Nothing like diving from the frying pan into the fire. From Hebrews to James. Here are some thoughts on James 1.
1. God does allow the testing of our faith....uhm see Job... and it matures me.
2. I cannot waiver between belief and unbelief. I will not survive, much less thrive, as a Christian if I do.
3. Temptation is from within. I make the final decision as to if I will sin or not.
4. Verse 26 - If I think if myself as religious and can't or don't bridle my tongue, I deceive myself and my religion is useless. W-O-W!
5. Part of my pure religion is to keep myself unspotted from the world. I am concerned about our generation and culture. It appears to me that we are willing to look a whole lot like the world to save the world, and somewhere in the mix, we all get lost.
Your turn.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
HEBREWS 13
I have finished Hebrews. Here are some thoughts on chapter 13:
1. " I will never leave you or forsake you"
2. I can say the Lord is my helper!
3. PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE!
Hope you have joined in the reading. Next up... James. I have already read chapter 1 and oh what a blessing it is!
1. " I will never leave you or forsake you"
2. I can say the Lord is my helper!
3. PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE!
Hope you have joined in the reading. Next up... James. I have already read chapter 1 and oh what a blessing it is!
Friday, December 4, 2009
HEBREWS 12
Hope you are getting in there and reading along with me. Your insight is invaluable and encouraging. Chapter 12...
1. "lay aside" - I choose to put it away, to cast off the sin that entangles me. I CHOOSE.
2. I NEED to be trained, to be disciplined, to endure and run this race. Believe me I need it.
3. I need to stand up and walk in the path that is lit for me and you need to stand up and walk in the path that is lit for you.
4. My God is A-L-I-V-E!
5. God is going to get into everything I am. He is going to get in all my business, consume me totally before He is done. Praise His holy name for that! No part of me can be held secret from Him that he won't eventually deal with.
We will resume on Monday. Have a great weekend!
1. "lay aside" - I choose to put it away, to cast off the sin that entangles me. I CHOOSE.
2. I NEED to be trained, to be disciplined, to endure and run this race. Believe me I need it.
3. I need to stand up and walk in the path that is lit for me and you need to stand up and walk in the path that is lit for you.
4. My God is A-L-I-V-E!
5. God is going to get into everything I am. He is going to get in all my business, consume me totally before He is done. Praise His holy name for that! No part of me can be held secret from Him that he won't eventually deal with.
We will resume on Monday. Have a great weekend!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
HEBREWS 11
I know Hebrews is a biggy in the rank of books. It is full of so much that you could go on forever about it, so please don't take my brevity as ignorance of the jewel that is Hebrews. I am just posting what speaks to me today. Honestly, I could go back and re-read these same chapters in six months and have completely different stuff jump out at me.
1. If I am going to come to God I MUST BELIEVE that He IS....
alive, faithful, just, caring, compassionate, patient, for my good, for His glory, and so on. I have to believe that He is all He says He is in His word.
2. I may not see the earthly reward. I may only see it far off, in my minds eye and the promises of scripture. I need to embrace the eternal, to know, accept, and delight in the fact that my reward, my praise, my accolades may not come to fruition in this life, but they will in the eternal one.
3. FAITH
All right, you are on deck...swing away!
1. If I am going to come to God I MUST BELIEVE that He IS....
alive, faithful, just, caring, compassionate, patient, for my good, for His glory, and so on. I have to believe that He is all He says He is in His word.
2. I may not see the earthly reward. I may only see it far off, in my minds eye and the promises of scripture. I need to embrace the eternal, to know, accept, and delight in the fact that my reward, my praise, my accolades may not come to fruition in this life, but they will in the eternal one.
3. FAITH
All right, you are on deck...swing away!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
HEBREWS 10
As I continue my random blogs on Hebrews, I am now into chapter 10. Here are a few things that spoke to me. I would love to hear what speaks to you from this book:)
1. The law can't make me (or you ) perfect.
2. The law is dead. Christ offers a new and LIVING way. (Not that we don't keep the law, but keeping the law, well see #1)
3.I am to draw near with a true heart. A heart full of the assurance my faith in Christ offers.
4. I am to NEVER think of Christ's death as a common thing, never taken for granted.
5. I am to endure. Not just survive, but pushing forward with a hopeful expectation. Not backing down, not cowering.
Looking forward to hearing from you. Be blessed today!
1. The law can't make me (or you ) perfect.
2. The law is dead. Christ offers a new and LIVING way. (Not that we don't keep the law, but keeping the law, well see #1)
3.I am to draw near with a true heart. A heart full of the assurance my faith in Christ offers.
4. I am to NEVER think of Christ's death as a common thing, never taken for granted.
5. I am to endure. Not just survive, but pushing forward with a hopeful expectation. Not backing down, not cowering.
Looking forward to hearing from you. Be blessed today!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
FINISH FAITHFUL
Still in Hebrews. I have been reading chapter 3 over a few times. I found myself skimming 3-6 so I decided to go back AGAIN. Two verses that have struck me from this chapter are 3:14 & 19.
They go wonderfully together.
Verse 14
For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.
Verse 19
So we see that they (Israelites in the wilderness) could not enter in because of their unbelief.
It does not matter how far you run your race, you have to finish. It does not matter if you get to the edge of your promise land, you have to finish. It does not matter if you served the Lord as a child and walked away as an adult, you have to finish.
