Showers – Get Wet!

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There are all sorts of showers. Baby showers. Wedding showers. Rain showers. And showers to clean yourself off. All of them can be fun and refreshing.

If you’ve ever stayed overnight with my family, and mentioned you were going to take a shower, my Dad will say: “Try not to get wet!”

Now that is just silly, isn’t it? Of course you’re going to get wet if you’re taking a shower. For heaven’s sake, how else would you get clean! He says this obviously to be funny. However, I was considering today how this statement can resemble repentance.

Have you ever gone to God and repented for a sin, but then still felt dirty afterwards? As if the prayer was just words and God never forgave you. Like you walk into a shower (prayer), turn on the water and step in (repent), but somehow you seem to dodge every raining drop of water and not get wet (forgiveness). I’ve recently been there. I keep repenting for the same ‘ole thing. Silly isn’t it?

Why don’t I believe God and His word?! Jesus said: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9 NKJV)

Ah ha! God gives us a shower! He cleans us (even the messy dirty parts we like to hide)!

It’s interesting to me, that if we confess our sins – the ones we know about, then He forgives us for ALL of them, even the ones we don’t mention. I’ve never seen that before but that is cool! (Re-read the verse to make sure I’m seeing this correctly.)

How do you feel after you take a shower? Refreshed? Clean? Ready to start the day? How about after you’ve exercised or worked in dirt all day? I think the dirtier we are, the better it feels to have it all cleaned up!

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19 NKJV)

The other cool thing is we can take showers daily. Every morning, we can start anew. A blank slate. A new start. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV)

I think the struggle is more than just accepting God’s forgiveness (although that can be a struggle too), but it can also be avoiding/not sinning again when we’re in the same situation. It is HARD to change. It takes focus, determination, concentration, self-awareness, and revelation (“ah ha, I’ve seen this temptation before”). Paying attention to what you’re doing sounds easy, but for me, sometimes I run on auto-pilot – especially when I’ve been doing things the same way for a long time. So is it even possible?

Paul struggled with this as well – wanting to do the “right” thing, but doing the “wrong.”

“For what I am doing, I do not understand….For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice…O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:15-24 NKJV)

It is only through Jesus that we can do anything good! “You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from You.” (Psalms 16:2 NKJV)

SO, it’s not focus, determination, concentration, self-awareness, and (earthly) revelation as mentioned before. Because all that focusing, will power, 3×5 card reminders amount to nothing. WE can’t do it. But God can do it IN us.

What a relief! I just need to ask God to do it in me – and wait expectantly as I watch it happen! GOD IS SO COOL!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV)

Makes this verse all the more clear to me: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13 NKJV)

Next time I shower (probably tomorrow morning), I’m going to get wet!

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Filed Under: Becoming, Forgiveness, Mercy

Seeking

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If you’ve ever been in the position of having to look for a job, you know it’s a huge drag. I’m currently seeking employment. Wondering “who out there needs someone like me?” It makes the world seem so big and fuzzy – in other words, there are soooo many companies and industries how in the he$$ do I figure out where to apply let alone have one person in that company look at me?! It’s very fuzzy and daunting.

And so I pray. God, lead me to apply to the right places. Show me where and when to be at the right place at the right time. God, bring me to the front of the stack. May my resume be highlighted in their eyes. Etc.

I’ve had so many miracles when it comes to jobs that it’s hard to identify them all. God has shown up when I had no money to pay the mortgage. He has brought me Christmas presents (on Christmas Day!) of an unexpected bonus. God has blessed me with multiple promotions in one year even when that was unheard of in the company.  And so much more!

But today, I saw an interesting scripture like I’ve never seen it before:  “Jesus answered them and said, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.'” (John 6:26 NKJV)

This was right after Jesus had done a miracle and fed 5,000+ with just a few loaves and fish. The people who ate, then followed Jesus across the water Galilee to another city. Jesus recognized that they were seeking something from Him.

They were not seeking Him.

I’ve heard it put another way…are you seeking His hand (what He can do) or are you seeking His face (who He is).

I liken it to popcorn prayers. I do them: God help me with this EFG. God show me which drapes to buy. God give me strength to walk up this hill. God bless my family. God give me favor with everyone I come into contact with today. Etc.

The tragedy comes when that is all we do – seek what He can do for me today (His hand) and forget to seek HIM!

He is not a Santa Claus, nor does He exist just to bless us. God also disciplines us. God leads us. God sanctifies us (sanctify means “to make holy; to free from sin; purify; to declare or render productive of or conductive to holiness, blessing, or grace”). Some of these are not fun. He may point out where you are wrong and your faults or lead you into the desert!

