God Nuggets Blog: Spiritual insights that encourage and heal

Showing posts with label encouragement. Show all posts

Feb 21, 2010

Disapproval

I used to be a real people pleaser. At almost 50, I'm largely over that, but a residue remains. When it rears its ugly head, I have a weapon now that gives me great comfort. It's Romans 8:33-34. The last part of v. 33 and the first part of v.34 read:

"It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns?"

In other words, God, the Creator of the universe, justifies me--declares me innocent and acceptable by the blood of Christ. So what is the opinion of a mere mortal? That opinion is a puff of steam--dust--even if I am the one condemning myself! God accepts me; who is he that condemns!

So when someone disapproves of me, I say over and over to myself, "God is the one who justifies. Who is he that condemns? ... God is the one who justifies. Who is he that condemns?" And it comforts me. Then, satisfied with my Creator's approval, I turn the situation over to Him.

Blessings,

Come visit us at warrenfamilylife.com

Aug 2, 2009

Kicking the fear habit

How can this little rat be so happy sitting on that bomb? Perhaps he's become willing for the worst to happen?!

That's my technique for overcoming fear. It sounds unpleasant, but I promise if you try it, it will take the power out of any fear you are experiencing. The thinking that gives fear it's power is, If that happens it will be terrible, horrible, beyond my ability to bear! So the first step is to imagine the worst-case scenario, and go there with God in your mind. What would you do? What might God do? Would you survive? If not, what then?

Then comes the next step in the process. Believe for the best to happen! What is the best possible outcome? Imagine it and set your sights on it. This is not presuming upon God, but simply developing a positive outlook. You will be happier if you're believing for the best.

Prepare for the worst; believe for the best, and you will find peace! Promise.

Blessings,

Come visit us at warrenfamilylife.com
IMAGE: Blue Sky Disney

Jun 20, 2009

You are safe!

I used to be terrified of losing my salvation. Years ago, God brought me to a total peace about it, for which I am quite grateful. I was reminded of this fear as I read Hebrews 6:4-9 this morning. I've always found it scary, but today, some things became apparent to me that I had never seen before. In a casual reading of the text it seems as if the author is talking about someone who is saved, who has committed her life to Christ, and then is lost. But I believe it is a warning, not to believers, but to unbelievers disguised in the Church. I have inserted a few notes of my own in [brackets] below:

Hebrews 6:4-9

⁴It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened [understood], who have tasted [but not eaten] the heavenly gift, who have shared in [but not received] the Holy Spirit, ⁵who have tasted [but not eaten] the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, ⁶if they fall away [see1 John 2:19 below], to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

⁷Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful [fruit of salvation] to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. ⁸But land that produces thorns and thistles [fruit of the lost] is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.

⁹Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case—things that accompany salvation. [In other words, "We wrote down this warning but it is not for you (believers) but for those among you who do not have salvation.]

1 John 2:19

¹⁹They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

It became abundantly clear to me that Hebrews 6:4-9 is a warning to the lost, not the saved. Being enlightened is not being saved. Tasting is not eating. If a starving man only tastes food he will die. These are people who know the Truth, but never received it and never bore fruit.

If you are wavering or exploring the faith, this is not about you either. This text refers to someone who fully understands all the wonders of salvation and then lives their entire life in unbelief.

I realize this text is controversial, however, a well-accepted rule of hermeneutics is to interpret the unclear in light of the clear. What could be more clear than the following verse:

John 10:27-28

²⁷My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

In the original Greek, "no one" is emphatic. It means "no one, in no way, never!" "No one" includes ourselves. Be at peace for you are safe.

Blessings,

Come visit us at warrenfamilylife.com
Image: Neo-Gen Mixed Martial Arts

May 31, 2009

God sings

When I'm awake He reveals His love because I need it. When I'm asleep, safe in His arms, He sings over me for His own pleasure (Psalm 42:8; Job 35:10; Zephaniah 3:17).

Blessings,

Come visit us at warrenfamilylife.com

PHOTO: 3 Day Sleep Training

P.S. Heartfelt thanks to Khris of "From the Heart" for the Lemonade Attitude of Gratitude Award! Also, thank you Mikes of "Your Daily Word" for the One Lovely Blog award. I am honored to be chosen. God bless you both! (See Honorable Mentions in sidebar.)

