Hey sorry its been so long. Been busy! I realized lately that I don't keep my priorities straight..especially with God. I let so many things distract or consume my mind that it can easily distract me from tasks the Lord has given me. What I am going to talk about in these next 3 verses go along these lines but lets dive in.
"(9)All night long I search for you; in the morning I earnestly seek for God. For only when you come to judge the earth will people learn what is right. (10)Your kindness to the wicked does not make them good. Although others do right, the wicked keep doing wrong. (11)O Lord, they pay no attention to your upraised fist. Show them your eagerness to defend your people. Then they will be ashamed. Let your fire consume you enemies."
verse 9: This is where my priorities are sucking right now. I have been on this spiritual dryness and its no one's fault but my own because I have not been in the Word. The Word is where its at. We need the Word to refill us, replenish us, its our daily bread Jesus' says. When you notice something is missing, for example, your cell phone, don't we frantically look for it?! We turn our house upside down and our cars! And we realize we can't find it we freak! Why is it that we put some stupid object, and don't get me wrong, I'm preaching to myself here, too, in front of the Lord. I'm not saying its wrong to have a cell phone but we don't get our priorities straight as humans. God is the only thing that bring hope, that bring strength. He is what we need to survive! We don't get that. I know I sometimes don't. I mean I can be this prideful christian sometimes going through the motions, and honestly, I HATE IT! I want to challenge both of us, to wake up in the morning and pray..even if its for a minute.. talk to God. Guarantee it will change your life, one minute at a time. Will you join me in this? I need help to do this, too. I'm a hypocrite who needs Jesus, too! God is soveriegn and He knows what is best for us.
verse 10: Now, Isaiah the prophet is praying for the people of Israel for all the wrong they are doing. How they are not turning to God, because they believe they got it all together. Oh my gosh, who does that sound like? God loves us so much that though He may get angry with us, His kindness is what draws us to Him. The thing is if we don't fear God, which we will get into in verse 11, we take God for granted. We mock Him, and insult Him. The God of the universe, the God who gave you life! Check out this clip..its 18min so hopefully you got some time..this is what the Lord did for you...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjSio8jur2Y
verse 11: God wants to defend us, He wants to help us, He wants to be in a relationship with us. We as humans are so prone to just do our own thing. We think we got it together, we know everything..sounds like how we talk about teenagers, yea? They are no different than us as adults! And if you are a teenager, I didn't mean that as an insult but just that adults struggle with that too! The thing is, fearing the Lord does not mean to be deathly scared of Him where you are afraid to come to Him, but to be in awe of Him, to know that He has the power to give and take away. That He is God of the universe. To show reverance. I don't know where you are in this life, but you have a purpose. I discovered more of my purpose when I laid my life at Jesus' feet and said, "Take it!" and its something I still am working on today. Jesus came to give life abundant. He gave us life as a gift to enjoy..not to hate. There will be trials yes, but if you lay your life at His feet, you have hope! You can overcome any situation in your life through Him. Just trust Him, trust what He tells you to do! But in order to know those things..we need to do what verse 9 says, "Seek!" Seek Him in all you do! Get to know Him! Just like anyone else. In order to trust someone, you need to get to know Him. And believe me, He has alot to offer..and He offered His Son in exchange for you to have life...would you give up your son or daughter for someone else's life? yeahhh...lets think about that.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Isaiah 26:5-8
So continuing on with the Bible Study..we are in the next 4 verses. Dudes, before I begin..I ask for prayer. I have been struggling with just ministry in general. I talked to a friend a couple days ago from home and him and I are just so confused on how to be intentional with ministry. I seriously think I make things more complicated than it should be. I do so many things or say so many things I shouldn't. I sometimes get so hard on myself b/c I fail a lot of times at being a Christian. We as christians need to be vulnerable b/c NO ONE has it together, NOBODY!!! We can only have it together through Jesus...but we need to rely on him and this is what the study is about today!I'm not any better than a non-Christian..I just claim I need Jesus!
Isaiah 26:5-8 (NLT)
"(5)He humbles the proud and brings down the arrogant city. He brings it down to the dust. (6)The poor and oppressed trample it underfoot, and the needy walk all over it. (7)But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them. (8)Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; and our heart's desire is to glorify your name."
