Choose to Bless

I’ve been really challenged this week.  Found out that someone shared some information with another about something they didn’t know, and in turn, it caused hurt in them as well as anger in me.  It made my blood just boil! I was SO mad at the hurt is caused my friend who heard this and at the miss-information it was told in.  I remember my hands were shaking and I had to count to 30 and calm down I was so angry.  Also, it caused all these thoughts about this person who did this, that I know were not of God to form in my head which was making its way to my heart - I wanted those thoughts to stop before they were to make a home in my heart.

I was able to share this with a trusted friend who helped calm me and encouraged me to seek Jesus as I knew I was supposed to.  The Lord led me to Matt 5:43-45 ““You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” 

Pretty heavy scripture - but a command none the less. The Spirit was really tugging at my heart in regards to blessing this person who (whether they know or not) hurt other’s in what they said when they shouldn’t have. The Spirit was reminding ME of how many times I have prayed to love, forgive and bless others yet, in the thick of the emotion, I cursed and didn’t bless. Ouch!! Think about it, how many times when in the thick of a quarrel, whether it be with your mate, a sibling, friend, co-worker did we choose to bless right away or… run with our emotions and feed our anger?? Let’s be honest about it.

I found myself on my knee’s asking for forgiveness of the hardness that was trying to take root in my heart and asking for a new heart for this person. I was then able to bless them out loud with my mouth and it’s finding a home in my heart.  I’m challenging myself to cultivate that kind of a more immediate response to bless instead of curse at the height of the moment, in the thick of the emotion, so that Christ will shine first. It won’t happen overnight obviously but with Gods grace and with much practice, practice and more practice. 

 All things are possible through Christ Jesus (Mk 10:27)....right?!

Teacher Grace

Remembering from the last blog I wrote that this was going to be a two part share, I wanted to go back and recap a little. I had written how “the big toe helps us to keep our balance, so we don’t fall flat on our face”.  Let’s focus on that word “help” for now.  In thinking on the word help I was led to Titus 2:11-13 “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,”.

In this passage the word grace caught my eye and also the word teaching.  It states that the grace of God teaches us. It also tells us that His grace teaches us how we should live and that it IS attainable because of His grace.  That was pretty profound for me when I saw it that way. I don’t know about you but the thought came to me, that in our times of help, be it one of those life things that come out of know where or a sin of some kind or anything that you might think of, when we are in need of help that is when grace (help) comes in.  Because grace (help) gives us what we don’t deserve sometimes.  Also, if we let it, it’s teaching us the lessons in how to live before God and with God.  He truly is our only audience. Grace (help) is giving us another chance by means of teaching us a lesson, if we are teachable.

Grace was given to us through Jesus “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” John 1:17.  Jesus is not only our grace giver but many things in-fact.  One thing He is that we know well, is our Teacher.  The gift of grace He gives us should teach us that when we are in need of help, it’s His grace that will pull us through and hopefully, lesson learned.

The Big Toe

This is going to be kind of  2 part blog so it’s not too long.  I will do the other part in a couple of days.  Okay, though it is only Tuesday there are some things that were talked and shared on church on Sunday that has stuck w me as well as others from what I am hearing.  We were talking about relationships in the body of Christ.  We talked about when someone in the body is hurting or going through a trial or has even fallen into sin affects all of us.  One person put it this way – and I’m paraphrasing here “when you are going through something that is hard, it hurts me.  A part of the body is hurt and it affects ALL of us. It’s like my big toe is hurting”.   

It was funny mind you and got chuckles of course but I thought of that often since Sunday and something that I realized later, when they used the big toe as the analogy I thought, it’s the big toe that helps us to step forward as we walk physically.  The big toe applies pressure to make that step forward and helps to balance us out so we don’t tumble forward and fall flat on our face.  Not to say that when our brother or sister in the LORD who is “down” stops us from going forward,  but sometimes it can hinder us in a way that going forward can be a bit more difficult or frustrating because our hearts our grieved. We are told in God’s Word to help others who are down but at the same time to make sure it does not cause us to fall (Gal 6:1-3).

 Ecclesiastes 4:10 gives us truth that “If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up.”  We need each other to help each other out! There are no bones about it. We don’t have to go at this alone.  As we need Christ Jesus, we also need each other.  We need our big toes (each other)  to help us  go forward.

In Remembrance

With Jehovah this am and reading some things, I came across the Lords Supper.  In praying for what He wanted me to see in it- here is what was given to me.  I've never thought of it this way before.

1 CO 11:23-26

23"For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; ²⁴ and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” ²⁵ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes"

Breaking it down:

V23- Interestingly enough, Jesus broke bread for the first time w them the SAME night He was going to be betrayed. 

V24- He then first gave thanks to God before anything else (I can learn from that!).  He then broke it and said to eat it & that it is His body that was broken for us.

   *Jesus "broke" the undefiled intimacy He had w the Father for us.  He had to leave the Father to come here. He was separated from God. Sometimes we can consider something "broken" as "separated" like a marriage can be. Marriage (which God created) is the ultimate example of what God wants our relationship to be like w Him.

V25- After supper (the bread/brokenness from God) Jesus took the cup and said it's the New Covenant IN His blood and we are to drink it.

Drink also means to "take in" or "to receive".  We are to take in & receive what He gave us. Salvation with Him.

   *God desires a blood sacrifice for atonement of sins (Leviticus 17:11).  Christ IS the new covenant.

V26- we are to do it often and not forget. Waiting for His return.

    *John 14:3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."

We "brake" the bread first because He had to leave the Father first-----then we "drink" (receive) the cup of His blood after because it is His blood that made the new covenant.

As I was writing this all down in my journal and the heavy-ness (with gratitude) of it was in my heart, a Third Day song popped into my head...

"You left your Throne in the sky - just to live inside my heart."

May Communion never be a "traditional ritual" in our walk w Yeshua.

Persist In Faith

To be totally open and honest today, I had a pretty heavy heartfelt crying/talking session with our Heavenly Father.  It was about numerous things for numerous people, including myself.  I haven’t done that in quite a while.  It was a “Hannah moment” you could say.  Aren’t those just the best sometimes?!

What brought that on is I have been feeling very burdened. So, in knowing I am not suppose to carry these burdens alone I sought God and He led me to the book of Hebrews.  Knowing that the book of Hebrews is a lot about faith, God had me in chapter 11 which is also known as “The Hall of Faith”.   Without listing the entire chapter which I could do, I highly encourage you to read it on your own.  But for today I’m focusing on verse 6 and it reads: “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.”

In the midst of my seeking, crying and vulnerability to God, He revealed some things to me in my walk with Him that is lies from our enemy that I have been believing.  I consider that was a reward indeed from Him to show me this. Because in place of those lies now are His truth. This in turn, will feed my faith. Now that backfired on the devil didn’t it!

It’s amazing that the God we worship tells us that without faith it is impossible to please Him. Because in 1 Timothy we are told to “contend for the faith” meaning to fight. We have to fight for our faith because we know that makes God happy.  Well Satan knows it too!  The enemy does everything in his power for us to let go of our faith, throw in the towel and give up. Satan doesn’t want God happy. Satan wants to hurt God- and us (John 10:10).

Chapter 11:1 states “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  It’s hard for us sometimes to live out our faith in our everyday lives, but God tells us He rewards His children who diligently seek Him. We are to walk by faith and not by sight. God is serious about this.  He didn't leave us stranded by any means.

We are to persist [to go on resolutely or stubbornly in spite of opposition or importunity] in our God given faith (Ro 12:3).  Don’t give up!