May 17, 2009

Face to Face

When we search for God, He is not somewhere far away. When we look for him in the distance we look right past Him! Once we have placed our faith in Christ, He crosses the chasm that once separated us. Now He is right here, face to face with us, closer than the air around us -- even inside us! Thank you, Papa, for talking with us "face to face as a man talks with his friend" (Exodus 33:11).

Blessings,

Come visit us at warrenfamilylife.com

PHOTO: Harvard University Gazette

May 3, 2009

Stop and Steep

Did you know a simple tea bag can help you find deeper passion in your spiritual life? Spiritual passion grows when we learn to commune with God and nurture our love relationship with Him. One of the best ways to nurture that relationship is through the practice of meditation. Meditation is simple to do: If you can brew a cup of tea, you can learn to do it.

The first step is to STOP. Forge some time out of your busyness. It's good to start small -- just five or ten minutes in the beginning. Find somewhere you can be quiet and undistracted for a few minutes -- even a bathroom or closet will do.

Just sit down, open your Bible to a favorite verse, and act like a tea bag: When you find a verse that warms your soul, jump in and STEEP! That's the second step: Be still, and let that Scripture soak into your being like a tea bag steeping in hot water. Look at the verse; then close your eyes and go over the words in your mind . . . then look at the verse again and steep some more . . . then look, then steep again, and so on. Don't hurry. Often the less you read, the better. Set aside ambition and focus on relationship.

The Word of God is living and active, so when you meditate on it you're actually steeping in the presence of the Lord. Allow yourself to sense His presence. When we quiet our souls and open our hearts in this way, God reveals Himself. That's just the way He chooses to work. As the water of the Word seeps in, the flavor of Christ flows out from within us.

Dwight Hill of The Navigators shares, "Over the days, weeks, and months, the appetite for this quiet connection with God will grow to the point where we do not want to live without it. No longer will we feel we are wasting our time. When this happens, the inner chaos, noise, anger, and frustration will begin to give way to inner peace and tranquility."

As you practice this art of communing with God, it's best to find verses that make you feel safe and loved by Him. We need ALL of Scripture, but there is a time and place for everything. The primary purpose in this exercise is to build your love relationship with God, so select verses that help you do that. 1 John 4:19 says "we love because He first loved us." That means the more secure we are in God's infinite love for us, the more our own hearts overflow with love for Him and others. It is in intimate communion with Him that God fans the flame of passion with the breath of His Spirit. And as the light of His love burns in us, our hearts drive us out into the world to be His hands and feet and heart and voice to the lost and the hurting, for His glory.

So let us
Throw back our heads and run with the passion
Through the fields of forgiveness and grace
We carry the eternal flame . . .
We are glowing in the dark . . .
Children of the burning heart

~ Steven Curtis Chapman, "Children of the Burning Heart"

As you brew your next cup of tea, remember to STOP AND STEEP!

Blessings,

Come visit us at warrenfamilylife.com

Apr 20, 2009

Finding Joy

I live with chronic illness and struggle with depression, so joy is something that has often eluded me. However, I have found it very practical to focus instead on ENJOYING the present moment, squeezing as much happiness as I can out of the good in it.

Whether it is a cool breeze, a kind word, or a job well done, the good is always there, for God goes about lighting candles in the dark places of our lives. If we look for those blessings in certainty that we will find them our lives are richer, and we begin to walk in joy. The rich and poor alike can marvel at the stars! Ecclesiastes 8:15 reminds us that there is nothing better.

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Mar 10, 2009

Good, Pleasing and Perfect

Do you ever get a sinking feeling when you think about God's will? Do you assume it will be contrary to your own?

The Bible says God's will is "good, pleasing and perfect"? (Romans 12:2 b) That means good, pleasing and perfect not just to God, but to us.

Clearly, there are times when things don't go our way, that is, in our human understanding. But if we could be where God is, and see what He sees, I truly believe that we would choose for ourselves even the worst trials that come into our lives. That's because their purpose is big ... huge ... grander than we could imagine! (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Yet it is more important to realize God's tender heart. Everything that He wants us to do, everything that comes our way, has first gone through his filter of love. He absolutely desires what is good, pleasing and perfect to come about in our lives. (Psalm 27:13-14) There is nothing to fear about God's will.

www.warrenfamilylife.com

Mar 6, 2009

Cease Striving

As a first-born overachiever, I constantly fight the temptation to rely on myself rather than God. I think I've got it beat, and somehow that old self-sufficiency sneaks in the back door and there I am again, back at Galatians 3:3: "Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" Sigh.

