Me: It is a day that starts out with the Lord, we are uncertain of what it will bring.
Prodigal: How do you deal with that?
Me: We know and trust in Christ the Savior.
This is from the book In the Middle of the Mess: Strength for this Beautiful Broken Life by Sheila Walsh
If we are still on this earth, then the work is not finished. God has committed to work with us in that journey until Christ returns. How I wish for a greater understanding of this in the body of Christ.
Too often we judge, measure, condemn, and isolate. The gospel of Jesus Christ invites us to sit together in our rags under the wide open sky of grace. Does that mean it doesn’t matter how we live? No. What I mean is that condemnation and isolation are the tools of the enemy. The Holy Spirit brings conviction, which draws us closer to Christ. Condemnation pushes us back into the darkness.
Do not fall into the enemy’s lies of condemnation and isolation. Look to the Lord and grace will be given.
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
This is from the book The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis
If thou thinkest that thou knowest many things and understandest them very well; know also that there be far more things which thou knowest not. Be not high-minded, but rather acknowledge thine own ignorance. Why wilt thou prefer thyself before another, since there be found many more learned, and more skilful in the Law than thou art? If thou wilt know or learn anything profitably, love to be unknown, and to be esteemed as naught.
The deepest and the most profitable reading is this, the true knowledge and contempt of ourselves. It is great wisdom and high perfection to esteem nothing of ourselves, and to think always well and highly of others. If thou shouldst see another openly sin, or commit some heinous offence, thou oughtest not to esteem the better of thyself; for thou knowest not how long thou shalt be able to remain in good estate. All of us are frail, but thou oughtest to esteem none more frail than thyself.
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Prodigal: I am not sure what is inside but, the art work on the outside is pretty!
Me: Well I know of another kind of factory.
This is from the book A Praying Life by Paul Miller
Your heart can become a prayer factory because, like Jesus, you are completely dependent. You needed God ten minutes ago, you need him now. Instead of hunting for the perfect spiritual state to lift you above the chaos, pray in the chaos. As your heart or your circumstances generate problems, keep generating prayer. You will find that the chaos lessens.
Time with God in prayer is time well spent and, it can be done anywhere at anytime. You can even have your eyes open during prayer!
Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name.
Prodigal: I just finished listening to some hymns.
Me: Which one?
Prodigal: I need thee every hour.
Me: Let me share some background.
This is from the book Great Women of the Christian Faith by Edith Deen
Annie S. Hawks, who wrote “I Need Thee Every Hour” In 1872. She was born in upstate New York, and resided for many years in Brooklyn, but the facts of her life are obscure.
It is easy to bring pride in the picture and want to be known. You want to be known as helping other Christians. Today, God wants to bring you another message. This is about serving and people don’t really know. It is about doing without thousands understanding what you are doing. We serve and God gets the credit. That is our focus.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.
Me: Peace is something that is worth searching for.
This is from the book Reclaiming Your Heart: A Journey Back to Laughing, Loving, and Living by Denise Hildreth Jones
Another important–and healing–aspect of living with an alive heart comes as a direct result of trusting our big, capable God with our past hurts and failures. Instead of holding our grudges or deep wounds close or, even worse, holding them over someone else’s head, we learn to let them go and make peace with both our past and present. This almost always involves forgiving others and ourselves, seeking forgiveness from those we’ve hurt, and then deliberately choosing to let go of our resentments. Not necessarily “forgive and forget,” but leaving those hurts and failures in God’s hands and refusing to let them control us. Again, this will be a process, not a one-time choice. But it is amazing how making peace with the past reduces our own controlling tendencies and also protects us from the pain of others’ control tactics. It’s hard to lay a guilt trip, for instance, on a person who has already dealt with his or her guilt.
See, friend, peace is not the absence of opposition, as a controlling heart would have us believe. Real peace is the confident, non frantic trust that David talked about in Psalm 131:2–“Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.”
It’s the peace of a person with a reclaimed heart who truly understands how big and dependable God is.
We will never be able to control what people think about us. We will never be able to control other people’s actions toward us. We will never be able to control how life will turn out for us.
Sure, we may manipulate these things for a season, but the effect won’t be lasting. So why wear ourselves out trying? Why not realize that our God is big enough to take care of everything that concerns us. Why not rest ourselves on his breast and enjoy what his love and protection afford us—sleep, peaceful sleep, with God, and God only, in control.
Psalm 119:165
Those who love your law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble
Genesis 6:13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to up an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.
You probably have heard the story of Noah and the ark. A room in your house that is a nursery may even have that theme with boats and animals all around. Many people have read the story in Genesis verse by verse. I have read it many times myself. This is the first verse where God gives Noah the plan of the ark. Now as you read the verse something caught my eye. God said to Noah. God told Noah. God was speaking to Noah. God did not give this plan to his spouse.
