Satisfaction without devastation

Pr. 14:14:  “The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied from above.”

I recently saw a sign that read, “Sin Captivates, Then Devastates.”  That is so true.  Sin isn’t always something that reviles us and causes us to turn away in disgust.  Sin can be so alluring.  It captivates us with special effects of glitter and lights.  Sometimes we see adventure.  Sometimes escape.  One thing is certain; however, in the end sin does devastate.

Being ‘filled with our own ways’ might seem to meet some momentary need, but it never truly satisfies.  It destroys and devours.  God not only offers satisfaction, He offers provision, refuge, strength, deliverance, forgiveness, mercy, grace, and so much more.  He is truly all we could need.

Sin weighs us down with guilt, consequences, and defeat; and yet the Lord’s yoke is light.  His burden is easy.  He literally invites us to come to Him when we are heavy laden and He will give us rest for our souls.  True rest.  He is gentle.  He is humble.  He renews our strength when we wait on Him.  And He has eternal life waiting for us.

Sin does devastate.  It comes in and throws us completely off course, interrupting our relationship with the Lord, and stalling our ministry.  On the other hand, The Lord, who began a good work in us, will complete what was begun.  He enriches us, builds us up, and He is our helper.  He is the One who offers aid when we are tempted.

I’m so thankful for a God who will never devastate us.  He will leave us nor forsake us.   His promises in His Word are true, and He is faithful.

When we’re looking for true satisfaction, the only place we will find it is at the throne of our High Priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses and offer mercy and grace to help us in time of need.

At His throne,

jamie

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Do you know with certainty?

Pr. 22:20-21:  “Have I not written to you excellent things of counsels and knowledge?  That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, that you may answer words of truth to those who send you.”

How can we know with certainty that the Bible contains words of truth?  We keep reading.  In order to become someone who knows anything with certainty, a little research is required.  Keep reading.

The Lord has given us His pure, proven, living Word, filled with excellent things and counsels of knowledge.  If you’re still unsure, find a book on Christian Apologetics.  Pray about what you’re reading and discovering, and then read the Word some more.  The Holy Spirit will open your eyes and hearts to the truth.

The more you read, the more you will know the truth.  Then you will be able to share that truth as you give an answer for the hope that is within you.

As we enter into a weekend when many take time to rest and relax, I pray that we all make time to spend intentional time in the Word, so that the certainty of the Word of God will fill our hearts and our hope will be secured in the Truth.

Keep reading,

jamie

Watching over the household

Pr. 31:27:  “She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.”

As a woman whose job is to care for her home, her children, and her husband, this verse runs through my mind quite often.  Although we all need breaks where we rest, we are urged not to be continually idle.  There is a big difference between a 1 hour break and a 1 month veg-out where little to no work is done at all.

No worries men, hang with me.  I have a different take on this verse today.  I want to talk about not watching over the ways of the household of God.

After Stephen was stoned, Christ’s followers were greatly persecuted.  Stephen had just been stoned for preaching the gospel.  Saul was making ‘havoc’ of the church, dragging off men and women to prison.  Now, the rest were being scattered throughout the regions of Jerusalem and Samaria.  I would imagine this would not only have been a sad time, with the death of a friend, but also pretty scary and uncertain.

It would be natural for those scattered to go into hiding.  Grief has many stages and effects, and it wouldn’t have been out of the question for some to simply tend to their own well-being at the time.  However, we don’t see that taking place.  Acts 8:4 says that those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.  It tells specifically of Philip going to Samaria and preaching Christ to them.  There were miracles, deliverance from unclean spirits, healings, and baptisms.  Vs. 8 says, “And there was great joy in that city.”

Wow!  What I notice is that instead of giving in to their feelings and emotions, those who were scattered were determined to take care of the household of God and not use this time to eat the bread of idleness.  When there is work to be done, someone has to do it.  It seems these followers took their work seriously.

We all need breaks from time to time.  We were created to rest and the Lord even modeled that for us.  It is good to spend Sabbath time where we rest, renew our strength, spend some deliberate quiet time with God in prayer and in the Word, and re-create ourselves in His strength.  However, we must not allow ourselves to be drawn into idleness.  We must care for our Father’s house and our Father’s children.  There is work to be done.

We can take notes from those early followers and remember that there is great joy to be spread.  Our family is counting on us!

Inspired,

jamie

How ya sleeping?

Pr. 3:24:  “When you lie down, you will not be afraid; yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet.”

Solomon wrote that when we keep wisdom and discretion this will be one of the results.

I have nights where I awake in the middle of the night and am bombarded by terribly self-defeating thoughts.  I suppose that during the day I am more alert and ready to defend myself, but at night I am groggy and vulnerable.

