Category: Seeking God

Doing Life, Getting it together, Jesus, Matters of the Heart, Seeking God

Bare Necessities: Why an empty life is a full life

writergirljenn99

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God is all around. He is in all things, He is the maker of all things.  Whatever we are, have, or can do is only because of Him.  Sometimes it is easy to be so good at something, for us to be so natural at it that we often forget how we came to do the thing in the first place.

Lord, may I never forget it is all because of you.

Opportunities come, chances are there, every morning we get a fresh slate. I think a lot about how I am so thankful that He’s not up there keeping score.   (His patience won’t last forever, there will be a day when the trumpet sounds)

We were driving down the road and I looked across (what any other time of the year would look like plain ole woods) anyway I looked at it and peeking through the bare trees was a house that I never knew existed.  “How adorable.” I thought.  How is it that I have been driving this same road for 10 + year and I never noticed that. It didn’t just magically appear:  it has been there for no telling how long.

Normally the trees are full and lush. Now they are bare.  All that foliage has been striped away to reveal things not normally seen. They look so empty. But the empty is necessary.

Our lives are like that too you know.

Full. But yet EMPTY and we don’t even realize it until a tragedy Our lives are  Full of…

Social Media ( Keeping up with everyone else, and for what?)

Entertainment ( sitting down watching someone else live a fake life on T.V)

Tasks

Shopping

work work work

Driving kids to and from the latest activity they’ve been signed up for ( I agree while it’s good to keep them into something good it’s also easy for them to get priorities mixed up)

Taking care of that big house we had to have

Commitments that we never should have agreed to

The Lord was really talking to me in this moment. I knew it because it was such a powerful revelation and also because earlier this morning while getting ready for church I happened upon a video speaking about this very thing. About how we are so busy maybe busy doing all the right things but we are too busy to enjoy and see the Lord and the people He has entrusted us with.

I have been guilty of being entirely to busy doing all the wrong things. After I have finished said tasks there is little time or energy leftover for what matters most.

So you see,  we have always associated bareness with lack.  Today I see bareness in a hole new light. I see it in having time to see and know what matters.  

How many times have I passed over and neglected the important things because my life was so full.

Normally the Message version isn’t my go to. However I love how this is written.

Proverbs 13:7

“A pretentious, showy life is an empty life: a plain and simple life is a full life.”

Pretentious means attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc… than is actually possessed.

What if a bare life was really a full life?

What if we got alone with God, totally surrendered and ask Him to forgive us of our business? Forgive us for trying to know best. And ask Him to reveal to us what needs to go, What do I need to let go of or add?   Ask Him to shake us down like a mighty tree on a cold November day. Shake off what isn’t needed so I can make way for what is.

New blooms can’t come in the spring if the old, dead leaves are hanging on.

Growth in God’s will and plan can’t take root if we are busy with everything other than what He intended for our lives.

I love this verse so much, our Pastor actually spoke on it today.  God is really working on me today.  This post is if nothing else a message for myself to strip down to the bare necessities.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

A bare life will mean more time for love, family, friends, stewarding the things we need well.  Studying HIs word more. Deep meaning prayer times that render the enemy inafective in our lives. Having time to help someone in need rather than fullfilling our needs. Being more hands on with our kids, modeling for them that life is precious and love is what matters. When we are bogged down we are stressed and irrritable.  Any favors for others come at inconvientent times of tiredness and teach our kids that we really don’t have time. That joy in serving others is a burden rather than an honor.

Lord Jesus, please clear my mind. Empty my life of the chaso.  Show me what is not necessary in my life.  Reveal to me what needs to go so that I can carry out your good, pleasing and perfect will. Forgive me for being busy and patterning that same hustle and bustle for my kids. Redeem our lifestyle and habits by revealing truth to us.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Holy Spirit, Jesus, Matters of the Heart, Seeking God

The downfall of silent Christians. The truth about what it means to be a true disciple, love, sin, and truth.

writergirljenn99

A year ago Lauren Daigle was a name known only by “Christians.”  Secular people and circles alike had no clue who she was and probably had never heard of her.  Recently Lauren has made her way to the Ellen show and Jimmy Fallon, I have no idea where else, but what I do know is most of North America probably knows her now. Not for her funky, soul sounding Christian songs, no, unfortunately she is surrounded by much controversy at this moment.

