Have you ever really thought about what Jesus does all day sitting up there with God? Have you ever just wanted to be his "shadow" and know what goes on day to day with him? I do!
I have always pictured Jesus and God just sitting up there very quiet listening to prayers and watching people. For some reason I have never really imagined them talking, but Beth has opened my eyes to see that they sit around all day chatting it up about us! They are in constant conversation about what goes on in our lives. Not just the big details but the small ones as well. Is that not the neatest thing? A smile went across my face when she said that Jesus spends his day talking to God about me. I'm not sure why because I know he spends most of that time convincing God that I am just hardheaded and that the light bulb will go off soon enough. I guess it would be the thought of my name always being on their lips and that nothing in my life wasn't carefully planned out by Him. Even the bad is carefully planned out. Beth made the statement that our trials and tribulations are only approved (by God) IF they fit our purpose in life. Meaning every trouble we seem to find ourselves in was put there to help us grow and learn.
This can only bring me to reflect back on the many struggles I have had in my life and think hard about what I learned and how I grew as a person and Christian. I would love to say I only had to struggle with certain subjects once but as I have stated before, I'm hardheaded! I had to get my own dose of being made fun of in my younger days to realize words DO hurt and they leave scars if you aren't careful. I also have had many lessons in being humble and thankful for what I have. Those were never pretty but I learned a great deal!
Trials are never easy but now I may look at them in a different light. Instead of crying out asking God why he let this happen; I might start asking Him to show me how to learn from it.
I'm wondering what they are chatting about right now as I write this blog. Probably that I will have to be reminded the next time I have a crisis that there is a reason for it!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
The Heart of a Servant
In this week's video discussion we focused on the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth found in Luke 1:5-25. It's a story I'm sure you can't remember right off hand, but one that has a theme that has played out several times throughout the bible.
Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed desperately for years for a child but never was able to conceive. They were moving into their "golden years" when Zechariah was called to serve God in the tabernacle. As a priest, it was a very big deal to be able to serve God in the Temple and one did not pass this opportunity up. But in order for him to serve out his week, he had to leave Elizabeth behind and spend time preparing for this service.
The time came for Zechariah to go into the Temple and get the coals for the alter of incense and burn them. As he was standing there, an angel of the Lord appeared and told Zechariah that his wife would bear a child. Naturally, Zechariah was frightened at first and then he asked the angel how that could be. He explained that both he and his wife were very old and he just didn't believe it could happen. At this point in the story I am right there along with Zechariah. He and his wife I'm sure had prayed everyday for all these years for a child and each month came up empty handed.
How many times have we heard this similar story in the bible? A ton. It seems to be this reoccurring theme, just when you think your pray hasn't been heard, WHAM! its answered. If you are anything like me, there are things that you may have been praying for for awhile now and nothing seems to come of it. This story just reminds us that our prayers will be answered when God sees fit and He is wanting to show us his mircalous powers. And how much sweeter is an answered prayer when you have waited so long for it? It is a unexpected gift that brings joy to your life and you can without a doubt say "The Lord had done this for me!"
I hope there is not a prayer that you have given up on. I hope you are still praying for whatever it is that your are needing even if you have been praying about it for years. There is a particular area in my life that I have prayed about for what seems like forever but I have never given up hope that God will one day answer that prayer. I know He has big plans and I can't wait til He lets me in on the secrete!
Zechariah and Elizabeth had prayed desperately for years for a child but never was able to conceive. They were moving into their "golden years" when Zechariah was called to serve God in the tabernacle. As a priest, it was a very big deal to be able to serve God in the Temple and one did not pass this opportunity up. But in order for him to serve out his week, he had to leave Elizabeth behind and spend time preparing for this service.
The time came for Zechariah to go into the Temple and get the coals for the alter of incense and burn them. As he was standing there, an angel of the Lord appeared and told Zechariah that his wife would bear a child. Naturally, Zechariah was frightened at first and then he asked the angel how that could be. He explained that both he and his wife were very old and he just didn't believe it could happen. At this point in the story I am right there along with Zechariah. He and his wife I'm sure had prayed everyday for all these years for a child and each month came up empty handed.
