Waves of Mercy

Psalm 139:13 states, "Certainly you made my mind and heart; you wove me together in my mother's womb."

The Lord knows us intimately. He knows us better than we know ourselves. So, obviously, He knows that I am a visual learner.  I learn through nature and every day happenings. If we pay attention, there are spiritual lessons and applications in abundance all around us, every day.

 

In a recent visit to the beach, I had a few "aha" moments with the Lord. Those of you that know me, know that the beach is my happy place. Perhaps it's the lull of the ocean waves, the gentle breeze upon my face or the warmth of the sun (Son) embracing  me that puts me at such peace when I am there.

 

On this particular visit, the beach portion was very small and disappeared as the tide came in. There was a large wall at the back of the beach just before the street that ran along the shoreline. Therefore, when the tide came in, it reached all the way to the wall and plunged up about 2 feet high. At high tide, the locals and most tourists would pack up their belongings and leave the beach until the tide went back out. I decided to wait out the tide and just place my chair all the way against the wall and lift it for any big waves that would ensue and threaten to carry my belongings out to sea.

 

As I waded in the water, I noticed something. After a few close calls with my belongings almost being swept away, I began to watch the waves more closely. I noticed there were incoming waves that I was almost certain would crash against the back wall and drag anything and everything with it in its path back out to sea. However, the previous wave that was going out to meet the incoming wave, subdued the strength of that incoming wave. It was able to restrain the strength of the incoming wave. What seemed like an incoming disaster was thwarted by the restraining power of the outgoing wave. As I observed this process, I could not help but think of God's mercy and grace. Often times life comes at us full force. Consequences of bad or selfish choices (whether our own or others) have the potential to bring along with it heartache, pain and destruction. Sometimes those consequences are lessons that are necessary and actually profitable even though painful. But sometimes, God intervenes and His "wave" of lovingkindness restrains the impending doom and destruction. Often His amazing grace and His loving mercy subdue and restrain the affects of life. He is able to speak to the storms of our life, "Peace be Still" (Mark 4:39)

 

After almost 35 years of walking with the Lord, I have finally arrived to a place where I thank God for all the things He's spared me from AND I thank Him for all the lessons, as painful as they may have been, that caused me to grow and become a better person through them. He knows best.

 

Another lesson I learned that day was that many will "run" when the going gets tough but often they will miss out on the lesson behind the impending storm. No one likes going through difficulty but as Corrie Ten Boom stated, "In order to realize the worth of the Anchor, we need to feel the stress of the storm." May we have the resolve of Jesus to say, "If it be possible, let this cup pass before me. Nevertheless, not my will, but Your will be done. (Matthew 26:39)

 

I want to encourage you today, wherever God has you (I just happen to be going through a difficult storm in my life right now) be at peace knowing that He knows best. As long as daily you set your heart to please Him and walk in His ways, you can have the assurance that He is working it all for good in spite of how things seem and in spite of any pain you may be experiencing. The pain Jesus faced in the Garden of Gethsemane yielded an eternal, magnificent, and beautiful reward. His plans are best.

 

Chew the Cud

When I say the word memories are you filled with joy, or are you filled with regret? Did you know the Scriptures command us time and time again to remember? But God didn't just tell us to remember. He told us WHAT to remember. We are to remember His faithfulness, His goodness, His mercies, His lovingkindness, His commandments, His ways, His presence, His character, His forgiveness, etc. You see, God, in His infinite wisdom, gave us the ability to CHOOSE what we remember. We can choose what we dwell on. Like many of you, I have a lot of terrible memories. I used to let those memories consume me. They would awaken me in the middle of the night filled with terror.  I would find myself so distraught, sometimes to the point of not even wanting to function for the day. After a lot of wasted hours, I realized that the Lord desires for us to deal with our past and its memories and move on. Why revisit it over and over again? Why dwell on the injustice of it all? Why wonder why abusers go unpunished? What does it profit you? Does dwelling on these things bring justice or relief? Quite the contrary.

 

One of my very favorite portions of Scripture is Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, THINK ON THESE THINGS  (and weigh and take account these things [fix your minds on them]) ."

