Psa 54:6-7 Willingly I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks to Your name, O Lord, for it is good. For He has delivered me from all trouble, and my eye has looked with satisfaction upon my enemies. (NAS)
Sacrifice: Webster’s Dictionary (2) The act of giving up, destroying, permitting injury to or foregoing something valued for the sake of something having a more pressing claim.
‘Foregoing something valued for the sake of something having a more pressing claim’ really grabbed me this morning. What is my sacrifice-time, worship, a song, money? I know deep in my heart that He wants more, in fact, all of me! I am to be a living sacrifice, not lost and empty but fully alive in the Spirit. Taking time to notice the things He notices thru me, and reaching out as He directs. I added the ‘as He directs’ because othewise I become self-directed. If done because I see it, and I can meet the need, I have a tendency toward running off on my own and then getting overwhelmed and needing to call for help.
The phrase ‘more pressing claim’ reminds me I have been purchased at great cost, not to me but to the One sinned against. The Father took his valuable Son and put Him in the position to die a despicable death for my sin. I am a servant who chooses my Master, because He chose me. I am not a slave with no choice and therefore resentful. Which brings us to the word ‘willing’, I don’t want to live as if I have something more important to do than to obey the One who loves me the most. I want to lay down my lists, my desires and my dreams, even the ones I am sure are from Him.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
A Plan
Psalm 43:3-4 Give me your lantern and compass, give me a map, So I can find my way to the sacred mountain, to the place of Your presence, To enter the place of worship, meet my exuberant God, Sing my thanks with a harp, magnificent God, my God. (Msg Bible)
There are some days we would give anything to have clear, concise, drawn out instructions from the Lord to get from where we are to a sense of being in the very place at the very time God wants us there. That is the long way to say ‘in Gods perfect will’. Sometimes our pain is great and like Esau we would trade our birthright for this object. Unfortunately he traded his position and future for a bowl of soup. His mind was only on the moment, he was hungry and what good would the future do for him if he died now. We make a lot of trades in life; hopefully our trades are more equally balanced that Esau’s.
So as I ponder this idea I wonder what am I trading or willing to trade for this goal. The first thing that comes to mind is ‘Trust’. I have lived long enough to know God is looking for a daily walk with me and He knows if I have ‘the plan’ I will more than likely run off and do what I can and then call out when I am overwhelmed or face an obstacle I can’t see around. So getting to the point that we recognize the walk is as important as the destination is vital. A good example is Abraham, when asked to sacrifice his son, the very thing he was promised by God. There has been a lot of conjecture about what his thought process was and God did not have the writers of the story share with us Abrahams why, just that he was willing to do as asked and it was God’s responsibility for the outcome. Abraham could trust God’s promise even though he could not explain it or map it out, he just believed.
So perhaps the important part of these verses above are the gifts we can give to God. We come to a place that we set our hearts aside for worship-it isn’t the place, we meet with God and sing praise because no matter how our life appears to us or to someone else –our magnificent God is in control. His promise to us: to finish the work He has begun in us.
There are some days we would give anything to have clear, concise, drawn out instructions from the Lord to get from where we are to a sense of being in the very place at the very time God wants us there. That is the long way to say ‘in Gods perfect will’. Sometimes our pain is great and like Esau we would trade our birthright for this object. Unfortunately he traded his position and future for a bowl of soup. His mind was only on the moment, he was hungry and what good would the future do for him if he died now. We make a lot of trades in life; hopefully our trades are more equally balanced that Esau’s.
So as I ponder this idea I wonder what am I trading or willing to trade for this goal. The first thing that comes to mind is ‘Trust’. I have lived long enough to know God is looking for a daily walk with me and He knows if I have ‘the plan’ I will more than likely run off and do what I can and then call out when I am overwhelmed or face an obstacle I can’t see around. So getting to the point that we recognize the walk is as important as the destination is vital. A good example is Abraham, when asked to sacrifice his son, the very thing he was promised by God. There has been a lot of conjecture about what his thought process was and God did not have the writers of the story share with us Abrahams why, just that he was willing to do as asked and it was God’s responsibility for the outcome. Abraham could trust God’s promise even though he could not explain it or map it out, he just believed.
