Blogging Through The Alphabet: Letter "I"

For this week's Blogging Through The Alphabet were are on the letter "I".  The letter "I" reminded me of one of my favorite Bible verses, Ephesians 3:20 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us..."  There are two "I" words in that passage "immeasurably" and "imagine".  To understand what those two words mean all you have to do is look at the language in the King James version of the Bible "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us."

I remember when I first discovered this verse and realized that God isn't just a God of the ordinary and when I pray, He doesn't just answer what I need but He can answer in ways I cannot even measure (immeasurable).  And then it is beyond what I can even imagine (think of)!   If that wasn't enough it says that it is according his power that is at work within us.  If we read Ephesians 1:19-20 we discover that power is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead!! "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 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms."  So I have to ask myself do I really believe that?  If so why do I not live my life in that power?  I want to, but more often than not I don't because I listen to the voice of my enemy who wants to convince me that this isn't Truth.

You see, the faith struggle comes when the God who promises to do immeasurably more than all I can ask or imagine, doesn't even do the minimal.  Someone I have been praying for healing dies.  Or after we praise God for healing their cancer comes back. An elderly person has lived a long life and is begging God to go home and let them be out of pain and they just linger.  A marriage I have been praying for ends in divorce.  My own pain that I live with and pray for continues.  When I pray for Pastor Saeed who has been imprisoned in Iran since 2012 to be released and he is still imprisoned.  I am often praying like the father in Mark 9:24 who tells Jesus "I believe, help my unbelief".

Not sure I have any answers.  But I do believe I have a God that can do immeasurably more than all I can ask or imagine.  I believe in His character and even when I don't understand, I try not to listen to the accusations of the enemy "Where is your God?".  I try to live in that power that is within me and with the Holy Spirit's help I say "Get behind me Satan". (James 4:7)

I do have examples in my life where God has done immeasurably more and I have blogged about those in the past, so I will not repeat them here.  But more and more I ask Him more than answering prayers that I learn to live in the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, and I believe He will enable me to do so, in ways beyond all I can ask or imagine!

"H" In The Story Of Christmas

So, I don't know about you but as hard as I work to make the Christmas season less hectic and more peaceful, it seems like I just can't get in control of the chaos.  Since I didn't want to stress about what I would do this week for  Blogging Through The Alphabet letter "H".  I decided to just copy the Christmas story from Luke 2 and highlight all the "H" words :-)

"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."

May each of you have a wonderful Christmas celebration and may we all take time to ponder in our hearts the miracle gift that was given to all of us.  I saw a great quote this week "many babies grew up to be a king, but only one King became a baby."

Blogging Through The Alphabet: G is for Gifts

For Blogging Through The Alphabet today the letter is "G" and I chose the word Gifts.
I was told that yesterday is the busiest day for the U.S. Post Office.  I didn't know that as I sat and wrapped gifts readying them to mail myself.  As I sat and wrapped presents for family that are out of state, I started thinking about gifts.  What was the most special gift I ever received?  I remembered when I was around 5 years old and I couldn't decide between and Bride doll and a Betsy Wetsy doll, so I told Santa to choose and he brought me both :-).  I remembered getting the hot rollers to curl my hair as a teenager.  It was always fun to get new clothes.  But if I am being honest, I was hard pressed to actually remember over 60 years of Christmases and presents.  

We spend so much time, money and effort trying to buy the perfect gift for all of those on our Christmas list and yet if we asked them what we gave them last year would they actually remember?  It's not that we aren't grateful, it's just that as Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 1:2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.“Utterly meaningless!  Everything is meaningless.”  Happiness will never be found in things. Things wear out and don't last.

But there are several gifts that will last a lifetime, that I remember well.

• My mother's love:  My mother has always loved me unconditionally.  No matter how many times I have disappointed her, she forgives me and continues to love me.
• My father's love:  I have blogged about this before, but my "father of heart" came into my life when I was 15 and I never felt like a "stepchild".  He never gave me that name, and always loved me as if I was born of his flesh.  He will always be my example of how God loves.
• My husband's love:  Steve accepted me and loved me from the get go, knowing that I was less than perfect.  I was afraid when I confessed my sins of the past to him, he would decide not to marry me.  But I will never forget the gift of his words "there but by the grace of God go I".
• Friends:  I have been blessed with many sweet friends over the years.  Their friendship has left deep footsteps in my heart.  I can't name them all here, but  I appreciate the gift of friendship because it means someone loved me enough to invest in my life and allow me to invest in theirs.
• Prayer:  What a wonderful gift prayer is!  I have no way to know the countless people and countless prayers that have been said over me, but when I was in the hospital for six months, every Tuesday afternoon Bob Legan would call my room and pray with me over the phone.  Bill Thoma fasted and prayed for me every Saturday for those months.  What a wonderful gift of faithfulness in prayer that was to me.  From that experience I learned the comfort of prayer and vowed I would never again tell someone "I will pray for you" and then not follow through. And even now, Lowell and Donna Anderson and Bob and Mary Ann Stephenson faithfully tell me every week they are praying for me.
• I am sure I could think of many more, but for the length of this post, I will stop here.

Of course I couldn't leave this post without my greatest gift--my Jesus!!  Thank you God for knowing that I would be a sinner unable to stand before a Holy God.  I wish I could have lived a perfect life in obedience to you as he did, but I am very aware that I have not, nor will I in the future.  I thank you Jesus for leaving the glories of Heaven and coming to this fallen earth and sacrificing your all so that I can be guaranteed salvation.  While I enjoy this time of year where the focus is on you as a baby, I truly love knowing that the baby in the manger leads me to my Jesus who will come back again one day and take us home with you where we will have the most wonderful Christmas celebration of all!!

I do have to share my favorite song about gifts :-)

Blogging Through the Alphabet: F is for Fear

For Blogging Through The Alphabet today the letter is "F" and I chose the word Fear.  My husband and I do a devotional each day at lunch and today the reading was from Joshua 14:

Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. 9 So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed theLord my God wholeheartedly.’[a]

10 “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”

So many things happening in our world today that if we just look at them it would be easy to live fear filled lives.  You don't think the "bad" will be in your backyard, but twice in two months there have been random shootings in Colorado Springs that if I had just been in the wrong place at the right time, I could be one of those who are dead.  There is so much talk in the media about racial tensions and terrorists among us.  But I want to suggest we take note of a lesson from this short passage in Joshua.

When Joshua and Caleb and the other spies went to scope out enemy territory, they all saw the same view.  And when they came back they reported to Moses and said that the thought the enemy was too big and too strong, in fact they said they seemed like grasshoppers in comparison.  But Caleb said "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

The key to overcoming fear is being confident in God's provision.  Not letting fear be our deciding factor, but wholeheartedly following the Lord knowing if He brought us to it, He will bring us through it!  We can saw with Joshua "with the Lord helping me, I will....."

We can also hold onto other Truths of His Word:

• Psalm 34:4-I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
• Proverbs 3:24-26-When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.  Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be at your side.
• Proverbs 29:25-Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.
• Isaiah 41:10-So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.