Anyone who has ever run a marathon knows that it is a grueling race. You don't wake in the morning and say, "Oh the Boston Marathon is today, I think I'll run it." No, in order to run a marathon one must train and prepare physically and mentally for the race. Endurance is required and must be developed in order to successfully finish a marathon . The marathoner commits to rigorous training, changing habits, diets and routines to prepare for race day. Life is sometimes described as a race in the Bible. ...let us run with patience the race that is set before us...(Heb 12:1b). I have fought a good fight, I finished my course - IITim4:7; Ye did run well...(Gal 5:7a). Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain -I Cor 9:24. This race of life is not a sprint but rather a grueling marathon.The race is not to the swift (Ec 9:11). Hebrews 10:36 makes it clear: For ye have need of patience that after ye have done the will of God ye might receive the promise. ' The word patience in that verse means hopeful endurance. Just like the marathon runner prepares for the race and commits to rigorous training to develop the necessary endurance, we have be spiritually prepared for the race of life if we are going to finish well. Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible - I Cor 9:24-25. Our training involves spending consistent time in the Word, praying, worshipping God with other believers, and being instructed in the Word of God. Our daily diets must change, feeding on the word day and night. These practices strengthen our spiritual muscles. In addition to our plan, God has a training plan called tribulation and testing that we must go through so that endurance can be developed in our lives. Rom 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience and patience, experience, and experience hope. God allows trouble to come into our lives so that we learn how to depend upon Him and persevere through difficulty. We endure hardship, experiencing the faithfulness of God, and His strengthening power; while He develops character and endurance in us. James 1:2-4: My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations knowing that the trying of your faith worketh patience, but let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire wanting nothing. Every time we are faced with irritations, difficult bosses and people, God does not want us to run away from the situation; instead, we are to let patience finish her workout because these tests are developing our ability to endure, so that we can finish our course. Life requires perseverance because there are some rough stretches on our course... In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:33b). Now thanks be unto to God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ (II Cor 2:14a)! Time to train! preparing for the race, Diane P.S. Examine your training routine. Are you practicing reading His word? Do you need to incorporate more time praying? How about worship? Does your diet need to change? Do you find yourself feeding on social media and entertainment more than the word? Have you considered the faithfulness of God lately? My Pastor begin the year with a series on The Faithfulness of God. This series has not only encouraged me, it has strengthened my faith and caused me to reflect on how faithful God has been to me. If it had not been the Lord who was on our side... where would we be (Psalm 124:1a)? Faithfulness is defined as stedfast affection or allegiance; the firm adherence to promises (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Faithfulness is a moral attribute of God. Many references in the Bible about the faithfulness of God also reference His mercy. God is faithful. He keeps His promises. God's faithfulness to us is not dependent upon our goodness, or even our faithfulness to Him. His faithfulness is based strictly upon His character and His mercy. If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself. If we are faithless, He remains faithful ( true to His word and His righteous character), for He cannot deny Himself (IITim2:13 KJV, AMP). I am so grateful for His faithfulness. The faithfulness of God is described as everlasting.Thy faithfulness is unto all generations (Ps 119:90). The Psalmist muses in Psalm 37:25, I have been young and now I am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread. When we can't see our way out of our dilemma, the faithfulness of God will show up. Not only is His faithfulness everlasting, it is established. For I have said mercy shall be built up forever, thou faithfulness shalt thou establish in the heavens (Ps 89:2). David describes God's faithfulness as enduring and as secure as the elements of the heavens like the sun, moon and stars; therefore, nothing can hinder, tamper with, or destroy it. God's faithfulness is everlasting, established, and it is unfailing. When we feel overwhelmed we need to be reminded that His faithfulness we not fail us. Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him nor suffer my faithfulness to fail (Ps 89:33). We can depend upon God because His faithfulness can not be depleted, nor does it expire. It will show up when and how we need it to show up. His faithfulness is everlasting, established unfailing and infinite. The next time we feel like we are about to faint, we need to look up to the heavens and be reminded that there are no limits to the faithfulness of God. His faithfulness is infinite. Thy mercy O Lord is in the heavens and thy faithfulness reaches unto the clouds (Ps 36:5). Finally, His faithfulness is great and incomparable. In the midst of the prophet Jeremiah feeling overwhelmed by his afflictions, he recalled: It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness (Lam 3:22-23). His faithfulness can't be compared to anyone else's. It surpasses human comparison and comprehension. Lord us to remember in the midst of our overwhelming circumstances, and situations we that we can't figure our way out of, that Your faithfulness is everlasting, established, unfailing, infinite, great, and incomparable! Privileged to be on the journey with you, Diane As we pursue the blessed life, we find ourselves on the hillside of Capernaum at the feet of Jesus. The blessed life Jesus is about to describe, in Matthew chapter 5, is one that is filled with joy, hope and spiritual abundance that surpasses the human experience and is more associated with divine experience. He begins the conversation in Matthew 5:3 with the first Beatitude: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous-with life joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the poor in spirit (humble, who rate themselves insignificant), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! (AMP)
The meaning of the greek word used for poor in this verse actually means a beggar on the street. Jesus is not saying we have to be financially broke to be spiritually blessed, but rather we have to recognize that our spiritual condition is much like the physical condition of the beggar on the street. Spiritually we are bankrupt apart from Jesus. Picture the homeless person on the street, depleted, without any means or resources to change his or her situation. The homeless are destitute, desperate, and completely dependent upon someone else to have mercy on them for their sustenance, and frankly their survival. The spiritually abundant life begins when we humble ourselves before God, and we relinquish our confidence in and reliance upon ourselves. The abundant life that seems to evade us, requires the acknowledgement that we are spiritually bankrupt and totally in need of and dependent upon the Lord's mercy and grace daily. It is in our daily desperation and dependence that we see the power and presence of the Lord Jesus manifested in our lives. Our daily struggle is this: being self reliant versus totally dependent upon the Lord. I know we like our social media posts to make it seem like we have it all the together, but until we come to Jesus, daily desperate and dependent, we are not going to experience the abundant life that He came to give us: I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10b). The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18 perfectly depicts self confidence and self reliance versus the the desperate and totally dependent. And He spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying,God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted (Luke 18:9-14) I can't help but think if we could ever stop being sooo impressed with ourselves, we might see the power of God truly operating in our lives. daily trying to acknowledge my dependence and desperation, Diane p.s. truth be told, spiritually I am like the homeless person totally depleted, destitute and dependent upon the Lord's mercy and grace to sustain me. There are days when my I am dragging my shopping cart to the throne of grace with 3 wheels instead of 4. p.p.s. I sing a "ole skool" prayer meeting song often in the shower to remind daily of my desperation. I need thee O I need thee. Every hour I need thee. O bless me now my Savior I come to Thee. If you ever been to one of those prayer meetings you know we sang this song slow and almost moaning because we understood our need. Praise the Lord we are still standing! For the past several months I've been growing in grace with an amazing group of women. Our journey has taken us through a spiritual warfare study. It was not the typical Ephesians 6:10, put on the whole armor lesson; instead, we learned to wage war daily against the ungodly attitudes that rise up in us. Whew, this has been a challenging and convicting leg of the journey. Our study concluding in Matthew 5, The Beatitudes. And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain: and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him: And He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying...blessed are... ( Matt 5:1-2). At this point in His ministry, Jesus had reached the pinnacle of His popularity. The setting for the sermon On The Mount is a hillside near Capernaum, and took place over a course of several days in front of a growing crowd. So as Jesus started His discourse, He began to describe the characteristics of people who belong to the kingdom of heaven, answering the question who on earth are we? Or better yet, Who are earth should we be? It is clear to me that if today Jesus were to post the Beatitudes on Instagram and FB, the likes would be few and the follows even less. But we should not be surprised because, Jesus was radical in His thinking. