I've decided to do a study on the mouth. I have discovered that I have serious issues holding my tongue. I always say things at the wrong time or, more often, say things too harshly because I don't think before I speak...I just say what I feel without stopping to think if that was appropriate or necessary to say. I hate knowing, as well, that some incident could have been taken care of if I would have carefully chosen a different tone of voice and watched how I said it. I also like to argue. Well I hate arguing but I do it because I want to be right. Again, it's a pride issue. But the Lord is really trying to teach me something about it because lately I have been in situations where, as much as I want to argue my case and make a point and make someone else feel as bad as they just made me feel or give my opinion, I have got to learn to keep my mouth shut. So I decided to go through my concordance and write down all the relevant references on the mouth. I'm going to, along with the rest of my Bible reading, go over a verse or two each morning and try to memorize it and do my best to apply it through out the day. It's only been a couple days but I have already been able to apply it. I will tell you this, it takes some humbling. You have to swallow your pride in order to keep your mouth shut. But I feel closer to the Lord already. It's really cool to be close enough to the Lord right now to be able to say a silent prayer in my mind whenever I talk to someone and ask Him to guard my mouth and give me wisdom in what I say and how I say it. And He Does!! And so many fights and bad moods are avoided and I feel good cuz I know I'm doing the right thing.
If this is not an area you struggle with, I encourage you to find some area in your life that could use some work and just do a study on it and memorize scripture about it and ask the Lord to help you specifically in each situation where you are faced with it. It could be in the area of worrying, gossiping, lusting, thinking bad or mean thoughts about someone, pride etc.... God promises to take a step toward us if we first take a step toward Him: "Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you." (side note- I don't have my Bible in front of me or one handy so I don't know for sure if that's quoted exactly right or where the reference is).
"Lord, make my words as sweet as honey, for tomorrow I may have to eat them!" --Anonymous
"Help me guard my lips, O Saviour, Keep me sweet when sorely tried, Answers soft to others giving, Meekly swallowing my pride." --Basch
"Among my most prized possessions are words that I have never spoken." --Orson Scott Card
"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter -- 'tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning." --Mark Twain
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Perfect Psalm 37
So... I have problems with caring too much what other people think. I hate it when people think bad of me, especially for something I didn't even do. It's never enough for me to just know that I'm doing right... I want others to know that too. It's dumb... I know... It's actually a pride thing. And I also have problems with wanting other's to do things right. It bothers me when other people don't have the same standards as me or when they don't care about the rules or when they don't have the right attitude (even though I am like that sometimes myself). It gets me all frustrated and mad when other people won't do the right thing when I'm trying to.
So I read Psalms 37 today and it was so perfect. It just talks about how we need to not worry what the wicked are doing... just keep doing right. God will take care of them in His own time. He promises so. It was so amazing because not only did this chapter address that issue but also my other one. Later in the chapter it says not to worry when others judge you wrongfully. Who cares what they think. Then it says :"The Lord...will not condemn him when he is judged." What I took from that was, don't worry about what others think. Know that you are right with God and that He is okay with who you are and don't worry about how others judge you. Yes, be careful of being a stumbling block but if you know you are right with the Lord (and always take time to consider if you are) then DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT! I'm really trying to focus on that. I have some more to post about so I'm gonna try to make it to the library tomorrow. Check back with me. :)
So I read Psalms 37 today and it was so perfect. It just talks about how we need to not worry what the wicked are doing... just keep doing right. God will take care of them in His own time. He promises so. It was so amazing because not only did this chapter address that issue but also my other one. Later in the chapter it says not to worry when others judge you wrongfully. Who cares what they think. Then it says :"The Lord...will not condemn him when he is judged." What I took from that was, don't worry about what others think. Know that you are right with God and that He is okay with who you are and don't worry about how others judge you. Yes, be careful of being a stumbling block but if you know you are right with the Lord (and always take time to consider if you are) then DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT! I'm really trying to focus on that. I have some more to post about so I'm gonna try to make it to the library tomorrow. Check back with me. :)
Friday, January 23, 2009
It's all good!
