Two thoughts are on my mind this morning. I am reading and thinking about them.
The first is 'impatience'.
The second is a small phrase that a host of a holiday gathering said that stuck with me. They had serval groups of people in their home. We were at a table and she looked at us as she passed by to greet yet another group as they came in with baked goods and coats that were coming off their bodies.
She said, as she turned to face us, 'I know I'm ignoring you.' and took a coat to find a place to hang it up.
All at once I felt we both knew the opposite was true. She wasn't ignoring any of us. We were known. She cared how we all felt. She wanted everyone to feel at home and get attention. We weren't second-class citizens. I think of this passage.
"Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed." - Proverbs 19:17 ESV
In a way, we know God isn't ignoring the poor and He won't ignore us. He considers generosity to others 'a loan' but at the same time, it looks like He has ignored the poor. He hasn't. He isn't. It looks that way but it isn't true.
Ok.
Back to the first idea of impatience. We are to be 'in the world' but not 'of the world' but impatience is an 'of the world' mindset. We want to control, orchestrate or just approve of the way (or speed) something is done but things can often spin out of control. Do we have peace? Peace is an 'out of this world' thing. Calm may be natural but not deep peace. Peace is something of God and 'sourced' in God. It passes understanding.
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." - John 14:27 ESV
Wow.
What did Jesus have? Where did He leave his peace so we can find it?
I think it is in the knowledge of the attention and personal acceptance of our Father in Heaven. It looks like He isn't listening but He Is. We act in love trusted in His love and He sees it and treats it like a loan because He cares.
No one should condemn themselves for being impatient. No one should find a reason to condemn themselves ever but impatience is a symptom that we need to find the peace that Jesus left behind. One we find that peace we can be an oasis of peace and hospitality without striving.
--
Showing posts with label Care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Care. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Hospitality In Outreach
Lately, I have been coming back to the theme of hospitality more and more. It is love that is tangible.
"For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness - with good works." - 1 Timothy 2:7-10 ESV
If you look at this passage in context Paul is urging Timothy to know the people he is ministering to and promoting hospitality in this particular congregation. Paul isn't setting 'rules' for Christians everywhere to obey. He is urging the Timothy and the Church there (who would have had that letter read to them many times) to be loving to people.
Modesty dress wasn't non-revealing dress. It was beyond that. It was dress that wasn't going to intimidate visitors and make them feel like they could never measure up.
Paul encouraged men not to argue loudly over doctrine (which was and is very Jewish) not because it was 'bad' but because it doesn't edify the visitor. It can be very self-oriented and alienating.
One thing I love about outreach is that the groups I go with are hospitable. They love truth and they love people and there is no compromise about either of those things.
I find the Holy Spirit convicting me about this often.
God loves people. He sent His Son to love us. Love and objective truth is what is going to draw people out of whatever they are in. Love.
God, please help us. We can get lost in the forest of ideas sometimes and forget why we do what we do. We also can get so focused on people that we compromise what is true. We need you to give us the balance. We need You. We need to see Jesus. He Is the One who does this perfectly. Thank you God for sending Your Son. He Is our salvation. He can fill each place with hospitable love. Fill us and our homes with love. We want to bring that everywhere we go.
--
"For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness - with good works." - 1 Timothy 2:7-10 ESV
If you look at this passage in context Paul is urging Timothy to know the people he is ministering to and promoting hospitality in this particular congregation. Paul isn't setting 'rules' for Christians everywhere to obey. He is urging the Timothy and the Church there (who would have had that letter read to them many times) to be loving to people.
Modesty dress wasn't non-revealing dress. It was beyond that. It was dress that wasn't going to intimidate visitors and make them feel like they could never measure up.
Paul encouraged men not to argue loudly over doctrine (which was and is very Jewish) not because it was 'bad' but because it doesn't edify the visitor. It can be very self-oriented and alienating.
One thing I love about outreach is that the groups I go with are hospitable. They love truth and they love people and there is no compromise about either of those things.
I find the Holy Spirit convicting me about this often.
God loves people. He sent His Son to love us. Love and objective truth is what is going to draw people out of whatever they are in. Love.
