2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
I am blessed to be a Christian that happens to do Process Improvement. We often do focused, week long improvement events called Kaizens. Kaizen is a combo of two Japanese words - Kai which means change and Zen which means good. So Kaizen means change for the good or better. This morning as we were winding up a kaizen week, this verse came to mind. When we make the decision to repent and trust Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, He starts a kaizen event in our lives. Having Christ as Lord of our lives and the Holy Spirit as our guide, God changes us for the better. As you go into your weekend, think about if you need a kaizen in your own life. Why not trust Christ today?
Seriously, is anyone else with me on this? It seems there are days when we have so much going on that prayer time goes something like this:
“Father God, thank you for another day. You are so good, and I love you...I can’t forget to do the agenda for that meeting later in the week, and I need to follow up with Karen. The dishwasher needs run tonight. I forgot last night...so sorry, Lord. Please forgive my busy mind today...”
I’ll confess I’ve had more than my fair share of prayers go like that, even with so looking forward to prayer time. Even with knowing P.R.A.Y., which we discussed in previous posts. It is frustrating! Then, I started reading the book Fervent by Priscilla Shirer. She talks about writing down our prayers so we’ll remember and can record when prayer is answered. It was then that Holy Spirit asked, “Don’t you write out an agenda of items you want to make sure to discuss with your boss when you meet with him? Why not do that with Me to prepare for your time with The Lord?” When Holy Spirit speaks, we should listen, so I tried it. It has been amazing because it gives quality time with both Holy Spirit and God. First, there is quiet time to listen for what Holy Spirit really wants you to pray about. This time can reveal hidden sin in your life, bring names to your remembrance of who most needs your intercession, time to reflect on who God is. For what do you want to praise Him? What needs surrendered in your life? Is there Scripture to pray? I jot this down in P.R.A.Y. format. This forms a prayer strategy so the Enemy cannot distract me. If I start to get prayer ADHD, I look to my prayer strategy to get back on track. It really has helped me. I pray it may help others as well. Have a blessed day!
Isaiah 1:25
And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:
This verse struck a cord with me when I read it. In fact, in my notes, I asked myself the question, “What is my dross and tin?” You may wonder what in the world dross even is. Dross is all the impurities that separates off of silver when it is refined in the fire. When the silver is pulled out of the fire, all that’s left is pure, shiny silver. We also know that tin is a silver impostor. It is shiny like silver, but it easily rusts. It can put up a temporary front from afar, but upon close inspection & a few storms, you can easily see it is not what it appears to be. And so we as Christians can behave.
The dross in your life is what you’re dragging around with you that prevents you from being all God has planned for you. You know, that stuff you won’t let God have? Part of mine is insecurities from my past. It can be guilt, shame, sin, lies from Satan you’ve bought like they were 10 for $10 at the grocery. Anything that prevents us from being able to reflect the Light of Christ as brightly as we can. Now here is the amazing thing about God and His relationship with us. He wants us to be the purest, shiniest silver ever to reflect His light to the world. Because of this, He will send us through the fire to remove this dross from our lives, and we come out so much better for it. For Him. Proverbs 25:4 tells us, “Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.” So while the fire is tough, you’ll be a vessel for the finer coming out!
We also need to monitor ourselves for tin in our lives. Tin is those things you do or say that have the appearance of being for God, but really are for yourself. Sometimes this is related to our dross. For example, with these insecurities that the Lord is slowly refining away, I sometimes think I need but actually only want to know I’m doing a good job at fill in the blank. I don’t need to know this. I want to know this to feed my own insecurities so I end up going beyond the extra mile. Not for God’s glory but to hear or feel like I’m doing a good job. That is tin. Paul tells us in several places that we’re to do all things to the glory of God and not for man. I had a lesson on that just this week and am working to throw that tin in the trash, not to be recycled! I praise the Lord for a wonderful friend who sharpens my iron!
