Question...

Hi All ~

I’ve got a question for you…

 

So. What passage of scripture are you memorizing?  Thud.  I hear it in your world. I realize that’s probably not something you wanted to be asked right now.  And how can anyone blame you with all the information blasted into your responsibility tank on a daily basis. And yes, I admit. I wouldn’t be asking you if I didn’t have an answer. 

I totally get the resentment. 

The question feels like a hit below the waist.  (Oh wait. That statement isn’t really applicable to girls, eh?) Ok, how about this one.  That question feels like your friend begging you to go swimsuit shopping after she just finished weightwatchers. And she knows good and well you’re recovering from the birth of your third child. Ahem…regardless of the child’s age.

Take it easy on yourself if you don’t have a passage or verse to fill in the blank. But think about this…

I heard a story of a group of Christians in an unnamed country.  The names are hidden for their protection. Side note: lest you think that’s too far removed from our reality I ask you to think again. These believers had no Bible.  But as they gathered in their secret meeting places each person shared the passages he or she had memorized.  Together they were able to quote nearly the entire Bible!

That story blows me away! I think about it all the time.  Maybe because years ago God laid it on my heart to memorize a huge portion of the book of John…way before I ever heard this story.  I’ve been working at it off and on for years. After I heard the story I couldn’t help but wonder if God had impressed this on me for a similar reason in my future.  

Those of you who know me aren’t surprised because you know I’ve always thought one day I’d end up in a prison camp.  I don’t think you get Bibles there.

But forget the whole prison camp thing.  Hopefully that will never happen. (But if it does won’t you be glad you used these days of freedom to permanently fix God’s word in you soul!) That’s not the only reason to memorize scripture. See God’s pretty smart. He’s warned us ahead of time when He left us this nugget of truth, “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.” Psalm 119:11

In case you haven’t, noticed Satan doesn’t play fair.  He doesn’t usually wait till you have a Bible handy to divvy out temptations. Hence, we need it in our hearts.

Please don’t start the whole hyperventilating-breaking-out-in-hives thing because this is just one more obligation to cram onto the bottom of the list. 

Maybe just try this.  Pick one passage (Personally I like passages to give context. And you can do more than you think you can!) like Psalm 139 or Philippians 2 and add one verse as you can.  Quote it to put you to sleep or when you wake in the middle of the night. When you’ve finished one passage start on another.

Focusing on scripture rests your mind from all the distractions. Keeps your mind stayed on Him, which as His word tells us, brings perfect peace!

No, you don’t get a prize in church if you memorize a whole chapter.  But neither do you get your knuckles rapped if you don’t get to verse 3 this week.  What you do get is a mind full of truth. God’s word is truth and truth sets one free. Who doesn’t want to be free? 

Oh and take it from me; it also comes in handy when you’re sitting in the dentist chair.

You can do this! You’ll be glad you did! 

Love,

Rebecca 

What to do about jealousy...

Jealousy and all its Minions…  

   Jealousy is a powerful, destructive emotion and I hate it. Like a selfish, undisciplined child it has a way of demanding every bit of your attention; sucking the life out of you and banishing real relationship from your presence. And unfortunately, the darling feeling doesn’t travel solo.  Jealousy knocks down the door of your heart and enters with a myriad of other lovely (gag) attitudes and emotions. This entourage splashes gunk on everything beautiful and pure.

  

  Some of Jealousy’s most common companions include the twins, Critical and Judgmental. They’re masters at noticing every possible problem or flaw, specializing in picking apart the jealous person’s foe.    

  

   If they can’t actually find anything, never fear! They have a solution for that. They simply wake up their cohort Imagination and put it to work dreaming up off- the- wall scenarios. Things get really hairy when Imagination joins in the gig because Imagination has a way of convincing everyone that what they cogitate is fact. 

     With a blink of an eye, Isolation and Exclusion’s cell phones are ringing, welcoming two more destructive minions to join the take over of your heart. The loneliness engulfs and starts the vicious cycle all over again.

     Before you know it, you are shoved in the corner along with everything good and lovely watching Jealousy and its comrades wreak havoc with your life. You wonder how all this happened. But more important, you wonder how to get all these emotions and attitudes out so your heart can move and breath and love as God created it to do.

   

      Here are a few starting points to help navigate through the ugly feelings of jealousy.

