If I say it often enough, maybe I will start to believe it myself. Sigh. I’m one of those people who knows that patience is something I need. But, I’m also one of those people who want patience and want it NOW! Right NOW! You know the deal, right? “I don’t have time to wait for patience. Give to me right now or I’m going to find something else to stress about, got it?” That would be me.
Yesterday, I was teaching on patience too. I was impatiently waiting to see how many folks read the post. Okay, I really need to learn the lessons I am trying to teach. Physician, heal thyself! Maybe we should go over the scriptures from yesterday:
(James 1:2-4) My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into different kinds of temptations, knowing that the trying of your faith works patience. But let patience have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing.
We are told to count it all joy when we fall into trials. I was reminded of that today when I realized that our income dropped about $600 this month. Now, that might not mean much to somebody who earns six figures but it was almost a third of our income. I wanted to scream out loud and hope the whole world heard it. But then, how does that help me with patience? Or give me joy? Not at all. We need to handle trials better than that. Now, I understand that this is a lesson in patience and I am getting ahold of that concept. If I can count it a joy because it IS a trial and IF I learn my lesson on patience, I will be enjoying the freedom of not having to worry about the situation in the first place.
I just want you to know how I came to that. During my time of prayer and Bible study before I write out these posts, three of the things that I ask God for are knowledge about the subject, understanding of it and wisdom. What does that have to do with patience, you ask? Patience, my friend. I will elaborate.
I ask for knowledge so that I can learn what God is teaching me. It gives me insight into the particular scripture I am focusing on at the moment. At that point, new information is being absorbed.
I ask for understanding because if that new information is rolled up in mystery, I cannot hope to do anything with the knowledge. That would be like having useless trivia. We all have small bits of trivia tucked up into the corners of our mind. Someday, they might actually be useful but it’s unlikely. What I strive for is to understand each part of the scripture and then put it all together. With the new information (knowledge) and the understanding of it, it can be applied to my situation.
I ask for wisdom because I need to know when, where and how to apply what I have learned and understood. Knowledge is useless if it is not applied properly to a situation. In fact, there is a saying that “a little knowledge is dangerous.” So true if there is no wisdom to put it to proper use.
Let’s say that you got a new garden tool, kitchen tool or tool to use in building things. If all you got was the tool itself but no owners manual on how it works, you would have nothing to go by. No knowledge. In reading the manual, if you did not understand it because it’s written in a foreign language, it would still be useless. And, if you did learn how to use the tool, if it was used for something it was not designed to work on, it could break or someone could get hurt.
Now, if we apply all that to the word (growl) patience, then we learn that it is important to God that we have it, that it’s not just about waiting for a shoe to drop but an active word, that we are not to be stressing over things because that would be against the peace of God that He says we are to have, that we can apply it to our lives or God would not have expected it of us.
So, applying all that to my situation, I will relax in the fact that we can survive this drop in pay just like we have countless other times and with our heads held high, seeking God instead of worrying about every little detail. Worry is the opposite of faith. I do not want to be caught without my faith shield on.
(Eph 6:11-18 Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world’s rulers, of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Therefore take to yourselves the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Therefore stand, having your loins girded about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, take the
shield of faith
, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching to this very thing with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.)
Yes, that was a lot of scripture there but when we start our days, we ought to put on the whole armor of God including the shield of faith. (another lesson, another day)
In the end, we will be fine because God is watching over us and our financial situation. He is doing what we have prayed about. It just seems to be a problem right now. Yet, I realized today that with our online income, we are replacing the loss we had from our other income. It is a blessed day.
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Ξ August 30th, 2007 | → Comments Off | ∇ End Times |
This is just another sign of the end of the age. Normally, I take time in the morning to pray and study before I put something up here but this is burning inside me and I must say something about it. In the state that I was born and raised, Iowa, a county judge decided that the ten year ban on same sex marriage had to be lifted and ordered several couples’ licenses to be released to them. I am sick at heart. Only one other state, Mass., has done this. Other states have allowed unions but not marriage. Frankly, I do not see much difference there. That smacks of being some type of appeasement to everyone.
It is so wrong for this to happen. God is so against it. I put a post up on another of my blogs about this. I suspect I will receive some heat on this subject on both blogs. I cannot allow this to stand without me saying anything. Too much of this is hurting me in the spirit right now. God says:
(Rom 1:26-27) For this cause, God gave them up to dishonorable affections. For even their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature. And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust toward one another; males with males working out shamefulness, and receiving in themselves the recompense which was fitting for their error.
