the truth. We have God’s word which does tell us about Jesus as man and God. God has given us His Holy Spirit, and His Holy Spirit is greater than those spirits of the world. Our God is greater. He has the true answers. Not answers for the temporary things of this world, but for our life now and on into eternity. So many of the theories of this world have come and gone, some persist, but unless they jive with the word of God, they are meaningless.

They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.

Don’t be surprised when those you care about use these theories of the world, these gurus and philosophies to try to help you. They’re probably well-meaning, but these theories only work in the temporary, the here and now. They’re only about you. They’re not about others. It’s self-help for a reason – it’s all about you. The world loves that, because it is our human nature to think our problems are more important than anyone else’s problems. My husband’s arm hurting? He’s a wimp. My legs are sore, I’m practically dying. What’s the difference? One is about me and one is about him. I don’t care as much about his as I do my own pain (selfish I know, I got a lot of work to do). We’re all a bit like that. When we allow ourselves to think how the world thinks, we can’t see past ourselves. We think it’s OK to do whatever we want, because “I had to do what was right for me.” We need to be careful people. When something like that comes out of our mouths, it may very well not be from God. He tells us to love others as ourselves, and that flies in the face of that statement.

We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. 

Listening-on-phone

Don’t believe everything you hear!

Just because our truth is from the Lord, don’t expect people to accept it that way. Those who know God will likely listen and be able to apply any wisdom that is based on God’s word, but those who are still living according to the world probably won’t. They may hear us, but more than likely they’ll pass off our ideas and scriptural references as strange, kooky Christian talk. They won’t be able to take it seriously, because they don’t know the Lord. Does that means we stop believing what we believe, or stop professing what we believe? No, but it does help us to have realistic expectations of what is likely to happen. It’s not going to be all rainbows and butterflies.

This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

Our God is greater. Even though we might have doubts or struggle with a Biblical truth, we’ve got God, and our God is greater than all of the gibberish our world. Even the information that is helpful for this world is a far cry from what our Lord has told us and has planned for us. Our God is greater.

Don’t believe everything you hear – test it against God’s word.

 
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Posted by on April 22, 2013 in 1 John, My God is Great, My God is Greater

 

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My God is…exalted Psalm 138:6-7

17 Apr

Psalm 138:6-7 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;


though lofty, he sees them from afar.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life.
You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes;
with your right hand you save me.

Definition of EXALT

transitive verb
1: to raise in rank, power, or character
2: to elevate by praise or in estimation : glorify
3obsolete : elate
4: to raise high : elevate
5: to enhance the activity of
What is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them? Psalm 8:4
God is exalted. He is of the highest rank, power and character. There is no reason in our earthly minds why our God should be mindful of us. Our perfect amazing Lord deserves to be exalted. He is perfect, kind, patient and so much more (as you can see from my blog). He is deserving of our praise and to be elevated in our estimation. Our Bible verse above reads, “he looks kindly on the lowly”. That’s you and me folks. We’re the lowly. I’m not trying to make you feel bad about yourself, but in relationship to the greatness of God, we’re not much.
Though lofty, he sees them from afar
Even though God is highly exalted, He sees us. It doesn’t says He strains to see us, it says He sees us (plain and simple). He knows everything about us, and sees us more clearly than we see ourselves. And guess what? He loves us anyway!
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life.
Even though God is…God, He is still mindful of us. When we’re in trouble we can expect Him to show up in unusual and amazing ways. In fact He already has. I bet that if you think about it, you’ll be able to think of a time when something was fixed or resolved in an amazing way you weren’t expecting. The biggest example of this is how the Lord saved us from our sins. There was no way we were going to earn our way to heaven. Each of us is a sinner, and if it were only by what we do that we could be saved, our bad would easily outweigh our good. But God came up with a plan. A plan that no human would have thought possible. God sacrificed His Son so that we might live. So that we might live with Him in heaven. That we might have eternal life.
How about right here and now? You can expect God to show up in unusual ways right now. Turn over your troubles to the Lord and watch Him (trust Him) to do what He says He’s going to do. He’ll sustain you through your pain, give you and escape from temptation and provide for all your needs. He loves you and will see you through your trouble. He will preserve your life for now and into eternity.
You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes;
    with your right hand you save me.
For some reason the way I picture this part of the verse gives me great comfort. I picture some one running to attack me, and God pushes them away with His left hand and with His right He pulls me behind Him. He shields me from the danger. He saves me from the fate I deserve. I love the thought of My God being between me and my enemy. Like a father protecting his child from any sort of threat, our God stands in the gap for us. Protecting us and saving us with His right hand.
What do you exalt?
 