This happened to me again last night.  As I was lying there being  attacked by thoughts of defeat, doubt, hopelessness, and despair, I heard these words come to the surface of my mind:

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.  I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly trust in Jesus’ name.

Christ alone is my Cornerstone.  On Him, the Solid Rock, I stand, and certainly all other ground is sinking sand.

Verse 2 says,  “When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace.”  How fitting for the middle of the night when my thoughts loomed so largely in the forefront of my mind.

Through wisdom, I was able to rest on His unchanging grace last night.  Through discretion, I was able to apply good judgment to which thoughts I would allow to take me captive and which I would no longer entertain.

Remembering on whom my hope is built brought me peace and I was able to rest sweetly the remainder of the night.

This is a good example of a reason we must have the Lord’s wisdom in our lives.  Satan loves to attack our thoughts with fear, deception, and lies.  Often he uses half truths to attack us, which is why we sometimes believe or give in.

If we know the Word, and His truth, we will be able to take up our shield of faith and withstand the fiery darts of the wicked one.  We will be able to remind ourselves that do not need to place our trust in “the sweetest frames,” but wholly trust in Jesus’ name.

If we know the Word, we can rest on the fact that our hope isn’t built on anything that will sink or corrode, but is on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and His righteousness.

We have all we need in Christ.  I pray that when thoughts to the contrary attempt to take you captive, you will remember this story, and be able to rest sweetly in the truth of the Word.  I pray I will, too.

Trusting in Him,

jamie

Come and rest

Mt. 11:28-30:  “Come to Me, all you 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.”

I love reading these verses about the true rest that Jesus gives.  We do not have to work for grace, He gives it freely.  We do not have to work harder to earn our salvation.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, then His salvation is ours.

Submitting to Him doesn’t shackle and burden us, or add more weight.  It takes the weight away.  Allowing Him to pour His love and peace upon us will give us true rest.  We are invited to come to him, learn from Him, and find rest for our souls.  He is gentle and lowly in heart, as He proved when He walked on this earth.

Isaiah 40:29-31 says, “He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.  Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

Running faster or working harder will not increase our strength or our salvation.  Our strength comes from the Lord.  The harder we work in our own flesh, the more likely we will fall.  God says to “wait” on Him.  We must slow down, be still, and wait.  When we do, He will renew our strength, in His power, and we will no longer be weary.

Jesus also taught us in John 15:4 to abide in Him.  Abide means to wait, to stay, be still, endure, and bear patiently.  He said that, “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”  He calls Himself the vine and us the branches.  With only the minimal knowledge of vines, we can certainly understand that if the branch is not attached to a vine, it cannot grow fruit.  In fact, it will wither and die.

What better news could we receive today?  Our job is to come to Jesus, be still, endure with Him, wait on Him, and learn from Him.  This will allow Him to give us rest, renew our strength, and cause us to not grow faint.  Abiding in Him will also allow Him to cause fruit to bear forth in our lives.  We don’t have to work harder for the fruit to come, but we must remain attached to the Vine.  He is the source of life.  Remain attached to Him and enjoy your rest.

Sigh…

jamie

Rest

I was reading about rest this morning.  It seems fitting, being the weekend, that rest be the topic of today’s blog.

Gen. 2:2-3:  “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.  Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”

I encourage you to rest.  Even God, the Maker and Sustainer of all things, rested.  Since we are made in His image, it is logical to assume He was setting an example for us.  Working is good, even necessary, but we need to rest.  There is a time when the work needs to end.  A day of rest has been blessed and sanctified.  Enter into it.  One day we will enter in to His rest, and what a glorious day that will be.  Until then, my dear brothers and sisters, rest in Him.

Pausing,

jamie

Need a good word today?

Pr. 12:26:  “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad.”

Jesus, who laid down His life for us, said, “Come to Me, all you 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.”

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears.

But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is patient toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.  The Lord has been mindful of us: He will bless us.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.  For evil doers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.  And my God will supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart.  Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!  God will wipe away every tear from our eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.  There shall be no more pain, for the former things will have passed away.

The good words in today’s blog come straight from the Word of God.  In order:  Mt. 11:28-30, Phil. 4:6-7, Ps. 34:17, 2 Peter 3:8-9, Ps. 115:12, Pr. 37:7, 9, Phil. 4:19, Ps. 34:18, Ps. 27:14, Rev. 21:4

For more good words open the Holy Bible and call upon the Lord to draw near to you and to open your heart to hear His truth.  When you get in His presence you will be safe.  Draw near to Him today.

Confident in a faithful and mighty Savior,

jamie