In A Nutshell

During my quiet time today I read from a devotional by Sarah Young. I got so excited with the message, with the connection to my mission, my blog, my passion... I simply must share it. The message is basically my blog in a nutshell. Oh, and just a reminder that Sarah Young writes in Jesus' voice... read this, meditate on the message as if Jesus is looking into your eyes and speaking only to you. :)

Enter My gates with thanksgiving and My courts with praise. A thankful heart is a joyful heart, and this is what I want for you. When you neglect the sacrifices of thanksgiving, your soul suffers.

Many of My children who live in impoverished nations are more joyful than Christians in "rich" countries with material abundance. Even the greatest blessings can fail to bring Joy unless they are received with gratitude.

I am training you to thank Me not only for obvious blessings but also for situations you would never have chosen - a wayward child or spouse; loss of health, home, or employment. This is counterintuitive thankfulness, and it is possible only to the extent that you trust Me at a deep level. It is also a matter of self-discipline: willing yourself to thank Me even when your circumstances are screaming at you to find a way out. Though it is wise to look for ways to improve your situation, you cannot force My hand - or My timing. Just keep coming into My Presence with thanksgiving. Your persistent thankfulness may actually provide the long-awaited key I will use to unlock major difficulties in your life. Giving thanks to Me can open doors in ways that transcend your understanding.

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100:4-5

"Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing." Psalm 107:21-22

"You now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you." John 16:22

From Jesus Today by Sarah Young.

One more thing I want to share that I've been drawn to lately... a song from Mark Schultz called "I Gave Up". It puts life into the perspective of gratitude and being content with the blessings we have. Click on this link to listen to the YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRAG5NM6MXQ

"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b

God's Last Word

In conversations, are you a listener or a talker or somewhere in between? I've been working on becoming more of a listener. Working on... I said. I do like to talk. I always have. My mom said I learned to talk long before I even considered walking. I was referred to as a "motor mouth" when I was a kid. My dad says, "she has a lot to say." I read a quote that said something like, "You have one mouth and two ears for a good reason." Then, of course, there's the words from Jesus' brother James, "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry" (James 1:19) These things have got me to thinking that maybe I need to keep my mouth shut more and my ears open and attentive to others.

I've been working on this discipline in my prayer time as well. Prayers for me used to be only wrote prayers that I learned and repeated at certain times of the day or in certain places. For example The Lord's Prayer, or my childhood bedtime prayer or dinner prayer. I matured some and began saying prayers that were made up of my own words but were pretty much just a "to do" list for God of the way that I'd like Him to direct my life under MY direction. More recently, I've been sitting quiet and listening for His voice. Waiting on His directions. It doesn't come easily for me. My mind likes to wander and sometimes whirl out of control with concerns and details of my day ahead and for the future. I feel like I'm constantly badgering the Holy Spirit to keep me on track.

Speaking of staying on track, this next verse of thanks comes from the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah, the author, is trying very hard to do just that... get the nation of Judah back on track with God. Jeremiah, as a prophet, had the very difficult job of relaying God's messages of impending judgment for His people who were disintegrating morally from within. Sadly, Jeremiah's warnings and pleas were falling on deaf ears. They were bad listeners, like me. They wanted to live their lives as they pleased, not to please God. It gets so out of hand we read warnings of judgment such as this;

"This is what the Lord says: 'Your wound is incurable, your injury beyond healing. There is no one to plead your cause, no remedy for your sore, no healing for you. All your allies have forgotten you; they care nothing for you. I have struck you as an enemy would and punished you as would the cruel, because your guilt is so great and your sins so many. Why do you cry out over your wound, your pain that has no cure? Because of your great guilt and many sins I have done these things to you.'" (Jeremiah 30:12-15)

This book is hard for me because I don't like conflict and confrontation. I don't like to view my God as a God that destroys - a God that disciplines and punishes. Do you? I know it's necessary. For it says truly in Proverbs 13:24 "Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them." It's for our own good, so it goes. We are God's children, just as the nation of Judah is made up of God's children. He wants what is best for them and has to discipline.