What dross & tin is in your life? Are they interconnected? Let the Lord throw you in the fire for a bit and see how you come out for the finer.
With my job, there is a report I review monthly for the hospitals in our system that shows patients who have readmitted. Part of that report shows where they went when they left the hospital - home, nursing home, etc. One of the options, so to speak, is listed as "expired." At first this bothered me; it felt very impersonal. I thought, "We're people, not gallons of milk." However, a couple weeks ago when I was working with the report again, this verse came to mind:
And as it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment. Hebrews 9:27
That got me digging and then I found this verse too:
Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? Job 7:1
It made me realize we DO have expiration dates. God has our days numbered and knows exactly how many days we have on earth. We don't know our expiration date, and that is why it is so important to heed the Holy Spirit's calling when we hear it. He is calling to each of us to accept Christ. Are we listening? Are we heeding His call?
That verse in Hebrews describes what will happen to us. We will reach our expiration date and then we will stand before judgment. Not for our works or our own righteousness, for they are but filthy rags before the Lord. (Isaiah 64:6) God will look for the blood of Christ to be applied to our life, and that's it. That will determine where we spend eternity - with Him in Heaven or without Him in Hell.
As we wind up this holiday season with Christmas quickly approaching. Think about that baby in the manger and what He really came for so many years ago.
This is the third week of Advent - Joy. While looking for a graphic to post on our church Facebook page, I came across the one above. It hit me because yesterday I was speaking with a colleague who also traveled the journey of infertility. We talked about how difficult it was, but continuing in faith and finding something in the midst of it. We couldn't really describe it. She used the word "contentment", but I think we both knew it was more than being content. Then this morning, I saw this and knew what it was we were trying to describe - it is joy. Joy does not equate to happiness; oh, quite the contrary. We both spoke of the indescribable sorrow we have felt, but in the midst of the deepest sorrow, you can still find joy. Joy then does provide contentment and peace in the situation because joy does not come from ourselves. It only comes from the One in whom we have faith - Jesus Christ.
So during this Advent season, ponder on what you can find joy in during difficult times. Ponder while you're waiting for an answer on the One who has the Master plan for your life. Think on the Child in whom's arrival we're preparing to celebrate, and why He was sent here.
Bro. Larry Hufhand preached at our church this past Sunday. He has been doing a series for us about Psalm 1. This Sunday he focused on verse 3, and a word jumped out at me. It was the word "planted". Let's see what verse 3 says:
He shall be like a tree, planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper.
This word struck a cord with me because according to the Dictionary, planted is a verb that means "Toplaceorset(seeds,forexample)inthegroundtogrow." That is a very intentional act. If you are the "blessed man" that is being talked about in this first chapter of Psalms, and you can deduct if you think you fall into this category by reading the first two verses, you have been intentionally placed in the spot you are in right now by God to serve a specific purpose. This should be very encouraging! Sometimes we go through trials that are not of our own doing, but we can always know that there is absolutely a specific purpose behind it! That is pretty awesome to know! Now, what sometimes happens is we don't like where God plants us, so we uproot ourselves and move to where we think we should be. Been there, done that, and hope to not do it again because it never works out. We need to bloom where we've been planted! So as we go through our week this week, let's take a look in the mirror to see if we are living a life God can bless. If we are, then praise God for where He has planted you.
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and
they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
Came across a devotion about this verse the other day, and
it mentioned something that I was never aware of but became a golden
nugget. The Hebrew word used means
change, not renewed! That was an amazing
revelation to me. Those that wait on the
Lord actually have their strength changed.
It changes to become that of the Lord’s strength, not their own. It is transformed! How amazing is that?
This was so encouraging to me because there are quite a few
things in my life that are in “wait mode”.
One prayer is waiting for hearts to be changed and softened. A few others I don’t understand why, but
trusting God has a plan.
If you are in wait mode right now, find great news in this
verse. God not only has a plan, but if
you wait on Him, He will reward you with His strength. Then whatever we’re waiting on is sure to
bring Him all the glory! So wait.
