What God Has Been Teaching Me Lately XXXIV (34)…
Greetings My Friends~
As a simple pilgrim following Jesus through the rainforests and deserts of this earthly life, I would like to humbly share some of what God has been bubbling up in my mind/heart lately.
I pray that these thoughts are cushions in your shoes, balm to your burns, umbrellas for the rain, and shade to the scorching heat as you too follow the Lord Jesus each day.
(February & March 2015)
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(please click on the Bible chapter/verses to read the actual text of Scripture)
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- Jesus’ Love & Grace
We may not feel like royalty,
we may not act like royalty,
but Jesus treats us like royalty
& invites us into His family to be royalty forever (Ephesians 1:4-6).
- Identity
I am a child OF God
before I am anything FOR God…
relationship before role…
know God 1st, serve God 2nd (John 17:3).
- God Brings Diamonds Out Of Coal
Jesus works for our good to bring
refreshing water out of sweat & tears;
rainbows out of thunderclouds;
spiritual growth out of life’s manure (Romans 8:28).
- Serving Others
Let’s be salt & light not sugar & shadow.
Don’t change the channel when we see/hear others’ pain–
BE a channel of Jesus’ love, grace, healing! (Romans 12:15; Galatians 6:2).
- Faith & Worship
As Jacob was dying,
as his earthly life was ending,
as his senses were failing,
as everything he knew (in an earthly sense) was going away,
he still worshipped God (Hebrews 11:21).
Now that’s faith.
- Great News
The Bible teaches that humans are sick
(more accurately, it teaches that we are spiritually dead—Ephesians 2:1-3)…
Even so, the Bible also teaches that God is not sick of us
(and He wants to make us alive and new!—Ephesians 2:4-9)…
- Real Freedom
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Jesus offers us true freedom,
which is not us desiring to do whatever we want
but us genuinely wanting to do whatever Jesus desires.
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Jesus’ commands
dont cause us to tip-toe on eggshells
but to run on solid ground,
like Usain Bolt flying thru a track’s narrow lane! (Psalm 119:32)
- Transformation
Thank You, Lord Jesus,
that You want to get us to heaven AND
transform us on the way there
to be closer to You and more like You…(Romans 8:29)
- Faith & Suffering
God often leads us to our desired shores
THRU the storm,
AFTER He has calmed it (Psalm 107:24-31).
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Sometimes the only way to see God at work
is to follow Him to the deep (dangerous/unknown) waters of life (Psalm 107:24)
- God’s Healing Can Be Painful
Many would rather learn how to live with our limp
than let God re-break our legs to teach us how to leap (Psalm 139:23-24).
- “Feeling” God
Seeing God’s miracles/experiencing Him powerfully
doesn’t necessarily transform us (Numbers 14:22-23)—
Simple faith during the mundane is needed.
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- Maturity
Many American Christians at best want spiritual liposuction–
if we even want maturity in Christ
we often don’t want to exercise/work for it (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)…
- Receiving Jesus As Savior and God
We understand the importance of others accepting us for who we are;
Do we understand the importance of accepting Jesus for Who He is?
- Slowing Down To Focus On God
We often think we’re sharks—“if I stop moving I’ll die!”
We aren’t sharks but sheep (Isaiah 53:6)—
if we don’t learn to stop moving all the time we’ll never truly live (Psalm 46:10).
- Questions & Doubts
Jesus beautifully summarizes the refining work He does in our character:
“You don’t realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand” (John 13:7).
- Faith Fuels Faithfulness
Jesus was able to do what His Father sent Him to do because Jesus trusted
- where He came from
- where He was going
- what His Father had done (John 13:3-5)…