Blessed by a Heart for Worship...

This week's memory verse:

"So I say, live by the spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." Galatians 5:16

I did today's Bible study and it was all about how Jesus is our best example of self control. Look to Mark 14:53-65 and Mark 15:1-5 for examples of how Jesus kept his cool in VERY trying and stressful situations...

But...I must tell you that my mind wasn't in the lesson today. I kept thinking about how lucky and blessed I am...how lucky I am to know Jesus and find myself open to reading a Bible study and getting something out of it...how lucky I am to have experiences like I had last night.

I was tired...really didn't feel like going to choir practice after a long day of work...but we have performances coming up soon and I know how important it is to show up. It was a good practice, but I was exhausted afterward. I sing in a woman's ensemble called "Hearts for Worship." There are 9 of us in the group and we all decided to buy beautiful necklaces (made by a very talented woman in our church) that have a cross in the middle of a heart..."hearts for worship." We were all excited about getting them last night, and we were passing them out after practice. Someone jokingly said we should get them all out and pray over them...and we did. One of the girls prayed a BEAUTIFUL prayer that was not as much a blessing for the jewelry as it was a blessing for each of us. We were all together...we had just been giggling and laughing and that prayer and time with those special ladies was just precious to me!

Forgive me for sharing such a long story...but I walked out of there feeling lighter, happy and not nearly as tired as when I walked in! How lucky I am to have had that experience! Just a blip of time...but such a blessing to me! I feel a bit sorry for those people in the world who do not open themselves up to God and the gifts he gives us, such as precious moments of prayer with dear friends! I will wear that necklace and remember that moment each time!

Some lyrics to a song we are singing come to mind...I come and am accepted...just as I am...

I come broken to be mended.

I come wounded to be healed.

I come desperate to be rescued.

I come empty to be filled.

I come guilty to be pardoned

By the blood of Christ the lamb.

And I'm welcomed with open arms

Praise God, just as I am!

Do I have these experiences because of my faith, or would I have happy experiences anyway? I really don't know the answer...but my heart says that because I believe and have given my heart and my life to Christ, God blesses me so I can be a blessing to others! This can happen for you too...reach out to Him...he'll take you just as you are!

Our self control can bless others...

This week's memory verse:
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Galatians 5:16

Many times in the last two years, my First Place 4 Health group has talked about how our bodies are temples of God. God LIVES in us, and therefore we should work harder to take care of our bodies. This requires that self control that I struggle so much with every day. We tend to think that our bodies are our own...we can treat it, or mistreat it any way we want. I think many of us have seen the results of that way of thinking...we don't have the energy we want...our extra weight causes extra stress on our knees, backs, and hearts....having limited self control with how we treat our bodies have caused these "temples of God" to be weaker than how God intended them to be. In many ways, this does effect our ability to connect with our God and our relationship with him.

We have been talking about how better self control can improve our own lives, but have you thought about how better self control in YOUR life can be a blessing in the lives of OTHERS?

Our world and many people in it are on the edge of losing control. It seems that it is more popular to be selfish instead of selfless. Today it's all about self-gratification...do what FEELS good! I think many of have discovered that the fun and joy that comes with this way of thinking and living is short-lived and many times gives us hard consequesnces to deal with, physically, mentally and spiritually.

Learning to control our desires and actions builds character, and leads to kindness and understanding. Someone posted a comment to yesterday's blog, stating that it sometimes helps to know that others are struggling with the same issues. When you THINK before you act, you not only better yourself, but others see this and could benefit from it as well.

If you are living a's if your body is a temple of God, you are more careful with what you put INTO it, HOW you treat it, and you learn to take care of the relationships that SUPPORT the care of that body...the people around you.

In 1Corinthians 3:18, Paul tells us not to be foolish by thinking you can be wise by staying up-to-date with the times...so we don't need to live by the "do whatever feels good" way of thinking that is popular today! THINK before you speak or act or eat...not easy to do, but very wise. Learning and developing this self control can help us in more ways than we can possibly know!

