To Be Still and Know

"Because of the Lords great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."  Lamentations 3:22-23 The sermon at my church yesterday was on Jesus' compassion.  It spurred me on to look up verses concerning compassion and led to this blog post.  The above verse from Lamentations is not very long but it is filled with awesome truth and assurance!  Let's break it down into 4 parts: "Because of the Lords great love we are not consumed"  - What is it that you are being consumed by?  Is it worry?  Fear?  Anxiety?  Frustration?  Anger?  This passage tells us that anything that is weighing us down does not have to consume us.  Why?  Because of the love God has for us, He will not allow it to consume us if we will turn to him and give it over to him.   "for his compassions never fail."- How reassuring is that promise?  Compassion is defined in the...

"...for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!"  Matthew 6:8b Recently I found myself spiraling into an old familiar worried mind set over financial needs. Most of my adult life I have fallen into a pit of ugly dark worry and depression whenever uncertain financial times arise.  God's always been faithful to meet every single need we have ever had yet I would still find myself in that internal frenzied worried place every time a new financial need arose.  It wasn't so much that I forgot about the past provisions from the Lord, it was more so I was worried that maybe this time He wouldn't meet the need, for a variety of made up reasons. Yet every time He would meet them in His way, in His time. Over the past few months the Lord has been growing me in big ways, simply by spending time being still and listening for His voice through His Word and through a prayer life overhaul!  My prayer life has been ignited and I can sense the Lord pre...

" Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart." Colossians 4:2 I have had, what I considered, a fairly decent prayer life for years now.  I am almost constantly talking to God in my mind and heart throughout every day.  I take everything that worries me to the Lord.  I thank Him for my blessings.  I ask for forgiveness when needed.  I pray for other peoples requests.  I knew though that I wasn't what was considered a "prayer warrior."  It wasn't until I saw the new movie War Room that I was truly convicted (after 26 years of being a Christian) that my prayer life was seriously lacking.  I realized that with the problems and worries I face, I take them to the Lord but rarely do I leave them with Him.  I basically just talk to Him about them without truly trusting Him to take the burden of the worry off my shoulders and take care of it.  I was very convicted that I needed to choose to set aside time to write out m...

"And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.  For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord."  Ephesians 5:21-22 There is that word so many women hate to hear...submit!  But for us as Christian women and wives we cannot simply choose to ignore this verse because we don't like the connotation of that word, submit. We have to choose to take all of God's Word, even the parts that aren't easy. (See previous post!)  I think people tend to picture a timid and quiet almost servant like wife when they hear this verse.  They picture the husband lording over his wife, making demands that she has no option but to follow.  They see a woman who is stripped of her identity and decisions and they reject the idea of submission.  God doesn't just call the wife to submit, He also calls the husbands to deeply sacrifically and selflessly love their wives.  "For husbands this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church...

*I had fully intended for my next post to be on how we as wives treat our husbands but I felt God pulling me in a different direction right now and since I am writing this blog as a way to serve and glorify Him, I want to write on what I feel He's put on my heart!* "For the word of God is alive and powerful.  It is sharper than the sharpest two edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God.  Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes, and He is the one to whom we are accountable."  Hebrews 4:12-13 Mercy Me- Word of God Speak As I felt the Lord calling me to write about this topic the above verse came to mind and along with it the song "Word of God Speak" by Mercy Me.  (This is a song I always like to listen to before leading a Bible study because I want to move me out of the way and let the Word of God do the talking!) The very f...

"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.  If one person falls, the other can reach out and help.  But someone who falls alone is in real trouble...A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can conquer.  Three are even better, for a triple braided cord is not easily broken."  Ecclesiastes 4:9,10 & 12 We were never meant to live life alone and isolated.  God created us, first to be have a relationship with Him, and second to be in fellowship with one another.  Today I want to focus on the importance of friendship in our life.  The next post will focus on our role as wife and how we treat our husbands. There are three types of friendships.  Acquaintances, people who we know and have quick hellos and pleasantries with when we see them in public.  Casual friends who we may go to church or the gym with or to work lunches, or playgroups, but that's the extent of the friendship.  And...

"Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets." Matthew 7:12 It has become a little cliche everyone just tosses around, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." but it's so much more than a little nice sounding phrase.  It's a direct command from Jesus. It's also a phrase that a lot of people live the opposite of, and instead choose to do to others as others have done to them.  Pay back.  Revenge. Grudges. Hearts that are weighed down with the heavy weight of unforgiveness and bitterness.   We have all been betrayed and let down and hurt by someone in our lives but guess what,  we have all also betrayed, let down and hurt someone in our lives.  Stop for a moment and let that sink in.  We are not innocent victims with a flawless record.  We are all sinful people living in a sinful world and we ALL let each other down and hurt one another at times. ...