DO I HAVE TO?

Do you remember when your kids were little and you'd tell them something to do, and they'd whine "Do I have tooooooooooo?"  or worse "I don't WANT to!!!!!!!"  Some days I feel just like that, don't you?

There are lots of things I WANT to do.  Projects that I want to work on, things I ENJOY doing like working on my scrapbook that I am SO far behind on.  Reading a good book just for pleasure.  Even sitting down and just watching a good movie. 

Yet the demands of what I NEED to be doing are ever pressing.  The tyranny of the urgent, I think someone called it.  Yes, the urgent is definitely a tyrant at my house!  I marvel at people who say "I am so bored.  I have nothing to do."  They must live in a box and eat TV dinners and have the dry cleaners pick up their laundry every day at their door.  (Seriously, do people really do that?)  I once knew a woman who would NOT change her baby's dirty diapers.  And this was during the day of cloth diapers.  She had a diaper service that picked them up and returned them all clean.  And, if it got too "fragrant" before a pick-up, she'd just toss them in the trash.  That still blows my mind!

We are currently studying the Bible chronologically at our church.  I am LOVING this study.  However, it does require taking the time to really study.  I have heard from lots of the ladies taking this study that they are just overwhelmed by it all.  Not that the homework is so much.  It's just that they are learning so much more than they ever dreamed and trying to process it all has taken them aback a little. 

I think for some, studying on a daily basis has been an adjustment.  Many have fallen into the thinking that "a little dab will do ya".  Read a little JESUS CALLING and that was enough.  Now don't get me wrong.  I truly have been blessed by JESUS CALLING and mean nothing negative by it.  But, it can NOT be your entire diet.  It was never intended to replace the Bible.  It was only meant to supplement. 

Reading the Bible on a daily, consistent basis is one of those things that start out as being a HAVE TO, but as you do it, it quickly becomes a WANT TO.  It draws you back, day after day, as it begins to speak to you right where you are.  Most people who have never done Bible study simply do not understand that.

Although there are lots of things on my TO DO list that I'd rather skip, I am thankful that Bible study has moved to the WANT TO DO list because the more I do it, the more blessed I am.

If you are not currently reading the Word on a regular basis, I urge you to find a Bible reading plan, join a Bible study group at your church or a nearby church, or even sign up for one online...there are numerous ones available FREE.  However, you do it, just DO IT!!  It may start out as a HAVE TO til you get into it, but I guarantee you, before long it will become a WANT TO!!

Now...back to my HAVE TO list ..........sigh.

I WILL TRUST YOU LORD

Life is hard.  That's a fact.  Ups and downs.  Upheavals.  Broken relationships.  Heartache and more. 

The children of Israel knew all about hardship.  They had known years of hard labor at the hands of the Egyptians.  They had trekked in the desert for 40 years.  They ate the same meal for years.  YET, God never left them nor forsook them...not for one moment.  No, rather He hovered over them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  The Shekinah glory Himself, watching over His treasured possession. 

The same God who watched over the Israelites and took them through the Red Sea and across the Jordan River....

The same God who marched them around the walls of Jericho for 7 days and on the 7th brought it all down with one shout....

The same God who promised to make them a great nation...

The same God who made promise after promise and has kept EVERY SINGLE ONE....

That God is with me today.

And even when it's hard, I will trust Him.

When my heart aches, I will trust Him.

When my prayers go unanswered, I will still trust Him.

When no one understands, I will trust Him.

When I don't understand, I will trust Him.

When there seem to be no answers, I will trust Him.

When things don't turn out the way I'd hoped, I will trust Him.

When I am disappointed, I will trust Him.

When I can't SEE Him working, I will believe that He is, and I will trust Him. 

When I fail AGAIN, I will trust Him.

When I don't know what to do, I will trust Him.

He is MY God, my refuge and my strength, my strong High Tower, the lover of my soul and I will trust Him because He has claimed me as His own and He has promised He will never leave me, He will never let me down or let me go.  And....I trust Him.

EXPOSED!

I am continually amazed at how the Word of God is new every day, how we see things we NEVER saw before even if we've read the passage a hundred times.