How many times have we heard this similar story in the bible? A ton. It seems to be this reoccurring theme, just when you think your pray hasn't been heard, WHAM! its answered. If you are anything like me, there are things that you may have been praying for for awhile now and nothing seems to come of it. This story just reminds us that our prayers will be answered when God sees fit and He is wanting to show us his mircalous powers. And how much sweeter is an answered prayer when you have waited so long for it? It is a unexpected gift that brings joy to your life and you can without a doubt say "The Lord had done this for me!"
I hope there is not a prayer that you have given up on. I hope you are still praying for whatever it is that your are needing even if you have been praying about it for years. There is a particular area in my life that I have prayed about for what seems like forever but I have never given up hope that God will one day answer that prayer. I know He has big plans and I can't wait til He lets me in on the secrete!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Hearts in Fellowship
This week's focus was on the lampstand in the tabernacle. In Day 2 we had to draw the lampstand with the 7 shafts. Then we had label each shaft according to what Isaiah 11:1-2 called the sevenfold attitudes of the Spirit of the Lord. The Spirit of the Lord was placed in the middle shaft, then on the right side there was counsel, understanding, and wisdom. On the left side there was might, knowledge, and fear. Beth then poses the question, how has the Holy Spirit recently made Himself known in your life through one of these six attributes?
Understanding immediately jumped off my page. There has always been so much about God that I don't understand; his timing, why he allows bad things to happen, why other peoples dreams seem to fall in their laps and while I try to grasp at every straw, etc. I will worry myself to death trying to figure it all out. I want all the answers and explanations right now. Its human nature. Recently, though, I have had to take a step back and reevaluate my thinking. There will always be a lot I wouldn't understand about God and why he allows things to happen, but what I keep reminding myself is that God has a plan for me.
Lately, I have had a hard time sitting by watching other people flourish in their lives while I feel like I am just at a stand still. It seems everyone is getting exactly what they wanted out of life and I am wondering when my turn will be or if it will ever be. I have had to do a lot of knee time to get to a place where I'm ok with my life. God has continually drilled it into my head that I have to trust Him and understand that His timing for me isn't the same as everyone else's.
On the day's where I decide to throw myself a pity party, I go back to Jeremiah 29:11 and Matthew 6:33. There is no need to question God why my life seems to be at a stand still because He has plans for me and if I seek Him all my needs will be met. He knows my heart's dreams and desires and maybe some of those things won't come true, but I have to understand that those plans may not have been what He had in mind. My life is going just according to His plans. It has to be. It seems nothing I'm doing today was in my plans several years back and I can only say it is because God has lead me down this path.
So, which of these six attributes has the Holy Spirit made Himself known to you? You obviously don't have to post if you don't want to, but I want you to think about. Reflect on why that attribute stands out from the rest. I hope by being forced to think about, God will shed more light on the subject for you.
Understanding immediately jumped off my page. There has always been so much about God that I don't understand; his timing, why he allows bad things to happen, why other peoples dreams seem to fall in their laps and while I try to grasp at every straw, etc. I will worry myself to death trying to figure it all out. I want all the answers and explanations right now. Its human nature. Recently, though, I have had to take a step back and reevaluate my thinking. There will always be a lot I wouldn't understand about God and why he allows things to happen, but what I keep reminding myself is that God has a plan for me.
Lately, I have had a hard time sitting by watching other people flourish in their lives while I feel like I am just at a stand still. It seems everyone is getting exactly what they wanted out of life and I am wondering when my turn will be or if it will ever be. I have had to do a lot of knee time to get to a place where I'm ok with my life. God has continually drilled it into my head that I have to trust Him and understand that His timing for me isn't the same as everyone else's.
On the day's where I decide to throw myself a pity party, I go back to Jeremiah 29:11 and Matthew 6:33. There is no need to question God why my life seems to be at a stand still because He has plans for me and if I seek Him all my needs will be met. He knows my heart's dreams and desires and maybe some of those things won't come true, but I have to understand that those plans may not have been what He had in mind. My life is going just according to His plans. It has to be. It seems nothing I'm doing today was in my plans several years back and I can only say it is because God has lead me down this path.
