You're on God's Mission!

Have you ever felt like "where you are" is a place where you are being hurt, undermined, not appreciated, and generally not treated in the way you want to be treated (or deserve to be treated)?

I have been feeling like that a lot lately!  I have been having loads of pity parties feeling sorry for myself.  I have become very resentful and negative.  I just really have not "appreciated" where I am!  Kinda self-centred right?!

The thing though is that when you get to this point you do not see the shine in anything.  You "feel" everybody is just taking what the want from you and not giving any "sugar" back!  It "feels" like a one-way street in everybody else's direction and not yours.

Then I read this....

Thank you @rachel7remnant for your words!

And then it hit me, like a ton of bricks.  This statement above put into perspective "where I am" and "why I am where I am".

• I am "where I am" because God has placed me in this mission field for His good purposes to be a witness and a help and encouragement.  I have been placed "where I am" for God's service!
• The "why" is for whatever purpose God has for me to do!  For example, if my husband feels rejected by his family, God has placed me "where I am" to show him complete acceptance of who he is, and to show him love and ultimately maybe God is teaching him through my obedience to His will, that not all those who are closest to him, will reject him... 

This statement above has done a few things for me:

1. It has given me instant perspective!  This is a mission field and the Lord has placed me "where I am" for His purposes
2. Its not about "me"!  Its not about what others can do for me, how others treat me!  No, its about what I can do for others, about how I treat others, so that "where I am" can further the Lord's purposes here on earth.
3. Instead of feeling "shame, woe is me," I feel empowered, I feel renewed, I feel as though I am part of God's army!  I am a soldier for Christ and my mission, my battlefield, is exactly "where I am."
4. I have a resurgence of joy.  I feel it bubbling up inside of me, and it has melted away all the resentment built up over time.  I finally have figured out that though I may not be a pastor, or a missionary, or biblical scholar, I am a foot-soldier on the Lord's business, in the mission field He has placed me in, my "where I am".
5. And peace.  I feel such peace already.  

Now, when I read 1 Corinth 13 vs 4 - 8(a):  (4) Love is patient and kind;  love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant (5) or rude.  It does not insist on its own way;  it is not irritable or resentful;  (6) it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. (7) Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  (8) Love never ends....   I see these words as tools, as weapons of spiritual warfare, and not self-denial.  I now see them as gifts from the Lord to do as He would have me do, "where I am".

I now understand what it means to "take back your authority in Christ."  My perspective has changed from being inward and self-focused, to being excited to go about God's work in the mission field He has placed me in and all those things that previously brought me down and hurt me, I can rebuke them for what they are, the devil's mind-games, with the authority given to me through Christ Jesus.

I hope I have encouraged you today to look at "where you are" and realise you are not there only for refining and painful growth, but you are also "where you are" as a soldier for Christ in the battle for the souls of His people.

God bless

Tracy

What are you doing with the Talents God has given you?

For the past year I have been back and forth with the whole digital detox thing and anyone who knows me well enough has probably rolled their eyes a time or two at me 👀.

A few months back I deleted my blog which had over 500 posts, it was 8 years old, and I deleted it "permanently"!  And then... a few days in, I regretted it.  Of course because I deleted it permanently, it was gone.  Fortunately I did download a copy of my blog, (but for the life of me, I am unable to get it to upload to my new blog), but still, for another few months I had this daily debate rage back and forth.  I deleted social media attached to it, started again with a new name, did not like it, changed it, regretted it, etc etc etc...  Such a lot of mental gymnastics for nothing.

Eventually, I did a sort of pros and cons list, and decided that unless the Lord told me otherwise, I would now, once and for all, delete the whole lot!

Next morning I get up and have my quiet time.  Before I start I drop a little prayer to the Lord, "if You don't want me to delete it all, let me know..." 

So, I read my bible, highlight, make notes, etc and then - I read Matthew 25.  When I read the following part of Matthew 25, I knew I had my answer and all my back and forth was over:

Matt 25 vs 14 - 30:  (Italics and highlights mine)

The Parable of the Talents

(14) “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. (15) To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. (16) He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. (17) So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. (18) But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.  

(19) Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. (20) And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’  (21) His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’  (22) And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’  (23) His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’  (24) He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, (25) so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’  (26) But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed?  (27) Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.  (28) So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.  (29) For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.  (30) And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather!  How much more of an answer does one need than that?!  I truly felt that having gone back and forth for months, making mountains out of molehills with regards to social media, the Lord had finally (in His perfect timing) shone a light on my path.

I want to take the "talent" that the Lord has given me and grow it for His glory and produce good fruit for His kingdom.  I do not want to be like the man who did nothing with what was given to him and thus, ultimately, it was taken away from him, along with any peace and joy!

