New Beginnings. . .Old Ways

Over the past couple of days I have been thinking and thinking about how short my spiritual life has been, and yet how much the Lord has shown me and grown me already. I cannot believe it has only and yet already been almost two months! I have been reading through Ephesians, and in the later chapters of the book, Paul talks about the old man and the new man. We are commanded by Paul, in several of his epistles, to "put off the old man," and "put on the new man." This subject has always been a rather difficult one for me to grasp, and it continues to puzzle me. I know what it means to put something off, and I also know what it means to put something on. The key, I believe, is what Paul writes in between these two actions: "by the renewing of your minds." In order to put off anything and put on anything, there has to be a change of mind. We must renew our minds! I must renew MY mind! This is such a huge process for me, one in which I am still struggling to wrap my mind around, but I am continuing every day to learn more and more about what it means to "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." Growth hurts, but turns out to be so worth it in the end. Growing and becoming more like Christ brings the most satisfying reward in this entire world: a more sanctified person. I cannot wait until the day when we will eventually be glorified and be just like our great God!

My Amazing God, Found in Psalm 4

I was reading in Psalm 4 this morning, and this chapter, along with so many other psalms is completely filled with truths about our amazing God! This is one reason why I love to read the book of Psalms! Whenever I am struggling with my view of God, I go to the psalms. They are a great resource of encouragement.

Okay. Back to Psalm 4.

He hears my prayers. 

This is the first attribute of God that this psalm points out. God hears my prayers. He will always be there to answer when I call out to Him. Because of this, I should never feel like I cannot come to Him with anything. I should always feel open before Him and willing to come to Him no matter what the struggle, circumstance, or request.

He is trustworthy.

Wow. This attribute of God really hit me hard. If God is worthy of my trust, why don't I trust Him? He has proven Himself over and over again, and there is nothing that He has done that would say anything to the contrary. He IS worthy of my trust, and I can and should trust Him! I fall so short of this! Whenever a circumstance comes into my life that I don't like, I am quick to get upset rather than trusting my Almighty, Sovereign God who has a plan for my life that is absolutely perfect. I really need to grow in this area, and I am praying that the Lord will show me more areas where I fall short of trusting Him.

He is the true joy-giver.

This is another attribute of my Heavenly Father that I so fall short of believing. Because my Heavenly Father is the one true joy-giver, I should run to Him and look to Him to satisfy me and to give me true joy. But so often I run to other people and other things to satisfy me and to bring me joy. I am always trying to satisfy myself with empty things that I know will never satisfy me. In the past two or three days, I have found that God's Word truly does satisfy more than anything else in this entire world. I cannot believe that I have searched all these years in so many different places for something that was sitting right in front of my nose: God. For 18 or 19 years or so, I had searched and searched for something to satisfy me, but in all the wrong places. Not until the end of my second year of college at a Bible college did I finally realize the huge mistake that I had been making and give myself up in surrender to Him.

These are just a few of the several attributes of God that are found in this psalm. In the past several days, I have been so overwhelmed as I look at the psalms and see so many amazing attributes of my great God! I am  so thankful that I have a God who loves me and who is so amazing!

"Love, so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my ALL."

"Set Your Minds. . ."

"Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth" (Col. 3:2). "Those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit" (Rom. 8:5). These verses have been running through my mind the past couple of days.

What does it mean to "set your mind" on something? I believe that this means that my mind is so consumed with something that there is no room for anything else. So that means that for my mind to be "set" on things that are above, my mind must be consumed with "things that are above" (ie: God and His Word). Oh, how I fall short of this! I always consume my mind with things that don't matter: present circumstances, what other people think of me, how I am going to get the things done that I need to get done, etc. What I SHOULD be filling my mind (and consequently my heart) on are the things that DO matter: God's Word and who HE is.

So what is the difference between the days when I am (rarely) focused on my Savior and His Word, and those days (almost all of them) that I am focused on myself and on what is going on around me? I think that the difference is how I start off my day and the steps I take during the day. I have found that those rare days when I am focused on God's Word and on pleasing Him, are the days that I have started my day with MEANINGFUL time in His Word (not just reading because someone might ask me), and have gone through the day consistently reminding myself of what God's Word says. I have found that I MUST take every free moment that my mind has, and use those moments to rehearse God's Word in my memory so that I am focusing my mind on "things that are [. . .] true [. . .]" (Phil. 4:8)

Lord, help me to focus my mind on You and Your Word. I cannot possibly do that on my own. I need Your help desperately! Help me to love You so much that everything else is overshadowed in comparison!

In All Things God Works for our Good!

