Willing

     Imagine Jesus’ struggle the night before He was arrested and to be eventually beaten and nailed to the cross. It’s hard, often, to know the will of God, but Jesus knew His Father’s will in no uncertain terms, and He was “willing..” What does being willing mean and how do we get there? Some thoughts are: 

 

W anting what God wants

I nside God’s desires

L oving God first 

L etting go of our desires

I ntimate with God

N ot my will

G oing along with what God instructs  

Forgive

I have done my last 2 posts from a spin off of Ephesians 4:30-31 on grieving God when we do not forgive.  “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, aong with every form of malice.” Today is my final and 3rd post on forgiveness in the way of a poem. 

Forgive 

The burden is great;

Such a heavy weight.

I’m angry inside.

I have cried

From feelings I cannot hide.

Then there’s my pride

Self-pity’s a tough, hard ride.

It’s making me sick;

My heart frozen thick-

The pain within pricks

like 2-edged sticks.

I’ve said it before,

I can’t suffer more.

“Please, God, open a door.”

Then I heard

A simple word,

Forgive!

Live!

Get rid of hate;

Grudges eliminate.

Don’t wait!

Love and malice don’t mate.

The offense, ignore.

Grieve no more;

Heretofore.

Mary Crisp Jameson 3/22/2023

Unforgivness

“See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.” Hebrews 12:15

     I touched on forgiveness a bit yesterday, but what about unforgiveness which causes a root of bitterness? It is kind of like a tiny seed which takes root, spouts, and grows stronger and bigger every day. 

     Imagine planting a seed in a small bucket. The seed takes root underneath the ground spreading into many roots, like anger, malice, hostility, bitterness, and resentment. Pretty soon the roots twist and tangle. They struggle for moisture, air, and nutrients. Yet, the plant above ground is continuing to grow fuller and bigger until, at some point, it suddenly wilts and dies from lack of being fed properly. The roots have become so entangled, the air supply is choked off.  

     That is what unforgiveness in our lives appears to look like for me. To heal and be healthy, we need to be able to forgive. Many times, we choose to forgive, not for the person being forgiven but for our own self. It removes the sickness in our hearts and minds. We breathe easier, we think more clearly, we regain peace and joy. 

     

Forgiveness

      Many in my Bible group talked about whether they could forgive a serious offense. No one knows until they actually experience it. 
     Ephesians 4:30-32 tells us not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God and to let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, and malice be put aside. It further tell us to forgive as God in Christ has forgiven us.  

     If we do not forgive we are grieving our Lord, and we are injuring our own soul by carrying hate within. The hate will make us ill. 

     Therefore, when we feel forgiveness is needed, we have a choice and decision to make. Do we release the resentment or carry the heavy burden? And how do we find the means and the will to forgive?  We have to rely on God! "Let Go And Let God!" 

History

     History was never my favorite subject in school. I often wondered, “What is the need?” I answered my question. We need the study of history to show changes over time. It helps to prevent a repeat of what does not work. It gives us an understanding of what does. It has shaped us and our country. 

     History has always shaped people and countries. Before entering the promised land Moses told the people to remember how God led them through the wilderness for 40 years; how their clothes never wore out, how their feet did not swell, how He fed them with manna. He wanted them to tell their children and they tell their children. He wanted them to never forget. 

     God also instructed Moses to tell the people, “Teach them (His Words) to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and your gates, so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land…”

     Our Bible is not only the story of history, but it is the way to Salvation. We need to read it and teach it. 

Prayer

     Prayer is a spiritual weapon.  In Ephesians, Paul describes some of the elements of the armor of God, listing prayer as the main one. Ephesians 6:18 tells us, "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. ...be alert and keep on praying..." We all know that Satan "roams to and fro"? Below I reinforce my reasons for prayer.

Prayer

Satan roams from here to there

Trying to catch me unaware.

My shield is prayer;

My one defense  

When weak and tense,

For I’m not exempt

When Satan tempts.

Night and day, 

Prayer is the way.

When hit with flattery, tricks,

And fleshly desires amid the mix 

By the deceitful charmer,

I need God’s armor;

God’s powers-

Minutes and hours.

Prayer is where it’s at, 

When Satan sneaks into my habitat. 

 Mary Crisp Jameson 3/9/2023 

 

Hand in the Cookie Jar

     Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians, “For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it – for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while.”

     This reminds me of being caught with my hand “in the cookie jar”. I was sorry I got caught, but my sorrow did not last long, especially if there was no punishment applied. With that in mind, I would probably swipe another cookie really soon when no one was looking, and I would be more cautious about doing it. 

     If regret does not go deep enough, there are repeat offenses which eventually will bring deep consequences.  Rest assured, our deeds will find us out. 

     Only deep regret and a true desire to turn away from wrong will win us lasting rewards when we will finally hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant!...Come and share your master's happiness.”

God

      God is above all. It is He I wish to please.  Without God, I can accomplish nothing.Without Him I would not exist. What more does God mean to me? 

G lory (honor or high distinction)
O mniscient (knowing everything) 
D eity (divine status, supreme being)

To God, I give my daily praise!

Knowing What You Want

      I did not know what I was going to write this morning.  I was just going to start off with, "We do not have more than 24 hours in a day," and see where it went.  Then it dawned on me that "yes" I can have more than 24 hours in a day. Time change creates another hour one day a year. That led my next thought into, "I wish this regulated time change business would stop,"  which lead to, "But they would probably chose to go back to the original time, and I would lose my summer day-light savings time, which I prefer." This just goes to show that often I do not know what I want. 
    Taking this a step further, many, many times I do not know what I want or what the consequences will be if I get what I want. My best bet is to let God take the wheel and learn to be content. If I keep the faith inside of me, showing His works outside of me, then I can rely on God to work the events whirling around me.