Be still

I admit it.

I'm a tech junkie.

My iPhone is one of the last things I see at night and one of the first things I see in the morning.  (If you are honest, many of you would admit to being the same way.)

Anyways, one of the first things I look at on my phone is my Bible app.

I use YouVersion.  I think it's a great app.  I can use my King James version and it offers a variety of Bible reading plans, devotionals or study guides.  I use it to help keep me accountable on my Bible reading but one of my favorite features is that when I open the app each day, it has a verse of the day.  Today, that verse was Psalm 46:10

"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."

Great verse!

As I went about my normal morning routine, that verse just rolled around my mind and God was using it to show me some things.

Now, if you're anything like me, you probably have some sort of schedule for your day.  Get up, read your Bible, eat breakfast, shower, go to work, etc.  Schedules are great to have and personally, I need them.  I am far too lazy to not have a schedule.  I need to have stuff to do to keep me busy and I like to be prompt.  But God was telling me to lighten up the reigns on some of my scheduled time with Him.  He doesn't like to be put into a box.  He does deserve to be in a box.  He needs to be our schedule maker, not penciled in if there is time available.

We live in a day and time when we like things instant.  We glorify "busy-ness".  Psalm 46:10 this morning, reminded me that sometimes, God just wants us to be still.

I need to just be still and to let God have full control of me.  It's so easy to allow your mind and your thoughts to wonder but if I can be still enough, God can take control of my mind, my thoughts, my tongue and my time and He can use it for whatever He so wishes.

But if I am busy and limit God to just 15 minutes of prayer in the morning, I cut Him off.  I limit Him on allowing Him access and control of me - and I am His creation!  That's ridiculous to limit God!

God's been working on me about my prayer life lately and this morning when I was thinking about that verse, I also thought about the hymn, "Sweet Hour of Prayer."  When I first got saved, I remember thinking, "Geez, spending a whole hour on your knees praying?!"  But it's amazing how fast time can go by when you give God uninterrupted, unlimited, devoted prayer time.  Please understand, I am not trying to come off as super-spiritual and imply that I pray for at least an hour every day, because I don't.  Shamefully, it's usually nowhere near that.  But I'm simply sharing the things God's been pointing out to me.  He wants me to give Him that kind of time and attention in prayer.  He was basically telling me, "Don't put me or our conversations on a timer, Amy."

He doesn't deserve to be on a timer.  He doesn't work that way.  I need to be on His schedule, not the other way around. 

I have experienced prayer time that has last over the 60 minute mark and William Walford was correct in describing it as "sweet".  I want to experience that more and the most amazing thought, is that God wants to experience that with me.  Who am I that he is mindful of me or that He would take the time or even desire to hear me, listen to me or speak to me?

But that's God.  He's great like that!

Those times that I have not limited or timed my prayers with God, when I just let the conversation between us flow free and unhindered, it truly is sweet and it amazes me; all the things and people God brings to my mind and my heart when I don't try to rush through it. I've realized that many of those times, God turns my prayers off of me (my problems, me desires) and fills that time with praying for others.

"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2

Every single person needs prayer. Some will voice their requests frequently while others will keep them more private. Yet, God knows the needs of each and every person & He can bring them to your lips during your prayer time...if you're quiet enough and still enough for Him to do so.

So that's my charge to you, reader, because it's His charge to me as well.

Be still. Be still in your mind, be still in your mouth. Take time out of the day, out of the schedule and turn the timer off.

Be still and find out what God has to say.

I need it!

I need to read my Bible every day.

I need to pray every day.

I've come to realize recently that it is not so much simply an option if I should read my Bible and pray daily as it is a sheer necessity for me.  Yes, I know that it is good for me but I have come to notice that it is more than that.  I simply need it.

Just like many of you, when that calendar switched over to January, I was filled with optism and high expectations for myself. 

"I'm gonna do it this year and I'm going to make it a daily commitment."