 

The human mind is so powerful. It can simply imagine a scenario and cause the feelings related to that scenario to arise within us. For example, if I am thinking of relaxing on the beach, reading a great book, I can sense the peace that would accompany that experience without even actually participating in it. The things we choose to meditate on take root in our hearts. This is why we are encouraged in the book of Philippians to think on good things, on Godly things. We can be filled with Godly emotions and His characteristics can fill us and flow out of us as we meditate on Him. You know the old saying, "Don't be so heavenly minded, you're no earthly good."?  Well, I encourage you to be so Heavenly minded (Godly minded) that you are of great earthly good. The Bible promises us in Isaiah 26:3 that He will keep us in perfect peace as our thoughts rest on Him. In other words, when you meditate on Godly things, He rewards you with peace.

To meditate means to ponder, regurgitate, think aloud, consider continuously and utter something over and over again. You've heard the phrase "chew the cud" referring to meditation. Well, chew the cud is referring to the process a cow uses to digest its food. It will chew it's food, swallow it, digest it and bring it back up again to re-chew, re-swallow, and re-digest. In this way the cow can extract ALL the nutrients and benefits from what they are eating.  I know this sounds disgusting but you can see a very important spiritual application here. When we meditate on the Word of God and the things of the Lord, we are chewing them, swallowing them and digesting them as spiritual food. And throughout our lives we bring back up those things that we have learned and we apply them repeatedly to our lives and thus extract all the great benefits and rewards of living a Godly life.

I challenge you today dear sister, dear brother, take authority over your thoughts, over your memories. Align them with Scripture and walk in newness of life.

Romans 12:2: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. "

 

Sacred Scars

I often wish the scar on my abdomen were not so unattractive. My youngest son, Seth was 10 lbs 11 oz and had to be taken cesarean section. Because of his size the incision was vertical rather than horizontal. Many years later due to a benign tumor, that same incision would be reopened. It is a significant scar but I’ve come to the realization that everything we face in life and all of our experiences are framed with perspective.  I can choose to focus on how unattractive this scar is and feel ashamed or I can choose to focus on the fact that this scar resulted in producing the life of an amazing young man that I adore.  This same scar reminds me that God was faithful at a very scary time in my life when doctors were certain something terrible would be found in my body.  In addition, I have another scar on my neck that is a result of my battle with cancer. These scars share a common thread, they all tell a story and they are all framed by the way I choose to view them. They tell a beautiful story of God’s faithfulness and His promise to never leave nor forsake me.  Everything we face in life has the potential to serve as a memorial of God’s faithfulness or our resignation to defeat.

 

Two thousand years ago scars were formed that would reshape all of humanity. These scars would be suffered unjustly and change the world forever. The scars Jesus bore serve as a beautiful reminder of His unfailing love and His selfless sacrifice. The scandalous cross with all of its violence and gore is framed with a beautiful picture of redemption. When we remember His suffering we cannot help but feel overwhelmed with gratefulness that He was the propitiation for our sin. The spotless, perfect Lamb of God left all of the comfort and splendor of heaven to suffer a scandalous, violent death as the single greatest act of love ever to be performed on Earth. Do we think of the gore and the violence? Do we focus on the wounds on His Hands, His Feet? No. We focus on the beautiful result of His sacrifice. The gore, the violence, the scandal yielded a beautiful love story. We frame the shame of the cross with the beauty of redemption and reconciliation. We frame the injustice of it all with the realization that there was no greater love than this. We frame the sufferings of Christ with the victory of His resurrection and the promise of His return. We choose to remember these scars, the shame of His nakedness on the cross, and the injustice of it all can be framed by continual awareness that God so loved us that He gave. He gave His all because His greatest desire is to have relationship with us. Oh, what a Savior!!! I am eternally grateful for His sacred scars.

Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Holiness

LIFE:

Before receiving Christ and committing my life to Him, I had a sense of emptiness. Even when I felt happy, there seemed to be something missing. I always felt there had to be a greater purpose in life. Satisfaction and contentment seemed to elude me. In the bad times the hopelessness seemed almost too much to bear and the sense of aloneness overwhelming. I look back now and realize how thirsty my soul was for a relationship with its Creator. I believed in the existence of God. I believed in the existence of Jesus and even in the existence of the Holy Spirit. But I realize that even the demons believe and they tremble. If I am drowning and someone throws me a life preserver, I have to know how to utilize that life preserver to save my life. If I don't go beyond knowing God exists and arrive at a relationship with Him, I will never fill the emptiness in my heart. The age old question, "What is the meaning of life" is easily answered in the Word of God. We were created for Him!! It's that plain and that simple. We were created for His purposes, His pleasure, His glory. Am I always "happy" now that I have a great relationship with the Lord? No. But I am always filled with joy and more importantly the assurance that even in the not-so-good times I have a Savior that has promised to never leave me alone and a resolve within my heart that He is working all things together for good. However, that "good" He is working is not necessarily my definition of "good". God sees all, knows all and has the wisdom required to use my life for HIS purposes and I trust Him because I know His character and that He loves me.