God, please help us. We can get lost in the forest of ideas sometimes and forget why we do what we do. We also can get so focused on people that we compromise what is true. We need you to give us the balance. We need You. We need to see Jesus. He Is the One who does this perfectly. Thank you God for sending Your Son. He Is our salvation. He can fill each place with hospitable love. Fill us and our homes with love. We want to bring that everywhere we go.
--
Friday, December 8, 2017
Seniority And Service
"Now I urge you, brothers - you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints - be subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer." - 1 Corinthians 16:15-16 ESV
Seniority and service. Two things that matter.
I really value the people in my life that have believed and have done it for longer than I have. I study a lot and the danger of that is that a person can begin to think they are an expert but before will always be before. A person that still serves... no is addicted to service... because they believe has something.
I'm not talking about old legalists. No. Paul knew 'the household of Stephanas' and he pointed to them. The grace preacher endorsed them as people to look at and be 'subject to' likely because those folks had humility and would never demand the submission of anyone.
When a culture begins to break down one of the first things that goes is a reverence for the elderly.
I want to value my 'fellow workers' who rest in grace and the finished work. They would never demand it but the one who have been around the block a few times and are still at it have secrets that need to be gleaned if any of us are to also have longevity.
--
Seniority and service. Two things that matter.
I really value the people in my life that have believed and have done it for longer than I have. I study a lot and the danger of that is that a person can begin to think they are an expert but before will always be before. A person that still serves... no is addicted to service... because they believe has something.
I'm not talking about old legalists. No. Paul knew 'the household of Stephanas' and he pointed to them. The grace preacher endorsed them as people to look at and be 'subject to' likely because those folks had humility and would never demand the submission of anyone.
When a culture begins to break down one of the first things that goes is a reverence for the elderly.
I want to value my 'fellow workers' who rest in grace and the finished work. They would never demand it but the one who have been around the block a few times and are still at it have secrets that need to be gleaned if any of us are to also have longevity.
--
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Different Flavors Of Caring
Yesterday I had a good meditation about the many forms of showing care for people.
Initiators often show care through a command. Responders strengthen connections. Most people do both to one degree or another but some people lean hard to one side or another.
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30 ESV
Isn't this passage such a unique blend of both styles!
Jesus initiates strongly but it is a connecting initiation.
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world." - 1 Peter 5:6-9 ESV
People who care won't be passive in their caring but at the same time a know people struggle with how to express their affection.
"Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality." - Romans 12:13 ESV
"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." - Hebrews 13:2 ESV
"Show hospitality to one another without grumbling." - 1 Peter 4:9 ESV
This care has no command and it isn't seeking to connect per se but it is just as powerful. It is the care of a host and it can only be done with the 'home field advantage.'
1 Corinthians 12 verse 28 lists 'Helps' as a gift of the Holy Spirit. The Greek word there is antilēmpsis (Strong's G484) and it means to view with understanding and minister. Some people have a gift for this but it is something we can all be involved in. We all have a ministry.
"All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." - 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 ESV
Maybe people get bossy because they care. Sometimes not but sometimes that is the case. They see a crisis and they jump right in and start directing traffic.
I don't know about you but I want to identify love when I see it. If we know God we always have the home field advantage. His presence grants us that in every situation.
--
Initiators often show care through a command. Responders strengthen connections. Most people do both to one degree or another but some people lean hard to one side or another.
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30 ESV
Isn't this passage such a unique blend of both styles!
Jesus initiates strongly but it is a connecting initiation.
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world." - 1 Peter 5:6-9 ESV
People who care won't be passive in their caring but at the same time a know people struggle with how to express their affection.
"Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality." - Romans 12:13 ESV
"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." - Hebrews 13:2 ESV
"Show hospitality to one another without grumbling." - 1 Peter 4:9 ESV
This care has no command and it isn't seeking to connect per se but it is just as powerful. It is the care of a host and it can only be done with the 'home field advantage.'