The hope comes in when He also is recorded saying, "I am with you and will save you, declares the Lord, 'Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you, I will discipline you but only with justice; I will not let you go entirely unpunished." (Jeremiah 30:11) And "This is what the Lord says: 'I will restore the fortunes of Jacob's tents and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on her ruins, and the palace will stand in its proper place.'" (Jeremiah 30:18)

This leads us to our verse of thanks.

"From them will come songs of thanksgiving and the sound of rejoicing, and they will not be decreased, I will bring them honor, and they will not be disdained." Jeremiah 30:19

In this portion of scripture we see God's children go full circle... from the pit to the pinnacle. And trust me, this is not the first nor the last time that the Bible text will take us on this wild ride. If only the children of Israel listened more and talked less, listened to God and His prophets and followed His good laws, and listened, and listened, and listened. But they didn't, and neither do most of us. Submitting my will to God's will is hard for me... but I'm learning that when I allow God to have the last word in a situation it comes out pretty good.

Lucky for us, God is a God of compassion and the original source of love. He disciplines us because He loves us and teaches us that in order to have spiritual success, we must learn that sin has its consequences, but God's last word for those who will repent is forgiveness.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

We are forgiven! WE ARE FORGIVEN!! No matter how ugly, shameful, or awful our sins, if we confess and repent to the throne of God, Christ's blood covers our sins and makes us white as snow. Not only that, He promises us eternal life in heaven where all is perfect and free from sin, and pain, and sadness. Amazing love isn't it?! That is worthy of thanksgiving and the sound of rejoicing in my book.

"And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b

Scars

Look down at your hands, your knees... or maybe when you look in the mirror you are reminded of an event that marked you for life. The marks I am referring to are your scars. When I look in the mirror, very closely, I see the evidence of an event that seems like a lifetime ago. I was a passenger in a head-on collision that sent my face into the windshield. Later there was a lawsuit in which a lawyer told me I could counter-sue for disfigurement. I told him, "No thanks, when I get turned down for that modeling contract due to my facial scars, I'll consider it." I just live with the scars and most people don't even notice them. But when I see them, I am reminded of God's mercy and protection. Perhaps you have scars that don't appear on the outside, on your skin. Maybe you have deep wounds in your heart from recent or past hurts. Abuse, disappointments, neglect, broken relationships, sinful living, bad choices, or abandonment. The list goes on and on with the things in life that leave scars from our past. It's easy and very common for us to get wrapped up in these hurts and wear them on the outside... defining who we are. But we don't have to. We can be healed. Redeemed. We can learn this truth of redemption, of restoration through God's everlasting compassion on His children of Zion (or Jerusalem). "The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing." Isaiah 51:3 This verse from the prophet Isaiah comes from the stormy period during the decline of the kingdom of Israel. There are many warnings to God's people for persistent sinful living. But, Isaiah doesn't simply warn, he also instructs in the hope for deliverance - for escape... God's intervention. We find rich comfort and hope as Isaiah foretells God's deliverance of his children from their captors and prefigures the greater deliverance from sin through Christ. "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4: 22-24 When we know Jesus, we can actually find beauty in our scars... even give thanks for them because of the "new self" they made us into. They help us to remember that we've been healed (or can be healed). That our merciful, loving Father is more powerful than any hurt or sin or destruction that people can dish out. Scars keep us on our knees in humility, submitting to the awesome, saving power of Jesus' selfless sacrifice on the cross. Just look at what the scars on Jesus' body accomplished for each one of us. Salvation from sin and eternal life in heaven. Heal The Wound by Point of Grace paints this picture beautifully. Here's a link to their song on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB0Yh_HS19I - - I guess with the limitations I'm experiencing in this program, you have to go to YouTube on your browser and copy and paste the link in YouTube's search. Sorry about that... and sorry about any possible unholy links that you may see in the process. What can I say, we live in a corrupt world. Our Heavenly Father heals our wounds with His love and compassion. He makes our deserts like Eden and our wastelands like His garden. We are left with the scars to keep us mindful of our need, our dependence on His loving grace. Then we can see His truth and purpose in our lives. That allows us to give thanks and sing praises to the One and Only God of Hope. Jesus Christ. "And be thankful." Colossians 3:15b