     The first step is to admit, “I’m jealous”. Believe it or not, that’s harder than it sounds. Acknowledging your jealousy requires admitting that someone has what you’re not able (for whatever reason) to have at the moment.  You lack something or at least perceive you lack something. That is humbling. Our natural flesh desires to be on top: to be OK, to be the most loved, most intelligent, most talented, or most needed. Admitting jealousy is also a huge step because we realize it’s wrong and covetous. Tell God you know it’s wrong and you want it out of your life.

     Almost in tandem to admitting the fact that you’re jealous would be to force yourself to state why. Be specific. This is metaphorically making Jealousy sit in a chair and unmask, rather then allowing it the freedom to roam in your heart unattended.

     The third step involves asking God, “Why does (fill in the blank) make me jealous?  What am I believing about myself or this situation that is not true?”  This is actually getting to the root issue. Most of the time we associate our self worth or value with whatever it is causing the jealousy. We wrongly believe that if we had (blank) we would be more valuable or desirable. That, of course is a lie.

     Then it’s time to take courage and kick Jealousy and all its cronies out. You are not more or less valuable based on what you can or can’t do, how you look or don’t look etc… And then (you’ve heard me say this a lot lately) choose brokenness. Give up your right to have or be (blank). Realize that God has for you exactly what He desires for you.

     Sometimes what you feel is not jealousy. It could be grief of a loss or a broken dream.  Those things are not sinful.  They’re just sad and painful.  Don’t ignore it.  Acknowledge it to God.  Press into Him. You’d be amazed at how just telling God it hurts makes you more at peace. Open up your hand and let Him have it.

Psalm 62:8 “Trust in Him at all time; ye people, pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.

     Bottom line is this.  We often live, make our decisions and build our relationships out of a false idea of our identity, of who we really are.  My prayer is that we will all truly grasp what God says and believes about us. 

     When you and I are secure in the Father’s love and acceptance of us, we have no need to be jealous!

May you live free and light today!      

Rebecca

When guilt pursues you like a stalker...

Hi Everyone ~

It’s been raining in my heart this week… and I’ve lost my umbrella.  Don’t feel sorry for me.  The rain is from God. It’s called rebuke. Ugh. Yep.  I’ve been in a holy time-out all week long. 

Every day this week some form of ugly selfishness and pride, of unbelief, of a desperate scramble to the top, of self-reliance has reared its despicable head.

Not pretty.  Not very “child of the King” like.

I just told my accountability group how I wish I could see myself outside myself so I could see my blind spots… Well… God decided to give me a taste. I wanted to spit it out. 

Conflict reigned in my soul. I didn’t realize how accustomed I’d come to the harmony with me myself and I… and God. How I missed it! Peace and joy had long since left the premises, pushed out by my uncontrolled thoughts.  Shame and guilt jumped in their place and pursued me like a stalker. They thundered not only about my sin, but also my failures and inadequacies. I’d been knocked for a loop and couldn’t get a grip.

Even after I *tried to repent I pictured God with a sour look on His face. Irritated with me. Guilt reminded me I should know better. 

I usually look forward to times of solitude and quiet, but not this week.  The heavier the weight of my sin, the busier I wanted to stay.

I’m supposed to sing in a special worship group on Sunday. How could I sing with such a feeling of guilt hanging over me?

The weight of bearing myself, all by myself, choked the life out of me. I needed to slow down and explore these rabid thoughts. It took a while to unravel the jumbled mess, but eventually it hit me. I was living on a false premise.

This belief that God holds a grudge after we’ve confessed our sin is not found in scripture! In fact, the passage I’m memorizing right now says the exact opposite. “He has not dealt with us after our sin nor rewarded us according to our iniquities, for as the heaven is high above the earth so great is his mercy towards them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:10-12

As a believer in Christ I am not stuck trying to bear my destructive, exhausting sin. Hallelujah!  I actually have somewhere else for it to go!  Jesus bore all of it for me on the cross. What an awful experience He accepted on my behalf. He became sin, who knew no sin that I might be made righteous. If I’ll humble myself and admit I need His cleansing I don’t have to walk in defeat and failure. 

Yes, I’ve done wrong.  Yes, my heart can be a mess.  But I thank Him a million times that He’s not willing to leave me as I am! Trusting in Christ, my sins are G-O-N-E gone!

Guilt and shame are not welcomed in my heart.  I choose victory and the purity of the cross! Ah! What do people do who don’t know Him?

Can’t wait to sing to Him on Sunday!

Live free and light today ~ Love

Rebecca

* Interesting phrase “tried to repent”. Just to be clear. There is no such thing as trying to repent, but that’s what it felt like. True repentance does not fail, regardless of how we feel. “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us…cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”