Light & Darkness

February 28, 2011 at 5:36 am (Beliefs, Christianity, Personal)

Good Morning Friends,

It’s interesting to me how, when we stop trying to hold the reins, God works in our lives.  Recently, God has been doing a lot in my life, and He’s been showing me some areas where I needed to work.  These are areas that I thought I had already done the work that needed to be done.  There is one key thing wrong with this last statement – that is, I thought that I had done the work that needed to be done.  If I was doing the work – where was God?  The truth is, if I am trying to the do the work by myself, then that means at some point I pushed God away.

I’ve mentioned in earlier postings that I like to be in control.  I don’t like to have people tell me what to do, and I don’t like to think that there is anything that I cannot do.  However, that need to be in control is the very thing that can keep me from growing because when I am in control, 1) make a mess of things and 2) I don’t see the areas that I need to change.

Matthew 6:22-23 says, “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”  The problem is, when I am in control, I don’t let God’s light shine into my life.  Those dark corners stay dark.  In fact, if left unchecked by Christ, that darkness grows until it consumes my whole life.

By contrast, when I let God have control, those areas of darkness are lit up, and then I can see where work needs to be done.  I can see where change needs to take place.  John 8:12 says, “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”" By relinquishing my “right” to change myself, I allow God to work in me.  I allow His light to permeate my life, and I get to have a greater impact for His glory.  This is not something I can do by myself.  Only God can truly change a life.  I can’t force myself to feel differently than I feel.  But God can work on those feelings, and if I let Him, He can change my feelings.  He can fill my heart and my life with change.

So, how do I do that?  How do I let God have control and not yank it back?  It comes down to trust.  Do I trust God enough to say, “You know better than I do what I need.  Give it to me, even if I kick or stomp my feet and throw a tantrum.”  It is realizing that God has my best interests at heart and is infinitely able to do the miraculous in a persons life.  How do I learn to trust God?  I spend time in His Word.  I pray to Him.  I cultivate a relationship with Him.  How do you learn to trust someone if you never spend time getting to know them?  It’s the same with God – you can’t truly trust Him until you know Him.  I can accept His gift of salvation, and never grow.  Or I can accept His gift and get to know Him, and grow more than I ever thought possible.

So, as I stated at the beginning of this entry, God has shown me some areas that need work.  I can choose to grab the reins and try to make those changes by myself.  Or I can do the harder thing and let God have the reins and change my heart.  The question becomes, do I want to live in the light or do I want to live in the darkness?

What about you?  Are you, like me, going through areas of change, realizing that there was more work to be done that perhaps you thought had already been done?  Or perhaps you have never taken the first step of knowing God, which is to recognize that you are a sinner, and accept God’s gift (that’s right – it’s FREE) of salvation.  Are you ready to do that today?

Lord, I pray that you will bless those who read this and use it for your glory.  May we all learn to trust and know you more.

In Jesus’ Name ~ Amen

I hope you have a wonderful Monday.

God Bless!

Leave a Comment

More Thoughts on Love

February 25, 2011 at 5:37 am (Beliefs, Christianity, Personal)

Good Morning Friends,

God has been talking to me about what love is.  Yesterday, I wrote about what some different definitions of love are, and how God showed us the ultimate love when His Son died for our sins.  Today, I want to focus in on one definition that I think sums up love very well.

As I mentioned, one of my former pastors had a definition for love that struck a chord with me.  Pastor Randy told us that love is “doing what is best for the other person.”  This means, that even if I believe something else is better for me, or even if I think what I want is more important, doing what is best for the other person is to be my foremost thought.  In other words, I am to die to myself.

So, what does this mean?  Does this mean that I give and give and give and get nothing in return?  I don’t think so.  It has been said that the more you love, the more love you have to give away.  I believe when this phrase is used, most people think in terms of human love.  If you love others, others will love you.  But that’s not always the case, and in fact, I have a different hypothesis about that statement.  I believe that the more I love, the more grace and the more love God gives me to have the strength to love more, even when I feel like I can’t love anymore.

