Do Not Fear!

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Sarah

I am learning to LISTEN to the LORD’s promises instead of drowning them out with the voice of my fears. Last night the Lord spoke peace to my heart while reading Psalm 11. The following is a personal paraphrase taken from this Psalm.

“In the LORD I take refuge.
How can you say to my soul,
‘Flee like a bird to this fortress or that
because of your deep fears and the attacks from the enemy.
All these things that you know now — your living situation, your job, the comfort of Greeley, leading Bible study, going to Thirst, close friendships — if all these things of comfort are removed or destroyed, what will you do?’
How can you say this to me when the LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven; His eyes see, His eyelids test, the children of man! The LORD will punish the wicked, but the righteous shall see His face and dwell in His presence forever!”

How can we fear when we know and believe that God is on His throne in heaven and controls every detail of our lives? Instead of giving in to fears and Satan’s lies, LISTEN to the promises of our LORD!

“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14)
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)
“For He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills with good things.” (Psalm 107:9)
“Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.” (Psalm 34:9-10)
“And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

Categories: Fear/Anxiety, Spiritual Growth | Leave a comment

Call to Repentance

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Sarah

Recently I have just been realizing the sin of unwillingness in my heart. The attitude of the heart is revealed in both words and actions. It is in the heart that sin develops and grows. This morning as I journaled about my thoughts on this matter, I opened my Bible randomly (this is a quirk of mine – when I write, I flip my Bible open to use as a surface on my lap). I don’t usually look at where my Bible is open, but this morning after journaling I looked down and began reading in Jeremiah 3. God used this passage both to convict me and encourage me:

The LORD said to me in the days of King Josiah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the whore? And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to Me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore. Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree. Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the LORD.” (vs. 6-10)

In this passage, we see two “people”: Israel and Judah. They were both living in sin, committing adultery – seeking satisfaction, fulfillment, love, wholeness in things other than the LORD who will graciously provide us with all things. The way the story starts out makes you think that Judah is less guilty. At least Judah tried to keep serving the LORD; Israel was just blatantly sinful. But with this mindset, verse 11 comes as a shock: “Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.”

The point is that sin is sin. In fact, throughout the Bible the LORD speaks very strongly of appearing to be righteous (returning to the LORD in pretense) when we do have sin in our lives. He expects wholeheartedness. Sin is not to be taken lightly, and it is impossible to continue loving and serving Him with sin hidden in our hearts.

I have also been learning more about what it means to fear the LORD. Here in this passage we see that Judah did not fear the LORD. Why? Because they took their sin lightly. Instead of repenting of the sin in their lives and turning to the LORD in wholehearted worship and service, they tried to hide their sin and continue a “righteous” life. This does not work. A healthy fear of the LORD is understanding that He is a just God and has the power to eternally destroy us (and divorce us as He did with Israel – separating us from Him forever) because of our sin. But when we run to Him and find mercy and grace through the sacrifice of Jesus, we are saved from the punishment we deserve. As sinners who have been saved by a gracious God, we must return to Him and respond to Him knowing who He is.

“Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to You, for You are the LORD our God.” (vs. 22)

Categories: Spiritual Growth, Surrender/Repentance | 1 Comment

Blessings Amidst the Storms

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Sarah

You may find it crazy that two little sticks of gum are a strong enough encouragement to counter the overwhelming storms of this week. But the power of a kind word or deed is often surprising. This week has been a tough one for me (and it’s only Tuesday!), and I don’t know that I can even put it into words. One after another, little by little, things have been chipping away at my confidence and overwhelming me to the point that I am discouraged.

I did not have much courage when I went to school today. I felt drained and weary before the school day had even begun. When the principal asked me how I was, I almost started crying. But God provides little blessings, even on the most discouraging days. And little by little, these blessings provide enough encouragement to keep us going. Today I was dreading the 8th grade class. Their disrespect towards me and each other had reached its height yesterday, and today I knew I had to tighten up the rules (yet again).

Often times the things we worry about seem so much worse before they actually happen. Teaching 7th and 6th grade proved to be the perfect “distraction” for my mind to lift my spirits before I had to deal with the 8th graders. In both classes, I completely lost track of time—the students worked so well today and got a lot accomplished on their bridge building designs and preparation. Right before the 7th graders left, one student handed me a piece of gum as she passed some out to her other friends. So I stuck it in my pocket.