Well, I was still in a dilemma!  I still was not happy with the new "name changes" I had made, and out of curiosity, knowing it was highly unlikely, I tried all the social media out on the name I had previously chosen for my "new season" (Other words for having deleted all my original stuff 😧)

And miraculously, even on social media that claims you may never get used names back (I know this to be true sadly), every single outlet I use, that name was available!

So (re)welcome to my new spot on the net!  Daily in His Grace!

I hope you find encouragement and biblical truth here as I walk this journey digging deeper in the word of the Lord!

God bless

Tracy

Fire-Starter or Harmony-Maker?

How often have we been told that to keep things all bottled up will cause us to explode eventually.  All that anger and frustration will just bubble over and burn an acidic route out of your mouth and heart and into your circumstances. 

To some extent I agree.  I do not believe we should harbor resentments and keep everything bottled up inside.  I do believe that we need to sometimes talk to someone trustworthy, someone who would counsel us and guide us with godly wisdom.  And, if there is not that someone, or you do not know who to trust, you can speak to God about it.  David spoke to God a whole lot!  One thing I am realizing though, the Word does not say "Let it all out!"  No, the Word says, "Let it all go!"

Colossians 3 vs 8 - 9:  (8) But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.  (9) Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.

Paul tells us to put these things off, get rid of them, not let it all spill out of your heart.  He also then tells us to replace these vices with new ways:

Colossians 3 vs 12 - 14:  (12) Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, (13) bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  (14) And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

God wants us to let go the poisonous stuff that harms our hearts and souls, and those around us as that all overflows out of us and replace it with Colossians 3 vs 10:  And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator.  He wants us to replace those ugly characteristics with those that are of the Creator, or Jesus, our Lord and Savior. 

How do you do that?  Well, its not easy.  If it was so easy hatred and jealousy and all those things would not feature so much in our world would it? 

• It is a daily renewing of our minds in the Word of the Lord.  
• It is choosing to not conform to the ways of the world, but conform to the Word of the Lord.  
• It is choosing to let anger go, to let resentment go, to let jealousy and hatred go, and 
• to choose to love in its place.  
• Choose instead a word of kindness.  
• Choose to keep quiet instead of voicing your opinion or anger.  
• Choose to be slow to anger.  
• Choose to be understanding.  
• Choose to look at the other person and see into the eyes of someone God loves too.

All of this is possible only because God gives us His grace and mercy daily.  We on our own would not be able to maintain such choices.  It is only because of God that we can.


In the midst of your choosing, choose love:

1 Corinth 13 vs 4 - 7: 

• Love is patient and kind; 
• love does not envy or boast; 
• it is not arrogant or rude. 
• It does not insist on its own way; 
• it is not irritable or resentful; 
• it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, 
• but rejoices with the truth. 
• Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

We can with our words (which are tempered by what is in our hearts) start fires or create harmony.  Which do you want to be?  A fire-starter or a harmony-maker?

God bless
Tracy

How's that Attitude working for you?

Lately I have been spending a lot of time in my head mulling over all the bad stuff that has been happening and the people responsible for it.  Partly because I am tired of it and I want it to end already and partly because I suppose, deep down, the whole forgiveness thing is grinding on me in that I need to keep doing so.  For the old stuff and for the ongoing stuff (another post for another day no doubt).  So, yes, lots of unpleasantness going on in the brain.

However, this is not how God wants us to deal with stuff.

I read this recently:  Proverbs 15 vs 15:  All the days of the afflicted are evil, but he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast.

Truly, reading this has never made too much sense to me.  But this time I dug deeper.

What it basically means is that a negative person will always be in a negative space all their days.  They will always be on the short end of the stick, their "luck" will always be bad, they will always be the victim, people will always be mean to them.... basically, their perception of their day to day lives will lead to a lifetime of affliction, self-inflicted mostly.

Whereas, the positive person, because they choose joy, because they choose contentment, because they choose to focus on what is good, wholesome, lovely, of good report (Phil 4 vs 8), because they choose to see the good in people, and choose not to take offence, it will be as though their lives are in a place of continual "feast"/ happiness/ positivity, etc.  It is all about your attitude in your circumstances.

My bible's notes say: "Look at your attitudes and then examine what you allow to enter your mind and what you choose to dwell on. You may need to make some changes."

Having considered what that verse means, and having considered my bible's notes on the matter, the one word that literally jumped off the page for me was "DWELL"!  What am I dwelling on?

I have got to say that what I have been dwelling on has certainly tainted my "every day".  It has certainly tainted many of my conversations, and yes, to a degree, some of my decisions.