 

LIBERTY:

The world will tell you that Christianity is a set of rules and regulations and that entering a relationship with Jesus means giving up everything and anything that is "fun". This couldn't be further from the truth. As a matter of fact, entering a relationship with Jesus sets you free to choose a life of holiness. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 "We are allowed to do all things, but not all things are good for us to do. We are allowed to do all things, but not all things help others grow stronger.  Do not look out only for yourselves. Look out for the good of others also." So, in essence, a life without Christ is a life of bondage where we are giving in to our own desires rather than being free by the Spirit of God to honor the One that created us. Without the Lord in our lives, we are destined to carry the burdens of life ourselves. God never intended for it to be that way. He lifts our burdens and we are able to rest in the fact that He sustains us and gives us exactly what we need each day to make it thorough victoriously. So, you see dear friends, after we commit our lives to Christ, He gives us liberty and freedom to walk out the rest of our days honoring Him.

 

PURSUIT OF HOLINESS:

Once we develop our relationship with Christ and realize the unbelievable price He paid for us and how He set us free, we can't help but desire to give our lives back to Him. It's not about "buying" our salvation, rather a reasonable act of worship to say, "Lord, I am so grateful for all You have done for me and I love You so much but I recognize I have nothing to offer you. Nothing that would even come close to commensurate the sacrifice you made. So, I offer you my life, a living sacrifice. Have Your way in me. Mold me and make me and remake me into the person You desire me to be. Use me to glorify You. This kind of surrender pleases the Lord and releases our burdens. We trade the stress of making our lives count in the way we think they should in exchange for His will, purposes and plans for us. We no longer live for self but dedicate our days to honoring Him and our fellow man. This pursuit for Holiness reminds us that only the Lord in us can cause us to walk in victory and in ways that would draw others to Him.  

Hebrews 12:14 "Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, since no one will see God without it."

 

Growing in Grace

Over the 30 plus years I have served the Lord, I have heard Bible verses, quotes and statements made by many believers about growing in grace. However, recently, this idea came alive to me. I am currently enrolled an a theology class being taught by my Pastor. Over the years I have heard him on multiple occasions give the definition of grace (unmerited favor) and even heard him expound on how grace is not a license to sin. Recently, however, he has repeatedly taught us the difference between mercy and grace. Even though they are in some instances very interchangeable, they are two distinct and different characteristics altogether. In rather simple terms, he defines the difference this way: Mercy is what I need when I fail. Grace is what I need so I won't fail.

In our theology class last night, Pastor mentioned that the more intimately we are acquainted with Christ, the more grace we receive. I meditated on this for quite some time and of course this makes perfect sense. The more I know Him, the greater my understanding is of what pleases and displeases Him. I thought of the perfect example: After work on Friday, I ran several errands and decided to stop at Saladworks for dinner. I purchased my meal and sat down at a table and began eating and was interrupted by a man seated at a nearby table with his girlfriend:

             Man: Excuse me?

             Me: Yes?

             Man: I was wondering if I offended you just now?

             Me: Ummm, no. Why?

             Man: Well, my girlfriend said that she believes you would be offended by my using

                       the "F" word moments ago.

             Me: Oh, well, I didn't hear you.

             Man: Oh, good. I didn't think you were offended.

             Me: Well, if I HAD heard you, I would have been sad because I am a follower of

                    Christ and believe in using words for good and ones that promote peace.

             Man: (Surprised look on his face) Oh, well then I'm glad you didn't hear me.