Maybe this is not as clear as you would like it to be but it is very clear to me. God is very against the acts that the state condones. This is so very wrong. The state is going down a path that they do not want to go.
Christian, please pray for that judge, for the couples who even now are rejoicing in the win they received today and for all of those who see this as something okay, something that should be allowed because of “tolerance”. How many times have Christians been subjected to hate because we were not “tolerant” enough? You know, live and let live. God did not say that we should sit back as couch potatoes and let things be. NO! He told us to go out into the world and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This we must do.
(Mar 16:15-16) And He said to them, Go into all the world, proclaim the gospel to all the creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.
Now THERE is how “tolerant” God is. He is not a bit tolerant of sin in any form. He is not telling us to live and let live, is He. He is saying that we must go tell it on the mountain! Share our faith to anyone who will listen.
I have seen those gay pride parades. Those folks are not going to listen…or are they? You do not know that!!! We need to show our faith. Seek God’s face. Pray and study. And share your faith with someone soon. This is just another sign that we don’t have much time left.
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How often have you heard a child say that or an adult say it, for that matter? If we are honest, we know that we ourselves have said a form of that quite often. First thing I think of there is the boss on the Superman series in the 50s with George Reeves. Perry White always wanted something right now. It was in his nature as an editor of the paper. But aren’t we living in the “want it now” generation?
Patience is a virtue. If I ever hear that again, I will scream. That was one phrase I heard so much of my life. GRRRR!! Oh, and another one happened every time I wanted to do something that my parents didn’t. I would get a little upset with them because I wanted it (whatever IT was at the time) and I wanted it right now. Then Dad would say “Let’s don’t and say we did”. (screaming as we speak) I hated that phrase. Why? Because it always happened when I wanted something now. But the problem was that I was being impatient because I didn’t get what I wanted. At the time, I was not willing to wait for things. You’d think that we would grow out of that as we get older, wouldn’t you. Not necessarily.
Hmmm, I see a pattern here. Selfishness and impatience seem to go together. You know, we live in a world where it all comes fast. Information, food, FedEx, overnight shipping. When something isn’t as fast as we expect it to show, we get impatient and upset sometimes….like a small child that does not get what he wants. I remember the screams and crying that usually happened when my child didn’t get her toy when she wanted it.
Can you see that this type of thinking causes major problems? I like to call it “fast food” thinking. We live in a generation of fast food thinkers. It all has to happen right now or else. Or else what? Do you see that impatience causes real problems? For instance, road rage comes from impatience. Bad attitudes often come from impatience. Think about the last time you got upset because something did not happen as soon as you wanted it to happen. And it’s all wrapped up in a sort of self centered, want it now, have to have type thinking.
But God says that we need to be patient. Trust me here, this is one lesson I would love to have forgotten but I know that we must learn this. This is what God has to say about the subject:
(James 1:2-4) My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into different kinds of temptations, knowing that the trying of your faith works patience. But let patience have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing.
I’m not sure we want to get into the idea that we should feel joyful at trials that end up causing us to learn patience but I will do it anyway. Just think. God wants us to be full of the joy of the Lord because we face a trial. Why? Because that’s when we learn patience. There is one little thing here that you should know, just in case you have not noticed this already, God tends to keep us on the lesson until we learn it thoroughly. Meaning, if He is teaching patience, until it’s learned, we may be seeing trials that will allow us to grow in patience. If we can see that this is God at work, we win, don’t we? Now THAT is worth some joy. By the way, the word “joy” does not necessarily mean happiness. It means to be full of the joy of the Lord. You can be content in the Lord and not be happy about a situation.
Frankly, I always wanted to believe that the word “patience” was a dirty word. The problem is that I have been and, at times am impatient, and I do not want to have to wait. Like so many others, I want it NOW too! Did you ever notice yourself getting a little bit antsy when the fast food order doesn’t show up as soon as you think you need it? HA! I knew I wasn’t the only one!
One thing needs to be notice here too. Impatience is a form of selfishness. It is something we want and make it fast! No wonder God is wanting us to learn to wait. I know kids that think the word “wait” is a four letter word. Well, it is but not like that. We can get wrapped up in selfishness so fast…hence the fast food thinking.
