If I Just Only...

 

There I was sitting in my kitchen meditating not on God’s Word, but on the” if I just only” syndrome.

If I just only pay more attention in school instead of boys.

If I just only saved more money from when I was in my twenties.

If I just only asked God first instead of doing what I wanted to do and then asking him to bless it.

If I just only, four words that can carry so much weight.

How many of us feel this way?  Feeling like regret grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down to talk with us at the table. I found myself having a bad case of this” just only” neighbor.  Yet I noticed this didn’t invite the presence of God but caused my eyes off of Him and more on me.  Selah

The next thing I know this just only neighbor ended up having me snowball from just only to I don’t.  I don’t have enough.  I don’t know how this will be.  I don’t have a house.  I don’t even have a husband.  So guess who decided to join this little get together?  Fear

Now I am feeling anxiety gripping me until it felt like my heart was going to be ripped out of me.  Now I am feeling distress and having a little self-pity party.  Meanwhile more cups of that coffee are just being offered and I am finding myself just drinking into it.

Yet did you notice the key to what happened? 

I got my focus off Abba and made it all about me.  Besides isn’t that what the world says life is about-me, myself, and I?  In me there is no peace.  In me there is no joy. In me there is no strength.  Sometimes self can be a hidden idol that the world has made feel like the norm.

So what does Truth say...?

Isaiah 43:18 (NLT)

But forget all that-it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.

Philippians 3:13 (NLT)

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.

Once I stopped dwelling on me and got my focus back on Abba and confessed His truth, guess what happened?  The” if just only” and fear had to leave.  They didn’t even leave a tip. J This is a battle for me but the difference is I know now who fights my battles.  I had to remember I have the life of God in me.  Think about that, we have the one that made heaven, earth, and the things under the earth dwelling within our hearts today.  So Abba got us.  He can even restore our “if I just only”.

Be Encouraged.

Abigail

 

While reading the book of 1^st Samuel it was lovely to come across another woman of God within this book name Abigail.

The Bible lets us know she was a woman of understanding and had a beautiful countenance.  She was married to King Nabal who didn’t always display the best representation of leadership.  His name alone means fool or senseless.  He showed just how senseless he could be towards David and his men.  Hospitality in those days to travelers was to feed them. Nabal was a rich so it would have not been a hardship for him to meet David’s request to feed him and his men.  Keep in mind that David and his men were protecting Nabal’s people and part of his property was due to David’s vigilance. So it’s understandable when David got so upset, he set out to kill Nabal when he refused his request.

Oh how precious this story takes a beautiful turn.  Abigail was told od David’s intentions.  She didn’t panic. Instead she gathered things like food and wine and set out to meet David in his tracks.  She did this without King Nabal’s knowledge.  Wow, he didn’t even realize his wife was gone.  How much did he take Abigail for granted?

She meets David and intercedes for Nabal.  She blesses him and his men with the things they were requesting.  David heard her and took heed.  Abigail act kept David from making a terrible mistake and spared Nabal’s life.  She looked beyond the present crisis and used her heart and skill to promote peace.

We can learn so much from this Bible story.  The scripture of be ye angry but sin not comes to mind with David.  In addition it is always best to listen, and you don’t have to have a prestigious title to play such a significant role in a situation. 

So here’s the question for today:  Do we use our actions to promote peace even in the middle of chaos?

Sometimes seeing the bigger picture can result in God’s love that can change an issue into His glory!

(Life Application Bible 1^st Samuel chapter 25)

 

Too Familiar

 

I love praying during sunrise.  The air feels so crisp and everything is so quiet.  As I was talking with Abba, I couldn’t help but notice the sunrise colors kept changing.  I found myself getting my phone to capture each moment.  Then it dawns on me, Abba doesn’t like familiarity.

Mark 6:1-6

 Jesus left that part of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown. ² The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?” ³ Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary^[a] and the brother of James, Joseph,^[b] Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.

The people in his hometown couldn’t even receive their blessing that may have been instore for them as they were too caught up in the familiarity of Jesus, he’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary. As I looked at the different colors of the sunrise, I can see why God like to change thing up on us from time to time.  Although the familiar can be such comfort, there is a danger of us taking it for granted and possibly missing out on the new Abba wants to share with us.  We can end up taking his grace for granted, his blessings for granted, and even have us in complacency. 

Just like in a personal relationship like date nights for a marriage.  Why do couples do such things?  It is to keep things fresh amongst them so that things don’t become so stagnant.  How much more should we recognize that with our Abba.  So, I encourage us as His children to enjoy the new.  It can be different and with that at times feel nerve wrecking but just imagine what Abba has instore if we take that time out to be in his new adventures.

Rose Blossom

 

In my quiet time with Abba, I saw a rose blossom by a thorn.  I got blessed when I googled how the thorns/prickles around the rose serve as protection to deter animals from eating the plant and help it climb up allowing it to reach sunlight.

