BFN or, BFF?

Recently, I've been thinking more and more about how wonderful it is to be called a friend of God! I am perplexed at how little I live in that truth most of the time. It seems the Lord certainly understands this though because just this morning as I was 'down on myself' due to struggling with a particular, ever-insistent addictive behavior in my life, HE made certain the following song began the music line-up on my morning devotions radio program.   "There's not a friend like the lowly Jesus... No, not one.. No, not one.. None else can heal all our soul's diseases.. No, not one.. No, not one!"  As soon as the 'soul's diseases' words were sung, my precious Lord comforted me by assuring me He is there all the time and is willing to heal, thus deliver me from this behavior I succumb to more often than I'd like to admit. Each time, though, I must consciously decide whether to say,'By For Now' to Him and his offer of deliverance, or to welcome my Best Friend Forever as He offers his Holy Spirit's strength to me.

One of the keys to accepting His power to deliver me is to remember to remember! My husband says he often forgets to remember! Oh, how I know this reality personally!  I need to pray more fervently for myself, asking for HIM to remind me!  I need to close now, so please consider PSALM 103 as it exhorts us to 'forget not all his benefits..' He forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases.. redeems our lives from the pit and crowns us with love and compassion... satifies our desires with good things so our youth is renewed like the eagle's.  I, especially need to let HIM satisfy my desires with all HE knows is good for me! Who could ask for a better forever friend?

TO BOAST, or not TO BOAST?

In my current study of the New Testament book of ACTS, I am at the part where Paul says he knows a man who was allowed to get a glimpse of the 'hereafter,' as one who loves the Lord will know it. His account speaks in a third person manner although he could have been the one he speaks of..(He would not want to boast of having had this experience even though he had been left for dead after being stoned on his first missionary journey.) If he was indeed the one granted this look into eternity, he chose not to draw attention to himself which makes sense because those of us who love the Lord only want to point to our Jesus in all of his glory.. not ours!

So, what does it mean when we are told to boast in the Lord? Jeremiah 9:23-24 remind the strong, rich,and wise not to boast in their strength, riches, or wisdom respectively.. Then it says , 'But let him who boasts, boast of this.. That he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.' Wow! We are told to speak with strong confidence about how we can/do KNOW, and understand, the LORD GOD, CREATOR of ALL!

I like the lyrics to a contemporary song which basically say this,.. "I will not boast in anything, no gifts, no power, no wisdom, but I will boast in Jesus Christ..." (then they go on to list things like his grace, his power, his mercy, etc,.. but I don't have them accurately memorized..)   I will wrap up for now, by simply saying that for me, it is a joy to ocassionally share with you just a little bit of what the LORD has me thinking about. May He give you the wisdom and fervor to share whatever/whenever He is intending you to do so.  SOLI DEO GLORIA.. To God's Glory Only!

SUNDAY- SON'SDAY or, SINDAY?

Warm greetings to all who read this... The title pretty much says it all... OF COURSE, I realize that some of you gather for worship on SATURDAY, which I fully understand... So, the puns don't 'work' for you, but the gist of this message still applies to us all... We get to choose how to spend each day of  'our' week so most of you who read this DO choose to set aside one for worship, fellowship and other God-centered activities.   The reason I am writing this is because I WAS DELIGHTED when I finally thought of the use of SON'SDAY for a pun on SUNDAY! Also, in an earlier message, I'd mentioned SINDAY, which of course, is how a vast majority of humanity is content to designate it. (whether it's by 'busyness' around the house, yard, etc... or with sports, etc..) OH! I do realize that many Christians have jobs which require 24/7 staffing so I have worked a paying job on Sundays in the past.. This message is not about being 'legalistic,' but is meant to encourage each of us to set aside at least ONE day per week to worship our Lord, fellowship, minister, and rest.. (even if this means doing so alone or with a spouse, etc. due to a job or unavoidable committment..)

The 'particulars' of how we spend this day vary greatly and I am certain our Lord will direct each of us according to his pleasing will..   Basically, we can be grateful HE provided us with a precedent by resting on the 7th day! Enjoying our Lord, thus blessing HIM, is something many of us forget to let ourselves do! So, dear readers, make it a point to have at least one SON'S DAY  each week, NO MATTER the name of the day on the calendar!                         P.S.- I don't mean to say we can only enjoy the Lord one day a week! Actually, each day can be a SON'S DAY, thus making it a truly SONny day!

These T.R.Y.ing Times

Years ago, my mom taught me to Trust, Relinquish, and Yield.  Of course, she was referring to trusting only in the Lord as well as yielding to his wondrous all-suffiency in all matters.. Then, as we do these, we can more readily relinquish any/all desires to insist upon 'our' way instead of his! Basically, this is what I wrote about in my most recent post, but it is a re-packaging of it. I am quite aware of how so many of us seem to only be 'comfortable?' when we are yielding to what we think we want.... UGH! Notice, I said, 'us,' since I want to make certain you all know I struggle with not wanting to relinquish my inclusion of too much food going into my body. I know true JOY when I do relinquish, thus I would love to know that many of you 'out there' are also experiencing the relief and joy of yielding your will to his... I think of the when Paul (I think it was him) stated his need for 'More of YOU, less of me.' I don't know the location of this in scripture since my limited concordance didn't include it, but, it all boils down to... Who are we trusting to know what's best for us- to meet our every need?
There are more 'global' matters at hand in our lives as Americans currently so I am very glad I can, and do, know I can sing, 'I am not afraid,.. I will trust in YOU, my Father,' as a song I was just listening to says so well. I urge you all to take a look at any areas you might be forfeiting the PEACE of GOD due to clinging to 'how you think things should/could be.' Let's all loosen our grips on what we think we want or 'need,' so we can experience much more of that true PEACE, HOPE,  and JOY He intends for/through us....  May the trying times in, and aspects of, our lives be transformed into times of truly Trusting, Relinquishing our wills, and Yielding to all He knows is best so we may live more fully to his GLORY as another result.   Because His Love is Perfect and is focused on us, Sheila

WHICH APPOINTMENT?

