by Sharon O | Feb 10, 2010 | Uncategorized
Psalm 139: 23-24 (the message)
Investigate my life, O God, find everything about me; Cross-examine and test me, get a picture of what I am about; See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong – then guide me on the road to eternal life.
Another version:
Psalm 139: 23-24
Search me, Oh God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the everlasting path.
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Each of these versions speak of searching, knowing, testing and guiding.
The choice is ours every morning when we wake up.
We can ask God to show us what we need to correct.
What we need to improve on.
Even what we need to do, to become more trusting.
In order for me personally to say to God, please show me what needs to be changed.
I have to trust Him and be willing to listen.
I have to allow Him to examine my heart.
I have to be willing for Him to test me.
What if that test causes me pain?
Am I willing to have that pain, so that I can be given a stronger character through it?
I don’t believe we are given circumstances that we cannot handle.
We might not feel like we want to, or feel able, but HE knows our heart, because we have asked Him. He knows our intentions, because we have given Him permission, to get a picture of who we really are.
As age has come upon me, one thing that has been affected is my night driving. The weather makes me anxious, the darkness makes me anxious. My vision is not as good, and that makes me anxious. What has helped in this process is praying. As I am driving, no not with my eyes shut, I am praying for a calm heart, and for Him to remove my anxious thoughts.
If we ask Him, we must be willing to allow Him to lead and guide.
It is trust.
I pray that as we grow in our Christian walk, from our hearts cry, we will be willing to say.
Search me oh God.
See if there is any wrong way in me and remove it.
Make it SO clear to me that I will want it away; and not offend you.
Help me Lord, to have an open teachable heart, so you can guide me.
Psalm 143:8
Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you.
by Sharon O | Feb 9, 2010 | Uncategorized
Sunday when we were in church, the worship leader played a song.
It ministered to my heart, and I felt a longing to share more about what the Lord was showing me through it.
The chorus:
At the cross you beckon me,
Draw me gently to my knees,
And I’m lost for words, and so lost in love
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrender
The song has been playing in my head since I heard it.
I wondered what the word beckon meant.
you beckon me.
Dictionary.com said: to wave and/or nod to somebody with the intention to make the person come closer.
God beckons us, waves to us, ‘come here, come be with me’. Draw near to me.
His intention for us is to draw near and come closer.
I visualized the scene in the movie, at the foot of the cross where Mary and the ladies were sobbing and grieving. Remember the scene; can you go there with me? How the reality of His death, brought the reality of His Life to them. They were drawn near because of their love. He draws near to us, because of His love.
It is an awesome thought.
Have you ever been somewhere, maybe in a store or after a church service, and you see someone you know, and you wave to them to get their attention. As if to say, come here, I want to talk to you.
That is what this is saying; to wave/nod with the ‘intention’ to make the person come closer.
He is saying to us, “please come, I want to share with you”.
Draw me gently, closer to the one who is asking.
I wondered, in this context what did draw mean?
Dictionary.com said: to drag or pull
So He is beckoning us to come near, pulling our hearts, toward a new experience with Him, to fall on our knees in humble praise. Moving our hearts into a new reality, just as the women at the foot of the cross were moved.
I am lost for words…I think when we SEE Jesus, we have no words, only worship.
I am lost in love…that means focused. Nothing around me can distract me.
God is asking for relationship.
He is calling to us, waving to us, saying to us, “remember me?”
Just as we would do towards a friend who we really want to talk to.
It is an awesome thought to realize, the God of the universe cares enough for us, to ask us to draw near. He desires us to make the move, drawing us gently, not forcing us, but gently drawing us to our knees.
It is not accidental. Come near, He is waving us purposely to come close. Do you grasp it yet? It is relationship.
How blessed are we as people. To have a God who cares for us so deeply, to desire a relationship with us. (remember the hymn ‘what a friend we have in Jesus?)
He promises, if we draw near to Him, HE will draw near to us.
James 4: Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
The other part of the song.
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrender.
That means, He breaks our sinful nature softly ‘not in an abrupt’ way.
Sweetly broken, gives me a word picture of how someone would hold a baby. Sweetly nurturing.
We are broken in a gentle loving way. As we surrender our lives to Him, ‘wholly surrender’ that means ‘whole’, all parts of our our lives.
Only through the cross, and only through the Lord and His love can we do this.
Psalm 63:2,3,4
I have seen you in the sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
Psalm 108:1
My heart is confident in you, Oh God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!
I pray, that as we walk with the Lord, when he beckons us to come near, we will rush to His side, to spend time with Him.
Just as the women at the cross cried over the reality of His death, may we cry over the reality of the Life He gives to us?
This is my challenge today.
