Jesus spoke these words in the Sermon on the Mount. He had just cautioned those listening against worrying about life (ugh!), about what they would eat (ugh!), about what they would wear (double ugh!!). The rest of verse 33 says "...all these things will be given to you as well". Why do we spend so much time on "these things" and so little on His kingdom?
Henri Nouwen in HERE AND NOW says:
"Without a clear goal, we will always be distracted
and spend our energy on secondary things."
The athletes in the Summer Olympics are very clear in their goal and everthing in their day revolves around that goal. There are billboards out today that say: "THINK GOD"...not a bad thought!
"Seek first the kingdom of God"...now that's a worthy goal!
Maybe I need to do a little reordering of my goals. How about you?
For further study: Deuteronomy 4:29, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Jonah 2:8, Matthew 6:19-20, Galatians 5:16-17, Hebrews 11:6, 12:1-3, James 4:7-8, 1 John 2:15-17, Revelation 3:17-20.
Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.
Love,
Holly
May 29, 2012
May 21, 2012
"I will be joyful in God my Savior" - Hab. 3:18
You might be saying "I think she's already done this verse"...and you would be right! Some friends from a small group call me "Hollyanna" because I do tend to (sometimes naively) look at the bright side of things and this is probably the third pillow I've done on a variation of this theme!
I think life is about making choices and I think (maybe naively) a blesssed life is about making the right choices. I heard an inspiring testimony recently from Marabel Morgan - a gifted Bible teacher - in Miami. She told of her childhood when her mother told her she would have to choose between Jesus or her...she couldn't have both. If she chose Jesus, her door would be forever closed to Marabel. She chose Jesus and her mother kept her word. However, the Lord had a wonderful plan for Marabel's life and countless people have been influenced by her blessed life.
Joe Stowell says: "We can compete with God's plan and pursue our own agenda. Or we can converge with God's plan and join the winning side. The choice is ours."
God's plan - according to His word - is that we would be filled with His Spirit (Eph. 5:18) and develop His fruit - joy being a part of that fruit (Gal. 5:22-23). Habakkuk struggled with evil and injustice - as we do today. But in the end, he knew that whether things went well or not, he would CHOOSE JOY!
For further study: Deuteronomy 30:19-20, 2 Chronicles 34:3-7, Joshua 24:15, Proverbs 8:10, Proverbs 21:21, Romans 12:17, Philippians 4:8, 2 Thessalonians 3:13.
Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.
Love,
Holly
I think life is about making choices and I think (maybe naively) a blesssed life is about making the right choices. I heard an inspiring testimony recently from Marabel Morgan - a gifted Bible teacher - in Miami. She told of her childhood when her mother told her she would have to choose between Jesus or her...she couldn't have both. If she chose Jesus, her door would be forever closed to Marabel. She chose Jesus and her mother kept her word. However, the Lord had a wonderful plan for Marabel's life and countless people have been influenced by her blessed life.
Joe Stowell says: "We can compete with God's plan and pursue our own agenda. Or we can converge with God's plan and join the winning side. The choice is ours."
God's plan - according to His word - is that we would be filled with His Spirit (Eph. 5:18) and develop His fruit - joy being a part of that fruit (Gal. 5:22-23). Habakkuk struggled with evil and injustice - as we do today. But in the end, he knew that whether things went well or not, he would CHOOSE JOY!
For further study: Deuteronomy 30:19-20, 2 Chronicles 34:3-7, Joshua 24:15, Proverbs 8:10, Proverbs 21:21, Romans 12:17, Philippians 4:8, 2 Thessalonians 3:13.
Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.
Love,
Holly
May 7, 2012
"My heart rejoices in the Lord" - 1 Samuel 2:1
One of the most self-sacrificing characters in the Bible is Hannah, who prayed for a very long time for a son. She would faithfully go to the temple year after year crying in anguish to the Lord, vowing to return her child in service if her prayer was answered. God heard her prayer and gave her the desire of her heart. Just as she was faithful in her pleas, she was faithful in her word and when Samuel grew old enough she did indeed return him to the temple in service. She didn't resent her sacrifice; in fact, our verse for today is her rejoicing over her privilege!
This Mothers Day, may all mothers learn from Hannah about our mission in raising our children: to love and nurture them and send them out to influence the world in service to the Lord.
What a great privilege I have had as a mother to raise our two wonderful sons. But there were a few years when it felt more like the hardest job I ever had! You've heard it said: "real mothers don't eat quiche; they don't have time to make it!". One woman with young children said the work of a mother is "back-breaking, heart-wrenching and anxiety producing and that's just the morning!"
I want to be more like Hannah. She was a woman of prayer, a woman of gratitude, a woman of joy and a woman of faith.
Elisa Morgan of MOPS says "mothering is a small seed that grows into a big plant". We have been given a great gift to participate in that process. Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers (and that includes those who love and nurture children others have given birth to!).
For further study, you might enjoy reading about other mothers of the Bible: Sarah (Gen. 17-21), Rebekah (Genesis 24), Jochebed, mother of Moses (Exodus 2:1-10), The Widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:2-24), the woman in Proverbs 31:10-31, and Mary (Luke 1: 26-56).
Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.
Love,
Holly
This Mothers Day, may all mothers learn from Hannah about our mission in raising our children: to love and nurture them and send them out to influence the world in service to the Lord.
What a great privilege I have had as a mother to raise our two wonderful sons. But there were a few years when it felt more like the hardest job I ever had! You've heard it said: "real mothers don't eat quiche; they don't have time to make it!". One woman with young children said the work of a mother is "back-breaking, heart-wrenching and anxiety producing and that's just the morning!"
I want to be more like Hannah. She was a woman of prayer, a woman of gratitude, a woman of joy and a woman of faith.
Elisa Morgan of MOPS says "mothering is a small seed that grows into a big plant". We have been given a great gift to participate in that process. Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers (and that includes those who love and nurture children others have given birth to!).
For further study, you might enjoy reading about other mothers of the Bible: Sarah (Gen. 17-21), Rebekah (Genesis 24), Jochebed, mother of Moses (Exodus 2:1-10), The Widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:2-24), the woman in Proverbs 31:10-31, and Mary (Luke 1: 26-56).
Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.
Love,
Holly
May 1, 2012
"God is the strength of my heart" - Psalm 73:26
"My flesh and my heart may fail
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever."
What are the things that make you the most anxious? For me: bridges, spiders, conflict, dirty bathrooms are a few. We are peculiar about the things we don't like! The author of Psalm 73 spent the first 16 verses talking about the things he didn't like. Finally, in verse 17, he got smart and "entered the sanctuary of God" and could begin to see things clearly.
If "God is the strength of my heart", will I react differently to things I don't like? Cathy Jodeit recently wrote a devotional about how God's approach is so different than ours to difficult people or situations. She says of God: "He listens...He understands...He patiently guides...He is compassionate and ALWAYS grounded in love."
If God truly is my strength, then I will listen, understand, be patient, compassionate and always grounded in love. Might we be willing today to know that we don't know the way others take, but we do know the way that we take.
For further study: 2 Samuel 22:33, 1 Kings 8:61, Nehemiah 8:10, Psalm 46:1, Proverbs 4:23, Isaiah 40:31, 1 Corinthians 1:25, Philippians 4:13, Hebrews 13:6, 1 Peter 4:11
Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.
Love,
Holly
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