Trust and Obey

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And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

1 Samuel 15:22 (ESV)

All of us who have been Christians for a lengthy period of time have heard the hymn, Trust and Obey. At church, we recently had a layman speak on Obedience. He uses the title of that hymn as a personal motto for his life.

My word for 2018 has been obedience. I found I made the right choice when I started my reading program for the year. Every book, I read touched on the idea that our growth in the LORD stemmed from our obedience.

Due to some health issues, I no longer am able to do as I once did in working for the LORD. However, I feel I have grown in my Christian walk because of this regrouping of my activities.

When we learn obedience to the LORD, we seem to have a better understanding of what we see going on around us in our neighborhoods and even in our world. We are not as nervous and we appear calmer to others when unusual events or conditions enter our lives or the lives of our loved ones.

How can we learn obedience? We learn it through the grace of praying and listening to what God tells us. Reading our Bibles and reading a good devotional book give us the guidance we need to learn what we can do to become more like Jesus.

More About Jesus Would I Know

More about Jesus would I know, More of His grace to others show;

More of His saving fullness see, More of His who died for me.

More, more about Jesus, More, more about Jesus;

More of His saving fullness see, More of His love who died for me.

__________________

More About Jesus Would I Know, Eliza E. Hewitt, John R. Sweney found in Hymns for the Family of God number 477.

When We Are Confused

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For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. James 3:16-17 (KJV)

James says some piercing things here. He mentions envying and strife Envy is a discontented feeling in the selfish heart, in view of the superiority of another, nearly tantamount to jealousy. ⁽¹⁾

Strife is quarreling or contention among people.

Confusion: a lack of understanding or unsureness, doubt, ignorance. ⁽²)     

          

Wisdom: an attribute of God, wisdom is intimately related to the divine knowledge, manifesting itself in the selection of the proper ends with the proper means for their accomplishment. ⁽³⁾

Pure: virtuous or godly.

Peaceable: possessing a restored relationship with God. ⁽³⁾

Gentle: kindly, humble.

As children of God, we should seek God’s wisdom and peace even when we face those who cause strife for us. Some of those who are guilty of hurting us act in ways that distress us because they are under the influence of the enemy, of things that control their minds and their bodies.

In spite of how those hurting us, we need to learn to seek His mercy for them and for us and display the good fruit He has implanted into our hearts. This may sound difficult, however, Jesus stands by our side when our detractors attempt to cause us to lower our defenses.

________________________________________________________________________

1. New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, Moody Press, Chicago, © 1988 page 364

2. google search 8.28.2018

3. Unger’s page 1369

4. Ibid.

God’s Will

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nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. Matthew 26:39 (ESV)

“I prayed for God to heal him. Why didn’t He answer my prayers?”

“Why did God have to take her from her family?” I asked these questions when He took someone in my extended family.

The first time came after my uncle passed from this earth. I was angry that God had not done as I asked. Later, a co-worker and friend said something to me about God’s will. I found myself opening my heart to her. “I won’t pray for His will ever again. He let my uncle die.” Her response has stayed with me these four decades.  “God’s will gets done no matter what we want. He is sovereign.”

The second time I felt discouraged was when God took my husband’s niece. She was older than we were. She had granddaughters who needed her guidance. I had prayed for her as I sat in the hospital ICU room. I drove her daughter down to the hospital in Indianapolis twice- once when she was life-lined there. And again, in the wee hours of the next morning. I held onto hope when the doctors said there was none.

A few weeks after her service, my husband and I stopped at a neighborhood convenience store. He went in to get something. As I sat in the car, a young man from our church exited the store. He came over to my car and spoke to me. He asked how I was doing. I told him what had happened and that I was emotionally down and why I felt that way. His response also has stayed with me since then. “God may have done what was best for her.”

I learned a lot about God’s will from these conversations. The biggest lesson is that when we pray for God’s will, we can’t tell Him what that is. We can only request that our wish is heard.

September Doings

I haven't been very ambitious this week. I felt I had to cancel a speaking engagement. I did this because Hubby gave me a scare with his health. Nothing has come of what he experienced Sunday, Monday, and even Tuesday.

I have some pictures to share with you of things going on around here this month.


