Promise to Hold

Got an area of your life where you can't see God's hand or trust He will come through for a tough time? 

Ponder this...hold to this promise and abolish the foothold Satan has in the Name of Jesus. 

God's love is not a shallow love that always rescues us easily or quickly.  

God loves us enough to walk us through the fiery times that make us more like His Son, 

Jesus Christ.  His ways are not our ways, and our thoughts are so often very different from His thoughts.  God is holy.  He is faithful.  And we really can trust Him to work at the right time and in the right way for our good and His glory. 

"And my God will meet all your needs according 

to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus"-Philippians 4:19

Bible Reading Part 2

I have this study journal with me this time, and I just want to type out a section of the introduction to this journal.  There are three parts that I will summarize for this post:

Part 1-Bible Reading, Absorbing Your Bible

1. Summarize-stay surface level of what is actually being said in the scripture.  Record the basic facts of what is happening and what is being said.  Do not put yourself in this picture yet, nor analyze what this would mean in your life.  I've noticed with myself that I totally skip this step often, and it actually gives me a misconception of what God is trying to tell me because I assume something is being told to me in my life that is irrelevant to the text. 
2. Meditate-or "marinate"  Allow the words of Scripture to absorb into your mind and heart.  Memorize what is being said, ponder this by rewording the scriptures into your own words and make them personal (but don't change what is actually being said).   Repeat a verse or message of the passage over and over in your heart and let it soak in.  While you do this, ask yourself questions such as "What does this teach me about God?"  "What does God want me to learn about me?"  "Is there a specific sin that I need to repent of?"  "How does this passage testify of who Jesus Christ is and what He has done?"  This takes time.  Don't rush this step. 
3. Respond-Depending on what you have found in your heart, whether it was a sin in your life or a revelation about God's character, offer it up to God in prayer.  Thank Him for showing you what you saw.  Praise Him for the good you found in Him, or confess to Him the sin that He brought to surface in your life.  
1. I like this, because so many times when we communicate with God, we do all the talking and don't give God a chance to respond.  This way, God is speaking first and we are quieting ourselves to hear Him, and THEN we respond.  It seems backwards, but to quote this journal quick, "this response portion is a healthy reminder that true theology (the study of God) leads to doxology (glory to God).  That is, knowing His Word impacts us holistically--our minds, our hearts, and our wills and actions."  

Part 2-Praying

As I had stated in the 3rd point above, prayer is crucial in our walk with Jesus.  God communicates to us in His Word, and we communicate back through prayer.  Don't be afraid of the junk in your life, bring them before God.  Don't worry about the lack of faith you have, God wants you anyway.  Jesus makes it possible for us to come as we are.  God knows all the junk, hypocrisy, failures, and doubt we have already...and He still loves us.  As you read more, you will see that.  You will see God's compassion and trust that more and more no matter how sinful we are.  Jesus makes this possible, so come as you are.  Bring your hurts, shame, imperfections...and praise Him! 

Part 3-Journaling

This step is pretty much taking what you've learned and putting it down to allow it to further sink.  I really like to journal what God has spoken to me because it sinks more into me when I process it enough to put it into words that I can express.  It also gives me a reference that I can look back to and remember what God has taught me.  I forget so fast, even if I study it.  I can't remember references very well, and I really have to work during the meditation process for me to really grasp the teachings for a long period of time.  Journaling helps me with that.  

Apparently, putting pen to paper awakens areas of your brain that would remain inactive during your studies, and by journaling you are awakening more of you and creating more of a healthy habit rather than a random exercise. 

Friends, make the habit of "marinating" into Scriptures.  Even if it's just a verse at a time, let it soak into you daily.  Fill yourselves with something.  Take it from me, it's easy to set unrealistic goals, and it's VERY easy to set too many realistic goals to make them all unrealistic.  

Satan is very good at distracting you from good things, and VERY good at distracting you with too many good things.  Both keep us from really soaking into God's message, and Satan will try very hard to do whatever he can to hinder you from hearing God's voice.  

I hope these last two posts help in your studying.  Be eager to share what God has spoken to you with others.  I am encouraged by this greatly when I hear how God is working in those around me.   Get hooked into community.  

And again, I love you all. 

Bible Reading Part 1

It has been a while since I've posted anything, but that doesn't mean that God hasn't been teaching me. 

I feel my head and heart being overloaded with God's wisdom every day, and almost to the point that I can't have anything sink into my heart because my head isn't allowing enough time to meditate. 

