Category: Sister Judy (Page 22 of 267)

When we choose to sit and listen to the Lord, we won’t know what He may say to us and sometimes it is not anything like we would have imagined. It could be a sense of comfort or a specific word we need to hear, but when we love, it is enough just to sit together even in silence. The other morning when I was sitting quietly, the Lord brought to mind words of song that I haven’t sung for a long time. It was composed long ago by Cesar Franck and often performed by the Mormon Tabernacle choir: “O Lord most holy, O Lord most mighty, O Loving Father, we praise forevermore/ Help us to know Thee, know Thee and love Thee. Father, Father, grant us Thy truth and love. Father, Father, guide and protect us.” The song goes on to ask God to rule in our willful hearts and to help us with our wandering thoughts and to show us mercy. I need that.

Another song that came to mind was, “Change my heart O Lord, Make it ever true. Change my heart, O Lord, may I be like you. You are the Potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me this is what I pray.” It was written by Eddie Espinosa on his way to work, as he felt he had been drifting some from the Lord.  The words suddenly came to him, and he scribbled them down while at a stop sign and it has become a beloved song for many…. Me included. Another song also came to me as I sat in quiet, and the message was all the same to draw closer to the Lord and to know Him in a deeper way.

Paul says in Colossians 3:14 says, “Wrap yourself in (unselfish) love, which is the perfect bond of unity (for everything is bound together in agreement when one seeks the best for others.) “The Greek word for bond means “That which fastens together separate items into unity.” When we practice sacrificial love for others, we become one in Spirit and there is harmony and oneness. That does not always come easy for we seem naturally quick to want our own way and to be more concerned with ourselves than others. We might conclude that if we didn’t have to relate to others how happy we would be, but we in a sense are our own worst enemy. Anthony, a 20-year-old monk, was confronted by Jesus’ words to “Go sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow me.” (Mark 10:21) He was so taken by those words that he sold his inheritance and went to the desert and was alone with God. But there he had to deal with himself, the forces of evil and his shadow side; but as he humbled himself and got victory over his own demons and became a changed man. Many others were healed through him and changed by his humble example.

Wouldn’t we all like to know that other lives were changed because of our witness, and selflessness. We need to come to know ourselves and our own hidden sins and passions so we can know our need for the Lord. The closer we come to the Lord, the humbler we become for we see our own hearts.  Let us not be mulling over the faults and sins of others, but humbly see ourselves and our sins and shortcomings, acknowledging our need for His grace. Then the fruit of the Spirit will grow in us, and we will have no cause to point it out to others.

Hope you have a good day with an openness to the Holy Spirit.  I had a wonderful afternoon yesterday as a friend invited everyone to her apt who desired to make greeting cards; tables were full of card stock and embellishments, and I made 13 cards. Such fun! Today we are invited to friends for the afternoon of fellowship. 

Come Holy Spirit, I need Thee
Come sweet Spirit, I pray
Come in Thy strength and Thy power
Come in Thine own gentle way.

How do we respond to the Holy Spirit when He is poured out upon us? Hopefully, we welcome Him and listen to Him and obey as He directs us. Sometimes we are like children who disobey in small ways and think it does not really matter, but each time we disobey, it makes it easier to disobey again and again. Gradually we become dull to the Spirit’s voice and end up going our own way continually. But there is deep peace if we welcome Him and listen and obey. When we catch ourselves compromising or disobeying even in small things, it is good to quickly ask for forgiveness.

A few days ago, I asked you all the question, “Recall a time you felt the Lord correcting you and how did you respond? Did you see fruit later?” I want to share one of the responses I received. “To answer your question from yesterday: Many times, God has convicted me of something and when I act on it, hard as it is, I am usually brought peace and sometimes reconciliation. One instance when I was a supervisor I offended a woman under me by my actions. I thought I was justified in what I did because what she did wasn’t on the up and up. The Holy Spirit convicted me, I had overstepped. I apologized to her, and she was surprised and accepted it. We became closer after that. God is a loving disciplinarian, and correction brings growth and blessing. Growth in my trust in Him and His great faithfulness and blessing in the lesson learned and relationship mended.”

