In His Word 6-28-10

You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah. Psalm 32:7

(And God’s answer was)

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you. Psalm 32:8-9

For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide Even to death. Psalm 48:14

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you." John 16:12-14

So many people today want to try to do things their own way. They want to go about making God do this and making God do that. I think they have it wrong! I read in my Word of God that He wants to guide us. He wants to teach us of His ways and direct our paths and He wants us to trust Him to do so.

Still, many Christians today will try to fit God into the box they want Him to be in. They think God will only do this or God won’t do that unless we remind Him He said that He would. My God is not like that. He wants to direct my path. He wants to guide my steps and He wants to show me where to go and what to do.

What ever happened to just sitting and basking in His presence, enjoying being with God and hearing His voice in our hearts and minds? Reading His Words and then waiting for Him to make it work in our lives is what I long for. I want to be there just enjoying Him. Knowing that my next step is ordered of the Lord and that He will direct my path helps me to trust Him. I can sit and worry about what tomorrow will bring. I can try to get to tomorrow's worries today. Or I can trust my God to show me the way to go to get there…tomorrow.

I get tired of hearing people complain about the way this teacher or that teacher does things. The Word of God tells us there will be false teachers in the last days and we have to be cautious of whom we listen to. But that does not mean we need to start puling splinters out of our brother's eye to avoid the beam in our own. We tell others to follow what the Word says, then decide for ourselves what the next step is without consulting the Lord first. Are we not as bad as the preachers who go around saying, "If you are not rich you are not saved?" If your life is not perfect and you have to struggle does it affect your Christian walk?

It should actually, because adversity builds character and God is building you! None of us has made it unless you are already sitting in the throne room worshiping Him. I am not; I am living life. I have a long way to go before I am in His presence and I want to do as much for His kingdom as I can in the meantime. But what does He want of me?

Show me your ways Oh Lord, teach me your paths. Psalm 25:4

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the HolySpirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:12

God gave us the Holy Spirit to be able to discern the Word of God, the presence of God and the direction He has given us to follow. Our job is to trust Him, and to allow Him to guide our steps and rejoice in the fact that He is with us as we walk across the stepping stones of life.

When you walk on the stepping stones at the kiddy zoo at Knowland Park, you find them at different levels and sizes. Sometimes there is water under you and sometimes it is dry. That is how life is. Sometimes we walk in areas that if we step off or don’t judge the height and breadth of our next step, we will fall off and get wet. Other times we can waltz right through without thinking too much, knowing that God is in control. Let’s make that our focus for this week. Let's give God the controls and let Him direct our summer plans.

Dear Heavenly Father, help us to achieve what You have planned for us this summer. Thank you for showing us the way and guiding us each day. Call to us each morning and walk with us each day. In Jesus' name, amen.

Suggested reading: Psalm 31:1-24; Psalm 32:1-11; Psalm 33: 1-22; Psalm 34: 1-22; 1 Corinthians 2:1-16.

In His Word 6-21-10

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. Hebrews 4:12-13

How much time do you take for God? What does it mean to take time with God or for God anyway? Did He intend for us to just spend our days sitting and reading the Bible so we can grow in knowledge… and what is the purpose for this? Why do we study the Word in the first place? Is it all worth it?

Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand! As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. Galatians 6:7-15

Today as I sat and talked with my Savior, I thought about how much time I have today. I was so excited for school to be out and to be home where I can do... what? “Oh Lord," I say, "I want to go to the beach and walk in the sand. I want to enjoy the beauty of the waves crashing against the shore and splashing against the rocks, spraying that beautiful mist into the air.” Then I stop and think of all I have to do before I can rest and really enjoying myself. Is it okay to just enjoy ourselves? Do we have to keep working every day and every moment towards gaining new believers and strengthening old ones?

What about the rest? Is it okay to take time off from God’s work? Or for that matter, do we really take time off, or do we just shift into low gear and do something else? Sure, I have plans for what to do. I have work to finish before I get into summer camps and VBS, which I am so excited to do! But first there is work to be done; prayer, study, writing, cleaning. If we do not take time to rest we will not be strong enough to continue in the work God has given us to do. Include rest in your plans.

I try to take short walks in my garden to keep my brain relaxed. Otherwise, it is constantly trying to find something to do to improve my house, my family’s behaviors, my organization skills, my teaching skills, etc. etc. Some days I just want to turn it all off! For me, a walk on the beach does that. The roar of the ocean blocks out the sounds of the world. The salt reminds me of the cleansing of the Lord, just as the salt cleanses the waters, so God cleanses us. Even now as I imagine myself walking on a beach, I can hear the sea gulls’ cries and the waves coming in and going back out. I can feel my body slip to the sand and just sit there for hours enjoying it all. No deadlines to make, no children or teens to deal with. I can just rest in Him and His creation.

So what do you do when you need time away? What do you do when you are so busy you can’t stand it and everything is piling up in your brain to the point you need to "defrag" it? How do you find the time to do all of God’s work and enjoy it too? Rest in Him. Take time to worship Him in spirit and in truth. Allow yourself to forget the rest of it all, and just tell God, "I love you Lord… I lift my voice to worship you… Thou art worthy…." All of the wonderful things you can think of to sing, just as the waves pour in and out, relax my body. As the praises pour out to God in waves, my spiritual relaxes. There I find rest for my soul and my brain stops fighting with all the needs and cares of my world. I can be at rest with Him. Sure, the cares will find me eventually, but if I do not take that time to rest I will not have the strength to make it through.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the time you spend with us today and every day, helping us find rest for our souls, rest for our bodies and rest for our minds. Give us the strength to get to that place of resting in You. In Jesuss name, amen.

Suggested Scriptures: Hebrews 4:1-14; Galatians 6:1-18; Ecclesiastes 5:1-20; 2 Peter 1:1-21; 1 John 1:1-10.