I was off to a great start actually.  I couldn't sleep on New Year's so I got a jump start on my new Bible reading plan for the year and managed to get a good lead into it, even read a few days ahead!  But then ofcourse, reality and responsibilities settle in quickly and before you know it, I had ended a day and realized, oops, no Bible reading done today.

Shoot.

Well, I got back on the horse the very next day and have kept trying to plug away at it.  But I noticed something on those days when I didn't get my Bible reading in or when I didn't start my day off with the right amount of prayer time.  On those days, life was harder.  Anger and disappointment met me quite a bit quicker than normal.  My patience seemed even thinner than before and spiritual activity/thoughts struggled to even show up on the radar. 

The same thing happens with my prayer life.  A few months ago, a friend and I started calling each other in the mornings before we go to work.  We take just a few minutes and pray for the day.  Once in awhile, it doesn't work out for us to make that prayer call and I can tell a difference in my day.  Days when we make the call, I walk into work feeling focused, prepared and ready for whatever the Lord sees fit to bring me.  I'm usually calmer and more compassionate on these days and often, I notice more witnessing opportunities on these days.  But days when that phone call doesn't take place, well, it's just not the same.  I still pray on my way to work, when I think about it.  See, its easier to forget to pray or to let it slip because the accountability factor is gone.

I need to make time - every morning - and spend it with God in prayer and in His Word. I need it.

I can get discouraged easily. My natural reaction is to reach out to someone for encouragement but what I really need to do is go to God for that encouragement.

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things 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." Philippians 4:8

Spending time in prayer and in God's Word will help keep those kinds of things at the forefront of my mind. When my mind is filled with those good things, there won't be any room for discouragement, bitterness, discontentment, envy or any more of those vile and wicked thoughts that seem to always be ready and waiting to get my attention.

God reminds me

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

1 Corinthians 15:58

Last week, my Pastor asked if anyone wanted to quote their life verse or a verse that the Lord has given them this year that has helped them.  Immediately, the verse above came to my mind.

The Lord has brought this verse to my mind several times throughout this year in different ways.

He has used it to remind me to be thankful for the faithful, unmovable, steadfast Christians that I know.  I know Christians who have gone through some things, hard things, and they have stuck it out.  They could have easily thrown in the towel, questioned God or just given up.  But they didn't.  They remained faithful.  They called on God.  They leaned upon Him.  They sought Him.  They followed after Him through the valleys and through the trials.  I'm thankful to be surrounded by these kind of Christians.  I can learn from them.

He has also used this verse to repeatedly encourage me this year.

I can question myself, question my life and what I am doing.  I wonder if I am living my life in such a way that I can make an impact of somebody, anybody for Him.  I question and doubt that from time to time and when I do, the Lord brings this verse to my mind.  I am not just saying that figuratively either.  I mean it. 

One day a few weeks ago I was having a rough day at work.  I needed some fresh air so I went out to my car on my lunch break.  I sat out there and just prayed for a few minutes.  Just before getting out, for some reason, I decided to flip on my radio for a minute.  As soon as I flipped it on, that verse came on as the "verse of the week."

Not a coincidence.

I appreciate that about God.

He knows my needs better than I do.  He knew I needed that verse.  He knew when I needed it. 

I'm thankful that God has reminded me this year that although I can feel like I am letting others down or not taking a leap of faith or just doing the same old thing, God knows I am doing my best to do what He wants me to be doing and that my labor is not in vain as long as I am doing it to please Him.

 

The Perfect Gift

Those stockings that were hung by the chimney with such care, are down now, folded and tucked away.  The presents are all unwrapped and now mingled in with our other possessions.  The lights are getting unplugged, wrapped up and ready to be stored away.  The tree is being undressed and will be taken out to the curb. 

We can spend hours looking online or roaming up and down the aisles of the stores and malls, searching for that perfect gift.  But we have already been given the perfect gift.