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Posted by on April 17, 2013 in My God is Exalted, Psalm

 

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My God is…not ashamed Hebrews 2:10-12

16 Apr

Hebrews 2:10-12 – 

In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everythinggail-jill exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.  Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. He says,

“I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;

 in the assembly I will sing your praises.”

 

Do you have siblings? 

I have an older sister. In my mind, she was perfect (I say was, because now I know it was only in my mind! 🙂 – Love you Gail). She was beautiful, smart, funny and kind (most of the time). But I’m pretty sure I drove her crazy. I was the typical little sister, wanting to be wherever she was, doing whatever she was and following her wherever she went. I was annoying. Worse than that, many times, I’m sure I was embarrassing. Hard to believe, right? I was only a few years behind her in school, so that meant even in high school, I could embarrass my sister. Now however, we’re more likely to join forces and try to embarrass our children.

Are you ashamed of someone?

Have you ever been ashamed of someone? Maybe it’s your outspoken racist uncle, your politically uninformed but loud friend, or your doting mother? Maybe it’s your screaming child during church, shopping or pretty much anywhere.

Definition of ASHAMED

1 a : feeling shame, guilt, or disgrace
  b : feeling inferior or unworthy
2: restrained by anticipation of shame
Why do we get embarrassed or ashamed? 
I’m no expert, so take it for what it’s worth, but I think we get ashamed, because we feel embarrassed by what we or someone else has done. Usually in order to be ashamed of someone or something, we have to feel that it has some sort of reflection on us. We feel like the other person is hurting our reputation as a fun loving, accepting, patient, kind and entertaining person. We don’t want to have our friends or family putting out the wrong impression of us (though to be honest we’re probably doing a pretty good job on our own).
So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.
Why is that a big deal? Do you know how often we must say or do something that could potentially hurt God’s reputation? Maybe it’s just me, but I can think of quite a few times just recently I haven’t been a good reflection of the Lord. Maybe it’s when I used words that are not very becoming. Maybe it’s when I was selfish and took the last banana without a thought for anyone else. Maybe it was when I yelled at my children, not because of anything they did, but because I was in a mood. Worse yet, maybe I’m not giving glory to God because I’m not showing others love. I think too often I wimp out on caring for others, encouraging others and going the extra mile. I put my needs first. When I say “needs” I use that term loosely. For me I may be choosing a nap, watching TV or playing games on Facebook over doing what I know in my heart would be a better reflection of the Glory of the Lord.
Here’s the Good News!
Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters. If we were in high school with Him, He would let us sit at His table. He cares about us, and isn’t afraid to let it show, even when we’re not very lovable. His love is not conditional on our love for others. It is not conditional on anything we do outside of having faith in Him. All He wants from us is for us to believe in His promises and grow in our relationship with Him. We don’t have to be afraid to wave to Him in the hallway, He will acknowledge us. We know He will always welcome us with open arms. We are so blessed to have our God as our Brother, one who is not ashamed, but has washed away all that could bring us shame. He saved us from our shameful behavior so that we would not have the full consequences of our sins. God is good!
Are you ashamed of Him? 
 
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Posted by on April 16, 2013 in Hebrews, My God is not ashamed

 

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My God is…seated on His Royal Throne Psalm 47:7-9

12 Apr

Psalm 47:7-9 – For God is the King of all the earth;Royalty's Throne. Ornate. On White sing to him a psalm of praise.

God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
The nobles of the nations assemble
as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.

For God is the King of all the earth

What does it mean for us that God is King? It should mean a lot to us. God is the King, and He is a good King. Not only is He our King, but He is also our Father, and that makes us part of the royal family. We are inheriting from Him much more than we can ever give back to Him.

God reigns over the nations

Sometimes we think that God can’t handle what we’ve got going on. Sometimes we thing it’s too big or too small for Him, but God is in the details. He is in charge of all things. Over all the nations, all the people, all the animals, all the cells and all the atoms. He’s got them all under His power. He can do anything. In Matthew 19:26 we read, “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”” If you want something big changed, you might contact your senator or your congressman. But what if you had access to the President. wouldn’t it be better to ask Him. We’re able to go right to the top, in fact we have Jesus interceding for us at all times (Romans 8:34 – Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.) We are blessed to have a God who hears and listens to what is important to us. We can go right to the top and ask the one who can make all things possible.

