"Anxiety and agitation caused by the presence of danger, evil, pain, etc." That is one definition of the word, fear.
I grew up fearing so many things. School was a big fear, and then there were all the kids and the teachers to be afraid of, just to name a few. My childhood was wonderful, and dreadful. I couldn't have asked for a better family, but this fear in side of me, was eating away at me. Since that time I have learned a bit about fear.
The fear that I was feeling wasn't good. It was truly painful, and it kept me from doing many things. But there is another definition of fear and that is, "To feel awe or reverence for." Reverence, meaning, love or respect.
Not all fear is bad, I just needed to get my fear in line with God's word. Psalm 128:1 says, "Blessed are all who fear the Lord" And Psalm 145:19 says, "He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him."
Proverbs 10:27 says that if you fear the Lord He will add length to your life. Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."
When I think about fearing the Lord, I like to remember how I felt for my dad. God is our father and it makes sense that He wants to be respected, He wants to be loved. God does not want us to be afraid of Him, in a painful way. I dearly loved my dad and I am learning to love the Lord in that same way.
We know the Bible tells us to fear the Lord, but it also tells us not to fear, man. Proverbs 29:25 says, "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts the Lord is kept safe."
I am trying to deal with the bad fear, that I have been feeling my whole life, and at the same time, learning how to love and respect, or fear God. Fear can be a bad thing, but the right kind of fear can add much to your life.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Piano Lessons
Once a week when I was in grade school, I would spend an hour taking a piano lesson. Along with that, my mom set up a half an hour practice time every day. This went on for about three years. At the end of those three years I was an average piano player. I could read music, and I could play three books full of basic songs. I played a little bit here and a little bit there, but I never got really good.
What is the difference between an expert, or professional, piano player, and me? I would say, love, time and dedication.
God has given us the gift of Jesus Christ. How much time should we spend with Him? One hour a week? One hour a week and a half an hour a day? As with my piano playing, that might make us an average Christian. But if you really want to excel, it takes more. We should love Jesus, dedicate ourselves to Him, and practice the things that He wants to teach us.
Some of the ways to dedicate ourselves are:
1. Reading and studying the Bible; know God and what He wants for us.
2. Prayer; prayer makes us sharp. You can cut a lot of wood with a dull ax, but why would you want to work harder for less? Sharpen your ax.
3. Fellowship; fellowship keeps the fire burning. It takes many pieces of wood, close together, to make a good fire. If you take one of the burning sticks out of the fire and set it apart from the others, chances are it will go out. We need fellowship to keep us burning strong. And sometimes we need it most when we want it the least.
4. Giving; our heart is where our treasure is, and not the other way around. Give to God, where He leads, and your heart will be with Him.
5. Ministry; ministry feeds us.
So wheather it's the piano, or living a Christian life, it takes love, time, practice and dedication to be more than average; to excel.
What is the difference between an expert, or professional, piano player, and me? I would say, love, time and dedication.
God has given us the gift of Jesus Christ. How much time should we spend with Him? One hour a week? One hour a week and a half an hour a day? As with my piano playing, that might make us an average Christian. But if you really want to excel, it takes more. We should love Jesus, dedicate ourselves to Him, and practice the things that He wants to teach us.
Some of the ways to dedicate ourselves are:
1. Reading and studying the Bible; know God and what He wants for us.
2. Prayer; prayer makes us sharp. You can cut a lot of wood with a dull ax, but why would you want to work harder for less? Sharpen your ax.
3. Fellowship; fellowship keeps the fire burning. It takes many pieces of wood, close together, to make a good fire. If you take one of the burning sticks out of the fire and set it apart from the others, chances are it will go out. We need fellowship to keep us burning strong. And sometimes we need it most when we want it the least.
4. Giving; our heart is where our treasure is, and not the other way around. Give to God, where He leads, and your heart will be with Him.
5. Ministry; ministry feeds us.
So wheather it's the piano, or living a Christian life, it takes love, time, practice and dedication to be more than average; to excel.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
In The Desert
"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil." Matthew 4:1
God was pleased when Jesus was baptized. Matthew 3:16, "As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up and out of the water. At that moment Heaven was opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And a voice from Heaven said, 'this is my son whom I love; with Him I am well pleased." But right after He was baptized, God sent Him into the wilderness to be tested.
I don't understand why this happens, but it does. We do something good, in Gods eyes, then we are taken into an emptiness, or depression. Maybe it's so we don't get prideful, I'm not sure why it happens, but I do know that it does happen. Some of the best things I have done have been folloewd by depression, or by testing, and if I don't remember this, the testing is very hard to get through.
In Matthew 4:2, the Bible says that Jesus was hungry from fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. And when he was weak, Satan came to tempt Him. Satan offered Jesus several ways out of His chosen path, but Jesus fought back with scripture, with the word of God.
It is so important to learn scripture, and the Holy Spirit will bring that scripture to mind when we are in need of it, but first we have to get it into our minds, study, and memorize, and be ready for the ambush.
Tips for getting ready to battle:
1. Pick out scriptures that mean something to you.
2. On paper, print out several scriptures then cut each scripture out.
3. Tape the scriptures up anywhere you spend a lot of time.
4. Every time a scripture is in front of you, repeat it, and repeat it often.
Then:
Pray and refocus
Also:
Learn songs, it's easier for a melody to come in to your head.
the adversary is waiting to attack. We have to be ready for conflict, so yes, study but also memorize scriptures.