That happened to me this week.  We have recently begun a chronological Bible study, His Story, My Story.  We are in Genesis, which I have read many times.  I've read and studied and taught the creation story more times than I can count.      

But as I was reading it this week, there it was.  Something I had never really grasped before, at least not in the way I did as I read this week.

"Then the eyes of them were opened and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves."  Genesis 3: 7

When we read they were "naked", we naturally think of them in the buff, without clothes, suddenly trying to cover up themselves with their hands.  So that not being adequate, they grab the first thing they can find large enough....fig leaves. 

But as I read that this week, it hit me.  Yes, they were PHYSICALLY naked, but more than that, they were EXPOSED.  They had taken of the forbidden fruit and immediately sin entered the picture and their sin was exposed.  They could not hide it, even though they desperately tried.

And though they tried in their humanness to cover their sin, it was not good enough.  An innocent animal had to be slain, blood had to be spilled in order to COVER their exposed sin.  Why?  "Because without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin." Hebrews 9:22

But, all that the sacrifice of the animals could do was to temporarily COVER their sin.  It could not remove it.  "For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.  " Hebrews 10: 4  But when Jesus came, His sacrifice on the cross REMOVED our sin and our guilt once for all.  "By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ once and for all. And every priest stands daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can NEVER TAKE AWAY SINS.  But this man [JESUS] after he had offered one sacrifice [HIMSELF] for sins FOREVER, sat down on the right hand of God."  Hebrews 10: 10-12. 

HALLELUJAH!!!  What a Savior!! Our sin is no longer covered, but it is removed once and for all, as far as the east is from the west.      Not COVERED and to be remembered and brought up to us again and again, year after year.  But totally and completely REMOVED! 

That precious royal blood did what the blood of bulls and goats never could.  It set us free.  Like the old song said "What can wash my sins away?  Nothing but the blood of Jesus."  I am so thankful for the blood, so thankful for what Jesus has done for me.  What about you?  Have your sins been REMOVED??  Fig leaves may cover, but Jesus' blood will wash you white as snow!

WHAT'S YOUR POSITION

I remember as a child, kneeling by my bed, saying the child's prayer:

Now I lay me down to sleep

I pray the Lord my soul to keep

If I should die before I wake

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

I guess that was my first experience of kneeling in prayer.  After I grew up, I continued to pray, not "canned" prayers or recited ones, but from my heart.  I can't say I was ever taught that...guess I just picked up how from listening to others at church pray.  

As an adult there have been some times that I knelt to pray.  It seems the more serious we get in prayer, the more our posture gets low.  I can remember reading Kay Arthur's testimony years ago.  She talked of lying prostrate on her face before God.  That was new to me.  I had never done that.  More recently, we have had Bible teacher, Angela Thomas, at our church.  She spoke of getting face down in the carpet quite often.  And I have learned to do that a few times myself, again, more in times of deepest need. 

It's in those times of bowing our knees or lying face down in our carpet, that we are humbled.  We are brought low before a righteous and a holy God.  It puts us in our place, if you will.  And somehow, the more on our face we are, the more humbled we become, the nearer we feel to Him.  Because then we are in a position that we have to look UP to Him.

At our church, we get on our knees every Sunday.  

Funny thing is, at our former church, they also did that, but I was not raised to do that.  It felt odd.  Sad, isn't it, that getting on my knees in God's house felt "odd", but it did.  And there, some people did and some didn't.  But where we are at church now, there is scarcely a person who does not bow, and most of them are because they can't for physical reasons.  And, you know what?  It doesn't seem odd any more.  It feels right. 

God has blessed me with an added bonus of being able to worship with our daughter and son-in-love most Sundays.  And to be able to bow with them and to see them bowing before the Lord together blesses this momma more than words can express. 

May I ask you who are reading this....when was the last time YOU bowed your knee before the Lord?  Maybe you do it on a regular basis, or maybe you never have.  That is not to say that you don't pray, but you just don't bow.  I certainly believe you can "bow" in your heart in an attitude of worship and humility.  But, I can tell you firsthand that there is something powerful and humbling by actually bending the knee before the Father.  