God is seated on his holy throne.

So why does it matter that God is seated on His holy throne? Have you ever seen a movie where the king enters to sit on His throne? Everyone stands and turns their attention to Him. Why? Because He’s about to get down to business. He’s ready to hear your requests, to give you advice, to celebrate with you, to send out His angels to protect you. To do all the God things He does. He has taken up His position of authority and is ready to use it. And because you are His adopted child through Christ Jesus, you’ve got an in with the Big Guy. You can have access to Him at any time. How amazingly blessed would you feel to be able to walk right up to the King? Right to His throne all the while knowing that He loves you as He loves His own Son. He took action for you and me that day. He had Jesus shed His blood so that you and I could live in Heaven with Him. He loves you that much. God is good!

Do you want some time with the King?

 
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Posted by on April 12, 2013 in My God is seated on His Holy Throne, Psalm

 

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My God is…Upright Psalm 92:12-15

10 Apr

Psalm 92:12-15 – The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, Cedar of Lebanon
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

 

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon

Oh how I long to be like a cedar of Lebanon. I want my roots of faith in Christ to grow deeper, while I my faith continues to grow bigger and stronger. I want my love for the Lord to be evident in all I do. Sadly I know I have a long way to go, and no matter how good I become it will always only be of value because of the Righteousness Christ won for me on the cross and when He rose again so I might become His righteousness. I believe we can grow in our faith, and become strong and become able to endure all that life throws at us.

Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God

So how do we grow up big and strong in our faith? How can our faith flourish? I believe this verse gives us some clues. The first of which is that we are to be planted in the house of the Lord. Ideally a church should not be a place of entertainment (though it’s ok to be entertained there). The point of going to church is not like going to a movie. It is to be fed. To be fed with the word, sacraments and fellowship. Hearing the word of the Lord fills us with nourishment we need to grow in our faith. The sacraments confirm our faith, nourish and connect us with the Lord. He reaches out to us in the sacraments. Our fellow church goers are also part of how we grow. They encourage us, support us and prod us when things aren’t going as we hoped. Ideally they help us to keep our focus on the Lord. Knowing God more fully, feeding on Him and His word is why we could want to be planted in the house of the Lord.

We want to flourish in our faith life, not just wilt along. Sometimes it may seem all we do is wilt under the strain of our daily lives. Work, kids, health and family can often put strains on us that make us feel less like flourishing and more like we’re completely worn out with out much hope ahead. That’s why we need to have God’s word give us the nutrients that will help us to survive this life and remain faithful to Him in all we do. I don’t know about you, but when I don’t spend time purposefully in God’s word, I am easily overwhelmed by the days tasks. When I focus on Him and turn those tasks over, things are sometimes easier, but they’re almost always more peaceful. You can bet if I’m off, I haven’t been praying much.

They will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

Planted in the house of the Lord, we can remain fresh and green. How will we know we’re still growing, fresh and green? Because we will proclaim that the Lord is our source of strength. He is what we cling to, and that God is good.

The Lord is upright

It is my joy to proclaim that my Lord is upright. There is no wickedness in Him. His ways are pure. What a blessing it is to have a relationship with our God. To know Him, to see His solid, upright, never wavering character. We can trust Him. We know that He is going to do the right thing for us. Sometimes we can’t see it right now, but He is good and upright and we can continue to flourish in our faith because of the witness and testimony of all the other times in our lives (and others) that God has shown up. Not just shown up to pat us on the back and say, “It’ll be OK , but showing up to take care of things. To provide when it looks like there is no way for provision to be found. He’s showing up by sustaining us during health problems. He’s showing up by helping us seek professionals for help with our mental state. He’s showing up when He helps you hold your tongue and avoid another argument with your spouse. Turn your problems over to our upright God, Our Rock and our Salvation. Turn them over to God and expect Him to show up in amazing and unexpected ways. Then when trouble comes for you or someone you care about, remember this time. Remember how the Lord showed up for you, and be a witness.

How has God shown up for you?

 
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Posted by on April 10, 2013 in My God is Upright, Psalm

 

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