Many of you that read my little stories here know me. And if you know me then you know that when I eat I tend to get something on me at some point. My husband says that if I'm not wearing it then I didn't enjoy it.
I have been thinking about that lately. I have been wondering how that applies to us as Christians. We go to church on Sundays and hear the word preached and we leave and forget what we heard. We may remember something here or there and think to ourselves "I should be doing that," or "My life might be a lot better off if I did some of those things that preacher said." We might even start doing some of it.
We can quote scriptures. Repeat sermons. Pray the loudest. Give the most in the offering plate.
A lot of times we beat our chest and stand in the synagogues and when people notice us we believe that we are the fairest of them all. When in all actuality we are just modern day Pharisees.
They knew all the rules. What they should do and shouldn't do. What they should and shouldn't say. But they had not let it change who they were. They were so blinded by the rules and regulations that they set for themselves that they couldn't even recognize the Messiah when He walked among them. They had so much religiosity about them but it was only skin deep.
The word that they had read. The laws that Moses had been passed down. The truths that they had been taught had made it into their mind but not into their hearts. It showed up on the outside. When anyone or everyone was looking they knew just what to do. They had more on them than in them.
They were trying to impress anyone that would look. But the one that was paying the most attention was not impressed.
And He is not impressed with us either when we do those same things. So many times we know how to talk the talk but we don't actually walk the walk.
The word of God tells us that we are not to be a pleaser of men but of God.
In Exodus it tells us that man looks on the outside but God looks on the heart.
So I ask you, are you wearing your religion or has the word of God actually penetrated your heart and is making a difference in your life?
The word of God tells us that by this you will know that you are my friend when you keep My commandments.
If we don't allow the word of God to get inside of us and change us, then we are like a person that went to the banqueting table and wiped the food all over the outside of our clothes and walked away to show everyone what we ate and that we had been to the banqueting table. The food has done us no good. No nutritional value was added to us at all.
It is just the same as if you went to church and left and spouted everything that you heard that day to everyone that you meet but you don't start doing what you heard, living it out, letting it into your heart, letting it change you. You don't grow into the person that God wants you to be. You have more on you than in you.
Are you wearing your religion or are you growing in the fullness of the Lord?
Jesus prepared the fish for His disciples while they were out fishing, when He called to them He didn't say come and spread this food I have prepared for you all over yourselves so that you can say "Look, Jesus made breakfast for us." No! Jesus clearly told them "Come and EAT!"
Jesus, when preaching to a bunch of people asked the question, "What good does it do a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul?" I am asking you what good is it for you to go to church and not let the things that you are learning change you?
The bible tells us our good deeds are as filthy rags. I wonder, if we are filthy, is it from all the spiritual food we are wearing?
I pray that you would start to feast on the word of God and allow it's goodness to fill you. I pray that you would have a hunger and a thirst for righteousness. I pray that you would be full to overflowing.
I pray that you would start to get more in you than on you.
That you would desire the word of God like a newborn desires mothers milk, like a working man desires an evening meal, like a birthday boy desires cake and ice cream. That you would yearn for more of the word in your life so much so that you could not get enough.
I know so many of us are on a diet. We are trying to lose a few pounds. But this is one area of our lives that we can not afford to become anemic in.
Psalm 34:8 tells us to TASTE and see the Lord is good. So I beg you to feast at the banqueting table He prepares for you. Taste and see the Lord is good. Do not get more on you than in you.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Whatcha Thinkin
We have all heard the expression "Whatcha thinkin" or "A penny for your thoughts." If you are like me the thoughts you sometimes have in your head are not worth a penny. A lot of the time we are pre-occupied with the mundane things in life such as "What am I going to fix for dinner" "I have to stop and get gas in my car" "How am I going to get my kids to clean their rooms for the umpteenth time". And then if you are like me it is back to "What am I going to fix for dinner." Mundane but everyday thoughts that come and go.