I don't know about you, but this is the way I want to live my life! I know that I will have to keep trying every day, and some days will be better than others...but I can look to God...who is living within me...for help!

My lack of Self Control...

This week's memory verse:

"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." Galatians 5:16

The majority of the problems I have in my life right now are caused by my lack of self control. While I have lost some weight in the last two years, my weight loss is a LOT slower than I would like because I have trouble controlling my cravings and weak moments. My bank account is a lot lower than I would like to see it because I lack the self control to limit the amount of impulse buying I do...and that's not even for cool clothes...it's mostly poor planning for grocery shopping. My relationship with my daughter has very rocky moments, mainly because I speak before I think, and say things that just elevate arguments and disagreements instead of alleviating them. I get stressed out at work and at church because I lack the self control not to procrastinate.

How do I overcome my issues of self control? I really wonder about that question. I mean, I THINK I am doing good things...I do daily Bible study and write this message most days...that's good, right? I work hard at my job and try to be the best librarian/supervisor I can be...that's doing what I'm supposed to, right? I am a faithful friend and try to be a good wife, mother, daughter, sister...I don't drink too much...I don't swear (well, very much anyway)...I go to church and serve as much as I can...I pray and have grown in my relationship with God and try to rely on God instead of myself more every day...If I do all these good things, my logical mind wonders why I still struggle with self control issues.

Don't you think the above thinking....that we are doing good, why do we still struggle...is shared by a great many of us? We are never going to be perfect...we will ALWAYS have areas to work on. It's part of life...trying to control our impulses is a daily struggle and always will be. It doesn't matter how "good" we are...we all struggle! Even though that thought exhausts me...it also energizes me at the same time. I have a chance every day to do better!

This isn't a new phenomenon for people my age, or even for people of our century. People for thousands of years have been struggling with self control. Again, looking in the Bible for examples and for lessons to help us with our struggles, we find many stories of people, just like ourselves, who struggled with self control.

Read 2 Samuel 13:1-19

King David's son Amnon had a problem...he was in love with his sister. (Ok...that is one that I definitely DON'T struggle with!) His friend hatched a plot to get the girl alone with Amnon...Amnon didn't argue with the plan...he didn't rely on his self control to stop him. This plan brought about a situation that ultimately ended with Amnon raping his sister! (Who said the Bible was boring reading! LOL) After that terrible event, Amnon claimed to hate his sister...what really happened was he hated himself so much for his lack of self control in this very touchy situation and he ended up taking his hatred out on his sister, the very victim of his bad behavior.

Aren't we like that too...we just CAN'T say no to that piece of cheese cake...and then HATE ourselves afterward. Our arguments with our spouses or children accelerate to yelling and screaming and we end up saying things that we regret...only to HATE ourselves afterward. Many times it's our tongues that get us into the most trouble. We just can't seem to control what we say.

Read James 3:1-8

In these verses, James talks about how hard it is to control our tongues and what we say. That little part of our bodies can cause BIG problems. Our tongues can accomplish almost anything...or destroy it! In verse 8 James says that "no man can tame the tongue." We can try and try...we can do good, we can think well of ourselves...but ultimately, we ourselves cannot control ourselves. Only God can.

Only God can control us...but we have free will right? God doesn't just reach out and grab us like puppets and make us do the right things, right? So, how can God control us? We can GIVE him control. We can learn to rely on him more often...we can surrender more of ourselves to Him. This is NOT easy! It's a struggle because our selves are very strong. I have discovered that some days are easier than others to think about God...to pray for guidance...to give Him control of situations...it takes CONSTANT effort...that's why it's so hard!

I can give myself a break in one way...I know that I will NEVER have total self control in all areas of my life...I will NEVER be perfect...I will ALWAYS have struggles. That takes the pressure off a bit...I don't have to TRY to be perfect!!! But...I can try to keep God in my thoughts more often...I can reach out to him more often BEFORE I speak...Before I eat that cheesecake...Every day of my life I can keep trying. When I give up and quit trying to do better...that's the day that I have truly failed. That means that I have not only given up on myself, but given up on God too. I don't want that for myself, and I don't want that for you either!