The caution here is that we need to teach the kids to learn patience, to wait for things, from the beginning. However, I do think that we teach them to be impatient. The child is crying in the crib. You rush to see what the problem is. It’s the usual thing, diaper needs work, he’s hungry, nothing earth shaking. But you got there right after the child started to cry. That signals the baby that if I cry, I get something I want.
When they get older, in toddler years, for convenience sake, we give them what they’re crying for so that we can find some peace. It might not be much but we want that peace. But see, that teaches the child to be impatient. Sometimes, it does not hurt the child to wait. In fact, it helps a kid if they do have to wait for things occasionally. Most spoiled rotten kids never have to wait for anything because their parents are being run by the kid.
Yes, we do need to teach patience now. That’s a tough one in these times but it is a must. God considers this important so we need to do the same and start exercising our patience especially when we would really rather scream and demand it happen now or else. From God’s point of view, the “or else” will likely be another lesson on the same subject. Okay, moving on now. 
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I have to tell you that I got sidetracked this morning prior to writing this out. That’s why it’s out later than I had intended. This particular post is to be on temptation and I fell into that trap even before I wrote this out, which I still haven’t done. Sigh. If you want to see what the temptation was, just click on the link on the word temptation. You’ll get there. But I did have fun with it.
Now, in James, we learned about double-mindedness. That’s when you get pulled in a couple of directions. It distracts you from seeking the Lord and having the time to chat or pray with Him. We learned in Isaiah that God does care very much because He engraved us into His palms.
But what does temptation do exactly? For starters, it takes you away from focusing on God as your Father. You will not seek Him when you are being tempted if you choose to take the temptation. BUT, and this is a big one, you can be tempted but as long as you do not take the temptation, you have not sinned. Anyone and everyone gets tempted from time to time. But there was a time, way back when, when I believed that if I even listened to the temptation, I was a goner. Not so! How do I know that?
Okay, since you asked….After Jesus had been out in the wilderness for forty days, He was pretty hungry. The devil showed up and told Him to turn a rock into a McWhopper. Jesus did not bite on that temptation though He probably could have downed several. He told the devil that man can’t live on bread alone.
The devil wasn’t satisfied with that so he took Jesus to the mountain top. Showed Jesus the world, told Him that the devil would hand all his authority (which he got by tricking Adam into handing over the keys to the kingdom) over to Jesus if only He would renounce God. Jesus told him to get behind Him and worship the Lord God and Him only. Now the devil is smarting from the comebacks so he’s got one more temptation (and they really were temptations. Would you have to think about it a while if someone offered you the whole world and all the authority that went with it? Would you have to think about turning rocks into bread if you were starving like Jesus had to be after forty days? Uh huh. See?). Jesus gets taken to the pinacle of the temple. The devil tells Him to cast Himself down and prove Who He is since the angels would save Him from falling to His death. Jesus blasted Him with don’t tempt God. Now get out of here and the devil left.
So, Jesus was tempted but did not act on that temptation. Therein lies the victory for you. James tells us:
(Jas 1:12) Blessed is the man who endures temptation, because having been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
When you endure and not act on temptation, you are doing what God has asked of you. And the reward is the crown of life which the Lord promised. Oh, that sounds good but what I am looking forward to in heaven is seeing my Lord and Savior and being able to hug Him and ask Him silly questions like why on earth would you want to save a nasty sinner like me? But He did. What a wonderful Lord we serve.
When temptations stare you in the face, remember to seek God’s face and those temptations will not be important to you anymore. What a reward God gives for loving Him and doing as He asks!
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Have you noticed how difficult it can be to seek God? If you’ve mapped out the time, something almost always occurs that takes you away from it. Maybe you thought you would have time this morning but so many things came up before you went to work that you couldn’t get to the time you spend with God. You know that you want to have the time. It’s really important to you that the prayer time happen, the Bible study is part of your life these days. But there is never enough time to do everything so you skip the time with God because you have to get to work and pay the bills, right? Do you feel pulled in two different directions?
The world is very intruding. If it isn’t one thing it certainly will be another. The problem here is that if the world intrudes that much, then there will likely never be enough time for you to seek God in any meaningful way. You might get a couple of minutes here, ten minutes there. No real amount of time with God is possible in that situation. The priority is to get to your job and pay bills. Time with God does not pay the bills, right? No paycheck there. If you continue to choose the world over the Lord even if you are genuinely wanting to have time with Him, James has a word for that. It’s called double-minded.
