Join Me On the Journey

It’s been a busy month. I’ve been helping my husband in the field and also planning for the first “official” year of homeschooling.

I have missed posting here and I’m so excited to begin posting again regularly.

Thank you for continuing to check in with me and there will be fresh material for you to read very soon!

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Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 John 5:1-5 (KJV)

I used to read this passage of scripture and say to myself, “OK. Starting today, things are going to be different! I’m going to start keeping the commandments. I’m going to read my Bible every day. I’m going to pray for an hour a day. I’m going to start going to church every Sunday. I’m going to be nice to people.” On and on the promised went; again and again, I would fail.

Then, someone pointed something out to me. Most Christians suffer from spiritual dyslexia. When they come across a passage like this, they read the words, but jumble the meaning.

“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments…” When you read that, it’s hard not to think that loving God means that you have to make sure that you keep the commandments of God. But, the next phrase says, “and His commandments are not grievous.”

Well, I don’t know about you, but I found that trying to keep the commandments of God was grievous. It was just plain impossible. There are so many commandments! You start out with the 10 Commandments. Then, there are all kinds of dietary laws, there are ceremonial laws, there are festivals to keep. There are literally hundreds, perhaps thousands of “commandments” in the Bible.

And I thought, “Well, some of those laws don’t apply to me because I’m a New Testament believer. Jesus came and fulfilled the Old Testament law for me and now I don’t have to.” But, I was left with this vague ambiguity; a question. “What was God saying here? Exactly which commandments am I supposed to be keeping?”

Then, I began to read those verses again. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God…”

They key here is not “keeping the commandments.” They key is “when we love God.”

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

When you read this verse with and emphasis on “when we love God” and not on “and keep his commandments” you go a long way to discovering a truth that will change your spiritual life. When you begin to focus on loving God…following His commandments is a natural bi-product of that love.

Think about it.

When you love someone…I mean really love someone, don’t you naturally go out of your way to please that person? When you were first dating your husband, didn’t you wear clothes that you knew he would like? Didn’t you go out of your way to learn things about him and do things that you knew would make him feel special? Weren’t there things that you changed because you knew it would make him happy…and those things weren’t grievous. You did those things, made those changes, because you loved him and you wanted to make him feel special and loved.

What if you treated God the same way? What if you learned what He liked and began changing your life to accommodate Him? What if you fell so in love with God that you just naturally began to follow His commandments? Wouldn’t that be so much easier?

So, how do you “fall in love” with God?

It’s a legitimate question, I think. After all, God can’t “talk” with you. Remember those hours and hours you spent just gazing into your hubby’s eyes (or on the phone) talking about nothing and everything? Well, that just doesn’t happen with God. We cannot, on this side of Heaven, just sit and have a two-way conversation with God.

But, we can pray. We can read the Bible…God’s love letter to us.

Most of us have forgotten all about writing letters. We call; we text message; we email; we IM. But, not so long ago, calling on the phone was cost prohibitive; computers were unheard of. “Back in the old days” people kept in touch via “snail mail.”

Many of our grandparents “fell in love” via letters. A letter can be an intimate revelation of the heart of the person who wrote it.

The Bible is our love letter from God. In it, He pours out His heart and soul. He tells all about his family; all about His chosen people; all about His plans for those people. He tells of His heartache when His people rejected Him. He tells about how He sent His Son to redeem YOU to Him because He loved you so much.

Today, take a moment to sit down and thank God for His love. Take a moment to examine your thoughts about the Bible. Begin thinking of the Bible as a way to get to know God intimately.

Instead of focusing on what you have to do to love God, why not focus on loving God instead? If you fall in love with God, I promise, you will keep the commandments more fully by accident than you were ever able to do on purpose.

(This is a reprint of a post from June 19th.)

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Harvest is in full swing here in North Dakota, and my Dear Husband is down a man, so I’m called to the field.

God Bless You on Your Journey!

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There are levels of transgressions, aren’t there?

Failures come in different ways, different sizes, different levels.