Ok, there is alot in here, so again, lets break this down.
Vs. 5, 6-->Have you ever came across someone just super arrogant? So stuck on themselves? Or maybe like you have been in a relationship where you felt trampled on and like no matter what you told them, they wouldn't listen to you or maybe they kept putting it back on you? The thing is God will humble all those who are proud! He has your back and the revenge is His. Now there are 2 different prides..those who boast about themselves, and bring down others. And then there are those, who live life on their own and do not let God, and then there are people who have both. God will humble all who are prideful. Now, I'm not hear to be preaching to you, b/c I struggle with pride. I trip up all the time! I have those days or weeks, like this week for example, I get so tied up in my days that I put God aside and depend on myself. Or feeling like I have to make it work. Are you kidding me?? There is no way I could "make things work"! We have to realize we are humans...just puny little humans. To God, we are like ants! And as humans, what do we think of ants? We think, "They are so small, their life is so useless..I can just step on them!" God chooses not to think of us in that way. We, as little ants, have such precious lives b/c we bear His image! He looks down on you and says, "You may be a little ant, but you have SOO much purpose and SOO Much worth..that's why I will not destroy you b/c I love you!" God could choose to wipe us out and to destroy us..but his love for us is SOO strong! Its kinda like as a parent, you love your kid so much, even when they are a pain, you still love them! God values you so much! God is going to take care of every little thing in ant-of-a-life. If you choose to wait upon him and trust him! "The Lord will fight for you! You need only to be still!" Exodus 14:14
Vs:7-->I don't know exactly where you are at in your life. However, life is tough. Life can be a....I won't say it, but not necessarily a "beach" all the time. Its hard, and there are quite a bit of people that give up by taking their own life. I want to encourage you that no matter how hard things get, and I mean NO MATTER how hard things get, like you may feel like you are drowning and you don't know if you can live anymore..God has you if you just trust Him by being patient, praying, asking, seeking! His hand is right underneath you ready to catch you if you would just let yourself fall in his arms. Have you ever fallen backwards into a group of people's arms..like some rock stars do at concerts or something?? God wants you to do that in His arms! It won't be easy but there is always joy in it! Everything you go through has a purpose. We may not see it right away, but there is a reason! Make your life count! Without God, your life is meaningless. Not to sound mean, but that is the truth. What are you living for? People fade, money fades, family, spouses fade...but the Lord never fades. And I'm not saying to not invest in relationships or be lazy or anything,but everything in this life is a gift...and it can easily be taken. You were meant to live forever, where will you choose to be forever?
Vs. 8--> When you love someone, do you want to hurt them? Maybe, your siblings drive you nuts and you want to punch them in the face sometimes..the thought might come across. Or maybe your spouse is driving you up a wall you want to say some mean comment to them and "put them in their place"..or maybe your boyfriend or girlfriend is being ridiculous so you wanna seek revenge and do something back to them to make them realize you're right...whatever it is deep down, we don't want to hurt them because we love them. We just let pride get in the way. Jesus says, "If you love me, you'll obey me." When you are in love with someone, you don't want to hurt them. However, we are going to hurt the ones we love. I claim to be a christian, yes, I love Jesus, but do I obey him? Not all the time. I suck alot of times at what He calls me to do and I stall, or I disobey..and I sin! I"m a sinner! However, Jesus paid the price for the punishment I was suppose to take. Jesus took the spanking, if you will, that you and I deserved for disobedience. Doing wrong, needs a punishment, but Jesus took that huge one for us! However, think of it this way, when you hurt the one you love, and don't you feel bad? The same thing with Jesus, when we disobey him, we should come to repentance, and He is ALWAYS apt to forgive. But why do we unforgive others? No one is perfect! Remember...NO ONE has it together! What makes us better than anyone else that we would not forgive? Now I know there are certain situations where a trust was broken and it will take time, but we need to forgive b/c it lets us off the hook as well. We don't carry that burden! I'm going off tangent, but I know for me, my heart's desire is to glorify Jesus..to serve Him, worship Him. Why?? Why would I waste my time doing that? B/c He "wasted" his time taking a severe aweful punishment for my sake so that I may have life b/c He freaking loves me and I freaking love Him!!!! (Though I suck at showing it sometimes.) Life after this life and I won't have to spend it in a HELL of a place. He did the same for you! Jesus loves us that much guys! He is the God of the universe that CHOSE to incorporate us ants into His life! He is a God of love! He wants you!
