The Hamster Wheel of Life

Do you ever feel like you are on the hamster wheel of life? You try and you try and you just can't overcome a bad habit? I can so relate to Paul in Romans 7:18 when he says,

But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do!

Have you ever felt frustrated about 'knowing what is the right thing to do, yet you still do the bad thing?'

Our life can spin out of control when we think we can sin without consequences and sin is usually outwardly appealing and initially enjoyable. Nothing says in the Bible that David's night spent with Bathsheba wasn't pleasurable? However, the consequences of his sin came after the initial gratification.

Galations 6:7 shares about the consequences of sin.

Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.

A recent bad habit that I have tried and tried on my own will power to overcome is poor nutritional habits and lack of exercise. It dawned on me that with the Holy Spirit dwelling in me, it is important for me to take can of my body, fueling it with proper nutrition and exercise. However the day I am going to make this dramatic change, I most of the time end up sub cumming to a tasty temptation or 'just don't' feel' like exercising. Then I over indulging on foods not good for me like donuts, candy, cake, cookies, and brownies. Can you tell what I have a weakness for? And I just continue on this hamster wheel of guilt and frustration.

The consequence of this sin has caused me to have a lower confidence about myself and often times will be reflected in my relationships with my husband, my daughters, family, or friends.

I have learned that I can't rely on my own 'will power' to overcome this sinful area of my life, but I need to rely on God's power in my life. I need to recognize and receive His love for me regardless of my past mistakes. I believe that Satan knows my area of weakness and works on me even harder to pull me down. However through the power, forgiveness, and strength of Christ, Satan can and will be over come. I can live in victory over sin!

1 John 1:9 states, 'If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won't let us down; he'll be true to himself. He'll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing.'

So TODAY I choose God over sin! I repent my sin and KNOW that the slate as been wiped clean. I can step off of the hamster wheel and onto a path already laid out for me, a path filled with abundance and blessings because I KNOW that....

The my LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youth will grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40: 28 - 32

Blessings,

Jill

Just 5 More Minutes PLEASE!

As the weather gets nicer and bedtimes get pushed a bit later and later every night, drawing to the close of the school year mornings are getting tougher and tougher! This morning however it would be mom that was saying, 'Just 5 more minutes, please!' I laid there secretly wishing that my husband would kiss me on the cheek and whisper 'Don't worry honey, I will get the kids off to school. You just sleep.' Ooops. I must have been dreaming!

So as the story unfolds, I drag myself out of bed only to head straight to the coffee maker to reheat what was left over from yesterday, just to get a quick fix before making a new pot! The kids get off to school and now with caffeine on board I suddenly find a new energy to my day and wonder why I would want to sleep the morning away.

Yesterday I shared a bit about David losing control which led to an adulterous affair and then the murder of Bathsheba's husband. We can be ticking along just great and suddenly life spins out of control. As you refer back to the story in 2 Samuel 11:1 - 14, I want to focus today on verse 1.

When that time of year came around again, the anniversary of the Ammonite aggression, David dispatched Joab and his fighting men of Israel in full force to destroy the Ammonites for good. They laid siege to Rabbah, but David stayed in Jerusalem.

Now we don't know why David stayed back. It appears that it was a time of the year when kings, such as he would go off to war with their troops. However this time he sent Joab in his place while he remained in Jerusalem. May be he was worn out, didn't feel like managing his troops, just didn't want to mess with it, and it was 'easier' to stay in Jerusalem. After all, he had the authority to delegate the responsibility.

Then in verse 2 it goes onto explain, One late afternoon, David got up from taking his nap and was strolling on the roof of the palace.

Whatever the reason for David staying back, it set into motion negative repercussions for him, his family, and his nation. David's choice to stay home was a wrong choice.

I believe that the Holy Spirit often times nudges me along with an inner 'gut' feeling, that voice in my head. However I also have a nudging sometimes that is not of the Holy Spirit that encourages me to make different choices. Choices that are not in my best interest for the short or long term. While I may gain some immediate gratification from a decision, the long term consequences are not good.

So when the comfort of the bed on a cool, damp morning, snuggled under a down comforter with pillows all around persuades you into taking just 5 more minutes, which in turn affects the unfolding of the events of the day: may be you miss your quiet time, you rush to get the kids off to school which leads to harsh spoken words, you don't have time to make a healthy breakfast and instead grab a donut and coffee from the convenient store, or you miss your daily exercise.

Remember God forgives and rebuilds lives, however He does not remove the consequences of uncontrolled actions, a distant relationship with Him, a hurtful word shouted at your child or spouse, or the harmful effects on your body of poor nutrition and lack of exercise.

The first step in getting a life under God's control, beginning to live a life in balance and harmony with God's plan is to pray for discernment and guidance, strength and energy to make the right choice!

When you seek God, He will show you His plans and way for your life so that you can follow Him and avoid sin.

Psalm 25:4 Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths.

Blessings,

Jill

My Views or God's Views?

I realized that as I have been studying the meaning of grace, I had a 'mixed view' of what the process of grace meant. The process of grace includes acceptance, repentance, sanctification, obedience, prayer and meditation. My mixed view coming from the world's interpretation and God's interpretation. Perhaps you may have felt the same or may be struck by a new thought?

