Do you want to grow?

Summer is a season of sunshine, 321 days a year in Colorado, that is what I know from my personal experience. Most years, Colorado is known for being a great destination of sun and fun year round. Colorado, also, has horrendous severe thunderstorms, golf ball size hail, flood conditions and even more bipolar weather patterns.

This year I believe we are setting records for thunderstorms, hail, rain and flooding. Storms can bring trials and they can clear out the dirty, brown clouds in the atmosphere. Storms and great weather have purpose. We can grow in each climate experience.

In order for growth to happen, we need sunshine, a properly prepared soil, plenty of water ( even torrential downpours) to quench the dry parts of ground and times of peace and stillness.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 AMPC
And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [separate you from profane things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God]; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and complete [and found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).

In order to grow in our faith with the Holy Spirit, Jesus, our Father God, we need Sonshine, an open heart, mind and soul connection (our spirit man to the Holy Spirit). It is necessary to make action steps to deepen this life giving relationship. Otherwise, the desert times in life will cause us to whither away and dry up our God given purposes.

We need the Living Water of Jesus, through time spent in the Bible, His Word fills the empty soil of our lives and brings more productivity. We need solid accountability field workers to encourage our digging up the weeds and tenderly caring for the tender green places of growth with Jesus!

One of the hardest things for humans is to be still and open in humility to allow God to speak into our lives. Without this step of faith and submission nothing really changes. Our stubborn nature to pride and closed ears can cause us to walk the wrong way.

As Aerosmith used to sing “Walk this way”, however, over time the world will bulldoze our potential with distraction in culture, the promise of good things but at what cost, a fleeting moment of happiness over a blessed path to a meaningful future of harvest: relationships of likeminded, loving people who realize we are sinners and it’s one step at a time that we can grow in Jesus with a full field of harvest.

So, do we go by impulsive now mentality or plan a future of potential purpose blessed by God? Deuteronomy 28 is the Bible chapter that discusses the difference between walking with God’s blessing or choosing to curse God and receive our consequence. I think I avoided this scripture but now see it’s truth.

I appreciate Paul sharing with the Ephesians his gratitude. The encouragement of a fellow Christian who spends time with God cannot be underestimated. I leave you with this prayer blessing from Ephesians 1.

Ephesians 1:16-21 NLT
I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, [17] asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. [18] I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called-his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. [19] I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power [20] that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. [21] Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else-not only in this world but also in the world to come.

Thank you for reading my spontaneous blog. I appreciate your taking the time to stop by for a while. May you feel the love and presence of God as you take the steps necessary to grow in Him. It will be a mighty harvest for those willing to take the risk.

Life is a test, Speak Life

Just as in high school, you can get test anxiety and fret over the multiple choice answers. Your test prep in the Bible, the wisdom of your favorite teacher and the compassion of wisdom shared can impact your future.

Life boils down to multiple choices, turn to the left or the right, choose joy or conflict, choose pride or humility, choose to be the one with the last word or listen and consider another’s heartfelt communication.

Today I spent time asking God for wisdom in relationships. I was reminded of a solid truth, I get to make a choice to bring life or death to any person by my words and actions. I get to choose and you get to choose to speak life or death.

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 ESV
“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. [16] If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. [17] But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, [18] I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.

It is a daily sometimes moment to moment process of speaking life or death. The power of the tongue can not be underestimated.

Our excuses of I am tired, hungry, I feel ignored and lonely, or no one cares about me, can be the impetus for our speaking without thinking.

After all, every person has spoken without thinking. I know I have had to learn to restrain my comments and ask the Holy Spirit to help me express the truth without destroying others. Sometimes, I have to receive the truth from someone else and seriously consider if their comment and opinion has merit. Many times, I need to ask forgiveness and humbly work at restoring relationships.

Can you relate to this quick speaking impulse? It is like a Wild West movie with a quick draw from your holster. The weapon of life and death is not the gun but the tongue.

The need to have the last word is a problem in our world and in personal relationships. The best place to gain a healthy insight and solution is working on our relationship with God. When we seek His solutions, obey their content, we will find more of His life giving perspective.

The fruit of living in obedience to God is our character can be molded into more life giving responses. His pouring into our lives by the Holy Spirit gives us the ability to pour out to others more life. Generational habits can be changed, more of God in us and in our relationships leads to chains of oppression, codependency and other dysfunctional patterns broken, by the power of Jesus.

We must choose the One true God, we must turn from any idols that obstruct this relationship to our Creator God.

