Food for thought

The ahhh of hectic

"Master, where dwellest Thou?... Come and see... Follow Me." John 1:38-39,43

How do we put the arising self interest to death permanently? We cannot. It must be a continual sacrifice, a determined choice. "There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus." O.C.  We all at times face a very hectic life and most of the time it seems as if it is constant,  a never ending rat race.  So many things to get done and not enough hours in the day to do them all.  We have to make choices and let some things go, but that means letting go of control and it goes against our very human nature. And that is the very point! Going against human nature with perserverance and determination of mind.  If we want to become a surgeon we pay a price of self discipline to achieve that goal.  The same discipline applies when we truly desire a relationship with our Father.  We do truly desire it too, but few are willing to make the all out sacrifice daily of self interest.  It sneaks up on us in so many ways that it seems as if our priorities and goals are rational and in line with God's will. "Oh what a tangled web we weave."

We satisfy our lust in so many ways and justify it in our thinking.  I kid you not. I do not enjoy writing this because the truth is convicting and grieves me deeply.  Why? Because I am guilty and I feel fine in saying we all are. For we all fall short and only God's free gift of His Son, His incredible mercy, His unbelievable grace, is for us to believe in and receive salvation.  

Right now my life seems pretty much to be a hectic pace of a jumbled mess.  There is no way to get everything done, I am pulled in so many directions, and I want to go back to bed bury my face in my pillow and pretend it will all go away!  Yes, the good fairy will come wave her magic wand and it will all get done.  Just as when I was a child and Santa came down the chimney to leave me just what I wanted.  Ahhh yes, this is good , let's just stay here. "Master where dwellest Thou?... Come and see..."  Lets bury our hearts and minds in God's word and we will truly know the meaning of Ahhh! sweet relief! When life is out of control is Jesus saying go follow after men? We know that is a lie we at times follow especially when life crashes in like a tidal wave. We are vulnerable to being tripped up, sucked into the undercurrent and confused into exhaustion.  Our Lord said " Come follow after Me."  "I have come so you may have life and life more abundant." To thine own self be true! Thine own self is made in the image of God and our will is in line with God's, yet self interest is like a lion seeking to destroy our very life and we go willingly like lambs being led to slaughter. Jesus went willingly in the opposite direction so we may know the path to take. I have a million and one things to get done today (or so I think) and yet my heart longs for the Ahhh!  I can work myself until I am bone tired and feel some sort of sense of accomplishment just to face a whole new list tomorrow with the same anxiety. Or I can sit with my Father and give Him control of my day and rejoice in His ways knowing It is well with my soul; for He knows the desires of my heart and the plans He has for me. Love is our anchor and God will work everything to the good according to His purpose and that is all we need.  So in conclusion, " Be anxious for nothing but in prayer and supplication let your requests be known to God and the peace that surpasses all understanding will be yours in Christ Jesus."  Learn to love the out of control hectic times, like my husband says, learn to surf! This is when you have the opportunity to shine for Christ like no other, and that is our joy.

Father, Thank You for Your incredible peace and understanding, let us rest amongst the chaos so others will see to do the same.  You alone are our rock and salvation.  Thank You for loving us, giving us Your Son so we might live. Everything we do let us do for You.  In Jesus Your  Son's name I pray. Amen

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

Determine to Rise up!

"I'm gonna walk by faith and not by sight, cause I can't see straight in the broad daylight." How true this is; life in general is about as clear as mud.  Daily we face challenges, decisions, worries, frustrations and they are there for our own good.  We for the most part just look at them wrong.  We question, compare, wonder, and even grieve over if we are doing the right thing under our given circumstances.  In Hebrews 11:18 it says of Abraham " He went out not knowing wither he went ."  Oswald Chambers points out that in the old testament personal relationship showed itself in separation as in Abraham being separated from his country and family.  Abraham trusted and followed after God.  God may very well use us in this way but many may lack true understanding of what separated unto God means.  It is not works and we try and make up for many shortcomings this way and we throw ourselves into legalism with a crushing weight of bondage and exhaustion to go along with it.  Are we determined to give others our interpretation of God or are we determined to rise up and follow after Him not knowing where it may lead?  The incredible thing here is it may not lead any further at times than your own back yard.  If we are separated unto God it will be of no difference where we are and for how long!  The only way we will ever be content is to determine to rise up and separate ourselves unto God.  Determine to follow after Christ whether it is pulling weeds in your back yard or cleaning up your toddler's face, or perhaps talking to someone in the grocery line.  We must determine our focus and let God lead.  Just guess what fruit does this produce? Contentment. The question is: how bad do we want it?

Heavenly Father help us to remember each day we give to You before our feet hit the floor and each night we owe a deep and humbling gratitude of thanks for Your presence in our day and slumber. Let us always desire but one thing and that is to be in Your presence doing Your will.  In Jesus' name I pray amen.  

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

Seek Ye First

The negative side of all our devotional books.  You mean there is one?  Well the one that is most obvious to me and the one I am guilty of is I tend to reach for them first and pretty soon I realize my bible sits beside me unopened many days at a time.  "Seek ye first, what a verse" Sarah Groves.  If we do indeed intend to have an intimate relationship with our God, then we must desire Him first, personally.  My faith and knowledge has been deepened and blessed by giants of faith such as Oswald Chambers, Brother Lawrence, Charles Spurgeon and many other pastors/people God has anointed for His purpose.  I really cannot imagine going through this life without their gift of shedding light and understanding .  The problem is, however, it is easier to grab their understanding than to get alone with my Father one on one and let Him reveal to me. He can and does use all things to reveal Himself but I often shy away from the one on one. Could it be that I am afraid of what He wants me to see?  It often seems much easier to hear from God through these giants of faith than actually believe God wants to walk with me the same way.  Not that I am going to be able to articulate it to others in some profound way that all will read someday! No, that would be a tragic goal for me to set .  I can set no goals other than my relationship being about my Father's business of doing His will in the moment "For He shall direct my path"  and if I take control I will most definitely miss out! Oh I know I do, but believe me that is when my life spins out of control into inner desolation and my bible sits upon my shelf . "The Word was, and the Word is, and the Word shall be."  It seems ironic when reading from the spiritual giants that I would turn anywhere but to the very source of their wisdom first!  If God is nudging me, maybe there are others of you that tend at times to do the same thing.  God can and does use all His creation to speak to my heart so He will indeed give me understanding and wisdom from His word and I know what He has to tell me is priceless!  May I suggest 1Cor. Ch. 3 God has much to tell us here on this subject through His servant Paul.

Heavenly Father  I thank you so for your servants who love You and devote their existence to walking with You.  It is indeed indescribable that You have given each of us that same desire, I pray we will seek it with all our hearts. Thank you for Your neverending drawing of our hearts to You. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)