The past few months have definitely been a testing
time. It is a tough pill to swallow when
you’ve had people in your life for several years, and you realize that the
relationship you thought was there was not.
It is not reciprocal to the level of care or
love you have for them. I realize I’m
not the only one this has happened to.
Everyone has had relationships that have ended up broken, and it stinks.
It hurts, and you have a tendency to
want to be not very nice about it. Well,
as my mom always told us growing up, “two wrongs don’t make a right”. We need to move on and be better. What I cling to, though, is a very dear
Friend that will never leave me or forsake me.
The Bible tells us in Psalm 9:10 “And those who know Your
name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who
trust you”. Isn’t that great news? If we trust Him, he will never forsake us! That is so comforting. Also look in John 15 where Jesus refers to
the apostles as his friends. We have
that same ability today – to be Christ’s friend. If we keep his commandments and read his
Word, we are His friend. What a better
friend could one have?
So as you go through the week this week, know that if you
trust Him, He will always be with you.
If you haven’t trusted Him as Lord and Savior, why not start today? It is very simple. Pray to God admitting you are a sinner and
asking forgiveness of your sins. Then
tell Christ you trust Him to be Lord of your life. That’s all it takes. After that, find a home church to support you
and guide you in your new Christian walk, and take time every day to pray and
read your Bible. After all, you have a
new Friend! You need to really get to
know Him!
Was reading in first Peter today and a little gold nugget
popped out at me. Take a look at this:
Wherein you greatly
rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, you are in heaviness through
manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious
than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto
praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.1 Peter 1:6-7
Praise God for our trialed or tried faith! Look at this passage grammatically,
especially verse 7. Our tried faith is
much more precious that gold…not just any faith – tried faith. Faith that has been through the fire and has
come through it still bringing praise, honor, and glory to Jesus. That is the faith that is highly valuable to
God, so the next time you go through the valley or a deep trail, just know to
stand strong and keep your faith. When
you come through the other side, your faith will be stronger and highly valued by God.
This past summer I saw this sign down in Nashville, IN. It really made an impression on me. I thought, “That’s where I want our camp to permanently
reside. Camp Joy.” You can see by the sign it's been around for a long time - since the beginning.
At church we learned this acronym:
Jesus
Others
Yourself
To have true Joy, you have to focus on these three things
and in this order. My problem was my Joy was thrown into a word scramble.
For a while (too long), I've been living in camp O.J. Trying first to please everyone else and finding
time for Jesus too, but sometimes he’s second to pleasing everyone else. There are several problems with this camp,
and that’s why I finally decided to move.
First, you cannot please everyone all of the time. In fact, there are some people you can never please. Also, trying to people please is not pleasing
to God. Our primary focus should always
be on glorifying Him and knowing Him more intimately. The extent of our responsibilities to Others
is to love them as ourselves, forgive them as God has forgiven us, and extend
to them the lovingkindness that God has shown us.
Second, when we try to people please, it always removes
Jesus from the top spot. Thus, JOY turns
into OJY or even just OJ.
Thirdly, you cannot eliminate the Y. Yes, you do need to focus on Jesus and Others
first, but you have to take care of yourself. When you remove the Y, it affects your self-care, emotional health, motivation, and esteem. Plus, too much
O.J. ends up making you very acidic – bitter.
How is that glorifying to God? How
can that be a great testimony to others?
It can’t be, so I knew I had to get out!
Seeing this sign reinforced it.
It was as if God said, “Hey, why don’t you join me again in Camp
Joy? You've been in Camp O.J. too long.”
So here I am slowly moving back in to Camp Joy. You’d think it would be an easy move, but it’s
not. Bad habits are hard to break, but I’m
getting there and asking for continued Grace and Lovingkindness along the way.