Asking another student for the exam answers is cheating your own life of the best source. No other person or thing should be worshiped over Him. Idols destroy our connection to God, He alone is worthy to be praised.

Scripture is clear, we get to choose who or what we serve. We can be blessed by our choice for God or cursed for seeking the wrong source.

19] I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, [20] loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

Life and death, blessing or curses are your free will options. Our choice effects generations, so love GOD, the best Teacher, OBEY his voice, hold fast to Him, He is life just as He was to Abraham.

Don’t flunk the Final exam! There is no cheating, we each stand before Him with our lives. Your willingness to get extra guidance from the Great Teacher, Jesus and spend time gaining the best knowledge will be rewarded. This is a promise not only for you but for future generations.

Photo credit by Pexels.com

Mercy

2 Corinthians 4:1-12,14-18 GNT
God in his mercy has given us this work to do, and so we do not become discouraged.

There is work to be done. What are you being called to do today? Where has the Lord given you a gifting, a passion for serving, a place to nurture others?

[2] We put aside all secret and shameful deeds; we do not act with deceit, nor do we falsify the word of God. In the full light of truth we live in God’s sight and try to commend ourselves to everyone’s good conscience.

We must live a life that even behind closed doors, or when no one is looking, represents the light of truth and following the Character of Jesus.

3] For if the gospel we preach is hidden, it is hidden only from those who are being lost. [4] They do not believe, because their minds have been kept in the dark by the evil god of this world. He keeps them from seeing the light shining on them, the light that comes from the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

We can not hold the wisdom of God for ourselves. “This Little Light of Mine”, is a children’s song. Yet the lyrics are relevant no matter the age. We must share Jesus not hide our testimony under a basket.

[5] For it is not ourselves that we preach; we preach Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. [6] The God who said, “Out of darkness the light shall shine!” is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts, to bring us the knowledge of God’s glory shining in the face of Christ.

We must remember it is not our words that save us or others from death, our words are human communication. It is the power of Jesus and His Words of life that save. We must seek Him first to guide our conversations. We are human but He is our Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all knowing, Almighty God!

7] Yet we who have this spiritual treasure are like common clay pots, in order to show that the supreme power belongs to God, not to us. [8] We are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but never in despair; [9] there are many enemies, but we are never without a friend; and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed.

Our growing relationship with Jesus is a benefit to our eternal connection and to those we intersect. We must keep our hope in Him even as our lives may feel overwhelming.

10] At all times we carry in our mortal bodies the death of Jesus, so that his life also may be seen in our bodies. [11] Throughout our lives we are always in danger of death for Jesus’ sake, in order that his life may be seen in this mortal body of ours. [12] This means that death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

Our human brain can not comprehend love and the infinite presence of Jesus. It is faith without seeing Him physically.We will make mistakes however, we can be made new and have a life that uses our mistakes for better responses by His grace. Repent ( turn away from sin) and start anew.

14] We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus to life, will also raise us up with Jesus and take us, together with you, into his presence. [15] All this is for your sake; and as God’s grace reaches more and more people, they will offer to the glory of God more prayers of thanksgiving.

Do not be discouraged! Our spiritual being is renewed as we cling to Him, believe He is all truth, and trust Him for even our breath.

16] For this reason we never become discouraged. Even though our physical being is gradually decaying, yet our spiritual being is renewed day after day.

Sometimes I can allow troubles to explode into a mountain of distress instead of a mole hill. Go to the Rock, the great wisdom of God. ( Isaiah 2:2) Teens and even adulting can seem overwhelming and impossible. I must remind myself to fix my eyes, heart, mind on Jesus. Reading scripture on the topic of my distress and listening to praise music calms me. The trouble may still exist but my soul within me seems more at peace. He is with me!

17] And this small and temporary trouble we suffer will bring us a tremendous and eternal glory, much greater than the trouble. 18] For we fix our attention, not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever.

We must fix our attention, not on what is before our eyes, but the comfort and wisdom from our connection of Jesus within.

If you have not accepted Jesus as your Savior. Today could be the turning point of your life. Call out to Jesus today, say Jesus I need you, I believe You are my Savior, I want You to guide my life, words and actions. I give my life to you, I repent and want Your help to turn from past sins, make me new by Your sacrifice on the cross. Show me more of You. In Jesus Name, Amen!

Colossians 2:18-19 MSG
Don’t tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They’re a lot of hot air, that’s all they are. They’re completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us.

Reason I sing, is a perfect song, Phil Wickham expresses well the importance of praise. Be blessed today, Jesus, is the reason I sing.

Photo credit by Pexels.com