Our luncheon group expanded this month. We had four with us who weren't there at the end of July.
That's me in the pink, the third one from the right We hope to have a reunion of all who attended our old, now closed church. The wife of one of the pastors who was there before I was, sounded like she would like to come from out of state to see everyone. Others who work have expressed an interest.

These two are daughters of some of our peers. The woman in the tank top had to leave early. The other woman recently was discharged from a rehab center for injuries when she got hit by a car.

These are two wreaths I made. The larger one is on my front door. The smaller one was too small for the door, so I gave it to a friend for her mother's room at an assisted living facility.

I saved the best for last. These are impatiens growing up through rocks in our rock garden. We had some hanging baskets out there one of which was impatiens. We think the flowers dropped seeds and God took over.

We hang the baskets on the stand at the right in this picture. When I spoke at a local nursing home recently, I told them about this. One of the women was impressed to hear what God had done.

Peace and Blessings to you all. 

Be Still

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 Be still and know I am God,

I will be exalted among the nations.

I will be exalted in the earth!

The Lord of hosts is with us,

The God of Jacob is our fortress

Psalm 46:10-11 (ESV)

David tells us words God spoke to him. The Lord tells us through David to come into His presence and listen for what he has for us. God Almighty then tells us He is with us and that He is our strength. 

Be still

A part of prayer is listening to God. We are to give Him our requests and wait to hear from Him.

I enjoy the quietness of our home in the mornings. I can concentrate on God. I can reflect on what He has done for me and how He answered prayer. I feel close to Him when I have spent time listening to what He tells me.

know that I am God.

We have to recognize God for who He is, the many roles He plays- among them, He’s our Creator, our Comforter, and our Sustainer.

When we are troubled we need to get quiet and communicate with the LORD. (I learned a few years ago that communication with God involves talking and listening.) When we do this, God strengthens us, guides us through the issue, and gives us peace.

I will be exalted

God will be praised by all the people groups of the earth, by all the governments of our world. Jesus told scribes and Pharisees, “If people keep quiet, the rocks will cry out” (Luke 19:40) It is God’s desire to be praised.

How can we praise God more?

Dear Father God; Thank You for Your presence in our lives, for listening to our requests, and for guiding us through the issues that enter our lives. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen

Are Our Words Pleasing to God?

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Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you,

 Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14 (CEB)

When we attend church on the Sabbath, we should strive to retain what we learn in our places of worship as we go through our week. Yes, sometimes it takes effort on our part to put this in practice. However, we must strive to live for Him in our homes, our neighborhoods, in the marketplace, and among our friends. As the time for Jesus’ return to earth draws nearer, I believe we should make living for Him a priority in our lives.

Several years ago, I heard the adage that we might be the only Bible people read. This always makes me pause and think about how I measure up to what God expects from me.

As a young mother, I heard the children’s song, O’ Be Careful Little Feet Where You Go!

O be careful little eyes what you see

O be careful little eyes what you see

For the Father up above

is looking down in love

So, be careful little eyes what you see

O be careful little ears what you hear

O be careful little ears what you hear

For the Father up above

is looking down in love

So, be careful little ears what you hear

O be careful little tongue what you say

O be careful little tongue what you say

For the Father up above

is looking down in love

So, be careful little tongue what you say. ⁽¹⁾

There are some who would say this is a children’s song My response to them is: Aren’t we all children of God?

Do you have any thoughts on this?

1.) Metro Lyrics(http://www.metrolyrics.com) accessed 9/18/2018

What God Says about. . ..

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Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the LORD’. Romans 12:19 (ESV)

Paul writes these words to the believers at Rome. He gives sage advice from which we can learn.

In today’s world, we hear of and see road rage. Someone accidentally makes an error in driving. Another driver becomes offended and reacts. That reaction can lead to a dangerous consequence.

Interpersonal issues can start out small but sometimes escalatebecause both parties believe they have to have the last word and each retaliates. The disagreement can build as each person fights back with harsh words. Think of two boys fighting on the playground at school.

We need to learn not to ‘add fuel to the fire’.  Paul tells us to leave it to. . . God. This may sound difficult but we need to put this into practice as we strive to live for Jesus.

What can we do to model Paul's admonition before others?