This might of been muffled, but I hope the Holy Spirit gives you understanding! Its all about Jesus and knowing Him. The Word is the manual of how to live life..we do have directions! Just trust Him! :)
Isaiah 26:5-8 (NLT)
"(5)He humbles the proud and brings down the arrogant city. He brings it down to the dust. (6)The poor and oppressed trample it underfoot, and the needy walk all over it. (7)But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them. (8)Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; and our heart's desire is to glorify your name."
Ok, there is alot in here, so again, lets break this down.
Vs. 5, 6-->Have you ever came across someone just super arrogant? So stuck on themselves? Or maybe like you have been in a relationship where you felt trampled on and like no matter what you told them, they wouldn't listen to you or maybe they kept putting it back on you? The thing is God will humble all those who are proud! He has your back and the revenge is His. Now there are 2 different prides..those who boast about themselves, and bring down others. And then there are those, who live life on their own and do not let God, and then there are people who have both. God will humble all who are prideful. Now, I'm not hear to be preaching to you, b/c I struggle with pride. I trip up all the time! I have those days or weeks, like this week for example, I get so tied up in my days that I put God aside and depend on myself. Or feeling like I have to make it work. Are you kidding me?? There is no way I could "make things work"! We have to realize we are humans...just puny little humans. To God, we are like ants! And as humans, what do we think of ants? We think, "They are so small, their life is so useless..I can just step on them!" God chooses not to think of us in that way. We, as little ants, have such precious lives b/c we bear His image! He looks down on you and says, "You may be a little ant, but you have SOO much purpose and SOO Much worth..that's why I will not destroy you b/c I love you!" God could choose to wipe us out and to destroy us..but his love for us is SOO strong! Its kinda like as a parent, you love your kid so much, even when they are a pain, you still love them! God values you so much! God is going to take care of every little thing in ant-of-a-life. If you choose to wait upon him and trust him! "The Lord will fight for you! You need only to be still!" Exodus 14:14
Vs:7-->I don't know exactly where you are at in your life. However, life is tough. Life can be a....I won't say it, but not necessarily a "beach" all the time. Its hard, and there are quite a bit of people that give up by taking their own life. I want to encourage you that no matter how hard things get, and I mean NO MATTER how hard things get, like you may feel like you are drowning and you don't know if you can live anymore..God has you if you just trust Him by being patient, praying, asking, seeking! His hand is right underneath you ready to catch you if you would just let yourself fall in his arms. Have you ever fallen backwards into a group of people's arms..like some rock stars do at concerts or something?? God wants you to do that in His arms! It won't be easy but there is always joy in it! Everything you go through has a purpose. We may not see it right away, but there is a reason! Make your life count! Without God, your life is meaningless. Not to sound mean, but that is the truth. What are you living for? People fade, money fades, family, spouses fade...but the Lord never fades. And I'm not saying to not invest in relationships or be lazy or anything,but everything in this life is a gift...and it can easily be taken. You were meant to live forever, where will you choose to be forever?
Vs. 8--> When you love someone, do you want to hurt them? Maybe, your siblings drive you nuts and you want to punch them in the face sometimes..the thought might come across. Or maybe your spouse is driving you up a wall you want to say some mean comment to them and "put them in their place"..or maybe your boyfriend or girlfriend is being ridiculous so you wanna seek revenge and do something back to them to make them realize you're right...whatever it is deep down, we don't want to hurt them because we love them. We just let pride get in the way. Jesus says, "If you love me, you'll obey me." When you are in love with someone, you don't want to hurt them. However, we are going to hurt the ones we love. I claim to be a christian, yes, I love Jesus, but do I obey him? Not all the time. I suck alot of times at what He calls me to do and I stall, or I disobey..and I sin! I"m a sinner! However, Jesus paid the price for the punishment I was suppose to take. Jesus took the spanking, if you will, that you and I deserved for disobedience. Doing wrong, needs a punishment, but Jesus took that huge one for us! However, think of it this way, when you hurt the one you love, and don't you feel bad? The same thing with Jesus, when we disobey him, we should come to repentance, and He is ALWAYS apt to forgive. But why do we unforgive others? No one is perfect! Remember...NO ONE has it together! What makes us better than anyone else that we would not forgive? Now I know there are certain situations where a trust was broken and it will take time, but we need to forgive b/c it lets us off the hook as well. We don't carry that burden! I'm going off tangent, but I know for me, my heart's desire is to glorify Jesus..to serve Him, worship Him. Why?? Why would I waste my time doing that? B/c He "wasted" his time taking a severe aweful punishment for my sake so that I may have life b/c He freaking loves me and I freaking love Him!!!! (Though I suck at showing it sometimes.) Life after this life and I won't have to spend it in a HELL of a place. He did the same for you! Jesus loves us that much guys! He is the God of the universe that CHOSE to incorporate us ants into His life! He is a God of love! He wants you!