God is the great “I AM.” He is not the great “I will do this for you.” Is He a blesser? Absolutely! Does he want to bless us? Absolutely! But does He want more from us – say a real relationship that goes through ups and downs? Absolutely!

“This is Jacob (Jodi), the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face.” (Psalms 24:6 NKJV)

“When You said, ‘Seek My face,’ My heart said to You, ‘Your face, Lord, I will seek.’” (Psalms 27:8 NKJV)

“Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!” (Psalms 105:4 NKJV)

Today, and every day, Lord, may I seek You and get to know You more, not just what You can do for me. I want to know You. I want to feel what you feel.  Think what You think. Follow You wherever You lead. I want to know what You are doing today so that I can join in! May I be called a person/generation who seeks You! And I know that You will take care of the rest. I trust You in that.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (HIM!), and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33 NKJV)

Seek Him.

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Filed Under: Becoming, Discipline, Faith, Trust

Buckets

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My brain creates buckets. I’m pretty sure all of ours do (if I remember correctly from college a few years ago). When I come across something, I want to put it in a bucket.

My buckets have lots of varying titles such as smart, scary, useful, unnerving, tall, pretty, etc. I’ve been known to put people in buckets. She’s accomplished. He doesn’t like Romantic movies. She takes trips a lot. He is handsome. Her personality is INTJ (for those Myers Briggs fans out there). He drives scary just like the other people I’ve seen that drive that way – he’s in the “drives scary” bucket.

I even put God in buckets. As I read His Word and try to grasp what He’s saying / doing in my life, I want to whittle it down to a bucket – or maybe a few buckets. For instance, the whole Christian experience is about Faith – believing in Him and in what He says. That’s a bucket (is it really the whole experience?). Or the “journey” bucket, where God is taking me on a journey and I need to learn to hear and follow Him. God is also in a bucket of mine that contains His characteristics: Love, Powerful, Longsuffering (with me!), Guide, etc.

Well, I’ve been contemplating all my buckets lately and wondering if there are holes in them or if something can move from one bucket to another. For instance, he doesn’t drive scary anymore because he took a defensive driving class and now he’s in my “safe driver” bucket. Or that bird isn’t in my “pretty” bucket anymore because it just pooped on my car so now its in my “annoying” bucket along with the “it just rained after I washed my car” bucket.

I’m always trying to get to the bottomline of everything so I can put it in a bucket. However, one of the hard ones for me is to put my feelings in a bucket. Heck, I can’t even explain them let alone identify them! They are all over the board sometimes! (Yes, men, I am a woman.)

We are such complex creatures, it’s hard to really put us in buckets and keep us there. I get annoyed when I recognize someone has put me in a bucket – “you like Country music” or “you are smart and will figure it out.” The problem is that I change. I did like Country music at one time, but now I like Adele-like music. Or I’m not really smart in this area and can’t figure it out so I need help.

So if we are so complicated and can change at the drop of a dime, where does that leave God? If He is our creator, and we were created in His image, just imagine how complicated He is! (“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27 NKJV)

No seriously! I bet we have so many buckets that we put God into that we don’t even recognize them anymore. Like, “I know that verse” bucket. Or “God brought me through that exact same situation this way…” bucket. Or “God is love” bucket. But where does that put God in our lives? Even if we know the verse, what did God speak to us today about that verse? Or is it really the exact same situation (considering people involved, ages, timing, economy, relationships, etc.)? Or is God only love – what about His justice and sovereignty?

Bottomline (yep, still bottomlin-ing it!), God is bigger, huger, grander, more massive, more substantial than any buckets we can come up with! Let’s let God break through our buckets and may we be ever seeking know Him more because He is more than we will ever know.

“Who can put into words and tell the mighty deeds of the Lord? Or who can show forth all the praise [that is due Him]?” (Psalms 106:2 AMP)

“For the Lord is the great God, and the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.” (Psalms 95:3-7a NKJV)

“Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” (Psalms 150 NKJV)

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Filed Under: Adventure, Becoming, Believe

What He Didn’t Do

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If you’ve been a Christian for very long, you probably fully know what Jesus did for us on the Cross. You know that Jesus, who is God, humbled Himself and became a fragile man, suffered under man’s torture (both physically and emotionally being abandoned by best friends), died on a cross for our sins taking what we deserved on Himself, and ultimately conquering death and being raised from the dead is now sitting at the right hand (of blessing) of the Father. Jesus took all our sins and wiped us clean! He made a way for us to have communication with the King of Kings! He chose to give us an option for eternity in Heaven! He gave us life and life more abundantly at that very moment and on-going! And so much more!

