Numbers 2:1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron....
Numbers 2:33 Moses obeyed the Lord....
mike and i are reading the Bible through in a year. yes, yes, we have tried this before. and no, we did not make it, but what the heck we are gonna try it again. anyhow, that is not the point. my point of these two phrases taken from Numbers (which is one of today's chapters) is that the Lord spoke to Moses and Moses obeyed. he questioned the Lord at first (like back in Exodus when God first wanted Moses to do things for Him). and Moses made excuses too. but God can use us anyway, if we let Him. we just have to learn how to obey.
i really do know this is not the easiest thing in the world. just like with our earthly parents, we sometimes do not want to obey them. it is like we think "obey" is a bad word these days. 1 John 2:3 We can be sure that we know God if we obey his commands. John 15:10 I have obeyed my Father's sommands, and I remain in his love. In the same way, if you obey my commands, you will remain in my love.
so... obedience is about showing our love and loyalty to someone (of course, right now, we are talking specifically about the Lord.) for me, it is hardest when the Lord is asking me to do something that i feel might embarass me or make me uncomfortable. like, the other day, i was sure i was hearing Him urge me to witness to a patient. i tried, but i know i did not go all out like He would have wanted me to. He wants us to be BOLD for Him, and sometimes i am just too meek.
our obedience to God's Word and commands is also a living testimony that we know Him and desire to follow His will for our lives, which is not always the path of least resistance. Moses and the Israelites wandered in the dessert for 40 years because of their disobedience. i wandered in my personal life for a while because i was not willing to get down and dirty and change some things for God. His will and plans for our lives are always better than our own. it is like we have to learn that lesson over and over, and sometimes we still don't believe it.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Romans 12:1 So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him.... 2 Do not change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you; you will know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.
mike and i are taking a Bible study class at our church. it is awesome. we were talking about the flesh, this temporary "house" we live in and what trouble it causes us. we stumble all the time because of our selfish nature, our desires to have things not good for us, our longing to be loved and noticed and appreciated. how difficult it is to set our "selves" aside and see the bigger picture and to see others! now that Jesus has come and died for our sins, the only thing we have left to offer God is our lives. we can live in worship to Him, we can live giving to others, we can live every day to fall more in love with the God of the universe. or... we can live for our "selves." Jesus called us to a higher standard. a standard no one can really, actually live up to (except Him of course), but the point is that we should live our lives trying.
mike and i are taking a Bible study class at our church. it is awesome. we were talking about the flesh, this temporary "house" we live in and what trouble it causes us. we stumble all the time because of our selfish nature, our desires to have things not good for us, our longing to be loved and noticed and appreciated. how difficult it is to set our "selves" aside and see the bigger picture and to see others! now that Jesus has come and died for our sins, the only thing we have left to offer God is our lives. we can live in worship to Him, we can live giving to others, we can live every day to fall more in love with the God of the universe. or... we can live for our "selves." Jesus called us to a higher standard. a standard no one can really, actually live up to (except Him of course), but the point is that we should live our lives trying.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Matthew 7:26 Everyone who hears my words and does not obey them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and hit that house, and it fell with a big crash.
Luke 6:46 Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' but do not do what I say?
John 8:11 She answered, "No one sir." Then Jesus said, "I also don't judge you guilty. You may go now, but don't sin anymore."
Revelations 3: 15 I know what you do, that you are not hot or cold. I wish that you were hot or cold!! 16 But because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am ready to spit you out of my mouth.
so today i talked with a good friend of mine. she has some tough choices in her path right now. not so tough, in that she knows already what the right thing to do is. but tough in that she does not really know if she wants or cares to DO the right things. and this got me thinking a bunch.
i did not know what to say at first. but as i thought and prayed about it, i began to think about being lukewarm; knowing what the Lord calls me to and still being unwilling to follow His way. i might go to church and read my Bible, but in my everyday life i make decisions that do not show my devotion to God or my appreciation of what Jesus did for me on the cross. i am on the fence, wavering between being for God, or being of this world. and the more i waver the further i actually go from God. i get off the fence and i go deeper and deeper into the things of the world. each choice i make contrary to the will and Word of God takes me further from Him.
what does it take to pull me back? Jesus said it best: "Do not sin anymore." a high calling for sure. decisions we make that are obviously in opposition to God's word are just that though: sins. and sometimes the only things we can do are the hard things. sometimes it even feels like our hearts are being broken, that we are not getting what we most want. but in the end, it is the narrow path that gets us to the Lord. i certainly do not always walk it well. i certainly have times when i am lukewarm. but i want to be ON FIRE for the Lord. and i want the world to know it by my life, my actions, my decisions, and my love. i have not always done it right, but each day is a new chance to make new decisions, better ones that follow the Lord's amazing will for my life.
Luke 6:46 Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' but do not do what I say?
John 8:11 She answered, "No one sir." Then Jesus said, "I also don't judge you guilty. You may go now, but don't sin anymore."
Revelations 3: 15 I know what you do, that you are not hot or cold. I wish that you were hot or cold!! 16 But because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am ready to spit you out of my mouth.
so today i talked with a good friend of mine. she has some tough choices in her path right now. not so tough, in that she knows already what the right thing to do is. but tough in that she does not really know if she wants or cares to DO the right things. and this got me thinking a bunch.
i did not know what to say at first. but as i thought and prayed about it, i began to think about being lukewarm; knowing what the Lord calls me to and still being unwilling to follow His way. i might go to church and read my Bible, but in my everyday life i make decisions that do not show my devotion to God or my appreciation of what Jesus did for me on the cross. i am on the fence, wavering between being for God, or being of this world. and the more i waver the further i actually go from God. i get off the fence and i go deeper and deeper into the things of the world. each choice i make contrary to the will and Word of God takes me further from Him.
what does it take to pull me back? Jesus said it best: "Do not sin anymore." a high calling for sure. decisions we make that are obviously in opposition to God's word are just that though: sins. and sometimes the only things we can do are the hard things. sometimes it even feels like our hearts are being broken, that we are not getting what we most want. but in the end, it is the narrow path that gets us to the Lord. i certainly do not always walk it well. i certainly have times when i am lukewarm. but i want to be ON FIRE for the Lord. and i want the world to know it by my life, my actions, my decisions, and my love. i have not always done it right, but each day is a new chance to make new decisions, better ones that follow the Lord's amazing will for my life.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
quiet times
hello everyone. my sister suggested i start writing my quiet times (journaling) on a blog site so that i can share with more people. she seems to think my thoughts are worthy of reading. i do not write often these days. my little ones keep me busy and i find that i have time to read and keep up with them, but sometimes writing down my thoughts takes too long. that being said, i do love to find time to write. it is cathartic for me and i like hearing what my friends and family sometimes respond with. i hope that maybe my words might just give them something they needed to hear that day.
i began daily journaling a long time ago, basically copying the idea from one of my best friends. i found i liked it. i would read a chapter from my Bible (sometimes more) and then write about whatever stuck out to me that day. my sister called it "just a bite," hence, the title of my new blog! i hope these little bites brighten your day, give you something to think on, but most of all, make you remember that you are loved by God, the Creator and King of the universe. He knows you by name, even if you do not know Him the way i do.
thanks for reading.
carla
i began daily journaling a long time ago, basically copying the idea from one of my best friends. i found i liked it. i would read a chapter from my Bible (sometimes more) and then write about whatever stuck out to me that day. my sister called it "just a bite," hence, the title of my new blog! i hope these little bites brighten your day, give you something to think on, but most of all, make you remember that you are loved by God, the Creator and King of the universe. He knows you by name, even if you do not know Him the way i do.
thanks for reading.
carla
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