Can I be real with you today?
I've struggled with an eating disorder in the past. I was really good at hiding it and nobody knew for a long time. I don't know if you've ever experienced not having food in your system, but it's a really strange feeling. Very empty.
In the same way, we can go without spiritual nourishment for a long time and nobody would notice. We know all the things to say, songs to sing, and t-shirts to wear. But it's a strange feeling. Very empty.
Note: Your salvation is not based on how much you read your Bible.
Please understand there is a difference between justification -- how you stand before God in faith, washed in the sacrificial blood of Christ -- and sanctification -- how you stand before man being made into the likeness of Christ. We are speaking in terms of sanctification today.
It is through the Word of God that we get to know God the Father, from His creation of the world to His deep love for us and desire to send us a Savior from the very first moment we were in need of a Savior (Genesis 3:15). It is through the Word of God that we get to know God the Son, from His incredibly humble birth to His death on the tree that should have held each one of us. It is through the Word of God that we get to know God the Holy Spirit, from His coming throughout Scripture to the arrival at Pentecost and now His presence with us and in us today.
"Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O LORD, God of hosts." -- Jeremiah 15:16.
Jeremiah speaks of eating the Word here. In the New Testament Paul speaks of feeding the churches he writes to, whether they be new believers in need of spiritual milk or mature believers with solid food. The food is the Word of God.
Friends, we have the Word of God at our fingertips. Many of us have multiple ways to access one throughout the day -- be it my regular one, the smaller one I have in my purse, or even using the Internet. If you're super cool and have a smart phone you have access hiding in your pocket at this very moment. In calling it the "Word of God", that's exactly what it is. These are the words that God, THEE God, the great I AM, spoke. These are His words. He used men throughout history to pen these words, but they were instruments in the process much like a pencil would be an instrument in you writing a letter. These are His words.
I write these words to you today because much like it's easy to fall back into an eating disorder, it's easy to put off my need for spiritual nourishment. It's easy to let my devos slide for the day, or just read a chapter to cross it off the to-do list. But these words bring life!
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." --Matthew 5:6
Are you hungry today? Or are you too empty to feel hunger anymore? I pray that God would give you a hunger and thirst for the true bread of life today.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
That You May Be Filled...
Do you ever feel like your brothers and sisters in Christ just don't have the passion you'd like to see them have? Or, maybe you don't feel like your church has the New Testament like testimony it should in the world?
I have.
My small group just started into the book of Colossians last night. As I read through the first chapter, I was convicted. And I share this with you, not to convict you, but to encourage you, to follow the example of Paul.
Verses 9-12 of Colossians chapter one says; "...we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light."
As I read these verses I was convicted because, when I see things lacking in others, or my church, I rarely take it to prayer. And if I do it's something like; 'God, they need to change, so please do it, according to Your will.' Which isn't bad, but in that, my heart isn't crying out for their wellbeing.
Could we, in an effort to see change in those whom we love as other parts of the body of Christ, pray for those around us, and each other, in this way? I wonder what may change around us in the next month if we partake in heartfelt, uplifting prayer for our brothers and sisters in Christ?
Who's up for giving this a go?
I have.
My small group just started into the book of Colossians last night. As I read through the first chapter, I was convicted. And I share this with you, not to convict you, but to encourage you, to follow the example of Paul.
Verses 9-12 of Colossians chapter one says; "...we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light."
As I read these verses I was convicted because, when I see things lacking in others, or my church, I rarely take it to prayer. And if I do it's something like; 'God, they need to change, so please do it, according to Your will.' Which isn't bad, but in that, my heart isn't crying out for their wellbeing.
Could we, in an effort to see change in those whom we love as other parts of the body of Christ, pray for those around us, and each other, in this way? I wonder what may change around us in the next month if we partake in heartfelt, uplifting prayer for our brothers and sisters in Christ?
Who's up for giving this a go?
Monday, December 3, 2012
I Like to be Comfortable
I like to be comfortable. Sweatpants and t-shirts are my favorite. Dressing up isn't my thing. I also really enjoy the soft flannel sheets on our bed. It's not uncommon for one of my first thoughts in the morning to be, "Ugh. I'm so comfortable; can't I just stay in here for a little longer?" I prefer to take long car trips in my husband's Ford Focus instead of our Chevy Prism because it is a more comfortable ride. No doubt about it, I like to be comfortable.