by Sharon O | Feb 7, 2010 | Uncategorized
It was in the middle of the morning. I was watching my niece’s baby, Lily. She is just barely 5 months old, very cute and sweet. She reminds me of a little teddy bear, only a bit busier. I had put a short sleeved shirt on her, the house was cool that day. Not sure why. Usually she moves her arms around in a very busy way, and is so happy to be playing. This day she held her hands together, or her arms across her chest, over each other. Sitting still and seeming to be unhappy. I noticed the chill in the air, and realized she might be cold. The dryer had clothes drying and some of her clothes, were in that load. I pulled them out and put on her a warm shirt with warm pants, changed her diaper and she was content. I moved that illustration to a heart issue. If our hearts are cold, we are less receptive to what is around us. We cross our arms around us, rather than reach out. We hold our hands, rather than the hands of others. It was a powerful illustration for me. She could not say to me; I am cold, yet she could tell me in other ways. Her level of comfort was in distress. How does our heart tell us we are in distress? We lose sleep. We grieve. We argue with others, or become impatient. We frustrate easily, over silly things. We become less friendly or nice to be around. When our hearts are in distress, our whole mannerism is off. Our character is off. We become less focused and free. Less enjoyable to be around. I thought this illustration was powerful. God often allows us to ‘feel’ something in order for us to attend to it. We may try to do works, to make us feel better, or we may try duties or chores, to make us feel better. Just as I attended to Lily’s physical needs, I could not take care of her immediate need. Until I realized what it was, she was cold. I found it amazing as soon as I put warm clothes on her, changed her diaper and put her to bed with two blankets, she slept for two hours. She was comfortable and no longer cold. Her distress level was minimized. It was an easy fix. I just had to pay attention to the need. Can we move this closer, as an example for our lives? How do we know when our heart is hurting or in distress? Wouldn’t it be good to pay attention, and realize, when we close off instead of reach out? Can we ask God to nudge us, when we begin to close off our feelings for others? Can we ask Him to show us, when we hold onto ourselves, instead of those around us? Just as Lily held her own hands, we hold our own. Maybe instead we should reach out for the hand of the ‘Saviour’, who brings order into our world. Then allow HIM to show us what is wrong in our heart. So the challenge today is, ‘what are you feeling?’ Is there something you are trying to push away? Wouldn’t it be easier to just ‘pull out of the dryer’ a warm shirt, acknowledge the distress, and start our day over? God wants us to pay attention to the needs of our hearts, and the hearts of those around us. If I had not paid attention to Lily’s body language, she might have been a sad, discomforted baby all day. I pray that as our eyes open, we listen to the needs of our hearts, and ask God to show us the heart needs of others. We might become truly blessed by what we experience, as we listen.
by Sharon O | Feb 6, 2010 | Uncategorized
The other day Larry and I were talking about building up a pantry. In the days ahead one never knows what calamity may take place. Having assorted canned goods, propane, water and even necessary paper products, might be a good thing. I was making a list of what would be easy to store and keep on a shelf. Then the idea came to me.
How often do we think about building up a ‘spiritual’ pantry? I know the idea is a new and different one. Think of it in this way. When we have a bad day, wouldn’t it be good to grab hold of a portion of peace, or grace, or patience, or kindness? What about forgiveness?
If we have an attitude of the heart that is spiritual and focused on Jesus. It would benefit us to have a storage place of the grace, that we might need for the day.
Matthew said ,”Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will be”.
So if the desires of our heart is to be prepared. Then we would need to instill in us, a storage place of the attributes of God. The Holy Spirit can fill us with HIS likeness. So when grief hits us we can pull out hope, when we become fearful, we can pull out peace, when we become angry, we can pull out forgiveness. It is all about choice and decision making. It is becomes a decision of our hearts.
Just as we would create and build a food pantry for perilous times. We must choose to build up within our spirit and our life, an abundant supply, of HIS likeness and attributes. For if we walk in the spirit we must show that, towards others and maybe even ourselves.
So the challenge for us today is this. What is our focus?
Jude 20,21,22: But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.
We are not promised safety in this life, but we are promised safety in the love of God.
How awesome of a thought is that. I hope this writing today has been a challenge to provoke a new thought. What are we storing up and becoming prepared for?
by Sharon O | Feb 5, 2010 | Uncategorized
Our pastor was sharing with us a few weeks ago, about the passage in 1 Kings 19:11-13;
Then he was told, “Go stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by.”
A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn’t to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn’t in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper.
When Elijah heard the quiet voice, he muffled his face with his great cloak, went to the mouth of the cave and stood there. A quiet voice asked, “So Elijah, now tell me, what are you doing here?”
I have been thinking about this for some time now.
God was asking Elijah, what are you doing? Why are you running from me and hiding?
There are several things to think about in these verses. First one, God knew where to find him. Second, God showed him the majesty and power, that only God can produce. Third, Elijah was humbled.
The other thought I have had rumbling in my mind, like a dryer full of warm clothes.
God whispered. God whispered with a soft quiet voice.
We have all heard about the horse whisperer book, and even maybe watched the movie. Then there was a baby whisperer book, dog whisperer book, and maybe more that I don’t know about. But the thought I am trying to share is this. In order to hear a whisper, one has to quiet their heart. The purpose of those books is to teach the reader how to quiet, a scared, and unruly behavior. I want to challenge us, today.
Do we quiet ourselves long enough, to listen to the whisper? Do we sit still long enough, to hear the softness of a voice of a mighty GOD, who could do much more than whisper? Do we turn the TV off and the computer, the radio and cell phone, to listen? We make time for other voices, why do we not make time for HIS?
It tells me that God knows, the only way we can change, from the inside. Is to be relational through a whisper. It speaks to me of a calming effect. An intimate question. A quiet voice only for us. When you think of a whisper, you think of something private. It is not for all to know or hear. My granddaughter came into the den one day, and said ‘grandma, I have a secret, let me tell you’. As she came close to whisper it in my ear. It was for me and her. She smiled and giggled, knowing I heard her secret, and I was safe enough to share it with her.
Is God doing that, within us?
In order for us to hear God’s whisper to us, we must be still, quiet, receptive and waiting.
A holy hush. Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God”. Be still. Know my power. God showed Elijah power, before he showed him peace. The calming effect of a whisper. I challenge us today, to brew a cup of tea, grab a piece of paper, and quiet our hearts.
Are you ready to listen to the still small voice of a whisper?
The paper is to write down what we hear.
“Be STILL and know that I am God”.
How awesome it is to know, He cares enough for us to reach us through a whisper.