We are commanded to love others.  This isn’t a command that was given in the New Testament.  It was given in the Old Testament first.  Deuteronomy 6:5 says “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”  This is reiterated in Matthew 22:37: “And He said to him, ” ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’”

We are called to love our Neighbor as well.  Matthew 22:39 says, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”  This again is a quote taken from Leviticus 19:18.  And finally, we are called to love our enemies.  Proverbs 25:21-22 says, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.  For you will heap burning coals upon his head, and the Lord will reward you.”  Matthew 5:44-45 says, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

So, as you can see, we are called to love.  God would not give us a command that He could not and would not help us to fulfill.  Will you join me today in striving to love all those whom God has made (which means everyone)?  We are going to fail at times, but God knows that.  He asks that we do our best to follow all of His commands.  His grace is sufficient for you and for me.

God Bless!!

Leave a Comment

Thoughts on Love

February 24, 2011 at 4:33 pm (Beliefs, Christianity)

I have been giving a lot of thought lately to love.  What is it?  How do we show it?  How do we know we have it? Why do we seek it? Really, all of this boils down to my first question – WHAT is love?

There are so many different definitions of what love is.  For instance, Bing DICTIONARY has these definitions of what love is:

Verb: 1.transitive and intransitive verb feel tender affection for somebody: to feel tender affection for somebody such as a close relative or friend, or for something such as a place, an ideal, or an animal;  2.transitive and intransitive verb feel desire for somebody: to feel romantic and sexual desire and longing for somebody;  3. transitive verb like something very much: to like something, or like doing, something very much;  “I love watching old movies on TV.” 4. transitive verb show kindness to somebody: to feel and show kindness and charity to somebody;  “love your enemies”; 5. transitive verb have sex with somebody: to have sexual intercourse with somebody (dated)

So Love is a verb – it is an action.  It is something we DO.  Now, based on the above definitions, it almost seems like it’s more of a feeling we act on, and less of something we should just do.  Let’s see what else Bing DICTIONARY has to say about love.

Noun: 1. passionate attraction and desire: a passionate feeling of romantic desire and sexual attraction;  2. very strong affection: an intense feeling of tender affection and compassion; “Young children need unconditional love.” 3. romantic affair: a romantic affair, possibly sexual; 4. somebody much loved: somebody who is loved romantically or sexually; “He was her first real love.” 5. strong liking: a strong liking for or pleasure gained from something “his love of music”  6. something eliciting enthusiasm: something that elicits deep interest and enthusiasm in somebody “Music was his greatest love but he also liked ballet.”

Both the noun and the verb, according to Bing DICTIONARY talk about feeling and mostly dwell on the feeling elicited, as well as sexual or romantic feelings and actions.  But is this what love is?  If so, then love is shallow and fleeting.  What is the point of loving, if you can fall in and out of love so easily?  It hardly seems worth it.
A former pastor of mine defined love as, “Doing what is best for another.”  I really like this definition because this is something that seems tangible to me.  Sexual or romantic love is temporary – there are going to be times when I don’t “feel” love.  But there is never a time when I cannot do what is best for someone else – whether it be my husband, my children, my friends, or anyone else.
*
Jesus was an example of the ultimate love.  He gave His life for us.  He asked God to keep Him from having to do so, if it was His will (Matthew 26:39).  But He did not fight it – He gave His life willingly.  He submitted to God and humbled Himself, and died for you and for me (Philippians 2:8). He didn’t have to.  He is God – with all the rights and powers of God.  He could have torn Himself off of that cross.  Instead, He did what was best for us – He died.  The good news is, He did not stay dead.  He rose again – there are many witnesses who saw Him after He arose.  Now, He is in heaven, again doing what is best for us – preparing a place for us.
*
I want to have a love like His.  I want to do what is best for those around me.  I often fail at it, but God is faithful and He uses those failures to do a good work in the lives of those who love Him and serve Him.  What about you?  Do you desire this love?  Do you desire to accept this gift that God offers – His love and salvation?  You can.  All you need to do is ask Him.  He’s waiting for you – won’t you accept Him today?
*
Until Next Time!
*

Leave a Comment

Grace and Life

February 16, 2011 at 6:11 pm (Beliefs, Christianity, Personal)