Maybe you don't bow because it really isn't important to you.  You acknowledge that there is a God.  Maybe you even pray occasionally when you get in a jam.  But most days, you really do not think that much about Him.  Or maybe you don't bow because you do NOT believe.  Maybe you think that any god will do as long as you believe in something or someone.  

But you need to know that one day, EVERY knee will bow to God the Father.  

"Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear."  Isaiah 45: 22, 23

Did you catch that word in red?  EVERY!!

That includes every person who reads this blog.

Every person on Facebook.

Every person in the U. S.

Every person around the world.

Yes, EVERY person past, present and future.....including:

Billy Graham

Tim Tebow


Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich

President Obama

Martin Luther King

Mother Theresa

Christopher Columbus

George Washington

Abraham Lincoln

George Wilkes Booth

The list is endless because it says "EVERY" knee.  That also includes you and me.

So you see, whether we ever find time to bow now or not.  Whether we ever think it is important or not.  Whether we have ever even THOUGHT about it before or not....one day, "EVERY knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father."  Romans 14:11

If you have never bowed your knee to the Father, I pray that you will today.  Personally, I want my knees to be so used to bowing that when that time before the Father comes when ALL knees are bowed, that it will not feel "odd", but it will feel more like coming home as I bow before MY Heavenly Father.

IOUS

HOW TO REALLY PRAY
by John Piper


For thoughtful people, how they pray for the soul is governed by how they believe God acts. So, for example, if they believe God changes people’s souls so that they make new and right choices, then they will ask God to make those soul-changes through evangelism and nurture. But not everybody is thoughtful about the way they pray. They don’t think about what view of God is behind their praying.

So what I suggest is that we learn first to pray for the soul from the way the Bible prays for the soul. If we do that, then our prayers will probably be good prayers, and in the process we will also learn about how God acts. Here is the way I pray for my soul. I use these prayers over and over again—for myself and my children and wife and for the staff and the elders and for all the church. This is the meat and potatoes of my prayer life.
The first thing my soul needs is an inclination to God and his word. Without that, nothing else will happen of any value in my life. I must want to know God and read his word and draw near to him. Where does that “want to” come from? It comes from God. So Psalm 119:36 teaches us to pray, “Incline my heart to Your testimonies and not to gain."
Next I need to have the eyes of my heart opened, so that when my inclination leads me to the word I see what is really there and not just my own ideas. Who opens the eyes of the heart? God does. So Psalm 119:18 teaches us to pray, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law.”
Then I need for my heart to be enlightened with these “wonders.” I need to perceive glory in them and not just interesting facts. Who enlightens the heart? God does. So Ephesians 1:18 teaches us to pray “That the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.”
Then I am concerned that my heart is fragmented and that parts of it might remain in the dark while other parts are enlightened. So I long for my heart to be united for God. Where does that wholeness and unity come from? From God. So Psalm 86:11 teaches us to pray, “O Lord, I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name.”
What I really want from all this engagement with the Word of God and the work of his Spirit in answer to my prayers is that my heart will be satisfied with God and not with the world. Where does that satisfaction come from? It comes from God. So Psalm 90:14 teaches us to pray, “O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”
But I don’t just want to be happy in my own little private world with God. I want my happiness to be as full as possible for spreading and expanding for others. I want to be strong in joy. This will make me durable in the face of threats or adversity. Where does that strength and durability come from? It comes from God. So Ephesians 3:16 teaches us to pray, “That God would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man.”
Finally, I want my strength in Christ to produce good deeds for others so that the glory of God will be seen in my life. Who produces these good deeds? God does. So Colossians 1:10 teaches us to pray, “That [we] will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord . . . bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
All this I pray “in Jesus’ name,” because God gives these things to my soul only because Jesus died for me and removed the wrath of God so that the Father might “freely give me all things” (Romans 8:32).

To remember some of these prayers, I use an acronym—IOUS—almost every day in praying for those
I love, asking God to give us an inclination to his Word and not to money or fame or power (Psalm 119:36), and to open our eyes to see wonderful things when we read his Word (Psalm 119:18), and to have hearts united in the fear of God rather than fragmented over a dozen concerns (Psalm 86:11), and to be satisfied in his steadfast love (Psalm 90:14).