So it is with a humble and relieved heart that I now choose to "focus" on the Lord, His word, and all the good around me.  Instead of all the muck that pulls one into a life "afflicted with evil"!

I hope this has encouraged you too, to look up at the Lord and focus on Him and the good and beautiful He has placed in your life and environment, instead of the filth the devil wants you to focus on!

God bless
Tracy

Confidence in God's Word

Sometimes it seems like what God said He would do is never going to come to pass.  You feel like everything just remains the same and the evil that those perpetrate against you just keeps on keeping on.

Last night I came to a place in myself where I had to make a decision.  Am I going to focus on my circumstances, or am I going to focus on Jesus, on what He says, and trust Him regardless of how things look right now?  So... of course I am going to trust Jesus.

I am reminded of Job, where in his most desperate moments he chooses to trust God regardless.

Then we have the man in Psalms who could not understand why the evil man prospers in his ways.  But God showed him their end and he was saddened for them.
(Psalm 73 vs 12 -17: (12) Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.
(13) All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.  (14) For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning.  (15) If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children.  (16) But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, (17) until I went into the sanctuary of God;  then I discerned their end.)

And lately the Lord has been bringing lots of scriptures my way that encourage me that those who try to hurt others will not get away with their lies, their deceit, and their actions.  Here are but a few:

Prov 3 vs 25 - 26:  Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, (26) for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.

Prov 11 vs 8:  The righteous is delivered from trouble, and the wicked walks into it instead.

Prov 11 vs 21:  Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished, but the off-spring of the righteous will be delivered.

Prov 11 vs 27:  Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favour, but evil comes to him who searches for it!  
If someone is deliberately and consciously seeking to hurt or destroy someone, deliberately lying about someone, deliberately being a false witness, the hole they dig for someone else, they themselves WILL fall into.  God will not be mocked.  His waiting is His grace extended to them.  But eventually, that time will run out.


In Proverbs and Psalms there are plenty scriptures about what the Lord will do to those who hand themselves over to evil.  But He does not want my focus to be on them.  I (and you) are to leave them to God.  They are His problem.  These scriptures next, remind me where my focus should be:

Prov 4 vs 25:  Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.
Do not look at your circumstances, or worldly solutions, look only to God and His word

Prov 4 vs 27:  Do not swerve to the right or to the left, turn your foot away from evil.
Don't look to the world or yourself to resolve things that only the Lord can resolve!

I hope that I have encouraged you if you feel that you just cannot hang in there anymore.  You can!  Because God is your strength and the battle is His and not yours.

God bless
Tracy

My One Word for 2019 - Surrender!

My Word for 2019! For 2018 my One Word for the year has been ABIDE, and truly, I have tried very hard to abide in God's word.  I would say I did okay, but of course, being human, I did fail occasionally!  Do I think it made a huge difference in my life?  Well, on a day to day basis, maybe not in ways that I can see but certainly overall, I have noticed some changes.

For example, as I go through the Bible again, I am reading stuff in there that NEVER caught my attention before.  Just the other day, I was reading about Moses giving the 10 Commandments from God to the Israelites.  I always assumed Moses brought these to the people.  I never realized that God actually spoke the 10 Commandments to the people, prior to Moses bringing the tablets down to them (Exodus 20). That astounded me.

Another example, someone close to me told me off and said some really mean things, for something they felt I should have done, or handled differently and in how I did things, this person felt rejected and hurt.  I knew that they were speaking out of their own experiences and their own hurts.  They were trying to wound with things that would have wounded me in the past, with the intention of moving me to act as they would have me, or make me do something rash to make them feel differently about me.  But, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace.  I did not feel manipulated into an unwise action, even though I believe that was their intent.  I did not believe what they said about me to be true.  I had confidence in that moment, that what they were saying was not truth and I truly felt unmoved.  I mean unmoved in being hurt and manipulated and in my belief of who I am in Christ.  Not unmoved, in feeling no sympathy for them and their response.  I was not wounded by their words.  THAT, I believe, has come from ABIDING in God's word.  It is nothing that I have done differently.  I have not been telling myself in the mirror every day that I am acceptable and worthy, no!  It has come from abiding in God's word, and He has wrought that change from inside.

So, another new year is just around the corner and I see others are posting their "One Word for the Year" posts and it got me to thinking about what it is that I feel needs the most attention spiritually in my life...  I mulled over it for a bit.  I considered where I am standing right now in my walk.  What goes on in my thoughts?  What unnerves me and ties me up in knots?