Often it is as subtle as the subconscious idea that (fill in the blank) is up to me.

This morning, God brought to light a Scripture that I had overlooked (Hebrews 13:21). It says that by Christ's power, God Himself "works in you and accomplishes that which is pleasing in His sight" (emphasis mine)." It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy" (Romans 9:16). For the righteous shall live by faith (Romans 1:17). Even that is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8).

The result of that faith is fruit: the good things that God wants us to do (John 15:5). For "apart from Me you can do nothing" (emphasis mine again). Nothing ... not even breathe.

Therefore:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Relax in the Lord. "For for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work" (Hebrews 4:10).

Blessings,

Come visit us at warrenfamilylife.com

Dec 31, 2008

My Faulty, Puny Image of God

Is our God big enough? Theologically, yes. But because I cannot wrap my human mind around Infinity, my image of God is, frankly, marred. That's where faith comes in because it is in the Unseen, the unfathomable.

My faulty, puny image of God causes me much unnecessary anxiety. I am presently faced with a choice about an upcoming trip. Most people would be envious of our destination. It dropped into our laps practically for free. We have been scrimping and saving in bits and pieces for over a year to have spending money. If I miss it, I will be throwing away a rare opportunity and deeply disappointing the person who loves me most.

But I have a chronic illness that for some reason is aggravated by travel. Thanks to the limitations of traveling via frequent flier miles, this trip has a rigorous start: 3 days and 4 cities to get there. My gut tells me I'm gonna bonk. My husband tells me I'm setting myself up to fail. My God tells me that if I miss Plan A, he has Plan B ready and waiting, full of favor and grace and perhaps even more glorious than Plan A.

Please allow me to wax theological for just a moment: We can never get around God's will. But He has what I believe theologians call a "perfect" will and a "permissive" will: Plan A and Plan B.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve missed Plan A. They sinned and ruined it. Plan A was for them to populate the earth with good, kind people who had never fallen and to set up God's glorious Kingdom full of light and love right on this planet. That didn't happen.

But in my humble opinion, Plan B, set up from before the beginning of time, is even more glorious. God became flesh and dwelt among us. He died a criminal's death for you and me: By one beautiful, horrific sacrifice Christ atoned for all men, for all sin, for all time. God's Son was raised again to sit at the right hand of God and will one day come again to defeat evil once and for all. He will rule with power and set up that perfect Kingdom on a New Earth where pain and loneliness and decay and suffering are demolished forever. God has revealed, and will continue to demonstrate to a watching universe who would never have known otherwise, His infinite love and kindness by the death, resurrection, and ascension of His Son.

OK, theology lesson over.

Now back to my trip -- and any decision you may be facing. Many years ago, I took a trip that made me so sick that I could have died. Other trips have left me confined to bed for months. Some have had no ill effect at all. (You can understand why I feel like I'm playing Russian Roulette here. Don't want to miss God's will on this one!)

What if I had discerned and chosen Plan A and not traveled at the wrong time on the wrong trip that made me so sick. What if I had never made some of the other choices that led to the development of my illness. I could have had a much easier life. But I never would have had the depth of compassion and understanding that I do now. I wouldn't have the ability to look across a room and see the pain that someone was hiding inside. I wouldn't have insight and hope to offer others who have suffered. There is no way I would know God in the intimate tender way that He has revealed Himself to me, and I certainly wouldn't be writing this blog. I believe I would be of much less use to God in general.

So maybe Plan B is Plan A after all. Maybe we're not big enough to screw up God's will for our lives. Maybe it all does turn out for the best even if it doesn't feel like it in the moment. Maybe the world is safe because God has it all under control. Maybe I am safe. Maybe, even if the worst happens, I'll be glad about it one day.

Maybe God is big enough. And maybe you and I can both dare to believe it!

