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Wonderful Wednesday: Don’t Stop Believing
Don’t stop believing!!
“As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” James 5:11 NIV
Running low on strength to persevere?
“It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He trains me for battle, my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me.” Psalm 18:32 & 34-35 NIV
To be still and know that He is God requires you to believe Him not just believe in Him.
Do you believe He will do what He says He will do? Do you believe He is a God of His word? Do you believe He is faithful.
If you’re struggling with believing Him, I recommend two things. 1. Worship. Nothing reminds me of who God is and His faithfulness more than worship music. 2. Study the lives of those mentioned in Hebrews 11, their perseverance, their relationship with God, and God’s faithfulness to them.
Something to ponder while you wander…true perseverance means no matter what you see or feel, you don’t stop believing God.
Vintage Beauty
I was waiting in line the other day, when I noticed the woman being waited on was vintage. Late 1920’s or early 1930’s vintage. After she finished, she gathered her things, and moved to the table directly across from me to reorganize her bag.
When I saw her face I though, “Wow, I bet she was stunning when she was young.”
And I heard the Lord say, “Look again.”
So I did.
I saw that while she was thin, she wasn’t frail. I saw her face, wrinkled and crinkled with smile and laugh lines. I saw her well-loved tan sweater over a lovely, feminine button up shirt. I started to see she was one who lived her life intentionally, she wasn’t just floating through.
I was admiring her wide-brimmed straw gardening hat when she looked up.
I saw light and wisdom radiating from her eyes. I instantly wanted to have tea with her, and listen to her story.
I smiled at her. She smiled back.
I realized in that moment she wasn’t only a beauty then, she IS a stunning beauty now.
This got me thinking….Outside of the true narcissistic few, most of us dismiss our own beauty. We see our flaws, and areas of our body we want to shrink, grow, or change. But we don’t see our own beauty.
I know I don’t. I see the beauty in sunsets and nature but not in myself.
Truth is not all of us will be super models or grace the covers of magazines, but all of us are beautiful. That’s how God made us and how Jesus sees us.
This is from Song of Songs chapter 1 in the Passion Translation:
The Shulamite Woman: “In this twilight darkness, I know I am so unworthy–so in need.”
The Shepherd King: “Yet you are so lovely.”
The Shulamite Woman: “I feel as dark and dry as the desert tents of the wandering nomads.”
The Shepherd King: “Yet you are so lovely–like the fine linen tapestry hanging in the Holy Place.”
Jesus is our Shepherd King and He calls us lovely.
In Genesis 16 Hagar was a runaway maid, pregnant by her boss’s husband. She was in the desert, alone. Desperate.
“She answered God by name, praying to the God who spoke to her, You’re the God who sees me! Yes! He saw me and I saw Him!” Genesis 16:13 MSG
The one who spoke to her was no mere angel, it was Jesus, Himself. And He saw her.
Something to ponder while you wander…Just like He told me to look again at the vintage beauty, take another look at yourself. See you how Jesus sees you. Because Jesus sees you clearly, and He calls you lovely.
PS Give a fellow human a genuine compliment today. They need to be reminded of their beauty too. ❤
Wonderful Wednesday: Real Relationship
“I admit I once lived by rumors of You; now I have it all firsthand–from my own eyes and ears.” Job 42:5 MSG
If you focus only on the stuff Job lost & gained, you’ve missed the best part! Job exited the worst 9 months of His life with a real relationship with Abba Father. The stuff was just an added bonus.
Brings to mind Mathew 6:33’s seek first and the rest shall be added doesn’t it?
Something to ponder while you wander…”When you call on Me, when you come and pray to Me, I’ll listen. When you come looking for Me, you’ll find Me. Yes, when you get serious about finding Me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” Jeremiah 29:12-14 MSG
Love is Practical
“The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.” Proverbs 11:24-25 MSG
Real love is practical. It almost always wears work overalls. Do you want to be loved? Then love those around you. Here’s what that looks like…
Babysit for a single parent or give a date night to coupled parents so they can have a break. If you can do it for free, even better.
Do you feel like no one ever listens to you? Than give a listening ear to someone else.