Psalms 34:9-10---"O Fear the LORD, ye His saints, for there is no want to them that fear Him. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing."
When I first read this verse, I must have been having a dense moment cuz I was thinking..."they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing... why would they want bad things?"
lol Then I realized that "want" in this verse means to lack. They that seek the Lord will not lack any good thing. Have you ever known that something was right to do but did not really want to do it because you were worried about how it might turn out? Like you knew the Lord wanted you to give your money to a missionary who came to speak or that He wanted you to give your time to the bus ministry or some other area but you were worried about finances and losing too much personal time. Maybe you knew it was right for you to talk to a certain person and befriend them but you were afraid of what others would think of you. Maybe you knew it was the right thing to do to say stand up and say something when all your friends or co-workers were talking bad about someone or using the wrong kind of language but you didn't want them to think you were too much of a weird, goody-goody. Have you ever known it was the right thing to do to talk to a friend about some choices they were making but were too afraid of them getting mad at you? That has all been me at some point in time, some even recently.
God says in these verses that we should be more concerned with pleasing Him than what others think. We should fear God enough to know that He holds our very lives in His hand and He is all powerful and mighty. This realization should push any fears of not having money or friends or personal time out of the way. Our fear of the Lord should outweigh any other fear we may have.
God says that if we do fear Him the way we should so that it motivates us to live for Him no matter what, He will take care of us. It's a promise! We will have no "want" or "lack". When we are seeking the Lord and are concerned with what He wants for us, He will always make provision. He will make sure that we have friends (even if He is the only friend we have, He is enough, right?), provision, protection, and even some rest time. He promises. Is He trustworthy or not?
I think it's interesting that he says you shall not want any GOOD thing. This reassures me that He only wants my best. If I ever do lack something, then that probably means it wouldn't be good for me, at least at that time. For instance... right now, I lack a man! lol.... But obviously it wouldn't be good for me to have one right now because He said I would not lack any GOOD thing. He knows what He is doing. I love how he is constantly reminding me of that.
When I first read this verse, I must have been having a dense moment cuz I was thinking..."they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing... why would they want bad things?"
lol Then I realized that "want" in this verse means to lack. They that seek the Lord will not lack any good thing. Have you ever known that something was right to do but did not really want to do it because you were worried about how it might turn out? Like you knew the Lord wanted you to give your money to a missionary who came to speak or that He wanted you to give your time to the bus ministry or some other area but you were worried about finances and losing too much personal time. Maybe you knew it was right for you to talk to a certain person and befriend them but you were afraid of what others would think of you. Maybe you knew it was the right thing to do to say stand up and say something when all your friends or co-workers were talking bad about someone or using the wrong kind of language but you didn't want them to think you were too much of a weird, goody-goody. Have you ever known it was the right thing to do to talk to a friend about some choices they were making but were too afraid of them getting mad at you? That has all been me at some point in time, some even recently.
God says in these verses that we should be more concerned with pleasing Him than what others think. We should fear God enough to know that He holds our very lives in His hand and He is all powerful and mighty. This realization should push any fears of not having money or friends or personal time out of the way. Our fear of the Lord should outweigh any other fear we may have.
God says that if we do fear Him the way we should so that it motivates us to live for Him no matter what, He will take care of us. It's a promise! We will have no "want" or "lack". When we are seeking the Lord and are concerned with what He wants for us, He will always make provision. He will make sure that we have friends (even if He is the only friend we have, He is enough, right?), provision, protection, and even some rest time. He promises. Is He trustworthy or not?
I think it's interesting that he says you shall not want any GOOD thing. This reassures me that He only wants my best. If I ever do lack something, then that probably means it wouldn't be good for me, at least at that time. For instance... right now, I lack a man! lol.... But obviously it wouldn't be good for me to have one right now because He said I would not lack any GOOD thing. He knows what He is doing. I love how he is constantly reminding me of that.