(Jas 1:5-8) But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and with no reproach, and it shall be given to him. But let him ask in faith, doubting nothing. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For do not let that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, not dependable in all his ways.
The Lord wants us to ask Him concerning wisdom without doubting. He gives without telling us how bad we are or how much we missed it. However, we still must ask without doubting Him. The description is interesting here about what a person looks like who is doubting. He’s like a wave in the sea, wind swept and tossed around. That’s not a person who is sure of what they believe. It gives a picture of someone who will agree with anything but believes nothing. They go along with whoever they’re with. A person like that cannot be depended on for anything.
This type of person would have a real problem accepting anything from the Lord because the next person that came along would sway them. What does all this have to do with not having the time for the Lord? If you cannot find the time to be with and chat with the Lord, you are not growing and learning to trust Him. A lack of trust makes a person double-minded. They want to believe. They seek Him and want to do so more but the world intrudes to the point that they simply MUST do what the world requires.
The Lord requires that you put Him FIRST in your life. If you cannot find the time for Him, then He cannot be first in your life. When the world gets into your life more than the God does, then the double-mindedness becomes confusion and doubt. Doubt erodes trust. When trust is not there, temptations come in. A person is tempted when their personal desires and wants overrule what God has asked of them. They are drawn away from God with the lusts and desires of the flesh (that can be anything, I’ve learned, not just what most people think lust is.) Temptation that turns into fullfilling the desires and lusts brings about sin. From sin, you get death, spiritually and sometimes, physically as well.
Take the time to seek out the Lord even if the world…meaning friends, family, job or whatever the circumstances..tries to take you away. What I have found is that most of the time, when I set out the time for the Lord first thing in the morning, there are mucho distractions. BUT, if I keep going anyway, much gets accomplished and the next time is usually easier. Why? Because you are starting to resist the devil.
The scripture says that if you do resist him, he will flee. (James 4:7) So, start resisting the one individual who can make your day miserable. I don’t say that he won’t do anything about it. In fact, he will keep throwing things at you. But, when you are in the Lord speaking His Word, learning the Word of God, the devil is having to work harder. After a while, he moves on. Not bad, huh?
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Ξ August 27th, 2007 | → Comments Off | ∇ Christian Living, Family |
These days, things are all up in the air for some of us. We can’t seem to get the handle on things. So many folks having so much trouble of one kind and another. Each day, we need to find some time to be with the Lord. First, He deserves that. Second, you need it to re-energize yourself. I have found that when I take the time to be with the Lord, the day simply goes better. Even if things start going down hill, I still have a better day. So, take some time and just enjoy having a chat with your Lord and Creator.
Those of you who are having hard times, seek some help. If you are one of those who have very little, please find the local food pantries and the churches. There are usually places to go. I understand coming up short when you get food stamps and/or government assistance. That does not mean that everything is now okay. It isn’t. It means that you can pay some bills and get some food. There is nothing wrong with seeking help from friendly people that want to help you.
For those of you who do have more, please remember those who don’t. One of the things that constantly amazes me are those people who are willing to give and give at the “feel good” times like Thanksgiving and Christmas but do not give a thought to the homeless and hungry the rest of the year. Did you honestly think that they had help all that time but at those holidays they didn’t? These folks need help the whole year.
And for those who sneer and think that the poor like it that way, try walking in their shoes a day or two. You will change your mind. There are not that many people that want to be on welfare and government handouts. When we had to do that, we hated it. We were grateful for the help but wanted to get off of it as fast as possible. So, if you have a giving heart, go to the store and buy a little extra, take it to the local food bank, pantry or church. You can get a couple of cans or boxes extra each time you go to the store. When you’ve accumulated a case, take it to the shelter or food bank. Buy a case at a time. It will be welcomed.
Please think about someone that might need you today. Do you have a relative in a nursing home or retirement home? Why not visit. If you know of someone, a friend or church member in one of those places or simply want something to do, why not visit that home and pick out a grandma or grandpa to get to know and love.
Just remember, charity doesn’t have to stay at home. Please think about those who need you today. I will be back with a devotion tomorrow. Thank you for reading.
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Doesn’t it drive you to distraction? All those things that hit you and usually all at the same time? It ends up feeling like a whirlwind or tornado is about to pick up the house. “Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore”. If it isn’t one thing, it’s another. I want you to know that we have had that sort of thing recently, ourselves. It ends up being a nightmare. We are Christians. We are supposed to not get upset by circumstances, ride the wave of the Lord. Be peaceful. Not worry, worry, worry. ACK!
