The Blessing of Being Accepted in Christ (Part II)

2 Comments / Acceptance, Grace, Mercy, Salvation / By

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:4-10

The blessing of salvation and our new relationship with Christ is that we didn’t do anything to earn it. God initiated this relationship and we just responded to His loving kindness towards us. It wasn’t our idea. We didn’t just decide one day that it’s a good day or a good age to accept the Lord into our lives. He is the one who placed the conviction in our hearts that we are sinners in need of forgiveness. Then as newborn babes, He put a hunger in our hearts to desire Him and grow in Him!

Paul reminds us that salvation is a gift of God. We have nothing to boast about or to become prideful about. We can’t look down upon others for not being saved. If it wasn’t for the Lord and His rich mercies, we would still be in sin and would be living in guilt and shame that was piled upon us from years past. Praise be to God and the Lord Jesus Christ whose rich mercy and grace freed us from sin and brought us to the Kingdom of God! We live this life in humility knowing that we are totally and utterly dependent on the Lord on daily basis!

The beauty and the blessing of being accepted by the Lord is that He is the one who started the good work in our lives and He will complete it! He didn’t leave us in charge of our spiritual lives. We continue to only respond and partner with Him in this journey called life. He has a plan for the work that He has for us before the creation of the world! This is a relief from striving or trying to figure out what we need to do!

Many believers including myself have struggled to figure out what good works we are supposed to do. How should we impact the Kingdom!? We want to be good stewards of our time, treasure, temple, and talents. The problem is that those kinds of questions sometimes lead us to strive We try to figure out with our minds how to please God and achieve His objectives. Sometimes, we come up with creative ways to do the work of the Kingdom, and at other times, we just join a group and try to do something to ensure we are serving and ministering. All along we may not be sure if the Lord is doing directing all the “good works” or if it is our restlessness that makes us just want to do something.

The above scripture reminds us that God has already prepared the good works that He has for us. He actually planned them long before we were born or accepted Jesus into our lives! The good works that He has for us are not separated from the good work that He does in our lives. They are the outworking and the byproduct of a life lived out under His Lordship and obedience. Just as God has planned for us to be transformed into the image of His son, He also has a plan how He will use us in the Kingdom to reveal that image to others. Isn’t that awesome!? We can’t transform ourselves into the image of Jesus. We only respond to His promptings and surrender our will, so He can develop and shape us in Jesus’ image. Similarly, we can’t conjure up good works for God. We don’t see Godly Biblical characters coming up with ideas to keep themselves busy in doing good works. The Lord directed them to it, and He will direct us to it.

In the meantime, we do the best we can with all the other responsibilities we have before us. We get to fellowship with the Lord, remain in His love, Listen to His voice, obey His word, and be available to what He asks us to do. We love our family, friends, neighbors, and strangers on our path. The above scripture tells us that we will walk in the good works that He has for us. In the course of daily life, we will come upon those people and situations that require our attention.

Our challenge is to believe that our good works for God will not always happen in the context of ministry. It is not a job, a role, or a task that needs to be done. It is a relationship with the almighty God who instructs and directs us to do certain things at certain times. When we don’t have a specific task to do, we can rest assured that God still loves us and we can be secure in His love not our works for Him.

 

Image by Karolina Grabowska from Pixabay

 

The Blessing of Being Accepted in Christ (Part I)

Leave a Comment / Acceptance, Authority, Goodness, Grace, Kindness / By

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,  having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:3-6

Paul began the letter to the Ephesians by explaining our redeemed relationship with Christ. He explained that the Lord has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ and that He chose us before the foundation of the world! God’s desire for His people is to be in fellowship with Him and to live in His acceptance!

God created Adam and Eve perfectly to live and walk with Him! Because of the sin that they committed, Adam & Eve lost their relationship with a holy God and sin brought blame and shame into the world. By the time, it reached the next generation, murder had already entered the human experience through Cain (see Genesis 4:3-7).

After Adam and Eve, the blame and shame had grown to such a degree that Cain could not handle Able’s success and acceptance by God. Cain did not offer what the Lord had asked of him but instead of trying to make it right with the Lord, he became jealous of his brother and envied his acceptance. Consequently, Cain killed his own brother because he did not feel accepted by the Lord. His lack of acceptance had nothing to do with his brother. It was easier to push the blame on his brother rather than dealing with his lack of security before God and the shame and inferiority he felt!