Monday, January 19, 2009
A new theme
Every semester the Lord seems to give me a new theme. Some verse in the Bible or some character trait or some truth of Himself to meditate and work on throughout that semester. My freshman year it seemed that He wanted me to know that He was the best friend that I could ever have and that he could provide. This was probably because I knew no one when I first came and I was always broke. Sophomore year, He taught me that His love and His strength were always enough. It was during this time that I lost many friends, including one guy that I was considering for marriage. God proved to me that it didn't matter if every single one of them left, He was always enough. He also taught me a lot last year about surrendering my will for His perfect plan.
Last semester, It seemed that every message and devo had to do with love. Loving others the way Christ loved them and doing so without dissimulation or hypocrisy.
This semester, Many messages have zeroed in on a specific topic that God has shown me in my personal Bible reading as well. Focusing and living a more godly life. I love Psalm 27 and Galatians 5 and 6. That is where I was in my Bible reading but I haven't really moved any further since I found them a couple of weeks ago. I just keep reading them again every morning. Psalm 27 is teaching me 3 things...
There is a verse in there that says "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to enquire in His temple." This verse says to me: "FOCUS!" What one thing have I desired of the Lord? In my heart of hearts, I want to marry a godly guy and serve with him in the ministry and someday be a godly mother. That is the one thing in life that I pray he will let me do. If I could keep this desire in the front of my mind at all times, it would probably change the way I live. It would change who I hang out with, and who I give my heart to, and what kind of music I listen to, and what I fill my mind with through movies, and what comes out of my mouth, and how I handle difficult situations and people... It would affect a lot if before I make any decision at all I would remember.... I want to marry a godly guy and be in the ministry.... think about that. What do you want most from the Lord? For all of us, it should be to hear "Well done thou good and faithful servant." That desire would change a lot too!
Later in the chapter, it says "When thou saidst, Seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek." How often do I really, whole heartedly seek the Lord? Not nearly as often as I should. Seeking the Lord must be about more than just saying a quick prayer in the morning or before bed. I want to try this semester to truly know what it means to SEEK the Lord.
The last verse in the chapter says "Wait on the Lord: Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart; Wait I say on the Lord." Wow, what a hard thing to do! I have posted about this several times so I won't go into much right now but this is something that I need to learn to do better. I need to patiently wait for the Lord to provide... provide finances, a husband, the next step in my life... everything. I just have to wait and be of good courage. I have every reason to face this waiting with courage... God is in control and He knows and only wants what is best for me. Plus! He promises that if I do wait patiently and with courage (trust) then he will strengthen my heart. I'm not gonna die!
Galatians 5 and 6 simply talk about walking in the Spirit and not fulfilling the lusts of the flesh and also the fruit of the spirit. I'm trying to take time to focus on each one... so far I haven't gotten past love... it seems I need a lot of work in this area.
Well, I will get back to the "Walls" at a later time. In the meantime, hope this was a help to someone. This is just what I feel the Lord is working on me about this semester. I will keep you posted!
Last semester, It seemed that every message and devo had to do with love. Loving others the way Christ loved them and doing so without dissimulation or hypocrisy.
This semester, Many messages have zeroed in on a specific topic that God has shown me in my personal Bible reading as well. Focusing and living a more godly life. I love Psalm 27 and Galatians 5 and 6. That is where I was in my Bible reading but I haven't really moved any further since I found them a couple of weeks ago. I just keep reading them again every morning. Psalm 27 is teaching me 3 things...
There is a verse in there that says "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to enquire in His temple." This verse says to me: "FOCUS!" What one thing have I desired of the Lord? In my heart of hearts, I want to marry a godly guy and serve with him in the ministry and someday be a godly mother. That is the one thing in life that I pray he will let me do. If I could keep this desire in the front of my mind at all times, it would probably change the way I live. It would change who I hang out with, and who I give my heart to, and what kind of music I listen to, and what I fill my mind with through movies, and what comes out of my mouth, and how I handle difficult situations and people... It would affect a lot if before I make any decision at all I would remember.... I want to marry a godly guy and be in the ministry.... think about that. What do you want most from the Lord? For all of us, it should be to hear "Well done thou good and faithful servant." That desire would change a lot too!