In her interview she says and I quote “I don’t know… I can’t say one way or the other. I am not God….”

Image source: You Tube WWUTT

Now let’s just stop right there.

The lyrics below are not full version or in exact order. Stay with me…

In her song “You Say”  (she is singing to God)  “You say I am loved, you say I am strong, you say I am held…..”

In her song “Still Rolling Stones” she says The grave let go, the darkness should have known… Now that you saved me, I sing cause you gave me a song of revive so I put it on vinyl….  I was blinded but now I see, I heard about the power and now I believe.”

In her song “How Can It Be” she says…You plead my cause, you right my wrongs, you break my chains, you overcome…

These are just a few lyrics from some of her songs. Beautiful lyrics.  However, she obviously has read enough of the Bible to know the words to these lyrics. To know that Jesus saves, He gives sight to the blind, He overcame darkness.

Guess she’s never gotten to…

“Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.” Leviticus 18:22

By now you may be asking yourself, ANNND??? What’s it to you?  Who are you to judge?  You’re right. Who am I to judge?

If by speaking up about truthful, biblical  facts then call me Judge J.  For far to long now true Christians have been shrinking back and keeping quite for this very reason, fearful of being perceived as “judgmental” “self-righteous”  “hypocrites”  We constantly are reminded how it’s not our place to judge and that we are supposed to be loving and accepting.  That if we are “what a Christian is then I don’t want to be apart of that.”

We have stayed silent to extend peace.

My friends we have exchanged “tolerance” for “condoning”

While we can’t condone who people love and choose to bed, we can choose to speak up if point-blank asked.

True Christians, I can assure you love the person, but will tell with all the love, kindness and honestly that sin is sin, we strive to point to the truth of the gospel. I can also tell you that we know more than anyone how flawed we are.

We have to be sure to discern and fix our eyes on truth.  We can’t skirt around it because we love the person. thing, or fun, we have to love the truth.  And telling people the facts about scripture is a sure-fire way to show love.  Mostly though we have to walk out the scripture we quote.

As I was saying we have stood by in the name of keeping peace and slowly our rights are being stripped from us.  We have to stand up for the gospel and standing up for it means living by it and if we are living by it WE ARE SPEAKING THE TRUTH ABOUT THE LIVING WORD. Saying ” I am not sure if homosexuality is a sin” but telling me I am loved and free is contradictory.   There is no freedom in sins grasps.

Here’s some more truth.  If a person confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord and asks HIM into their hearts and confesses that they are a sinner in need of His saving, they are saved.  IF a person is truly saved the Holy Spirit dwells inside them and they are changed, they are a new creation, the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

That means that If you are homosexual, a thief, a murderer, an adulterer, then the desire to do those things should be going away.   You shouldn’t be able to continue to do that thing and not feel convicted.

So saying I believe in God and I love everyone, I go to church here and there, I read the Bible some, that’s simply not enough.  The Bible says that even the demons believe and tremble.

Or do you not know that wrong doers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolators nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor the drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the spirit of our God.”  1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Being a perfect angel is hard, ha impossible but we should have the desire to Love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and strength, we should have the desire to love others as ourself.    Yes love others, but point them to truth and that is love too. Him living inside of us changes us.

You want to know how to gauge your spiritual maturity?  The time it takes between your sin and your confession of your sin.  If it takes a while for you to confess you may wanna take a step back and reevaluate your life.

While we’re on the subject as I was writing this I had this thought, “why is homosexuality the one sin that creates the most controversy, why is it the one that when spoken out against true Christians fall under such scrutiny.

I feel like it’s this. Of all the sins homosexuality is the sin that is shoved down our throats that we should learn to be okay with, the one that we should understand that love is love and you can’t help who you love.  It’s the one sin that tries to overtake any place of life that was once normal. It’s on T.V. It’s in songs, it’s in commercials, it’s in advertising, it’s coming to a bathroom near you, it’s coming to a classroom to our kids, it has its own organization, it can sue the pants of you for disagreeing with it or the people who stand for it.  Painted up, decked all out to be called love.  Last time I checked there are not commercials and rallies for murder.  There aren’t things just openly out there enticing you to steal.   I know there are gangs and I know thieves lurk everywhere, but I think you get the jest of what I am saying.