Because we were all born in sin and shaped in iniquity, every person carries a sense of inferiority in them, which they try to compensate through various means such as performance, victim mentality, aggression, control, conformity, etc.  Unfortunately, the world’s voices including many parents’s voices is the voice of blame and shame, so people grow up not ever feeling good enough. There is nothing we can do to feel good enough and holy enough. The good news is that God never desires for people to remain in a state of sin, blame, and shame. Jesus, the holy Son of God,  was the only one who could bridge the gap and bring us back into the right standing with God and remove our shame, blame, and the guilt of sin.

As a matter of fact, Jesus made our relationship with God better than what Adam and Eve experienced! Adam and Eve were God’s creation but God did not call them son and daughter. Jesus came to open the door for a different kind of relationship. Jesus brought us to the Lord as adopted children, sons and daughters, inheriting all the spiritual blessings through Jesus’ work on the cross! Thank you Jesus!

In the original relationship, God gave Adam and Eve the dominion to subdue the earth. In the new relationship, we have the keys to the Kingdom of heaven (See Matthew 16:10) Jesus gave us authority over all powers and told His disciples that whatever they bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever they lose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Praise the Lord!

In the new relationship, we get to explore God’s majesty, goodness, kindness, mercies, and grace and grow up to become more like His Son Jesus. This is God’s pleasure to reveal Himself to us and to allow us to be partakers of His divine nature. The more we become like Him, the more the lost world will see God on the earth and His glory and moral attributes will be revealed through His children! All glory to His name!

 

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The Power of Resurrection

Leave a Comment / Grace, Love, Mercy, New Life, Resurrection / By

For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:10

The truth is that we were all enemies of God. Some aggressively rebelled against Him and others just lived their lives making their own plans apart from God’s laws and ways! All of us were born under sin and shaped in iniquity. We inherited the nature of sin from Adam, and we also committed our own sins in variety of ways. Every sin is a declaration of our will over God’s will, laws, and ways!

Praise God for Jesus’ obedience to the cross and for the Lord’s resurrection power raising Jesus from death to life! His death, burial, and resurrection gives us hope for an abundant and eternal life! He has the power to forgive every sin and to give us a fresh start in life.

So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. John 21:21-22

Just as God breathed life in Adam, Jesus breathed life in His disciples. What Adam lost in the Garden of Eden, Jesus regained on Calvary and gave it to His disciples. Jesus reconciled us to the Father by being our advocate and for dying for our sins, so we can be free from the sentence and the punishment of sin. We no longer have to carry the burden of shame and guilt in our lives, but we can lay it down at the cross and pick up His forgiveness, restoration, and hope for our lives. Now we can walk as living beings having our relationship restored with the Father! We are no longer enemies of God, but we have been accepted in the beloved! Because Jesus lives, we can live a life fully dedicated to the Lord. His peace is our peace!

I am reminded of the Lord’s Prayer that He taught His disciples. He began by declaring that our Father is worthy to be hallowed and honored. Jesus changed our relationship to a Holy God. We are no longer distant from a Him but we can call Him Abba Father! Through the cross, we are adopted as sons and daughters of the living King! We belong to the Kingdom of God, and we become partakers of Jesus’ nature who is the firstborn among many.

Whether we were saved years ago or just accepted Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we continue to be in need of Him. Jesus taught His disciples to pray that God’s will is done on the earth as it is in heaven and that His Kingdom is being established upon the earth. Furthermore, He told them to ask for their daily bread and forgiveness and instructed them to forgive others as well. He also taught them to pray that they are not led into temptation and that the Lord would deliver them from the evil one. Every area that Jesus mentioned in the Lord’s Prayer is a reminder of our desperate need for the Lord and His presence, mercy, grace, enablement, protection, wisdom, and discernment. Our job is to listen to His voice, surrender our will to Him, and do what He asks us to do. This is the life of a believer in a nutshell. It requires faith, hope, love, and obedience, and in the process we grow and mature in the fruit of the spirit and become more effective for the kingdom of God!