Do you reside in Camp Joy or do you find yourself residing
in a different camp? If you reside in a
different camp, take a good look in the mirror and start today making the
changes necessary to relocate with me to Camp Joy. I guarantee it will be the best move you
ever made!
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. ~Isaiah 35:10
My favorite song is the old hymn “Sweet Hour of Prayer” by
William Walford. During these past years and trials, this hymn has not
just become my favorite, but it has become who I am – my life’s
statement. Let the words of blind William Walford speak for themselves:
Sweet hour of
prayer! sweet hour of prayer! That calls me from a world of care, And bids me at my Father’s throne Make all my wants and wishes known. In seasons of distress and grief, My soul has often found relief And oft escaped the tempter’s snare By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of
prayer! sweet hour of prayer! Thy wings shall my petition bear To Him whose truth and faithfulness Engage the waiting soul to bless. And since He bids me seek His face, Believe His Word and trust His grace, I’ll cast on Him my every care, And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of
prayer! sweet hour of prayer! May I thy consolation share, Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height, I view my home and take my flight: This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise To seize the everlasting prize; And shout, while passing through the air, “Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!”
Aren't they wonderfully, inspiring words? I do believe that with earthly blindness, Mr. Walford was given the gift to see into the throne room of Grace! Often, when I'm preparing to pray, I like to imagine what the first verse talks about. I see a strong but grandfatherly figure on a large throne. He sees small me peeking in from the door, and calls for me to come before Him. Then, He not only calls me forward, but allows small me to sit up by Him or even in His lap to hold and comfort me like His child as I make all my wants and wishes known. That is where my soul finds relief...in His all knowing, grace filled, unconditionally loving arms. Often the vision is so real and comforting that it brings me to joy filled tears.
So often then we as Christians want to jump to the last verse. "Come quickly Lord Jesus!" we so frequently say. That day will come soon enough, and personally, if I look at my own job performance as a Christian, it is coming too soon! I still have much work to do for the Father! So with that, for now, we need to stay tuned into what verse 2 tells us. He is trying to engage our waiting souls to bless us. That word "engage" is an interesting word choice...it is interactive. Just like a wedding proposal, the groom desires the bride's engagement. She has a choice, though. She can accept or decline. It is the same with us and God. We can accept His offer of eternal life with Him and His blessings or decline them. It is our choice.
Also, in that second verse is that word again, twice, that we don't like to hear - wait. The more trails I face in my life, though, the more I'm convinced that is the key to a deep relationship with Christ. Wait. So many verses touch on that...we'll take a look there in a different post. So wait. I'll wait for you, sweet hour of prayer. We should wait and long for our daily time with God because it is truly so sweet.
Here is my simple attempt of sharing worship with you. Hope it is a blessing. Listen to the words, not the quality of my voice.
Not that I speak in
regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I
know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned
both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me.
Philippians 4:11-13
As of Friday morning my cycle was 4 days late. I knew that if we made it past that day, we
could take “The Test” and hopefully after six long years see a miracle arrive
in our lives. By lunch I knew there
would be no need to test this month. I
shared with my co-worker that this late cycle for me is like buying a lottery
ticket when you hear the prize is $1 billion (it happens about as often). It’s fun to think about, hope for, even pray
for (I can tell you that Indiana would not have to worry about children stuck
as wards of the state if I ever did win a billion dollars!), but you know the
odds are stacked against you. It’s
simple statistics. That is how Friday
went, so I closed my office door toward the end of the day and cried when I
could no longer hold back the sadness.
The most amazing thing always happens though. I can never cry very long because I think of
my husband that loves me, my two adorable cats that are waiting at home for me,
my beautiful home that provides shelter, and most importantly, my Savior who
died my sinner’s death so I can have eternal life. My Savior provides contentment in whatever
state I am and allows me to do ALL things through Him.