Are you struggling with self control today? WELCOME TO THE CLUB! God knows that we struggle with ourselves every day...He wants to help! Join me in reaching out to Him more often and learning to rely on Him more often...He doesn't want us to be perfect, He just wants us!

Dem Dry Bones...

This week's memory verse:

"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." Galatians 5:16

Yesterday was Youth Sunday at my church. The teens, the youth Praise Band and the youth pastor put together a ROCKING amazing service, based on the story of Ezekiel. I have heard the story of the "dry bones" for many years...you know that old song..."dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones..."

The song goes on to sing about how each bone is connected to another...until the whole body is put together again, covered with muscle and skin and lives again. They were just dead, dry bones before, with no hope for life...but through God's power, they became flesh again and lived! Pastor Lonnie talked yesterday about how we are the dry bones...and the world around us...our communities are just dry bones. We get so used to the bad news, wars, financial difficulties, budget cuts, violence in the streets, bullying, drugs and sex in our schools...no wonder we give up and live in pieces in this dry valley!! It's too hard to live with hope...

Well...Lonnie threw the steak in the ground and said he was DONE living a hopeless dry-bones life and I am DONE too! I don't want to continue living a life with no hope...I want to refresh these old dry bones and do what I can to be like Ezekiel and let God work through me to pick up the old dry bones around me in my community and my world and see them put together, bone by bone until they are complete, whole, revived, refreshed, and reborn!

How do I do this? First of all, I make sure my bones are following the right path. I believe that God gave us the Bible...he spoke through the many authors of this book to give us his words of guidance. The laws, decrees and precepts were given to us to help us know how to live.

Read Psalm 119:1-16

In verse 9 the author asks "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word."

I believe the Bible is like a road map with road signs clearly posted along the way. Some of us are better map readers than others, but if you look closely enough at a map, you can usually find your way. But...if you don't follow the map or even ask for directions...you could very easily get lost. It's up to us to read the map...it's up to us to follow it's marked paths. Too many of us in this world have thrown the map out the window and are blazing our own trails...only to find unfinished roads and detours and danger. Usually it's those unmarked paths that lead to the valley of the dry bones! WHAT A HOPELESS WAY TO LIVE!

In verses 14-16 the Psalmist says that he will rejoice in God's statutes, precepts and decrees like riches...meditate on them...delight in them and not neglect them. Can we, people living in 2011, look to the Bible and the way Jesus taught us to live with joy? Can we value God's advice and teachings more than our valuables? More than our phones...cars...houses...more than even our families? Can we in this modern age learn to rely on God to mark out our paths for us instead of blazing our own trails?

Perhaps you think that God is dead is this modern world...maybe you look at tragedies such as what is going on Japan now and wonder how a good God could let that happen...maybe you are in the valley along with all the other dry bones, thinking that the world is a hopeless mess...ya live, ya suffer and then ya die! Well...I say YOU ARE WRONG!

I know the joy I feel when I meditate on God's words and let his peace fall over me like rain...I don't know how it works or how I can let go of depression that overcomes me sometimes...I just know that it goes away and it's replaced with peace. I see how God works THROUGH a tragedy...and brings good from it. I don't understand it, but I sure do grab ahold of it and keep that thought in my heart!

Are you feeling dry? Do you see the dry bones around you? Stop looking at them and reach out to God! Live by the Holy Spirit...ask him to come into your heart...ask him to quench the dryness and watch those dry bones come together and come to life! If you do that then you will hear what it sounds like to sing heaven's song...you will know what it feels like when heaven comes down...you will know what it looks like when God is all around...Let it come!

Finding rest...Ahhh...