Acceptance: When I hear the word acceptance I immediately think of being approved by and like by others. Or what can I do to earn acceptance by others? Look better, do more things for my kids, act a certain way, etc... Or I will be better accepted once I lose a few pounds, fix this problem in a relationship, get better at my job, etc...

God's view of acceptance is right here, right now! He loves me for who, what, and where I am TODAY! Acceptance to God is immediate. When God called some of His disciples in Matthew 4: 18 - 22, they had just finished fishing and God said lets go! They left their catch, their families, and I am sure they may be didn't stop to change clothes and they were off! God took them fish smelling and all!

Repentance: When I hear the word repentance, I immediately think of having done something really bad that I need to fall on my knees and beg for forgiveness. That to whom ever I am asking for forgiveness they will be upset and mad at me for what I have done.

In the study I am working on, Living In Grace the author said 'the heartache your sin inflicts is torture enough.' OUCH! My heart aches over little things and it aches daily.

God's view of repentance is that we must confess our sin over and over again. In doing so we can change our direction, abandon our agenda, and be rid of sinful, bad habits. Not only the BIG stuff, but the daily stuff, gossip, envy, fear, unforgiveness, etc...

Romans 2:4 says, 'God's kindness leads you toward repentance?'

Sanctification: Honestly, until just a year ago I really had no cool what sanctification meant!

God's view is that sanctification is a process, a daily, conscious effort on our part to become more and more like Him. How do we stay fit emotionally, mentally, and physically? We have to daily work at it! How do we grow to be like Christ. We have to daily connect with Him and His Word.

1 Thessalonians 5: 23 - 24 says, 'May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. When I think of through and through I vision it over and over and over again.

Obedience: My immediate reaction to obedience is to play by the rules. I also think of discipline. YUCK! I also think that I have the will power to do it myself and when that will power fails, I beat myself up over and over again.

Well, I was happy to read that learning to obey God's commands regardless of how you feel is one of the most difficult processes of grace. WHEW. That made me feel a little bit better! God always provides the support I need to be obedient, so I don't need to rely on my own will power!

John 15: 10 - 11 gives me so much inspiration to follow God's commands. "I've loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you'll remain intimately at home in my love. That's what I've done—kept my Father's commands and made myself at home in his love.

ahhh. At home in my love. Doesn't that sound awesome!

Prayer and Meditation: I immediately think of silence, sitting on the floor with my legs crossed, eyes closed, and thumb and third finger touching. When I hear prayer, I also think of continuous.

Joshua 1: 7 - 8 shares 'Don't get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you're going. And don't for a minute let the Word of God be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed.'

I have come to learn that for me that prayer and meditation doesn't have to be a long, drawn out segment of time that has to be scheduled on my calendar but it can also be an ongoing communication through out the day. May be a passage I read in the morning, I am able to reflect on while waiting to pick up kids from school. A song on Christian radio inspires me to sing at the top of my lungs with praises to God. An upcoming difficult conversation is proceeded by a quick request for the right words to say. The silence as I fall asleep at night offers a great time to thank God for my blessings during the day, leaving me to fall asleep in Him arms.

Blessings,

Jill

The Dream Team

In Luke 5, Jesus is standing by the lake of Ganezerath. People were crowding around Him and listening to the Word of God. He saw at the edge two boats, left there by the fisherman who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon Peter and asked him to pull out a little from shore. He sat down and taught the people from the boat.

When Jesus had finished teaching, He said to Peter, “Let's go fishing.”

I think it is pretty cool that Jesus preached and went fishing in the same clothes. Jesus hung out with the ordinary people of life. If Peter had been a truck driver, he would have said let's go for a drive. If he had been a CEO, Jesus would have said let's go grab a cup of coffee. But he was a fisherman and Jesus said, let's go fish.

Peter replied, "You want to do what? Listen. We just got done fishing. We fished all night. We are tired, frustrated, and right now is not a great time to fish. Now you are a carpenter and I respect that. You are a Rabbi and I respect that. But the truth is you know preaching and I know fishing."

Ever felt like Jesus knows all the spiritual stuff, but when it comes to everyday life stuff, we got it covered?

Also Jesus wasn’t talking about a little fishing outing with a cooler of Pepsi and a bobber. These guys were commercial fisherman and they were worn out and frustrated. Their boats were heavy, their nets were heavy, and they had just finished picking out all the weeds and rocks that they had scooped up from the bottom of the lake.

They had just finished cleaning their nets and Jesus said lets go fishing and dirty them up again.

In verse 5, Simon answered. "Master, We have worked hard all night and have not caught anything."

But this is a key phrase here, BUT BECAUSE YOU SAY SO, I will let down the nets. Peter is a pro. He knows the lake. He knows fishing. He knows the odds of catching any fish at this time of day. Never the less, he has seen Jesus in action. He would not do this for anyone else and says, "because it is you we will go."

Have you ever see the movie, Princess Bride? Farm boy, Wesley is deeply in love with Buttercup. However, he never says I love you, he instead he says ‘as you wish’.