So, which of these six attributes has the Holy Spirit made Himself known to you? You obviously don't have to post if you don't want to, but I want you to think about. Reflect on why that attribute stands out from the rest. I hope by being forced to think about, God will shed more light on the subject for you.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Hearts Approaching the Altar
This week was all about the tabernacle and its construction. If you have never read about it, I encourage you to go to Exodus and read it. It is pretty amazing when you break everything down and what it means and how it relates to Christ and our relationship with him.
That's mainly what I will be talking about because I LOVE reading the Old Testament and how it sets us up for the coming of Christ in the New Testament.
So on to the tabernacle...
God had very specific plans for the tabernacle; there was not a detail left out. He told how wide, long, and how high the walls need to be. What they were to be made out of and gave specific instructions on how the alter would be built. It wasn't really those details that got to me. What got to me was the way it was laid out with all the people camped out outside of it. What you've got when everything is exactly the way it is supposed to be is a big rectangular shape in the center, 4 different tribes at the north, south, east, and west sides, with the number of people being about even on the north and south sides. The west camp being smaller than the east camp, which is the largest group. So if you draw a rectangle and then draw lines out from that rectangle that represents each tribe; 2 lines being about equal, a short one and then a longer line than the rest, what do you get? A cross! It gets even better. At the front gate of the tabernacle sits the tribe of Judah. If you wanted to go the the alter to make a sacrifice for you sins, you had to pass thru the tribe of Judah. The significance...another name for Jesus is The Lion of the tribe of Judah!
Ok, I hope I haven't lost any of you. I'm a little excited about this exercise and the realization of what God was constructing. It was a very early example of what was yet to come. God was in the center of this tabernacle. The only way for them to get to Him was to walk through Judah's camp (i.e. Jesus) and they all made up the lines of the cross. Is that not the craziest thing? The symbolism just knocked my socks off. I wish I could say I was so smart that I figured this out of my own, but sadly I didn't. Beth drew the mental picture for us on the video and I of course had to physically draw it. I'm a visual person and the the moment I did the light bulb went off. It is the neatest thing I have ever seen and had to think about! Every time God looked down on His people he saw a cross walking through the desert!
Obviously, they had no idea what it looked like from the sky nor would they ever understand what was really going on but are you not just fascinated with the Old Testament and its build up to Christ's life? I used to think the Old Testament was boring and always preferred the New Testament but now I see it with a new light.
I'm sorry this week isn't really a deep heart wrenching blog but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share what I learned. Each week always adds to the week before so hopefully by the end of this you will see the significance of this.
That's mainly what I will be talking about because I LOVE reading the Old Testament and how it sets us up for the coming of Christ in the New Testament.
So on to the tabernacle...
God had very specific plans for the tabernacle; there was not a detail left out. He told how wide, long, and how high the walls need to be. What they were to be made out of and gave specific instructions on how the alter would be built. It wasn't really those details that got to me. What got to me was the way it was laid out with all the people camped out outside of it. What you've got when everything is exactly the way it is supposed to be is a big rectangular shape in the center, 4 different tribes at the north, south, east, and west sides, with the number of people being about even on the north and south sides. The west camp being smaller than the east camp, which is the largest group. So if you draw a rectangle and then draw lines out from that rectangle that represents each tribe; 2 lines being about equal, a short one and then a longer line than the rest, what do you get? A cross! It gets even better. At the front gate of the tabernacle sits the tribe of Judah. If you wanted to go the the alter to make a sacrifice for you sins, you had to pass thru the tribe of Judah. The significance...another name for Jesus is The Lion of the tribe of Judah!
Ok, I hope I haven't lost any of you. I'm a little excited about this exercise and the realization of what God was constructing. It was a very early example of what was yet to come. God was in the center of this tabernacle. The only way for them to get to Him was to walk through Judah's camp (i.e. Jesus) and they all made up the lines of the cross. Is that not the craziest thing? The symbolism just knocked my socks off. I wish I could say I was so smart that I figured this out of my own, but sadly I didn't. Beth drew the mental picture for us on the video and I of course had to physically draw it. I'm a visual person and the the moment I did the light bulb went off. It is the neatest thing I have ever seen and had to think about! Every time God looked down on His people he saw a cross walking through the desert!
