Embracing a New Way - God's Way

Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity. (Psalm 51:8-9 NIV)

When I read through this Psalm, I am reminded of how little control I maintain over my life and my future. I may think my life is all together, that I am always in control, but truth be said out loud, I am so out of control it isn't funny.

There is a picture in my mind's eye of what I want tomorrow to look like. In an instant I am confronted with reality. The reality is, I don't know best, but God does. He sees the big picture and only He understands my true needs. 

As I prayed this morning, and scribbled in my journal those scripture verses that touched me, I came to realize I am not praying for God's will. I am assuming my will is best and I am focusing on those dreams and ambitions I dumped on my prayer-table over the years.

I made a decision a few weeks ago and I now recognize it as, 'me' controlling my future. And controlling this future in the way I want to see played out. I have been praying, but not listening with open ears. My heart and mind already focused on my dream, not God's response. I need to practice listening - opening myself to what God planned for me. I understand from experience how His way is best. These aren't just nice words, they are truth. Truth, something I need to invite more of in my life.

Is there something you are praying about and trying to control at the same time? Why don't we give up this behavior together? We can discover what it is like to hear God and to follow His plan and not ours. I want to find out. Are you with me?

A New Resolution

Habakkuk 2:18 (NIV)
"Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? Or an image that teaches lies? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.

As we end our series titled, In AWE, and wind down our celebrations of Jesus birth, it is more than fitting to conclude with a scripture about idol worship. God sent his son to free us from sin which as captured us and holds us in bondage. Lifeless, man-made objects cannot free anyone from anything. They can't speak to the heart and guide the spirit. They can't comfort a broken heart nor redeem a destroyed life. They only collect dust.

Have you identified the idols that have captured your heart? Do you recognize what it is that you worship without realizing what it is you are doing? Each new year, as I examine the past year, I realize that those new years resolutions I commit to often are about changing my behaviors. I came to the conclusion a few years ago that my eating habits were so much about poor choices as it was about my wants. Food had become my idol--my go to in order to feel good.

I longed for the comfort certain foods provided, no matter how temporary. I learned that the feeling I was seeking and stuffing down with sweets, was never satisfied. Each day I would repeat the same practice. Now, having identified this idol, I know it will never fill the gap. There is no value and no reprieve from the emptiness. Only Jesus can make the changes to my heart necessary for a peaceful life.

I know this sounds like a Sunday School answer, but just try it. Try to turn to the Jesus and talk to Him about that need which remains unfilled. Ask Him to sooth your hurt, and seek answers to all your questions about life. One way I do this is to write things out in a journal each morning. I'll open my Bible and just begin reading a passage or two.

God will speak, every time I seek. The Magi were looking for more than lifeless idols to fill the open spaces in their lives, and they found Jesus. You can too!



Habakkuk 2:18-20

Retreat into Solitude

How many times have I internalized the phrase, "get over yourself?" I never realized before preparing for this sermon series, but every waking moment is filled. I never wait for someone without having something to do. If I am stuck in a doctor's office or even at the hairdressers, I never simply sit and wait. I wouldn't consider looking into space and waiting my turn. No, at the very least I will whip out my phone and open my Kindle app and read my book.

Is this selfish behavior? At first glance it appears to be a good use of spare time. Reading is good. I always make sure when I leave for an appointment or even a lunch engagement, I am prepared to fill any extra time I have if the person I am meeting is running late. I usually have a journal with me to jot a note or record an idea for my next blog post or story idea.

Last fall I lead a women's retreat on the Spiritual Discipline of Solitude. Solitude is a word we don't often consider in these fast moving times. But when we practice this Spiritual Discipline, we are blessed as we draw closer to God and learn how to listen to His words of love and guidance.

If you are like me, it seems a waste to not be doing something - all the time. I have wondered over the past few months, just how healthy it is to be constantly on the move. I know I have an obsessive personality so I must be very deliberate to avoid fanatical behavior. Sometimes that just means I need to learn how to 'go with the flow'; not try to be in control of everything around me. In other words, relax and let go, and let God.

As Rick Warren wrote in his book, A Purpose Driven Life; "It's not all about you." Wise words.


James 5:13-16

Seek Me

Isaiah 45:18-19

For this is what the Lord says—

he who created the heavens,
    he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,
    he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,
    but formed it to be inhabited—
he says:
“I am the Lord,
    and there is no other.
 I have not spoken in secret,
    from somewhere in a land of darkness;
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,
    ‘Seek me in vain.’
I, the Lord, speak the truth;
    I declare what is right.