Each night, I read a little devotional from a book called "More Precious Than Silver."  It's a nice and peaceful way to end my day and rest in peace for the night, I've noticed anyway.  Besides the point, last night's devotional is worth a blog post to talk about, as well as an explanation of something we don't always know how to do...read the Bible. 

"Come now, let us reason together."  Isaiah 1:18

When tragedy blindsides you and almost knocks you silly, you are understandably bewildered.  You feel confusion and panic.  You may feel afraid that more hardship will come on top of it all.  You may feel like cursing.  Or praying.  You may feel a thousand things.  But at some point, somewhere along the line, if you don't stop feeling and start thinking about how to attend to the circumstances you find yourself in, you'll freeze.  

Yes, intense suffering calls for deep emotions.  In the aftermath of a terrible tragedy, people weep.  We should weep.  God weeps.  But there is also a time to think.  Neither can replace the other.  

When you are able to raise your head above the heartache in which you are swimming, the Bible tells you to take the next step.  It is full of commands to 'think,' 'ponder,' 'weigh,' and 'judge.' Jesus often turned questions about the meaning of life, death, and suffering back onto the questioner.  'What is written in the Law?' he would ask.  People would blink, sniff back their feelings, flip the pages in their mind, think out loud, and come up with the relevant passages.  But this didn't end the discussion.  Next was the real work.  'How do you read it?' Jesus would ask.  That is, what do you think these Scriptures mean?  Jesus never allowed room for sloppy or sentimental thinking about the tough issues of life.  

What you think about God influences your friendship with him.  It affects how much glory you give him.  But your imagination about God isn't reliable.  If we simply trust our emotions about him, we recreate him in our own image.  We then become like the people Paul described: 'They are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge' (Rom. 10:2).  

Do you have a question about God?  A question about your circumstances?  Make the Bible your only safe source of knowledge about him.  Make this a commitment for the year.  

Help me to search for you, God, not in my imaginations but in your Word. 

After I read this, I started to doubt something about me...I love imagination.  I love to let God rule in my mind and give me pictures to fall more in love with him.  I love it when I close my eyes and God gives me visions that display His Word more to me.  But after reading this I started to doubt that a little.  After pondering, I hold no doubts anymore, because my imaginations were based on His Word, and that is essentially what God wants me to get a deeper grasp on anyway. 

I realized, however, that many times I would box God into my imagination and saw the sin in this.  God is not boxed into anything, but small portions of Himself are displayed to us.  Not everything at once.  As we read and understand Him more, we need to understand that God reveals a portion of Himself to us, not the whole being. 

God allows us to feel and experience in life, but we need to go beyond that and learn from His Word to understand what we are feeling.  Not why we are feeling it, but hear God's Word through it to encourage us and lift us up.  We don't need to know why, and God doesn't say He will reveal the reasons to us.  That u=is the beauty and the "curse" of just trusting.  We have a hard time just trusting God.  We forget His miracles and the good He has given us already, and fall back into doubt.  This is just the pattern of humanity, and it's the pattern we have seen throughout history for all the people that God loves. 

In a future blog-post, I will post something I have found helpful.  I bought a journal (not one I am currently using at the moment) that is a study journal.  At the beginning of it, it gives a very easy set of directions for studying the Bible.  I will post those directions down because I feel we all need a reminder of what we can really do to not just read the Bible, but take time and meditate on the Scriptures.  I know I need this.  I need to slow down and simplify what is going into my head so I can really give myself time to devour it in my heart. 

This is how I will stand on a strong foundation, and this is how I will be able to stand against my enemies.  If I am not equipped properly with the Word of God and understand how I can truly trust His awesome power, I will crumble and fall.  If I don't understand how to put myself out of the way of God's plan for my life, how can He prevail in me?  If I don't know how to give the strongholds in of my life to God than to Satan, how can I overcome? 

It is important friends.  Don't just read your Bible.  Devour it.  Savor it.  Live it.  It is alive.  Ask God to show you how alive His Word is today. 

A Psalm of Kat

My young adult group talked about writing a psalm as we went through the book of Psalms, but I felt I'd get a head start.  (I bet I could write more than one anyway)

When David is writing the psalms, (or the others writing the psalms for that matter) we see him using the area around him or the circumstance he is in to bring the praise and glory back to God, whether that's through rejoicing or crying out for help.  It is all revolving around our sovereign God's ability to keep us safe.

So given circumstances, heart desires, and promises in my life, here it is:

a Psalm of Kat, written while in refuge

I call to you day and night oh Lord.
You hear your servant from afar.
I praise you because I am the crown of creation.
I offer sacrifices of praise on behalf of your great Name.