Are you struggling to believe a promise from the Lord? Then pray for someone else to be strengthened and encourage them.
Do you have a need that is beyond what you can do? Then find someone else who has a need you can meet and bless them! Maybe give away nice clothes that don’t fit you, help clean or do yard work, pay an electric bill or drive someone to the store or pick them up for church.
Are you fighting depression or feeling miserable? Then find someone to compliment or encourage. Send a card or bring balloons or flowers. Call and tell someone you’re thinking about them.
Think about this…you can’t give a hug without getting one back.
Delight and Rejoice in Truth
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” I Corinthians 13:6
Delight here refers to someone who is euphoric or overjoyed. Evil refers to an injustice or something that is bad. Rejoice is the same word as delight. It’s about being pumped for your life about seeing the truth prevail.
This verse is a serious heart check: What’s your reaction to something bad happening to someone you don’t like or someone who has hurt you? How about when something good happens to that person?
We’ve all been hurt. But doing a happy dance when someone else’s world gets rocked or their ship is sinking is unacceptable. It is also not okay to be stomping your feet and screaming about how unfair it all is when someone else’s life is sailing smooth.
Love says we are to encourage those who are down and pray for them. Love says we are to rejoice when others are blessed.
“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” Matthew 5:44-46
Keep No Records
“Love does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” I Corinthians 13:5
Record in the Greek actually comes from an accounting term that means to count or reckon. It literally means to credit to someone’s account. It brings to mind someone who painstakingly keeps track of every single thing someone does to them. It is the exact opposite of forgiveness.
When God forgives us, He forgets what we’ve done. He sees us pure, holy, worthy, accepted and beloved. He separates our sin from us as far as the East is from the West, Psalm 103:11-12 tells us: “For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
Since this is God’s attitude and policy of forgiveness, we need to not only forgive others but also erase their actions from their account. Once we’ve been forgiven our sins/mistakes/screw ups/etc are covered in the blood of Jesus and God remembers them no more. (Hebrews 8:12 & 10:17 and Jeremiah 31). Since God forgives and forgets, so should we.
This includes forgiving yourself!
I don’t know about you, but it is easier for me to forgive someone else for what they’ve done to me than it is to forgive myself for the things I’ve done. I tend to remind God what I’ve done and try to disqualify myself from what He’s trying to do in me or for me. But God expects us to let go of the past and move forward. Paul said in his letter to the Philippians that He may not be there yet, but he’s pressing to get there. “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:13-14
Before he was saved on the road to Damascus, Paul was responsible for the imprisonment and deaths of disciples and followers of Jesus Christ. He could never undo what he had done. But when He accepted Jesus, his past was washed away by the blood. He was a new man. If Paul had focused on his past, and beat himself up over and over again, how could he have written 2/3 of the New Testament and reached the people he did? Truth is he couldn’t have.
So make a decision today to let go of the past and forgive those you are holding things against. Including yourself. Burn those ledgers. Move on. When the enemy tries to remind you of your past, choose to ignore him and instead speak this. “I am forgiven because of Jesus’ sacrifice, that mistake/sin is under the blood of Jesus. I am a child of the Most High God, and He loves me with an everlasting love. I have a hope and a future. I was called before the foundation of the world. I will forget the past and look forward to what lies ahead. I will press on to reach the end. I will not quit.”
Happy Wednesday!
Note: We really are called to forgive and forget BUT there are times when people have broken your trust beyond repair. You still must forgive them, for your own sake, but you do not have to repair and restore the relationship. If the relationship is hazardous to your physical person or if that person talks down to you and makes you feel bad about yourself, you don’t have to allow that person in your life. You have the right to end that relationship. God does not want you to be mistreated, taken advantaged of, or abused.
Not Easily Provoked
“Love does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” I Corinthians 13:5
Love is not easily provoked into anger.
This one’s a toughie for those with a short fuse or a temper. It’s especially tough when dealing with someone close to you who knows exactly how to push the right buttons to fire you right up. Interestingly enough anger here actually is a compound word in the Greek. One word is alongside. The other is to stir. Picture someone purposely coming alongside of you and poking you with a sharp stick until you can’t take it anymore and blow up, that’s what the word means in the original Greek.