That’s something to shout about and praise the Lord for! Lord we thank you for sending your son to die for our sins and for the sins of humanity. Thank you Jesus for your obedience to the Father. Thank you for the Holy Spirit that we are no longer orphans in this world, but we have the Holy Spirit who leads and guides us into all truth and righteousness. Thank you Lord for your kindness towards us. Thank you for revealing yourself to us. We pray that you would reveal yourself to our loved ones and that they can experience the love, forgiveness, restoration, and deliverance of Jesus and the power of Resurrection in their lives!

 

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Unless a Grain of Wheat Falls…

Leave a Comment / Reconciliation, Redemption, Relationships, Repentance, Sacrifice / By

Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.  He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor. John 12:23-26

 

The above passage occurred after triumphal entry. Many came to see Jesus and brought their palm branches declaring the entrance of the King of Israel to Jerusalem! However, Jesus knew that the true triumph was waiting for Him on the other side of the cross! He had to defeat the enemy and redeem man from the power of hell, sin, and destruction!

While Jesus’ disciples must have felt good about Him being acknowledged by the people, Jesus likened His life to a grain of wheat that has to fall to the ground and die before it produces much grain and becomes fruitful. Even though Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life, His true reproduction began after going to the cross!

Jesus endured the accusations, scorns, and sufferings before the eyes of His family, disciples, friends, and His enemies. The cross may have made Jesus look weak and guilty to the world, but He was meek and pure, and His strength was under the control of the Holy Spirit. He was not derailed by the voices around Him and neither did He bow down to the demands of others. Despite people’s expectations of Him to be the king of Israel, Jesus knew that the nation of Israel as well as humanity needed a Savior for its redemption and reconciliation! This must have disappointed His disciples, but Jesus knew His assignment and what the Lord had required of His son! If He had not died for the sins of humanity, He was going to remain alone, and He could not bring the many sons and daughters to salvation and reconciliation to the Father!

In this hour, many look to government and experts to be the savior of humanity. There are many demands on them to have answers for the current situation, but Jesus has the answer to man’s true condition. People may be temporarily focused on the pandemic, but the world including our nation is need of spiritual restoration and deliverance! There is no peace unless the Prince of Peace is invited into our lives. Our marriages, families, communities, and our nation are in need of healing, and the answer is in the cross of Jesus.

True healing begins with us admitting that we are incapable of fixing our problems. We need to ask for forgiveness for our sins, our selfishness, and our stubbornness that has caused so much disorder in our lives and in our communities. We also forgive others. Jesus paid the full price for all our sins to set things right with the Father and with one another. He also taught us that we can experience the power of resurrection through repentance and denying our old nature. When we allow our carnal nature to die to unbelief, pride, division, animosity, strife, hatred, and anger, we give room for the resurrection power to bear fruit of the spirit and restoration in our lives.  Jesus paid a high price, so we can have the privilege of living a life of freedom, peace, love, and reconciliation. Thank you Lord for sending your son to the earth! Thank you Jesus for your great sacrifice and redemption! Thank you Holy Spirit for being with us and for your conviction and revelation!

 

How Are You Doing with Your Time?

Leave a Comment / Beneficial, Constructive / By

I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. 1Corinthians 10:23-24

How are you doing with your time these days? https://knowhisways.com/?p=13367If you are struggling in any area of your life and you need prayer, please private message me. I would love to pray with you.

Posted by Know His Ways on Monday, April 6, 2020

As we begin the third week of shelter in place, it may start wearing on us. It’s hard to imagine that this will go on for weeks to come, so it’s easy to lose energy and enthusiasm and start just enduring it. However, this is a great opportunity to pay attention to those things that we didn’t have time to do before.

Quiet Time

Obviously, the first and foremost important priority is developing a regular quiet time with the Lord. This is the perfect opportunity to spend some extra time studying the word of God, praying, and listening to the voice of God!

In addition to developing a richer quiet time, there are practical things we can do that we haven’t had time to pay attention to in the past. Below are some examples of areas that may need attention:

Make a Budget

Some people have been meaning to put a budget together, but they were too busy to do anything about it!  Money was spent too fast and uncontrollably to get a handle on it. Now is a good time to start putting a plan in place and start tracking your expenses. Since our expenses are not as varied right now, they are easier to track. If you stay consistent with tracking your expenses, you may actually develop a habit that you will want to continue. Over time, it will help you identify areas that you can tighten your spending and feel more in control of your life and expenses.

