Most of us can say we look like our mother and/or father - that we have some of the same features and personality types as our siblings; I can look at certain parts of me and see resemblances to my mother, and then other parts of me resemble my daddy. I have the same type of humor and personality as my daddy, and even enjoy the same things in life that he did. But the question today isn't about how much we resemble those we have earthly relationships with - it's about how much do we resemble our Heavenly Father - the Lord...
The following is an excerpt from The Queen and I: It was part of my Bible study from the book of Esther - It's Tough Being a Woman.
"When, because of your faith, your life too becomes perceptibly different; when your reactions are quite opposite to what the situation seems to call for and your activities can no longer be explained in terms of your personality; that is when your neighborhood will sit up and take notice. In the eyes of the world, it is not your relationship with Jesus Christ that counts; it is our resemblance to Him".
Now as believers, our first and foremost goal is to have a deep and loving relationship with the Lord - it's our everything! But how well do each of us reflect our relationship to him, so that those who don't know him, see HIM in us, therefore making them have the desire to know Him?
This really opened my eyes - how much do I look like Jesus? Do I react the way He would? Do I treat others as He does? Do I see others through His eyes?
My prayer today is that my relationship with the Lord will grow deeper, and that the more time I spend with Him in prayer and in His word - the more I'll resemble him.
Showing posts with label relationships. Show all posts
Showing posts with label relationships. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
"The Shack"
A few months ago, a very dear friend called me to ask if I'd read this new book, "The Shack". It is the story of a man named Mack, whose youngest daughter was brutally murdered at a shack, high up in the mountains of Oregon.
One day after a few years had passed, he found a note in his mailbox that said to meet him at the shack. It was signed, "Papa", which is what his wife Nan, called God.
After wrestling in his angry and hurt mind and heart if God communicated in such a way; if it was someone's attempt at some cruel joke, or even an attempt by the murderer of his child to lure him back to that horrid place, he decided to go back to the shack, where he did find God.
I don't want to go any further, as my friend did, by telling me some of the story line, because it made me a little leary of reading a book, because of my own preconceived ideas about God.
I read this book last night, and it has had an impact on me that has left me speechless in as far as how to describe that impact. For those of you who know me, you know that for me to be speechless is near impossible! :)
I urge you to get a copy of this book and let your heart be renewed in the knowing of God and his infinite love for each one of us.
One day after a few years had passed, he found a note in his mailbox that said to meet him at the shack. It was signed, "Papa", which is what his wife Nan, called God.
After wrestling in his angry and hurt mind and heart if God communicated in such a way; if it was someone's attempt at some cruel joke, or even an attempt by the murderer of his child to lure him back to that horrid place, he decided to go back to the shack, where he did find God.
I don't want to go any further, as my friend did, by telling me some of the story line, because it made me a little leary of reading a book, because of my own preconceived ideas about God.
I read this book last night, and it has had an impact on me that has left me speechless in as far as how to describe that impact. For those of you who know me, you know that for me to be speechless is near impossible! :)
I urge you to get a copy of this book and let your heart be renewed in the knowing of God and his infinite love for each one of us.
Janelle
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Abandonment to Jesus
One more day until we celebrate Thanksgiving, and I invite each of you to look at your own life, and as the old hymn goes, "Count your blessings, name them one by one...Count your blessings, see what God has done....Count your blessings; name them one by one....Count your many blessings, see what God has done".
In Jeremiah 9: 17 - 22, God is telling Jeremiah to bring out the wailing women; those who were professional mourners, and for them to teach their daughters to wail, as the condition of the people and the land were like death had swept over them.
I mainly want to focus on the last verses of this chapter, verses 23-26. In my Bible, I had studied these verses before, and have written "Abandonment to Jesus" in the margin.
"This is what the Lord says: 'Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom, or the strong man boast of his strength, or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight", declares the Lord.
'The days are coming", declares the Lord, 'when I will punish all those who are circumsised only in the flesh - Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the desert in distant places. For all these nations are really uncircumsised and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumsised in their heart".
The point I think the Lord is trying to make here is found in verse 24 where he says, "but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me". There is a vast difference in knowing about God and knowing God. The children of God knew about God, and had even had their males circumcised in accordance to Jewish law. The law of circumcision was to be an outward symbol of an inner commitment to the Lord. He tells us that the days are coming when he will punish those who are circumcised only in the flesh.
To bring that to our modern day - those who are not believers; who have not circumcised their hearts by having faith in Jesus as their Lord, will be punished by living all throughout eternity lost and separated from him.
John 17 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible - it is the intercession of Jesus, for those who believe in him. Verse 3 says, "Now this is eternal life: that they might know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent".
It doesn't matter how much one knows about God, or how "religious" one is - those things are good, but they are not what saves. God created us to have a relationship with us - he wants us to know him intimately, as a loving Father, who like it says in verse 24, "I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness".
He wants us to abandon all that we boast of, and lose ourselves in Him. He is the only source of life - the other things that we try to satisfy ourselves with are all counterfeits. They temporarily fill the void, but then as with all other things of the earth - they fade away, and then the search for another new "thing" begins, and it always brings one back to the place of emptiness; always in search of something. The something, the ONLY thing that can fill that void is Jesus.