I got so blessed to see that even the thorns on a rose stem have its purpose.  Somethings can feel horrible but can also be our protection.  Somethings can be so painful. Yet it helps us become more like Him, bearing the fruit of His light.

Isaiah 35:1 (NLT) Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses. 

Christ, the rose of Sharon bore our thorns of sin so that the beauty of His shed blood can make us free.  Nothing is wasted with our Abba, not even the thorns.

Be Encouraged

Just Ordinary

Luke chapter eight is so packed with many nuggets for us fellow believers to follow.  Yet I love how Jesus shows us just how he took risk in what would be considered scandalous during bible times.

Luke 8:3 NLT

Joanna, the wife of Churza, Herord’s business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples.

Doesn’t sound like such a big deal to us today but think about the significance of this during bible times.  Women were considered second class citizens back then.  Notice a lot of times sons are only mentioned or men are only mentioned in certain text. Just look at the complexity of acknowledging one the apostles who happened to be a woman named Junia.  Although to have these two women mentioned to be linked to Jesus’s ministry is scandalous enough, there is something quite special about them at the same time.

When looking up both ladies, I found that Joanna was a woman that supported Jesus with her resources and was found to be generous, have courage, and faithful. She was one of the women who witness the empty tomb of Jesus.  It is said she may have helped provide Luke with information due to her prominent social status with Herod.

Yet there is Susanna who was also a public supporter of Jesus and used her own resources to support his ministry as well.  However, Susanna didn’t have the dramatic testimony like Mary Magdalene nor the prominence like Joanna did. Nonetheless she is still mentioned in the text.  She played an integral role in Jesus’s ministry, nothing more or nothing less.  Yet this made her just as extraordinary.

So, for those who maybe feeling like I’m just ordinary in the kingdom of God, think about Susanna.   There is nothing just ordinary in God’s kingdom.

Be encouraged.

Reference

VanZegeran (2021).Why Susanna is My Favorite Woman in the Bible.

https://www.shannonvanzegeren.com/post/why-susanna-is-my-favorite-woman-in-the-bible

What A Mess

 

As riding the Bible adventures of the book of Genesis, I came across chapter 38 and didn’t realize I was about to be taken on a very messy ride.

It’s the story of Judah and Tamar, one of those stories that sounds more from a soap opera script then Bible.  In those days childless widows were sometimes obligated by law to marry their deceased husband’s brother to ensure their deceased spouse lineage and property. Widows, can I get an amen that this is not so today 😊

Tamar was a widow in those times where she was looking to keep her deceased spouse lineage for continued support.  Yet Judah refused to the marrying of  Tamar by delaying the levirate marriage to his youngest son, Shelah, for fear he would die. This left Tamar vulnerable as a widow.  Here is where the story feels like you’re reading a soap opera script.  Tamar wanting her justice so she disguised herself as a prostitute and ended up having sexual relations with Judah when he traveled to Timna.  She had Judah provide his signet as proof of what happened when she became pregnant.   Do you have your popcorn out 😊.  At first Judah wanted her killed for such accusations until he saw her proof.  Then it darns on him that he failed to provide for Tamar as her father-in-law.  He admitted that Tamar was more righteous than he was and it lead to his repentance.  What’s even more extraordinary is out of all this mess came redemption for Judah, justice for Tamar and she ended up being part of Jesus family tree. 

Selah

In reflection, I begin to have thoughts about myself and my own family.  On paper there is a lot of messes going on that makes me have the “I wish” moments at times.  Yet I was encouraged to know that God can take our messes and have his purpose within them.  God’s light shines best through our flaws and scandalous situations.  The mess does not have to be the end of our story, but the beginning of our redemption in Him.

So, for those of you who feel like Sig in Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy movie by saying “This galaxy is messed up” 😊 Remember that God is even in the messes that only He can clean. 

Be Encouraged.

The Relatable God

Nothing like reading Abba’s word with the dew mist of the morning while the birds are chirping.  As I am just enjoying the freshness of it all with a cup of coffee, my heart has become warm with this thought as I read the book of Hebrews:

We serve a relatable God

Hebrews 2:17

Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers, and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God.  Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.

Hebrews 4:15

This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all the same testing we do, yet he did not sin.

Think about that…God himself made himself in every respect like us.  He took on the wretched flesh so he could understand all our weaknesses that produce the merciful, compassionate, patience Abba we serve.  Selah

Let get even deeper with this thought.  God can relate to grief, anger, disappointment, betrayal, lust, frustration, abandonment, being alone, struggling to do purpose, shame, mocked, being loved one minute and hated the next.  There is truly nothing that we go through here on earth the Abba has not. Nothing!!

So, the question becomes why do we act like he can’t relate? Could it be a matter of trust?  Selah

Hebrews also highlights trusting God.  Within the book we enjoy the faith hall of fame in chapter eleven. Yet I find myself with a heart check based on chapter two verse two which says “For this good news-that God has prepared this rest-has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith (trust) of those who listened to God.”

May we hold firmly to this, our God is a relatable God, and we can go to him about anything. In return he can make our weakness strong when we trust in him.