What causes us to not finish? Unbelief.Unbelief for the big stuff. Unbelief for the little stuff. Unbelief because things did not go how we thought they would have, or should have, or could have. Unbelief because the life we thought we were going to have did not come to pass. Unbelief because we got our feelings hurt, we got ignored, we got humiliated by man and we think God will do the same. Unbelief that starts chipping away at us from the get go. Unbelief that can be traced right up to the very start. Unbelief is sneaky. It may disguise itself as "realistic" or "grounded". It tells us that it is just the way things are and there is nothing we can do about it. It clings to our legs and weighs us down as we run our race. It tries to convince us we can not finish and there is no point in trying. But there is a point in trying. To become partakers with Christ. To see all His glorious works completed. To be standing there on that day and hear the words good and faithful. Unbelief tries to steal that from us. It tells us of a god who is not faithful. It tells us of a god who is not good. That is not God.
Is the race hard? Yes, at times it is. Are there hills and valleys? Yes, there are. We will be tempted to quit? Many times. Quit our marriages, quit our ministries, quit our kids and our families. We must hold onto to Christ as desperately as we did in the moment we surrendered to Him. Hold on till the very end. Our reward is on the other side of that finish line. We must cross it wearing the colors of our King. Bloodied and scrapped up, but clothed in His righteousness.
Finish faithful my friends. FINISH FAITHFUL!
They go wonderfully together.
Verse 14
For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.
Verse 19
So we see that they (Israelites in the wilderness) could not enter in because of their unbelief.
It does not matter how far you run your race, you have to finish. It does not matter if you get to the edge of your promise land, you have to finish. It does not matter if you served the Lord as a child and walked away as an adult, you have to finish.
What causes us to not finish? Unbelief.Unbelief for the big stuff. Unbelief for the little stuff. Unbelief because things did not go how we thought they would have, or should have, or could have. Unbelief because the life we thought we were going to have did not come to pass. Unbelief because we got our feelings hurt, we got ignored, we got humiliated by man and we think God will do the same. Unbelief that starts chipping away at us from the get go. Unbelief that can be traced right up to the very start. Unbelief is sneaky. It may disguise itself as "realistic" or "grounded". It tells us that it is just the way things are and there is nothing we can do about it. It clings to our legs and weighs us down as we run our race. It tries to convince us we can not finish and there is no point in trying. But there is a point in trying. To become partakers with Christ. To see all His glorious works completed. To be standing there on that day and hear the words good and faithful. Unbelief tries to steal that from us. It tells us of a god who is not faithful. It tells us of a god who is not good. That is not God.
Is the race hard? Yes, at times it is. Are there hills and valleys? Yes, there are. We will be tempted to quit? Many times. Quit our marriages, quit our ministries, quit our kids and our families. We must hold onto to Christ as desperately as we did in the moment we surrendered to Him. Hold on till the very end. Our reward is on the other side of that finish line. We must cross it wearing the colors of our King. Bloodied and scrapped up, but clothed in His righteousness.
Finish faithful my friends. FINISH FAITHFUL!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
SEEING
I have been reading in Hebrews. I have read the whole thing but felt I needed to go back and reread it again. I had this great idea for a post, out of Hebrews chapter 2, verse 8, but when I reread the section, it was clear it did not mean what I thought it did the first time, at least not fully. However, it has sparked some meditation on my part.
7 " You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet ".
8 In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.
9 But we see Jesus....
Hebrews 2:7-9 (NIV)
As I read this, I was reminded of was the fact that everything IS under Christ's feet. Everything. Everything yesterday. Everything today. Everything tomorrow. He is still the same God and He is still the same Jesus He was after He denied my request as He was before I made it. They're still the same Trinity they were after you got that bad, that life shattering, forever changing news as they were before. They are the same on Monday when your world fell apart or at the least got chipped away at a little bit as they were on Sunday morning when you were singing your favorite hymn or praise song. They are the same when I have had worry and fear bang at my door; the same when the way I thought was going to work out did not and I burst into tears.
Everything is under their feet. Nothing gets the upper hand with them. (If you have studied Esther with Beth Moore then that phrase "upper hand" will be familiar.)
This week that has given me peace. It has given me courage to take the steps He has called me to. It has given me hope.
I don't see everything subjected to my will, and praise the Lord for that, because I am yet to be perfected. We don't see the world as was planned out in the Garden of Eden. We see men fail and sin abound. However, that is not all we see. We see Jesus, and everything is subjected to Him for He is perfect.
With all we see in the world, let us be deliberate in seeing Jesus.
9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
Hebrews 2:9 (NIV)
7 " You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet ".
8 In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.
9 But we see Jesus....
Hebrews 2:7-9 (NIV)
As I read this, I was reminded of was the fact that everything IS under Christ's feet. Everything. Everything yesterday. Everything today. Everything tomorrow. He is still the same God and He is still the same Jesus He was after He denied my request as He was before I made it. They're still the same Trinity they were after you got that bad, that life shattering, forever changing news as they were before. They are the same on Monday when your world fell apart or at the least got chipped away at a little bit as they were on Sunday morning when you were singing your favorite hymn or praise song. They are the same when I have had worry and fear bang at my door; the same when the way I thought was going to work out did not and I burst into tears.
Everything is under their feet. Nothing gets the upper hand with them. (If you have studied Esther with Beth Moore then that phrase "upper hand" will be familiar.)
This week that has given me peace. It has given me courage to take the steps He has called me to. It has given me hope.
I don't see everything subjected to my will, and praise the Lord for that, because I am yet to be perfected. We don't see the world as was planned out in the Garden of Eden. We see men fail and sin abound. However, that is not all we see. We see Jesus, and everything is subjected to Him for He is perfect.
With all we see in the world, let us be deliberate in seeing Jesus.
9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
Hebrews 2:9 (NIV)
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