For most of my life I’ve heard about being a new creation when one asks Christ into their life. I must say however, that the knowing of this is completely different thaN the believing it for oneself. Even more mysterious has been how one lives as this new creation way.
This morning, after having reread what I had journaled yesterday and had written in the blog, I stopped. In my journal I had written that my own pride often interfered with living in total commitment to God. One wants a “little selfishness” once in a while. Well, this morning as I read this in my journal, I instantly was stricken that a new creation has given this selfish act up. I always had seen my father as a man of wicked pride. I’ve never wanted this to be me. Yet, this morning as I journaled I had to admit my own pride was selfish just as dad’s was. A new creation has pride, but it looks much more like the Godly pride scripture talks about–“God was pleased”. God saw all that He had created in ch. 1 of Genesis and He was pleased. His pride is GOOD.
A new creation not only is one who believes, but also knows how to walk in the freedom God gives us. When temptation comes to be selfish I can resist because I am more anchored in my newness than I am in my old selfishness. Living this out is “one day at a time, one moment at a time” as is so nicely put in The Serenity Prayer. HOW GOOD OUR GOD IS!
This post may seem odd to anyone who has never had any therapy for PTSD. I had 3+ years of it and this mornings devotional time had a moment of it reoccuring. I was journaling about some changes I’d like to have made in our counseling ministry I work with. I presently do the scheduling for all four of us who counsel and it has become more than I’m good at handling. I’ve never been a good secretary for myself as well as for anyone else. The burden of this has been a playground for Satan to try and use.
When I was in therapy I learned to use my non-dominate hand to give my young self voice. I’d put my pen in my right hand (I’m left-handed) and give him a chance to speak his questions and then I’d respond to them writing with my left hand. I did this exercise faithfully for well over a year. This allowed my young self to emotionally mature into myself of today.
As I journaled earlier I was prompted to put my pen in my right hand for there was another voice wanting to speak to me. It turned out to be the voice of my spirit. He was telling me that I didn’t need to listen to my mind ruled by my flesh. That mind had lots of conflicting voices. I needed to listen to my spirit. This is where God’s Spirit resides and He wants me free of my old voices so learn to listen first and foremost to my spirit where God’s Voice speaks. God wants our counseling ministry to complete His purpose for it. I just need to talk to the right people at church.
I know this likely sounds odd, but I needed to hear this today. God’s work is so AMAZING!
As I have been experiencing worship this morning during my devotional time, I have over and over been deeply touched by God’s Spirit’s presence. Then, when I asked Jesus what He wanted me to know from Him for today, He tied His message to the worship song playing at the moment. The song was “There Is a River”. Our quartet has sung this many times over the years. The lyrics say, There is river that flows from deep within…. I heard the Spirit’s voice speak saying this river flows not from deep within me, but from deep within God Himself to me. He went on to say that the emptiness within me left from sin’s destruction is waiting to be filled with the healing beauty of God’s Spirit, God’s purpose, God’s Love, His Forgiveness and Grace. This is God’s Mercy at work in you.
Well, I had to quit writing for a minute as all of this has welled up once again within me. God’s Spirit’s Voice went onto say that I needed to let this truth be known to the scores of folks coming for help each week. This River of God’s Deep Love flows directly from Him to us. He so wants us to receive it and let it cleanse us from the lies sin’s deceiver has attempted to have us believe about ourselves and about others. This River flows directly to us from God’s own PURITY. Nothing can stand in its way if we will simply allow the walls we have built to crumble and let this PURITY cleanse and replace all of sin’s damage with this MERCY, LOVE and PURPOSE from GOD HIMSELF!
I’m at my daughter’s place waiting for my two youngest granddaughters to awaken so I can take them to our home. Parents are gone for the morning and I’m the substitute. Grandma gets them as I do a couple of sessions and then I return to help out. They are fun to have.
God has a kind way of bringing this added joy to grandma and grandpa’s lives!
Last night’s lesson for Celebrate Recovery was titled “Crossroads”. It is lesson 19 of 25 so we are nearing the end of the year. This lesson reminds us that at this point in our recovery we need to remember that God is providing a new road for us to travel on. This road in scripture is called the “high road”, I Corinthians 6:7. When we travel this road, we do so as a new creation.