And we are going to have those thoughts. And pardon my pun but we really don't give "a second thought" to them. They are normal thought processes that we have throughout the day. It is called life happens.
We can't help but think of these things periodically, we really wouldn't be human otherwise, but where we fall short is when we dwell on these things.
When these things are not just passing thoughts but take up residence. They move in and take up space and we begin to dwell on it, worry about it, talk about it. Not that we are not supposed to think about things and make plans but when these thoughts are ALL that we think about then we have given up real estate in our minds.
So, whatcha thinkin? What's on your mind? We have thoughts that come in and out of our minds that we sometimes don't want there. Things we have seen, things we have heard. We let our imaginations, day dreams, night dreams, our every thought, encompass around these things. We know we should not be thinking of them, but we can't help when some fleeting thought comes through the cobwebs but what becomes the problem is when we decide to give time to those thoughts, to dwell on them. We allow them to occupy our minds.
The word of God tells us to take these thoughts captive. Not to dwell on them. Not to let them take up residence in our minds.
In 2 Corinthians we are told that not only are we in a warfare, but it is a spiritual warfare. One that starts in the mind. We are told to cast down, take captive, every imagination, every thing or any thing that would exhalt itself above God.
When we start to dwell on things that are not godly, things that would lend itself to pride, sexual sin, gossip, mean thoughts, any thing that would lead you into sin, then we are in danger of getting our eyes off of the Lord and backsliding.
We have been told the things that are acceptable to think on, "Whatsoever things are true, noble, just, pure and lovely. If it is of good report and is virtuous or if it is praiseworthy, these are the things you are to think on, meditate on." Phillipians 4:8
David, a man after God's own heart, had it right. He knew that the fight started in his mind. He knew that to overcome the things in this life that would cause us to stumble, cause us to fall, he needed to meditate on the things of the Lord, His laws, His statutes. He knew that he had need to write them on his heart, hide them there, meditate on, think on them day and night. Psalms 119:15
He knew where his strength came from. It came from the Lord. The word of the Lord was his strength. He meditated on it day and night. He called thoughts into captive.
I believe that is why we need to put on the helmet of salvation, to protect our very thoughts. To protect and keep that which is so precious, our salvation. We should take thoughts captive that would easily steal and rob us of our greatest gift.
We can't help a fleeting thought but we can help ourselves to not give it credence. We do not have to give it a place, a dwelling place if you will.
We are to occupy until He comes, until He returns. We are to occupy our minds, our thoughts, our lives with the whatsoevers listed in Philipians 4:8
So, I ask you, whatcha thinkin about? What is occupying your mind?
And we are going to have those thoughts. And pardon my pun but we really don't give "a second thought" to them. They are normal thought processes that we have throughout the day. It is called life happens.
We can't help but think of these things periodically, we really wouldn't be human otherwise, but where we fall short is when we dwell on these things.
When these things are not just passing thoughts but take up residence. They move in and take up space and we begin to dwell on it, worry about it, talk about it. Not that we are not supposed to think about things and make plans but when these thoughts are ALL that we think about then we have given up real estate in our minds.
So, whatcha thinkin? What's on your mind? We have thoughts that come in and out of our minds that we sometimes don't want there. Things we have seen, things we have heard. We let our imaginations, day dreams, night dreams, our every thought, encompass around these things. We know we should not be thinking of them, but we can't help when some fleeting thought comes through the cobwebs but what becomes the problem is when we decide to give time to those thoughts, to dwell on them. We allow them to occupy our minds.
The word of God tells us to take these thoughts captive. Not to dwell on them. Not to let them take up residence in our minds.
In 2 Corinthians we are told that not only are we in a warfare, but it is a spiritual warfare. One that starts in the mind. We are told to cast down, take captive, every imagination, every thing or any thing that would exhalt itself above God.
When we start to dwell on things that are not godly, things that would lend itself to pride, sexual sin, gossip, mean thoughts, any thing that would lead you into sin, then we are in danger of getting our eyes off of the Lord and backsliding.
