January 16 2014

January 16 2014
Greetings My Friend,
For the longest time I kept "hearing" God say "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob." I saw it often as I read that day's reading in the Word. It kept popping
out at me. I began praying telling God that He is the "God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob." I pray that right after I pray that God is the only true God. The Bible
teaches me there is no other God but "the God of Abraham, Iaasic and Jacob."
These days I still see these words but they don't pop out at me like they did for a
long while. I still feel the same tug of who God is and the lineage He wants me to
follow though.
At first I thought God wanted me to spread this message somehow. Lately I realize that I
can be taken in by many different thoughts and this keeps me centered on God of the Bible
and I don't tend to listen to any other God. It helps me stay focused. I am gratefull.
These days I am hearing "Jesus is the way the truth and the light and no ones comes to the
Father except through Jesus." that is a little paraphrased but for me it is enlightening. I
again learn to keep my focus on Jesus as being the only way I can enter into a relationship
with God and to receive eternal life.
For the longest time I only had one passage that kept playing out in my mind. These days I tend
to keep running across Scripture that tells me "Jesus" only. I find myself in awe and once more
wraping my brain around the truth of Scripture in the Bible.
I tend to want to mingle different religous thoughts from other religons into my Christian faith. As
I toy with those thoughts though God once more opens my eyes to Him, His way, His truth. I am gratefull
for God's gentle hand on me.
I also find God pointing Scripture to me as I think. Right now I am thinking on the one in James that tells
me to not be like a ship on the sea with the wind blowing it at will. Again I don't have the exact words but
I have the thought that God does not want me to be tossed around willy nilly. He wants me to be firm in what
I believe.
Go forth and make Disciples of all nations" tends to play around in my thoughts as well. I believe that God does
not want me to believe in Him and keep it to myself. I must proclaim His Good News. I am not sure how to do this
at times. For the longest time I felt that each encounter with people meant I said "God, Jesus" as often as I could
and that was giving the Good News.
My FB and Twitter stuff tends to want to point people to Jesus. I send off quotes, pictures etc. My blog is an attempt
to be open in my faith journey and share the deepest thoughts I have. I am silly. I love being silly. I can get a
roomfull of people giggling in no time. Sometimes Junior and I play off of each other in acting silly. I have begun
to think that is a ministry I have is being silly. I have had many sales people tell me that they appreciate my antics.
I used to work in a toy store and people can get a bit cranky at times. My anitics is a way to lighten their load
for a bit.
As I learn to stay home more and to sit more I find myself seeing that ministry is a day to day way of life. It isn't
about "talking" God every other minute. It is about how I love Junior, my children and grandchildren. It is the way
I reach out to a neighbor or to a person that is struggling.
I don't need to be "on" constantly. I do need to be in connection with God often so that I sense His will at any given
moment. If I am not talking to God, reading the Bible then I am not "hearing" God. It is in the quiet moments I begin
to hear God. So I have been a fidgety hyper active person for most of my life. Since cancer 9 years ago I find myself
moving slower and slower. I could be angry at this but I am not. I am gratefull. In the slowing down I am hearing God
more and more. I can do what God wants me to do with more confidence.
Two verses that stick out are "For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son so that who ever believes in
Him shall not perish but have eternal life." and "Go forth and make diciples of every nation." These two scriptures passages
are the main ones I have strived to live for now for over a decade. I even have them memorized which is a hard thing for
me to do. These two have stuck. I believe them with all my being.
Y
These days though I am learning of other passages that point the way to eternal life is only through Jesus. Many other
religons feel that the Christian religon is aggroant. Our religon is the only one that states for a fact that Jesus is
God and God is Jesus and the only way to God is to believe in Jesus. If we believe then we must go out and do what we
"hear" God teaching us.
I believe the Bible. I believe Jesus is "the way, the truth and the light." If I believe this then I need to act like
I truly believe this and that includes offering the hope I have. I am willing to "tell." It is not always received and
as the years go on I am not upset. I like the seed planting thought. I plant the seed, the Word of God the best I know
how. God waters the seed and at the right moment a person will "hear" the Word and will accept.
Many seeds may need to be planted before it bursts forth out of the ground. So I seek God's direction and go about living
my life the best I can as if God is my God. The more I walk with God the less mess ups I make. I believe that I am "a new
creation in Christ." I am being made over moment by moment. Some days I do real good. Sometimes I mess up but I get back
up from that fall and start all over again. Years down the road I see where I once was and where I am and I even know
that in the future I will be more so. I find peace and begin to accept myself for the person I am being created to be
in the Lord.
Where is your faith journey leading you? Closer to God or away from Him?
May God bless you and keep you make His face to shine on you.
Love
Janet