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts - Is 55:8-9. He makes it clear that as believers who we should be on earth are not people whose primary pursuit is power, popularity, prominence, or prosperity. The blessed life He describes has nothing at all to do with any of the aforementioned things. This blessed life He describes is a spiritual state of being filled with such an abundance of joy, peace, comfort and intimacy with Him it surpasses what was normally attributed to any human experience. Interested in living that kind of blessed life? Journey with us over the course of the next few posts to discover, how to live that blessed life and to discover who on earth we should be as we examine the Beatitudes. desiring to live the blessed life, Diane Are you ready for our treasure hunt? Today we open our treasure chest of grace, eyeing , appreciating, and experiencing the divine enablement we call simply living grace. This is the enablement required just to live. For in Him we live, and move and have our being - Acts 17:28. We are completely dependent upon the Lord and His simply living grace to live. He is the creator and sustainer of all life. In Him was life (and the power to bestow life), and the life was the Light of men - John 1:4 AMP. For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible,...all things were created by Him, and for Him: And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist - Col 1:16a-17. When we live our lives with the awareness and appreciation for this simply living grace, we realize that we are completely dependent upon Him for everything. Too often we only acknowledge God when we get in trouble or for the big stuff in life. Truthfully, we can't do anything without Him: for without me ye can do nothing - John 15:5c. There is not only freedom in completely depending upon the Lord, there are provisions. Complete reliance upon Him instead of self ensures that He will provide daily direction for our lives: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths - Pro 3:5-6. Let's thank the Lord for simply living grace and breathe a sigh of relief because we don't have to rely upon ourselves; instead we can lift up our eyes to the hills from whence cometh our help. Our help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth - Ps 121:1-2. Our help and the grace to simply live comes from Him. feeling less pressure and appreciating my simply living grace, Diane p.s. Start each day acknowledging that you can't do anything without Him and express sincere appreciation (that's gratitude ) for His simply living grace. So how are you? I am still crying out, crawling to the throne and checking my thinking daily. I am also learning to access and the enjoy the amazing grace that is available to us. Grace is the unmerited favor of God that is demonstrated to us as through His love and care. Grace is also divine enablement which is imparted to us so that we can victoriously navigate through life. Divine enablement is not only a privilege, it is necessary for this journey. The good news is that we serve the God of all grace - I Pet 5:10a andJesus is full of grace and truth - John 1:14. And of His fullness have we received, and grace for grace - John 1:16. In other words, God is the source of all grace. We never run out of grace, when one type of grace ends another begins. Unfortunately, more often than not, we are not aware or we forget that this divine enablement is available to us; consequently, our journey becomes difficult to navigate because we are attempting to get through life in our own strength. We tend to limit our reference to grace to our salvation. Without a doubt there is saving grace: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God - Eph 2:8. Saving grace is the essential and prerequisite grace required to gain access to all the other types of grace. Thank God for saving grace! The Bible is filled with examples of the grace that is available to us: But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory - Phil 4:19. The amplified version says God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need. During the next few posts we will discover the amazing treasure chest of grace that is available to us. In addition to saving grace, our treasury includes :
I don't about you but I need all the divine enablement I can get! on a treasure hunt, Diane p.s. thank God this week for His grace. Worship Him (stand in awe of Him) because He is the God of all grace. Ask Him to help you to stop relying on your own strength and to start looking to Him for divine enablement in everything, the big things and the small things. Anxiety still managing to make its way into your daily life, even though you have been crying out to Jesus? What else can we do, besides turn off the television and cry out to Jesus to help us manage the chaos we are experiencing? The writer to the Hebrews encourages us to go before God with confidence with the expectation that we will receive exactly what we need when we need it (specific grace). Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace , that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need - Heb 4:16 (KJV); Let us with (privilege ) approach the throne of grace (that is God's gracious favor) with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy (for our failures) and find (His amazing ) grace to help in time of need (an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment)-Heb 4:16 AMP. We are urged to go to the throne of grace to receive what Jesus has already ordered and prepared for us. We can go boldly before the throne of grace when we start to feel anxious and overwhelmed because we have a Great High Priest who ever lives to make intercession for us: but on the other hand, Jesus holds His priesthood permanently and without change, because He lives on forever. Therefore He is able also to save forever (completely, perfectly, for eternity) those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede and intervene on their behalf (with God) - Heb 7:24-25 AMP. Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens - Heb 8:1. . When life overwhelms us we are to look up to the throne of grace, knowing that Jesus has cried out and is crying out on our behalf, and is praying for us, and has already secured, and prepared the grace and mercy needed for our situation. His prayers for us are not general ones, like Father bless them, or like the ones we often pray for people when they ask us to pray for them. His prayers for us are not only specific but they are sympathetic. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted (knowing exactly how it feels to be human) in every respect as we are, yet without (committing any) sin - Heb 4:15 AMP. In other words, Jesus knows exactly how to pray for us because He has been through and felt all the things we are going through and are feeling? Yes He too felt forsaken by the Father, as He cried out My God My God why hast thou forsaken me? So He knows how we feel and He knows how to pray for us. Jesus' earthly life and ministry prepared Him for His heavenly ministry of Great High Priest. He became flesh and experienced uncertainty, anxiety, stress so that when He returned to heaven He could pray for us because He knows how it feels to be anxious. So no matter what we are feeling, anxious, forsaken, angry, confused or whatever, we have to drag ourselves, if need be, to the throne of grace looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. He will pour out the mercy and grace needed to make it through another day. Honestly some days I am so empty, I have to crawl to the throne, but I always receive the mercy for my failures and grace that has been custom designed for my dilemmas. crawling to the throne, Diane p.s. practice going to throne with the expectation to receive, everything you need to make it. Take a moment right now, and take a very deep breath, as you slowly exhale thank the Lord for allowing His peace to rule in your heart. Felt good, right? As we wrestle with our fears, frustrations and anxieties, it is helpful to do two things: daily cry out to the Lord (Pro 18:10), and every day crawl to throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace (Heb 4:15-16). What else can we do to stem the tide of panic, discouragement and isolation that we are experiencing during this never before seen in our lifetime pandemic, injustice and social unrest? What else can we do? Check our thinking. We can't just watch the news all day, saturate our minds with social media and let our thoughts have free reign in our minds. There was a National Science Foundation research article published in 2005, which cited that the average person thinks somewhere between12,000 and 60,000 thoughts per day. We are almost always having a conversation with ourselves (our thought life). Unfortunately, 80% of these thoughts are negative. Not only are they negative, we think the same thoughts over and over again. Crazy right? 95% of our thoughts are exactly the same thoughts from the day before, of which 80% are negative. So it's critical that we gird up the loins of our minds - I Pet 1:13. In other words, pull in our wandering thoughts. The imagery in this verse is of the long robes they wore during those times. Often they would pull in the flowing robes with a sash belt so they could walk freely without tripping. We must pull in our thoughts so they don't trip us up. When it comes to our 12,000 thoughts a day, we literally have to do two things: put each one under arrest and then put each one to the test. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of stronghold. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ - II Cor 10:4-5. Yes we must arrest each thought and subject it to interrogation to see if it aligns with the Word of God, before we allow it to have free reign in our minds. Any thought that is inconsistent with what God says about Himself, what He says about us, His purposes or principles must be put out. We are instructed in Phil 4:8 on how to test our thoughts: Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. If our thoughts aren't true, just, pure, honorable and wholesome, we need to put them out of our mind. One unchecked thought can send us somewhere we don't want to be mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and even physically. Having to check 12,000 thoughts seems like an insurmountable task. The good news is if we bombard our minds with thoughts that bless, we can win the battle in our minds one thought at a time. The Psalmist in Ps 94, states: when my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your comforts delight me - Ps 94:19(AMP). Training ourselves to speak to ourselves in psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody in our hearts to Lord (Eph 5:19), will change the conversations we are having in our heads. In Psalm 77, the Psalmist vows: I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings - Ps 77: 12. During these crazy times we have to keep crying out to God, crawling to the throne of grace and checking our thinking. crying, crawling and checking, Diane p.s. lets work on filling our minds with the word of God, and speaking to ourselves