I can tell you that this is not easy and the key to success
is in verse 13. With that, it makes me
think of a saying you hear frequently that is completely false, so don’t
believe it! It is, “God won’t give you
anything you can’t handle.” You see, we
are weak, sinful humans. I can honestly
tell you that infertility is more than I can handle. Being downsized from a job I loved is more
than I could handle. Keeping my mouth
shut when I’m angry is more than I can handle.
However, here I am; handling all of these things. How?
Verse 13: I can do ALL things THROUGH CHRIST who strengthens me! Through Christ’s strength, I can stand
and not my own! When you’re in that
valley and you don’t see the end of it, make sure you have invited Christ to
walk that valley with you. His strength
will pull you through and even provide you contentment along the way.
Jehovah-Shammah, so often we don't understand Your plan. There are circumstances when we don't see You, but You are there. There are times when we don't feel Your Presence, but You are there. There are times when "the plan" really doesn't make sense, but You are there. Let us praise You anyway because You are the God that is there with us - Jehovah-Shammah.
We also praise You for being the Jehovah-Jireh - the God who provides. As it says in Philippians 4:19, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." We are placing full trust that You will provide our needs. We are in need of You providing because we cannot do this alone. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
We should cling to this prayer daily. We never know what is around the corner - a friend will disappoint us, people will let us down, we'll hear a devastating diagnosis, we'll lose a loved one. So often, we don't understand why, but we can cling to the One that does. He does have a plan, and we'll understand in the Sweet By and By.
Why did I name my blog Enjoying Grace? After all, for the first few years of its
existence it was called Ponderings. That
was its name without a vision or purpose when I first discovered I enjoy
writing and needed a place to put these writings. Over the past few years I’ve started feeling
more of a calling to turn it into something more...a place to share my faith,
so I found the need to rename it to reflect more of where I am on my spiritual
walk. Therefore, the blog became
Enjoying Grace.
But still why the name Enjoying Grace? When you look up grace, it has several
definitions. The first one is “elegance
or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.”
Well I can tell you, that definitely is not a descriptor of me or my
blog, but let’s jump to definitions 4: “a manifestation of favor, especially by
a superior” and 5: “mercy, clemency, pardon”.
Now that’s what I’m enjoying! I am
finally enjoying the favor, mercy, clemency, and pardon of My Lord!
I finally learned not to let Satan drag me down with guilt
of my past sins. God does not want that
for me or any Christian. In fact, Psalm
103:12 says, “As far as the east is from
the west, so far has He removed our transgression from us.” That is amazing to think about! God removed my sin as far from me as the east
is from the west. Now, that is far! It proves that He wants us free from our
past, and if we sin now, He sends the Holy Spirit to convict our hearts to repentance. Even with that, it’s not guilt, its
conviction. They are two completely
different things. Conviction leads to
repentance. Guilt leads nowhere. 2 Corinthians explains it well. It says in chapter 7, verse 10, “For godly sorrow produces repentance
leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces
death.”
So my message to every Christian is to enjoy the Grace that
has been bestowed to you by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus
Christ! Psalm 13:5 tells us, “But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart
shall rejoice in thy salvation.”
That is what we should do! When
you lose the guilt, it leaves you free to completely love Christ for who He
is. It puts you in a place to truly
appreciate what God did for you. It
opens your heart and mind to hear the Holy Spirit’s quiet voice. It truly is a beautiful place to be!
So if you are a Christian, pray in Christ’s name for the
devil’s influence of guilt over past sins to be removed from your life
today. Pray asking for the fruits of the
Spirit so you can truly enjoy grace!
If you are not a Christian and feel conviction in your heart
to repent and receive Christ as Lord and Savior of your life, pray the
following prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I ask for your
forgiveness. I believe you died for my
sins and rose from the dead. I trust and
follow you as Lord and Savior. Guide my
life and help me to do your will. In
your name, Amen.
If you accepted Christ, please let us know so we can pray
for your new walk as a Christian. Also,
make sure to find a home church so you have support of other Christians in your
life. The Christian walk is not easy,
but it is blessed!
