Not In Words But In Power

"For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk about in power."
1 Corinthians 4:20

I was reading 1 Corinthians 4 today and this little verse jumped off the page at me. In context, there were some in the church of Corinth that were arrogant and talking themselves into a sense of power. Paul was reminding them that it isn't about talking one's self up or even talking God up, but rather it is the power of God.

This verse has stirred up something, I might need to mediate more upon it and ask God for more wisdom concerning it, but I think it might be the original wording to a popular phrase we use. "Actions speak louder than words." Without getting too specific, because it isn't my place to, I am going to relate a story to you that I think goes along with this.

About a week ago, a friend of mine shared great news. As she shared, I was having a very hard time and, honestly, was repeating a lie of the enemy in my mind. The lie was so overwhelming and my emotional state was so poor at that moment, I had to retreat. Literally! I got up and walked away. I made some feeble excuse, better known as not the whole truth, and away I went in tears. Which spoke louder to her, my words or my actions? Well, my actions. Did my actions speak what I intended? No! My actions were completely wrapped up in the swirling lie and my emotional state not in her news, but that wasn't the powerful statement that she knew. All she knew is that I was leaving her in the moment of great joy and it hurt her.

She and I have since talked. I explained what was really going on. She told me how she felt in the moment. I apologized. Great, right? Well, it's a good start. Yup, just a start. Because it isn't about talk it's about action. Now, some might think I have missed the whole point of the above Scripture. I know that the verse is talking about the kingdom of God, but as His follower, his heir, am I not apart of His kingdom too? Do I not have a responsibility to respond in the power of the Holy Spirit and not just in my own words or supposed power? Yes. My words should reflect that He is in me. As well, my actions should reflect the power of the Holy Spirit in me.

Therefor, when God spoke to me and told me that as nice as my words were to her, it wasn't enough, I knew I need to do something specific. Is my own pain still a part of all of this? Yes! I still have a heart desire longing that is a part of me, and many times that longing feels painful. Does that pain run smack dab into her great news? Yes, it does. I will not deny the pain is still there. She knows it is and understands it in a way most people never could. Even though it is still there I need to act in the power of Christ. I don't want to give anything away, because she doesn't know yet, but God gave me an action that I hope will speak much more loudly than my previous actions, which were not directed at her but were fully wrapped up in me. Also, this action will speak more powerfully that any words of support or encouragement that I could give her, at least I believe it will.

So many times we talk.We talk and talk and talk. I think maybe we need to shut up a bit more and act out more from the power that He has placed within each of His followers. We need to act in the power of the Holy Spirit. He's in us! I guess it's time to shut up and time to start acting up!

www.fggam.org

Death Brings Life

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."
John 12:24

Death is a scary word. When I think of death I think of pain. I know there can be painless death, but I guess when I think of death I don't think painless. Pain is not something most people enjoy. We have whole stores dedicated to stopping pain and a health industry that tries to relieve pain and stop death. Even with medical breakthroughs death comes to each of us.

I think about the seed mentioned in this verse. Seeds are buried into dirt and they die! But when they die something amazing happens. Life! The seed breaks and growth comes out of it. That growth continues and breaks the surface of the soil and reaches toward the light. Water and light causes the new life to grow up. Weeding and fertilizing helps it grow up to become the plant that the seed was intended to be. Then that plant can bear fruit.

Now, this verse really isn't taking about seeds that go into the ground, but rather about seeds in us. There are ugly seeds, let's face it most seeds aren't particularly pretty, that are placed in us and in order for them to bear fruit they must die. The death of the seed usually is painful. I'm not sure how long it takes an actual seed to die, but the death process of our seeds can feel so long. Then it starts to grow. It is striving to get out of the soil of us and reaching for the Light. This striving involves growing up right there the soil, pushing aside dirt as it heads up. This part of the process is painful as well. Moving and shifting, and even breaking through dirt clumps in us. Then it breaks the surface. Ouch, that hurts! That breaking through process seems like it must be the last painful part, but then comes the pruning and plucking of the fruit.

Although the whole process is painful it brings further life. That life helps us, but it also can be used to feed and nourish others. If the fruit isn't picked then it will just rot on the plant. I certainly don't want to have gone through the whole death and growth process to just have my fruit die. I may not enjoy the pain of the fruit being plucked, but it is much better than just having what Christ has grown in me go to waste.

What's the point of this whole post? Well, I guess it really is a reminder to me that the whole process is worth every ounce of pain, even when that pain feels unbearable. Sometimes I want the dying to end. Sometimes I want to shifting inside me to end. Sometimes I want the breaking out to end. Sometimes I want to keep my fruit all to myself. Even though I feel this way sometimes I truly do want to continue to grow and that means dying, growing, and reaping.

www.bbbseed.com

Hope

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. "
Romans 15:13

Can I just say that I am feeling hopeless right now? Well, I guess I can since I just did. I also know that I'm not the only one! Why do I feel hopeless? Honestly, because I am not looking to the only One who brings hope. I am too busy looking at my circumstances, my pain, my wants, and my desires. I am too busy looking at what isn't there and not at Who is there.