1 Corinthians 12 verse 28 lists 'Helps' as a gift of the Holy Spirit. The Greek word there is antilēmpsis (Strong's G484) and it means to view with understanding and minister. Some people have a gift for this but it is something we can all be involved in. We all have a ministry.
"All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." - 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 ESV
Maybe people get bossy because they care. Sometimes not but sometimes that is the case. They see a crisis and they jump right in and start directing traffic.
I don't know about you but I want to identify love when I see it. If we know God we always have the home field advantage. His presence grants us that in every situation.
--
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Careful Warnings
This morning as I read I'm thinking about warnings. How only someone who cares gives them and how it takes humility to receive them. Some one who is a 'master of their own destiny' may not receive a warning.
Not all warnings are good. Discouragement can be wrapped up in the form of a warning also.
God only warns to protect but men sometimes warn to discourage.
There are warning I have regretted giving. I try to be careful who I warn and how I warn them. I don't want to discourage faith. I do want to discourage foolishness that will get people hurt. A warning should be a specialized tool that only comes out rarely when absolutely necessary.
"Thus says the LORD: "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.' I set watchmen over you, saying, 'Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!' But they said, 'We will not pay attention.' Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, what will happen to them. Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people, the fruit of their devices, because they have not paid attention to my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it." - Jeremiah 6:16-19 ESV
Wow. What an interesting passage.
Our future depends on the rest that we have today. The watchmen on our wall cry out, 'Keep believing in Him!' The doctrines that frame God's character and nature keep us on the path of rest. Our souls have the tendency to wander but grace warns us.
"For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 ESV
"So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest..." - Hebrews 4:9-11a ESV
What a great warning, 'Don't forget to rest!' This rest isn't a passive sleep. It is a guarded pathway with watchmen that speak to us as we go.
If we are humble we will listen. If we are meek we will be taught.
--
Not all warnings are good. Discouragement can be wrapped up in the form of a warning also.
God only warns to protect but men sometimes warn to discourage.
There are warning I have regretted giving. I try to be careful who I warn and how I warn them. I don't want to discourage faith. I do want to discourage foolishness that will get people hurt. A warning should be a specialized tool that only comes out rarely when absolutely necessary.
"Thus says the LORD: "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.' I set watchmen over you, saying, 'Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!' But they said, 'We will not pay attention.' Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, what will happen to them. Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people, the fruit of their devices, because they have not paid attention to my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it." - Jeremiah 6:16-19 ESV
Wow. What an interesting passage.
Our future depends on the rest that we have today. The watchmen on our wall cry out, 'Keep believing in Him!' The doctrines that frame God's character and nature keep us on the path of rest. Our souls have the tendency to wander but grace warns us.
"For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 ESV
"So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest..." - Hebrews 4:9-11a ESV
What a great warning, 'Don't forget to rest!' This rest isn't a passive sleep. It is a guarded pathway with watchmen that speak to us as we go.
If we are humble we will listen. If we are meek we will be taught.
--
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
The Place God Pours Out His Love
God cares about people. He cares very much.
In a way it is almost a secret because the world we live in has both extremes of caring. Many people care and many people don't seem to care... or care in a very focused exclusive way. Caring when you are not cared for is hard for us to do in our own power. When people feel alone they can rationalize many things. If they have been used carelessly then they try to adapt.
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world." - 1 Peter 5:6-9 ESV
God wants a spiritually minded person to adapt by casting their cares upon Him. It takes a faith decision to do this. Naturally we can't. We must believe to do this and to keep doing it.
"And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." - Hebrews 11:6 ESV
People look at a world that will not love them and they are like embers left alone in the windy cold. Their hot initial flame flickers and is overwhelmed by the elements.
"Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." - Romans 5:2-5 ESV
We stand in grace and rejoice in hope and God pours love into our hearts. The Greek word used for pour (or 'shed abroad') is ekcheo (Strong's G1632) and it means to spill out in a messy way. Like milk poured on a counter that finds multiple places to drip and make a mess. It is a spill that is not easily contained. The love is unfocused and overflowing.
It is great to watch a person who has been hurt many times and is now humble finally with someone who loves them with God's love. Love begins to be 'shed abroad' in their hearts. The transformation can be shocking.