I've been thinking a lot more about comfort lately. And not just physical comfort like my attire and bed sheets. Comfort in the spiritual sense; in where my heart is aligned with the will of God. To be honest, I like my life right now. I've finally come to a place where I can say that I enjoy living in Beulah. I absolutely love my husband and our little boy. I am grateful for the friends I have nearby and faraway. I am comfortable.
But lately, I've been struggling with if God wants me to stay that way. I've been wondering if God is getting ready to stretch me out of my comfort zone. And that terrifies me. Completely terrifies me.
Tonight as I set out to tackle a small hill of dishes, I pulled up a sermon from my pastor back home in Sioux Falls, Pastor Kirk Flaa. His message from November 4 was entitled "Jonah the Runner: Running in the Storm" and was about, you guessed it, Jonah. A man that if you would have asked me back in elementary school, I would boldly declare that I would never be like Jonah. (Who really runs from doing something God told them to do?) Unfortunately, as I've grown up, I've realized how like Jonah I tend to be.
I know that in the midst of busy work schedules, looming final exams, kids who seem to need constant attention and meals to cook, it can be difficult to find time to listen to a 30 minute sermon. But if you have time to surf Facebook, read this blog, and pin a couple of craft ideas on Pintrest, you have time to listen to this sermon. Even if you don't, I encourage you to set aside the time:
So Jonah did what most of us would probably do: he ran away.
I was challenged tonight to consider if I am running. Sometimes it is so difficult to be certain of God's call - how do we know that He is calling us to such and such a task? But when the call comes and I am certain that the call is from my LORD, am I going to answer as Jonah did? Or am I going to answer in faith - stepping out of my comfortable, complacent life to follow that call, leaning on strength that can come only from Him? I hope to say that I will follow His call . . . but I really like to be comfortable.
I've been thinking a lot more about comfort lately. And not just physical comfort like my attire and bed sheets. Comfort in the spiritual sense; in where my heart is aligned with the will of God. To be honest, I like my life right now. I've finally come to a place where I can say that I enjoy living in Beulah. I absolutely love my husband and our little boy. I am grateful for the friends I have nearby and faraway. I am comfortable.
But lately, I've been struggling with if God wants me to stay that way. I've been wondering if God is getting ready to stretch me out of my comfort zone. And that terrifies me. Completely terrifies me.
Tonight as I set out to tackle a small hill of dishes, I pulled up a sermon from my pastor back home in Sioux Falls, Pastor Kirk Flaa. His message from November 4 was entitled "Jonah the Runner: Running in the Storm" and was about, you guessed it, Jonah. A man that if you would have asked me back in elementary school, I would boldly declare that I would never be like Jonah. (Who really runs from doing something God told them to do?) Unfortunately, as I've grown up, I've realized how like Jonah I tend to be.
I know that in the midst of busy work schedules, looming final exams, kids who seem to need constant attention and meals to cook, it can be difficult to find time to listen to a 30 minute sermon. But if you have time to surf Facebook, read this blog, and pin a couple of craft ideas on Pintrest, you have time to listen to this sermon. Even if you don't, I encourage you to set aside the time:
http://knowingthesavior.org/sermons/sermon/view/?id=63As I listened to this message, I was challenged with the thought that Jonah was becoming complacent as a prophet of God. He was becoming comfortable where he was; comfortable in his current service to God. And so God calls Jonah to go to the Assyrians, some of the cruelest, most wicked Gentiles out there. He called Jonah to travel 600 miles away from his comfortable, complacent ministry in his comfortable home. What God was calling Jonah to was not an easy task -- it was extremely difficult. The call was not one that Jonah would be able to accomplish in his own strength. It would be one in which he must fall completely dependently into the arms of the Lord, drawing from His strength.
So Jonah did what most of us would probably do: he ran away.
I was challenged tonight to consider if I am running. Sometimes it is so difficult to be certain of God's call - how do we know that He is calling us to such and such a task? But when the call comes and I am certain that the call is from my LORD, am I going to answer as Jonah did? Or am I going to answer in faith - stepping out of my comfortable, complacent life to follow that call, leaning on strength that can come only from Him? I hope to say that I will follow His call . . . but I really like to be comfortable.
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