Fear of Making Mistakes - Wasting God's Gifts

I made an important decision today. My children have given me many beautiful journals. They know I keep a journal and I have for many years. But I have been afraid to use them because they were so pretty and I didn't want to mess them up with my horrible penmanship!

But I got to thinking those journals were given to me to use not to admire. And though I do admire them, I am going to use them. I will make mistakes, I will have some scrawling. I will have bad grammar and punctuation and spelling. But I will use them.

I think life is like that too sometimes. We are so afraid we are going to mess up or make a mistake that we miss opportunities for many good things. Think about it. Haven't you ever missed a deadline to do something you really wanted to do because you waited too long, afraid you might mess up?

I don't want to miss out on any opportunities. And I don't want to waste the gifts I've been given. If I mess up, I mess up. That's what erasers are for. Jesus erased our sins and He knows we are going to mess up. But when we mess up, we 'fess up and get up and go on!

I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The Love Letter - Making The Word Personal

Every thing that Jesus says is precious to me. I hang on His every word. Sometimes I am like a little kid because I am constantly either thinking or saying, "Jesus said...".

 Jesus  tells me not to let my heart be troubled. He doesn't want me to worry.

He told me that if I love Him I would keep His word and then He and the Heavenly Father will love me too and they will make their home with me!

Jesus told me that even though He went away, He sent the precious Holy Spirit to live in me. That special Spirit teaches me, helps me,  and causes me to remember what Jesus says. He is always with me! I am never alone!


(Based on the 14th Chapter of John)

Wise Cracks and Cracked Pots

Snarky, wisecracking comments are insulting remarks disguised as humor. They are always critical and can wound : "Well, duh!" "Wow", "Really?, "If you didn't ... you wouldn't ..."


The fact of the matter is that God is the potter and we are the clay. He makes all of us and we are all different. (Isaiah 64:8 And yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.)

Wise cracks can indeed crack pots!

The Gift of Free Will

The Psalmist declares that we are fearfully and wonderfully made and we are! (Psalms 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made: your works are wonderful, I know that full well.)

God has blessed us with wonderful bodies. He has given us wonderful abilities. He has given us the power to think and make choices from the simple to the complex.

Yet the most important gift of all is the gift of free will.  The most important act of free will is where we choose to spend eternity. Jesus is the only way to Heaven and our Heavenly Father.

Haven't there been opportunities you've missed because you didn't make a decision in time?  See what I mean? Not choosing is still choosing,  just not in time.

 Jesus is a gentleman and will only go where He invited. Is He  knocking on the door of your heart? Will you let Him in? (Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

Make a decision to follow Christ today.  No one has the promise of tomorrow!

Little Things and Big Things

Many years ago I had and encounter with the Lord that changed the way I thought about prayer. I had read something about "Practicing the presence of God." and thinking about Proverbs 3:6 which says, " In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths."

So one day while I was doing the dishes and looking out my window I said a simple prayer. It went something like this, "Lord, I don't feel spiritual right now but I know that you are here with me and I acknowledge your presence." All at once it was if my window changed into a road map. Then the Lord spoke to me. "Do you see the big lines?" "Yes Lord." "Those are your major decisions which you do pray about." "Do you see the little lines?" "Yes, Lord." "Those are the little decisions. I want to be in all of your decisions."

That was so powerful to me. It made me realize that the Lord wants to be intimate with us. He loves us so much that He wants to be in constant in fellowship with us.

Through that encounter I learned that when I pray about the little things and I see those prayers answered, it is easier to believe He answers the big things too!

Ya Can't Know What Ya Don't Know But What Ya Don't Know Can Kill You!

Hosea 4:6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.

The book of Proverbs is filled with the comparisons of wisdom and ignorance.

 In Proverbs chapter seven we can see destruction that ignorance causes.

We are taught in the first part of that chapter to store up wisdom. Following the instructions to store up and keep wisdom is a story of a foolish young man.  He walks around in the dark with no purpose or direction. He is deceived and seduced and finally his ignorance causes his death.

But we can see in Proverbs 4:20-22 the life giving  power of learning and keeping the Word in our heart.

Proverbs 4:20-22 My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight; keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.

