Limitless comfort

November is here and off to a rollicking start! Christmas talk and plans are already being made. Stores are already decked with green and red and before long bells will be jingling, but here at Carpe Diem Domino, we are just getting started in the month-long celebration of Thanksgiving.

I've already got a jump start on some posts ideas for this month but tonight, I just wasn't sure which direction the Lord wanted me to go in with today's post. So I sat here at my desk for awhile and then decided to just open up the Bible and see what He would give me. I asked Him to guide and direct to something He could teach me and something I could walk away with.

He delivered. (just like He always does).

I took the right corner of my Bible, pulled it back and opened up to Isaiah 41. Okay, seems like just as good of a place to start as any so I allowed my eyes to wander around the page a little bit but quite quickly, one verse just popped right out at me,

"For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not: I will help thee." Isaiah 41:13

Today, I am thankful for God's Word.

It's as though the Bible is a layered like an onion. When I first got saved, I understood enough to get saved but as I have grown in Him and learned from Him and as the Holy Spirit teaches me through The Word, some verses seem to become "uncovered" as time passes. I learn to appreciate the words in that Book in different ways and different depths as I progress in my walk with Him. No other book can do that.

I know I have read Isaiah 41:13 before. A few times actually. But tonight, when I opened my Bible up and asked God to give me something and He makes that verse pop off the page to me, well, that verse just got another dimension for me tonight.

He gave me comfort tonight, knowing that He is my God and He'll hold my hand....that is comfort, limitless comfort.

Take time

It's finally here! The month I look forward to the most! The other months are good...but there's nothing like November. It's my favorite kind of weather...a crisp chill in the air, temps that are perfect for a sweatshirt and jeans and nothing fits a November Saturday better than fresh-baked, homemade cookies.

Those are all reason why I love November but the biggest reason of all is because of Thanksgiving. I don't think that one single day is really truly enough time set aside to be thankful for all the blessings we have. So as I've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of November and this subject of thankfulness, I began to mentally start my annual "List of Thanks". A few years ago, I started a list on November 1st and each day I would add 1 thing I was thankful for to the list. By the end of the month, I could look at a sheet spilling over with things that I am blessed with.

This year I plan to do the same and I am sure I will be sharing most of that list here but as this month was getting closer and closer, God kept bringing a specific story from the Bible to my mind. It's the story of the 10 lepers.

"And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: and they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

And one of them,, when he saw that he was healed, turned back and with a loud voice glorified God. And fell down on his face at his feet giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger." Luke 17:14-18

10 percent. That's it. Only 10 percent of the men who were healed from the terminal and awful disease of leprosy turned back to thank and glorify God. 90 percent were unwilling to thank God for what He did for them.

That thought astonished me this week. But to be honest, since God showed me and taught me from that passage, I have seen how unthankful we can truly be. I can unfortunately believe that 90 percent of us are unthankful. We find ourselves living in a society with an "I deserve..." mentality. We believe we deserve health, wealth, family, honesty, respect and love. Oh how mistaken we are for "every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father" according to James 1:17.

We ought to be thankful just for God's mercy on us and the simple fact that He doesn't give us what we truly deserve. I found this story to be shameful. These men were given life back. They were "afar off" because when someone contracted leprosy and it began to overpower a person, they would lose limbs and other parts of their body and people kicked them out of the city, to the outskirts. If lepers did come near others they had to yell "Unclean! Unclean" as a warning for those around them.

I have a feeling that each and every one of these men who were healed were exceptionally happy. Who wouldn't be? They could go back to their families, they could hug their kids again and no longer did they have to worry about being unclean. But I bet the man who came back to thank Jesus, well, I bet he had the most joy because in verse 19, Jesus tells him, "Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole."

That man walked away not only a healed man, but a faithful man and most importantly, he walked away a thankful man.

One other thing I noticed about this passage of scripture is that it will takes time to be thankful. The man who came back to thank Jesus started out with the rest of the group but he came back. Maybe once Jesus said arise and go thy way, maybe that man caught up with the other nine. Maybe they asked him what caused his delayed arrival. I'm not sure but I do know it will take a bit of time to be thankful.

I want to be like that one man who came back. He came back alone but he recognized the need for his thankfulness. I don't want to take things for granted, especially those things which the Lord has given me (which happens to be everything!) So although I may not absolutely love my job day in and day out, I'm off to work and thankful that God has provided me with one.

Which group will you be in? Are you part of the 90 or are you part of the 10? Will you be found walking away with the blessing or will your face be planted at His feel, overwhelmed with gratitude?

"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him and bless his name. For the Lord is good: his mercy is everlasting: and his truth endureth to all generations." Psalm 100:4-5

Tricky

I can't wait until tomorrow comes. I am eager to flip my calendar from October to November and the main reason for this eagerness is because of today: October 31st.

As this day was approaching, I began to think and ask God, "should Christians partake in Halloween festivities?" Well, I got my answer.

Now, let's take just a minute here for a disclaimer. Each Christian has their own walk with the Lord and if He hasn't given you a conviction about Halloween, then that's fine. However, I am going to share a few of things He has shown me and reminded me this week and I personally believe that these are the bare basics for all Christians but that is my own opinion and since this is my blog, here we go...

God is a God of separation.

"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing: and I will receive you and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:17-18

When you become a Christian you leave some things behind. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that you are a "new creature". That means that there are some things you don't do anymore and the verse above calls us Christians to separate ourselves from the world. We are to leave the old, and cleave to Him.

As I've walked through the stores or driven down the streets or even seen on commercials, there is NOTHING holy about this holiday. It's all darkness and focused on evil. These are the exact opposite of Jesus Christ who is called "the Light of the world". Christian, don't you think it is foolish to be meddling in the celebration of darkness when just yesterday (hopefully) you were in church and singing about Christ?

