“I Give You All the Glory”. This is a song I was given yesterday after I’d contacted my friend committing to sobriety for the next 24 hours and thanking God for sobriety for the past 24 hours. This is all part of the 90-day devotional book I’m presently going through. It runs deep into each one of us that we want to conquer what is wrong from our own strength. If we can’t do it we want to find someone who can. Once I step away from this initial thinking I immediately know that I must turn it over to God who is ALL POWERFUL!
Over and over the emphasis on 24 hours is connected to breaking a habit of sinfulness. Our flesh wants so badly to be in control of self that I can hardly stay focused for the full 24 hours. I need reminders throughout the day. I know I am not alone in this either. Each one of us has this same issue to contend with. That is why we need each other as James 5:16 tells us.
If you are struggling, reach out. Reach out to God and to a friend The Holy Spirit will put on your mind. Both are here to support you and me. The outcome–FREEDOM like one has never known!
When I am working on a project such as this 90 day book I can get overly focused to the point where I quickly forget that I cannot do this on my own. It is only with God’s Strength from my surrendering this incessant desire to do this on my own, that I make it through the day. My flesh wants to be enough and too much of the time I am engulfed with the mind of my flesh. This is why starting my day aligning myself with God and then doing this again in the middle of the afternoon becomes intensely important.
I am reading about Solomon in my bible reading and about to wrap it up about him. He was such an amazing man, chosen by God to lead His people and given such wisdom that mankind still quotes his wisdom from scripture all the time. Yet, today’s reading tells that Solomon was led astray in his older years by his lust for foreign wives and beginning to serve their gods as well as his own God. As I read this I was sickened. No matter who we are or when we lived, the desires of the flesh have to be fought and surrendered. It would be nice if surrendering once and for all were possible, but that is not the case. Each and every day and during the day, this humbling surrender must take place.
I want God at the center of my life so whatever I need to do I will keep working on and surrendering. To God be the Glory!
I can certainly tell that the author of the 90-day book/journal has had his own battle overcoming his personal hurts, hang-ups and habits. His daily entries hit squarely in the face of daily struggles. Today’s message was one I have not heard any other place and yet it is very simple, but direct. His point for the day is to refresh your mind with the Power of The Holy Spirit mid day when the strength given early morning has waned.
I have learned to love early mornings. I love seeing the sunrise and hearing the birds singing and seeing nature. It inspires me each and everyday. Even in the dead of winter I can live in the hope that spring returns every year. I write this because by midafternoon I have lost this inspiration of the day. When I sit down I am quickly tempted. The book’s author says this is the time to refresh our minds with the Power of The Holy Spirit. This is what I’ve never found easy. I don’t know what to do to at this point. (I am confessing right now). I’ve done my Bible reading already as well as my devotionals. A good book might be a good option for I love reading.
When I was journaling first thing this morning I asked God to help me know how to find HIs Strength at this time of the day. Then, I read today’s entry in Freedom Starts Today. The message was a good start to God’s response.
It was as though I’m not to write an entry today. Kathy and I are in Wallowa County, OR for her grand nephew’s graduation and staying with her sis who lives in Joseph. I’m trying to use my laptop to write this entry and for some reason all of the entry points saved on my laptop would only let me view past entrys. I finally had to enter and create a new password so here we go.
There are a couple of striking things to me about walking with God by my side (as I wrote about yesterday) along with Jesus and The Holy Spirit within me. The first and comforting one is that I’m never alone. The second and more intimate one is that relying on God and following all of His Ways has blessings which never lead to anything but gradification and thanksgiving. If we take a moment to try and gradify ourselves any other way we may have a moment of gradificaction, but it is quickly followed by guilt and shame. Following God’s lead always has nothing but a blessing that makes one wonder why he ever wanted to do his own thing?
It seems I could daily write this blog just from the 90 day book/devotional I am going through. The messages are so directly hitting me right where I need to be hit! Last night I taught the lesson on GRACE for our Celebrate Recovery group. A major component of this message is that Grace is best understood when one knows well its Giver–Father God. Even the grace we receive from Jesus starts with our Father. I confessed in my lesson that growing into a loving relationship with God as my Father was not an easy thing to do. It was far easier to let this slip by and go to Jesus and The Holy Spirit. They were given to me to live within me so that I could do. Only in recent years have I been able to go deeply into what I have needed to do in order to have a loving relationship with God Himself.
Trusting a relationship with God requires me to separate my dad’s behaviors from God. I have hated going deeply into my own dad’s behaviors for within me I don’t want to process the ugliness of dad’s actions. When I did go there it fed right into the “why did God allow this”? I’ve indeed processed this and understand that Father God has never been my earthly father. It is finally time to simply let the old memories go and allow myself to settle into the Hands of my Heavenly Dad. Walking by His side throughout the day is a whole new concept, but I want this and I know He has been waiting for this to come. Everything Jesus and The Holy Spirit are is within Father God.