With love,

Come visit us at warrenfamilylife.com
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Nov 26, 2008

Holiday Blessing for You

Thank you for sharing the precious gift of your time in reading these thoughts and ramblings that are often hard come by but rarely wasted. This blog has grown quite a bit in its short existence, and it is only thanks to you my friend. =)

I have no way to show my appreciation; instead let me share this simple paraphrase of an ancient blessing, especially for you this Thanksgiving:

May the Holy Spirit bless you, watch you, guard, and keep you;

May our our Papa God make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious, kind, merciful to you, giving favor to you in all you do.

And may our glorious Brother-Lord Jesus Christ lift up His approving countenance upon you and give you peace tranquility of heart and life continually (Numbers 6).

Much love,

www.warrenfamilylife.com

Nov 14, 2008

My True Angel Story

My angel story happened back when I was a baby Christian. I got saved reading my Bible hiding in the bathroom. My only "fellowship" was a little Christian radio.

My fledgling faith was so fragile. Every time I'd read something difficult or confusing, I'd complain, "God! I can't believe in You if this is true! Please explain it to me." And graciously, after two or three days, an answer would always come.

This time I was crying out about poor Daniel who had to wait 21 days for his prayer to be answered because of spiritual warfare. I was discouraged. "God! Why even bother praying if our requests are hindered in this manner! Are prayers so futile?!"

Two to three days later I was playing softball and I'm no athlete. I worked for a very small bank that wanted to join a league. Literally every employee was on the team to make enough players.

Somehow I hit a ball and made it to first base. The person behind me hit another good one, and I sprinted for second as fast as I could go. An instant before I would have touched the base, the second baseman suddenly bent down right in front of me to catch a grounder.

I remember the fall in slow motion. I tripped over him and, at first, went up in the air about six feet. Slowly I turned in the air, feet swinging up toward the sky; head moving down toward the ground. Then gravity took over and I dove toward the dirt face-first. I hit hard and slid on my face, chest and arms two to three feet--on gravel. Immediately, knew I was hurt. So did every one else because the game stopped and they all came running.

Suddenly I sat up, examined myself, and realized I was OK. In fact, not just OK. I was completely unscathed. Not one scratch or bruise. Not even a sore muscle. Everyone was incredulous. "Someone upstairs is looking out for you," they said.

I knew an angel had "caught me."

Then God's still small voice spoke to my heart. He said, "Yes, sometimes it takes 21 days to answer a prayer. But I can also be there in an instant, when you don't even ask."

With thanks to Hazel for inspiring me to write this story ...

www.warrenfamilylife.com

If you have your own true angel story, post it to http://plaidflannelangels.wordpress.com/ !

Oct 30, 2008

I Live in Candlelight

God is always lighting candles in the dark places of our lives. Sometimes I feel as if I am consumed in darkness. But in truth, my Papa quietly moves through the darkness sparking little blessings of light. Look! They are all around you.

"I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. [That's today!]" (Psalm 27:13 NASB).

Please don't stare into the darkness ... behold the candles! There is evil. There is good. Gaze into the good things. They are always there. It may feel very dark, but we live in candlelight.

"All the darkness in the world cannot hide the light of one small candle."
~ Author unknown,
shared lovingly by my dear mother

www .w a rrenfamilylife.com

Oct 12, 2008

Search for Significance

You are good.

You are the Beloved of God.

(Only because of the blood of Christ.)

But still -- your identity is changed forever.

As a reminder of this, it has helped me to put to memory a tip from Search for Significance, by Robert McGee:

"I am deeply loved,
completely forgiven,
fully pleasing,
totally accepted by God,
and absolutely complete in Christ."

Stop for a moment, and read that out loud if you are able. I wrote these words on index cards and put one on my bathroom mirror, another on my dashboard, and another in my wallet. (This is random, but you might put the same words with your mate's name on the mirror as well. It is easy to forget that our mates are creatures of infinite value and not our enemies!)

If you don't know in your gut (not just because "the Bible tells me so") but in your heart, emotions, and every fiber of your being that God loves you completely, then it is essential to keep the truth running through your mind until it sinks down into your heart ... for Satan is the "father of lies." If we keep our minds saturated with Truth, the evil one cannot touch us.

It is not enough to read this little series of blogs once and have victory over self esteem. We must have the weapons of truth secure in the arsenal of our minds--truth that we can access in those times when life changes in an instant.

The Search for Significance workbook is excellent for just that. As you work through the exercises, your self-esteem gradually becomes solidified, because it is based on the truth and the truth, my friend, will set you free.