I think, for me, its that I don't feel like my faith, what I read in God's word, the truth that I know from past experience, is translating into my attitude.  I'm not sure if that makes sense.  What I mean is, if everything feels as though it is going wrong today, my go to emotion is frustration, anger at the Lord, annoyance, feeling that my little problems are obviously NOT important to God (and thus I am unimportant to Him).... See where I am going with this?  My attitude sucks!!!  

I thought then that maybe "attitude" ought to be my word for the year.  But I felt God wanted me to press in deeper.  Changing my attitude is/can be an act of my will, something I can practice and that is not a bad thing.  But, I want that change to come from inside and become part of who I am.  So that, when circumstances suck - my attitude doesn't!  The word that came to mind is......

SURRENDER

I can only imagine SURRENDER is not going to be easy!  But I also feel in surrendering myself to God, surrendering myself to His truth, to His faithfulness, to His grace and mercy, surrendering myself to His will, will have changes so monumental in me, that my attitude will be forever changed.

So, my "One Word" for the previous years have been:
2018 - Abide

2017 - Consistency

2016 - Choice

2015 - Wisdom

2014 - Joy

2013 - Trust

2012 - Content

And now, for 2019, my "One Word for the Year" is SURRENDER!

Surrender encompasses so many facets

• Trust
• Faith
• Dependence
• Humility
• Speaking what is truth despite what is circumstance

I am sure there is more to this list.  My goal for 2019 is to work on SURRENDERING all to Christ and learning all the facets of that because my relationship with Jesus is what gives me life and I want my life and how I live it to bring attention to Christ and His saving grace.  I can't do that with a bad attitude!

What is your one word for 2019?

God bless

Tracy

Flourish, Where God has planted you!

I am South African, and truly, of late, I have been very negative about being, well... South African!  Everything around us seems to be a struggle.  There is so much ugliness under the surface and so much corruption and there are those few outspoken "trouble-makers" who strive to promote hate instead of peace.

This country, South Africa, has SO MUCH potential.  The people in general want to get on with one another, grow together, find a way forward while embracing all our differences.  But those "trouble-makers" voices drown out all reason and objectivity, and encourage those easily influenced, to focus on the negative and harmful.

These very same "trouble-makers" in my opinion, seek only to make only their lives wealthy and opulent.  Their concern is not for those they influence.  But, I am no politician (thank the Lord).  I however have been questioning my existence here, and that of my family.

Do I really want to be here?
Is there really any hope?
History in those countries around us is not very encouraging...
Why bother?
Shouldn't we just go where there are more like-minded people?
Could we, even if we wanted to?
Will things ever change?

And the questions just go on and on, and buzz around my head, and I have of late spoken very negatively about my country and its people.  I have felt so anxious.

So, in my anxiety, I went to the Word.  I decided to have a quiet time at a time I would ordinarily not, seeking peace and answers to my anxiety.

My next chapter to read was Jeremiah 29.  It is a letter from Jeremiah to the captives in Babylon.

Jer 29 vs 5 - 7: (5) Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. (6) Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. (7) And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace. 

I immediately felt the Lord had answered my anxiety about my country, about my city, about my home, and my part to play in it.

I felt the Lord say the following to me:

• Build your lives, and commit to them
• Plant gardens and establish yourself where you live
• Increase in your lives, family, friends, business
• Seek the peace of your city
• Pray to the Lord for the peace of your city
• For, the peace of your city will be your peace!

Is that not awesome?!  I feel as though God has spoken into all my fears and removed them by saying, "Flourish where I have planted you!"

I have wasted many anxious moments and words on being negative and losing hope.  Feeling at a loss and wanting to abandon ship so to speak.  But I feel God is calling me on this and saying, "No, I've got this, just flourish and trust the rest to Me!"

From now on, I choose to speak positively about South Africa, I choose to have hope in my country and its people, and in the God who placed us all here.  I will pray for Cape Town with fervor and for South Africa and its leaders as well. 

I hope this resonates with someone out there who feels hopeless in their city!  Don't give up hope!  God is aware of everything going on, and He is aware of you and your place in it!

God bless

Tracy

Update on the whole Digital Detox Scenario!

I just cannot wrap my head around why this stuff is working me up so much!  And finally I figured it out!  It does not matter how many times I change the name of my blog/social media around my blog, I cannot refrain from making it about who follows and responds etc.

This morning in my quiet time I read the following from my daily devotional by Paul David Tripp:

Here's how need-driven addiction (spiritual slavery) develops.  It all starts with desire ("I want...").  There is nothing evil about desire.  God created us with the capacity to desire.  Everything we say and do is the product of desire.  Yet it is very hard for sinners to hold desire with an open hand.  It doesn't take long for our desires to morph into demands ("I must...").  The thing that was once a desire is now taking hold of us.  We're less willing to live without it.  We're more and more convinced that we have to have it.  Then demand morphs into need ("I will...").  Now, with great resolve and surety, we are convinced that we cannot live without it.  

and

 This thing that was once an open-handed desire has been christened a need.  We're now fully convinced that it would be impossible to live without it.  It is now in control of our hearts.  We think about it all the time.  We are fearful when we're without it.  We plot how to keep it in our lives.