That’s pretty much the problem, though. We get caught up in the world things. The distractions are awful. But, the thing is, we are told by God in James that you can’t be doubleminded and receive from the Lord. He who is double-minded is not dependable.
(Jas 1:5-8) But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and with no reproach, and it shall be given to him. But let him ask in faith, doubting nothing. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For do not let that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, not dependable in all his ways.
I really do not want to be labeled as not dependable, do you? It says that this person cannot be counted on when the going gets rough. This person cannot be asked to help anyone else because they are not able.
But what is doubleminded? I’ve wondered about that one myself. To be doubleminded means that the person is living in both worlds. How uncomfortable can that be? It means that while that person wants to seek God and does so, he/she is also allowing the cares of this world get into the day. Then, the person is worrying or being concerned about too many things without simply asking God to take care of it. They have a foot in both worlds and are not happy in either.
Are things starting to overwhelm you? (for some of you I can hear this: STARTING? That was a while back!) So, what have you done about it? Maybe it’s time to seek God about it. If you have already done that, how long have you waited on the answer? A day? Two? I know. Me too. Sometimes, you need to go through a problem to learn about what to do. I have had times when it was going to totally devastate my world if that car got repossessed. My world rocked and cracked. I prayed so hard that God would stop the repo and give us back the car we bought on credit but didn’t have the money to pay the payments. Uh huh. Why didn’t God answer that? Seems obvious now but then, it felt like God abandoned me.
Do you feel abandoned by God because the situation is not being answered like you want it to be? See, that can be doubleminded since you want it done your way. You can’t see any other way out. You can only see the one way to solve the problem. So, that’s what you pray for. It’s part of the world thinking. Now, instead of looking at the circumstances and praying for what you THINK the plan should be, try going to God and asking what His plan is. Then, rest in the Lord that whatever does happen, He is in it.
What we, as Christians, should be doing is seeking God and His peace. If we live inside God’s peace, we don’t need to worry about things. If we will simply do as Psalm 91 says and live under the shadow of the Almighty God.
(Psa 91:1-2) He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall rest under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of Jehovah, my refuge and my fortress; my God; in Him I will trust.
So, isn’t it time to get into that special, secret place in the Lord? We can rest in Him with peace in our hearts. As we grow in the Lord, we will find that more and more things are not going to be upsetting or devastating anymore. We will have the confidence that happens when we trust God for all of our needs.
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Yesterday and the day before, I have quoted a scripture that gives you a picture of God more or less branding Himself with us on His palm. Again, I will quote here:
Isa 49:16) Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands; your walls are forever before Me.
After having read that particular scripture, the question “Does God care?” would be obviously answered, you would think. But many people do not act like God cares for them at all. They plead and beg God to do things that He has already accomplished. It would be impossible for Him to go over things again because it would make the first time of no effect meaning that Jesus might have died on the cross for us but if God has to do a redo, we are in big trouble, Jack!
Often, when we do ask for God’s help, we tend to get impatient about the answer (ask me how I know!). The real problem then is that we get in God’s way by going ahead and doing it our way. Then, when the answer does not happen as we wish it would, we get angry with God for not producing the desired result. This is when most people wonder if He does care. Others simply decide that He doesn’t and stray away or never come to God in the first place.
See, we want God to be a Sugar Daddy and bless us with “the desires of our heart” (Psalm 37:4) but we do not always want to follow the rules God has laid down for us. The fact is, if we do not follow God’s rules and commandments, we cannot expect the desires of our hearts because we didn’t do our parts. God, being merciful, often grants us the things we do want anyway. More often, we put ourselves in God’s way rather than allow Him to work in our lives.
We must learn to seek God in all things. This might sound silly unless you already do this but when I went to the store in the past, I would take the list I made but find myself in a quandry as to what I forgot or which of those things should I choose, is it a good thing to buy? All sorts of question pops up. I ask God because He wants to be in all areas of my life. Even in the little things. So, you might see me talking to God in the grocery store some time.
When we put God into all of our day, He can teach us the right way to walk in Him. When we can seek God’s Face instead of His plenty, we are getting into the place where God is wanting us to be. When we are willing to lose ourselves and put God first, we are beginning to learn.
I was watching Evangelist Keith Moore one time and he was talking about how God can use a person to do God’s work. Of course, you must be in a place where God can use you. I want to quote what he said about that before I close here. He said:
“The degree of your humility is the degree of how much God can use you.”