The principal came to observe me during the 6th grade class, and the 6th graders were so focused and had such good attitudes about adjusting their bridge designs to fit the requirements and the amount of wood they were given. Once again, I lost track of time and we had to quickly clean up before the bell rang. On her way out, one of the 6th graders also handed me a piece of gum as she passed a piece out to each student in the class. Again, I stuck it in my pocket.

The 8th graders responded much better to my discipline than I had imagined and were actually quite well-behaved. During their work-time, they were fairly focused and responsible with the tasks they needed to get done. Because they are all working at their own pace on this project, class is crazy for me—cutting wood that one group of students had measured while helping another student with the Pythagorean Theorem to help him get his drawn measurements right…

When the bell rang and all the students left the room, I took a deep breath, thankful that class was not as bad as I had imagined it would be. And when I stuck my hand in my pocket later to discover the two pieces of gum I had been given, I was reminded of the little blessings that were sprinkled throughout my afternoon. Though the little things don’t change the big problems of the world, they do have the power to bring a smile to my lips.

Categories: Perspective, Spiritual Growth | Leave a comment

The Lord’s Delight

Posted on January 18, 2010 by Sarah

“Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre!
He covers the heavens with clouds;
He prepares rain for the earth;
He makes grass grow on the hills.
He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry.
His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor His pleasure in the legs of a man,
but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.”
~Psalm 147:7-11

A new perspective on the character of God –
He delights in our dependence on Him!

Categories: Character of God, Spiritual Growth | Leave a comment

The Lord of our Fears

Posted on January 12, 2010 by Sarah

“So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?'” Matthew 14:29-31

We all have our fears – the wind and the waves that draw our attention away from Jesus. When we focus on our fears, we are unstable and will sink. Instead, we must fix our eyes on the Lord of our fears. This does not mean that we ignore our fears; they are there, but we must remember who Jesus is.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.” Psalm 62:5-7

When the focus is on the Lord, our fears are stilled, for He is our rock and refuge. Trusting in Him gives us strength and confidence.

Categories: Character of God, Fear/Anxiety, Spiritual Growth | Leave a comment

Dwelling Place

Posted on January 4, 2010 by Sarah

One thing I have desired in a teaching job is rest. What I mean is that in seeking a teaching job I wanted to find a place to call my own, a school to call my own, a class to call my own. In a sense, I wanted a “dwelling place,” somewhere to spend my time where I fit in and felt comfortable. While reading Psalm 132 tonight, it stood out to me that the LORD has made us His resting place, His own.

“For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place: This is My resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread. Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy.” (vs.13-16)

Seeking a permanent dwelling place of any kind here on earth would be a search in vain because nothing on earth is permanent. But to think that the LORD has chosen to dwell in us forever is such a contrast, for things with the LORD are permanent! Just as I enjoy investing myself in the group of students the Lord has given me to teach, He fully invests Himself in our lives, blessing us abundantly, satisfying our hearts, and clothing us with His salvation. With such security, what other response could we have except shouts of joy?

Categories: Peace/Contentment, Spiritual Growth | Leave a comment

I Will Give You a Heart of Flesh

Posted on December 5, 2009 by Sarah

Recently I have been struggling with anger in my heart because of relationships. Friends disappoint me and friends frustrate me. I feel like giving up on friendships. Even though our spiritual struggles are not physical (Ephesians 6:12), sometimes I can literally feel the struggle and I feel as if my soul and heart will be ripped in two. At moments like these, my head is telling me Biblical truths, but my heart is so rebellious and sinful. The only thing I know to do when I’m feeling this way is cry out to God to help me. I cannot change my heart and if left to myself I would destroy myself internally.

But the Lord is gracious and faithful. Tonight He brought to mind Ezekiel 36:25-26, which says, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” This is a comfort to me because it makes me realize that any heart change is done by the Lord’s power, not my own strength and will. It is a reminder that I am only cleansed through the blood of Jesus, and apart from Him I am so weak.

Another detail that stood out to me about this passage is the wording in verse 26. I’ve always thought it a bit strange that it says that He will remove the heart of stone from our flesh and give us a heart of flesh. A heart of stone does not belong in our flesh, even though we are sinful human beings on earth. But we are created in the image of God, and it is right for us to have a heart of flesh, just like it is right for us to be in relationship with Him. And when our hearts and our relationship with Him have been restored, then we are at peace.

Categories: Spiritual Growth, Surrender/Repentance | Leave a comment