This week's memory verse:

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:29

Rest....do you get enough of it? While you might get enough sleep.. does your brain rest? There are so many things to worry about...the situation in Japan, riots and wars around the world, rising gas prices that cause prices of everything else to rise as well, unemployment, violence and drugs and sex in our schools and on our streets, struggles in our marriages and other relationships...how do we EVER find rest in our minds and souls???

If you ask me how I find rest in all of that and more within my very busy and hectic life...I have learned (and still am learning!) to turn to the Bible, the lessons it teaches me and to my God who gives me strength. Just seeing those words...it seems too easy to be true. But, I am here to tell you that I HAVE found peace and rest in my life in just that way.

In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says "come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." These are not just words...they are a promise. If you look toward God for help, he has given us Jesus to be our strength. He is able to carry our burdens easily. Our memory verse talks of a yoke. A yoke can be a devise placed on two load-bearing animals to link them together, giving more power to pull more weight. A yoke can also be a frame fitted to a person's shoulders to carry a load in two equal portions. Either way, a yoke is designed to make lifting a load easier. Jesus is saying "take my yoke upon you..." He is offering to be linked with you...taking some of the load from you...making lifting that heavy burden you are carrying easier for you.

I love the Message translation of our memory verse..."Walk with me and work with me. Watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you." Many times, a lot of the pain and weight, and pressure we are carrying around we have caused ourselves. I put a lot of pressure on myself to live a "right" life...being everything to everyone...busy, busy, busy. And some of us have allowed religious "rules" and regulations and rituals to put SO MUCH pressure on us that guilt is sure to follow us when we can't live up to the strict standard set for us. If we look to Jesus...how he handled those situations, we will see that even he didn't live that way....although he WAS sinless.

Read Matthew 12:3-13. While the Pharisees were trying to trip him up, Jesus gives examples and quotes scripture back to them to prove them wrong...especially about serving others on the sabbath.We have rules and laws to guide us and protect us...God gave us guidelines on how to live to protect us and also to allow us to live in a way that would give Him glory. There are times we need to hold the line and obey the rules...BUT, as Jesus taught above, there are also times we need to bend as well. How do we know when to hold the line and when to bend??? Go to God and let Him lead you. That's what He wants...for us to rely on Him! When we do that...THEN we can find rest and peace.

Dear God, I am still learning to look to You in all situations. Many times I still hold on to my worries and burdens and responsibilities. Help me to be open to You and to your teachings. Help me to know when to bend and when to hold the line. Help my friends learn these important lessons too. Being yoked to you will help us carry our loads easier, giving us the rest and peace we need and desire. Thank you for teaching us you have a plan for us! Amen.

A gentle attitude in a gloomy world...

This week's memory verse:

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:29

Ok...strange thing happened this morning. When I checked Facebook first thing this morning, I read a posting from a friend, which was actually a news article about a man who claims to be happy in this life. The article was stating that this man was basically out of his mind, because science has proven that even though we want it, we will NEVER be happy in our lives...there is too much hurt, disappointment, pain and destruction in the world to ever be truly happy. What a depressing way to start the day, right? This article had me getting upset and even a little angry...I mean what's the matter with aiming to be happy? What's wrong with trying to be optimistic? Why is a person with a optimistic outlook on life looked as a freak in this world?

Then I read my devotional for the day, which is still focused on learning to be gentle. In 2 Timothy 2:14-26, Paul addresses false teachers and preachers of doom and gloom, such as these.

Verse 14: we are warned not to quarrel about words. So arguing with a person who believes the world is doomed to unhappiness is worthless...we aren't going to change their minds with our words, so it is better not to say anything. Arguing usually just leads to people saying hurtful things that later they regret.

Verse 16: we are to avoid "godless chatter". Reading and getting upset about an article I read that was clearly written by someone who doesn't have God in their hearts seems pointless, doesn't it? It only upset me...they don't care about my feelings, so why should I focus on such negativity?