There are little mistakes: spilling a glass of milk at a meal, stepping accidentally on someone’s foot, dropping a plate to shatter on the floor.

There are bigger infractions: habitually yelling at your child, failing to keep your word, the practice of nagging.

Then, there are the overwhelming violations of trust: infidelity, a defiant child, physical or verbal abuse.

When someone offends us, whether a big or small offense, we are commanded to forgive.

Jesus talked of forgiveness often and Paul summed up forgiveness for us in this wonderful passage:

…be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Eph 4:32 (KJV)

Forgive has many meanings:

1. to grant pardon for or remission of (an offense, debt, etc.); absolve.
2. to give up all claim on account of; remit (a debt, obligation, etc.).
3. to grant pardon to (a person).
4. to cease to feel resentment against: to forgive one’s enemies.
5. to cancel an indebtedness or liability of: to forgive the interest owed on a loan.

But, how to forgive—on a simple, day-to-day level—is much more difficult, isn’t it?

To forgive others means we give up the right to punish them. We no longer hold the offenses against them.

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Rom 12:19-21 (KJV)

The first step to forgiveness is acknowledgment. Forgiveness implies change and you cannot change what you do not acknowledge. If you are the offender, it involves confession and asking forgiveness. If you have been offended, and the other person has asked forgiveness, you need to accept that apology.

It can be difficult to forgive when the guilty party has apologized, but what about when you have been offended and the guilty party has not asked forgiveness?

When that happens, you need to take it to God. The Bible does not differentiate between any of these situations. God didn’t say, “Forgive one another after the offending party has asked your forgiveness” or “Forgive when you feel those mushy forgiveness feelings rise up.” It just says, “Forgive!” It’s a commandment.

And, God doesn’t command something that is not possible, for that would be unjust.

Joyce Meyer is fond of saying, “Sometimes you have to do what’s right, even if it doesn’t feel right.” Forgiving someone can be one of those things that doesn’t feel right, but must be done.

Is there someone that you need to forgive today? Pray and search your heart. You can decide to forgive that person. You can overcome your desire to be right. God is faithful.

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Imagine you’re staying in a beautiful cabin high in the Rocky Mountains.

Early one morning, you wake up before everyone else. It’s right before dawn, and you decide to go downstairs and watch the sunrise.

You pad downstairs in your thick, fuzzy pink robe and slippers, make yourself a cup of hot chocolate, and then settle into a comfy overstuffed chair.

Facing east is a huge plate glass window. You watch the eastern sky as it begins to turn a watery green-blue.

Gradually, the horizon begins to turn shades of pink and red and apricot. Soon, shafts of yellow and orange begin to radiate upward and then, the sun breaks over the horizon in all its splendor. As the sun rises, you notice a glint off the window in the corner. Curious, you walk over to investigate.

During the night, someone has shot a beebee through the window and there is a little hole. Now the window must be replaced.

It doesn’t matter whether you drive a beebee throught it or whether you drive your Hummer through it, that window is just as broken. The entire window has to be replaced.

That is how sin is in our lives. James 2:10-11 says:

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. (KJV)

It’s human nature to categorize sin.

“I must be okay because I’ve never murdered anyone.”

“After all, it’s not like I’m sleeping with him. “

And yet, Christ addressed these very issue during His ministry.

You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! Matt 5:21-22a (NLT)

You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matt 5:27-28 (NLT)

The next time you catch yourself justifying your sin, stop and think about that plate glass window.

Christ lived a sinless life and then died on the cross; a sacrifice for our sin. Instead of trying to justify sin, confess it and then thank Him for dying…so you don’t have to.

Praise God for His love for us!

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This blog has been such an awesome experience for me. I have met some wonderful people here. I have learned a lot about myself. It has helped me to become more consistent because I have come to feel that there are people out there who are waiting for me to write something to encourage and exhort them.

And, I have been struggling to find my voice.

I would love to be an Andrew Wommack or a Joyce Meyer. But, I have come to realize that’s just not me. Andrew Wommack and Joyce Meyer are teachers. They have spent decades studying the Word and they expound the word and “tell it like it is.” They have an urgent message and they aren’t afraid to share it. They don’t mince words.