This might of been muffled, but I hope the Holy Spirit gives you understanding! Its all about Jesus and knowing Him. The Word is the manual of how to live life..we do have directions! Just trust Him! :)
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Isaiah 26:1-4
So today, I finally had a day off from work. My life here has been pretty crazy busy. And to be honest, I haven't been spending much time with Jesus. And to be honest, I think sometimes I forget He is with me in my time of work b/c I'm so busy. I do not want to forget Him. I want to be in total communication with Him 24/7 but b/c I let busyness get in the way...I feel like its been a couple weeks since Jesus and I talked. So today, I have been spending time with Him. He put on my heart to start a little bible study through my blog on Isaiah 26. I keep reading this over and over and honestly, I have no idea why. Yes, it is encouraging but it really is sticking out to me. So I believe the Lord wanted me to share this with you! We'll see his purpose eventually but here is some encouragement..Let's begin!
Isaiah 26:1-4 (NLT version) "(1)Our city is strong! We are surrounded by the walls of God's salvation. (2)Open the gates to all who are righteous; allow the faithful to enter. (3)You will keep in perfect peace all who trust you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! (4)Trust in the Lord, always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock."
I think some big words that pop out of these verses are "strong", "walls of God's salvation", "open", "perfect peace", "thoughts fixed on you", "eternal Rock". I would like to hear what words pointed out to you and what they mean to you! Feel free to comment! :) So lets break this down.
Vs 1: Our life is strong b/c we have the Lord's salvation is surrounding us! When we are in Christ, we have stability in our lives, though things around us seem shaky. God has given us through Jesus restoration, new life, hope, deliverance, freedom. Its up to us if we are willing to accept the gift of salvation b/c that is all what is in the box! We find self worth, love, freedom, hope! Nothing in this life that comes against you can prosper because you have the Lord Jesus on your side, but you need to trust Him!
Vs 2: I know for me being in Hawaii, I want the Lord's will! I want Him to open doors! I want to know my purpose! We all want a purpose and the thing is, you do have a purpose! God has a specific calling on your life that He only wants YOU to do! He is calling you. Will you be faithful and act? Ask Him to make it clear. We need to ask him for forgiveness and show us mercy to allow us to enter! He wants you to enter! He's inviting you into this new life that is freedom! No more, "I gotta catch up, I gotta do this to be accepted. I gotta do this to make me happy, to get away from this problem" You have hope!
Vs 3: Though the winds may blow and trials WILL come, you will not be shaken b/c the Lord is with you. He will give me and you perfect peace in the chaos, confusion, not understanding times, of life! Even though the situation may be uncomfortable, seek Him and be still before Him. Seek His words! He will give you peace, then you will be filled with strength! Setting our thoughts on Jesus is not focusing on what is happening to you right now, what is going on around you right now. It's focusing on trusting what He is doing! There is SOO much in the unseen than there is on the seen! God is so much bigger than what is seen! In Habbakuk 1:5 He tells the prophet, "I am doing something in your own day, something that if someone told you, you wouldn't believe!" He is at work, though you may not see it. Just trust in His word, Trust in His commands!
