May 25, 2009
Catherine Martin says in her book A Heart that Dances “You and I are invited to engage in an amazing adventure: the adventure of knowing God. God says, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10 NIV). He invites you to engage in something with Him that is much deeper than surface acquaintance. The word "know" implies familiarity, depth, and the kind of intimacy usually reserved for marriage. Intimacy is a relationship that goes deep and is marked by friendship and emotional closeness. It is private and personal. There is love, warmth, and intense joy in intimacy”.
Do you have intimacy with God like that? If you don’t, why?
Is it fear?
Fear is a powerful emotion that will often block intimacy. Are you afraid to let Christ in to ALL parts of your heart? Do you NOT trust Him? Our life’s as Christians is based on a deepening trust in God. It is trust, ever how little it may be, that first allows us to take that initial step to God. It is trust that guides us to deeper and deeper levels of intimacy, obedience and transformation. Trust is so very important to our spiritual journey.
Trust can be blocked if we carry with us negative attitudes toward God from early childhood. If we are afraid of God or see Him in a negative way trust goes out the window. Where there is fear, there is not trust therefore no intimacy. I would direct you back to Psalm 46:10. KNOW GOD. How much time have you spend knowing God and all the different ways he comes through in the Bible? How well do you know his attributes? How well do you know his character, his nature, his personality? Maybe, just maybe your view of God is not quite right. It’s hard to have intimacy with someone you don’t really know…..
T
Downward Spiral
May 19, 2009
Be careful little eyes what you see
It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings.
Be careful little feet where you go
For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade
Be careful little ears what you hear
When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
The journey from your mind to your hands
Is shorter than you're thinking
Be careful if you think you stand
You just might be sinking
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
Daddies never crumble in a day
Families never crumble in a day
Oh be careful little eyes what see
Oh be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above is looking down in love
Oh be careful little eyes what you see
Casting Crown
So it is when we fall into sin.
This type of fall is very seldom quickly. Slowly, in small tiny bites godly character to eaten away and sin becomes the norm. Maybe it is “small” lies, maybe it is a quick look at that internet site, or maybe it is letting you anger fly. Whatever the compromise, whatever the deliberate looking away, whatever the oversight, before you know it you have fallen into a downward spiral of sin and a major chunk of your Christian character falls off.
Can it be stopped? How do you stop the downward spiral you have found yourself in? Here are a few practical steps;
- Take a few minutes and totally examine your life – your habits, your thoughts, your daytimer, and your checkbook. These activities will give you a clue concerning your spiral.
- Be fearless in this – don’t lie to yourself. Ask yourself the hard tough questions.
- Confess any and all sin before the Lord.
- Repent and make a plan of repentance. Ask the Lord to restore your intimate relationship with him.
- Find a accountability partner and meet regularly
Just Trust
May 7, 2009I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust--there may yet be hope. Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace. For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. Lamentations 3:19-32 (NIV)
Have you ever read the book of Jeremiah and Lamentations? I did – last summer. Jeremiah taught me a lot that summer. Jeremiah taught me to really pay attention to my heart and understand the heart attitude I approached God with.
“Should you not fear me?" declares the Lord. "Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it. But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say to themselves, 'Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.' Jeremiah 5:22-24 (NIV)
Jeremiah taught me how to read spiritual maps and take the right path.
“This is what the Lord says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.' Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV)
Jeremiah taught me about boasting.
This is what the Lord says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NIV)
"If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? Jeremiah 12:5 (NIV)
If you have ever read Jeremiah, you know life was extremely difficult for Jeremiah despite his love for and obedience to God. You have to ask, “How did he endure?” When he called to God for relief, God’s reply in effect was, “If you think this is bad, how are you going to cope when it gets really tough?” WOW! That is a tough answer. Getting an answer like that makes it easy to quit. Jeremiah didn’t quit – he preserved and endured. Do you ever feel like quitting? Jeremiah didn’t quit because he trusted. He had faith in God. His faith gave him hope. Even when he felt like quitting he still trusted. God honored that. God loved that. How do I know? Because….
This is what the Lord says: "Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans and turn their hearts away from the Lord. [6] They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, on the salty flats where no one lives. "But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit. Jeremiah 17:5-8 (NLT)
Just trust.
T
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