And, I have received—and continue to receive—a great deal from them because I am not easily offended. It’s my personality to be able to easily see what someone is saying, regardless of how they say it…even it it’s in a less than sensitive way.

Many people cannot receive from them because they are stymied by the delivery of the words and cannot hear the message.

On the other hand, I am an encourager. Rom 12:6-8 says:

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. (NLT)

If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging.

That is what I need to focus on. That is where I need to find my voice. And, I am still looking.

I have read and learned so much in my time on this earth. I do read and learn so much every week. But, my gift is more along the line of a John Maxwell or a Joel Osteen.

I need to learn to flow in the gift that God gave me. I don’t think that I have been envying other’s gift, I just think that it has taken me this long to learn that I am an encourager, not a teacher.

Father, help me to find my way!

God Bless You on Your Journey!

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When I was a young Christian, I was taught you were supposed to confess your sin…that it was necessary to confess every sin in order for it to be forgiven. I understood that if I didn’t take the time to ask God for forgiveness for each sin I committed, that sin wouldn’t be forgiven until it was confessed.

It was incredibly discouraging because I came to realize that there is no way to actually do that.

Considering what sin is and how ubiquitous it is in my life, I wouldn’t get anything done all day except confessing sin! So, I quickly gave that idea up and just began hoping that somehow, it wasn’t true.

However, it effected my relationship with God. I believed deep in my heart that God didn’t want to hear from me because I had so much sin in my life I had failed to confess.

I didn’t shed that belief until I was in my thirties. It was then that I came to realize that it just didn’t make sense.

If you had to confess sin for it to be forgiven, that would mean that a Christian who died instantly in a car crash while they were driving one mile and hour over the speed limit would go to hell (assuming they had been diligent all their life and confessed all their sin up until that time).

After all, the Bible teaches us to obey the laws of the land and if they died instantly, they wouldn’t have time to confess that they had been speeding.

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, [obey the laws of the land] for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. Rom 13:1-2 NIV

Plus, what about the stuff that one doesn’t realize as sin? I know that as I mature in Christ, things that I once did without any thought, I know as sin today.

Plus, what about the stuff I know I’m supposed to do, but don’t?

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. James 4:17 (KJV)

I finally realized that God forgave my sin over 2000 years ago when Christ died for me on the cross. Technically, all the sin I ever did or will do is future-tense sin and it is already forgiven. My “confessing” wasn’t doing anything to help God forgive me more than He’s already forgiven me.

I’m so thankful for that realization. It doesn’t give me license to sin, it gives me freedom to come before God knowing that when He looks as me, He sees my righteous and holy spirit. He sees what Jesus did, not what I did. Praise God Forevermore!

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Perhaps you were shocked a bit by the title. What do I mean by that?

Paul said in his first letter to the Christians at Corinth,

“Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive. I Cor. 10:23 (NIV)

Because you have a Savior Who died for all your sin—even the ones you are going to commit—all things are permissible to you. The sin you commit after you accept Christ’s atonement is not held against you because Christ took all your sin upon His body 2000 years ago. This is part of the grace that God extends toward you when you accept Christ.

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? Rom. 6:1 (NIV)

Of course not, Paul says, and so do you, I’ll guess. As you begin to mature and you begin to meditate on just what Christ did for you on the cross, your desire to sin will lessen. You will draw closer to Him and the tendency to sin will decrease.

And this is how we may discern [daily, by experience] that we are coming to know Him [to perceive, recognize, understand, and become better acquainted with Him]: if we keep (bear in mind, observe, practice) His teachings (precepts, commandments). I John 2:3 (Amplified)

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. Gal. 6:16 (KJV)

When you’re a Christian, you can sin just as much as you want to…but you’ll want to less and less as you draw closer to Him.

(This is my post from last week at Faith Lifts.)

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Do you ever think about the fact that God experiences grief?

