Some sacrifices hold more weight than others.
We might come close to imagining the weight of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. But it is heavy.
Jesus took on all of our
missteps
mistakes
selfishness
arrogance
rebellion
insistence
anger
hatred
violence
lies
deceit
cheating
unbelief
denial
sins
Our list alone is enough. And then multiply it by all of humanity. All that has and all that will happen.
All for us.
This is a gift from God. This is sacrifice. This is Jesus.
Have you ever tossed things in a box and closed it up and tucked it away and forgot about it for a chunk of time?
It is so easy for me to think about that for physical things because it has happened to me several times. We have moved a time or two so it most often has happened then but it has also happened when I have a box of things I am not sure about so I gather them, put the somewhere and then it is a big surprise when I pull it out.
It’s so easy for me to forget about what I have — like that mini muffin tin I couldn’t find only to buy a new one and then find the old one less than a week later.
Or that can opener I set down in the pantry. Couldn’t find. And after I finally bought a substandard one (and used it) I found the other one less than 24 hours later. Ugh!
I do this with tangible things — what about those intangibles? Things that are gifts from God that I set aside and forget about like
Prayer
Have you ever set it aside and stopped using this amazing form of connecting with God? I think it happens to everyone at one point. Things happen, life takes a wild turn, and pretty soon it has been days when you are not connecting with God.
Don’t forget about this gift!
Dust it off if it has been set aside. Dig into God’s Word for some amazing Psalms as examples or utilize The Lord’s Prayer. Hymns can be another great prayer offering.
Are there other good gifts from our Heavenly Father that you may not be utilizing? Let this be an encouragement for you to remember them and utilize them.
I think I have too many first things on my morning list.
My day got rolling yesterday and while I had thought about prayerpoints multiple times, i decided to write it after I did something else and then
**Poof**
It left my mind!
So, I suppose it is a cautionary tale. And I am moving it to the top of my day — but not before coffee.
And it is a great reminder to me how things can get set aside and then not get picked back up for longer than you had hoped. So I can be more understanding when that happens to others.
But also a great reminder to myself to not pack in too much and expect to remember it all.
So, if something important has slipped off of your routine, there is no time like today to get it back in the line up. Let the most important things be the first things! And if you have a number of things, make a list!
Thank you, Lord, for the days full of interesting tasks. Help me to really prioritize so that the most important things come first. Amen.
I can easily go down a rabbit hole of the things that can go wrong in nearly every situation. It doesn’t do me any good — and, in fact, it does me harm. So, I have been working on retraining my habitual response.
This has been a work in progress for at least 30 years.
That seems so ridiculous on one hand. Most of the things that I stress about have never come close to happening. It’s such a waste of my energy. But it seems to be a habit. And even if as I retrain my response, this seems to be my default reaction.
And, at this point in my life, I am recognizing that I don’t have as much energy and stamina as I previously had, so I really don’t want to squander it away!
I am thankful that God isn’t annoyed with me. He is patient and knows this is an area He is growing in me. He is in it for the long haul. This verse is such a beautiful invitation:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
In everything….in all circumstances…
Let your requests be made known…talk to God about them…
God’s peace…even though it makes no sense on a human level…
The peace of God will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus…He protects you from your own overthinking…
There is so much going on in the world that I have no control over. That is easy to see. There is a lot in my little life circle that I don’t have control over either. My day can be filled with prayers and petitions to my Creator. That seems to be the very best place to start.
And those things I do have control over? I can still pray for wisdom in how to proceed. The answer to my questions is prayer.
That peace of God — that is what I am after.
And that is why this verse keeps coming to mind for me.
Do you have a Bible verse that comes to you regularly? I would love to see it!
Finding the root cause of something often takes time, dedication, skill, and usually money.
That grinding noise every time your car is running? There is a reason for it.
That water leak in your basement? Where is the breech?
That relationship struggle? What is behind it?