God didn't breathe life into Scripture and say, "now, that I've said this it'll be easy to follow." The Scripture is full of verses of struggle, of human weakness, of fear, of sorrow. Yet for every struggle there are verses that speak of hope and peace. For verses that speak of our weakness we are reminded that His power works through our weakness. For every fear He says "fear not". For every sorrow He reminds us that weeping only lasts for a night, even though that night can feel so very long.

This verse doesn't say that hope and joy and peace are automatic. Paul asks that we may be filled with all joy and peace. Not just joy, but all joy. Not just peace even, but peace in believing. Have you ever not felt peace while trying to believe? I have, actually I do right now! This verse is set up like an if...then statement. If you are filled with all joy and peace in believing, then the power of the Holy Spirit may abound in hope. We have to have the first part, the filling of God's joy and peace, in order to have the hope that the Holy Spirit has the power to work in us. He is in us, that happened already, but with God's joy and peace filling us up He can go to work giving us abounding hope.

I have a choice. I can keep my eyes on me and my circumstances, or I can choose to ask for the God of hope to fill me with all joy and peace in believing. Once I make that choice I guarantee one of two outcomes. If I choose me then I stifle the power of the Holy Spirit to give me abounding hope. If I choose to turn to God and ask for this joy and peace, then I open up the flood gates for the Holy Spirit's power to make me abound in hope. It seems like an easy choice, it really does, but the truth is I choose me more than Him. It isn't always easy to choose His way. It costs part of me, a yucky part, to choose Him. That isn't easy, but hopefully it becomes easier for me to do that. I have to give up and give Him control to do what He wills in me. I have to make this choice daily. Once again, I will not say it is easy, and I will not say I choose it every time, because I don't. But the choice is always there.

Psalm 139:1

"To the Choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O Lord, you have searched me and know me!" Psalm 139:1

I am on a verse by verse journey through Psalm 139. It is a chapter so full of gems that I feel it needs to be done this way.

This verse says He has searched us. It would seem that the all knowing God wouldn't need to do any searching, but He does anyway. The word search here means so much more than He just looked at us. It actually means that He digs as for treasure. Wow! Do you know what that means? It means that He has placed in each of us treasure. That is an awesome enough though in itself, but it's not just that we have treasure in us. He searches for it. He digs it out.

Of course, if He has to dig it out it's probably deep down there. We probably have no idea what the treasure is in us. And with digging comes show shifting of dirt. It is great to know there is treasure within us, but it is humbling to know He has to do some work in us to get it out in the open.

Then there is that little phrase "know me". You may be thinking, like I did, of course He does. But it is more than just He knows us, but that He understands us. Each of us is complicated by the personalities we have, the pains we have felt, the wounds we have, the joys we have experienced, and those treasures in us, to just name a few aspects that complicate us. However, He understands all of what makes us, us. He isn't scared off by any part of us. Instead of being scared off He actually digs deeper into us for the treasure.

He longs for us to truly know Him. He longs for us to truly know us for the wonderful creations He has made. How do we know? Well the Bible is full of verses that tell us so, and He even had an entire chapter of Psalms written to tell us how much He wants us to know that.

Mind Renovation is a New Show on HGTV

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2

Yesterday I posted abut the first section of Romans 12:2 and today I'm focusing on the second part: "but be transformed by the renewal of your mind" This part is all about change. Yup, change.

Transformed means a change of moral character for the better. Renewal means a renovation, complete change for the better. Mind means comprising alike the faculties of perceiving and understanding and those of feeling, judging, determining.

So based on these definitions my perceptions and understandings will change for the better. I like the word renovation. I like HGTV and watching the shows where they do renovations. They take some ugly room or home and change it for the better. Sometimes I don't care for the changes, but I can't deny it is better than it was.

God performed the ultimate renovation on my heart when He choose me to be His. He still is at work at it, but if our heart change was an HGTV series people wouldn't be able to deny the change He has made in our hearts. It is a work in progress. But He doesn't just change our hearts and leaving us with what Joyce Meyers calls "our stinkin' thinkin'". He gives opportunities for our minds to be renovated too.

