Sitting Quietly at Jesus' Feet

Sitting quietly at Jesus' feet is a tremendously healing endeavor. We cease from our labors and listen to His voice, feel His hand stroking our head, breathing in unison with Him as He listens to our troubles and trials, and receives our praise.

His presence fills us with His peace and joy in spite of circumstances. His ministry to our spirit by His Spirit makes a lasting impression on our soul as He calms the raging sea within our thoughts and emotions.

It is easier to keep busy than to sit quietly and still. We rush headlong into life and ignore the deep recesses of our soul that need healing; but these unresolved conflicts tear us down every day for the rest of our life - until we are willing to sit quietly and listen to our soul.

We feel vulnerable when too much of our inner self is exposed to the light of day. Satan's condemnation, the world's expectations and the negative self-talk in us from years of input by significant others in our life, make us uncomfortable with confronting our fears and insecurities.

It is important to pause during the day to prop up our feet, drink a cup of tea, do a craft, watch a wholesome show or movie, play a video game, paint a picture, learn a musical instrument, etc. This gives our soul a much needed chance to play and experience a time of abandon and creativity.

Proven scientific studies show that meditation decreases our negative attitudes and neurosis, as well as increases our feelings of control and security. Meditating on God's Word heals these psychosomatic issues and decreases their effects on our life.

                                                                  

God's Spirit is sanctifying our soul little by little and day by day. Our carnality is decreasing so that He may increase in us and through us. We do not attempt to perfect our self (Galatians 3:1-3), but we surrender to God's work within us (Romans 8). 

We pray without ceasing by consulting God each moment of our day (Proverbs 3:5-6) and we walk in the Spirit rather than fulfilling the former, diminishing, carnal desires of our flesh (Galatians 5:15-25; Colossians 3:3-4). We live in victory and fulfillment with His ceaseless peace and joy.

Prayer:

Father God, You draw us to Your heart through our wounds, scars and brokenness. You accomplish Your most powerful miracles through those of us who turn toward You in our weakness, rather than blaming You and turning away from You in our distress. You plant a seed for a miracle in every trial.

You use our brokenness to prove Your love for us and that You are sovereign in our life. You call us by name and give us treasures from our darkness and riches in the midst of the secret places of grief in our soul (Isaiah 45:3). Thank You for setting us free from worldly concerns and for reminding us to stay focused on You and Your will throughout our day.

Thought for the Day:

When we walk in the power and anointing of Christ in us and fulfill God's will for our life, we see the lasting fruit both of God's sanctifying work in our soul and of our spiritual endeavors in the lives of those God brings into our life; this causes us to rejoice constantly in God's faithfulness and goodness. 

Let Your Insides Out

Who are you behind the masks you wear? Do you wear your feelings on your shoulder for other people to see who you really are? Do you try to act one way when you really feel another?

Or have you learned that it does not matter what other people think about you? Are you free from the tyranny of their opinions? Do you let your insides out?

Our fears and insecurities define who we really are inside. Due to our spirit and soul, we may have a strong spirit, but a very wounded soul. We appear strong, yet most of us are really weak.

When people reject us for our weaknesses, we feel worthless and damaged, which increases our fears and insecurities. We feel too vulnerable and build walls around our heart.

My former husband disdained the inner me. My adult children tolerate the inner me. My current husband dwells with the inner me with patience and understanding.

The good news is that Jesus died for the inner me and His Spirit is transforming the inner me into a new creation from one glorious stage to another (2 Corinthians 3:18, 5:17).

He slowly peels away the bandages, which I applied to the wounds of the inner me. He exposes the raw emotion and anxiety and puts the salve of God's unconditional love on each one of them.

He teaches us that the only opinion of us which really matters is God's, which frees us from having to hide behind masks. He continually encourages us to let our insides out.

Prayer:

Father God, we can love and live with a person, but only You completely love, live with and accept us just as we are. Sometimes we have idols in our life, but they are not really perfect. Jesus is the only one who belongs on the throne of our life. Only You completely and unconditionally love the inner us.

We will leave the significant others in our life when we die, but we will live with You for eternity. Your love is ours now and forever and ever. As we keep You as our best friend and the lover of our soul, we will have Your blessings in our life and Your love will flow over us like a waterfall every day of our life now and always (Matthew 16:26).

Thought for the Day:

No person can completely understand or accept us for who we really are inside; Jesus lives inside of us and He knows and loves us better than we can even know and love our self.

Inner Transformation

God promises never to leave us nor to forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). When He seems distant, it is because we have drifted away from Him, not that He left us. Mental knowledge about God cannot compare with knowledge of God in a personal, spiritual relationship (John 17:3). This intimacy transforms us from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18).

God’s presence in our life changes us from the inside out. We are still rough around the edges outwardly; but inwardly, we have more peace and joy than ever before. The fruit of God’s Spirit replaces our carnality (Galatians 5:22-23). We fall more in love with Jesus every day. Our fears, deep-seated anger and insecurities diminish as God heals the pain of our past.

Our faith in God’s faithfulness grows with each trial, which He works out for our good, as well as through each weakness He enables us to overcome (Romans 8:28). We come to Him and willingly lay our goals and desires at His feet, embracing His will for our life. Our prayer time grows from a few moments each morning to continual communication throughout the day (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

We feast on God’s Word and allow it to dictate our thoughts and behavior. When we, who know God intimately, share with others what Christ does in our life, many of them will desire to know the Lord too. I do wish our passion for God was catching, so that everyone would come to know His love intimately. However, everyone does have a chance, because He calls “whosoever will” (Revelation 22:17).

