What Others Think

Today I found myself once again reading in the journal of John Wesley.  It is such an interesting look at life back then, and I am greatly inspired by seeing the way he lived his life.  Today, this passage caught my eye:

"Soon after, a gentleman of Merton College, who was one of our little company, which now consisted of five persons, acquainted us that he had been much rallied the day before for being a member of the Holy Club; and that it was become a common topic of mirth at his college, where they had found out several of our customs, to which we were ourselves utter strangers. Upon this I consulted my father again." (from Journal of John Wesley, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

I can certainly relate to the challenge of folks laughing behind their backs at their customs - that weren't their customs at all.  It can be a challenging thing to deal with people who do not care to find out the truth, but love to pass rumors about you no matter how far-fetched they may be.  But even Jesus experienced ridicule, so I guess we can't be too surprised when we too have to face it on occasion:

"Now the Pharisees, who love money, had been listening to all this and began to ridicule Jesus." Luke 16:14 ISV

And this verse in Luke suggests a reason for it - differing values. Though we might wish it, I suppose we can't always expect respect from those whose values are very different from our own.

Another thing strikes me in this journal entry.  This is not the first time John mentioned getting advice from his father, and it made me think.  Are there times that I neglect to get advice from my Heavenly Father?  And are there others - perhaps including my earthly father - whose advice I should be seeking more often?

Father, thank you for your willingness to guide and direct me!  May I remember to ask for your advice and to listen for your answers to me!  Father, as I face the challenges of life, I also thank you for my husband and the advice I receive from him.  As I face various decisions in my life, if there are those from whom I should be seeking advice, please make that clear to me. Thank you for your love for me.  I love you, Father!

Dangers of Immaturity

"Therefore, leaving behind the elementary teachings about the Messiah, let us continue to be carried along to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead actions, faith toward God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment." Hebrews 6:1-2 ISV

For some reason this morning, I found myself reading in Hebrews.  I read about those who instead of growing up to eat solid spiritual food, continued to subsist only on "milk" as though they would be babies forever. Then I came to these verses at the beginning of Hebrews 6.  I've never before realized that this passage is describing what it means to live only on the "milk" (probably another instance of letting the arbitrary division of the bible into "chapters" interrupt the flow and cause me to miss something).

This passage has really given me food for thought.  Am I still needing to be reminded to "repent from dead actions", to have faith, etc.?  If so, I'm still not mature enough for "solid foods".  The next few verses go on to talk about those who instead of allowing God to work in them, continue to behave in a way that causes God to be held up to ridicule.  These immature Christians are warned that if they continue to bring forth briars and thistles instead of the fruit of the Spirit, they are in serious danger. 

Father, what about me?  Am I allowing you to work in my life as I should?  Am I allowing your transforming power to touch each part of my life? Or am I holding some corners back?  Once again this morning, Father, I ask that you work in me to both will and do of your good pleasure.  May I continue to grow and mature in your love, Father.  Thank you!

What Spirit?

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." -2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV

This morning I awoke with this verse in my mind, and I began to recognize that I've been giving in to a spirit of fear lately.  There are changes occurring in my life at the moment, and though I'm fully aware that God does not bring change to me unless it is for my good, and though I didn't want to feel fear about it, I still felt fear.  As I lay in bed praying about it this morning, I just kept hearing this thought in my mind - "God is not the origin of fear", "God has not given me a spirit of fear."

As I ponder those words, I was reminded of James 4:7: "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." KJV  I've always seen this verse as instruction to me - "Resist those temptations".  Today I recognize it for the promise that it is.  If I resist the devil - that Spirit of fear that does not originate in God - he will FLEE!!!!  What a wonderful promise! 

So, how do I resist this spirit of fear? That verse in 2nd Timothy gives a very strong hint.  Focus on the spirit that DOES come from God - "power, love, a sound mind".  For me today, I got a clearer understanding of what I was to focus on as I read this verse from the New Living Translation:

 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7 (Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.)

That little word "self-discipline" jumped out at me.  That is certainly a part of where the fear has been coming from.  I haven't been as self-disciplined in some areas of my life as has been needed, as I've focused on some areas of my life to the exclusion of others.  For example, I haven't always taken the time to prepare healthy meals for myself - being "too busy" to do so. Any time I tell myself "I can't" I'm not living from a spirit of power!  And clearly, if I'm living a life that is out of balance, I am not living a life of self-discipline!  What about the spirit of love?  Is that fully embraced and active in me? 

Father, thank you for your words to me this morning!  Thank you for giving me the guidance and direction I've needed.  Please work in me both to will and to do of your good pleasure, Father, that I may no longer be haunted by the spirit of fear.  Thank you, God!

Seven times each day . . .

Once again I find myself just having to stop and "shout praises for the way" God keeps "everything running right." (Ps 119:164 - the Message Bible).  This weekend brought two very specific opportunities to see how God indeed keeps everything running right.

Opportunity Number 1

My life has gotten so busy!  I know I'm doing what God has asked of me, but I find myself challenged by the number of hours it takes to stay on top of things. I'm doing my best to remember that people come first and to be available to those who cross my path, but there are times when I feel a bit of stress about whether I'll be able to get everything done that I need to do.  At those times, all I can do is affirm my trust in God and His power to keep everything running right. 

This weekend was a case in point.  My schedule is so full right now that adding a bunch of family activities seemed so challenging!  And yet, it was the scheduled weekend for a "game night" and I had family coming for the weekend from out of town.  How was I going to get everything done????   Well, God had it all under control.  A friend needed to earn some money so I was able to help her and at the same time get some help myself by having her do some of the preparation for our house guest and for game night.

Then I wanted to spend time with my guest, but didn't know how I'd get everything done.  I went ahead and spent the time, trusting God to handle things.  Last night, after our guest had left, I discovered that some prep work had been done ahead that I had forgotten about, so I was closer to being ready than I had thought!  Thank you, God!  Spending time with our house guest also played a part in . .  . 

Opportunity Number 2

For some time I've been wanting to get some studio-style mirrors for our dance space, but they are SO expensive!  Last week we discovered that friends of ours were closing a dance studio and had some of these mirrors at a very good price.  Our house guest was able to help in physically getting them, as well as in helping us figure out how best to hang them.  If I had been stingy with my time, I wouldn't have felt good about having him help, but we had had some fun leisure time together and everything just seemed to work out great.  Thank you, God!  In addition, someone at game night had some spare time and was able to help with the mirror installation!

I hadn't even really been praying for the mirrors, but God knew we needed them in order to be the best dance instructors we could be, so He provided.  And the miracles went beyond finding mirrors at a good price and having help to move and install them. It was all managed without breaking any!

Father, I am so grateful for your gifts!  Thank you for continuing to show me how you can ensure that all things work together for good (Romans 8:28) when I continue to allow your love for others to flow through me and to put people first.  Thank you for the blessings of friends and family - and for unexpected mirrors! :)