Later in the chapter, it says "When thou saidst, Seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek." How often do I really, whole heartedly seek the Lord? Not nearly as often as I should. Seeking the Lord must be about more than just saying a quick prayer in the morning or before bed. I want to try this semester to truly know what it means to SEEK the Lord.
The last verse in the chapter says "Wait on the Lord: Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart; Wait I say on the Lord." Wow, what a hard thing to do! I have posted about this several times so I won't go into much right now but this is something that I need to learn to do better. I need to patiently wait for the Lord to provide... provide finances, a husband, the next step in my life... everything. I just have to wait and be of good courage. I have every reason to face this waiting with courage... God is in control and He knows and only wants what is best for me. Plus! He promises that if I do wait patiently and with courage (trust) then he will strengthen my heart. I'm not gonna die!
Galatians 5 and 6 simply talk about walking in the Spirit and not fulfilling the lusts of the flesh and also the fruit of the spirit. I'm trying to take time to focus on each one... so far I haven't gotten past love... it seems I need a lot of work in this area.
Well, I will get back to the "Walls" at a later time. In the meantime, hope this was a help to someone. This is just what I feel the Lord is working on me about this semester. I will keep you posted!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Waiting.....
Brother Ted Inman preached a message the other day about Joshua and the walls of Jericho. He talked about how strange it must have sounded for God to tell them to march around the city a certain amount of times and then blow trumpets and yell and the walls were just gonna fall down at their feet. Bro. Ted pointed out that the only reason the walls fell was because Joshua obeyed and believed. He did what God told him to do, even though he didn't understand, and believed that God would do what was best.
Then he talked about some of the walls we face in our lives. Today I just want to talk about one wall. I will post about the rest at separate times.
The wall of Waiting-
We all have times in our lives when we are waiting for God to work. Some are waiting for healing, some are waiting on financial provision, some are waiting for lost loved ones to come to know Christ. Personally, I'm waiting on the Lord to show me who I'm supposed to marry. Sometimes it can feel like it is NEVER going to happen. I get discouraged about that sometimes. It seems so far away. But I must just trust God. I have to just do what he tells me to do right now, which is go to Heartland, major in elementary ed., learn to love others better, get to know Him better, do my devotions, pray etc.... I just have to obey and BELIEVE that God has a plan and will do what is best for me. This exact same concept can apply in any of the above-listed situations.
"It's hard to rest within His will, It's hard to trust and just be still, It's hard to simply wait until it's all made plain.... But He who holds us in His hands has no problems... only plans. He works in all things.... for His own glory and our best good."
Hope this was a help to someone. Thanks for reading!
Then he talked about some of the walls we face in our lives. Today I just want to talk about one wall. I will post about the rest at separate times.
The wall of Waiting-
We all have times in our lives when we are waiting for God to work. Some are waiting for healing, some are waiting on financial provision, some are waiting for lost loved ones to come to know Christ. Personally, I'm waiting on the Lord to show me who I'm supposed to marry. Sometimes it can feel like it is NEVER going to happen. I get discouraged about that sometimes. It seems so far away. But I must just trust God. I have to just do what he tells me to do right now, which is go to Heartland, major in elementary ed., learn to love others better, get to know Him better, do my devotions, pray etc.... I just have to obey and BELIEVE that God has a plan and will do what is best for me. This exact same concept can apply in any of the above-listed situations.
"It's hard to rest within His will, It's hard to trust and just be still, It's hard to simply wait until it's all made plain.... But He who holds us in His hands has no problems... only plans. He works in all things.... for His own glory and our best good."
Hope this was a help to someone. Thanks for reading!
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