I have read where many so-called Christians say ” we aren’t to judge, at least she got the gospel in front of millions and millions of people who may not ever hear the lyrics.  And they’re right but she also just left out a big truth in the Bible, she may have very well just let someone think it’s okay.  And that’s not okay.   So on one side of the coin, yes many heard that Jesus is Still Rolling Stones, and on the other they can bed a person of the same gender and all is well.

Bottom line is this, if we (I am talking to myself here as well) are going to stand on any one word of truth in the Bible, if we are to bring glory to God and be the salt and light then we must stand on every single word, Even the one that says to LOVE.  Again, I say speaking the truth is a way of love, truth leads to the saving of many and what could be more loving than that.

Doing Life, Jesus, Seeking God

How to Position Yourself to Receive the fullness of God

writergirljenn99

We have a dozen or more of the sweetest Muscovy ducks.  We also had four beautiful mallards, three of them died. Only one remains.    I truly believe God can teach us so much about love and life through these animals if we choose to pay attention.   If you’ve ever seen a muscovy you’d know they aren’t the most beautiful creatures, at least not in the face, their markings on their bodies are pretty but they have all this red garb on their face, especially the males.   Let me tell you though what they lack in looks they more than make up for in personality.

The mallard is right opposite, they are gorgeous!  Hunter green with the black, their heads so sleek. However they are straight up snobs. They walk around with arrogance, it’s as if they know they are all that when it comes to looks.

I can tell you that of the two the muscovy’s alway seem to be more lively and have fun.  They humbly carry on about their life, they will let the mallard in and eat and mingle it’s the mallard that wants no part of them.   When there were four of them they stuck together none of the four wanted to be around the muscovy’s so when three died I just knew the mallard would choose to be a part of them  out of loneliness.  I was wrong.  Because of this the mallard often missed out on feedings simply because it didn’t want to be with them.   I was giving out food but it wasn’t present to receive.  The muscovy’s will come running to you even an hour after they have eaten they just want to be with you they want to receive anything you may have.

We are just like the muscovy’s and mallards.

Some of us are humble, accepting, and living life. Some of us are arrogant, snobby, and to close minded.

Where my writing desk/ prayer time/ bible study happens is in front of a window.  Out of this window there is this one same group of moscovy’s that go exploring every morning.  I see them as they make their trek around, all lined up one after the other. Then they find a shady spot and just chill.  After a bit of chilling they peck around and then carry on back to the pond.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

Now, if I wasn’t in my spot looking out the window I would miss this entirely,   But because I am right here I get to see them.   If I missed them I’d see those little cuties at some point in the day maybe in passing, maybe they would be in the middle of the pond, maybe they would be clear around the other side of the pond.  I’d still see them but I wouldn’t have gotten that up close peek of them doing their daily thing had I not been right here.

Now think about this, God has something for us every single day. He is waiting to love on us to speak to us, to fill us up for the day.  He is ready to do His daily thing.   Are we positioning ourselves to receive it? Are we humbly, lovingly, expectantly putting ourselves in the place to receive His fullness?  Or are we just rushing through the day getting a sporadic glimpse here and there?   Are we being intentional in making Him first?

If I don’t position myself to intentionally seek Him, hear Him, love on Him and receive His deepest love I am missing out.  Yeah I’ll get glimpses of Him and His majesty throughout the day, but it won’t be that deep meaningful, spirit filled fill up I desperately need and want.

I have to be ready daily to receive it.  My day will be so much richer.

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

  1. Pick a spot and try to make an appointment at the same time each day to meet Him there.
  2. Leave your phone behind. Do not check any emails or social media until you have had this time with God. ( I done this one time and something that was posted on Facebook stole my attention and interupted what God had for me.)
  3. Start with a worship song.  Then prayer, then listen for Him, then read scripture. Listen a little more.

When you awake each day thank Him immediately for another day this will automatically put you in the right place to prepare to receive.