What God Has Been Teaching Me Lately XXXVI (36)…
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.
(April 2015)
(Please click on the Bible book, chapter and verses below to read the actual Scripture text)
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Reality
We often think we have to convince God to give us what we want
but it is God Who is trying to convince us to receive from Him what we need.
The Bible
A. God’s Truth: not just a light mist on our petals
but soaking deeply into the soil of our lives
where He can nourish & refresh us at our roots.
B. The mist on grocery produce gives the illusion of life
but the plants are dead/dying—
they aren’t in soil or connected to their roots anymore!
Lets ask Jesus to transplant us in Him & plant His Word in us—
the only soil where we can truly live (Psalm 1:1-3).
Real Freedom
God’s rules give us space to be truly free–
Your “boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places…
I have a delightful inheritance” (Psalm 16:6).
Dealing With Stress
When we fill our minds/hearts with Jesus & His Truth, He filters what stresses us.
“I’ll keep the LORD always BEFORE me—I wont be shaken” (Psalm 16:8).
God & The Bible Are Not Boring
God invented colors, flavor & holy pleasure.
Do we really think He wrote a boring Book?
Resurrect our taste buds, God—Your Word is honey! (Psalm 19:9-10)
The Cross
Jesus torturously demoted Himself to a criminal’s cruel death
so that all who trust in Him can be gloriously promoted to a son & daughter’s joyful eternal life.
What To Do When We Sin
Both Judas and Peter betrayed Jesus.
Judas then ended his life
while Peter accepted Jesus’ forgiveness & began/continued his life.
God
God is reliable, but not predictable.
Being fully & truly alive (being Life itself!),
Jesus fits in no box, whether coffin or china cabinet.
Prayer
In prayer we give God the brushes & the oils
and present ourselves to Him as the canvas,
inviting Him to paint whatever He wants…(Luke 22:42)
Adoption
Jesus doesn’t want to acquire us as servants
but rather to adopt us as sons/children,
full legal heirs
(Ephesians 1:4-5; John 15:15). YES!
Needs & Wants
Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life,” not the cake of life (John 6:35,48).
He offers us not the dessert we want but the nourishment we need.
Saying “Yes” To Jesus
Jesus died & rose again not so we can have the easy life,
but so it can be easy for us to have life—receiving Him as Savior & God (John 20:31)!
Suffering
Maybe God brings us to our knees
to slow us down
so we cant get away from Him,
so we can learn to “be still & know that He is God” (Psalm 46:10).
Slowing Down
There arent drive-thru surgeries–we must be still for surgeons to work.
This is also true for friendship with Jesus.
“Be still & know that He is God”—Psalm 46:10
Pastors
Pastors face unique stress—not more/less than others, but unique.
“I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:28).
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