 

"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."  2 Corinthians 9:15

God the Father gave us his Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ gave himself. 

How can I put into words what Jesus Christ and this gift mean to me? 

I'm a writer so ofcourse, I'm going to try but Paul summed it up pretty well by calling it unspeakable.

He's amazing.  He's given me everything. 

He's given me...

LIFE - "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."  John 10:10

HOPE - "For thou art my hope, O Lord God; thou art my trust from my youth."  Psalm 71:5

SALVATION - "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among me, whereby we must be saved."  Acts 4:12

REDEMPTION - "In whom we have redemption, through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace."  Ephesians 1:7

FORGIVENESS - "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  1 John 1:9

FRIENDSHIP - "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."  Proverb 18:24

LOVE - "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."  1 John 4:10

Those are just a few of the things God has given me as part of his unspeakable gift.  Honestly, I believe this subject is like the words of the hymn The Love of God:

Could we with ink, the ocean fill and were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade,

To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry,

Nor could the scrolll contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky!

 

Even though Christmas is the time we celebrate this unspeakable gift coming to Earth, I'm so thankful this gift is unlike any other gift.  It is never out of style or out of stock.  It is always right for me and it is the gift I can share. 

 

Thank you, Jesus for laying your glory by and coming to earth so I wouldn't have to die.

Burdens

I work in customer service and it can be really good but some days may also be really hard.  The normal day includes a balanced mixture of both.  But the other day, it was just a rough morning and I was struggling to keep a good attitude.  The essence of my job is 2 fold: I am to help people but also people call me with their problems.

I don't always feel like handling other people's problems though.  I've got my own problems to handle.  It is not always enjoyable to be loaded down with one problem after another but that's part of the job.

I was having one of those mornings this week.  The type of morning where each call was a complex issue and the person calling just wanted someone to fix it and fix it now.  They don't care about my problems, they just want to me to fix their problem.  My patience was wearing thin and I began to feel frustration bubble up inside.  I tried taking deep breaths but I could tell, it was continuing to build. 

Then the Lord brought these verses to mind...

"Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you."  1 Peter 5:7

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11:28

I was dumbfounded. 

It's hard for me to comprehend the fact that God wants our burdens and our cares.  I am so unlike Christ in that aspect.  It's hard to want to take somebody's burden or problem.  But Christ, He flat out asks us, pleads for us to give our burdens to Him and trust Him with them.

Oh how relieving it is to have someone that I can go to with all my burdens, all my worries and thoughts and desires and cares!  He wants them all.  He wants the good and the bad.  He want the simple and the complex. 

I am so thankful to have a God that loves me enough to take my burdens and carry them so I don't have to.

Truly Thankful

Well, here we are.  Thanksgiving Day.  So much for my blog-a-day challenge this month.  But I do have plenty to be thankful for and today as we gather together with friends and family and enjoy the food that has been planned, prepped and prepared, my mind is filled with what to truly be thankful for this year.

I've spent the last few weeks reading over so many verses in the Bible about thanks, thanksgiving and being thankful.  The Bible has more than enough to say about being thankful, it's all over that Book, from beginning to end.  God knows man and knows that we have to constantly be reminded to be thankful.

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy." 

2 Timothy 3:1-2

Thankfulness breeds certain characteristics in a person, so does unthankfulness.  I want the results of a thankful person, a thankful Christian.

I could write a whole long list of all the "things" I am thankful for today.  For my salvation, my family, my great church, my great Pastor and his family, all the wonderful friends God has blessed me with, my health, my job and so on.  But instead of continuing that list, I am going to focus today's post on the source of all those things I am blessed with.

First and foremost, I am thankful for my God.

My God is alive!  He has overcome death and Hell and He is victorious!  He is the One, True God.  He is the One who existed before all else existed.  By Him were all things created and created for His pleasure.