There are numerous references to God experiencing grief starting in Genesis. Here are just a few.

The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. Gen 6:6

How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert! Psa 78:40

In the New Testament, we find Jesus was grieved over men’s actions many times.

After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. Mark 3:5

Grief is defined as “pain inflicted because of loss.” We all know what greif feels like. If you can feel grief, God can feel grief. After all, you are created in His image.

Stop to think what it was like for God. He created the heaven and the earth and planted a lush garden for Adam and Eve to live in. The climate was perfect. There was an unlimited food supply. All their needs were met. And, to top it off, God Himself came down to talk with them in the cool of the evening.

We don’t know how long they were in the garden before they sinned, but when they did, just imagine the grief that God must have felt.

And today, when we despise the gift of His Son, how much must that grieve him?

This post was recently posted at Faith Lifts and I have re-posted it here for your convenience.

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A few months ago during my quiet time, I was reading in Deuteronomy:

There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor. Deut. 33:26 (NLT)

I have heard it said when you see “Israel” in the Bible, you can substitute your own name. So, I did. “There is no one like the God of Tamera. He rides across the heavens to help me, across the skies in majestic splendor.”

Now, I must admit, it was a little awkward for me to read the scripture in that way. I felt a little self-conscious…and that surprised me.

I had thought I was “further along” than that. (Doesn’t that sound smug? ) I thought I had received a revelation that God truly loved me; not because of anything I had done, but because He is love. I thought I knew that He would ride across the heavens in majestic splendor…just to help me. My discomfort in reading that scripture with those personalized words showed me that I wasn’t as convinced as I thought I was about God’s love for me.

Isn’t it interesting when we’re faced with the reality that we’re not as mature in our walk with God as we think we are?

So, as was my habit, I wrote down the scripture that caught my eye. That day however, I took it a step further. I began meditating on the scripture throughout my day.

According to Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, meditation is:

the practice of reflection or contemplation. The word meditation or its verb form, to meditate, is found mainly in the Old Testament. The Hebrew words behind this concept mean “to murmur, “a murmuring,” “sighing,” or “moaning.”

Meditation is something few of us utilize in our Christian walk. I suppose we don’t really understand it, but there is nothing mysterious or complicated about meditation. It’s really nothing more than reciting a scripture repeatedly; allowing that scripture to speak to you. It’s simply a matter of forming the habit of meditating.

I love this quote from the entry on meditation in Nelson’s Bible Dictionary, “Meditation is a lost art for many Christians, but the practice needs to be cultivated again.” (from , Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

There are several scriptures in the Bible that mention meditation. It is likely that many of these scriptures are familiar to you.

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Josh 1:8 (KJV)

I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. Psa 77:12 (NIV)

I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. Psa 119:99 (NIV)

There are other words used in the scripture to describe the concept of meditation: consider, think on (or think about), study.

My favorite passage about meditation and the benefits of meditation is found in Psalm chapter one. (I love it in the Amplified Bible because it’s so down to earth.)

BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather. But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night. And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity]. Psa 1:1-3 (Amplified)

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psa 1:1-3 (KJV) (Gotta love the King James!)

I must be honest in saying that my practice of meditation has been haphazard. One thing that I have come to understand is that God desires consistency and so, I believe, to see the benefit of meditation, I must be consistent with it. So, I am purposing to begin meditating on God’s word on a regular basis.

How do we practice meditation? Here are a couple of suggestions

• Ask God what He would like you to work on in your life. Look up scripture that speaks to that area of your life and write those verses down in longhand. (There’s something about writing scripture out in longhand that helps you to absorb it better.) Take moments throughout your day to slowly read each scripture and think about its meaning.
• If you read a passage of scripture in your quiet time, write down the verse or passage that catch your heart.  Think about this throughout the day. What was it that caught your attention?
• Choose a passage from the Bible to memorize.  As you memorize the passage, consider each phrase.  Why do you think God used that particular word or phrase?

Have any of you successfully integrated meditation into your spiritual life?  Do you have suggestions you could bless us with?

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