COMMITTED-PART 2

COMMITMENT.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines commitment as follows:

(1)  an agreement or pledge to do something in the future; especially : an engagement to assume a financial obligation at a future date 

(2) the state or an instance of being obligated or emotionally impelled commitment to a cause

Furthermore, the word COMMIT is defined as "to obligate or to bind" as in a contract.

In today's fast paced society, commitment is a word that has lost a lot of its value.  People do not keep their commitments like they used to.  In times past, a man's word was his bond.  A handshake sealed the deal. Not any more.  Even when you have it in writing, with every 'i' dotted and every 't' crossed, those deals are broken.

 How many men and women have stood before God and a congregation of witnesses and vowed...."committed".... themselves to each other til death, only to find a few years down the road that one or the other tossed that commitment aside for something they deemed better?  

 It is not uncommon today for couples to marry and go through the motions of a traditional wedding, saying all the vows of commitment, yet with the mindset of "If it doesn't work, we'll just get a divorce and start over".  Is that real commitment?  I think not.  

 God takes vows and commitments seriously.  

"If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth."Number 30:2 

"That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth." Deut. 23:23 

"Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You," Psalm 56:12 

"Better not to vow than to vow and not pay. " Eccl. 5:5

"But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment" James 5:12 

Yes, there is definitely a difference between just having an "interest in" and being COMMITTED.

Whether in marriage, in exercise, in Bible study, or in any other arena, a commitment is serious business.  Do not enter in lightly.   

January is a time for "New Year's Resolutions".  Most of them fall broken by the wayside before the month is out.  Why?  Because we are "interested in" making changes, but not "Committed".  

This month, I encourage and challenge you to take a look at those things you really WANT to do to make a difference in your life.  Then decide, "Am I committed to this or just interested in doing it?"   As the sign from yesterday said, if you are committed, you will accept NO excuses.  You may stumble.  You may even fall down a time or two.  But you will get back up, dust yourself off and get back on track.  

I, for one, am committed to this Bible study, His Story, My Story.  I want to know the full counsel of the Word of God.  I'm committed to reading all the way through the Bible this year...not just 1/2 way.  What about you?  I hope you will join me!! 

HOW COMMITTED ARE YOU?

A friend posted the following on Facebook this week:

At first glance, it reminded me of my daughter who just ran her first 1/2 marathon in December.  13 miles!!!  Did you get that.....THIRTEEN MILES!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It blew me away!  We were SO proud of her.

Of course, she didn't just get up on the morning of December 3 and slip on her running shoes and decide "Oh, I think I'll run the 1/2 marathon today!"  No, she began months in advance by running first one mile, then two, then three until she finally worked herself all the way up to THIRTEEN!!  

I marveled at her stamina and her discipline, her determination and COMMITMENT to the goal she had set before her, even when her knee started to give her trouble.  She would not quit.  Even when it was extremely hot, even when she did not feel her best, even when she had 100 other things she had to do, she made the time to run.  She was the perfect example of the photo above.  In fact, she could be THAT woman running!

That premise layed forth in the photo applies to anything, not just running.  

This week we began a Bible study called His Story, My Story.  We will be reading through the Bible chronologically.  The whole basis of this study is that we must KNOW His story which is contained in all 66 books of the Bible, not just bits and pieces.  

Did you know that God was so committed to His people knowing His Story that He commanded that it be read to the people, in its entirety (which then was only the first 5 books as we know it), every 7 years?!  And that was to be passed down from generation to generation.  Why?  Because God wanted them to know what He had done for them, how much He loved them and to understand His faithfulness to them.

Our leader and the author of the Bible study, Iva May, shared with us Thursday that she has read THROUGH the Bible every year since the 1970's!  WOW!!  I don't know many people who can say that. I sure can't.  In fact, I've started more times than I can count, but somehow I always got sidetracked and never got all the way through.  

But this year is going to be different.  Why?  Because I am committed to it.  I am no longer just "interested" in trying to do it.  I'm committed to doing it.  I'm committed to learning ALL of His Story and not only learning it, but being able to TELL it to another.

So, what about you?  Are you COMMITTED or just INTERESTED?  

More tomorrow.