Now, please understand that social media for others is just fine with me.  If you use it, and not it you, then all is good.  But for me, if I asked myself the question, "can I give it all up?"  The answer was, "well, I need it for my blog, to see whats going on with my family, to see if people like what I have to say....etc!"  Do you hear the resounding NO in there?!

I realized that it had me, and not me it.  All those years ago when I began to blog, I had no social media.  Not personally or for my blog.  And slowly it started.  Just fb, so I can make a fb page for my blog.  Just twitter, so I can retweet my stuff there, just instagram... It certainly (for me) has crept up and bit me in the behind.

The amount of stuff that has come my way of late, to let it go, has been phenomenal.  In church this week they spoke about pleasing the flesh, or pleasing the Holy Spirit.  Now to have social media, especially if driven solely for the promotion and love of the Lord is great.  For me, that's what I said it was, but every time I went there to check, it was about who saw it, how many likes, did anyone share it?  Now, I realize that it may seem to you that I am making a mountain out of a molehill.  But I am just being real and honest with myself.  I never enjoyed blogging more than when it was only my blog and connecting with others who were finding their way forward daily in God's grace.  It did not take long for it to grow from a desire to share God's word, to a need to be out there, in every social media space that is popular.

Thus, I have deleted everything.  The pic above indicates fasting of social media.  I can't even do that without being freaked out and constantly wanting it like a sugar rush 😞.  So deleting is my option and my choice.  Except for my personal instagram and I know God is working on me to let that go too.  This is partly why I changed my blog's name (again - sigh) to Intentional 247.  I want to be intentional in everything I do, so that God gets the glory every day in my life.  Its a goal.  I fail daily and no doubt will continue to fail.  But already I have way more peace about all this than I did before.

Psalm 139 vs 1:  Oh Lord, You have searched me and know me!

Psalm 139 vs 7:  Where shall I go from Your Spirit?  Or where shall I flee from Your presence?

Psalm 139 vs 23 - 24:  Search me, O God, and know my heart!  Try me and know my thoughts!  (24) And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

God bless
Tracy

Intentional!

The word of the Lord, our bible, is full of wisdom, guidance, conviction, love, and is a powerful tool the Lord gives us to live our lives.  If we are to grow in the Lord, be overcomers in Him, we have to be more INTENTIONAL in our seeking the Lord with all our hearts.

God says in Proverbs 2 vs 1 - 6:  My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, (2) So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding;  (3 ) Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding,  (4 ) If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures;  (5 ) then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.  (6 ) For the Lord gives wisdom;  from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Reading the word is one thing, receiving it, treasuring it, listening to it, applying it, crying out for it, voicing it, seeking widsom, and searching for it.... all these things will lead us to a much deeper understanding of what it is the Lord wants us to know, and do in our lives.  We will have a better understanding of our place in the world and in God's kingdom.  

God says in Jeremiah 29 vs 13:  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

God says He will be found if we search for Him with all our hearts.  

Well, how does one do this?  I think the answer is to be intentional.  Not haphazard, not habitual, but intentional - on purpose - about seeking Him. 

Last year I tried to make it a habit to start each day in the word.  This year, I want to continue doing that, but, dig deeper.  Take more time, mull over the word as I read it.  Research what the study notes say and if they do not satisfy with clarity my questions, then, dig deeper.  For me, its not about getting through the bible in a year, its more about understanding it as a whole as I read through it.

I also am trying to surrender my emotions, the things that take up too much of my time idols (if I put these things before God, they are idols, not so?), and my fears and anxieties that come with my days and the circumstances we find ourselves in.  I am working on surrender!  Surrender to God - dependence on my Lord and Saviour!

I'm trying to put into action what I read in the word into my day to day life, and I think by being more intentional about how I read the word, what I understand, and what it all means, I think that I will start being able to apply these principles to my life intentionally, and I believe my life will never be the same again.  Jesus will not allow anyone who strives to seek Him, to not be able to find Him!

I encourage you today to be more intentional in your relationship with the Lord, and I have no doubt your life will never be the same again.

God bless
Tracy

Matthew 18 - Wow!

I have started to read my way through the New Testament and of course starting with Matthew.  As I get older and hopefully a little more knowledgeable and wiser (one can only hope 😯), I find myself really enjoying each book more than I ever did in the past. 