Today, I would simply like to suggest how sometimes a looming or pervasive, seeming DISappointment in our lives CAN truly be one of HIS appointments~ For, you see, our Lord often allows us to not comprehend what HE is 'up to,' so we can grow in our ability to trust Him as we begin receive his comfort, or, to see the outcome of whatever was possibly 'uncomfortable?' for a time. In ISAIAH 55:8-9 we are reminded, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are you ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." I am fully aware of how us human beings desire to 'understand' just what's happening to us, yet I am relieved each time I recall how PROVERBS 3:5-6 exhorts me to not lean on my own understanding, but to acknowledge Him in all my ways so He can direct my paths.  Probably the 'bottom line' of this whole message is, "Do we trust HIM as much as we say we love HIM?" If so, the DISappointments we face for seasons in our lives will be received as HIS appointments  to times of growing deeper in love with HIM as our trust is rewarded when we are allowed to see the fruits of whatever He has intended for/through us  while relinquishing our desires to control what we think we need or have 'rights' to at times. (Sometimes I feel like Paul since run-on sentences are hard to avoid.. Sorry!)  So, dear readers- Pause to ask yourself if you are 'holding a grudge' against the LORD for any possible unmet? desire in your life... Are you claiming a 'right' to whatever it is? If so, you are probably being led the wrong way... 'Rights can be wrong!' when we are HIS... However, we do have rights to peace, hope, and joy!... But the enemy seeks to steal and kill and destroy... Will you let him?  I hope and pray not!

WHOSE SYMPHONY?

While  anticipating experiencing a presentation of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony recently, I was struck by the thought of the volume of sheets of paper with marks on them which  represented each instrumentalist's individual responsibility to translate them into music to our ears. I am imagining the stack brought forth from the Seattle Symphony's library to have  been much more than a foot thick! Once I wandered from that realization, I began to think about how those sheets were simply useless to most of us! Why?? We don't have the orientation, training, or skill to interpret and translate those marks of ink into musical notes on the various instruments... I was also led to consider just what went into producing each kind of instument; trees growing, metals in mines, reeds growing, 'cat gut' being produced wherever it grows, horse tails being readied for bows, and SO MUCH MORE! Also-- What about the knowledge, tools, and skills needed to actually put these materials into the proper form for service for actual musically productive use? Catch my drift?

Since I am spiritually minded, I delighted in applying this line of thinking to our Creator's relationship to us! We're often reminded how we're all parts of one body.... meant to compliment each other as we live with His life within us...  But, I was thrilled to consider myself to be just one component of HIS SYMPHONY. I won't even begin to speculate regarding just what 'part' I am..(as in, 'ink notes on paper,' 'metal for a brass instrument,' etc.) , any more than I try to figure out if I am a 'fingernail,' ' big toe,' or possibly a major blood vessel in the body of Christ!

I'll close by simply rejoicing in this: I live each day in and with the desire to bring glory to our Lord! That symphony we heard brought glory to Beethoven and joy to us as we were blessed by its 'beauty.' But, isn't living to the glory of our LORD much more meaningful? HE is the master of all enduring enjoyment! Being part of his expression of Himself to those on Earth is certainly 'music to my ears!'  Let's join with the heavens as we declare God's Glory!

ALTERNATE DAYS OF THE WEEK?

Many of you may have seen these already, but for those who haven't, I am sharing them today. Simply put, we can chose NOT to let these be the days of our weeks!.. SINDAY, MOURNDAY, TEARSDAY, WASTEDAY, THIRSTDAY, FIGHTDAY,  and SHATTERDAY.  As I typed these, I realized there's really nothing wrong with being THIRSTY as long as we know JESUS as our living water and admit how thirsty we are for the refreshment only HE can provide. Then, of course, as Christian soldiers we choose not to not accept Satan's attacks (FIGHTDAY!), but to proclaim the matchless name of JESUS to battle his efforts. (The wonderful truth I love to remember here, is that the ultimate battle has already been won by JESUS through his death and resurrection!.. We get to live accordingly when we 'remember' to!)

The other 2 days I see which could have 'alternate' meanings are MOURNDAY and TEARSDAY, since there is absolutely nothing wrong with mourning at times... We just don't need to be mired in a permanent state of disabling grief. Even Jesus wept at one point. (right before Lazarus was raised!)  One  more thought regarding sorrow, is to not resist God's tears regarding sin He's revealing to you.  In fact, welcome his attentive care for yours and his relationship...                                                                                

BUT, all of you 'out there in cyber-space' and those I cross paths with at times, beware of SINDAY, WASTEDAY, and SHATTERDAY.... and, of course, beware of those other days when their names are taken at 'face value' in the detrimental sense they were all intended..  EVERY DAY of our lives, the LORD has plans for our hope and future... plans to prosper, and not to harm us.. (Jeremiah 29:11). How do you intend to respond to his HOLY SPIRIT within you as He cares for you each day? Perhaps verses 12 and 13 of Jeremiah 29 provide some help... "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." ('Heart' is often meant as 'soul,' which includes your mind, emotions, and will.)   May you know the peace, hope, and joy I KNOW HE intends for you as you look to Him, receiving his care.