I also really like that it is about our perceptions and understandings. Perception means the ability to see, hear, and become aware of something through the senses. Understanding means to comprehend. The two can go hand in hand but they are not the same thing. He makes it possible for my morals to change for the better. He makes it possible for my perception to change for the better. He makes it possible for my understanding to change for the better. As those things change my feelings, my judgments, and my determinations change as well. That's really good since my feelings can be off if my perceptions are off, and sometimes they are way off. My judgments can change when I understand more. I might be really determined one way or the other and it is nice to know that as I grow they can change. I can think of instances in my life, some of them quite recent instances, where He has changed my perception and my understanding.

Yes, the verse is about me not being conformed; me renewing my mind; and me being able to determine what the will of God is, but He does it. I have to give permission for God to do the work in me. Sometimes I wish that I would have just shut my mouth and not agreed to Him working, but deep down I'm glad that I did agree. I want to be more like Christ. I want to know His will. I want to know Him.

I hope my renovation HGTV show is a success, because it means that He has changed me for the better.

Do Not Conform

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2

Okay, it's been over 2 months since I have written a devotion. I can say that I have been spending  lot of time in the Word so not really sure why not. However, I have been examining verses and studying the meaning of the words in the Hebrew or Greek depending on what Testament they are in. The above verse is the one that I looked at today, well part of it.

"Do not be conformed to this world..." is the part I found something interesting. Armed with the website Blue Letter Bible, which has Thayer's Greek Lexicon for definitions with the Greek meanings, which goes into detail on how the word is used in various verses, I examined this short portion. I looked up the words "conformed" and "world". Conformed, in this verse, means to conform one's self to another's pattern. World, in this verse, means men controlled by the thoughts and pursuits of this present time.

I know most who read or quote this verse focus on the world part, and rightly so. Many people, Christians included, are not as careful about what influences they allow in their lives as they should. Movies, TV shows, books, activities, well almost all areas of life have worldly influences that we buy into too easily. I know there have been things I have had to give up because I felt that I was allowing influences in that were worldly.

I was struck more by the word conform and its definition. I know the focus is about not conforming to the world, but I took the meaning to an even more personal level. There are things I don't like about myself, pretty much like everyone else, and I tend to focus on them. I see others who don't have the same flaws, or at least don't seem to, and I want to be like them. I start to think more like them, act more like them, and become less me.

This verse reminds me that I am suppose to be careful to be me. God created me to be me, the me He created. I might have many flaws, but I also have many positives. He has given me talents and a personality that make me special. He has given me gifts and a purpose that I need to walk out to help others and bring Him glory. Conforming me to be like someone else or the world makes me someone else, and I need to be His girl, flaws and fabulousness. (That's my word!)

Foot Washers Needed

"Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During the supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand." Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "The one who has bathed does not need to wash. except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you." For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "Not all of you are clean."
When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you." John 13:1-15

Most Christians know this story. Some have participated in feet washing activities, and realize how humbling it is to have your feet washed. They also realize how powerful it to wash someone else's feet. I have participated myself and know both experiences.

A little history lesson, the custom of the day was to wash the feet of guests. People wore sandals and it was a dusty place. People's feet would be covered in dust, be hot, and tired. The washing of the feet would remove the dirt, cool the feet, and make tired feet feel better. The host of the house would have servants or slaves wash the feet of the guests. Just from a customs' standpoint, Jesus was not the host of the house where they were having supper. Therefore it was not His job to see that the feet were washed, let alone wash the feet Himself. Yet He washed their feet.

Jesus still does this very thing in our lives today.

Our parents may range from wonderful to bad to people who should have never had children. Regardless, of where they fall on the continuum there are things that they should have done for us that they didn't, couldn't, or just wouldn't. We are left with hurts and gaps in our lives. Jesus knows what should have been done for us, and He comes into our lives and does for us what we didn't get.

This can be true in any number of relationships: spouses, siblings, friends, teachers, bosses, co-workers, almost anyone who has even a little significance in our lives. There are many ways that these hurts, holes, and hot spots may have gotten into our hearts and minds. But Jesus can step into anyone of these areas and does the work to wash away the hurt, fills the holes, and soothes the heat out.

Some of us are like many of the disciples who allowed Him to wash their feet. We let Him in and let Him heal and fill the holes in our lives. Some of us are like Peter, and we think we are doing Him a favor by not allowing Him access. It takes Jesus telling us that if we don't let Him then we have no part of Him for us to allow Him to wash us, heal us, and save us.

But it doesn't end there. Verse 15 tells us that He was an example for us and that we need to follow His example. If He is a part of us, like He said to Peter, then we must allow Him to use us. He gives us opportunities to wash the feet of others by being for them what they need. He tells us to give them something, serve them, pray with them, feed them, etc. no matter how dirty, smelly, or even demeaning the job may be. When we have the opportunity, we must be like Jesus. We need to do the job that may not have been ours to do, but He has given us the opportunity to do. We need to be willing to be feet washers.