I did not realize this before, but Jesus never had anyone come to him and ask forgiveness. No one said, “Jesus, will you forgive me!” But He forgave and often said to others, “Your sins are forgiven”. His life is the greatest example of unilateral forgiveness as He was crucified for our sins on the cross and asked the Father to forgive us. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8) The Lord also expects us to unilaterally forgive all those in our life or we won’t be forgiven. It is hard when the other person doesn’t even acknowledge that they may have hurt us, but we still are called to freely forgive. God is the judge, and we are not, so let us leave the judgment up to Him and forgive, forgive, forgive.

Christianson gives an example when Corrie ten Boom met the nurse who had cruelly treated her sister when she was dying in a concentration camp by the Germans. Corrie’s first response was hatred and bitterness, but she confessed it to the Lord and asked forgiveness. She also invited the nurse to a meeting where she was speaking and afterwards led the nurse to the Lord. In a sense, both were set free. As we forgive unilaterally, we find it opens the door for God to deal with the other person’s heart. Let us be forgivers, not judges and leave the rest up to the Lord.

We also have to be dead to those closest to us, so we don’t judge them or allow their problems to become ours but to remain their own. We can pray for others and listen to them but there still has to be some distance, so we are not the one responsible, but they are for themselves. Just think of a therapist, if he could not get some distance between him and the person he counsels, he would not really be able to help him and he would tire out quickly.

We need to give others space for love and security, and freedom to decide when and if they want help; we do this as we release them and let them be responsible before the Lord. Let us not hang on or we cannot live our own lives freely before the Lord. It takes a lot of dying each day, but it is the best way to live our lives here on earth and also prepare us for what is ahead. Yes, let us live with death before our eyes, and be like the grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies for if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24)

Hope you are keeping warm, especially those of you in the south who aren’t used to this cold weather.  Friends in Arkansas emailed pictures yesterday of 8″ of snow there. Today I plan to do food prep, later we have Bible Study, and then making a call to sing to our granddaughter on her birthday.

When we are gathered together to offer praises in worship we sense God’s presence in a powerful way. He inhabits our praises! We also receive revelation as we listen to the Word through the pastor’s sermon or through scriptures read or testimonies given.  We get connected with other believers as we worship together, have coffee and fellowship and grow in the sharing of our lives. Sarah also says church is an opportunity to see outside ourselves and to serve others. It’s not just “bless me!” but in helping others we are also refreshed. Church helps us find answers to questions we may have, and it may not come only through the pastor, but others there who have been through similar situations. Studying the Word together and sharing our lives can help us make sense of things. ‘

Church is also a place that provides a moral compass. Truth is found in the Word and as we hear truth and study it we can become people who live truth. Studies also show that church just might help us live longer. Sarah shares that the New York Times says it boosts our immunity and actually lowers our blood pressure and going regularly may add years to our lives! WOW! Church helps us keep our priorities straight and as we put first things first, other things seem to fall into place. The Lord is to be in first place always!

The last reason Sarah gives is that church puts us in an atmosphere of faith. Our hearts are encouraged as we gather with other believers, and we find doubts and fears replaced with hope. May you take time to go to church and be blessed and encouraged and ready for what’s ahead.

Hope you are keeping warm during these cold days. Yesterday got down to -22 and today the low is -12.  I love to bake when it is cold and the apartment is full of good aromas. I plan to go to Exercise class and Creative Crafts and later Bible Study at church.

We must guard against greed and not think we have to consume more to be happy. All we have belongs to the Lord anyway and we can have joy in sharing what we have with others. I’m sure we have all seen the child who piles his favorite toys together and then guards them so no one else will be able to play with them, only him.  How sad for he is not free to really enjoy his things until he opens his hands to share with others. We need to not get preoccupied with getting things but hold all that we have loosely and be ready to share as we are led by the Lord.

Having a lot doesn’t necessarily make it easier to share for some who are poor are more generous to others than the rich. When Al was in seminary, we were poor and lived on his small parttime job paycheck, but we always had enough to have company over and give in different ways. It all has to do with the heart, and we need to be content with what we have and also be free to share when prompted. It says in Heb. 13:5, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” Joy comes not when we are preoccupied with getting more for ourselves but in sharing with others.  Let us trust God in all things and live simply that with heaven in view.