Millions of people have faith and millions and billions of people believe but unfortunately, many put their faith and belief in a man who is in the grave or many put their faith in a church or religion.  But my God and Savior, Jesus Christ, He is real!  He is alive and here are just a few of His attributes that I am most thankful for...

 - I am thankful for God's love.

"But God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8

There are days when I struggle to understand why God would love me.  I mean, "what is man, that thou art mindful of him?" (Psalm 8:4).  Why would a just and holy God who is in need of nothing, why would He love me?  I don't always understand it but boy, am I thankful for it! 

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He first loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."  1 John 4:10

He doesn't love me because of what I do for Him or because I love Him.  He loved me first.  He loved me while I was yet a filthy sinner who rejected Him.  He loved me when I rejected His love.  But His love, man, it was there from the beginning and it doesn't have an end.  It doesn't have an end!  I'll never run out of His love for me!  It has no limits!  There is no love that is greater than his love!

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."  John 15:13

- I am thankful for God's forgiveness.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  1 John 1:9

His cleansing is unlike anything else.  I know my sins, I know my thoughts, my actions, my motives and my intentions and I understand how unholy they are but yet, for some reason, he not only forgives but cleanses me.  He forgives and cleanses of not just some but all!  ALL!  

- I am thankful that God listens.

"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:" 1 John 5:14

There are so many people who plan their day around a "call to prayer" that occurs five times a day.  But they pray to a god that is dead, who is lying in a grave and who cannot do anything about their prayers or even hear them.  But me, I can pray to a God who is alive!  A God who can do something about my prayers and who actually hears me!  

I am so thankful that I can go to Him and just talk.  I can pour my heart out before Him and even though I cannot see Him (yet!)  I know He is there and more than that, I know He hears me.  I know because His word tells me.  

I listen to people talk all day.  I have learned that many times, people just want someone who will listen, someone who will take an interest in them and what they have to say.  I know I want that, I desire that and that is why I am so inexpressibly thankful that I can take my cares, my dreams, my desires, my pains and heartaches, my decisions, anything...I can take it all to Him and He'll listen.  Wow.  That amazes me.

"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." 1 Peter 5:7

- I am thankful for God's presence.

"Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."  Joshua 1:9

A couple of weeks ago in Sunday school, I taught on the fiery furnace (honestly, one of my favorites).  I love that story because I love to picture the scene.  The King orders the furnace to be turned up and they bind of the 3 men and throw them in.  Then they see 4 men standing in the flames and the "fourth is as the Son of Man".  Wooo!  Gives me goosebumps to think on that!

I know that no matter if I am going through a trial or if I am on the mountaintop of triumph, God is there.  Always.  

Well, those are just a few of the many attributes of God that I am thankful for.  I will post more in the next couple of days but today, I think that is enough for me to focus on and to ponder and to thank God for.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

"Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.  Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.  Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.  Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually."  

1 Chronicles 16: 8-11

Thankfulness Challenge: Day 3

"Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest." 

Joshua 1:9

I'm thankful for a God who is there.  

For the past few weeks in my Sunday school class, we've been learning about the life of Daniel.  My favorite story is the fiery furnace, when God Himself stood in the midst of the fire and flames with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. 

Tomorrow, we will finish up the story of Daniel and the lion's den.  I'm just amazed at the fascinating things God has done.  I'm thankful that the same God who stood in the fire and flames and protected Daniel from the lions is the same God that I get to put my trust in.  He's the same God that stands in the flames of my trials with me.  He protects me and keeps me safe and I am nowhere near facing the same kind of trials and conflicts or persecution that Daniel and his friends faced. 

I'm thankful for a God who is there.  He's there when I need Him.  He's there even when I don't think I need Him.  He's there to cheer me, there to comfort me.  He's there to guide and direct me.  He's there, providing for me and protecting me.  I don't have to ask Him to be there, He's just always there.  He's that "friend that sticketh closer than a brother."  

Amazing.