Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Let Go and Let God - 1 Peter 5:6-11

Quote of the Day
The Christian way of life is not just sanctity; it is sanity, for you cash in on the promises of God when you learn to walk in His way of life.  Your devotion to Him transcends all other things in life.  You gain a healing from sin and from sickness and develop a happy, radiant, successful personality, confident that all the details of your life, all your needs on this earth are now being taken care of by God.
Albert E. Cliffe from his book entitled Let Go and Let God  steps in victorious living

(6) Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  (7) Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  (8) Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  (9) Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.  (10) And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.  (11) To him be the power for ever and ever.  Amen.

I am a work in progress.  Aren't we all?  Reflection is a good way to see how far we have come from the person we were, the person we are now, and the person we are becoming.   It is necessary to be careful when using it , however.  We sometimes use it as a yardstick by which to measure ourselves.  When we think we don't "measure up" we can become our own worst enemy and begin using the yardstick (reflection) in a negative way rather than a positive way.  We figuratively beat ourselves up with it.  I speak to you from personal experience.  Everyone has a story complete with the good, the bad, and the ugly.  I remember those days long ago.  I reflect on the past without reliving it.  There were some awful experiences the first time around.  I don't want to live through them again.  I'm beyond that time in my life now.  I don't allow myself to ruminate over the worst times of days gone by.  God's miracle of turning the sour taste of bad memories into sweet manna from heaven will remain with me the rest of my life.  He healed me from the ugly details of my past and helps me remember the good times.  I am excited about my future.  It begins today.
We can't get to our future self without going through today.  It is what we choose to do today that has an impact on our future.  We can't see clearly what our future holds, but God can.
Lord, lead us, guide us, and direct us in all we say and do today so that our words and our actions are pleasing unto you.  Amen
Will you be bitter or better today?  The choice is yours.  To choose to live victoriously holds heavenly eternal rewards!

Bitter or Better

By: Nan Forehand

the choice is up to you my friend

it really does matter in the end

as you think - so you are

with a positive attitude you'll be richer by far

you may or may not control the circumstances

mistakes will be made so God allows second chances

in your problems, rejoice

remember, it's your choice

God can use a situation when others are mean

to your advantage when wisdom you glean

put your life in God's hands

He doesn't take kindly to demands

humble yourself before the LORD

within His heart strikes a tender chord

His desire is to make you more godly

He wants you praisin' not cursin'

will you be a bitter or better person

the choice is up to you my friend

it really does matter in the end



Romans 3:3-5

...but, we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perserverance, perserverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.


2 comments:

  1. Right on, Nan! "Day by day and with each passing moment, strength I find to meet my trials here - trusting in my Father's wise bestowement, I've no cause for worry or for fear." The words of that old song (and it's chorus) have been going around in my mind since I was reminded of it by a friend.

    Geneva

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  2. Thank you Nan. Today's calendar has so much meaning in my life - I'm still struggling with bearing anger at my former roommate. I let it go, then grab it back. When God tells us to cast all our anxiety on Him because he cares for us, He means everything - every single little care and problem. He wants to take it away from us forever. What a Glorious God we serve. Bless you.

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