Anger is a secondary emotion. This means that it always starts as another feeling before it grows into anger. Diffusing anger requires dealing with the source emotion. When you do that, the anger dissipates. What are the sources of anger?
Fear
Frustration
Hurt
Anger can also come from unforgiveness, but usually one of the above three are the culprit.
When you feel anger beginning to build, take a deep breath. Then ask yourself: Am I hurt? Am I afraid? Am I frustrated? Then deal work on dealing with the root of the anger. Don’t allow yourself to be provoked into a verbal explosion or a physical fight. If possible remove yourself from the situation or the person poking and prodding you, even if it’s just for a few minutes to calm down.
This is the Jill translation of this verse: Love bites one’s tongue and controls one’s temper. Love does not explode into a verbal explosion of harsh words and obscenities. Love doesn’t punch someone’s lights out because it is hurt, afraid or frustrated.
Jill will continue to work on this. 🙂 Happy Wednesday!
Bonus Scripture: “Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared.” Proverbs 22:24-25
Self-Seeking?
“Love does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” I Corinthians 13:5
The Greek word here for seek refers to seeking something in order to find it. It’s not about seeking just for seeking’s sake. It’s seeking with purpose.
The question to me is, if love doesn’t seek self, what does it seek? God seeks the lost. He seeks us. So what should we seek? Well, I’m just going to let Jesus take this one. Here are 6 verses about what to seek from Jesus Himself.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” Luke 11:9-10 (Same words are also found in Matthew 7:7-8)
“Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” Luke 17:33
“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24
“I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” John 5:30
“If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.” John 7:18-19
Jesus is our example on what to seek. Jesus sought God first and foremost. From that Jesus sought His kingdom and for God’s will to be done here on planet Earth. He sought to copy what He saw God doing. He sought to speak God’s word. He sought to worship God in spirit and in truth. And he sought for God get the glory for everything good that He did. Wow! humility+love=Jesus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJtKdjaH2nY
This link is to “So Long Self” by MercyMe. It doesn’t exactly fit the topic, but I’m posting it anyway just because I like it.
Love Honors
“Love does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” I Corinthians 13:5
Love does not dishonor others. The word for dishonor can also be translated unseemingly or unbecomingly. It refers to someone who does not regard the thoughts or feelings of others. It can refer to someone who doesn’t give a crap about anyone else’s thoughts or feelings they just do and say what they want. It includes how they talk to and how they treat others. It brings to mind users and abusers of any kind.
The only other time in the entire NT this word is used is I Corinthians 7:36 where Paul tells men to act honorably toward their fiancées. Telling them to marry them rather than to dishonor them. “But if any man thinks he is behaving improperly toward his virgin,”
If love doesn’t dishonor people it must honor people. Right? Right! What does honor mean? Honor means honesty, fairness, sincerity or integrity. Giving someone honor refers to showing them high respect or to giving a courteous regard for them. It’s doing the right thing, because it’s the right thing.
What does honor look like? Giving honor to people is simple because it’s just treating others respectfully and living with integrity. Holding doors open. Not interrupting. Not texting or taking phone calls when you’re at lunch with someone. It’s letting people out in front of you on the road. Honor is keeping your word and showing up on time. Honor is using your manners and saying please and thank you. It’s standing in respect and removing your hat for our National Anthem. It’s respecting your elders and thanking veterans for their service.
By giving honor and showing respect, you are in fact loving people. Simple Right?
Pastor Dino on Honor: http://vimeo.com/68003954
STP (Something to Ponder)…The first commandment from God with a promise attached is found in Exodus 20:12, “Honor your mother and your father, so that you may live long in the land the Lord God is giving you.” God linked a long life with honoring your parents. Hmmmm.
Wonderful Wednesday: Love is not proud
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud” I Corinthians 13:4
God isn’t puffed up in pride. Look at Jesus. Jesus came not to be served, but to serve. Ultimate humility shown by ultimate power. That’s love.
“Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas,son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.
When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”
“No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”
Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”
Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”John 13:1-9 (NLT)
To sum it all up, choosing to serve in humility is the action of love and the opposite of pride.
jillbeingstill 