Monthly Archives: May 2012

Adequacy, Choice, Faith, Godly Principles, Power, Prayer

Called to Bountiful Supply

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“Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” (Philippians 1:19-20, NASB)

Many times in the past few years of grieving over a life situation God has brought my heart hope through this passage of scripture. Always before He has highlighted for me the importance of my own prayers in the situation and those of others who pray with me to be filled with “earnest expectation and hope” in Him for His work in the situation, but not so today. Today He is highlighting for me the more important component in this equation: “the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”

Reading this with that portion spiritually highlighted, I recognize that it is not just my knowing how to pray with true, expectant hope that is vital for life. Every circumstance life presents to us brings with it the foremost need to seek after and rely on the Spirit of God: relying not only on His Spirit to work in the situation, but seeking His filling to equip us to deal properly with the challenge it brings.

Taking me a step further, God leads me to read the passage in the Amplified version of Scripture. Here I find that there are circumstances in life that require not only seeking the filling and work of the Spirit of God, but “a bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”

Bountiful – Giving freely and generously; liberal. Marked by abundance; plentiful, ample.

Ample – Of large or great size, amount, extent or capacity. Large in degree, kind or quantity. More than enough. Fully sufficient to meet a need or purpose.

Now I find myself asking why it is that I so often settle on what I can do – pray with hope. Yes, that is needful, but what am I seeking? A miracle that will remove the need to deal with the situation?

Yeah, I think that is what I have wanted, for God to remove the need to go through this pain. But what He wants is for me to seek Him, His filling, His supply, desiring Him and His glory above my freedom from pain. And the joy I realize in that truth is that the pain will be alleviated by the bountiful supply of all that is needful to courageously face the situation and walk through it in the power of God to the glory of His name.

Father, forgive me. I realize my need of Psalm 51 praying right now, as I seek Your bountiful supply that will equip me to give sacrificially to the glory of Your name. In Jesus, here am I, O God. I pray You, show me Your glory! Amen.

Adequacy, Assurance, Faith, Godly Principles, Power, Stand Firm

In the Strength of His Might

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I often feel in my Spirit that verses 10 and 11 in Eph. 6 should be one sentence, like so:

“Finally, be strong in the Lord; and in the strength of His might put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”

I sense that to be true because “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” and God’s armor placed on us without His strength doing it would be like David when he put Saul’s on. It would be too big and foreign to our experience. Only by His strength can we even begin to take it up.

Isn’t it interesting that there are 5 items we put on in some way, like the 5 stones David took up with hope in God: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the helmet of salvation, and the shields of faith, small ones on the shoulder and one worn on the hand and forearm to reflect blows. The last item, like David’s slingshot, is to be carried with us: the sword of The Spirit, which is the Word of God, against which no enemy can stand.

“Therefore,” Paul advises, “take up the full armor of God,” in the strength He supplies, “so that,” unlike David in Saul’s get-up, “you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” And stand we will, for God is able to make us stand.

“Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand” (Romans 14:14).

Adequacy, Choice, Godly Principles, Power, Practicing His Presence

The Answer

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Are you in a season of struggle as I am?

I am in the deepest pit of oppressive despair as I have ever been in. Struggling in my health with issues that seem beyond my control; challenged daily with lack of energy to function because my internal clock is dysfunctional due to changes in our lifestyle that seem beyond me to fix; grieving as never before over a parent whose fear and paranoia is destroying his relationships; I could go on but you get the drift that all of life right now seems to be working to sap my strength and bring me into a depressed state of mind, draining of energy to function. And from the stories of other Christians I hear from daily, I am not alone.

I keep thinking, “If I will just love and care more for others, I will be able to do more.” But I do love deeply and I do care, yet I continue to struggle. Then I think, “Maybe I am in the wrong place. Perhaps I need a new church or a new job.” As I consider that, I know that though those things may be true, they are not THE ANSWER. We can run from one place to another, but our baggage always goes with us, and we often find ourselves in the same or worse, leading us to run again.

After considering these things and many others, I finally say, “Lord, I can do nothing apart from You. What is Your opinion?” And He graciously answers as I read, “The Lord God has given Me the tongue of a disciple and of one who is taught, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He wakens Me morning by morning, He wakens My ear to hear as a disciple [as one who is taught]” (Isaiah 50:4, AMP).