We have been told the things that are acceptable to think on, "Whatsoever things are true, noble, just, pure and lovely. If it is of good report and is virtuous or if it is praiseworthy, these are the things you are to think on, meditate on." Phillipians 4:8
David, a man after God's own heart, had it right. He knew that the fight started in his mind. He knew that to overcome the things in this life that would cause us to stumble, cause us to fall, he needed to meditate on the things of the Lord, His laws, His statutes. He knew that he had need to write them on his heart, hide them there, meditate on, think on them day and night. Psalms 119:15
He knew where his strength came from. It came from the Lord. The word of the Lord was his strength. He meditated on it day and night. He called thoughts into captive.
I believe that is why we need to put on the helmet of salvation, to protect our very thoughts. To protect and keep that which is so precious, our salvation. We should take thoughts captive that would easily steal and rob us of our greatest gift.
We can't help a fleeting thought but we can help ourselves to not give it credence. We do not have to give it a place, a dwelling place if you will.
We are to occupy until He comes, until He returns. We are to occupy our minds, our thoughts, our lives with the whatsoevers listed in Philipians 4:8
So, I ask you, whatcha thinkin about? What is occupying your mind?
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Darlins' Daze: So This is Love
Darlins' Daze: So This is Love: Hmmm...so like many of you, you may have noticed that we just finished the shortest month of the year. Yet for this year for me it was pack...
So This is Love
Hmmm...so like many of you, you may have noticed that we just finished the shortest month of the year. Yet for this year for me it was packed with so much.
This is the month that we get to celebrate love. Not like we shouldn't celebrate it every month, but this month is especially set aside for it.
Now, many of you have probably heard me declare that if I had known how much I was going to love Valentines Day I would have gotten married on that day. I do love Valentines Day.
I really don't know why. I love chocolate and candy hearts and some would think that is why, but no that is not it. I love the sentimental little cards. The ones that come in boxes and have the cute little kids and sayings on them, even more so when I come across vintage ones from someones childhood, they bring a tear to my eyes, but again, that is not why I love Valentines Day.
So I asked myself, "Why?" The best answer I can come up with is because it represents and reminds us of love. Albeit it is more the physical attraction kind of love but I look at it as more of what love should be.
So I got to thinking, what is love? What does it look like? What does it sound like? I am such a blessed person, I didn't have far to look. The answers are where I always look. The Bible.
So since February is the month that represents love I looked to the chapter in the bible that represents love. We all know it, some of us could probably recite it. 1st Corinthians 13.
I had recently heard someone preach on it so I thought I would try to see if I could understand it better myself.
I wanted to measure myself against this chapter. I really did not want to use the measuring stick against myself but I want to be a person that is known to love everyone and I know that I fall short in this. Not that I don't love them but I realize that sometimes I am doing things for people because it is the right thing to do and not necessarily out of love.
So I went to the book and where I could I put my name there. This is what it looks like.
Though Darla talks as if she knows the word of God, but she doesn't have love, she is just a loud noise. And even if Darla has the gift of prophecy, she understands the mysteries of the Word of God, and has faith that is unshakable, so much so that she could pray for the sick and move mountains, if she does not have love then what's the point. And what if Darla gave all that she had to feed the poor and needy, and she gave her body to be burned, but there was no love in it, then she lost everything, it did her no good.
(Love)Darla suffers long, she puts up with a lot of people that could easily annoy her, Darla is kind to everyone, Darla is not jealous if you get something she doesn't have, in fact Darla thinks you deserve it, Darla does not have a highly inflated ego where she thinks she is the greatest thing since sliced bread, thinking herself to be something she is not. Darla does not treat people rudely, she is very accommodating, Darla does not have to have her way all the time, Darla does not loose her temper easily, Darla does not think mean thoughts towards people or situations, Darla does not think it is okay that people sin, it breaks her heart, Darla is glad when she hears a sinner has come to know God as their personal savior.