God was pleased when Jesus was baptized. Matthew 3:16, "As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up and out of the water. At that moment Heaven was opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And a voice from Heaven said, 'this is my son whom I love; with Him I am well pleased." But right after He was baptized, God sent Him into the wilderness to be tested.
I don't understand why this happens, but it does. We do something good, in Gods eyes, then we are taken into an emptiness, or depression. Maybe it's so we don't get prideful, I'm not sure why it happens, but I do know that it does happen. Some of the best things I have done have been folloewd by depression, or by testing, and if I don't remember this, the testing is very hard to get through.
In Matthew 4:2, the Bible says that Jesus was hungry from fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. And when he was weak, Satan came to tempt Him. Satan offered Jesus several ways out of His chosen path, but Jesus fought back with scripture, with the word of God.
It is so important to learn scripture, and the Holy Spirit will bring that scripture to mind when we are in need of it, but first we have to get it into our minds, study, and memorize, and be ready for the ambush.
Tips for getting ready to battle:
1. Pick out scriptures that mean something to you.
2. On paper, print out several scriptures then cut each scripture out.
3. Tape the scriptures up anywhere you spend a lot of time.
4. Every time a scripture is in front of you, repeat it, and repeat it often.
Then:
Pray and refocus
Also:
Learn songs, it's easier for a melody to come in to your head.
the adversary is waiting to attack. We have to be ready for conflict, so yes, study but also memorize scriptures.
Monday, January 16, 2012
The Last Migraine
I got my first migraine when I was in the sixth grade. I didn't know what it was. I got a spot in my vision and at that time, when the spot went away, I got a terrible headache. My mom told me what was happening to me. She had migraines before me. Between the time I was 11 until I was in my twenties, I got about one migraine a year.
The migraines increased in amount and in intensity, in my early twenties. I started getting them about one a month when I was pregnant with my first three kids. The pain was worse and not only did I get a spot in my vision and the headache that came after, but in between, I got a numbness in my face and hands, and I also got very confused. The migraines scared me, so I went to see a doctor. The doctor basically said that there was nothing she could do. That was the early 80's.
By the time I was 30, I was getting a migraine a week. They cut into my work and made my life miserable. I did find that caffeine helped a bit, but they would still put me in bed for a whole day.
August of 1992, my husband, Mark and I, had our own sign business. We were right in the middle of painting a banner, when I got the telling, spot. I knew what was going to follow, and of course it did. I got the numbness the confusion and the very painful, headache. I asked Mark to, "Please, pray for me!" I trully believed that the prayer would help me, it had before. But this time Mark got his mom to pray with us. Marks mom, Mary, has been a Christian all of her life, I just knew that her prayers would get rid of the pain, that day.
The real miracle was that their prayers not only got rid of the pain that day, but I haven't had a migraine for 19 years! Thank God!
The migraines increased in amount and in intensity, in my early twenties. I started getting them about one a month when I was pregnant with my first three kids. The pain was worse and not only did I get a spot in my vision and the headache that came after, but in between, I got a numbness in my face and hands, and I also got very confused. The migraines scared me, so I went to see a doctor. The doctor basically said that there was nothing she could do. That was the early 80's.
By the time I was 30, I was getting a migraine a week. They cut into my work and made my life miserable. I did find that caffeine helped a bit, but they would still put me in bed for a whole day.
August of 1992, my husband, Mark and I, had our own sign business. We were right in the middle of painting a banner, when I got the telling, spot. I knew what was going to follow, and of course it did. I got the numbness the confusion and the very painful, headache. I asked Mark to, "Please, pray for me!" I trully believed that the prayer would help me, it had before. But this time Mark got his mom to pray with us. Marks mom, Mary, has been a Christian all of her life, I just knew that her prayers would get rid of the pain, that day.
The real miracle was that their prayers not only got rid of the pain that day, but I haven't had a migraine for 19 years! Thank God!
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Every Possible Hardship
By Elizabeth Bien
Just like my Mom told me, all our struggles are because God loves us!
You know for a really long time I was really angry about the hard times I have gone through. I felt like every possible hardship a person can have, got thrown right in front of me! I was so mad and I hated my life. I felt like it just wasn't fair! Most people go through one big hardship in their lives, but I was getting hit with everything!
Then I started realizing that I was able to help others through their tough times because I had gone through it myself. As well, I was noticing that people came to me when they were struggling and I could help them.
It took me a long time to accept that I have absolutely no talent, until I saw that helping people is my talent. I would much rather be able to make others feel better, and help them find a reason to smile and be positive again, than some other things that I might have had.
I think that anytime a person can help someone through a tough time, it heals the soul! I feel blessed that I can understand and help a few extra people in my life!
Just like my Mom told me, all our struggles are because God loves us!
You know for a really long time I was really angry about the hard times I have gone through. I felt like every possible hardship a person can have, got thrown right in front of me! I was so mad and I hated my life. I felt like it just wasn't fair! Most people go through one big hardship in their lives, but I was getting hit with everything!
Then I started realizing that I was able to help others through their tough times because I had gone through it myself. As well, I was noticing that people came to me when they were struggling and I could help them.
It took me a long time to accept that I have absolutely no talent, until I saw that helping people is my talent. I would much rather be able to make others feel better, and help them find a reason to smile and be positive again, than some other things that I might have had.
I think that anytime a person can help someone through a tough time, it heals the soul! I feel blessed that I can understand and help a few extra people in my life!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)