Perhaps we need to have that thought for the day. God bless you abundantly!
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I wanted to revisit yesterday’s post for just a moment more. To refresh your memory on the scripture here it is:
Isa 49:16) Behold, I have carved you on the palms of My hands; your walls are forever before Me.
How awesome that sounds! God, the Maker of heaven and earth, placed the image of who I am on the palms of His Hands. Listen! He did not say that He put your name on His Hand. It says that He put YOU on the palms of His Hands. I am not even certain how that can be. But what I pictured was actually an image of each of us. God is so awesome.
At this moment, I am at a loss for words here. What can I say about a Father Who is so close to His children that He places them permanently into His very being. When I think of all the times I blubbered and cried over the idea that He forgot me because something did not go according to my way of thinking, it’s a wonder I am still here. How can our Lord put up with such an arrogant creature as I am?
The answer is, of course, Jesus. God loves us so much that He and Jesus agreed to sacrifice God’s Son on a cruel and inhumane cross at Calvary so that we might have eternal life rather than the spiritual death we all deserve. How blessed we are!!!!! How rich we have become!!!
Oh, Thank YOU, my Father for being with me through all the things that I have wandered into without any thought at all. Thank YOU, that Your patience is long. Thank You for putting up with my silences when I could have talked with You. Thank You for putting up with this obnoxious child of yours who will, eventually, learn to curb her tongue and thoughts and focus solely on You instead of her petty problems. In Jesus’ Name I pray and am blessed.
Please look to your Father for all that you need and want. He is not Sugar Daddy but He is Your Lord Who is willing and able to help you and guide you. Frankly, I think we always want the help but not the guidance. Why would we want to know that what we want or are doing is not good for us? Hmmm? But God is so faithful to be there in good times and bad. Why not take the time to talk to Him right now! Be blessed today!
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In my much younger days, I had a significant other (translate that to–I was living with a guy) who loved to get tatoo’d. When I met him, he had a couple and when he wanted another one, he put my name on his arm in a prominent place so all could see that he loved me. I was 18 years old and extremely impressed. I just knew that this person was the man of my dreams. Why? Because he was willing to go through the hurting of putting my name on his arm. In those days, it was somewhat painful..even to watch. It was red and raw for a few more days afterwards. That meant that he loved me forever. It was permanent, after all.
But, on his other arm, he also had another tatoo, two actually. The first one said “Born to Lose”. It did not really hit me then the significance of that particular tatoo as opposed to the other one with my name on it. It did not get through to me that THIS tatoo was the one that wrapped up his whole life. This was the way he thought about life. That was his whole attitude. Is that how you feel? Read on.
Then, he had one more tatoo. It was of a black cat, completely filled in. That had to hurt a lot when he got it. I asked him about that one but not until I had been with him for almost two years did he tell me about it. The black cat tatoo was covering his ex-wife’s name. My world shifted in that moment. All my safety left. Nothing was permanet. He taught me that. Not long after that, we split up. I am quite sure that he put some huge tatoo over my name too. Nothing was permanent with him except “Born to Lose”.
During my prayer time today, I was reminded of the scripture concerning the Lord putting us into His Hands:
Isaiah 49:16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
This scripture is in King James version and might not be easy to understand so I went to another version (New King James):
(Isa 49:16) Behold, I have carved you on the palms of My hands; your walls are forever before Me.
Okay, now I can see what it means more clearly. Today, God is telling us that He has chosen to put us, no…ENGRAVED (carved) us, into the palms of His Hands. What does that tell you? It’s permanent! Unlike my significant other who had tatoos over tatoos and had no committment at all, God did not just tatoo Himself, He carved my name into His palm where He could see it continually. God is not imperfect so the engraving must be there for all time. It cannot be changed. God does not change (and Jesus is His Son. Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever.).
When He looks into His Hands, He is reminded of us. We are not forgotten, no matter what is happening. Trust me, this was really important to me today. Is that important to you too? What is going on in your life right now? Do you feel forgotten by God? Maybe you think that He went golfing instead of hearing your plea to Him? No way! He is right there waiting patiently for you to talk to Him, be with Him, love Him, ask Him like you would a Daddy. He is your Father!
For more information on becoming a Christian or renewing your life in the Lord, please go to Lura’s Bookcase and click on God’s Greatest Gift.
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