The Love of God...

I came across these lyrics while practicing my guitar tonight:

Could we with ink the oceans fill
And were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade
To write the love of God above
Would drain the oceans dry
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky.

I try God's love so often. I am humbled to think how vast His love for us truly is. I simply cannot fathom it.

The Surpassing Greatness of Power .....

to those who believe. Wow! Here is the entire verse: Eph 1:18-21

18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,

20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,

21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
NIV

I started Beth Moore's Online study Live Beyond Yourself but I am doing it with a friend and she experiencing technical difficulties so.....I am doing Believing God in the meantime. I am really enjoying it. Above is what we studied yesterday. I don't understand the Power of God, I don't understand faith. Not at all like I should. I am eager to learn!

Hello again....

It has been too long since I posted. Life continues to get in the way. I have started a new Bible Study which I am excited about....Live Beyond Yourself by Beth Moore. It an online study and I will be meeting with a friend once a week to discuss it so that will keep me accountable.

I want to share my thoughts from my Bible study the other night......I was reading in Matthew about when Jesus was sleeping during the storm. The disciples panicked and were sure Jesus was going to let them die. They must have felt silly when Jesus calmed the storm so easily. I am so often like the disciples. I assume God has forgotten me or that He won't take care of me. I need to learn to trust Him completely! So many things that I am concerned about are resolved without my help. God knows about these things, He saw my need before I was aware of it, yet I waste precious time and energy worrying. Lord, I want to trust You completely. I want to allow You to work in my life and through my life. Please help me to surrender my will to yours.

In need of strength.....

I have really struggled getting my Bible study in and digging into God's Word. I have noticed that I am weakened in my walk very much when I am not taking time with God. How can I be strengthened by the Word when I am not in it? I think of the spiritual warfare that I know is going on around me and I know I am not battling as I should.

Eph 4:27: and do not give the devil a foothold.
NIV

I think I have given Satan a foothold in my life, at least in this area, if not in others. He doesn't give up ground easily but I must fight to get it back or he will continue to encroach on God's territory in my life. He will not be happy with one or two strongholds, he wants it all, but I must offer it all up to God and for His glory alone.

Maybe it's God speaking

God uses so many things to teach His children and for that I am grateful. I am still listening to the same book in the car, a silly fantasy and God seems to use it in odd ways. Today there was a thought that I found very profound. It wasn't intended the way I took it and yet.....

Here is the thought: "She had been given a gift and the cost of it was that she had to give it back. And the reward of it was...that she would have to give it back...*"

I am often struck by how little I have to offer God, however we are given gifts. I am not just speaking of the gifts of the Spirit but simple every day or not so every day gifts. Perhaps you can sing or play an instrument. God intends you to use that for His glory. Perhaps that is the cost, but it is also the reward. God knows how little we can do on our own so He bestows gifts upon us for our enjoyment and His glory. I can remember when I was a child every Sunday at church my grandmother placed a few coins in my hand so that I could give in the offering. I had no means to earn my own money and I was certainly not worthy of the gift (I was in fact a bit naughty!) but I was given a gift, so that I could give. God, like my grandmother, gives me gifts so that I can give. I cannot earn or repay these gifts but I can give them back for His glory.



*The name of the book is The Wee Free Men, Terry Pratchett

Contentment....

This is a word that doesn't describe me.

Phil 4:11

11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content.
ASV

I didn't realize until this morning that Paul said "for I have learned". Contentment wasn't just something he was.....he had to learn it. That gives me hope. I can chose to be content. And each time I exercise my "contentment muscle" the stronger it will be.

Thought for today...

I haven't done my Bible Study yet, I am planning on it tonight. But, I did have a thought I wanted to share. I had to do some running today and was listening to a book on tape in my car. In the book the main character goes into a fantasy world and becomes caught in a dream. Everything in the dream seems real but there are slight problems with everything. Like the people don't speak clearly or the food is the wrong color. At any rate she becomes confused and has a hard time seeing the difference, yet she must in order not to become trapped in the dream. At one point she says "I must remember what is real." How true that is for me! I become easily caught up in this world but I must remember the truth, I must remember what is real.

A Daily Supply

Spurgeon's Daily Devotional today was on:
"And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life."
2 Kings 25:30

Spurgeon speaks of the need for a daily portion of God's strength. It occurred to me how often the Bible speaks of that:

• the Israelites were to collect Manna every day except for Sunday and only what they needed for that day. If they collected more than what they needed it went bad. God expected them to go to Him each day for their food.
• ....give us this day our daily bread..... It doesn't say "give us enough for this week" but just enough for this day.
• We are told in Matthew not to worry about tomorrow. Focus only on today.

I am always feeling overwhelmed with all that I have to accomplish in a week. God tells me however, that I need to focus on today only. I need to go to Him today and seek strength for today and He and I will deal with today together. There is no more I can or should do.

As always it was my intention.....

to get up and do my devotional and Bible Study when I first woke up at 6:30. The problem? I didn't wake up until 8:00! Time for school! Oddly enough, however, nobody had been up in time and that gave me a few minutes.....

Off to the computer I go to PC Bible Study, not my usual routine but at least I get my Bible time in and I am on the computer already so it is easy to post to this blog. I read Spurgeon's devotional first and the verse he focuses on is this:
2 Cor 1:5
5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
NIV

I remember reading that chapter but I don't remember that verse. So I dig deeper and I check out the Greek. The Greek word here translated flow means literally "to superabound" or be in excess. (Strong's NT:4052 perisseuo (per-is-syoo'-o*) In other words we can expect to inundated with trials and trouble. We are going to hurt, we will have seasons in our life that will be difficult to endure.

On to the part that I found really exciting! The part that says: " so through Christ our comfort overflows". Back to the Greek and here is what I found: first, overflows is the same Greek word as flows. Through Christ our comfort superabounds or is in excess. Comfort here is from the Greek word paraklesis which means comfort or consolation, that words comes from the word parakaleo which means to call near or invite.

There is then. We will suffer and hurt but in our sufferings will be called near to Christ for comfort. He will use our hurts to draw Him to Himself because He knows well that ....
our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Rom 8:18 NIV



(*Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

Journaling my way to God?

Who knows, maybe it will help. I have noticed though, when I don't spend time with God daily, everything suffers, everything. The little things and the big things are a lot harder to handle. The kids are more difficult, my husband is more cranky and I am depressed and discouraged. I overeat and I underthink (not a word I know but somehow fits). Focus on what I should do is lost. I recently heard a sermon about the judgment seat; the moment when we will receive our reward. Reward? I forgot about that! I have only been thinking about why the kids are yelling and why my husband is always so cranky! How am I ever going to stop this cycle with food and how am I going to get it all done when all I want to do is zone out in front of the TV? Reward, huh? Now that's something to think about.

Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth.
The Greek as far as I can tell (I am no scholar) means "Set your affection on.." or to be mentally disposed more or less earnestly in a certain direction (Strong's definition). I have had no direction lately and that is dangerous. When you aren't headed in a certain direction you are easily turned. I certainly have been easily turned.