Tuesday, June 16, 2015

The Struggle

    I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. (Rom 15:30-32 NIV)

Monday, June 15, 2015

The struggle

I am bent over and racked with pain. My days are filled with grief. I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart. You know what I long for, Lord; you hear my every sigh. My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease. Even my own family stands at a distance. Meanwhile, my enemies lay traps for me; they make plans to ruin me. They think up treacherous deeds all day long. But I am deaf to all their threats. I am silent before them as one who cannot speak. I choose to hear nothing, and I make no reply. For I am waiting for you, O LORD. You must answer for me, O Lord my God. (Psa 38:6,8-9,11-15 NLT)

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Trust Him

    God is always good. People are not.
  • People are sometimes mean. God is not.

    Did I miss anything?

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. I trust in you, my God! Do not let me be disgraced, or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat. No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced, but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others. Show me the path where I should walk, O LORD; point out the right road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. (Psa 25:1-5 NLT) 

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Love

The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life--only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." At these words the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?" But others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" (John 10:17-21 NIV)

Monday, June 8, 2015

A Different Weapon

  • An illusionist (a.k.a. magician) distracts you from what is really happening and keeps your attention on what you think is happening. Then, when the act is over, you wonder what happened.

    We have an enemy that often does the same thing. Don't be deceived.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Cor 10:3-5 NIV)

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Emotions

  • We have emotions because we are created in God's image; our emotions mirror His. We get into trouble when our "flesh nature" controls our emotions rather than being controlled by God's Spirit (Romans 8).

    Emotions can draw us to God or be the bond we feel for someone we love. They can also cause broken relationships, ruined opportunities, and so much more.

    Moses experienced the best and worst of both, you might say. God has given us these historical accounts in Scripture so we can learn from them. Better that way than the hard way...

So I turned and went down from the mountain while it was ablaze with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands. When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you. So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them to pieces before your eyes. (Deu 9:15-17 NIV)

Monday, June 1, 2015

Change

  • unless you change..."

    Profound words. Especially when spoken by Jesus. 


    God has brought great revelation (and healing for me of some very, very old emotional wounds) through these circumstances. I am very grateful for that, however, this continues to be a very difficult situation on many levels day-to-day, the scope of which I simply cannot share in this brief format.

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Mat 18:1- 4 NIV