Oh Lord, you have heard my requests day and night.
You see the agony my heart holds with promises not yet seen.
Do not bring this heart to shame God.
I have heard your voice, I have seen your glory.
Your Word enhances the visions I have perceived.

Numerous times I have given you my desires,
And numerous times I have seen the fruit in them.
Your instruction brings encouragement as I see my desires grow more and more.
When I doubt your promise, you are quick to remind me.
When my heart is sick, you are quick to pick me up.
You have blessed me with wisdom beyond explanation.

Your love surrounds me and protects me.
I hear you rebuke my enemies, it gives me courage.
Your great name gives me strength to press on.  

My heart rejoices at your work, past present and future.
I do not perceive all the work you are doing, but I trust you are doing as you promised.

Lord God, do not put my heart to shame.
Do not forsake the promise your servant holds to.
At the rising sun, I will praise you.
At the end of the day, you are my true heart's desire.

Patiently Wait in His Refuge

Last night I had the opportunity to babysit some amazing kids for a couple hours.  I will admit, I'm pretty "out of practice" with babysitting kids.  I got slightly nervous about the whole deal, but saw how silly it was for me to be nervous as the night went out. 

These kids were so good, and I honestly enjoyed putting these kids to bed.  One of these little kids didn't really want to get any sleep while there were new people in the house with her!  She wanted to keep getting up and be with us.  However, it was very precious to be on her bed with her reading her a story and talking with her to try to get her little eyes weary, even if it was more than once.  

As I lay there with her, praying with her, I couldn't help but think of when this would be my girl.  As I put the little boys down, I couldn't help but think when my little boy is going to sleeping under my care. 

As I was home with my parents, talking about their parents, I couldn't help but think about them as the grandparents of my children....and how much I wanted to give them more little kids that they would watch grow up and be a valuable part of their lives as their parents were to me.  Both my granddads did not live long after I was born.  My mom's dad passed away a couple days before my 3rd birthday, and my dad's dad didn't live much longer after that.  My last grandma passed when I graduated high school.  I hold such great memories with her, but wonder what my grand dad's were really like. 

I pray my kids won't have these questions in their lives, because I really pray my parents can have a chance to spoil my kids and give them amazing memories that we can share together when they get older.  This is just one more excuse for me to get antsy and anxious about my future, but I need to keep remembering these valuable lessons that Jesus teaches me:

Do not be anxious about anything, but offer everything to Him in prayer (Phil. 4:6-7)
God is making everything beautiful in it's time (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
God is always working, and sometimes I have not because I ask not...If I have faith and remain in Him, I know He will come through for me (John 14-16)

I also wanted to share an awesome visual I read last night...picture yourself in this: 

It's a hot day out here in this wasteland.  As you ride along on the ranch, you begin to gather the cattle in the area.  You are out on this task alone, but as you ride around looking for all of your herd, you look off in the distance and see a giant rock that could be seen for miles.  You remember the voice of your father saying "Do not be afraid.  If you ever get lost, go to that rock.  Stay there, and I promise you we will come for you."  

You keep riding, and eventually lose track of time and location.  As you turn back, you see the rock from a distance.  You aren't afraid, you remember what your father said.  You begin to ride toward the rock and hide in it's shade to keep yourself from the beating sun.  Hours go by, but you continue to wait because your father said he would come.  

Then, in the distance, you see your father coming for you...just like he promised. 

How awesome is that?  God is described as our rock and our refuge.  I felt this was an amazing way to visualize what that would be like for us.  God provides us with his ultimate protection, and whatever promises He has placed in your life, He will keep those promises.  While you wait for Him, He also promises to keep you safe.  What comfort! 

I am sitting on this rock while I wait for God to come make me a wife and mother, and I am also sitting on this rock while I wait for God's promise to bring me in His presence...and I have to remember to stay on this rock as I wait.  Someday I'll see Him coming to fulfill so many promises and desires to me, but what a comfort to know the refuge I am in as I wait. He is good and kind and gentle in Spirit, and He never fails. 

Let your imagination run wild with this fact of our loving Savior.  His love never fails, never gives up, never runs out of you.  He is patient, and He makes all things beautiful in it's right time.  Trust Him, and take refuge in Him every day. 

Clear sky, stars twinkling above.  Nothing around you but open land.  You're sitting on a huge rock, resting in it's protection as it hides you from unwanted critters in the night.  You look up to the heavens and close your eyes "Here I am Lord.  Here I wait, for you.  You will come, you promised."

