March 3 2016

March 3 2016 Greetings My Friend After retirement I found my brain needed time to wake up in order to function. Generally a cup of coffee helped me greatly along with a cruise through Facebook and a check in with my e-mail account and at that point I could begin my Bible study time. Recently I am finding that I need a nap after I do all the above so I have started my Bible study as I drink my tea (coffee these days is not agreeing with me). I start my tea and medications first so when I am done the caffeine has started kicking in and my brain is functioning. To be honest I am loving the study time first again these days. I write a journal as I study God’s Word. I used to read the Bible and then do a Bible Study book. For a long time these studies opened my eyes more fully. Finding the study books out here though are not as easy so I began searching to find a new way to study the Bible. Pinterest is where I found my current way to study. I use an online study of the Bible Crossway ESV which has me reading 4 different books each day. Right now one of the books I am reading is 2 Chronicles. While reading through a passage caught my eye and spoke to my heart. “But when he was strong, he grew proud to his destruction…..” I did not even finish reading the sentence when I found myself stopping to ponder these words. I thought right away of an old Bible study friend. Money was always a struggle for her. Her husband had a gambling problem and she finally divorced him. She wound up with some of his debt and she was struggling to pay it off and get on stable footing. Her sister felt that anyone who was in debt was not walking with the Lord because God blesses His people with financial security. This friend was struggling with her sister’s idea of God’s blessing only with financial security. For her God was at her side each time things got a bit too much for her to handle. She always had what she needed when she needed it. There was the time her car died and at the right time God provided her with a car at a price she could afford. I saw a woman who was struggling greatly and she kept up having conversations with God. She helped me to keep drawing close to God and not to rely on my own determination to get out of my own struggles. Learning to hang onto God as hard as I can has been my blessing too. I was learning to stop pulling myself up by my bootstraps and that the theory that “God helps those who help themselves” was not of God. I did learn God is a God of action not of no action. Trusting God, listening to God are important but you need to do what God tells you to do also. By doing things my own way I was refusing the blessings of God. When I let go and let God my life started to turn around. I am finding that I need to not feel better than someone else who’s struggle seems harder than mine. I keep learning to quit comparing with others and do the comparing with myself. When I keep this focus I keep the pride out of my walk with God more so. When pride does attempt to rear within me I often find God sending me a warning. I am learning to admit my sin and repent. At the end of the day I am learning that my pride is God. I have not gotten to where I am without God’s steady hand on me. My prayer is consistently “Lord keep me from pride.” This helps me keep my focus where it needs to be, on God. May God bless you and keep you make His face shine on you. Love Janet