See what I mean? You can't know what you don't know. But what you don't know can kill you!

Agendas - Hidden or Godly

Sometimes, we think we know what the best course of action is.  But the prophet Jeremiah said that our hearts were wicked and deceitful and we can't even know it!   So how can we know what the right thing to do is?  

There are some hallmarks:

1.) Are we seeking the Lord?

2.) Are we being impatient or patient?

 3.) Are we willing to accept an answer that we may not understand or like?

 1.) Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Isaiah 55:6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.

2.) Psalms 27:14 Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. Galatians 5:23 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness..

3.). Proverbs 3:5- 6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.  Proverbs 17:3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,  But the LORD tests the hearts.

Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. 
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

Guide Lines Or Prison Bars - How Much Is Too Much?

I had a random thought this morning. How many people in this world are trying to alter their appearance? We wear make up, wax our lips and eyebrows.  We even cut and color our hair. Many people have body piercings and tattoos. Then there are the more drastic things that are prevalent as well.

Psalms 139:14 says, "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made!  Marvelous are Your works,  And that my soul knows very well.

If God made us in His image and we are fearfully and wonderfully made, where do we draw the line on how much is too much?

Well that depends. Are we talking about drawing the line for ourselves or others. The truth is that we are to work out our own salvation. We can't learn for other people.

So if we are drawing the line on how much is too much for ourselves,  it becomes a guideline, but when we are trying to "draw the line" for someone else it becomes a prison which keeps us from opportunities of ministry and friendship.

 Philippians 2:11-13King James Version (KJV) ¹¹ And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ¹² Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. ¹³ For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

 

So are we keeping things within the lines of God's love or are we in the prison of our own stubborn mindset?

 

 

Birds Of A Feather

My momma used to say, "Birds of a feather flock together." Although that is not a quote from the Bible there is truth in it!

Proverbs 13:20 says, "Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm."

I have seen this very thing happen. Chances are you have too. A person makes a confession of faith, but they do not separate themselves from those who were a bad influence on them. Before you know it they are right back to their old ways.

Like Jesus, we too will be around sinners.  There people are at work, or at school. We even have those in our families who are non-believers.  But our closest friends should be of the household of faith.*

*Matthew 9:10  Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners.

*Hebrews 10:24-25 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good    And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

 

Voices and Choices - Who Ya Gonna Listen To?

Many of us have seen the cartoon picture of the little angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. Maybe that isn't so far off. 

Here's what I mean:

 In Proverbs 9:3-6  (Wisdom is calling),  She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come. She calls out from the heights overlooking the city. “Come in with me,” she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgment, she says, “Come, eat of my bread  And drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways behind, and begin to live; learn to use good judgment.”

Later on in that same chapter we see the foolish woman cry out too. Proverbs 9:16-18   “Come in with me,” she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgment, she says, “Stolen water is refreshing; food eaten in secret tastes the best! "But little do they know that the dead are there. Her guests are in the depths of the grave.

Both wisdom and the foolish woman cry out to us. They both recognize a lack of good judgment.

Wisdom wants to give us a nourishing meal and teach us. The foolish woman wants to give us a deceitful snack and kill us.

Jesus is the only Way  the to the Father,  He is the absolute Truth and the Bread of Life. Satan comes to steal, kill, deceive and destroy.

*John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

 *John 6:35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 

 

*John 8:44For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

 

*John 10:10The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

 

Who ya gonna listen to?

Voices in the Wind

There are many voices in the wind. Everywhere you look there are cute and catchy phrases that stick in our minds.  But if one takes a moment to look closely at the origin of some of these ideas it becomes clear they are very ungodly! Their roots are in witchcraft, astrology, fortune telling, self-helps and pride.

Satan is the prince of the power of the air.  He has many tools. Television, internet, and radio for example. He appeals to our intellect and our quest for knowledge and power.  It was his original scheme.* He and his minions also can transform themselves as angels of light.*

*Genesis 3:5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

II Corinthians 11:13-14 These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

It may take a little time to research what we hear and see, but oh how we need to before we subscribe to those philosophies that seem like such a good idea and pass them along as truth!

Proverbs 14:15 The simple believes every word,  But the prudent considers well his step.