In Jeremiah 9: 17 - 22, God is telling Jeremiah to bring out the wailing women; those who were professional mourners, and for them to teach their daughters to wail, as the condition of the people and the land were like death had swept over them.
I mainly want to focus on the last verses of this chapter, verses 23-26. In my Bible, I had studied these verses before, and have written "Abandonment to Jesus" in the margin.
"This is what the Lord says: 'Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom, or the strong man boast of his strength, or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight", declares the Lord.
'The days are coming", declares the Lord, 'when I will punish all those who are circumsised only in the flesh - Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the desert in distant places. For all these nations are really uncircumsised and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumsised in their heart".
The point I think the Lord is trying to make here is found in verse 24 where he says, "but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me". There is a vast difference in knowing about God and knowing God. The children of God knew about God, and had even had their males circumcised in accordance to Jewish law. The law of circumcision was to be an outward symbol of an inner commitment to the Lord. He tells us that the days are coming when he will punish those who are circumcised only in the flesh.
To bring that to our modern day - those who are not believers; who have not circumcised their hearts by having faith in Jesus as their Lord, will be punished by living all throughout eternity lost and separated from him.
John 17 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible - it is the intercession of Jesus, for those who believe in him. Verse 3 says, "Now this is eternal life: that they might know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent".
It doesn't matter how much one knows about God, or how "religious" one is - those things are good, but they are not what saves. God created us to have a relationship with us - he wants us to know him intimately, as a loving Father, who like it says in verse 24, "I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness".
He wants us to abandon all that we boast of, and lose ourselves in Him. He is the only source of life - the other things that we try to satisfy ourselves with are all counterfeits. They temporarily fill the void, but then as with all other things of the earth - they fade away, and then the search for another new "thing" begins, and it always brings one back to the place of emptiness; always in search of something. The something, the ONLY thing that can fill that void is Jesus.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Knowing About God vs. Knowing God
I didn't understand at first why the Lord wanted me to do a study in Jeremiah and post it on my blog, but with each day, I'm seeing more and more as to why He directed me to do so.
I'm still reeling from the links I blogged late yesterday afternoon, showing how violent radicals are on the attack towards Christians, for standing up for what they believe in. I hear from the far left liberals that everyone should be free to express themselves, then usually find that it means you're free to express your beliefs until they disagree with their views. Sounds like a double standard to me.
Back to Jeremiah 7: 9-13, where the Lord is exposing the sin and hypocrisy of his people who want to walk the fence and to "pick and choose" which laws of God and which words of God they want to apply in their lives. It just does NOT work that way, folks. If you are a believer, then you believe the entire Bible, and know that God put every word in there for our benefit. PERIOD.
7:9-13 - "Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe" - safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching, says the Lord. Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dewlling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer".
Are you aware that Baal was the god whom children were sacrificed to? Are you aware that parents would throw their living children into furnaces, in offerings to Baal? And while they were commiting these murders, they still called themselves the children of God, and would still go to the temple to "worship" the one True God, Jehovah. Do you see how this is no different than what we witness in our modern society today? No, we don't hear of people throwing thier children into furnaces, but we do hear of children who have been aborted, being thrown into garbage cans, while they are still living after the attempts to abort them. We do have many who call themselves believers who fully support abortion, and I call it what it is - MURDER.
We hear more and more how children have been murdered by their own parents, who have gone over the edge. There are so many of these things happening over the past few years, that it would take me days to list them all.
The Lord tells us in today's passage, that "I've been watching". Don't think for a minute that anything escapes his knowing; and what He sees happening in our worldwide society is greiving his Holy Spirit.
The end of today's passage shows us how the Lord plead over and over again with his people to listen to him, but they didn't. He tried calling out to them to save them, but they didn't answer.
I'm sure if you've ever been to church and the altar call is given at the end of the service, opening the invitation to receive Christ as Lord, that at some point or another, you have felt God calling to you- pulling at your heart to receive him. Did you take his invitation and make his Only Son Jesus, the Lord of your life? Have you continued to go to church all your life, singing all the hymns, following along in the Bible, and learned all about God, yet never answered his intimate call to your heart?
Knowing about God, and knowing God are two different things. He desires a close and personal relationship with each of us, and today he is again pleading with you to accept his invitation into his family.
I'm still reeling from the links I blogged late yesterday afternoon, showing how violent radicals are on the attack towards Christians, for standing up for what they believe in. I hear from the far left liberals that everyone should be free to express themselves, then usually find that it means you're free to express your beliefs until they disagree with their views. Sounds like a double standard to me.
Back to Jeremiah 7: 9-13, where the Lord is exposing the sin and hypocrisy of his people who want to walk the fence and to "pick and choose" which laws of God and which words of God they want to apply in their lives. It just does NOT work that way, folks. If you are a believer, then you believe the entire Bible, and know that God put every word in there for our benefit. PERIOD.