Peter would learn that this was the key to life.

Then look what happens next. Peter goes out into the deep waters and drops the net out of courtesy for his new fishing buddy. He starts to pull up the net and all of a sudden his muscles start flexing, his eyes start bulging, and a smile begins to flash across his face. The nets begin to tear as he yells for his partners. They begin to pull up so may fish that they are spilling out of the nets and the boats are starting to sink. It was then that Peter falls on his knees in a pile of slimy fish and cries out, "Just go away from me, I am a sinful man." In that moment, he sees Jesus for who He really His, in His purity, His wholeness, His power, and goodness. Peter says, "I don’t deserve to be in the same boat with you."

Jesus says in verse 11. "Don’t be afraid. From now on you will fish for people." So they, meaning James, John, and Simon pulled their boats on the shore. They left everything and they followed him.

Jesus said, I choose YOU! I want you guys to help me rescue people. They left everything including their record catch and they turned to their dad and said ‘All yours Zebedee, gotta go, can you believe it, Jesus wants US!'

Jesus choses the ordinary guys running the family business with their dad. Can you imagine how it made them feel? Jesus saw potential in people like nobody else and He used them to rock the world.

I want to see people through the eyes of Jesus, don’t you? And I never want to forget the impact of being chosen.

Can you imagine how those guys felt? When Jesus said, I want YOU! There is just this unexplainable feeling that comes over you, when someone wants you. Doesn’t it make you feel awesome? Have you ever been picked last for a team, not chosen at all, or sat by yourself in a large group of people.

It is a great feeling to feel wanted. When someone says, I want You. I love YOU. You may be feeling rejected, unwanted, not worthy, but God wants to pick YOU and use your life. God thinks highly of you.

Eph. 1:4 – 6 "Long before He laid down the earths' foundations. He had US in mind and had settled on US as the focus of His love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt US into his family through Jesus Christ and what a pleasure he took in planning this."

Jesus was a dream releaser. That is why people flocked to hear him. He takes the down and out and makes them into the up and coming. He gave them dreams of a better life, not necessarily an easier one but a better one AND a better place.

Jesus recruited people like Peter, James, and John and on the same team, he put Matthew who was an IRS agent for the Roman government trying to collect taxes on these guys. Guys that nobody else wanted.

I want to be a dream releaser, don’t you? I want to help people see their potential. I want to help people see more accurately who they are in the eyes of God. I want to help them paint a picture of what they actually could be in their life.

There is power in a dream. When someone releases a dream in you, you know that somebody in this world needs your unique contribution, your unique giftedness, your personality, your talents, and your experiences.

Jesus put together this rag tag band of unique people with glaring weaknesses and He simply astonished them with their strengths.

Peter never knew he could preach like that.
John never dreamed he could love like that.
James never knew he could lead like that.

About three years later in the book of Acts, which details the history of the early church, Peter, John, and James are the stars of this book. They were brought before the council for preaching about Jesus.

Acts 13 says, "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men; they were astonished and they just took note that these men had been with Jesus. "

God wants the same thing for YOU

Jesus invested in these guys for three years. He poured His life into them and later He would pour His Holy Spirit into them.

Who has made a big investment in your life? Who can you think of that has just poured their life into you and really made a difference; may be your mom, dad, coach, teacher, friend, brother, or sister?

Who has invested their life in you because they believed in YOU? Who is investing their life into you now and whose life are you investing into now? It is all leaders and followers.

SI Milican tells a story of a young woman who wanted to go to a particular college. Her heart sank when she read the question on the application form that asked ‘Are you a leader?’ She was honest and she wrote, NO, and she returned the application expecting the worse. Much to her surprise, this was the response she got from the college.

Dear Applicant.

A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1452 new leaders. We are accepting YOU because we feel it is imperative that they have at least one follower.

Great followers make great leaders. And those great leaders invest in great followers, who become great leaders, and on and on and on.

When you dare to invest your life in people, it is a risky business. Remember these guys were not A-team that Jesus chose. These were ruff edge, raw, potential guys that many times frustrated Him. Not because they were so incapable, but because He could see their immense potential. They had a hard time realizing what they were capable of .

I am sure many times Jesus may have thought; if they would just stop arguing about who’s on first and lose their pride and egos. If they would learn to serve each other, they would learn that it is really more fun to give than to receive. If they only stopped worrying about material possession. If they would only walk in faith, totally dependent on God for every single need in their life, they would become amazing people. Yet, He never stopped believing in them.

Was Jesus ever hurt by these guys? Absolutely!

He was seconded guessed, ridiculed, doubted, denied, and betrayed. I am sure there were times he felt disappointed, frustrated, fed up, and under appreciated.

May be you can relate. You spend you whole life investing your time and energy into people, only to get disappointed.

Investing in people is always risky. Peter reached for his potential and found it. Judas reached for a rope and hung himself. Jesus took a risk in choosing falliable people with a free will. Why? Because the risk was worth it.

Who are you raising up today? Who are you sharing your faith story with? Who are you breathing belief and love into today?

You just never know the impact it could have on someone. Never, never stop believing in someone and always allow them enough time to show you their good side.

Blessings.

Jill