"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" 2 Corinthians 6:14

Except for using it as an opportunity to witness, we ought to have nothing to do with Halloween, Christians. It is not our scene.

"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from the appearance of all evil." 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

I'm looking forward to tomorrow....one day closer to a true holiday (my favorite holiday) Thanksgiving!

Unloading

Do you ever have one of those days where you just feel a little off? You're not sure what exactly it is but you just don't quite have the same hitch in your giddy-up?

Sunday was one of those days for me. I didn't really feel that great on Sunday and I was tired but it wasn't a bad day, it was really good however there was just something else that was throwing me off.

But then I went to church and we started off the song service with It Is Well With My Soul. (sigh) That hymn can minister and at times be more piercing to the heart than some sermons. We started singing and I was overwhelmed when we reached this line:

My sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more

WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!

I don't have to bear ANY burdens anymore!!

Sometimes, don't you just want to shout with joy for what God has done?! Oh man, sometimes I don't know if I can contain myself. Once we accept Christ as our Savior, we lay ALL of our burdens and sins down and we never have to pick them up and bear them anymore. Who else can offer that?

I haven't gotten over that line all week!

I see people all around me having anxiety or insomnia due to stress. Stress over all kinds of things, stress over everything but we as Christians don't have to bear that burden of stress. We can lay our stresses, our worries, our burdens at the foot of the cross and He will handle them.

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

He call us to Him. He wants us to bring our burden and worries to Him. I was thinking about this the other day and I thought of it as though God was saying to me "Don't worry about it, Amy. Let me worry about. Let me handle it. I'll make sure it all works out. You just focus on doing the things I have already given you to do and leave the worrying to me."

I'll tell you what, that was a comfort! I hate making decisions and I hate having to make decisions on my own sometimes. But He just gave me this reminder that I never really do have to make decisions on my own, I can take them to Him, we can discuss it together and if I am patient enough, He'll tell me the right thing to do.

"Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him" Psalm 37:7

So thankful this week that I can simply rest in Him because He has taken care of all my sins and He will take care of all my worries and burdens.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well, with my soul,

What are you sharing

Thanks Twitter.

Thanks Facebook.

Before you two came along, I was blissfully ignorant of all the mundane happenings in the lives of my friends and acquaintances. But now, thanks to you, I am continually updated on what they are having for dinner, what movies they are seeing, concerts they are attending and the fact that they often sleep in on Saturdays. Fascinating stuff.

Because of Twitter and Facebook, we have become a culture that I believe shares too much. I don't want to know about arguments between a husband and a wife (and neither does anybody on your friends list by the way). Some information is best to not publicize and yes, posting something on Facebook is publicizing it.

I am not guiltless in this topic as I am aware that there are plenty of things I am sure I have posted that did not need to be posted in the first place. But I got to thinking about how much we share and what exactly it is that we are sharing.

And then it happened. I logged onto Facebook the other night and saw the latest status updates. But something struck me that night, one status update was this:

"Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men." Psalm 107:8

Then not even 5 minutes later, a different friend, who lives across the country updated their status to this:

"Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men." Psalm 107:15

Notice these are actually 2 different verses found in the same great chapter.

It caused me to think though. With all this "sharing" that our culture and society is doing these days, we Christians ought to be sharing this - sharing His Word and sharing our praises to Him.

The verses above are from Psalm 107, which actually has many great verses, including this one:

"Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy." Psalm 107:2

We are to share, but Christian, we need to make sure we are sharing the right information. Now I know we all have our "not-so-good" days but before you update your status with a complaint about how little sleep you got or how lonely you are, take a moment and reflect on not just what He has given you, but focus and ponder who He is.

He is a friend.
He is a comforter.
He is a Father.
He sticks closer than a brother.
He will never leave you.
He always has time for you.

If you have been redeemed by Him and you know Him as your Savior, your Friend, then Christian, come on! Come join me and let us praise Him! Let us use every opportunity we have to praise Him! Praise Him for his wonderful works, for His goodness and most of all just for who He is!

"Heal me, O Lord and I shall be healed, save me and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise." Jeremiah 17:14

Is He your praise?

The greatest...

Do you ever have a desire to do something great?

I sit in a cubicle everyday and talk to people from all across the country about their medical bills and their insurance. Nothing too great about that. But then I read about something great that I can do...

"Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment."
Matthew 22:36-38

I love how God can keep things so simple for me and my simplistic understanding. I heard this verse on the radio today and it was like a light switch was turned on in my mind.

If I want to do something great, not for myself but for His glory and honor, well, then all I have to do is love Him with all my heart, soul and mind...everything else (including "great" things) will fall into place as He sees fit.

You can dance if you want to...

"And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod." 2 Samuel 6:14

Do you ever have one of those days where you just want to dance? When your happiness in Him is overflowing and it's almost as though you can't contain it?

Now I know I am not the only one. The Bible says in Ecclesiates 3:4 "A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance." So I know that there is a time to dance. I can't think of a better time than when you are happy in the Lord.

That's what David did. You read through the Psalms and when David was happy or celebrating or even worshiping, dance was involved. Now, please understand I am not suggesting dancing during the next song service at church, I am simply stating that I have noticed in my reading lately the use of dance.

David danced before the Lord in song and celebration and praise to Him and it pleased the Lord. Maybe we can learn something from that. Maybe we can apply a bit of that to our own lives and break the mold a little and be a little bold the next time the Holy Spirit moves us.

Even if you are not the type to have any desire to dance (even if it is before the Lord and no one else), we can still be encouraged to be sure we are praising Him and not just for the great things He has done for us, but simply just for who He is!

So whether it be dance, or song and simple humility, let us take some time this week to praise God and do our best to please Him.