7:9-13 - "Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe" - safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching, says the Lord. Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dewlling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer".
Are you aware that Baal was the god whom children were sacrificed to? Are you aware that parents would throw their living children into furnaces, in offerings to Baal? And while they were commiting these murders, they still called themselves the children of God, and would still go to the temple to "worship" the one True God, Jehovah. Do you see how this is no different than what we witness in our modern society today? No, we don't hear of people throwing thier children into furnaces, but we do hear of children who have been aborted, being thrown into garbage cans, while they are still living after the attempts to abort them. We do have many who call themselves believers who fully support abortion, and I call it what it is - MURDER.
We hear more and more how children have been murdered by their own parents, who have gone over the edge. There are so many of these things happening over the past few years, that it would take me days to list them all.
The Lord tells us in today's passage, that "I've been watching". Don't think for a minute that anything escapes his knowing; and what He sees happening in our worldwide society is greiving his Holy Spirit.
The end of today's passage shows us how the Lord plead over and over again with his people to listen to him, but they didn't. He tried calling out to them to save them, but they didn't answer.
I'm sure if you've ever been to church and the altar call is given at the end of the service, opening the invitation to receive Christ as Lord, that at some point or another, you have felt God calling to you- pulling at your heart to receive him. Did you take his invitation and make his Only Son Jesus, the Lord of your life? Have you continued to go to church all your life, singing all the hymns, following along in the Bible, and learned all about God, yet never answered his intimate call to your heart?
Knowing about God, and knowing God are two different things. He desires a close and personal relationship with each of us, and today he is again pleading with you to accept his invitation into his family.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Remembering My Mother
On September 12, 1997 my mother died - just a few weeks shy of her 69th birthday. The last time I'd spoken with her before she left this earth was on my 39th birthday, and sad to say, it was not a great chat; typical of our conversations.
To say we had a "strained" relationship is pretty accurate; it was the same way with her and all my other sisters as well. She just didn't know how to nurture her children, and I'm sorry that she missed out on the opportunity to have really good, loving relationships with the four daughters the Good Lord blessed her with.
There were so many unresolved issues with her and I, and I wish we had of worked them out before her death, as it made having closure even harder. There were things I'd not forgiven her for that haunted me for several years afterward.
Growing up in a household in which the mother was great at things like cooking, sewing and cleaning, had it's benefits, but I really wish she had been more of a "Mom". I craved a relationship with her that I saw my friends have with their moms, but my mother was bitter towards my daddy, and that affected all her other relationships - especially with me, as I was a daddy's girl from the start.
I have since her death, forgiven my mother for not protecting me, and allowing certain things to happen to me that shouldn't have happened. I have learned from her how NOT to treat children, and for that I am grateful. My heart's desire when I had Sarah and Dude was to be the Mom to them that I never had - to listen to them, to protect them, to have the kind of trust that enabled them to come to me with any and everything.
My advice for anyone - make sure you forgive quickly, do all that you can to make the most of your relationships and tell the ones you love that you love them - don't take it for granted that they know.
I know that my mother was a Christian, and that she just had things that she didn't know how to deal with. I know that I'll see her when I get to Heaven. All the past hurts that we had here on earth will be gone, and at last I'll be able to have the best relationship with her - one in a place where there is no hurt, no crying, no sorrow, and no pain.
Have a safe weekend - pray for our leaders, our soldiers who are protecting our freedoms here in the USA, and for those who are in the path of Hurricane Ike.
Janelle
To say we had a "strained" relationship is pretty accurate; it was the same way with her and all my other sisters as well. She just didn't know how to nurture her children, and I'm sorry that she missed out on the opportunity to have really good, loving relationships with the four daughters the Good Lord blessed her with.
There were so many unresolved issues with her and I, and I wish we had of worked them out before her death, as it made having closure even harder. There were things I'd not forgiven her for that haunted me for several years afterward.
Growing up in a household in which the mother was great at things like cooking, sewing and cleaning, had it's benefits, but I really wish she had been more of a "Mom". I craved a relationship with her that I saw my friends have with their moms, but my mother was bitter towards my daddy, and that affected all her other relationships - especially with me, as I was a daddy's girl from the start.
I have since her death, forgiven my mother for not protecting me, and allowing certain things to happen to me that shouldn't have happened. I have learned from her how NOT to treat children, and for that I am grateful. My heart's desire when I had Sarah and Dude was to be the Mom to them that I never had - to listen to them, to protect them, to have the kind of trust that enabled them to come to me with any and everything.
My advice for anyone - make sure you forgive quickly, do all that you can to make the most of your relationships and tell the ones you love that you love them - don't take it for granted that they know.
I know that my mother was a Christian, and that she just had things that she didn't know how to deal with. I know that I'll see her when I get to Heaven. All the past hurts that we had here on earth will be gone, and at last I'll be able to have the best relationship with her - one in a place where there is no hurt, no crying, no sorrow, and no pain.
Have a safe weekend - pray for our leaders, our soldiers who are protecting our freedoms here in the USA, and for those who are in the path of Hurricane Ike.
Janelle
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)