Everything ugly starts somewhere. But, sometimes we can’t see the origination spot because there are too many other presenting issues that make it difficult to find the root cause.
Sometimes there is a generational issue in a family. Sometimes an incident in the life of someone throws things off for a bit. Sometimes it is just the sin that is in the world and inside each of us.
But it all begins with sin. And sin began long ago in the Garden of Eden.
How many times I thought I was so sure that I never would have…
taken a bite of that apple…
denied I knew Jesus three times…
built a golden calf…
Yet, I have done all this and much more.
Chopping something down to its root is not enough because there are still sprouts that can come up from there. We need to dig out the root. Otherwise we think we conquered that thing, but it is still very much alive.
This thing — this sin that has taken root in our life can affect our health, our relationships with humans, and, most importantly, it will cause challenges in our relationship with God.
Is there something – some sin or some form of it – that keeps coming up in your life? Do you think you have conquered it only to have it rear its ugly head once again? Is it consistently causing issues in your life?
Ask God to help you understand the root cause of the pattern that seems to be on repeat in your life (aside from just acknowledging that we live in a sinful world and we are sinners). Ask for His direction in healing or resolving that issue. It may be good to talk to a trusted friend or a healthy Biblical counselor. Getting to the root of it doesn’t mean little sprouts won’t show up here and there. Of course, we are all works in progress. But as God does His work in and through you. you can be sure that He wants that situation to have healing and closure, too.
Sometimes it might involve forgiving someone. And that someone might even be yourself!
I love new opportunities. But, with a packed schedule, if I add something, I need to say “good-bye” to something else.
This sounds like my wardrobe. And my book collection.
I cannot keep adding to what I do without allowing some space for it. So, I am going through a bit of a re-evaluation.
What are my priorities?
There are only so many hours in a day, in a week, in a month, and in a year.
And, it would be foolish for me not to include time and space for the unexpected. Sometimes those unplanned things are super amazing and sometimes they are super intense and draining. But, the truth is, we all have them. This year we started off with what was probably Flu A for two months.
Two months. Yikes! We had to just do the bare minimum to get by.
But we are finally healthy in that respect. In terms of business, I am always evaluating what is working and what is not. Or, even if something is “working” is it where I should spend my time? Maybe the things I added during a season were meant to be there for only a season. What gets to be a part of my “permanent collection” and what needs to be pared down.
Pruning doesn’t only mean you are trimming dead stuff. Pruning is also cutting off the living branches because they are growing in undesirable directions or they are crossing another branch or even rubbing on another branch. Trees and bushes burst forth with lots of possibility. We can shape and tame them. Proper pruning can encourage stronger, healthier growth and prevent future problems.
We can also shape and tame our schedule. And, similarly, proper pruning of our schedules can encourage growth and strength and prevent future conflicts.
So, if you have been adding to and never subtracting from the demands you put on your life it might be time to think through that a bit. I typically don’t make rush decisions unless I am pressed. But I do trust that God will give me insight either through those around me or just “that feeling” that something needs tweaking in my schedule.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
That sounds so defeating, but it is that dread of the complications in life that seem to be just around the corner.
It is very possible that they are around the corner. But I try not to give them life or more power over me by saying that they are lurking or think of these situations as waiting to pounce on me.
Stuff happens. And my response to my circumstances makes all the difference in the world. I may not be able to change the situation but I can change my outlook.
We can’t clean up every situation and have it turn into something amazing. It just isn’t something we can do. Unfortunately, there are many painful losses that we experience in life. They can be devastating. And we can feel lost.
But, we can ask God to show us where He is and ask Him to let us know what He is doing in and through the situations. He is surely doing something even though we may not have the eyes to see it.
But, there are times we are so busy anticipating doom that we are not able to enjoy where we are at the moment. We dread that the other shoe is going to fall and ruin everything. I suppose it can be important to prepare, but we can also make ourselves crazy by trying to prevent anything terrible from happening. We lose sight of the life right before our eyes.
