"God does not want you to become an expert at using a formula. If there was a formula to hearing from God, you would not seek Him with all your heart." That quote from Henry Blackaby, in the Experiencing God study, almost seems an inappropriate way to start this entry, because it is from a study. And yet, it cuts to the very heart of what I want to learn.
What I want are blinding flashes of insight every time I study the Word. Fresh new perspectives. I want to seek for the treasure. But not for too long. I want every day to be new and exciting, filled with new meaning.
Sometimes the most challenging part of my walk with Jesus is the dailiness of it. The very ordinariness of my tasks. This week, I found out a close family member has cancer. My computer crashed-again. Another divorce in the family. We re-listed the house in a very slow market. An aging parent breaks my heart, as her mind slips away, but her body remains strong. The normal stuff of life.
And yet, God is so good to me. He keeps pursuing me in this quest to know Him more and sit more often at His feet. As I am teaching a study on "Temptation" this week, I am overwhelmed with the privilege--and responsibility--of being a teacher. And from Proverbs, He encouraged me. Proverbs 13:17 says "An unreliable messenger stumbles into trouble, but a reliable messenger brings healing." In this verse, I heard Him say that if I don't prepare and study His Word, I will stumble into trouble. (Have I ever been caught just ad-libbing, or giving someone else's opinion?) But, if I am a reliable messenger of His Word, I can bring healing, and not confusion to our students. That's what I want to do--not just rely on what I think I know.
Then He exhorted me on how to spend my time with 15:14 "A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash." Am I allowing my mind to feed on trash, or am I pursuing the knowledge and understanding only His Word can give?
I thank Him for all He is showing me along this trail. About relationships and how important they are. About hopes and dreams. Again the Lord showed me that 60 is not too old to dream. In fact, He even put a God-sized one in my heart! I love this ride with Jesus!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Thirty+ Days
I've just finished my first month without any structure to my time with Jesus. I have resisted the urge to keep a checklist of Scripture I've read, just to make sure I have "done" something. I am even disconnecting my mental checklist, but old habits die hard!
I have found myself doing several things, and keeping them in a 3-ring folder, divided by tabs. This keeps me from looking for stuff that I have scattered over several rooms in the house (and car).
I have learned more about Paul, and seen "learning to be content" in a whole other frame of reference. I know a little more about what it means to be a friend of God. Mostly, tho, I have immersed myself more deeply in the Bible, knowing there is no way I can go wrong when I let Scripture saturate my life.
I once heard that Kathy Tricoli had a practice of basically writing Scripture back to God, personalizing and paraphrasing along the way. One day, she will have the whole Bible in her own writing, with her insights and prayers along the way. It looks like I am headed in that direction. As I read through some of my favorite books, I write out what speaks to me @ this point in my life, and that often prompts a prayer. I am re-learning the truth that I remember something so much better when I write them down.
I have decided to add another dimension to my time, tho, based on a message by T. D. Jakes called "Saul's Suicide". The basic premise is that Saul was not killed by his enemies, but by his own hand. My major enemies come from within, and they are as follows:
The challenge I have taken from this is to review on a consistent basis (weekly? bi-weekly? monthly?) which of these enemies in my life need to be dealt with. And it's not IF I've been disobedient.....or arrogant.....or rebellious....or whatever, it's WHERE these enemies have come out, and how to kill them. This should help me from getting too "spiritual" in my daily walk. Because, we're all a little delusional, aren't we?
Looking forward to Month #2! Thanks to my friends for their encouragement.
I have found myself doing several things, and keeping them in a 3-ring folder, divided by tabs. This keeps me from looking for stuff that I have scattered over several rooms in the house (and car).
I have learned more about Paul, and seen "learning to be content" in a whole other frame of reference. I know a little more about what it means to be a friend of God. Mostly, tho, I have immersed myself more deeply in the Bible, knowing there is no way I can go wrong when I let Scripture saturate my life.
I once heard that Kathy Tricoli had a practice of basically writing Scripture back to God, personalizing and paraphrasing along the way. One day, she will have the whole Bible in her own writing, with her insights and prayers along the way. It looks like I am headed in that direction. As I read through some of my favorite books, I write out what speaks to me @ this point in my life, and that often prompts a prayer. I am re-learning the truth that I remember something so much better when I write them down.
I have decided to add another dimension to my time, tho, based on a message by T. D. Jakes called "Saul's Suicide". The basic premise is that Saul was not killed by his enemies, but by his own hand. My major enemies come from within, and they are as follows:
1) Disobedience
2) Arrogance
3) Rebellion
4) Denial
5) Lack of Repentance
6) Ego
7) Murder--what we don't murder (deal with) in our own life, will kill us.
The challenge I have taken from this is to review on a consistent basis (weekly? bi-weekly? monthly?) which of these enemies in my life need to be dealt with. And it's not IF I've been disobedient.....or arrogant.....or rebellious....or whatever, it's WHERE these enemies have come out, and how to kill them. This should help me from getting too "spiritual" in my daily walk. Because, we're all a little delusional, aren't we?
Looking forward to Month #2! Thanks to my friends for their encouragement.
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