Organizing Pictures

Others have pictures collected over the years that need to be organized and be placed in photo albums. Whether you have albums right now or not, you can still organize the pictures and get them ready to place them in photo albums. It’s also a great opportunity to go over them with family members and    reminisce about the past family events and gatherings.

Tackle the Garage

There are those whose garages need attention,  and this is a good opportunity to start the project. It may seem overwhelming, but begin by tackling one section at a time!

Read a Book

Some people that you respect have recommended or have given you books to read. Spend time reading the book that you have been meaning to read and have not had time. It will be help you and benefit you to use your time constructively and learn something new.

Work Heartily as unto the Lord

If you are working from home, do it with diligence.  Since you are still getting paid, do your work as unto the Lord not because someone is watching but because you are representing the Kingdom.

As the above scripture tells us many activities could be permissible but what is beneficial to you and your family? What gives the opportunity to build our character in the hidden place rather than giving in to our flesh and allowing it to lead us into complacency or laziness.

Plan your day and your week

Make a plan for your day and even for your week and try to stay true to the plan as much as possible. Set some goals to accomplish that you will feel good about, and will release you from the burdens you have been carrying. In addition, if you have children at home, they are watching you and learning how they should use their time when no one is watching.

 

 

 

God’s Perfect Peace

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In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

We have a strong city;
God makes salvation
its walls and ramparts.
Open the gates
that the righteous nation may enter,
the nation that keeps faith.
You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.
He humbles those who dwell on high,
he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground
and casts it down to the dust.
Isaiah 26:1-5

Definition of Perfect (according to Strong’s Concordance): completeness, soundness, welfare, peace, completeness (in number), safety, soundness (in body), welfare, health, prosperity, peace, quiet, tranquillity, contentment..

It’s difficult to keep our minds focused on the Lord when there is upheaval in the world. All the noise around us along with circumstances try to pressure people into stress, worry, and panic. The news networks are banking on people’s fears by giving them more issues to think and worry about. In addition, there is misinformation, manipulation, and exaggeration that makes it difficult to discern between truth and partial truth.

In the midst of this global issue, we need to remind ourselves that the enemy intends to steal, kill, and destroy people’s peace, wellbeing, and lives. We can’t open ourselves up to all sorts of information out there and expect to keep our peace! The Lord tells us that those whose mind stays on Him, will enjoy perfect peace! According to the above definition,  His peace gives us a sense of safety and contentment. It allows us to know that we are embraced by the Lord of the universe and that we are going to be ok.

A few days ago, I found myself anxious about the future of this country and where we are headed if this situation continues to go on. The more I listened to the news, the more anxious and frustrated I became. I realized that feeding on all this information was not producing any good fruit in my life. So I decided to stop watching the news for a while and not allow all the predictions, speculations, and opinions of people get to my heart. Praise the Lord that I am doing a lot better in the last couple of days!

According to the above scripture, when we remain focused on the Lord and lean into Him, we will get to enjoy His peace. This is a deliberate decision that we have to make. If we have a tendency to rely on our emotions, minds, or will power to control our circumstances, the stress level can even become intensified in these circumstances. This is far greater than any one person, nation, or the entire world to figure out. We need to humble ourselves before the Lord and let Him lead us. He has the solutions to the world’s problems, and He will give us wisdom and insight from heaven.

What is your mind focused on these days!?

I believe we all desire God’s perfect peace. In order to enjoy His peace, we have to do the work of keeping our focus on the Lord. When we show self-control and avoid listening to continual negative reports, we won’t allow our focus to be diverted. This action is a statement of trust that we don’t have to know everything to feel safe and secure; instead, we rely on the one who knows everything and has the power to change things. He is the rock eternal. He is unchanging and reliable. The more we remind ourselves of who God is for us, stress and anxiety will dissipate and will be replaced with the peace and the assurance of our heavenly Father!