Commitment

God has shown me that I have an issue with commitment.  Not necessarily how I thought I would, but lately there are things that I have really seen in me that I've neglected for numerous reasons. 

Over the years, I see that I have a hard time keeping up with people.  I haven't committed to my distanced relationships. 

I don't commit to things that I fear will fail.  Why would I work at something that isn't going to work out anyway?  Sadly, I really don't give this a chance to even work out.  I don't persevere through it to make it work out, even if God has laid the path before me to allow it to happen. 

I don't commit well to reading plans by committing to too many reading plans so I can't even keep going with one consistently. 

I ask for prayer with this.  I easily overload, and by doing so it's hard for me to soak in anything because I am focused on too many things. 

I don't want to be this girl anymore, and I am willing to let God change my heart so I persevere more through trials and don't curl up and give up when it doesn't seem to be working right away.  I feel this is better in some areas, but I want to be full of hope in His promises more and have peace in working through trials that need more effort on my part.  I don't want to be afraid to fail and appear lazy because of it. 

Thank you for your prayers in advance.  If you need prayers for anything I would love to pray for you. 

How Dare You God!

In a devotional for today, I pondered a concept enough to want to explore and blog about.  I found this piercing my own heart deeply, especially with all the recent abduction stories going around. 

I don't know about all of you, but deep down I personally despise those people that would want to take children and torment them through trafficking or sickening sexual desires.  I can't find it in me to ever want to give them a second chance.  I really feel like Jonah. 

We understand the story of Jonah pretty well, but read through it briefly.  It's only 4 chapters long. 

Short story cut shorter:  God tells Jonah to preach to an extremely wicked people, Jonah refuses and runs away, big storm and fish happen, Jonah gives in and preaches of God's wrath...and God forgives them and rebukes Jonah. 

I want to split this up for us to ponder more...and how personally I related to Jonah with today's hot media stories:


Jonah hated Nineveh. 

He fled because he didn't want God to save them.  He didn't want God to forgive them, and he didn't want to give these people a chance because in Jonah's mind, they didn't deserve it.  

Jonah refused to be part of these people salvation, but after some good negotiating he finally went to them and preached in hatred...wanting to see the disaster he spoke of actually happen. 

All that is recorded of Jonah's preaching was "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned."  That's all Jonah said.  No repenting message.  Jonah just spoke of destruction.  Oh how that would have felt to say those words to such a wicked people!  However, the result was not what Jonah wanted to have happen.  Deep down, we see the real hatred Jonah had for the wicked city of Nineveh. 

God loved Nineveh

God used that "hatred" to stir up the Ninevites so much that they repented...and God forgave.

"When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened."  Jonah 3:10

Jonah hated that God loved Nineveh

"O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home?  That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish.  I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.  Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live."  Jonah 4:2-3 

It sounds like Jonah is saying "That's just like you God!"

Yes...that's just like our God.  That's just like God to take a sinner like me and bring me to His glory.  That's just like God to sacrifice His only Son for a wicked people in order that we may share in His inheritance.  That's just like our God to love everyone unconditionally.  That's just like God. 

I can plug myself into Jonah's place with so many types of people. 

Kat hates sex offenders, but God loves sex offenders...and many times Kat hates that God loves sex offenders. 

I am thankful Jesus was not like Jonah.  Jesus obeyed God's call and reached out to us, a wicked people like Nineveh.  The problem is we don't always see it that way. 

Our big downfall is we constantly and naturally make comparisons.  We compare ourselves to others around us.  "At least I don't do that."  "So I lied a little bit, but at least I didn't sleep with my friend's wife."  It's all the same in God's eyes, and we don't realize how sickening every sin is to Him.  We are ALL wicked people, and this "hierarchy of sin" that we make up really doesn't match how God sees sin.  (Romans 3:23)
 
If we are called to be like Jesus and preach the Gospel to every nation, we need to remember that we too deserve the same fate and it is by God's grace we are even able to be saved.  It's so hard, and something I will constantly be pierced with. 

How do you relate to Jonah?  What is your Nineveh?  Ask God to change your heart to react in love for them, praying for their repentance.  It's hard...it's really hard...but it's what Jesus would do, and something he already did.   Thank Him because He is gracious and compassionate, even if you don't want Him to be.  It's not our call who gets saved and who doesn't.  As God says very well in the last verse, "Should I not be concerned about that great city?"  Should He not be concerned about everyone no matter their background? 

That's just like you God...thank you.