Job

This morning my devotional reading was from the last chapter in Job.  God has just finished putting Job in his place, so to speak and Job now responds:

• You are God and you can do everything and no one can stop You.
• I spoke about things I didn't understand and I take back everything I said.
• I repent - and I will demonstrate this repentance by sitting in ashes.

I don't know about you, but I frequently speak about things I don't understand.  I have to take back alot of what I say too.

The next one is the "rub" - repentance.  Do I truly repent?  I think not, if I am doing this repeatedly, whether it is talking or any other action.

I saw this on Facebook yesterday: "The tongue is the tail of the heart..."  There was more, but this was the part that grabbed my attention.  It made me think of a wagging tongue like a literal tail. 

Every word and action comes straight from our heart.  We try to deny it, but the Word of God says it is so.

My tongue reveals my heart.  My tongue wags in the direction of my heart. 

Listen to your words...which way is your tongue wagging?  Is it godly, kind, helpful to those who hear?

Just found this on www.willowbirdbaking.com:

                                                                  THINK before you speak!

                                                     before you criticize, before your complain

                                                       before you share, before you proclaim

       

                                                                 T     -    is it true?

                                                                 H    -     is it helpful?

                                                                  I     -     is it inspiring?

                                                                 N    -     is it necessary?

                                                                 K    -     is it kind?

 

Let's apply God's Word to our hearts so we will have the tongue of the wise - uplifting, edifying, nourishing and good.

 

"...and in her tongue is the law of kindness."

 

 

BLESSINGS!

Virtue

Scripture instructs us to add to our faith - virtue. 

Here is the passage:

2Peter 1: 3-11
3According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 11For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Yes, there are more things to add, but we are to start with virtue. What is virtue? According to my WORD Thesaurus, it is...

• GOODNESS
• RIGHTEOUSNESS,
• HONESTY
• INTEGRITY
• MORALITY

I have a few blogs that I read from time to time and one I would like to recommend to you today is Raising Arrows.  What a title!  Scripture teaches in Psalms that children are from the Lord and are like arrows in the hand of a mighty man.  This young woman is raising her children - their "arrows" - and working to add all of the above to their lives.

The thing I love about this blog is her purpose statement:
                                            "...a gentle voice...a firm resolve...an abundant life"

These are biblical qualities necessary to raise arrows with purpose.  They are necessary to experience that abundant life.  The gentle voice goes right along with the Law of Kindness.  Even if you are not raising children - I'm not - you will be blessed and challenged in your walk with the Lord.

Check it out   -   www.raisingarrows.net

Blessings!

Raindrops on Roses...Whiskers on Kittens...

A few of my favorite things?  Nada.  But as I look at different blogs, or take a gander at Pinterest, or even just think about what I try to find time to do - these are a few of my favorite things...

My Family (of course!)

This is our entire crew this past Christmas - it was wonderful.

 

 

 

God's Word 

and

Quotes

 

I love to think on these things...

 

 

Singing - How do people who do not sing exist? 

 

 

Piano (and baby hands)

 

 

Recipes

Love looking at recipes, trying new recipes - cookbooks, aprons, anything in the kitchen.

 

 

 

Houses

This one is mine - I LOVE to look at houses, house plans, anything to do with houses.

 

 

Decorating/DIY Ideas

 

While not an exhaustive list, and not important to anyone but me - these are my thoughts today.

 

 







 



 

Surprise! Answered Prayer

I feel like Rhoda today.  Who's Rhoda?  She's the young woman (I always think of her as young) who went to answer the door, and finding Peter (who was supposed to be chained in prison), ran to tell the others.  Only one thing - she forgot to let him in!

Rhoda was surprised.  Why?  Weren't they asking God to deliver Peter?  Yes.   

Why are surprised when our prayers are answered?  It seems that when God answers my prayers, He does it quickly.  He often uses ways I never considered. 

I have had two prayers answered this week.  One I have only been asking for a week or so.  The other I received help the very next day!

The first answer I would not have known about if my friend hadn't called to tell me.  She was at work - I was at work.  She called and I said - can you call me on my office line?  She said, I don't have time - I just want to tell you one thing.
I said, "Tell me."  Our prayer was answered!  We were both rejoicing and praising God.  It encouraged my heart so.

The second was completely different.  This was a family matter, something that had kept me awake in the night - asking and asking and asking God to move, to intervene, to ACT.  The next morning - things began to happen, God was moving. It drove me to pray hard all morning. 

I ask again, why are we surprised when God answers, when He moves?  I know He CAN, but I'm not always sure He WILL.  I need to pray to know His will so I can pray in accordance with Him.

We still need God to move - things are still not as they should be.  But I'm praying with confidence, I'm seeking His will - I've joined with other believers to pray in unity.  I'm not going to surprised when He answers. 