Yes. God cares. When we stand in grace and rejoice in hope because Christ has been revealed to us that love becomes visible through us and in us.
Then as living stones placed together that heat and light can be felt even at a distance.
Listen.
God has not forgotten about you. The circumstances are what they are and you did what you did one way or the other. God isn't like us. He isn't saying, 'See you got what you deserve.' He cares and wants to use those circumstances in our life to give us what we don't deserve. Our grip on things must be loosened first sometimes for that to happen.
If we make decisions to hear and learn about grace and draw close to where the glory of God is manifested then so much can happen. That is the place where love is being shed abroad in imperfect people. That becomes an oasis and a place of healing.
"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" - Romans 8:31-32 ESV
When our hearts begins to cool we look here. The cross is where we find the flame again. The cross is the place of grace and glory. The cross renews our hope. No matter what things look like that cross is a lighthouse that will always guide us safely home.
--
In a way it is almost a secret because the world we live in has both extremes of caring. Many people care and many people don't seem to care... or care in a very focused exclusive way. Caring when you are not cared for is hard for us to do in our own power. When people feel alone they can rationalize many things. If they have been used carelessly then they try to adapt.
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world." - 1 Peter 5:6-9 ESV
God wants a spiritually minded person to adapt by casting their cares upon Him. It takes a faith decision to do this. Naturally we can't. We must believe to do this and to keep doing it.
"And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." - Hebrews 11:6 ESV
People look at a world that will not love them and they are like embers left alone in the windy cold. Their hot initial flame flickers and is overwhelmed by the elements.
"Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." - Romans 5:2-5 ESV
We stand in grace and rejoice in hope and God pours love into our hearts. The Greek word used for pour (or 'shed abroad') is ekcheo (Strong's G1632) and it means to spill out in a messy way. Like milk poured on a counter that finds multiple places to drip and make a mess. It is a spill that is not easily contained. The love is unfocused and overflowing.
It is great to watch a person who has been hurt many times and is now humble finally with someone who loves them with God's love. Love begins to be 'shed abroad' in their hearts. The transformation can be shocking.
Yes. God cares. When we stand in grace and rejoice in hope because Christ has been revealed to us that love becomes visible through us and in us.
Then as living stones placed together that heat and light can be felt even at a distance.
Listen.
God has not forgotten about you. The circumstances are what they are and you did what you did one way or the other. God isn't like us. He isn't saying, 'See you got what you deserve.' He cares and wants to use those circumstances in our life to give us what we don't deserve. Our grip on things must be loosened first sometimes for that to happen.
If we make decisions to hear and learn about grace and draw close to where the glory of God is manifested then so much can happen. That is the place where love is being shed abroad in imperfect people. That becomes an oasis and a place of healing.
"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" - Romans 8:31-32 ESV
When our hearts begins to cool we look here. The cross is where we find the flame again. The cross is the place of grace and glory. The cross renews our hope. No matter what things look like that cross is a lighthouse that will always guide us safely home.
--
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Three Ways God Takes Notice In Psalm 56
"You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book? When I cry out to You, Then my enemies will turn back; This I know, because God is for me." - Psalm 56:8-9 NKJV
Wow...
God keeps a memento, a tally and writes something perceptive down about us all the time. What care that is!
We take photos, buy postcards and take rocks off the beach. We want a touchstone of some kind to remember our trips or special occasions. God does this even during our wanderings (Nowd - Strong's H5112). Even if we feel we are a fugitive or someone no one is noticing as they are wandering directionless God is taking note.
This isn't the tally of a time keeper saying, 'Late again... that's the third time this week.' This is the tally of a mother or father making marks in the doorway that say, 'In 2012 you were this tall.' It is the tally of someone who loves us.
We may not remember how many times we prayed for something but God has an exact count.
Our heartaches may be repressed in our memory but God knows and puts those tears in a bottle. God loves us like a mother who goes in their college bound child's room and sits on their bed and hugs their pillow.