I will have no need to fret over my love-walk as long as I seek first Him who teaches my heart to love. I will have no worry about where I need to be and what I need to do in any given day as long as I answer the call to awaken and seek Him first morning by morning. I cannot have love and care apart from Him, so seeking Him for the filling of His Spirit is the answer to love and care. Chasing hard after Him in each day has me ready where I am needed with a word, a hug, a ministry in due season.

It is not about “I”. “I” can do nothing apart from God. But with Him, all things are possible for me, for nothing shall be impossible with God.

Father, help me to seek You first and foremost, early, while You may be found, so I am made adequate as Your servant, empowered and equipped for the challenge of each day, filled up to the full with You who make me able. In Jesus, I surrender all anew, knowing that YOU are THE ANSWER. Amen.

Godly Principles

Dear Grandkids, Part 6

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Finally, Principle 5, the Y – You are now at the stage of BECOMING an adult—BUT you are not there yet.

Research on the workings of the brain reveal that until somewhere around the age of 25, young people do not have the capacity to fully recognize what their actions right now will bring to their future. They have not developed the “pathways” in the brain’s function to fully connect the actions of today to the unseen consequences of tomorrow’s years. Therefore, it is a wise young adult who has the maturity to seek wise counsel from those who have developed that capacity of brain-function. It is important to develop older, wise counselor-friendships with parents, grandparents, and people who can help you connect action now with potential consequences in the decisions you face. You are not stupid. You are intelligent and are developing wisdom. Be wise enough to seek wise counsel from those who have lived longer than you and who have shown themselves worthy of being followed.

Well, my beloveds, this is a beginning. I hope as God gives me thought to do so that I can write you with instruction to help you choose paths in this life that will leave you with few or no regrets for your tomorrows. That should be the goal of every soul, to live lives without need of regret. We all struggle to gain confidence until we learn who we are in Christ and find our confidence in Him. You will get to where you need to be in life by following Him first and foremost and developing a strong support group of friends who are good company and wise counselors in truth.

I love you, and I want what is best for you. You are constantly in my prayers, that you may know God and His ways, that you may find the path He has for you in fulfilling His purposes in your life, and that you may live a life that honors Him as the One True God of your life, bringing Glory to His name, and helping others to know Him.

I love you!

Meeme / Meems

Godly Principles

Dear Grandkids, Part 5

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Principle 4, the B – “Bad company corrupts good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33).

This scripture does not mean that we are to look at one person as better than another, being judgmental; nor are we to have an attitude of, “I” am better than “them” so “I” won’t run with “them”. Then what does it mean?

It means that those who practice good morals and try to be good people, when in the company of those with a lesser moral code, can easily be corrupted. We all are corruptible. We never get so good on this side of eternity that we are free from the grip of temptation to do wrong. Running with people who do not have the same moral stance that we desire to walk in puts us into a position where we can, and too often will fall from our commitment to a moral purity in line with God’s will and way for us.

On the same line, giving our eyes and ears to things of lower moral excellence than we want to have can and will lead us to corruption. I don’t know a kid who ever said, “I want to be addicted to porn and a pervert when I grow up.” Or “I want to be a drug addict when I grow up.” Etc. But too often we run with people who are in such things and wind up trapped with them.

Even good friends who are normally good people can take us to places and to do things that are bad, making them in that moment to be bad company. Your job then is to set the standard for yourself and be a leader among your peers, helping others to come up higher as human beings of good character. We are to set our own minds and keep them set on the good paths of God, following His will and way (Colossians 3). By setting a good example and encouraging your friend to leave a bad environment, you protect yourself and them from corruption.

When finding yourself in a bad situation, decide now to have the courage and character to leave that place. If a friend is there with you, encourage them to leave too. If they will not leave with you, you leave, and if they are in danger of corruption, love dictates that you have courage enough to call for help in protecting them. If your friend is in a place that will be dangerous for them mentally, physically or morally, you need to be friend enough to tell someone who can help you draw them out of harm’s way.

Always make sure that you have a way to call your parents or another friend or family member who can come to get you.

Such situations as winding up in less than desirable surroundings and having to call parents to rescue you is one of those times when parents, afraid for your life and future, may overreact and punish you for going to such a place. Principle 1, 2 and 3 all come into play here in helping you to accept the consequence of letting yourself be led to a place of potential harm. Remember you are Keeping God First by Loving and Honoring your Parents, who also desire that you Know Who You Are And Who You Want To Be. God and your parents desire you to do those things that will help you reach your highest goals in life. Your parents actions are dictated by that desire. It is better to call your parents to help you out of a bad situation and potentially have to face a just or even unjust punishment than to stay where you are in the midst of bad company, setting a bad example for your friends, and potentially suffering harm for it.