As Pastor discussed the idea of growing in grace by knowing Christ more intimately, I thought of this encounter. You see, this man did not know me. He did not know me at all. Had, he known me, he would have been well aware that foul language would be offensive to me. In the same way, the greater we know Christ, the better we understand what grieves Him and what pleases Him. We cannot simply assume that He is well pleased with us. Rather, through spending time in the scriptures and prayer, we are afforded the opportunity of seeing His heart and getting to know Him on a level that subdues us from participating in things that would grieve Him and focusing our time and heart on things that bring Him honor. Thus, the process of "growing in grace."

In the same way, I have shared in the past that there is a difference between knowing ABOUT someone and knowing on a level that you have an intimate relationship with them. If I were the leader of Tim Tebow's fan club, I would more than likely know a lot about him, probably more than the average person. I may even know his address, his favorite color, his favorite Bible verse, his birthday and even some childhood stories. Yet, I've never met him.  Even if I have met him, I've never spent time intimately with him. I've never heard him speak from his heart or built a relationship with him. In the same manner, we must be diligent to know and love Christ intimately and not simply know OF him. Even the demons know of Him. I encourage you dear brother, dear sister, grow in the grace of God by becoming more intimately acquainted with Christ and knowing Him in an even greater way. 

"You therefore, beloved, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen." 2 Peter 3:17-18

Pin the Tail on the Donkey

I can remember as a child going to birthday parties and playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey. I didn't particularly like this game because I remember feeling very vulnerable with blindfolded eyes and being spun around and losing all my bearings and sense of stability. To fully surrender and completely trust another with your safety as well as point you in the right direction can be very intimidating.

 

I have been meditating on this thought lately and how many times in my walk with God, I would not fully surrender. I would feel my plans and my thoughts were better for my life than His. Inevitably, I would find myself in a mess and crying out to God for help. I have come to the realization that I'd rather be in the middle of the most uncomfortable situation and feeling helpless if it's the Lord's will than to be heading on a path of my own desires destined for destruction and less than God has planned for me.

 

We have all suffered broken trust. Some of us more than others and we can allow it to shape the way we trust God or we can decide that in spite of all our disappointments, God is perfect and trusting Him is NEVER in vain. He never fails.

 

I want to possess the faith and trust of Abraham. The Bible tells us that "By faith, Abraham when called to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, EVEN THOUGH HE DID NOT KNOW WHERE HE WAS GOING." Hebrews 11:8 God blindfolded Abraham, spun him around, placed the "tail" in his hands and said "Go." Feeling dizzy, uneasy, off-balance and completely vulnerable, what did Abraham do? He went!!! He trusted God. He didn't allow his own level of comfort or his own ideas cloud the voice of God. Nothing was keeping Abraham from possessing all God had for him. This is the kind of heart I want. When God says, go, I want to go. When God says, no, I want to say thank you because You know best.

 

Lord, may my entire life be surrendered fully to You. May I possess an attitude of gratitude no matter what storms may be raging around me. May I continually realize that You are worthy of praise, completely void of and aside from any and all circumstances in my life. When you blindfold me, spin me around and command me to "Go", may I confidently step out and go. Even if I'm feeling dizzy, off-balance and shaky, may I trust you to guide me and secure my journey with your peace. May your Word stabilize my footing and your Holy Spirit strengthen me for the path you have prepared for me.

Priceless

Have you ever felt unimportant? Have you ever felt insignificant? Have you ever felt as if you didn't matter? If you have not, count yourself extremely fortunate. Most of us can so clearly identify with feelings of inadequacy and insufficiency. Contrary to our feelings, God places great value on us. He sacrificed it all just to reconcile us back to Himself. The Bible likens us to a valuable lost coin and so important that everything else ceases until we are found and returned to Him. (Luke 15:8-10) We are also compared to lost sheep (one among many) and the Shepherd leaves the 99 sheep to come after just one of us because we are THAT important to Him. (Luke 15:3-7)

I would be remiss if I did not balance out this encouraging post with a healthy dose of humility. We live in a society filled with narcissism where all the focus is on self. "Do what feels good." "Look out for number one." "I, I, I." "Me, me, me." As a result, we have a generation that wants to know what faith in Christ can do for THEM. How will they benefit?  This is not the importance I am referring to. I am reiterating your value for the Kingdom of God. He did not reach down and rescue us so we could obliviously live our lives with some false sense of heaven-bound security. We are on assignment. Our reasonable act of appreciation to the Lord for His indescribable sacrifice is to offer our lives to Him. (Romans 12:1) Our love and commitment to Him should so overflow from us that our greatest desire is to share it with this hurting, desolate, hopeless world we live in. Otherwise, why wouldn't He just miraculously transport us into heaven once we are redeemed?