in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, making melody in hearts unto the Lord. p.p.s. the battle in the mind is real. sometimes my thinking is so off, I find myself taking very long showers as I beg God to help me think His thoughts. I'm just saying... Fear. Worry. Stress. Anxiety. Unfortunately, these are emotions that we are all way too familiar with right now. While these emotions and thoughts attempt to arrest our joy, remember that we not only have a God we can cry out to, we have a God who hears and answers our prayers. Hear my cry, O God, Listen to my prayer. From the the end of the earth I call to You, when my heart is overwhelmed lead me to the rock that is higher than I - Ps 61:2. In the midst of this pandemic: God is our refuge and strength (mighty and impenetrable), A very present and well-proved help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change ...Ps46:1-2a AMP. In this midst of this crisis: Trust in Him at all times ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us- Ps 62:8. We have a place where it is safe to bare our souls and to wring out our fears and worries, and a Person who has the power to deliver us from them. Fearful? Cry out to Him: Jesus! Ridden with anxiety? Cry out to Him: Jesus! Worried about the health of loved ones? Cry out to Him: Jesus! When my children were small, I remember times after a day filled with sibling arguments, saying to them if you call my name one more time...Thank God I can wear out the Name of Jesus, knowing He is inclining His ear toward me every time I call upon His Name: Jesus! The Name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe - Pro 18:10. When we call upon His Name, He provides a safe place in Him where we are protected! Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily - Ps 86:3. In my distress, I called upon the Lord, And cried unto my God for help. He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help came before Him, even into His ears - Ps 18:6. As we brace for these next couple of weeks, Cry out: Jesus! Be Still, and Know that I am God...The Lord of host is with us: The God of Jacob is our refuge -Ps 46: 10a-11. crying out, Diane p.s. when fear, stress worry, anxiety or any other negative thought or emotion overwhelms you cry out: Jesus! There is power in His Name! #cryout #SaytheName I can't believe it is March 2020 already. I know it has been a minute since we last connected, but Happy New Year! I hope you are still excited about the possibilities this new year brings. New hope, new mercies, new grace and new areas of growth. If you have been on the journey with us, you know we have been talking about being built up and not broken down from Acts 20:32: I commend you to God and to the word of grace which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among those who are sanctified. One way our faith gets rebuilt is by contemplating our future inheritance. Sometimes life can get tough, circumstances and people can weigh on us. Before we know it we are either frustrated with people, or discouraged and overwhelmed by our problems, or both. Peter encourages us to look past our present situation and to bless God because we have an inheritance that has been reserved for us in heaven: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you - I Pet 1:3-4. He encourages us to stop focusing on our present problems; but instead, consider and image our future. We have a future inheritance that won't fade, can't be squandered or stolen, is not at risk of decaying and is already reserved, and being guarded for us in heaven. I remind myself on a regular basis, especially when people start to work my nerves, that this is not my home. My real home is in heaven: But (we are different, because ) our citizenship is in heaven - Phil 3:20a AMP. When we get frustrated with this life, and things get on our last nerve, we have to remind ourselves, that this is not our home. Whatever we are going through or feeling is just temporary insanity. Have you ever worked for a temp agency? Sometimes you were sent to an assignment where the work environment was very unpleasant. I can remember thinking, I am so glad I will only be here a week. This life and the difficulties we face are only temporary: For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory - II Cor 4:17. We should engage our imaginations often to think about what the Lord is preparing for us. Jesus has not only gone to prepare a place for us, but He has reserved an inheritance for us that is being guarded in heaven. Sometimes I imagine angels trying to sneak a peek at what Jesus has reserved just for me. When our present circumstances are difficult, looking forward and thinking about what heaven might be like has tremendous power. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and It doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that , when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is - I John 3:2. I remember when I was in college and it was finals week. I would be exhausted and overwhelmed. I felt like I was not going to make it, and then I would start to think about what I would feel like when I took that last exam or turned in that last paper. Just the thought of what that would feel like would energize me and strengthen me to finish. We can look forward to seeing Christ in all His glory and we shall be changed to be like Him. I can only imagine, Diane |
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