God's promises are public, and their fulfillment is sure. So why do we ever doubt him? We never have to be uncertain when we have a God of truth and righteousness.   - Life Application Study Bible.

Indeed, God's promises are public.  If you read my journal you will find numerous occasions of notes of God's faithfulness to me.  I cling to a promise, "Do not let your hearts be troubled, trust in God; trust also in me." (John 14:1). Before I know it, God came through and peace fills me.

When I am anxious, I lift it up to God, spilling my heart in words and He responds through His Word; "Wait for the Lord; Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." (Psalm 27:14) Yup, you know it, my anxiety proved to be unfounded and my spirit once again overflows with hope.

In mid-March I was seeking in prayer, a word of encouragement, direction, peace and hope. One of the devotionals I read that day said: "God's looking out for you when you don't even know you are in danger." Again, a calm presence centered me that morning.

Isaiah 45:22 (NIV) 
"Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.


Indeed, there is no other God. No other earthly god can provide strength, or fill hearts with courage and conviction. "Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again; REJOICE!" (Philippians 4:4)




Isaiah 45:15-25

Cheer Up, God is Near You

Psalm 42:11 (NIV) Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Depression strikes each of us at some time in our life. We all face depression for a day or two once in a while. It is a normal occurrence.  Maybe we are in a difficult or trying season and can't shake the sadness. Often after enduring the death of a loved one, we emerge from mourning only to face an intense sorrow, one we can't seem to climbing out of.

The practice of writing in my journal and praying while seeking out God's direction from the pages of Scripture always helps me overcome the depression which comes from life hitting you hard. The Goid News is God's Word is filled with encouragement and direction.

For instance the other day, after listening to national news and hearing of war and hatred, and then the local news where again there was much violence and death, I started to wonder what this world was coming to. Can we be salvaged? I opened my Bible and began to read, and the words in John 16:33 came alive. "I have told you these things, so that in my you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world." 

Put your hope in God. Nothing can be gained from turning to the world for peace or joy. Psalm 27 teaches in verse 1: "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear. The LORD is the stronghold of my life whom shall I be afraid?"

Psalm 42:6-11

Here I am LORD...

What is a calling? Some may think only our pastors, the clergy receive a call. But that is far from the truth.  Looking back over Scripture, reading the stories of the great people who were touched by the Hand of God we realize God calls many of us to join Him in His work.

"Whatever the God of heaven has prescribed, let it be done with diligence..." Ezra 7:23

When we feel the call of God on our lives, it is time to pray diligently and with purpose. How can we recognize a call; what does it feel or look like?  It would be nice if we simply woke up one morning and knew without a doubt God was up to something and immediately we understood what to do next.

God doesn't often work that way.  We might get out of bed, go through our day and not have a clue why we have feelings of unrest or anxious moments. We might think we are only having side-effects from the extravagant dinner the night before. But sometimes, it is much more significant than that.

Some of us sense an urgency or a nudge to pray and ask God for answers to the unrest in our souls. When there is a deep longing in our hearts for something undefinable God may be calling us to move out. When God begins to move us in the direction he wants us to go, it can be unsettling until we recognize and open up our lives to the possibilities He is setting before us.

We must understand that whatever it is God is preparing us for, it will be life-changing; our lives and others will be impacted by our ability to discern and our willingness to trust and obey.

"Because the hand of the LORD my God was on me, I took courage." Ezra 7:28

Oh, be sure to journal this adventure because one day you will want to look back and see just how God spoke into your life and then you will want to tell others.

Ezra 7:21-28

Joshua 10

I just finished reading Chapter 10 of Joshua and I am reminded of Psalm 27.  The entire Psalm, but especially verse 1, "The Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?"


If God is for me, who can be against?  These are words to live by, to cling to when things get rough.  Joshua experienced God's favor as he and his army conquered the nations of the five kings who formed an alliance against Gibeon.  God went so far as to make time stand still and thereby provided for additional daylight hours to accomplish this victory.


"On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
    and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
 So the sun stood still,
    and the moon stopped,
    till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar."(Joshua 10:12-13)

God had been working miracles in Joshua's life.  Are there any miracles in your life?  Many do not believe that miracles are still happening, but I am not one of them.  I have seen God change hearts and heal bodies. I have been blessed to feel God moving in my life, opening doors and sometimes closing them.

I can only imagine how Joshua felt when the nations they were warring with began to fall.  The presence of God must had taken his breath away.  Is there a situation or season you faced when God took your breath away?  Be sure to write it in your journal because someday you will want to remember everything about that adventure.


Read Joshua 10 here

Listen to Joshua 10 here