Discovering what love is one day at a time
I am a WORD nerd. I love the Word of God. I also enjoy other words, their meanings, and how they make intangible things tangible. Our understanding can deepen if we look past the letters and into to the meanings, and then the context the words are settled into. Our understanding becomes even deeper, when we relate to it not only with our minds, but with our hearts, making a personal connection. When we compare and contrast ideas in our hearts to what is on the page, when we take what we have read and ask ourselves how can I relate, do I agree/disagree and why? If we really want to have better understanding, we have to be willing to look at our perspective, and ask ourselves if our perspective is wrong, off-base, or shadowed in any way…and are we willing to see things in a different light? We then have opportunity to expose ideas or attitudes that have lain dormant and covered by our character traits and habits… WHOA there….that exposes me…that makes me vulnerable…that takes down some walls…yep, it sure does, but most likely they are walls that we erect ourselves, thinking that we need them to provide us protection, when really they only imprison us in unhealthy thoughts, feelings and attitudes….So the question remains for you and I, What do I really want?
Honestly, we can all say that we can recognize that our thoughts produce feelings, our feelings create attitudes, and our attitudes create habits and our habits form character right? If you think about something that you love, chocolate cake, warm fire in the fireplace, jammies, and a cup of joe, surrounded by your family… hmmm On the other hand….something that produces fear…racing heartbeat and a icy dread….hmmm One of those things you will be drawn to the other you will avoid like the plague, and will set up parameters in your mind and heart to avoid at all costs, eh? Sometimes the decisions that we make are based on our feelings, attitudes and past habits, but that doesn’t always provide us with the best outcome unless our thoughts that led us there were based on truth, and full of love. The only place I know to find that…Truth and Love is in Jesus Christ. Have you ever experienced a pattern in your life that everywhere you go there you are, and the outcome is always the same, you are not satisfied with the way you behaved, in fact you are disgusted with yourself, and can’t believe that again you would choose to react in that way … Something led you there…in fact if you go backwards….there is a pattern in your behavior, a pattern in your attitude, a pattern in your feelings, and a pattern in your thoughts… Whose thoughts are they? Am I willing to try something new? “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts For as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven, and do not return there but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall My word that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. ‘For you shall go out with joy and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the LORD for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.’”Is 55:8-13 “Prepare the way of the Lord “Is 40:3 Thoughts are something that we give serious attention to; they are ideas, plans or opinions. They are even pictures that are formed in our minds. They are the process of our thinking, thoughts can build on one another, we can carefully think about the details of something. We give serious regard and respect even admiration or a protective interest to our thoughts. Our thoughts produce feelings. Feelings are awareness by our bodies of something in it or on it. Feelings are an emotional state or reaction; feelings are an appreciative or responsive awareness or recognition. Our feelings form attitudes. An attitude is the way we think and feel about something. It is a feeling or way of thinking that affects our behavior. It is a mental position or stance; a feeling or emotion toward a fact or a state. Our attitudes create habits. A habit is a usual way of behaving. It is a prevailing disposition or character of a person’s thought’s or feelings. It is a settled tendency, a force of habit it is like clothing that we wear, it is a manner of conducting ourselves. Habits form character. Character is built by the way someone thinks feels and decides to act. If I am reading the Bible, what is my purpose? Is it only to have head knowledge, or am I reading to really know the One who gave his life for me? Is it my desire to grow and mature in Christ, or am I satisfied with the mere appearance of religion? So knowing this, we have a choice… Do I listen to what the Word of God says and Prepare the way of the LORD? Do I prepare the way that I think feel and decide based on the authority and love of the Word of GOD, or do I branch out on my own, and stay where I am at. We are the only ones that can make that decision. God will not force us to accept His love for us. He loves us no matter what we choose. Yet we have to ask ourselves what do we really desire? And am I willing to chase after it with everything I have got? The Lord is the strength of my life. Psalm 27:1 Strength is: a place or means of safety or protection. It is a refuge, a stronghold. It is the ability to resist being moved or broken by a force. Strength is a quality that allows you to deal with problems in a determined and effective way. Strength is endurance. Hmm….that is one of my desires… That the LORD is the strength of my life. The unchanging nature of God is that He provides stability and peace for us. Yet we have to come to that place that we are less concerned about the thoughts that create tension for us…The thoughts that draw us away, the need for acceptance, status and even possessions, and more concerned with guarding the Truth that has been entrusted to us… Truly we have been given all things that pertain to godliness. If that Truth has become personal for us, the tension will not toss us, but we will stay firmly planted in the Truth. Truth is we are fully accepted in Christ, we need Him for everything, and honestly, pride and independence keep us from God. Humility and dependence on Him keep us abiding in His Spirit. Have you ever said”I was really having a difficult time, I had my Bible, but I just didn’t have the time to read it?” Honestly, that is just our way of saying “la-la-la-la” to God…selective hearing…one might say…. “For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. “ Hebrews 4:12 His Word is able to speak to the deepest part of our hearts, to the buried and closed off spots. It is able to cut to the core. It is able to walk through closed, locked and barricaded doors. It is able to separate away for us the thing or things that have caused us such separation and pain without Him. In the moment that we “see” Him, and “see” the Truth, we have the choice to receive His grace,the healing and freedom that He offers. Yet, if we are settled in our own way of thinking, if we really do not believe His love for us, if our thoughts about God are not the Truth about who He is, we will reject the freedom that His Spirit is leading us to, and cling to the lie that we have kept hidden in our hearts for so long. He will allow us to remain in our place of choice. If we decide to give the highest regard to the lie, to exalt it over the knowledge of God, He will allow us our king. What do we really desire? What do we really want? We get to choose.
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AuthorI have been married to my wonderful husband for 29 years. We have two young men ages 25 and 20.. This blog is somewhat of a journal and attempt for me to remind myself of my purpose and invite others to join me in keeping an eternal perspective as we move through each day. Archives
May 2023
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