Darla holds people up and defends them, Darla believes the best about people and is saddened when proven wrong, Darla endures a lot, she keeps on keeping on even though it gets hard at times and it would be easier to just move to the wayside.
Darla never fails, messes up, gets things wrong, hurts peoples feelings. Prophecies may fail, they can be proven wrong, or God's heart can be moved to do something different, tongues can be wrong, false, twisted, wisdom and knowledge may not always be what we thought it to be, the world is no longer thought to be flat after all.
Darla knows some things, very little, and can prophecy or predict what she has understanding of, but it is limited.
But when Darla gets to heaven all will be revealed to her, she will have her eyes and her heart opened to all the wonderful things that she could not figure out here on earth. She will have a clearer picture of what God was trying to do when He took her through trials and tribulations and she did not know why.
When Darla was a young christian she spoke and acted like a young christian, she grew a little and the Word of God grew in her and she began to realize that she needed to become more of what the Word of God was and said.
Darla would read the Word and seek Godly council on it but sometimes she still couldn't fathom what God was trying to tell her, she could not wrap her brain around it. But one day she will stand before God and He will reveal His heart to her.
But for now while Darla is still on this earth she has faith, hope and love to keep her company, to walk with, but out of the three, the greatest one that she needs to practice in her life is love.
When I go back and interject my name into this chapter, this epiphany of love, I find myself lacking. Not because I want to but because I just do.
I want to walk in love. I want to talk in love. I want to act, respond and do out of love. I want God's love to flow through me onto others.
I can go through the word of God and find so many times where He tells us to love.
Be kind one to another. Ephesians 4:32
Be imitators of Christ. Walk in love as Christ also loved us. Ephesians 5:1-2
Beloved let us love one another, for love is of God and everyone that love is born of God and knows God. 1st John 4:7
Beloved if God so loved us we ought to love one another. 1st John 4:11
If someone says I love God and hates his brother he is a liar. Gods commandment is he who loves God must also love his brother. 1st John 4:20-21
Jesus said, "As the Father loved me, I have loved you. Abide, dwell, stay inside my love. If you keep my commandments you will dwell in my love, just as I have kept my Fathers commandments and dwell in His love. I tell you these things so that you will have my joy and that it would remain in you and your joy would be full. John 15:9-12
So this is love that you keep His commandments, that you show kindness to others and then you will know His joy, His peace, the perfect peace that passes all understanding.
Oh that everything I do be done in love.
I would want to walk and move and speak in His love so that when others look at me they no longer see Darla but they would be able to to say of me, "So this is love.!"
I double dog, no triple dog dare you to put your name in this chapter and let God speak to your heart and let everything that you do be done in love.
May the love of God abound in you dear friends, may the love of God abound in you.
This is the month that we get to celebrate love. Not like we shouldn't celebrate it every month, but this month is especially set aside for it.
Now, many of you have probably heard me declare that if I had known how much I was going to love Valentines Day I would have gotten married on that day. I do love Valentines Day.
I really don't know why. I love chocolate and candy hearts and some would think that is why, but no that is not it. I love the sentimental little cards. The ones that come in boxes and have the cute little kids and sayings on them, even more so when I come across vintage ones from someones childhood, they bring a tear to my eyes, but again, that is not why I love Valentines Day.
So I asked myself, "Why?" The best answer I can come up with is because it represents and reminds us of love. Albeit it is more the physical attraction kind of love but I look at it as more of what love should be.
So I got to thinking, what is love? What does it look like? What does it sound like? I am such a blessed person, I didn't have far to look. The answers are where I always look. The Bible.
So since February is the month that represents love I looked to the chapter in the bible that represents love. We all know it, some of us could probably recite it. 1st Corinthians 13.
I had recently heard someone preach on it so I thought I would try to see if I could understand it better myself.