"In God (I will praise His word), In the LORD (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" - Psalm 56:10-11 NKJV
Two words for God are here in this passage... Elohiym (H430), the triune judge, and the great unpronounceable essential intimate name Yahweh (H3068) that can only be said as an exhale. It is His word that reveals His mind. We only know of this scrapbook through His word.
"Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You, For You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, That I may walk before God In the light of the living?" - Psalm 56:12-13 NKJV
These vows are the vows of a worshiper. We can get bound up in love when we realize His attention and care. We are not alone. We are not forgotten. Someone understands our heart and our situation very well.
God is with us.
"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." - Isaiah 61:10 ESV
--
Wow...
God keeps a memento, a tally and writes something perceptive down about us all the time. What care that is!
We take photos, buy postcards and take rocks off the beach. We want a touchstone of some kind to remember our trips or special occasions. God does this even during our wanderings (Nowd - Strong's H5112). Even if we feel we are a fugitive or someone no one is noticing as they are wandering directionless God is taking note.
This isn't the tally of a time keeper saying, 'Late again... that's the third time this week.' This is the tally of a mother or father making marks in the doorway that say, 'In 2012 you were this tall.' It is the tally of someone who loves us.
We may not remember how many times we prayed for something but God has an exact count.
Our heartaches may be repressed in our memory but God knows and puts those tears in a bottle. God loves us like a mother who goes in their college bound child's room and sits on their bed and hugs their pillow.
"In God (I will praise His word), In the LORD (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" - Psalm 56:10-11 NKJV
Two words for God are here in this passage... Elohiym (H430), the triune judge, and the great unpronounceable essential intimate name Yahweh (H3068) that can only be said as an exhale. It is His word that reveals His mind. We only know of this scrapbook through His word.
"Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You, For You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, That I may walk before God In the light of the living?" - Psalm 56:12-13 NKJV
These vows are the vows of a worshiper. We can get bound up in love when we realize His attention and care. We are not alone. We are not forgotten. Someone understands our heart and our situation very well.
God is with us.
"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." - Isaiah 61:10 ESV
--
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Bandages In The Cupboard
I keep band-aids in my cabinet because I know I'm going to need them someday. I hope that I don't use them and that they get so old that I have to throw them out and get new ones.
I'm not planning to cut myself. As a matter of fact I'm planning to be careful not to cut myself. But I'm not structuring my whole life that way.
"Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?" - Jeremiah 8:22 ESV
God gave us plants and substances that have restorative properties because at times we need restoration.
Things break. Mistakes happen. Just like we plan not to injure ourselves if we are wise we also plan to have what we need just in case we do.
God has spiritual band-aids in his cupboard. Life gets rough at times.
"And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." - 1 Peter 5:10 ESV
"Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." - Hebrews 12:2 ESV
Jesus took the deepest cut. Our mistakes cost Him everything. But He was confident that His Father had band-aids in His cupboard.
I am so grateful that God is more diligent than I am. He has had a plan to help me waiting all along. He knew I would need healing so He stocked the cupboard with just what was needed.
Thank you God. There is an overflow of mercy. More than enough for us and the whole world. I feel privileged to know it. I want the world to know that the cure for what ails them is waiting in Your Son. Help me get the word out. Thank You for your great care.
--
I'm not planning to cut myself. As a matter of fact I'm planning to be careful not to cut myself. But I'm not structuring my whole life that way.
"Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?" - Jeremiah 8:22 ESV
God gave us plants and substances that have restorative properties because at times we need restoration.
Things break. Mistakes happen. Just like we plan not to injure ourselves if we are wise we also plan to have what we need just in case we do.
God has spiritual band-aids in his cupboard. Life gets rough at times.
"And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." - 1 Peter 5:10 ESV
"Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." - Hebrews 12:2 ESV
Jesus took the deepest cut. Our mistakes cost Him everything. But He was confident that His Father had band-aids in His cupboard.
I am so grateful that God is more diligent than I am. He has had a plan to help me waiting all along. He knew I would need healing so He stocked the cupboard with just what was needed.
Thank you God. There is an overflow of mercy. More than enough for us and the whole world. I feel privileged to know it. I want the world to know that the cure for what ails them is waiting in Your Son. Help me get the word out. Thank You for your great care.
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