For my first several years in CR I battled the man I was at that time trying to find that the new creation I was suppose to be. It was at this time the person teaching the lesson at the time told the story of a man saddling a dead horse, getting on him and saying getty up. This is what I had been doing. I was trying to put God’s armor on my old self thinking it would keep this old self from sinning and remembering his past. I needed to let myself see me as a new creation. This new man had a past that didn’t need to be forgotten. As a new creation my past had no bondage, instead I had freedom from it and could now use it as God nudged for His Kingdom work. Putting God’s armor on this new creation kept Satan from hindering God’s Kingdom work from being done.
Hearing this message last night on Crossroads was such a great reminder of this freedom God bestows when we accept the gifts/healing He offers to us!
This morning’s devotional time has been nothing but “the best”. The worship music playing in the background has brought me to tears over and over. As I’ve prayed over the ones from counseling who are deeply hurting, the song, “Burdens Are Lifted At Calvary” was playing and I just teared up again that Jesus is truly watching over them with the assurance that the sun will shine again in their lives. I know this is true for God is always faithful to His Word.
The song that truly hit me personally is, “I’m Just a Sinner Saved by Grace”. I wept as it was playing. I’m just so very grateful for God’s Grace bringing me from the torment of a troubled childhood to allow me to spend this time of my life using that tormented time as an instrument for Him helping others find their own freedom in Christ as was offered to me so graciously.
It is always amazing to me watching God work and experiencing Him doing so. A young man I have encouraged to see a doctor for his depression just wouldn’t consider it. It was a sign of weakness he felt and had been raised to believe this by a father who likely struggled with the same mental health issue. Last night he told me a new counselor he’s seeing told him he must find a doctor and so now he is looking for one. Praise GOD! He has struggled way too long with the effects of depression. I’m so grateful for God’s intervention.
God is amazingly good and it is a joy to get to be a small part of this. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!
This morning I was asking Jesus for help as I journaled. There are a couple of things I’m battling and I wanted Him to help. (Actually, I wanted Him to just remove them). It was then I was reminded to take a look at the tools He has already provided for me. He said He has given me tools in my toolbox that I share often with others. It is important for me to use these tools myself. He wants to help me be a good helper for myself as well as for others.
It is amazing how much help Jesus is for each one of us. I get so stuck sometimes just wanting Jesus to make life different and easier. He wants me to handle what I am to do so with help He has already given to me and then let Him take care of the rest. I never want to be a lazy christian taking Jesus work for me (and you) for granted!
Yesterday all of our local kids and grandkids were coming to celebrate my youngest grandson’s birthday and Father’s Day. My oldest daughter surprised me with a little book entitled “What I Love About You Dad”. It is 30 pages of sentence starters or questions where she handwrote personal responses to each. I teared up just reading the title. She wanted me to check it out so I only read one page of it which was the questions: What about your dad makes you laugh? I didn’t want to be all teary for the rest of the day.
This morning as I finished devotions I began to read more of the pages. WOW! It is just so endearing. I am not one who enjoys greatly gifts given to me. This time however, I treasure this one. It has such personal meaning. I can only say: THANK YOU AMY!
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY to those who are a father. Hopefully yours was a good one for you. This morning’s devotional time has been overwhelmingly touching. The worship music I’ve had playing in the background has been so rich I kept having to stop and just listen while my heart rejoiced!
Yesterday I had a counseling appointment right before lunch. I had left my phone at home absentmindedly. so I missed a call from a young man I have been working with for over two years. When I got home and saw that he had called, I called back. He’s a very quiet person so when he answered he said he had been prepared to talk when he called but now he was struggling to find the words. As he pieced them together he told me he wanted to apologize for judging me and not believing what I’ve challenged him to address. He said all of that had been out of fear but God had shown him it was the right thing to do. “He was a man with his own mind and could hear God’s voice and follow it.” This is what I had encouraged him to do. He always sought other’s direction for himself and he’d be discouraged with it, blaming them. I was one of those blamed, but not any longer.
I’ll never stop being amazed watching God work in someone’s life, including my own! How privileged we are and I am!
Earnie Lewis 