I wanted to measure myself against this chapter. I really did not want to use the measuring stick against myself but I want to be a person that is known to love everyone and I know that I fall short in this. Not that I don't love them but I realize that sometimes I am doing things for people because it is the right thing to do and not necessarily out of love.
So I went to the book and where I could I put my name there. This is what it looks like.
Though Darla talks as if she knows the word of God, but she doesn't have love, she is just a loud noise. And even if Darla has the gift of prophecy, she understands the mysteries of the Word of God, and has faith that is unshakable, so much so that she could pray for the sick and move mountains, if she does not have love then what's the point. And what if Darla gave all that she had to feed the poor and needy, and she gave her body to be burned, but there was no love in it, then she lost everything, it did her no good.
(Love)Darla suffers long, she puts up with a lot of people that could easily annoy her, Darla is kind to everyone, Darla is not jealous if you get something she doesn't have, in fact Darla thinks you deserve it, Darla does not have a highly inflated ego where she thinks she is the greatest thing since sliced bread, thinking herself to be something she is not. Darla does not treat people rudely, she is very accommodating, Darla does not have to have her way all the time, Darla does not loose her temper easily, Darla does not think mean thoughts towards people or situations, Darla does not think it is okay that people sin, it breaks her heart, Darla is glad when she hears a sinner has come to know God as their personal savior.
Darla holds people up and defends them, Darla believes the best about people and is saddened when proven wrong, Darla endures a lot, she keeps on keeping on even though it gets hard at times and it would be easier to just move to the wayside.
Darla never fails, messes up, gets things wrong, hurts peoples feelings. Prophecies may fail, they can be proven wrong, or God's heart can be moved to do something different, tongues can be wrong, false, twisted, wisdom and knowledge may not always be what we thought it to be, the world is no longer thought to be flat after all.
Darla knows some things, very little, and can prophecy or predict what she has understanding of, but it is limited.
But when Darla gets to heaven all will be revealed to her, she will have her eyes and her heart opened to all the wonderful things that she could not figure out here on earth. She will have a clearer picture of what God was trying to do when He took her through trials and tribulations and she did not know why.
When Darla was a young christian she spoke and acted like a young christian, she grew a little and the Word of God grew in her and she began to realize that she needed to become more of what the Word of God was and said.
Darla would read the Word and seek Godly council on it but sometimes she still couldn't fathom what God was trying to tell her, she could not wrap her brain around it. But one day she will stand before God and He will reveal His heart to her.
But for now while Darla is still on this earth she has faith, hope and love to keep her company, to walk with, but out of the three, the greatest one that she needs to practice in her life is love.
When I go back and interject my name into this chapter, this epiphany of love, I find myself lacking. Not because I want to but because I just do.
I want to walk in love. I want to talk in love. I want to act, respond and do out of love. I want God's love to flow through me onto others.
I can go through the word of God and find so many times where He tells us to love.
Be kind one to another. Ephesians 4:32
Be imitators of Christ. Walk in love as Christ also loved us. Ephesians 5:1-2
Beloved let us love one another, for love is of God and everyone that love is born of God and knows God. 1st John 4:7
Beloved if God so loved us we ought to love one another. 1st John 4:11
If someone says I love God and hates his brother he is a liar. Gods commandment is he who loves God must also love his brother. 1st John 4:20-21
Jesus said, "As the Father loved me, I have loved you. Abide, dwell, stay inside my love. If you keep my commandments you will dwell in my love, just as I have kept my Fathers commandments and dwell in His love. I tell you these things so that you will have my joy and that it would remain in you and your joy would be full. John 15:9-12
So this is love that you keep His commandments, that you show kindness to others and then you will know His joy, His peace, the perfect peace that passes all understanding.
Oh that everything I do be done in love.
I would want to walk and move and speak in His love so that when others look at me they no longer see Darla but they would be able to to say of me, "So this is love.!"
I double dog, no triple dog dare you to put your name in this chapter and let God speak to your heart and let everything that you do be done in love.
May the love of God abound in you dear friends, may the love of God abound in you.
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