Today I am going to share an excerpt out of my journal because I realized a few things today, that hadn’t sunk in before.  I don’t usually share my journal with others, but in this case, I think it’s ok. :)

I can see God working in me.  I am still “becoming,” and I always will be, but I am seeing little changes here and there.  Elisabeth Elliot writes of her friend Terri’s walk and one line struck me (well actually, several did).  She writes, “She [Terri] could not do it [die to her self-life] by herself, but she could will to do it, and she could pray,” and “Grace enables us to do what we can’t do (A Path Through Suffering, pg 30).”  I had read these lines before and had even underlined the second I quoted, but it only sank in this morning.  I can’t do it on my own, but with God’s grace (and help) I can.  I often try to do it all by myself (pride) because I don’t want to let go of my “self-life.”  But I need to put my pride aside and I need to ask for help.  I can’t let my pride get in the way of my relationship with God.  I need to set it aside and accept God’s grace to get me through the difficult times.

See, I thought grace was a one-time gift that I received at salvation, but the reality is, grace is an on-going gift – one that God wants to give me every day, if I will let Him.  Even though I accepted His grace at salvation, when I let my pride get in the way of God’s gift of grace, it’s like I am saying that His grace is not sufficient for me.  I have been so wrong at times, and I had no idea that I was doing that until this very morning.  There is something to be said for the timing of God because when I read this almost a year ago, I did not get it.  But since then, God has obviously been working in me, because I see it now.

Now, it’s not that I never let God help me, or that I never accept His grace.  It’s that I often let my pride get in the way of my relationship with God and my relationships with others.  I get caught up in the details and forget to let God work.  It all goes back to the control issue.  I want to be in control, and the reality is, I don’t have control, God does.  God knows what is going to happen and He has a “big picture plan” in mind, and my agenda does not change His plan.  I have God’s grace at my disposal every day – now it’s time to take advantage of that.

I am so thankful that God never gives up on His children.  I have an everlasting hope because God saved me.  There is nothing that can happen to me that He cannot use for good and for His glory.

~Gabby

1 Comment

Worry

February 7, 2011 at 5:43 am (Uncategorized)

I often find myself worrying about things. I worry about how I’m going to afford the things we need, about how my kids are going to grow up, about my job, and sometimes about little things that mean nothing in the grand scheme of things.

The thing is, very few if any of the things I mentioned above consist of anything that I can control. I mean, I do work, so I do have the responsibility to budget wisely, so I guess I can have a direct effect on my financial situation, but I can’t control what is going to go wrong at any given moment, such as tires that need replacing. With my kids, I have the responsibility to give my best to them, and to bring them up in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord,” but I can’t control the way they think, the way they feel, or even what they do. When it comes to my job, I can do the best that I can with the work I am given, but I can’t control the actions of others, nor do I get to make final decisions on matters that affect the company as a whole. So again, I can only do so much.

So, why do I worry about these things? What is it that I think I can do by worrying? If I were to be honest with myself, I probably worry because I feel like I have some sort of control over the situation if I worry. It makes me feel like I am doing something by worrying. But really, do I even have a chance at making a difference in a situation by worrying about it?

According to Matthew 6:25-34 says, “25“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27“And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28“And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31“Do not (J)worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32“For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (NASB)

According to this passage, God has everything under control.  I have no ability to even add one hair to my own head, let alone affect the situations that may come up.  I am not in control.  That is God’s place, and every time that I try to grab that control back into place, I end up messing things up.  I can’t do anything by worrying, but by God’s grace and with His leading, I am able to make a difference in my life and the lives of others.  I need to take my mind off what I need – according to this passage, God already knows we need food and clothes – and I need to put my mind on God’s kingdom and on His righteousness, and let God take care of the rest.  That doesn’t mean I don’t do my best in all situations, that just means, I do my best, and then I let God have control and work His will.

How comforting to realize that I don’t have to take care of everything.  I just have to do my best and seek God – and He will lead me in His will – even if that means that someday, I lose everything.  God is in control.  I can rest in Him.

Leave a Comment

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.