Dear one, when feelings of inadequacy, unimportance and insignificance seem to overwhelm you, meditate on His amazing love for you and how He sacrificed it all just to have a relationship with you. Even when you despised Him or ignored Him or didn't even acknowledge His existence, He still sacrificed it all in hopes that one day you would see how great His love is for you. (Romans 5:8) 

 

Surely you recognize that you would not sacrifice your life for something that has little or no value. How much more the Creator of all things would not waste His time redeeming something of no value. He places great value on us because He desires to know us intimately and He wants us to be in a loving relationship with Him.

 

The Bible says He fashioned and formed us while we were still in our mother's womb. (Psalm 139:13) You are His masterpiece, one of a kind, formed by His majestic Hands. If you were a painting, you would be exceedingly more valuable than any Van Gogh, Picasso, Rembrandt, da Vinci or Michelangelo because you were inspired and created by the Master Artist, The Maker of all things beautiful and lovely. (Ephesians 2:10)

 

It is my prayer that today you would have a revelation of how important you are to the Lord. I am asking the Lord to place His Hand upon you today and pour out His amazing love on you so you might know the neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate you from the amazing love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39) Because you are priceless.

SWEETLY BROKEN

I have never proclaimed to be a poet nor the daughter of a poet. In fact, I have never written a poem in my life. However, throughout this week during my quiet time I had phrases and poetic "lines" coming to mind. I began to journal those thoughts and this is what they yielded:

SWEETLY BROKEN:
Well acquainted with heartache, calling loneliness her friend

Under the weight of abuse and betrayal she’d bend

Cruelty and violence were visiting kin
While mistreatment and insults clothed her skin

Where could she turn, who would understand?
Is there one who would lovingly offer their hand?
Secrets so plentiful and pain that abounds,
She found it much safer to quietly drown
No solace to be found neither day nor night;
Her memories torment and fill her with fright
Year after year she resolved this was her life,
Convinced she was destined to be companioned to strife

She embraced self-loathing and shame like lovers
And dreamed of the day this life would be over
Greeting her loved ones with no tear in her eye,
She built up walls so no one would pry
The prison she built was comfortable it seemed
‘Til one day she realized gone were her dreams

Finally she pondered of what she once knew,
How He would hold her and kiss her and comfort her too
How she never had to walk alone or afraid,
If only she turned to the One by whom she was made
She fell on her face and sobbed and sobbed,
Lamenting over all she’d been robbed

Then tenderly He embraced her and drew her near,
Reminding her sweetly that she was dear
His touch was tender, compassionate and kind,
She realized so quickly He was renewing her mind
Dear child so weary, broken and worn,
Why do you insist on being torn

I’ve sacrificed utterly to make you complete,
All you need do is sit at My feet
Allow me to strengthen and make you free,
The only fare is surrender to Me

In victory she walks, her head held high
Not prideful or boasting but by His side
She knew more battles were coming one day
But fear didn’t grip her or cause her to stray

She surrendered completely and decided to trust
The One who was flawless and made her from dust
Hand in hand they now journey this life so restored
She was fulfilled and delivered by the One she adored

Heart Transformation

As Christians we have been taught that if we just put the correct boundaries in place (have a mentor, limit where we go, guard what we watch, be cautious whom we befriend), read the Bible and pray every day, etc. then we will be empowered to live victorious lives, free from choosing sin. But, I disagree with this school of thought. I am not saying these practices are bad, but I have seen in my lifetime many that put these safeguards in place and in spite of it all, still continually fall into deliberate repeated sin. I am convinced; the only way to live life victorious over sin is through a heart transformation. Once our desires align with an unquenchable thirst to please the Lord, then we alter our choices, we walk differently and talk differently. Christianity is not a set of rules and regulations, it’s a relationship with Christ, and just like we do not purposely behave in a way that hurts the hearts of our friends and family whom we love deeply, so too, we do not make choices that grieve the heart of our Savior and the Lover of our Souls. It really is that simple. If we love Him, we strive to please Him in every way possible. “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” ~John 14:5

Recently I learned through a very difficult lesson that this is not a one-time commitment. Having a heart that continually thirsts to know God more and to walk in ways that please Him, is a continual process. Each day I awaken, I must examine my heart and spend time with the One who created it to ensure that I am walking, living, and loving the faith to which I ascribe.