Today’s devotional message is one that awakened a truth in me I have never realized. Galatians 5:16 says, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” I have known this verse for years. Yet, the clarity of the verse’s message hadn’t hit me until today. I have always interpreted this verse’s meaning as to walk with the Spirit within me. Some translations even say to walk in the Spirit. However, today as I read this scripture I, for the first time, pictured God walking right along side of me through the day.
The devotional message today was attempting to emphasize the point that when children are out with their parents, they need to stay close to them for cars can’t see little ones in their mirror but parents can be seen due to their height and size. Thus, staying close to the parents, they are safe. You are free from danger. I have always wondered why God’s Spirit seemed to disappear within me when I’m hit with severe temptations like porn. It seemed I’m always left to face this one on my own. Today’s message let me see God right by my side. I can simply look up to Him and say–“this one is yours Dad” for I know you are right here.
I’ve always struggled with my relationship with God. (I know this has been driven by my distant relationship with my own father). It is so much easier to stay with my relationship with Jesus and trusting God’s Holy Spirit within me. They were given to me because I accepted Christ into my life. Today’s message allowed me to see God as intimately close to me as Jesus and The Holy Spirit are. Later in this same chapter of Galatians Paul outlines the Fruit of the Spirit. I can have all of these when I rely on the Spirit within me and God along side of me. What a humbling and gracious picture of love and support!
The 90 day journal/devotional I’m presently doing had a devotional writing that asked the reader to read a chapter of the bible and thank God for His Word. I had already had my bible reading ahead of this so I wasn’t going to read anymore. After all, I have several little chores I want to get done before I head into the activities of the day. However, the Spirit was prompting me to be obedient. The scripture reference for the devotional was John 17:17 so I grabbed my bible and read the 17th chapter. In this chapter Jesus is praying to God thanking Him for the opportunity to serve Him. He goes onto ask that in the same way God led Him for the 33 years on earth, please now lead His children (you and me) in the same manner. My word, I was filled with GRATITUDE!
Tomorrow night I teach our Celebrate Recovery lesson which is GRACE. God’s Grace is just what John 17 is all about. God gave to us Jesus Christ to be our Savior and hopefully Lord (if we will determine to live for Him in our daily lives). More than any of this, when we accept Christ into our lives, God sees Christ in us so all of our sinfulness is never seen–He only sees His Son Jesus. The reality of this truth is so humbling and amazing–this is GRACE in its fullness. How grateful I am!
Yesterday was a grand day. I had 3 grandsons come and help me get our pool out of winter mode and ready for summer use. I am most grateful for their help!
I have written many times about my dad’s prideful ways. Most of our beatings as a child were driven from his pride being hurt in some way only he could determine. I’ve always thought of pride as an ugly beast. In my current years I’ve found that pride is simply an emotion like all others. It isn’t right or wrong until we act on it. I’ve also found that my own pride is huge too. When I looked at the three grandsons helping me yesterday I was filled with pride. They not only helped but they were great workers as well. Of course grandpa would be most proud. Where I stumble is when pride for “my way” gets into the way of obedience. The selfishness of pride can be very sinful.
As I am reading through Proverbs presently, there are so many scriptures talking about pride and selfishness. I see myself way too often. Instead, I want to model Jesus and have others see Him in me. In order to do that I have to have more than an exterior that looks right. I also must have a motivation from within that is driven by my prideful spirit being surrendered to The Holy Spirit. This is an everyday surrender and I can only live it out one day at a time.
Today is Memorial Day where we honor those who have gone before us. This focus is first and foremost for the veterans who have died for our earthly freedom. Along with this I want to honor those who have modeled living the spiritual freedom which God gives as we surrender all of our struggles to Him. This was first and foremost modeled for me by my grandma Wretling. Even when she was in the nursing home her spirit of freedom was alive and well. She had over 60 grandchildren including the greats and great greats. She said she prayed for all of us and I asked one time how she could remember all of our names? She told me that she didn’t but she knew Jesus did and she was holding Him accountable for every single one of us! Her freedom was so solid in Christ that she held Jesus accountable! I’ve never known of anyone else who had such a solid relationship with Jesus.
My mom was my other freedom modeler. Mom was a quiet individual much like my grandpa. However, mom lived with dad for 72 years and I never once heard her complain of him. She modeled for all of us kids what living in the love of Jesus was like. She never complained but simply did all that she was to do with a sense of peace. How she did that I will never know. I can only chalk it up to the peace that passeth all understanding which only Jesus provides. I honor these two ladies today!
Paul refers to the Christians of his day in his writings as saints. In Corinthians he refers to the sins of the believers, but he still calls them saints. This is the message in my devotional this morning. (And I love it). It identifies us as God sees us through the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross, not as we often see ourselves. Paul wants us to believe how God sees us, while Satan wants us to see ourselves as he sees us. Well, I’m going to follow what Paul’s suggests and see myself the way God asks us to. I encourage you to do the same! We are SAINTS! Thank You Jesus!
Earnie Lewis 