So perhaps the important part of these verses above are the gifts we can give to God. We come to a place that we set our hearts aside for worship-it isn’t the place, we meet with God and sing praise because no matter how our life appears to us or to someone else –our magnificent God is in control. His promise to us: to finish the work He has begun in us.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Power of positive thinking
Psalms 12:4 ….”We can talk anyone into anything! Our lips manage the world” (Msg Bible)
Psalms 12:6 God’s words are pure words….. (Msg Bible)
This reminds me of the ‘positive thinking’ message, or the spiritual version, ‘name it and claim it’. There is a truth that our thought life is important. Scripture says. ‘as a man thinketh in his heart he is’. Simple example: go in to work and find you have made a hugh mistake that has serious fall out. If you are me you beat yourself up the rest of the day and worry about keeping your job and how you can make amends and prevent it from happening again. So by the end of the day worn out from the fight within. Then the other side is those people whose every word thought and deed is a focus on the success and grand life they desire and is visualized into reality.
I am a realist-also known as a pessimist-I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and the shoes are falling off a millipede or I would be done with shoe drops by now. So I have learned that God is my source and the decider of what I need or if it is a want, and the best part is He doesn’t only care about necessities because has unlimited supplies.
So the challenge is not to think my way to joy, success and things-but to put the kingdom of God first and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:30-33 If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers--most of which are never even seen—don’t you think He’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do His best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way He works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how He works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. (Msg Bible)
Psalms 12:6 God’s words are pure words….. (Msg Bible)
This reminds me of the ‘positive thinking’ message, or the spiritual version, ‘name it and claim it’. There is a truth that our thought life is important. Scripture says. ‘as a man thinketh in his heart he is’. Simple example: go in to work and find you have made a hugh mistake that has serious fall out. If you are me you beat yourself up the rest of the day and worry about keeping your job and how you can make amends and prevent it from happening again. So by the end of the day worn out from the fight within. Then the other side is those people whose every word thought and deed is a focus on the success and grand life they desire and is visualized into reality.
I am a realist-also known as a pessimist-I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and the shoes are falling off a millipede or I would be done with shoe drops by now. So I have learned that God is my source and the decider of what I need or if it is a want, and the best part is He doesn’t only care about necessities because has unlimited supplies.
So the challenge is not to think my way to joy, success and things-but to put the kingdom of God first and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:30-33 If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers--most of which are never even seen—don’t you think He’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do His best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way He works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how He works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. (Msg Bible)
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Princess
I thought I would explain the title Princess. A few weeks ago a couple of the women on the Board of Directors where I work started calling me Princess. For some this would be just another nickname and they would have fun with it. But as I thought about it I became afraid that maybe I was acting like a "Princess", arrogant, bossy, superior etc, so I had to ask. They said no, we think you are special and just thought the word Princess fit. So now I can have fun with it and was delighted to receive the crown as a gift on my special day and I wore it all day!
I felt bad that I had to question the motives behind the nick name but it goes back to my Mother who never wanted us to feel like we were something special and act out because of it. I knew my parents loved me, if I was good, but I was never called Princess or any other nick name. My name was my 'label' and I didn't need any other label. Actually many nick names are more hurtful than up building. Four-eyes, Olive Oyl (I was real skinny), scarty kat, even when people are smart or girls are pretty the compliments can be delivered in such a way that they hurt instead of uplift.
How nice it would be not to question motives or meanings behind what others say but to assume it was delivered in the spirit of love and ultimately a gift from our heavenly Father.
I felt bad that I had to question the motives behind the nick name but it goes back to my Mother who never wanted us to feel like we were something special and act out because of it. I knew my parents loved me, if I was good, but I was never called Princess or any other nick name. My name was my 'label' and I didn't need any other label. Actually many nick names are more hurtful than up building. Four-eyes, Olive Oyl (I was real skinny), scarty kat, even when people are smart or girls are pretty the compliments can be delivered in such a way that they hurt instead of uplift.
How nice it would be not to question motives or meanings behind what others say but to assume it was delivered in the spirit of love and ultimately a gift from our heavenly Father.