Blessings!

A Pet Peeve

I probably have several pet peeves, but today - I am only going to mention one. 

I want to start by saying that anything with the title Christian on it - should be the best.  It should be clean, holy, as pure as possible.  Agreed?

Too much of the time we give our left-overs, our second best, our "least amount of effort required" not realizing that as a follower of Jesus Christ, everything...EVERTHING...we do is to bring glory to Him.   Everything I do is a reflection on Him, my family, my church - ME.

The pet peeve?

Yes, that's it.  Bad language, crude language, not the best language, definitely not holy or pure language. 

If my language brings impure images to mind, I can't say it's clean, or holy, or in any way pure.  I am fully convinced that as believers, even our language should be the best, the highest - the most godly language - even the most intelligent language that I can possibly use.  Nothing less can please or glorify my Savior.

Scripture says, "...do everything to the glory of God,"....and to be "holy as I am holy."  

The one word I would totally eliminate from the English language today is ... I can't say it... it's cr_ _.  I think you can fill in the blanks. I apologize for putting it into your mind. 

I used to never hear this word.  But now, I hear it at work, at church, in the stores, and even on otherwise godly, uplifting blogs.  Parents use it around their children, some preachers even use it from the pulpit.  I'm sorry, but I cannot imagine my Lord Jesus Christ using that word to describe anything, can you?

So there, I've aired it.  My word to stop using is "stink".  Why do I need a word to express my frustration, or my mistake, or my bad.  I'm going to start today to stop using any words that are not edifying in some way...the law of kindness after all is my goal.

Blessings!
Belinda

Unbelief vs. Belief

Today I thought, "I believe I'll start reading the book of Luke."  This is a great selection at Christmas time - right?

It's a familiar story - one we read often over a lifetime - but I love how we can always learn something new, how God's Word is always alive and active.

Luke begins by stating he was setting out to tell the story of Christ as an eyewitness, as one who knew Him intimately.  He begins to tell the story of the birth of John the Baptist.  Zechariah is ministering in the temple - offering incense - when the angel, Gabriel, appears with a message for him.  He and Elizabeth, who is barren, are well up in years - too old to bear children.  But Gabriel proceeds to tell Zechariah that he's been sent by God to tell him they will have a son - that they are to name him, John, and that God will use him to prepare the way of the Lord.

Zechariah's reponse?  "My wife and I are too old to bear children."   Unbelief.

How can I know this?  I know because Gabriel rebuked him for not believing and struck him dumb - telling him he would unable to speak until it all came to pass.  Zechariah's unbelief did not affect God's will or His plan - it affected Zechariah.

6 months later, Gabriel appeared to a young virgin named Mary - the cousin of Elizabeth.  God sent Gabriel to tell her she was highly favored and would bear a child who would be the Son of God.

Mary's response?  "Be it unto me as you have said."   Belief.

She asked for details, "How can this be - I have known no man."  She was given answers - "The Holy Spirit will overshadow you."

I've never before seen the two responses together - taken them into account, together - seeing the contrast.

How do we respond when God shows us something?  He may not send Gabriel - but He reveals Himself to us, shows us His will, speaks to us through His Word all the time.  Am I listening?  Am I responding in belief or unbelief?

When Mary went to see Elizabeth - she praised God for all He had done for her.  I think I might have felt He was doing it to me.  Mary believed and she was blessed!

Zechariah spent nine months in silence while God revealed His plan visibly to him. When Zechariah wrote, "His name is JOHN", he exercised belief.  He showed God he believed!  His tongue was loosed and he could once again speak - and he praised God.  He was blessed!

O, Father - open my eyes, let me hear You speaking to me through Your Word and help me to believe in obedience and praise!

Blessings!

Thanksgiving

You read a lot about the different seasons of life.  There are books galore to instruct, inform and supposedly help one through each one. I have found that I seem to "wake up" one day and realize - hey!  What happened?  How did I get here?

That's how I've felt for the past couple of months.  We live life every day - but we do not realize it is passing and we can never live it again. Suddenly, I find myself in a different "season".  I have grown older.  Jay has retired from full-time pastoring.  We are in a sort of limbo - not really belonging anywhere yet.

In this season of Thanksgiving - I am so thankful for our children.  How God has blessed us! They never fail to encourage, support and attempt to supply any need they perceive.  They put up with us and love us in spite of our flaws.  They remember the good and forget any bad.

And I am MOST thankful for my Savior and my God, who never leaves nor forsakes.  He guides and provides in His perfect timing.  He is worthy of my complete trust - He has never failed me. He uses every season to teach me and conform me more to His image.  I have learned when things are out of my control...He is always in control and He is GOOD.  Thanksgiving and Praise!!