 

Image by Daniel Reche from Pixabay

 

Every Good and Perfect Gift…

Leave a Comment / Gift, Goodness, Grace, Mercy / By

In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

We have a strong city;
God makes salvation
its walls and ramparts.
Open the gates
that the righteous nation may enter,
the nation that keeps faith. Isaiah 26:1-2

Isaiah declares that the greatness of the city is because God has established it. He is the one who protects its walls with truth and salvation. A righteous nation is one that understands salvation comes from God’s mighty hand and by His grace and mercy the country endures. It is not something that we deserve, nor is it something that can be done apart from Him.

The truth is that many people in our country have forgotten who is the giver of our true freedom. They also thought that it is our ingenuity and hard work that has allowed them to reach the level of success enjoyed by many. Of course, people have worked hard and have been diligent, but unless God enables a person or a nation, we cannot accomplish anything valuable.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17

Success is a blessing when it is founded upon humility and when one truly understands that everything good comes from the Lord! Sadly, in our nation, the greater the success, the more people have placed themselves on the throne. They want to define morality and truth and make every attempt to push God out of public square in order to move forward with their agenda with no limits and hindrance. For others, success has become a distraction from the right priorities in life caring more about having the perfect house rather than a pure heart before God!

The current pandemic is a reality check on who is in control! Three months ago, some people presumed that we can control the climate! Today, the world and all its activities have abruptly come to a halt over a virus! If the Lord were to allow these kinds of issues to happen on a yearly basis no country would be able to enjoy any peace or success. Governments would run out of money, the unemployment rate would be massive, the amount of travel would shrink drastically, and celebrations would be minimized. Basically, people would not able to even enjoy the fruit of their labor.

This moment of time gives us the opportunity to reflect of the giver of every good and perfect gift! Without Him we can do nothing! What are you thankful for!? Take time today and reflect on God’s goodness, protection, and provision in your life! Thank Him for who He is and what He does for us on a daily basis! The world may be in a panic, but to the believers it is time to testify that if it wasn’t for God’s mercy, we would never know what peace and prosperity means. He holds the world and the nations in the palm of His hands. He gives them the power and the opportunity to succeed in their works. We all need to humbly go before the Lord and thank Him for His mercies that are new every morning! Acknowledge Him as the giver of every good and perfect gift and pray that people would recognize God’s mercy and grace in their lives!

 

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Peace, Be Still

2 Comments / Be Still, Calm, Peace / By

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him.  And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” Mark 4:35-39

Peace, Be Still… Mark 4:35-39https://knowhisways.com/?p=13315

Posted by Know His Ways on Friday, March 27, 2020

Jesus told His disciples that it was time for them to go to the other side. Where was the other side!? The other side was the country of Gadarenes.  This is the place that Jesus came to heal the so called, “Gardarene Demoniac”. Jesus had a plan and a mission and the enemy had a plan and mission as well!

While Jesus and the disciples were on the boat, a great windstorm arose to the point that the boat was filling with water. The disciples panicked, and all their thoughts about ministering on the other side went out the door! All they could think about was their survival and that they were about to perish. On the other hand, Jesus remained calm to the point that He could actually remain sleep!

Similarly, this is the time that many are fearful and uncertain about their lives, and it is easy to give in to the spirit of fear and panic. Jesus’ disciples were not aware that a good and powerful work was awaiting them on the other side, so all they could focus on were the circumstances that they were in.  I believe there is also great work for us on the other side. We cannot be focused on the circumstances around us and allow them to dictate the level of peace and clarity we have in this hour.

For years, the Lord has given us burden to pray and reach our families, friends, coworkers, society, and the nations. Now, He is preparing us for the harvest! We need to remain alert and available if we are going to cease the moment and make the most of every opportunity!

The disciples accused Jesus of not caring! Because Jesus was silent and calm, they assumed that He didn’t care. The reality was that He did care, but His care was about God’s purpose in His life and accomplishing the mission that the Lord had given Him. He cared about those who were down and out and were under the bondage of sin, religion, and the devil. At the same time,  He was not concerned about the windstorm because He knew the call of God on His life and that His mission on the earth was not finished. Therefore, He did not give in to fear and did not retreat. It would have been easy to tell His disciples to try to go back where they came from and try again after everything is calm, but He did not allow the enemy to dictate How His plans were going to go.