Verses 17-18: Paul mentions avoiding the preachings of false teachers, and then mentions two people by name, Hymenaeus and Philetus. I looked up these two men. They were early Christians who were claiming things that were going against the teachings of Christ. They were taking Christian principles and twisting them with their own thoughts. Paul urged people to be careful not to be led astray by people with such strange ideas...listening and following them could damage a person's faith. So, if I listened and focused on those negative doom and gloom people that say that happiness is dead, I could easily start believing them and be pulled away from the faith I hold dear.

In verses 22-25, Paul gives some other instruction on how to learn to be a gentle person...putting his words into my own...we are to learn to avoid self-indulgence and instant gratification, staying focused on God instead of ourselves. We shouldn't worry about winning arguments, and think we have to be "right" in all discussions and disagreements. Learning to listen, really listen to the opinions and beliefs of others might give us insight into their souls, and help us understand them better. We need to be gentle with people, ALL people, even those we disagree with, but firmly and patiently lead by our actions and by our example. We don't know when God might choose to work on changing someone's heart!

So...what lesson did I learn today? Let the negative people talk about how terrible the world is...let them believe there is no such thing as happiness...let them believe in the doom and gloom...I KNOW WHAT I BELIEVE...I KNOW WHERE MY HAPPINESS COMES FROM!!! They can't take that away from me, especially if I don't listen to their talk! I will just continue to be who I am...smile and make them wonder where that smile comes from!

Dear God, thank you for making me the person I am, and thank you for the amazing work you have done in my life! Even though I may not have all the things I want I this life, you have enabled me to keep my happy, optimistic attitude. I pray for those in this world who don't know you, and don't have you to draw happiness from. I am thankful for your forgiveness and renewal in my life. May I smile and let your light shine in me so that others may see and be drawn to you. Amen.

THe Gentleness of the Spirit...

This week's memory verse:

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:29

I have been going to church in some way my whole life, and the idea of a "holy spirit" or "holy ghost" has always confused me a bit, and I never really understood it. It has only been in the last few years that I have studied, read about it and have come to understand this concept a little more. But, I have a feeling that even though I didn't understand it, God's spirit has been living in me, guiding me, teaching me me and comforting me for years.Since we have been talking about gentleness this week, it is fitting to discuss the gentleness of the Holy Spirit as part of God's plan for communicating and being with his children on earth.

In John 14:16-18, Jesus speaks about the Holy Spirit as a friend, an advocate, called the Spirit of Truth that will be with us forever. When he said this, he was talking with the disciples the night of the last supper. He knew his time with his friends was coming to an end and wanted to comfort, reassure, and prepare them for when he was gone. This act in itself was an act of gentleness and demonstrated how much Jesus cared for his disciples, and for us as well.

Jesus also said that the world doesn't understand the Spirit because they can't see him or know him. People who either don't believe in Jesus, in God or perhaps are searching for what they do believe, may not get the whole idea of a Holy Spirit living in us. I admit, it does sound a bit spooky doesn't it?

But, Jesus realized that this concept may be misunderstood and taught us more about what the Spirit does for us and for God in this world.

John 14:26 - Jesus said that the Spirit will teach us and remind us of the lessons that he taught during his time on earth.

John 16:8 - the Spirit will expose the error of the godless world's view of sin, righteousness and judgment. (could this be why I get so upset when I hear of how much hate, murder, prejudice, mistreatment, unfairness, and other sin there is in my community and in my world? Could the Spirit be leading me to feel how much our world is different to God's vision for his creation?)

John 16:14 - the Spirit glorifies God. He takes lessons from God and delivers it to us.

It comforts me to think of the Spirit of God living in me every minute of my day, teaching me, guiding me, leading me to recognize my sin, comforting me and reminding me of God's promises through Jesus. Don't you think this mirror's the gentleness of our God? He doesn't force us to follow him, believe in him or love him. But when we do believe, God sends us a friend to live with us and be God in our every day.

Father God, thank you for showing me and helping me to better understand your gift of the Holy Spirit. I ask that you allow the Spirit to shine through me so others will see You in me, bringing You the glory that people can see. Amen.