Once our heart has been transformed and beats to please the Lord, we find our choices being filtered through a desire to please Him. Then, when moments do arise that we fail, we will immediately be grieved in our hearts and instantly repent before the Lord and surely in our regret, will be careful not to repeat the offense again.

I was reminded of when a patient requires a heart transplant. The patient recognizes the value of the new heart, after all it cost someone else their life. If this patient is truly appreciative of the sacrifice that was made so that they may live, they will care tenderly and responsibly for the heart they have been blessed with. They will honor the person that made the sacrifice for them by caring and behaving responsibly with their new heart. Dear reader, the One that sacrificed His life for you, has given you a new heart. Honor Him today by caring for it in a way that pleases Him and shows how appreciative you are for His sacrifice for you.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." ~Romans 12:1-2

It Ain't Gonna Bake Itself

Those of you that know me, know that the Lord very often speaks to me in analogies and illustrations. I find it so endearing that the One who made me would obviously know the most beneficial way to speak to my heart. With that premise, I share what I was meditating on last night and this morning. I envisioned the process for baking a cake. Fetching the recipe. Purchasing all the necessary ingredients.  Gathering all those ingredients and utensils together to begin the process.

 

 

 

There is a chocolate cake that I make very often that most people love. I don't even have to look at the recipe anymore because I have the recipe embedded in my mind. Now, picture this, you've done all the footwork for this delicious cake but you stand and stare at the recipe. You stare at all the ingredients. You think about all the hard work you've already put into making this wonderful cake. You spend hours memorizing the steps and the ingredients.  But you do nothing more. What did it yield? Not only do you NOT have a delicious cake to enjoy, you have nothing to share with others. You had all the knowledge you needed to make the cake. You had all the ingredients, you just didn't apply that knowledge and mix those ingredients together and follow instructions to produce the desired effect. You could have displayed all the zeal and excitement you could muster up and it still would not have produced a cake. You could shout, wish, hope and cheer all the ingredients on. You could praise and exalt the recipe with as much enthusiasm you can manufacture and it STILL will not produce a cake.

 

 

 

Our Savior has paid the penalty for our sin. He has given us His Word as the instruction book for life (recipe) and the Holy Spirit, Who empowers us to live a life that honors Him.  And just like the chocolate cake recipe I have memorized, we can memorize the entire Word of God (and I am a huge proponent of the benefits of Bible memorization) but if we do not apply it to our lives it profits us nothing. James 1:22-24 says "Do what God’s word says. Don’t merely listen to it, or you will fool yourselves.  If someone listens to God’s word but doesn’t do what it says, he is like a person who looks at his face in a mirror, studies his features, goes away, and immediately forgets what he looks like." I remember when my son, Zach was very small, he had his memory verses from school and church each week. He knew so many Bible verses. One day he was talking about how happy he was that he earned $5 from a relative for quoting 26 Bible verses (one beginning with each letter of the alphabet) and I said to him, "Zach, I'd rather you memorize ONE Bible verse and live it out in your life then memorize the entire Word of God and never live one ounce of it."  When we apply God's Word to our lives and consecrate ourselves to Him, not only does it honor Him and cause us to walk in blessing but it speaks volumes to those around us. We can TELL others about the love of Christ and we can TELL them how right living leads to blessing and causes our hearts to be filled in the knowledge that we are pleasing the Lover of our Souls or we can LIVE it so they can see it for themselves. Words only go so far. Knowledge only goes so far. Show me a man/woman that WALKS in the character and integrity of God and I'll show you someone whose reputation will walk before and after them with little or no words at all. Acts 4:13 reads " When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."

 

So, dear reader, I encourage you, I encourage myself, let's mix all the ingredients God has given us for a Godly life together and share them with those around us. Let's apply the Word of God daily to our lives and let's take the lessons He shows us along the way and use them to cause us to align our lives in ways that honor Him and cause others around us to know to whom we belong.

 

Matthew 5:14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven." ~The Message