Pretty Princess
A few days ago I posted a picture from my Birthday Party at work and I was wearing a 'crown' because two of the board members call me Princess. One of my friends has a little girl and when she saw the picture she said "what a pretty princess"! Of course that made me feel good and then I stopped to think about how wonderful children can be and how loving they can be and how simple the world looks through their eyes. I look at my picture and see the things I would change. Jesus said we needed to become like children to see the kingdom and perhaps this is a good example of what He meant. Adults look at each other and sometimes we only see things to criticize or to categorize others as good or bad, friend or foe, acceptable or cast away. Oh to be loving as a child and to see others as valuable, lovely and to expect a friend or play mate. Maybe I should just hang out on play grounds and learn to play and trust but someone would probably have a problem with that.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Fresh Start
We have been so busy at home, and at work that I haven't taken the time I expected to be able to write since the first of the year. I am going to set some fresh writing goals and personal goals, so I guess this is my New Years day. Ray is in Colorado and I miss him more than usual for these trips. I pray he handles the cold and no injuries to himself or any of the work team. I am so looking forward to some warmer weather. I am thankful for the times in the middle of my busy day that I was aware of the Lord's presence with me as I worked and worked at being in the moment. I choose to celebrate new beginnings. Yeah!!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Psalms 7:1-5
Psalm 7, 37, 67, 97, 127
What is my part in this??
Psalms 7:1-5
1 O Lord my God, in You I have taken refuge; Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,
2 Or he will tear my soul like a lion, dragging me away, while there is none to deliver.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is injustice in my hands,
4 If I have rewarded evil to my friend, or have plundered him who without cause was my adversary,
5 Let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it; and let him trample my life down to the ground and lay my glory in the dust.
This passage begins with a statement of fact- “Lord I’m hiding in You because otherwise I will be torn to shreds.” Next he questions his role-“Lord, did I do harm to some one who was at peace with me? Have I created this chaos around me?” He must have been sure the answer would be no to his question or he wouldn’t have had such drastic judgment for a yes answer.
We recognize as David did that God is our rescuer, it is His nature. He does not do it based on our innocence or guilt. I do ask at chaotic times what was my part in creating this situation but I do this so I can repent to God and make restitution or seek restoration.
I sound real spiritual but it is a little like wrestling and you are pinned and you do not see any relieve from the pressure until you call ‘uncle’. Unfortunately it is our nature to at first be concentrating on ourselves and what others or life is doing to mistreat us. It reminds me of the statement that there are three sides to every story-yours, mine and the truth.
As I stand back and listen carefully I have the opportunity to evaluate my responsibility and the leading of the Lord for the times relationship can be restored or peace when the other party is closed and there will not be a future with this person.
I imagine how wonderful it must have been for David to know he was God’s anointed King to replace Saul and yet David spent many years running for his life. David felt the pain of lost relationship, especially with Jonathan and his wife Mical. He went from being National Hero to Israel’s Most-Wanted based on Saul’s jealousy. The best decision that David made was refusing to take the opportunity to exact some revenge
What is my part in this??
Psalms 7:1-5
1 O Lord my God, in You I have taken refuge; Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,
2 Or he will tear my soul like a lion, dragging me away, while there is none to deliver.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is injustice in my hands,
4 If I have rewarded evil to my friend, or have plundered him who without cause was my adversary,
5 Let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it; and let him trample my life down to the ground and lay my glory in the dust.
This passage begins with a statement of fact- “Lord I’m hiding in You because otherwise I will be torn to shreds.” Next he questions his role-“Lord, did I do harm to some one who was at peace with me? Have I created this chaos around me?” He must have been sure the answer would be no to his question or he wouldn’t have had such drastic judgment for a yes answer.
We recognize as David did that God is our rescuer, it is His nature. He does not do it based on our innocence or guilt. I do ask at chaotic times what was my part in creating this situation but I do this so I can repent to God and make restitution or seek restoration.
I sound real spiritual but it is a little like wrestling and you are pinned and you do not see any relieve from the pressure until you call ‘uncle’. Unfortunately it is our nature to at first be concentrating on ourselves and what others or life is doing to mistreat us. It reminds me of the statement that there are three sides to every story-yours, mine and the truth.
As I stand back and listen carefully I have the opportunity to evaluate my responsibility and the leading of the Lord for the times relationship can be restored or peace when the other party is closed and there will not be a future with this person.
I imagine how wonderful it must have been for David to know he was God’s anointed King to replace Saul and yet David spent many years running for his life. David felt the pain of lost relationship, especially with Jonathan and his wife Mical. He went from being National Hero to Israel’s Most-Wanted based on Saul’s jealousy. The best decision that David made was refusing to take the opportunity to exact some revenge
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