 "And this we know: in the journey of life, whether green rolling hills or the desert bare and dry, in all things, God works for our good: for those who love the Lord!" "I will wait on You, Lord, for my hope is in Your Word! More than watchmen wait for morn', I will wait for You, my Lord! I will wait for You, my Lord!" These two songs have been running and running through my mind lately, and they, along with so many other great songs, are packed with meaning and truth! The first song begins with "this we know..." This phrase alone has a load of meaning. Because of the fact that what we "know" is truth, we can say confidently that "we KNOW" that this is true. We know that God's Word never changes, and we know that He is good! The next phrase, "whether green rolling hills or the deserts bare and dry..." is very important as well. No matter if we are going through good times or bad times, through joy or sorrow, through victory or defeat, we can KNOW that God is good and that He works things for our good! This next phrase gets me every time. "In all things, God works for our good!" Wow! This is an incredible statement of faith! But what does it mean that in all things, God works for our good? Romans 8:28 says that "all things work together for good" for those who love God. But the things that come into our lives don't seem good! In fact, they seem bad! So where is the good? The good comes in the fact that this verse doesn't say that God makes everything to BE good, but He works everything together for good. In other words, the circumstances in our lives are bringing about good rather than being "good" themselves. The end result of those circumstances is our good because, if we allow them to, they will change us and make us more like Christ! That is such a comfort! Wow! That song has a lot of good truths! The second song is more of a prayer rather than simply stating truth. This song is a prayer from David's Psalm 130. This is a prayer to God acknowledging that He is in control. David is saying that because his hope is not in this world and not in himself, but in God's Word, he can wait on the Lord's timing. God's timing is always perfect! The allusion of watchmen was to older times when they would have watchmen guarding castles and important places. The watchmen on the night-watch had a much harder time than the daytime watchmen because at night it is harder to see. So the watchmen on the night-watch would sit or walk and very confidently await the morning light. This was a very expectant hope and watch. It is an eager watch of patience. Our waiting on the Lord should be even more than that! We should be watching so eagerly and intently for God's timing, knowing that His timing is best! These two songs have been such a challenge to me lately, and I hope they can be a challenge to you all as well!


~ Stephanie ~ 
    *Phil. 3:13-14*

What is Love?

Love...what is it? Is it that mushy feeling you get when you see that guy or girl? Is it a hug? Is it saying "I love you"? What is love? Love, as defined by our very accurate and correct Holy Bible is one word: God. I John 4 says that God is love. This statement does not simply mean that God is something else: He is really love. This means that love is His very nature. It is the basis of everything that He does. And we are commanded to love. In Matthew 22, we are told that we are to above all else love our God most of all; then in the very next verse we are commanded to, next to that, love our neighbor the same way that we love ourselves. We love ourselves WAY too much. I know from experience that I love myself way more than I should. Whenever I have a choice to make, I will most likely make the choice that makes things easier for me, not for those around me; but by the grace of God I am able to deny myself and show love to others and make the unselfish choice, but that isn't even very often. I am so selfish, and I know so many people who are. So then if we are commanded to love, how DO we love? If God is love, and I KNOW I am certainly not God, then how do I become something that is that is the very essence of His character? This has been a question in my mind for some time, and I am just completely amazed by the love of my God. His love is not a selfish love. It is not a taking love. His love gives and sacrifices and puts others before self. THAT is my God. THAT is love. And how to do that, I have no idea; but I will continue to pray that God will be gracious to me and grant me His love so that I may love others the way that He loves me: unselfishly and sacrificially.

~ Stephanie ~
    *Phil. 3:13-14*

Control

God is good. That is all. I have been realizing this SOO much lately. God is so good to save me from myself and to give me chance after chance after chance to do right and to live for Him. I want to. I want Him to have complete control. That is my heart's desire right here, right now. But this is so often easier said than done. It is easier to say " I want God to have control" than to actually GIVE Him control. I have definitely experienced this in my life. There have been so many times when I have honestly wanted to give God control and to allow Him to control my life; but I haven't. Why not? Why is it so stinking hard to just give up and let Him rule my life? This is still a HUGE question in my life right now, but I think I might be getting closer to the answer, but I am not there yet. All I know for now is that the answer is in His Word and in submitting to it when He shows me something that I need to change. Basically, repentance. Well, these are just some thoughts that have been running through my head lately. Hope they are an encouragement!

I regret the hours I have wasted,
And the pleasures I have tasted
That You were never in.
And I confess that though Your love is in me,
It doesn't always win me
When competing with my sin!

And I repent!
Making no excuses!
I repent!
No one else to blame!
And I return
To fall in love with Jesus!
I bow down on my knees,
And I repent!

I lament the idols I've accepted;
The commandments I've rejected
To pursue my selfish end.
And I confess I need You to revive me;
Put selfishness behind me;
And take up my cross again!

And I repent! 
Making no excuses!
I repent!
No one else to blame!
And I return 
To fall in love with Jesus!
I bow down on my knees,
And I repent!

~ Stephanie ~ 
    *Phil. 3:13-14*