Am I telling you never to have friends who are not Christian? No, not necessarily. What I am saying is that in any friendship, you need to always be the your own leader making choices best for you, and hopefully drawing others to the good things in life. Being the unwitting follower who falls into the pits of life with them is being a person who cannot take credit for their own bad choices, laying blame on others.

If you cannot have courage enough to say, “I will not do that. It puts me in danger of corruption, so how can I do that with you and sin against God” (Genesis 39:9), then you do not need to run with those who follow a wayward path in a life without moral commitment.

Godly Principles

Dear Grandkids, Part 4

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Principle 3, the third K – Know who you are and who you want to be:

You know, we cannot be our best self if we do not know who that is, and we cannot become more of what we want to be if we do not know where we are now and how we need to change and grow. Now is the time to begin understanding who you are, who you want to be, and how to discern where work and growth are needed.

Sit down with a pen and pad or Word.doc and write down the following things you see about yourself: what your strengths are; what your weaknesses are; your talents and abilities; your struggles and areas of your personality that leave you open to temptation. Now answer the following: When you die, 150 years from now J, what will you want people to say was true about you, and you be able to know that it was true? Write down the things you want to be true about you. Then ask yourself, “If they set pedestals up center stage at my funeral, displaying things on them that depict things of life that are most important to me, what do I want to be best known as important in my life?”

Too many times I have left funerals after hearing all kinds of good things about someone only to hear another leaving the funeral saying something like, “Were we at the right funeral? I never saw any of those good things in that person. Who were they talking about?” You have to decide now the kind of person you want to be, the character traits you want to be known for, and begin now to be that person, known for the things that are truly important to you.

The place to begin your search for character traits worth having is with God and His word. Some passages to consider in scripture that may help are Galatians 5 (especially verses 22-23); Romans 12; Philippians 1-4, Colossians 3.

Continuing on with the thought of self-discovery, answer the following:

What are things about you that you like and want to protect (example: loving others, caring about others, sexually pure until marriage, not addicted to wine or any other substance, etc.)?

What are things about you that keep you from being the best person you can be (stubborn, know-it-all attitude, unbelieving of the things of God, unteachable, resistant to change, manipulative, mean spirited, etc.)? Be real with yourself and real with God. It is often recommended to ask others what they see as your strengths and weaknesses, as we often times are too easy or too hard on ourselves.

Now that you have a picture of the person you are and who you want to be, it is time to plot the course to becoming that person. That means you have to set up some “do’s and don’ts” for life. Looking at all the things you see that are good about you and all the good traits you want to develop, answer the following:

What must you consistently do in being and becoming the person you want to be?

And what must be avoided at all costs – those things that would destroy your goal of becoming the person you want to be?

I would suggest doing a self-collage: a poster of pictures and sayings, words or scriptures that depict the person you want to be known as. Place it where you can see it and be challenged every day to be that person. Realize that as you grow and mature, you will need to re-answer all these things and update your collage. Mental, emotional, and spiritual maturity changes how we see ourselves and our goals for who we want to be.

Godly Principles

Dear Grandkids, Part 3

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Principle2, the L: Love and honor your parents.

Loving God and loving your parents will help you to give them the honor God dictates we have for our parents, and that will greatly help your obedience to the things they teach you about what is right and what is wrong, coupled, of course, with what God teaches us. Love, dearest, comes from the depths of our being, stemming from who we are in Christ. Love hopes the best for the one loved and strives to help them attain to it. Honoring parents begins with honoring God through the way we treat our parents and ends with living a life that makes them look good as parents, causing them to have a good reputation as parents who have succeeded in their parenting great kids. Even if your parents are unworthy of honor or respect, you can obey God’s call to honor them by being the great kids He desires you to be, expressive of His image, making your parents look better than their parenting skills prove them to be.

The world says that right and wrong are personal choices and, therefore, they are grey-matter with no clear definition; but Scripture teaches that right and wrong have clear divisions that help us to discern which is which with the help of God’s Spirit and umpire Peace. Your parents try to give you the guiding principles that will help you to discern right and wrong, but there is a false wisdom in the world that will cause you to question those guidelines. When that happens, there will be differences of opinion between you and them.