That is awesome! When I meditate on this understanding sometimes it can be so overwhelming.

Just this past weekend in church as I was worshiping God, however, I thought about what He didn’t do.

God, who is perfect and holy, didn’t kill Adam and Eve on the spot when they took that first bite.

God didn’t yell and cuss at us when we disobeyed Him.

God didn’t pay us back for hurting Him when we ignored Him.

God didn’t decide that we were too much trouble for what we’re worth and give up on us.

God didn’t torment us until we agreed with Him.

God didn’t talk with the angels behind our back and mock us when we were different.

God didn’t toss us away when we didn’t function right.

God didn’t turn His back and say “talk to the hand” when He didn’t like us at the moment.

God didn’t then, and He doesn’t now. It is amazing when you think about the fact that we have a relationship with God who is love. Not hate. Not fear. Not punishment. Not anger. Not confusion. Doesn’t toy with us.

He has every right to do and act as He pleases – for heaven’s sake He is God! But He chooses to love – or He IS love (to be more accurate).  How cool is that! That is the God we have!

Anyway…just a day to reflect on what God doesn’t do, when He very well could.

“God suffers long and is kind; God does not envy; God does not parade Himself, God is not puffed up; God does not behave rudely, does not seek His own, God is not provoked, thinks no evil; God does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; God bears all things, God believes the best in all things, God hopes in all things, God endures all things. God never fails us.” (I Corinthians 13:4-8ish NKJV)  I took the liberty of replacing God with the word “love,” because God is love.

Now this is a God I love! And I want to be just like my Daddy and give that same type of love to others.

What has God not done for you lately?

P.S. Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Filed Under: #GodsLove, Faith, Love Tagged With:

Babbling or Bubbling

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I love the mountains! Everything about them. The smell. The rough terrain. The spring flowers sprouting from the middle of rocks. The view of the mountains from the city. The fresh air.  Oh, and the rivers or brooks!  If you know me, I HATE to cross over them on a log.  For some reason, my legs become jello and I lose all my balance.  But I digress.  Back to the beautiful streams that flows down the mountain…They have such a peaceful sound even when raging as they cascade over rocks.

I learned something new today (said like a second grader coming home to tell mommy he learned how to burp – uh, write in class)! I learned that I have a river of living water flowing out of my heart. Seriously! Me! There is a magnificent river flowing out of me peace, health, generosity, loving-kindness, etc.  It even says so in the Bible (like the second grader saying “Mr. Berry said so!”): “He who believes in Me (Jesus speaking here), as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38 NKJV)

So then why do I sometimes feel more like a babbling brook, than a bubbling one?

First of all, I know that feelings can be deceiving.  But even so, they are real and should be acknowledged.  I’ve been down on myself the last few days because of a bad choice I made. I chose selfishly, instead of God’s way. I had a chance to share the love of God with someone, but instead I chose to be selfish and feed my own desires. Icky. So icky.

I recently heard that “stuff” can clog up the river of life in my heart, and I believe that.  The day before, I was alive in Christ! I was hopeful! I was generous! I was enjoying the abundant life.  So why did I make that stupid choice?

Well, I did. So now what.  First, I repented. I confessed to God (and others) that I chose the wrong path. God (and others) forgave me instantly! So awesome. But I needed to pick myself up, dust myself off, let it go, and move on. I needed to clear out the clutter so that my river would flow again. That junk does not belong there!

I’m sure you’ve heard these scriptures before, but in the midst of it, they mean so much more! “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NKJV)  Even my own terrible decisions I’ve made – God is working those together for good! Perhaps God will bring the gal that I should’ve witnessed to around to me again? Or bring her path across someone else who has the love of God to share!

And “My (Jesus’) grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (II Corinthians 12:9 NKJV) Oh boy, am I weak! It’s amazing how when given a choice how quickly I chose what I want versus what God wants. The difference between a good choice (or bad one) and the best choice. But God’s grace is made perfect in just those moments! He is still working on me.

“…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…” (Philippians 1:6 NKJV) God is still working on me and He is making me into someone who will more regularly chose His way over mine.

So today, I’ve cleared the clog, and out of my heart will flow rivers of living water!

How about you? Any clogs you need to clear out? Any bad decisions you need to let go of, give to God, and move on?  Trust me, the living water pouring out is much better than a babbling brook. God is good, and wants the best for us!

(P.S. The context of the verse is the Holy Spirit.  He is the living water.)

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