Jesus calmed the storm by commanding the sea to return to peace and stillness. And at this command, a calmness took over.  In this hour, let’s not agree with fear and retreating from God’s purpose. Remain alert, pray with authority, and command the evil to flee. Speak peace and calmness over yourself, your family, and your neighborhood. Be ready for what is on the good works on other side of this and allow God to take charge of this hour in history!

 

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Be Still & Know…

2 Comments / Be Still, Knowing God / By

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10

Definition of “Still” (According to Strong’s Concordance): to let drop, abandon, relax, refrain, forsake.

The Lord is calling each of us to be still before Him. Being still is not necessarily about lack of movement, but it is about abandoning our plans. It is refraining from trying to make something happen. It is about letting go of our agenda and resting before the Lord.

Interestingly, in the above verse, being still and knowing the Lord are connected to each other. That means if we want to know God, we need to be willing to be still before Him. We cannot be focused on our plans and agenda, and at the same time, allow the Lord to lead and guide our lives. In addition, We cannot have two masters. Either we are in charge and are calling all the shots, or God is on the throne and He rules over all our affairs.

In this hour, there is much unrest and uncertainty in the world. There is pressure to try to figure things out. On the other hand, it seems as if humanity is on hold. Everyone is watching and waiting to see how things are going to turn out in the next couple of weeks. People are waiting to see when they can get back to their normal lives.

During this past week, I noticed that a sense of restlessness and helplessness can creep in. We are so used to controlling our lives and day-to-day activities, that it is hard not to be in charge. We enjoy planning our lives months in advance and look forward to events or vacations. However, we can’t do them at this point!  Some of us have taken days off from work to spend time with family and friends who are graduating, having a baby, or getting married, but everything has come to a halt. Now we have to change our expectations and stay put!

This is a reminder of how little control we have over our lives, and just because God in His mercy has allowed us to plan our weeks and months ahead of time, it does not mean that we are entitled to it. Instead of being in charge of our activities, we need to remember God’s promises for us. Our peace comes from knowing and remembering who God is for us. Those truths will settle our spirits.

The above scripture is a great reminder that we have the opportunity to the know the Lord better when we remain still before Him. We may feel awkward about being still, but the more we practice it, the easier it gets. As Americans, we are not good at being still, but we can ask the Lord to help us. As we let go of our hopes, disappointments, and expectations, we will get to know the Lord better for who He really is. The fruit of knowing Him is that He will be lifted and exalted by His people, so they world can get to know Him! Lord teach us to be still, so we can know you better!

 

 

Martha, Martha…

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Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.  But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10: 38-42

Here is a 5 minute video on what the Lord put on my heart about the above passage and the times that we are in right now.

Martha, Martha…Luke 10:38-42

Posted by Know His Ways on Friday, March 20, 2020

We live a world that is very busy and active. We are easily distracted with various noises around us, and many of us have a tendency to operate like Martha in the above passage.

Jesus saw Martha being distracted with all the activities. She was worried about being the perfect hostess and making sure everything was just right. However, Jesus knew that His time was limited with His loved ones, and He didn’t want her to miss on valuable time with Him while He was with them.

We can also be worried about many things. We like to have the reputation of having it all together. We want to impress people with how we decorate, cook, and host a gathering. With sites such as Pinterest, event planning and parties have gone to another level. Perfect professional party, shower, and celebration is the goal of many women who are not professional decorators. They are seeking Martha Steward caliber hospitality! The problem is that all those details are very time consuming and they steal our time from sitting still. We are so distracted that we don’t enjoy our family, and we don’t let Jesus touch our hearts. We care more about being impressive than being impressed with His presence in our lives!

Jesus praised Mary for choosing the good part, and that the Lord was not going to take that away from her. That statement from Jesus is profound because it tells us sitting with the Lord and communing with Him is something that the Lord desires and He would not take away the opportunity from us to do it. However, because we are rushed and busy, we allow the enemy to steal the time away from us by agreeing to the fact that we should be doing something else rather than sitting at the Lord’s feet.

The recent pandemic, has brought to a halt many activities in people’s lives. Many people have become house-bound and they are either not working or work with limited hours from home. Furthermore, there are no sporting events to watch on TV and the kids are not doing sports. What a perfect time to be a Mary in this season! Instead of worrying about getting back to the busyness of life, let’s use this time to recharge our batteries, spend time in the presence of the Lord, and listen to His voice and direction.