Remember this principle when you are angry with parents for standing in the way of what you want to do. When they put up roadblocks before you because they see something you desire as being something that will lead you astray, principle 2 coupled with principle 1 will help you to honor your parents as God desires you do. When struggling with your parents’ rights over you, no matter what may have led to them taking their stance on the matter at hand—differences in opinion will occur, but love does not stop. God is love. Love always moves to respond as Jesus would, in ways that honor God first and that seek the best for those we love.

When Mary asked Jesus to turn the water into wine, wanting to show off her Son, Jesus said, “You know, mom, it is not My time for being revealed to the world yet” (John 2:4 paraphrased). Then He lovingly honored His mom through obedience. As long as you practice walking in God’s ways, keeping Him first, with love and honor for your parents, you will bring joy to your parents and weather the storms of disagreement.

Godly Principles

Dear Grandkids, Part 2

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Principle1, the first K- Keep God First:

Remember that God is the one who can direct your path to His ideal plan for you. Pausing to give His Spirit a minute to instruct your heart before making a rash move that may do harm to you or someone else will protect you and keep you on a good path.

Of course keeping God first means that you must know His ways so you may know Him that you may walk in His ways (Ex. 33). It means that you must come into personal understanding of Who God is and surrender yourself to Him, not only recognizing that He is God, but that He is Lord and Master, having paid the price for you through Jesus the Savior. If you have not surrendered to His Lordship, you will find it difficult to Keep God First.

If there is any question about the sincerity of your relationship with Him, you need to talk to one of your parents, me, or someone of true faith who can help you come into the assurance of this vital Relationship.

Building this relationship with Him as Lord means you will need to commit to daily reading of the Scriptures found in the Holy Bible. There are teachings there that, with the help of the Spirit to teach you, will give you wisdom for making the best decisions. One recommendation I really like where the reading of scripture is concerned is that you read scripture using the following reading plan – 5 times through the New Testament, 1 time cover to cover; repeat as follows:

First Reading – John through Revelation

Second Reading – Matthew, skip to Acts through Revelation

Third Reading – Mark, skip to Acts through Revelation

Fourth Reading – Luke, skip to Acts through Revelation

Fifth Reading – John through Revelation

Sixth Reading – Genesis through Revelation

Repeat cycle.

This cycle allows you to get a firm understanding of the New Testament that will aid in better understanding the Old Testament.

If you will study God’s word, seeking to truly KNOW HIM, He will send His Spirit to instruct you and make Himself known. My life-verse, the one I am most inspired by and strive to attain to is Philippians 3:10-11, Amplified version. I hope that you will make this your goal for life as well:

“For my determined purpose is that I may know Him, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly, and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection, which it exerts over believers, and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed in spirit into His likeness, even to His death, in the hope that, if possible I may attain to the spiritual and moral resurrection that lifts me out from among the dead, even while in the body.”

Godly Principles

Dear Grandkids, part 1

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The challenge:

 

Hello, Beloved. Meems here with a heart full of things I want you to know. I am writing this to several of you with plans for it to be passed on to others of my babes as they get old enough to hear, and with hope that you will pass these insights on to friends now, and to your children in the future, as opportunity comes to do so.

We live in such a messed up world that sometimes it can be difficult to know the path ahead of us. You each have already experienced some challenges that have you standing in places of decision-time. As you get older and begin to leave the protective custody of your parents, it will be important for you to know how to make wise and good choices.

As a grandmother watching a world filled with news of drug abuse at record highs, peer pressure like never known before to do things that are not good things to be involved in, sexual perversion and sin rampant in our society, all effecting young lives at younger and younger ages, it is a concern to my heart that you understand some basic truths. I know that your parents try daily to impart these things to your hearts, but I also know that as your grandparent, it is my responsibility before God to help them to do that.

Awhile back I had this conversation with one of you in person. But you are all so scattered and busy in life, that opportunity for a face to face conversation does not always come easy. You are growing up fast, and now is the time when you need to consider these basics and how to apply these things to your daily lives. Following are five truths that, if observed in every time of decision, will lead you to the right path. Please write these things on your heart so when the need of remembering them comes, you will have these guiding principles ready and available to your heart. I’m going to call these the KLKBY principles. Thus we begin. (To Be Continued)