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I’ve been busy. A GOOD kind of busy though!
Day 2:
Hebrews 3:7-19
That is why the Holy Spirit says,
“Today when you hear his voice,
don’t harden your hearts
as Israel did when they rebelled,
when they tested me in the wilderness.
There your ancestors tested and tried my patience,
even though they saw my miracles for forty years.
So I was angry with them, and I said,
‘Their hearts always turn away from me.
They refuse to do what I tell them.’
So in my anger I took an oath:
‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”
Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.
I loved this verse in scripture today. It’s a reminder to stay CLOSE to God, don’t wander. We can’t be here today, and then back away when we want to do what we want. It’s not a back and forth thing: what God wants today, what I want next week.
And it’s always better to follow God’s plan, than mine. I know nothing. He created the entire universe. I’m lucky to keep plants alive. Now really…who’s plans do I follow?
So, what am I to do in the meantime? Wait, and pursue God. Check!
Day 3
Learning to walk with God….
When He comes to a person, He reveals Himself and His activity. That revelation is always an invitation for individuals to adjust their lives to God. None of the people God encountered could remain the same afterward.
Whoah. That’s big.
I’m already on my way to putting things behind me: behaviors, attitudes, sins, thought patterns, reactions, etc.
Experiencing God used the example of George Muller. These are the things that helped him:
-He sincerely sought God’s direction
-He patiently waited on God until he had a word from Him
-He looked to the Holy Spirit to teach him through the Word. (Bible)
These are things that hindered him:
-Lacking honesty of heart (doing things for the wrong reasons maybe?)
-lacking uprightness before God (oh yes, sins, distractions, etc can hinder our relationship with God)
-Impatience to wait for God (poke poke…Dana? Are you listening?)
-Preferring the counsel of men over the Word of God (Poke….really now…we must keep this up? Follow ONLY Me.)
We are to use prayer, Bible study and reflection to find lasting peace about a proposed direction. We are not to follow just one, but several of them. The Holy Spirit will not tell us anything in contrast to what the Bible tells us. So we are to use them BOTH TOGETHER. I can’t follow my own heart or my own ideas or my own interpretations of what I believe the Bible or the Holy Spirit is telling me.
Same goes for the Open Door policy. An open door is NOT an invitation for us to go through it! God can open opportunities for us, but He isn’t going to use only that method to give us direction! If we go through that door without God’s guidance, without seeking Him through prayer and His Word, we are setting ourselves up for failure.
So where does that leave me?
Confused, probably, but that’s nothing new. My job RIGHT NOW is to make sure my heart is so intuned with God, that His thoughts are my thoughts. His ways are my ways. My will is ONLY His will. (And I’m a willful girl, so that could take some time 😉 )
I am to stay in His Word. Not just for this week, or the past few weeks, but every day. Not a fleeting doing-this-because-I-want-to-do-Mission-trips-and-if-I-read-my Bible-I’ll-be-closer-to God-so-He’ll-send-me. Oh I see people with that mentality all the time. Be good real fast, so He’ll pick ME! Do all the right things right NOW, so I’ll look good. But I want my heart to have a lasting kind of change.
So if that means I’ll never read another smutty romance novel, or watch rated R movies with the sex scenes, gossip on the phone for hours about so-and-so, or waste time on the internet talking about useless unimportant things like clothes and house decorating or whatever else they do…..ya know, I’m really alright with that. And I’m also alright with them reading this too. 😉 I’m done with unimportant things. I’m tired of living a halfway, lukewarm life.
THAT is what I’m supposed to do…concentrate on my all-the-way-in, on fire, READY heart.
And…..wait for Him.
Lord, you know my heart. You know my thoughts and my desires. Lord, I want to do only Your will, only Your plans. Speak clearly to me, please, I’m slow sometimes. In Jesus name…
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I’d like to share a little praise too. 😀
This week has been VERY stressful for me so far. We went to a friend of ours to do our taxes and at first it did NOT go well. Because I work at home, there are no taxes taken out of my income and every tax time, I have a small heart attack until I know the results. 2008 I worked more than usual (to get us in a better place financially), so I knew I would be claiming more than I ever have in my life!
So when she did our taxes, the first number had us owing $2700! EEK! NOT do-able! Not even a LITTLE bit! The next number was owing $1600! Better, but still not something we could do. We canNOT owe! That is just something that cannot happen. So I have had more than a few panic attacks this week. And, any dreams of upgrading my camera or lenses or Mike finally getting his 1984 truck into good working order was right out the window!
And I’ll admit, quite honestly, I was ready to lie. I was ready to NOT report some income there because I know the reality of our finances. Lord, I want Your will, but You gotta FIX this! My flesh is WEAK and so is my wallet!
So last night, I went over to her house, and we started completely over again from the beginning and went through it all together. She said we’ll do them with all the income FIRST and see what happens. If that doesn’t work and we still owe, we’ll start taking out income (yes….lying. Don’t judge.)
The last few days, I have prayed SO HARD and so diligently for the Lord to fix this, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! But when we got everything entered properly and the number popped up and it was the prettiest shade of GREEN you have EVER seen in your life, I bawled. My head was in my hands and I sobbed like a big baby. There was slobber and snot…it was not a good sight….
I couldn’t believe it. The Lord was faithful. Not that it was a test for Him to successfully pass in my favor, but He did it! And He did it for me! And we didn’t have to lie. So Mike’s truck will be repaired, and I’m in search for a Nikon D200 and a new lens.
And I am so grateful.