In a recent quiet time, I read Matthew 18.  Shoo!  So much wisdom there.  So much practical application!  So much profundity!  So, thus, I had to share! 😃

Herewith Matthew 18 vs 1 - 35, listing the verses that jumped out at me this time round:

****Please note, highlights/italics/colour changes, are all mine****

Who Is the Greatest?

(1) At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (2) And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them (3) and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  (4) Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

-What does being child-like mean?  I would say naive, trusting, believing, dependent, humble (hmmm?).  However, for me the key here is humility and dependence.  Someone who does not think more highly of themselves than they should.  Children know their need of help, supervision, care, etc.  We should be like them and know our need of Jesus and His salvation, and this, as per what Jesus says, reflects who is greater, although being greater should absolutely NOT be our motivation-

(5) “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, (6) but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

-I have to say that for me this scripture is very heart-breaking and vindicating.  Jesus is saying that if you cause a child who believes in Him to sin, it will not go well with you.  On one hand the heart-break comes from the understanding that there are people out there that do just that, and on the other hand, vindication comes from the fact that should they not repent and change their ways and seek the Lord's forgiveness, they will not get away with it!  Enough said!-

Temptations to Sin
(7) “Woe to the world for temptations to sin!  For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!  (8) And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.  (9) And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

-When I read this, that highlighted part jumped out at me.  Yes, there is temptation in the world.  Yes, we will all face some sort of temptation, probably pretty regularly.  Facing temptation is not the sin!  Falling for it and acting on it, is!  However, the one BY WHOM the temptation comes, Jesus says "Woe to that one!"  Yikes!  I think a "woe to you" from Jesus is something one should strive very hard to avoid. -

The Parable of the Lost Sheep
(10) “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.  (12) What do you think?  If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?  (13) And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.  (14) So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

-If you are chosen by the Lord for salvation, and I believe anyone who believes in Him and acknowledges Jesus as Lord and Saviour, is, and you go astray, Jesus will search for you, He will not let you go, and He will make sure you are brought back into the fold.  And, He will celebrate over you being reunited and returned to Him.  I find this very humbling.  God's steadfast love is so very thorough and we should NEVER take it for granted!-

If Your Brother Sins Against You
(15) “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.  (16) But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.  (17) If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. (18) Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (19) Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. (20) For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

-When I read this, I feel that if we follow this process as above, and do everything as Jesus instructs here, and the person who has sinned against you refuses to budge (its called pride) and see the error of their ways, I have complete freedom to not see them as part of my family, as in the family of Christ.  In the past I have felt guilty.  Guilty that I do not want to embrace a person who has treated my family abominably and that they and their circle see only what they choose to see instead of the truth.  These verses set me free from that guilt.  I do not need to have anything to do with them.  I leave them in God's abundantly capable hands.  However, I can still pray for them-

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
(21) Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”  (22) Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

-Forgiveness of others is paramount to a healthy relationship with Jesus, with ourselves, and for our growth and inner peace.  It is truly easier to forgive, and forgive again, if you trust the person who hurt you to God, and trust Him to do what He knows best to do.  Release them to the Lord, constantly, until your forgiveness of them is cemented in your heart and soul.  You know it is when you have compassion for them.  Think of Jesus and His love of Judas.  He was full of compassion for him.  Sadly, Judas made his choices, which the person who hurts you does too.  Remember too, your choices.  Choose forgiveness always-

(I love this story.... ⤵ )
(23) “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.  (24) When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  (25) And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.  (26) So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’  (27) And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.  (28) But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ (29) So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’  (30) He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.  (31) When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.  (32) Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.  (33) And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’  (34) And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.  (35) So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

-Just incase the message has not got through, we need to forgive, as the Father has forgiven us.  God does not only forgive us what we can fix, He forgives us what we can't fix (eg the servant's debt was huge). Yet we do not reciprocate and forgive others????  Jesus says that when we do forgive, it should be from your heart!  Make sure your forgiveness is genuine and from and in your heart!-

Read Matthew 18 some time and let me know what it is you find in there that the Lord is impressing upon your heart!

God bless

Tracy

Let us Pray!

Let us Pray! I have been mulling over prayer and how important it is.  The topic comes up occasionally in my devotionals and I always think, I need to dig deeper here.  So, I decided to write out the Lord's prayer, the prayer Jesus gave us as a template of the perfect prayer, and expand on what each part means based on the study notes I find, and what it means to me.

So, here goes:

Matthew 6 vs 5 - 14

The Lord's Prayer

(5) “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.  (6) But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

(7) “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.  (8) Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.  