Christian relationships are different because God is with us in every struggle and joy. God is a guiding force and also at times a mediator between struggles and conflict. In those relationships we mature individually and we also mature on paths together. I think we would like to think that God will talk to us together in a big family meeting. We will get the same message at the same time and both have the same happiness for the message. That doesn’t always happen.
Sometimes God chooses to share most of the details about your future with your spouse. You do not get the details. You may know that their is a future and that it might mean going in a certain direction, but He may only give the details to the other spouse.
Read over this story again and we can look that Noah’s wife’s name is not even mentioned. She is all over the story though. She is there while the ship is being built. She goes on the ark and, she is there when a new covenant is made.
This was about Noah taking a direction this time. Noah’s wife really had to have faith and trust in Him. She had to realize that she needs to support instead of taking control. She had to trust that God would give Noah all the direction and guidance. She had to have more trust that Noah would be obedient in the direction the Lord had set forth.
Some of you probably think that sounds easy. Remember though when God guides us, it brings about challenges. Challenges that are meant to grow us and build that relationship with Christ.
Handing over control of the next steps your life is going to take means that you have to trust that person. You may love people but, their is a different intimacy when you trust them to take those steps. When you cannot control how they take certain steps. The goal isn’t control though. The goal really is about supporting with prayer and faith.
Relationships are loving one another but, also you know your spouse loves God. If they love God and are obedient to God you know you can trust them.
Your spouse may not take the exact steps you would choose. Remember though this is is about you not taking control. Have the faith and trust that the process and the outcome will be good for the both of you and also for glorifying God.
Noah’s wife really didn’t seem to do much and, we can forget that she exists. We need to pay attention to the whole story. Look at how she trusted a man to lead her family by an ark when it had never rained on earth. This woman had figured out how to support her husband. This woman had figured out how to really trust God.
This woman did not have to fear details that she did not know or control. This woman made sure she was not a distraction so that her husband could continue his work. This woman was never criticized in this story. In the story of Job, we see a small conflict. Here in the many years it took to built the ark, we do not see conflict. We also did not see conflict on the boat.
True biblical relationship is a partnership and not a dictatorship. Too often I see a dictatorships in relationships and truly both spouses are disappointed in their roles. A partnership means sometimes that you support and sometimes your not really seen up front. Sometimes the attention should be on your spouse and that is wonderful.
The role set out today is one that means being humble and meek. It means that it is a time for your spouse’s relationship with God to shine. How can you see how that relationship will shine if you take control? So much support is given when we pray alone and praise alone.
I’ll live my life to the fullest. I’ll be happy. I’ll brighten up. I will be more joyful than I have ever been. I will be kind to others. I will loosen up. I will tell others about Christ. I will go on adventures and change the world. I will be bold and not change who I really am. I will have no troubles bu instead help others with their troubles.
You see, I’ll be one of those people who live to be history makers at a young age. Oh, I’ll have moments, good and bad, but I will wipe away the bad and only remember the good. In fact that’s all I remember, just good moments, nothing in between, just living my life to the fullest. I’ll be one of those people who go somewhere with a mission, an awesome plan, a world-changing plan, and nothing will hold me back. I’ll set an example for others, I will pray for direction.
I have my life before me. I will give others the joy I have and God will give me more joy. I will do everything God tells me to do. I will follow the footsteps of God. I will do my best!!!
During her freshman year in high school, Brooke was in a car accident while driving to the movies. Her life on earth ended when she was just fourteen, but her impact didn’t. Nearly fifteen hundred people attended Brooke’s memorial service. People from her public high school read poems she had written about her love for God. Everyone spoke of her example and her joy.
I shared the gospel and invited those who wanted to know Jesus to come up and give their lives to Him. There must have been at least two hundred students on their knees at the front of the church praying for salvation. Ushers gave a Bible to each of them. They were Bibles that Brooke had kept in her garage, hoping to give out to all her unsaved friends. In one day, Brooke led more people to the Lord than most ever will.
Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip
Me: Sometimes we really don’t know and we need to love and pray.
Prodigal: I agree.
This is from the book God Came Near by Max Lucado
These practical steps will purge careless words from your talk.
Never tell jokes that slander.
Never criticize in public unless you: have already expressed your disappointment with the other person in private, have already taken someone with you to discuss the grievance with the person, and are absolutely convinced that public reprimand is necessary and will be helpful.
Never say anything about anyone in their absence that you wouldn’t say in their presence.
Watching your tongue is very important since you are following God. Satan would like to discredit you at all cost. You may think you have control over “those bigger temptations” but Satan can easily trip you up with the smaller ones, that would include your mouth. Watch, pray and love others. That is your direction for the day.
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Matthew 6:9