Prayer:

Father God, our unity with You is our greatest joy. All of our other relationships and activities are influenced for the better, because of Your presence in our life. We love that we can be Your friend (John 15:13-15). King David gives us such insight into our relationship with You. The possibilities are endless (Psalm 63:1-8). Thank You for making us joint heirs with Jesus Christ of the glory of Your Kingdom (Romans 8:17; Philippians 3:10).

Thought for the Day:

When we fully love God and keep His Words, the Trinity makes their abode in us. – John 14:23

Total Harmony with God

God uses mechanics, writers, bakers, seamstresses, accountants, lawyers, artists, judges, preachers, secretaries, musicians, teachers, clerks, singers, directors, laborers and everything in between, as we totally surrender our life to Him. He uses us for His glory right where we are. It is ludicrous to believe that we can live successfully apart from God. We may achieve success in certain areas of our existence, but there is always something lacking.

We do not make our own plans and ask God to bless them. We seek Him first, and then He directs our thoughts, words and plans (Proverbs 3:5-6). No matter what our gifts and talents, no matter what our training and abilities, no matter what our natural inclinations are, if the Spirit of God does not guide us, we are wasting our time. Our union with God causes us to look to Him for everything, and to submit to Him in everything.

Once we open our heart to God’s salvation both from sin’s curse and eternal damnation, we live with Him in continuous communion. We want nothing more from life than this personal relationship with Him, but He gives us so much more. God’s divine life flows through our spirit, which is the center for our faith and conduct. When we submit our life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, then we cannot help but prosper, as well as to bless others.

We relinquish to Him all of our fears and insecurities, and He abundantly supplies all of our needs (Philippians 4:18-20). We possess an intimate union with God Himself, and He fills our lives with His continual blessings, both spiritually and materially. God’s divine life cannot dwell within us without our complete consent to His Lordship. We live in total harmony with God through our union with Jesus Christ and by the direction of His Holy Spirit.

Prayer:

Father God, as we fully dedicate our life to You, You will make us holy, which will then bring us fulfillment and success. Your divine life flows through all of creation, and although we cannot perceive the reality of this, the Bible makes it clear. If we fail to praise You, the rocks will cry out (Luke 19:40). The trees continually clap their hands in a duet with the wind in praise to You (Isaiah 55:12). Not even a sparrow, a lily or a blade of grass exists without Your consent (Matthew 10:29). Your divine energy flows through all of life. We can tap into that by repenting of our self-centered life and dedicating our life to live according to Your love and direction.

Thought for the Day:

Once we come to see the utter alienation and hopelessness of life and eternity apart from God, we choose Christ as our life, and our humanity dies and is hidden with Christ in God. - Colossians 3:3-4

The Plan for Success

 

God has a successful plan for every person ever born (Ephesians 2:10). The problem occurs when we follow our own goals and pursue our own desires, or those planned for us by other well-meaning people in our life (Isaiah 53:6). We run further and harder through the rat race of life, getting lost somewhere along the course, unable to find our way. Then, Jesus stands next to us, offers us His nail-scarred hand and leads us in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake (Psalm 23:3).

This is the exact spot where our life turns around for the better. Jesus comes into our life and removes our negative emotions and our fears and insecurities a little at a time. He does not perfect us all at once, but like the layers of the onion, He peels them back one section at a time. As He gets closer to our core, the layers of our flesh and carnality disappear until all that is left is Christ in us, who gives us the hope of eternity in His glory (Colossians 2:27).

God rescues us from a life of degradation and sin and lifts us up upon the Rock of Christ (Psalm 18:2). Once we admit we need a Savior, and let go of all of our plans for our own life, God makes a success of us, no matter what our calling is. As long as we obey the direction of His Spirit moment by moment throughout the day, He delivers us from our past and gives us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). However, nothing less than complete surrender will do.

As long as we interject our own plans, God cannot help us. He allows us to flounder around on our own, until we yell, “I quit!” Once we lay down our life and die to the desires of our flesh, then God’s Spirit can labor in us on our behalf. He miraculously works out everything for our good (Romans 8:28), until we wonder why it took us so long to submit to His will. Our sacrifice and the fear of surrender seem inconsequential now, compared to the glory that He sets before us (1 Peter 1:8).

His love pours over us like a waterfall, once we sit still in His presence and worship His name. We can depend on Him for all of our needs (Matthew 6:33). As we joyfully consent to His loving kindness, God frees us from the weight of our past and the fear of the future. He walks within us through every trial life brings our way. We will never be worthy of His love (Galatians 3:1-3), but He loves us unconditionally (Romans 5:8). As our Heavenly Daddy, He will never allow His righteous to be shaken (Isaiah 54:10).

Prayer:

Father God, You love us with the same love You gave Your only begotten Son, Jesus (John 15:9-10). In our union with You, through Christ (Colossians 3:3), we have no need to fear the unexpected upsets life brings our way. We deeply abide in Your love for eternity. Jesus died to make us one with You. You give us Your Spirit to reside within us. You make us a temple for Your Spirit. He is our comforter and guide through life. He transforms us until we express Your divine nature to the world around us. You teach us to live as good stewards of Your provision and to meet needs in Your name with those around us.

Thought for the Day:

Jesus gave us His example of how to abide in the Father’s love. – John 17:22