(9) Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

God is our Father, we are His children, Holy is His name

(10) Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

May Your ways and order come to us, may Your plans and purposes be done, here on earth as it is where You are in heaven.  (May how Your perfect will is experienced in heaven, be experienced here on earth)

(11) Give us this day our daily bread, 

Give (please Lord would you supply) to us our daily needs, not wants.  (We acknowledge that You are our provider and sustainer and we trust You to provide for us daily)

(12) and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Forgive us all we have done wrong to others, to ourselves and to You, as we should/have/must forgive what others have done to us.  (Restore us to perfect relationship with You)

(13) And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Please don't allow us to be put into temptations way or be led into temptation by our friends, lifestyle, life, etc, but if we are, help us to recognize that temptation and give us the strength to overcome it in Your name, and deliver us from it and any evil intent connected to it.

(14) For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, (15) but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

PLEASE NOTE:  notes in BLUE are mine and what I believe the Lord's prayer means to me.  If I am wrong, I trust the Lord will open my eyes to it as it is my heart's desire to know what it is God's word would have me know!

                                                     

My ESV notes state that the Lord's prayer has 6 petitions, the first 3 petitions focus on the superiority of God, and the next 3 petitions focus on our personal needs.  

I think this is a great passage of scripture for when one does not know how to pray.  It is a great start which emphasizes God's holiness and authority over our lives.  He is the source of anything good we have or need, and it is He who protects us from the evil one.  

There are many scriptures about prayer and I will seek them out and do another post on prayer so that I dig deeper into what the Word, God's manual to us, leads us to do and how to do it!

I would love to hear from you and what the Lord's prayer means to you.

God bless

Tracy

The Beatitudes should be our "Attitudes"

The Beatitudes

Matt 5 vs 1 - 12:  (1) And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. (2) Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

(3) “Blessed are the poor in spirit,  (the humble, dependent on God)
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
(4) Blessed are those who mourn,  (loss from sin, loss from not living as the world does)
For they shall be comforted.
(5) Blessed are the meek,  (the gentle, unwilling to use force to get what they want)
For they shall inherit the earth.
(6) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,  (those longing for God's way)
For they shall be filled.
(7) Blessed are the merciful,  (kindness and merciful to others)
For they shall obtain mercy.
(8) Blessed are the pure in heart,  (those who pursue honesty, truth)
For they shall see God.
(9) Blessed are the peacemakers,  (those who pursue peace, Jesus' way)
For they shall be called sons of God.
(10) Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,  (wrongly treated for their faith)
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

(11) Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 

(12) Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Note:  Italics are mine

My bible's notes say that the Beatitudes can be understood in 4 different ways:

1. They are a code of ethics for the disciples and a standard of conduct for all believers
2. They contrast kingdom values (what is eternal) with worldly values (what is temporary)
3. They contrast the superficial "faith" of the Pharisees with the real faith Christ demands
4. They show how the Old Testament expectations will be fulfilled in the new kingdom.

These should be taken as a whole.  These Beatitudes should be our attitudes!

Jesus was telling His disciples at the time, to expect that life could become tough as a believer and follower of His, and that handling things the world's way is not the answer.  

The answer to living IN this world, but not OF this world, is:

• to be humble, 
• pursue peace, 
• consider yourself blessed when you are persecuted for your faith in Christ, 
• walk in meekness (which is NOT weakness, but power under control), 
• strive for honesty and purity of heart, 
• and be merciful to all, especially those who are not merciful to you.  

These are the ways in which we walk through this temporary world, into eternity with Christ!

God bless

Tracy

Ahithophel - Why?

Ahithophel was one of David's most trusted advisers.  And at the time when Absalom tried to take over the kingdom from David, his father, Ahithophel went with him, against David.  He advised Absalom against David.  The story is in 2 Samuel 15.

As I was reading this, I wondered why Ahithophel would go against David.  He was after all, David's most trusted adviser, and a very wise man.  Why did he turn on David?

Once Ahithophel realized that Absalom's rebellion would fail, he went home, put his affairs in order, and hung himself!  Why?

So, I decided to dig a little deeper.  

Ahithophel was Bathsheba's grandfather!  Ahhhhhhhh!  Anyone who has experienced a loved one being taken advantage of, or has themselves been taken advantage of, can imagine the thoughts and frustrations going through the mind of Ahithophel at David's dealings with Bathsheba.  He must have seen all David's manipulations to get what he wanted, and then to cover up the resulting consequences of his actions.  And, in the case of Ahithophel, he must have let those thoughts and frustrations grow into bitterness, which never leads to anything good.  And as can be seen by this example, bitterness eventually destroys the one who is bitter!