Vs 4: This goes along with the vs. 3 but No matter what the situation may look like, Don't give up! I have been tested out here with even believing God is there! I questioned quite a bit, but He pulls through! Ask Him to reveal Himself, be patient, and be open! Most of all, be still!! You gotta be still, give Him a chance to show you! Nothing fathoms God, Nothing surprises Him, Nothing can overcome Him! Everything He does is good! Yeah, you might be right now, "Umm..really? b/c my life sucks right now!" God never promised an easy life, but he promised a victorious life through Jesus! If you just turn to Him, be still, listen to Him, OBEY Him (that's I think the part that we struggle with..just sayin), give Him a chance, He will come through! He works on our behalf! I promise you, you just got to be still before Him.
I am going to go through this chapter in Isaiah for awhile on here! Feel free to join me in this study and ask questions or make comments on here or on the post I put on facebook! I would love to hear it! I want to encourage all of you as we run this race together, and if you are not a Christian, THAT's OK! I want to encourage you and just share with you how awesome Jesus is b/c He loves you! One thing to leave you with til next time, "So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God for He cares about you!" (1 Peter 5:6-7) The God of the universe cares and LOVES you!
Isaiah 26:1-4 (NLT version) "(1)Our city is strong! We are surrounded by the walls of God's salvation. (2)Open the gates to all who are righteous; allow the faithful to enter. (3)You will keep in perfect peace all who trust you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! (4)Trust in the Lord, always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock."
I think some big words that pop out of these verses are "strong", "walls of God's salvation", "open", "perfect peace", "thoughts fixed on you", "eternal Rock". I would like to hear what words pointed out to you and what they mean to you! Feel free to comment! :) So lets break this down.
Vs 1: Our life is strong b/c we have the Lord's salvation is surrounding us! When we are in Christ, we have stability in our lives, though things around us seem shaky. God has given us through Jesus restoration, new life, hope, deliverance, freedom. Its up to us if we are willing to accept the gift of salvation b/c that is all what is in the box! We find self worth, love, freedom, hope! Nothing in this life that comes against you can prosper because you have the Lord Jesus on your side, but you need to trust Him!
Vs 2: I know for me being in Hawaii, I want the Lord's will! I want Him to open doors! I want to know my purpose! We all want a purpose and the thing is, you do have a purpose! God has a specific calling on your life that He only wants YOU to do! He is calling you. Will you be faithful and act? Ask Him to make it clear. We need to ask him for forgiveness and show us mercy to allow us to enter! He wants you to enter! He's inviting you into this new life that is freedom! No more, "I gotta catch up, I gotta do this to be accepted. I gotta do this to make me happy, to get away from this problem" You have hope!
Vs 3: Though the winds may blow and trials WILL come, you will not be shaken b/c the Lord is with you. He will give me and you perfect peace in the chaos, confusion, not understanding times, of life! Even though the situation may be uncomfortable, seek Him and be still before Him. Seek His words! He will give you peace, then you will be filled with strength! Setting our thoughts on Jesus is not focusing on what is happening to you right now, what is going on around you right now. It's focusing on trusting what He is doing! There is SOO much in the unseen than there is on the seen! God is so much bigger than what is seen! In Habbakuk 1:5 He tells the prophet, "I am doing something in your own day, something that if someone told you, you wouldn't believe!" He is at work, though you may not see it. Just trust in His word, Trust in His commands!
Vs 4: This goes along with the vs. 3 but No matter what the situation may look like, Don't give up! I have been tested out here with even believing God is there! I questioned quite a bit, but He pulls through! Ask Him to reveal Himself, be patient, and be open! Most of all, be still!! You gotta be still, give Him a chance to show you! Nothing fathoms God, Nothing surprises Him, Nothing can overcome Him! Everything He does is good! Yeah, you might be right now, "Umm..really? b/c my life sucks right now!" God never promised an easy life, but he promised a victorious life through Jesus! If you just turn to Him, be still, listen to Him, OBEY Him (that's I think the part that we struggle with..just sayin), give Him a chance, He will come through! He works on our behalf! I promise you, you just got to be still before Him.
I am going to go through this chapter in Isaiah for awhile on here! Feel free to join me in this study and ask questions or make comments on here or on the post I put on facebook! I would love to hear it! I want to encourage all of you as we run this race together, and if you are not a Christian, THAT's OK! I want to encourage you and just share with you how awesome Jesus is b/c He loves you! One thing to leave you with til next time, "So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God for He cares about you!" (1 Peter 5:6-7) The God of the universe cares and LOVES you!
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