It is important to practice handing all of our cares and concerns to God. Whether you start the day by handing them off or end the day asking God to take the concerns and grant you His peace, I encourage you to do it.
He neither slumbers nor sleeps. Psalm 121:4
There are voices all around us. Which ones carry the most weight?
Do you have a voice you hear that speaks encouragement? A voice that regularly speaks harsh judgement?
Have you found the voice worth listening to?
Let me encourage you to consider the voices around you. If you aren’t hearing words of encouragement from the people in your life it is important to dig into God’s Word. Find a healthy place to worship that shares the truth of God’s grace, forgiveness, love, and mercy.
Once you are settled, look for others who need the voice of God’s Truth in their lives. Be sure to share it with them.
God loves you.
Jesus died for you.
And He longs to be in relationship with you.
But don’t stop there. Dig in and fill your heart and mind with God’s Word and God’s Truth.
It is the voice worth paying attention to.
Have you ever had an opinion of someone and have someone tell you they have the complete opposite experience or opinion of the same person?
I know there are multiple sides to people — human being are complex — but to have someone see the person you love (or cannot stand to be near) in the completely opposite way is fascinating.
It’s come up quite a bit lately for me so it seems to be something that God is encouraging me to pay attention to.
I have watched this from a distance. Of course, I have been a bit smug when someone gave me the willies and it turned out they were, indeed, someone whose behaviors would make anyone squirm.
That 360 view helps — all angles does give a better prospective. But, to what end? And, truly, maybe the heart is the most important aspect of it all and only God knows what is in the heart of man.
So, we are left with what we see. And, I don’t know about you, but my vision is not perfect these days.
Discernment is so important. Considering the opinions and experiences of others can also be important but should be taken with a grain of salt.
When I see wildly different opinions on someone I tend to assume that the truth falls somewhere towards the middle. Some people are polarizing. Some people can really be a chameleon. And we are left trying to figure out what is true. And maybe all of it is true.
Maybe ________________ [fill in the blank] showed mostly be their rough exterior but a grandchild was able to experience their tender, loving side.
Maybe ________________ [fill in the blank] grew to be loving and patient and trustworthy but had burned a lot of bridges early on so people who knew them and were impacted by that earlier behavior will not ever trust them again.
Maybe ________________ [fill in the blank] showed a lot of love to a certain group of people from a distance but couldn’t quite muster up any of those warm fuzzies for their family who lived close to them.
Some things are not for us to solve or know. When I hear conflicting opinions about a person, I pay attention. There might even be conflicting opinions about me. I am much slower to change a good opinion to a bad one. But, if there is enough evidence to show the positive in someone I previously would have seen in a negative light, I am open to readjusting my opinion.
We all have our opinions and experiences. It is important to run all of it through God’s perspective. Ask Him to show you what you need to see. Why is all of this coming to your attention? What would He have you learn in this circumstance? And where do you go from here with the knowledge?
God’s perspective is the most important.
I stumble. I fall. I do those things I wish I would not do yet again.
Even though I get frustrated with myself, I have never once imagined God ready to pull His hair out because I am not “getting it.”
Instead, I see His mercy and grace and compassion.
It isn’t that the wrath of God does not exist. But the Bible illustrates many situations where God showed compassion: Jesus feeding the crowds, Jesus meeting the woman at the well, Jesus healing the many, many people He healed.
Maybe all of those different scenarios are for us to see ourselves in them.
God does not tire of hearing from us. When we are coming to Him it is usually out of our own need or we are coming on the behalf of others.
Even if we aren’t coming to Him with pure intentions He can take and shape our prayers to become “His will.”
As humans, we can get tired of repeated situations with the humans around us. Our fuses are sometimes short for our siblings, co-workers, neighbors, spouse, children, or grandchildren.
He is the Father of Compassion.
My prayer is that I respond as one who is frequently shown compassion, mercy, and grace. I hope to reflect my Father’s heart.
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