When the opportunity arose, Ahithophel turned on David!  His bitterness blinded him to the fact that David was still God's anointed king.  He wanted revenge on David and again his bitterness blinded him to the fact that, despite David, God did as He chose to do, and through Bathsheba, Solomon was born and used greatly of the Lord.  Ahithophel could not see God's hand through his bitterness.

Ultimately, I think once he realized that David would remain king, and Absalom's rebellion would result in nothing, he recognized David was placed in that position by God, and he knew that he had gone too far in his bitterness to make peace with the king, so he saw no way out but death.  Would David have forgiven him?  Would he have been restored back into his confidence?  Only God knows that, but Ahithophel's bitterness did not allow him to find out.

For me, the lesson here is not to let bitterness get out of control.  Nip it in the bud!  Uproot it!
Ephesians 4 vs 31 - 32 says:  (31) Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  (32) Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

God says in His word in Hebrews 12 vs 15:  See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.

Bitterness defiles who?  The one who is bitter
Bitterness destroys who?  The one who is bitter

Let bitterness go, remembering that firstly God has forgiven us of much, and expects us to do the same.  Secondly, realize that God sees everything and if a wrong has been done to you, or a loved one, you have to trust that God will avenge in HIS WAY, in HIS TIME, with HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.  It is, at the end of the day, about trusting that God knows, and trusting that He will do as He sees fit, and we have to trust Him in that AND make our peace with that truth!

God bless
Tracy

DAVID - Trust Regardless!

This morning I was reading about how David and his people left the city of Jerusalem, for its protection, and his, when Absalom his son declared himself king.  Along the way, a man called Shimei, from the tribe of Saul started hurling abuse (and rocks) at him, and cursing him, saying pretty much that David was getting his just deserts due to ousting Saul and his family, etc. 

David's men, in particular Abishai said to the king, let us cut off his head, why should he curse the king.  David's response was to say to Abishai and all with him, 2 Sam 16 vs 11 - 12: (11) "Behold, my own son seeks my life;  how much more this Benjaminite!  Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to.  (12) It may be that the Lord will look on the wrong done to me, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing today."

So, they continued on in silence!

It must have been very humiliating for David to put up with this derogatory behaviour.  And his men, they must have lost respect for him in that moment thinking that David, this king, was not standing up for himself. 

Earlier, on this trip away from Jerusalem, David had told the priests to take the Ark of God back to Jerusalem, saying:  2 Sam 15 vs 25 - 26:  (25) "Carry the ark of God back into the city.  If I find favour in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me back and let me see both it and His dwelling place.  (26) But if He says, 'I have no pleasure in you,' behold, here I am, let Him do to me what seems good to Him."

My bibles notes say that firstly, David may still have thought God was continuing to punish him for his sin with Bathsheba (the consequences thereof declared by Nathan), and secondly, David did not want to use the Ark of God as a sort of good luck charm to keep him safe on this journey.

As I read these verses, I had this realisation: 

• David trusted God despite wondering if God was still punishing him for past sins.  
• David trusted God even though his own son was seeking to kill him and overthrow him.  
• David trusted God despite being ridiculed by people along the way observing the king "running away".  

I often feel badly done by.  Why is this tough time here to hurt me?  Have I not repented of my sins?  Am I being punished for something still, or because of something I have not acknowledged?  And I get all bent out of shape and my attitude is really quite injured towards the Lord.  How can He be doing this to me or, letting this happen to me?  Firstly, God is not "doing anything to" me.  Anything and everything good is from the Lord.  Secondly, there are consequences to our actions even when we seek forgiveness.  I do believe though that God is gracious to us in those consequences when we turn to Him.  Thirdly, my trust in God should not dissolve because of the weight of a scary/unjust/unfair/uncalled for circumstance.  Or, for that matter, a circumstance as a result of consequences.  I should be trusting God regardless!

In the verses above, not only does David choose to trust God to treat him as He wishes, but he also speaks hope:  - "It may be the Lord will see this wrong done to me and repay me with good ...."

and - "If I find favour in His eyes, He will bring me back to see the Ark and His dwelling place ...."

David states his hope in God, but says if God does not take pleasure in him, then God must do to him what He will.  David trusted God to be just, regardless of how that affected him!

What an awesome mindset to have.  A great attitude to aspire to.

I hope you are encouraged, as I am, to trust God regardless of how things look and what it is He is doing in your life, whether you understand it or not!

God bless

Tracy

Just a footnote re the above:  

• Shimei, the man who threw stones and insults, on David's way back to Jerusalem fell on his knees before David and begged him not to hold his words and actions against him. (2 Sam 19 vs 16 - 23). 
• Absalom, David's son was killed going into battle against his father
• David got to return to Jerusalem triumphant, and with much support, and he chose to be gracious to all who had turned against him in those moments.