CALL OF DUTY

Because I am making my self post something daily, today you get to find out.....
- I took a one day road trip with my sisters and our dad to see relatives.
- I am going to the "root canal" specialist today, barring any unforeseen flat tires
- my sisters make me laugh a lot
- on said road trips it is always good to establish what is facebookable and what is not. We had a lot of NOT.
- I have not slept an entire night in my own bed in several days. MC 2.
- this summer I am taking a class on Philippians by Matt Chandler. I have never done a study by Chandler before so it will be interesting to see.

and this fulfills my sense of obligation to post daily. Have a great day!

TODAY, OVER THERE

A Beautiful Mind

LIFE TO OUR SOULS

I often question myself if my blogs are to tough. Not happy go lucky enough. I mean I know some are, but some like yesterday's seem like such downers to my flesh. I was talking to myself about it yesterday, and I don't know, maybe it's because I am reading MacArthur's The Vanishing Conscience, but I kept thinking if we don't own our part in this deal, our sin, we have no need for a savior. Listen to me, I have no doubt that we have a very real enemy in the devil. He is after us in so many ways. However, we can't blame all the stuff we go through on him. If it was just him, then all Jesus becomes to us is a big ole bodyguard to keep the bogeyman away.
Jesus is so much more......
Without our admission, there is no repentance.
Without our confession, there is no redemption.
Without our acknowledgement and ownership of our sinful little selves, we have no need of salvation and grace is foreign to us.
It's not that we need to beat ourselves up with the fact, we just can't deny it. We can't play the well , at least I am not like him or her game any longer. We can't continue to blame someone or something else for the consequences of our own sin. When we do, we deny ourselves the saving power of Christ Jesus' sacrifice and immense love.
So maybe posts like that are little downers to our flesh.
If they lead to the path restoration with God the Father and Christ Jesus,
if they remind no one but myself that I have a choice,
that I can choose Jesus,
that He has already chosen me,
that I can be restored to Him,
that He has saved me for all eternity,
then they are life to our souls.

DWELLING IN DRY LAND

Psalm 68:6(NKJV)

God sets the solitary in families;

He brings out those who are bound into prosperity;

But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

I have been catching up on my Wednesdays with Beth over the past few weeks.
Have I told you how much I love DVR?
Beth has been talking about Family Calamity and how God wants to heal and restore us in the midst of it. She used the above verse to talk about how God can add to your family. How we have need of a family, whether is a biological family or a church family. Good stuff.

But not the point.

When I heard her read this verse, the last line was what resonated with me.

But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

'Cause how many times do we attribute our spiritual "dry season" to God.

He has brought us here...

He has lead us here to impart some great wisdom...

If not careful, we can make it some hyper spiritual event.

Yes, He did bring us there, and yes, He may be about to impart some wisdom, but it may be more like a trip out to the woodshed.

The dry land may be a direct result of our rebellion.

Those revolts we orchestrate, both big and small, when we do things our own way.

When we, like my own kids, are just flat out determined we are going to go our own way and He better get on board and bless it.

Maybe it's not.

But what if it is?

Just something to think about the next time you and I start to feel like we are "dwelling in dry land".

COLLISION COURSE

About a year ago I realized I had a stack of bible study workbooks I never finished. Shame...Shame....we know your name.

Slowly, I have been finishing them up. It has been the fruit of a word the Lord challenged me with to finish what I started. Right now I am in a study called Agape Road by Bob Mumford.

I have no clue who Bob Mumford is. I have probably had the workbook for over 10 years. It was a study that HH and I started and never completed. (It even has HH's handwriting in it, which is a rare sight because he does not do workbooks).

Running parallel to this study has been my battle to lay down the false god of food in my life. The weight of my rebellion in this area (complete pun intended) tipped the scale. I know for me this battle is not physiological but spiritual. I have been working to very conscious of when, what and why I mindlessly eat. What am I trying to fix or fill with something other than Jesus.

Last week, these two parallel roads crashed into each other.

The definition of freedom - the ability to start and stop - is the ability to eat one cookie instead of the whole box or the ability to reject negative or unwholesome thoughts that may come to us. (p. 47 of the workbook).

Now you tell me how some man I have never heard of wrote about this in a book I have had for over 10 years and I just happen to read it at the exact time I was working this out.

Only one answer peeps.....

God.

No other explanation.

No other reason.

Nothing but the perfect timing of the God of the universe, of my God who desires to be in the middle of all my business. Right when I need Him to be. Right when you need Him to be.

His timing is perfect.

His ways flawless.

His love - everlasting.

Wherever you are, please know He can be right there with you. Whatever chasm of separation you feel between the two of you He can cover in an instant. Jesus desires to be with you in the mix of this life. He desires to have a collision course with you in order to set you on the narrow way that leads to life everlasting.

Ask Him.

Let Him wreck your life.

It may be the best way He can save it.

KEEPING THE TOWEL

Lisa @ The Preacher's Wife mentioned complacency in a great post a couple of weeks ago. Sometimes when life is too calm, with no drama around us, we get complacent in our walk with Christ. I have found sometimes when it is too hard, with lots of drama, I can get complacent as well. Thoughts like...

I have done enough to help him.

She needs to get her act together.

I wish he would just grow up.

If she is not going to try better, I am not going to even mess with her.

run through my mind and I so desire to wash my hands of the whole thing.

Because it's easier.

Staying in the fight, choosing to stay in the fight, is hard.

It requires humility.

It requires seeing past the faults.

It requires letting of go of trying to fix and to control.

It requires relinquishing the right to be right in order to have the righteousness of Christ.

And that can be hard to do.

Frustration, anger and hurt can make you want to chunk it all in.

Listen, there are times when God tell us to pull back. When He, for our protection (mental, spiritual or physical) and His will, makes it clear we need to remove ourselves from the situation.

He rarely tells us to withdraw because we just don't wanna anymore.

He knew this was going to be difficult.

It was difficult for Christ.

One of the beautiful things about the gospels is we see it.

We see anger.

We see frustration.

We see hurt.

Then we see Him continue to love, continue to walk, and continue to endure.

Hebrews 12:3

For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls...

So when you and I feel like throwing in the towel - we don't.

When you and I think we are satisfied - we aren't.

Short of Christ removing us- we stay in there.

We keep fighting.

We take that towel we so desperately want to throw in and we use it to wash their feet.

And while we will try to not fight with them, we will most definitely be fighting for them.

2 Timothy 2:10

Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

FPU .....the last few weeks

Yes, I am still going to FPU. We are now talking about insurance, investments, retirement.....stuff so far down my financial timeline it is hard to wrap my head around. The message is the same though.
Be responsible.
Act like the grown up your age says you are.
Stop being tossed to and fro.
Be diligent.
Not just with your money, but with your life.

Proverbs 21:5 (NKJV)
The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.