What are You Thinkin’?

I am a very inquisitive person.  I have always liked to know how things work… the reasons why things are done a certain way… things need to make sense to me.  A cognitive thinker you might say.  (Cognitive: acquiring knowledge by the use of reasoning, intuition, or perception; relating to thought processes.)  This however has not always been a good thing!

The good part of this is… I am pretty good at Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble, Sudoku, word finds and crossword puzzles… none of which you can make a living at!!!   The bad part… I am an over-thinker!  If something doesn’t make sense I struggle with believing or following along.  This way of thinking can make things tough as a follower of Christ.  There are so many things that will not make sense to my human brain.  Many times what I am reading in God’s Word gets stuck between my brain and my heart.  I can be like a spoiled child and demand God to explain to me why things are the way they are, but how much good does that do?  Or I can completely trust that He is in control and has it covered.

Reading Psalm 131, I was shown how that we can be like the child who is still demanding food from the momma… we fret and cry and demand God to do what we want Him to do in our lives. Or we can be like the weaned child who sits on the mother’s lap content and satisfied.

Are there things in your life you just do not understand?  Maybe you are demanding things from God that He knows is not in your best interest.  When is the time you learn to be humble, patient, content… trust Him with your whole being and circumstance… even when you do not understand God’s reasoning?  I am not saying you shouldn’t ask God… He wants you to bring your desires and requests to Him.  What I feel this is saying is that no matter how long you have to wait for His answer… you trust Him with faith and patience not fret and worry. Like it says in Psalm 131:3 – “Hope in the Lord from this time forth and forever.”  After all, divine logic is so beyond humane thinking or understanding!

Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. Philippians 4:6 (AMP)

Ask yourself, do you want to keep living in anguish and worry or are you willing to wait in faith, hope and peace???  Can you trust Father while He works it all out in His good, acceptable and perfect will?  I would say that is a resounding, “YES.”  It is not easy, but it is easier when we get our stinkin’ thinkin’ out of the way. 

Remember… nothing is a mystery to God.

Rejoicing in Truth!

Calling You Out…

What is my calling?  Have you ever heard anyone ask that question?  It is a very “religious” thing to say… or at least I see it that way.  Do you expect God to write “your calling” in the sky?  Do you think it is going to come to you in a magical way?  To put it simply… I believe every follower of Christ has the same calling… to share the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ.  The great commission or duty is given by Christ, “Go to the people of all nations and make them My disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world." Matthew 28:19-20 (CEV) You can find it also in Mark16:14-18.

Okay, so every follower of Christ has a calling to share the Gospel, but everyone is called to share IT in the unique way God gives them.  None of us are the same and that is why the way I share Christ is totally different from how you share Christ.  God has appointed each one of us into positions where we can be the most for Him… mothers, wives, bus drivers, housekeepers… you name it.  He has given each one of us a place to invest our time and talent.  Our gracious Heavenly Father does call us to rest for short seasons.  The rest of the time He calls us to serve… find that place of passion to pour your heart into… maybe a hurting person or a loved one. 

To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven:  Ecclesiastes 3:1 (AMP)

If you are wondering where to go or what to do… go to God… He will show you where you can be most effective… He created you and He knows you best.  Do not waste this opportunity! Live in this moment He has given you… it is ALL for His glory.  Don’t let a single day be wasted… grasp this time to make an everlasting impact on those people around you.  It is a privilege to serve the Lord… to be all that He has called you to be… never fail to use any of the great things He has put in you.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah 1:5 (AMP)

Now, if you did not know about your calling before… you do now, so what are you going to do about it???  Once you know something you can’t unknow it and this makes you responsible to either obey God’s Word or do nothing… it is your choice.  I know that my desire is to one day hear my Father say, “well done My good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21)  Is it yours?

Rejoicing in Truth!

Too Busy To Know God?

I read this devotion this morning and I just had to share it... this is something God has been working on me about lately.  Let me know your thoughts on it. It is taken from "Our Daily Bread" by RBC Ministries.

She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. —Luke 10:39

One day when I was waiting to board a plane, a stranger who had overheard me mention that I was a chaplain began to describe to me his life before he met Christ. He said it was marked by “sin and self-absorption. Then I met Jesus.”

I listened with interest to a list of changes he had made to his life and good deeds he had done. But because everything he told me was about his busyness for God and not his fellowship with God, I wasn’t surprised when he added, “Frankly, chaplain, I thought I’d feel better about myself by now.”

I think the New Testament character Martha would have understood that stranger’s observation. Having invited Jesus to be a guest at her home, she set about doing what she thought were the important things. But this meant she couldn’t focus on Jesus. Because Mary wasn’t helping, Martha felt justified asking Jesus to chide her. It’s a mistake many of us make: We’re so busy doing good that we don’t spend time getting to know God better.

My advice to my new airplane friend came from the core of Jesus’ words to Martha in Luke 10:41-42. I said to him: “Slow down and invest yourself in knowing God; let His Word reveal Himself to you.” If we’re too busy to spend time with God, we’re simply too busy.

Savior, let me walk beside Thee,
Let me feel my hand in Thine;
Let me know the joy of walking
In Thy strength and not in mine. —Sidebotham

Our heavenly Father longs to spend time with His children.

Rejoicing in Truth!

It's a Trust Thing...

I want to start out today by asking you some straight forward questions… Are you saved? Have you trusted Christ as your personal Savior?  Do you believe that God’s love for you is so great that He gave His Son to die for your sins?

If your answer is “no” to any of those questions… then first you need to get that taken care of.  Now is the time to pray and ask God to forgive you of your sins, confess to Him that you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, repent (turn from your sinful ways), and declare that you are choosing to live the rest of your life for Him. Romans 10:9-10 says: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”  Now, if you made that decision… go and tell someone.

As a follower of Christ I see my decision to accept Christ as the biggest decision of my life!  I cannot even grasp how God’s unselfish, unconditional love has changed me.  In order to believe that I am secure in His mighty grip… I have got to trust Him with my whole being. Do you believe that to be true for you as well?  We can trust our Heavenly Father with our eternal destination, yet there are so many times during an average day we do not trust Him with our daily needs!!!???  How does that work… does that even seem possible???

Are you going through a rough patch today? Or you may be dealing with just ordinary, average obstacles.  Is your trust in Christ alone to deal with whatever may come your way today or are you holding onto it with fret and worry?  I was reading in II Corinthians 1:9-10 “Indeed, we felt within ourselves that we had received the [very] sentence of death, but that was to keep us from trusting in and depending on ourselves instead of on God Who raises the dead. [For it is He] Who rescued and saved us from such a perilous death, and He will still rescue and save us; in and on Him we have set our hope (our joyful and confident expectation) that He will again deliver us [from danger and destruction and draw us to Himself],

I am talking to myself as I hope it is also touching your heart.  If God cares for you enough to sacrifice His Son… why wouldn’t He care enough to make the right plan for your life?  When I could see His message to me in this scripture I felt so silly that I realized I don’t always trust God with the “little” things in my life.  I felt like He was saying to me, “Trust Me My precious daughter! I am in control. If I love you enough to give the life of My Son for you, then that should show you I care about every part of your life.”

May I encourage you today… no matter what you may be going through… God cares about you, His precious child.  Throw your hands in the air and tell Him you know He is in control and that you put your complete trust in Him to do what is best for you, no matter how big or small.  Remember the more you rely and trust Him the more strength He will give.

The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a crushed spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all… The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned. Psalms 34:18-19, 22

Rejoicing in Truth!