Just a Thought~Romans 12:1-2

I think what struck me in all it's simplicity today when I was reading and praying about Romans 12:1-2 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's perfect will is-His good,pleasing and perfect will", is that it is so simple.

How many times do we ask what is God's will for us in our life and talk of our struggles in knowing His will because life is so complicated and there are so many variables. I think the answer could be, often. But here it seems so simple. If I do not conform to the pattern of the world and renew my mind with His word, so becoming transformed, THEN, I will be able to test and approve God's good, pleasing and PERFECT will.

So, walk with Christ, let His Word transform me and renew my mind so that I can test and confirm, and then I will know. Seems so easy, yet maybe the lack of daily renewal, the tiptoeing in the pattern of the world, and forgetting to test and approve what His will is, makes God's instruction appear more difficult than it is.

Just a thought running through my heart and mind today. Lord, be with us this day that we might daily, hourly and moment by moment be transformed and renew are hearts and minds through your word, so that we will know Your perfect will in our lives. God you are great and worthy of all our honor. I am humbled by your grace over my life and the lives of those you love. Amen!!!

Remedy: Remember

Jeremiah 2:13 "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water."

It seems that so many of my struggles today come from the same two sins. When I forsake God, when I forget that He is sovereign over every detail of my life, that He holds this whole world in the palm of His hand, when I forget that He knows the plans He has for me and that they are good, when I forget the passion I once had for him, when I forsake speaking to Him about every detail of my life, when I forsake Him, I fall into sin. I fall into doubt. I fall into worry and most of all, I fall into forgetfulness.

Then there are moments of my life when I too dig my own cisterns, my own vessels to carry the living water. I may do this by putting my trust in someone else, in something else. I may run to others first instead of running to the true Spring of Living Water. The vessels that I build out of my own resources crack and fade and lead me to disappointment, frustration and forgetfulness of the One True God, the True Living Water, the one who has no cracks, my Savior and Lord.

Sadly, sometimes I can walk through month like this. I have walked this way, in the past, sometimes for years. As of late, it may be day, a week, or even a moment. Yet, even in those moments it is a still painful reality, a painful memory. It's the pain of the shame of forgetting, but it's a shame that turns me back to the One, the source of all strength, the Bread of Life, the water for my soul.

"The only remedy for forgetting is to remember." What a joy to remember daily what He has done. What a joy to speak of His love for us that caused Him to send His only son to be sin for us, His son, who knew no sin so that we should be called righteous and holy. What pure joy to remember that I am white as snow, even though my sins are as scarlet. What a joy to remember that through faith in Jesus Christ my sins are as far as the east is from the west. What a joy to remember that I am redeemed. Oh to remember and never forget.

What a joy to remember that My Lord sings over me and quites me with His love. What a joy to remember that He is my strength when I am weary, that he is my strong tower and that I, being righteous, can run to Him and I am safe. What a joy to remember that He loves me.

What a joy to remember that he remembers me first and will never leave me or forsake me. What a joy to remember that His love knows no bounds. what a joy to remember that He first loved me and calls me His own and has made me an heir to His kingdom and that His kingdom will know no end. What a joy to remember that His mercies are new every morning and that I am a new creation in Christ Jesus. What a joy to know that He is coming soon.

Who would ever want to forget theses things. Lord Jesus, help me to never forget. Thank you for your love and your faithfulness. To You be all glory, honor and praise, AMEN!!

Main Topic~GOD!

Habakkuk 3:1-6

1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.
2 LORD, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, LORD.
Repeat them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy.

What a way to start a prayer~acknowledging His fame, acknowledging that He is the topic of all our praise as we stand back in awe and wonder of who He is. Lest we forget, God make Yourself know and remind us by all means necessary. Wow!

3 God came from Teman,
the Holy One from Mount Paran.
His glory covered the heavens
and his praise filled the earth.

His Praise! God is the topic, the main point of our praise. What else is there to boast about, surely nothing in me except my weaknesses, as Paul says, that once again really boast of the Lord's strength. He IS the topic of the Praise of our lips.

4 His splendor was like the sunrise;
rays flashed from his hand,
where his power was hidden.

What a picture of magnificence. Rays flashing from His hands as the glory of the Lord rises among us like a brilliant sunrise coming out of nowhere, hidden no more. FLASH~BANG! There He is!!

5 Plague went before him;
pestilence followed his steps.
6 He stood, and shook the earth;
he looked, and made the nations tremble.

I'm trying to imagine how a mere look, a mere glance in my direction from the Lord can cause the nations to tremble. Who is this God? How Mighty is His name! Who is there in Heaven, but You, Oh Lord? Where can I go that you will not see me, where can I hide?...No where! You are there! Who is this King of Glory? God Almighty is the topic of my praise!!

The ancient mountains crumbled
and the age-old hills collapsed—
but he marches on forever.

Oh Lord, Heaven and earth may pass away, but the name of the Lord marches on forever. He will not fade away. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Yet my prayer and hope is that in my life, and the lives of all of you, day after day, He would grow brighter in our eyes and that we would grow in knowledge and understanding and most of all, awe of Him. May God be the topic of our praise. May God be on our lips. May His goodness be evident and march on though this world wastes away. May God be the topic of all praise. GOD BE PRAISED! I can't say it enough. God be praised!