Obviously, they had no idea what it looked like from the sky nor would they ever understand what was really going on but are you not just fascinated with the Old Testament and its build up to Christ's life? I used to think the Old Testament was boring and always preferred the New Testament but now I see it with a new light.
I'm sorry this week isn't really a deep heart wrenching blog but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share what I learned. Each week always adds to the week before so hopefully by the end of this you will see the significance of this.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Prepared Hearts
After watching the video that goes along with this study, I decided that I would talk about what was discuss there.
Normally, Beth does a recap of the week and focuses on one subject and digs deeper. This week however, she picked up where day 5 ended. We went over chapters 32-34, but one specific chapter caught my eye. It was chapter 33 and more specifically, verses 12-23.
If I have ever felt like someone in the bible, it was then. Moses was having, what I call, a freak out moment. He was finally just letting all his emotions out. He wanted to know what God had in store for them the rest of the way and if God was going to be there. Now, Moses knew God said he was there for him but he just wasn't getting it. Moses needed God in the flesh with him so he would feel better and feel more in control.
Oh how there are days that I wish God would swoop down and become human so he can hold my hand and tell me all the things he has in store for me. Beth says that is our "with" need; we want God's presence. I know I'm not the only one that would find life so much easier if God would just make himself known in the flesh. No matter how much I pray, I want Him there holding my hand every time I go into the doctor's office to get an update on the baby. Whispering in my ear that He has everything under control. I know this is when my faith gets tested. Just as Moses, I know God has great plans for me and I wish He would share those plans with me, but I have to have faith that He knows what he is doing and that even though he isn't there in the flesh, He is still holding my hand.
I'm not sure how people without faith get through things. I'm not sure how I would have gotten through the past couple of weeks without Him assuring me everything will be fine. I'm not sure how I would get through this pregnancy without Him; let alone raising a child. My mom says she always prays for my brother and me, and I never could get why she would pray for us when it was just an ordinary day. Well, even though my child isn't here yet, I am constantly praying for God to watch over it and keep it safe. It gives me reassurance that even though God can't show himself, He is still there.
That is what we always need to remember. He wouldn't send us out into the desert with no food and no idea what our next move will be if He didn't have everything under control and our best interest at heart. We have to trust that He will guide us if we will only pick up and follow.
Normally, Beth does a recap of the week and focuses on one subject and digs deeper. This week however, she picked up where day 5 ended. We went over chapters 32-34, but one specific chapter caught my eye. It was chapter 33 and more specifically, verses 12-23.
If I have ever felt like someone in the bible, it was then. Moses was having, what I call, a freak out moment. He was finally just letting all his emotions out. He wanted to know what God had in store for them the rest of the way and if God was going to be there. Now, Moses knew God said he was there for him but he just wasn't getting it. Moses needed God in the flesh with him so he would feel better and feel more in control.
Oh how there are days that I wish God would swoop down and become human so he can hold my hand and tell me all the things he has in store for me. Beth says that is our "with" need; we want God's presence. I know I'm not the only one that would find life so much easier if God would just make himself known in the flesh. No matter how much I pray, I want Him there holding my hand every time I go into the doctor's office to get an update on the baby. Whispering in my ear that He has everything under control. I know this is when my faith gets tested. Just as Moses, I know God has great plans for me and I wish He would share those plans with me, but I have to have faith that He knows what he is doing and that even though he isn't there in the flesh, He is still holding my hand.
I'm not sure how people without faith get through things. I'm not sure how I would have gotten through the past couple of weeks without Him assuring me everything will be fine. I'm not sure how I would get through this pregnancy without Him; let alone raising a child. My mom says she always prays for my brother and me, and I never could get why she would pray for us when it was just an ordinary day. Well, even though my child isn't here yet, I am constantly praying for God to watch over it and keep it safe. It gives me reassurance that even though God can't show himself, He is still there.
That is what we always need to remember. He wouldn't send us out into the desert with no food and no idea what our next move will be if He didn't have everything under control and our best interest at heart. We have to trust that He will guide us if we will only pick up and follow.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
