Jun 9, 2014
I Love Mockingbirds. They are just happy all of the time, and it seems like to me that they are free to sing whatever they want; they can chirp, squeak, trill, peep…you get the picture. Any way I love them, and yesterday I was sitting at my desk thinking to myself, “I haven’t seen a mockingbird in forever!” (they usually are all over down here in Texas). I really wanted to see, and hear a mockingbird (did I mention they are AWESOME!).
But I wrote it off because one, it’s not spring, and two, it was cold and if I were a bird I would want to be where it is warm right now. So that was me, depressed and sitting at my desk because there were no mockingbirds in Texas.
This morning I awoke from my very restful sleep, I sleepily got dressed and went outside for my morning prayer/walking time, but as I closed the door of my apartment guess what I heard! A MOCKINGBIRD! Needless to say I thought it was cool, but not much more than that until I started praying.
“That bird is for you” said a still small voice, “What!? No way! Are you serious God? You care enough about me to put a single mockingbird on the roof of an apartment complex, in the middle of Carrollton, in the state of Texas, in the center of America, in the country of the United States, on a tiny planet called earth, in a tiny solar system (comparatively), in a huge galaxy, in the unending expanse of space? It’s not possible!”
Or is it? In John 17:23 says “…Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (Emphasis mine). Friends God loves us as much as he loves Jesus Christ! It blows my mind the vastness of His affection for us. Psalm 37:4 says “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” I didn’t even pray for that Mockingbird, but God still put it there for me, and the reality probably is that He does stuff like that for us all the time!
I will stop saying things now and let scripture speak for itself:
Matthew 6:25-34 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air (Strangely appropriate); they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
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Dec 30, 2013
God has definitely been faithful to me! He’s been working in my life and trying to teach me to rely on Him for everything and in every area of my life. I have had a lot of trouble just completely trusting in the Lord for all circumstances. I went through a bit of a struggle recently that showed me that I had to rely on the Lord because I don’t know if I would have made it otherwise.
I seemed to notice though when I kept on yielding more and more things to the Lord, He was bringing peace to my heart. I learned that I had to start taking my eyes off of my situations and problems and concentrate on how I could be a blessing to others. I needed to concentrate on the Lord and dwell on Him and not the past. I had to let the past be the past and leave it there.
Somebody told me that I need to bring things to the foot of the cross and then leave it there and stop going back and picking it up again. It’s hard but I know that it’s worth it to do that. May the Lord get all the glory, honour, and praise for what HE has done! Here is a verse that I like. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” Luke 16:10
Even while I was in South Asia, I had to learn to yield myself completely over to Christ because I did find it hard at different times. The cultural differences were something that I struggled with the most. There were quite a few things that I was told before I went out there that I had to remember to constantly keep in mind. I was feeling a little bit overwhelmed with all that but I made it through so praise the Lord! Even just the part of men and women having to be so segregated was something that I wasn’t used to. It was really good for me to be there and be out of my home environment and just experience what God had for me.
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Dec 30, 2013
So I was thinking recently about what I would say if the question was asked me “How would you describe yourself in a few sentences?”
I wasn’t sure at first, but after a little while I came up with this:
I am a child of the One True God. My mission in life is to love others as God loves me, and make His name known throughout the nations. This is accomplished through my pursuing a relationship with Jesus Christ that grows deeper daily.
And that is who I am in a nutshell. How would you describe yourself?
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Dec 26, 2013
The School of Discipleship class here in Canada just recently finished reading Charles Swindoll’s, The Grace Awakening. One point Swindoll made had to do with the significance of giving others the freedom to be who they are.
The way I was best able to apply and more fully understand his point was by imagining what it will be like if I have kids someday. I hope I would be a parent who imparts wisdom and disciplines my children when necessary, but also one who gives them the freedom to be who they are, as well as the room to make mistakes.
I think that this practice of letting others be can be applied not only to parent-child relationships, but to friendships and marriages as well. While there may be times for speaking words of caution and correction to our loved ones, I believe there will also be times when the best thing we can do is to just let them be.
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Dec 26, 2013
Learning to forsake all. It seems like a daunting task-forsaking all that the world has to offer to lay up treasures in heaven and letting go of family and friends in order for Jesus to be all that I live for. I believe the Lord has been showing me that He will take care of me wherever I am. I don’t have to keep a stash of money in the bank for when I run into financial difficulties. I also have to “hate” my family and friends in compared to my “love” for Jesus in order to be His disciple, not just a follower. Many followed Jesus and heard His teachings, but when it can down to the hard sayings that Jesus said, many no longer chose to follow. Only the disciples stayed with Him.
One verse that stands out to me, that I believe the Lord has kept on my heart for a few years now for when I doubted in my walk with Him is John 6:68-69. Jesus said one of His hard sayings and many of His disciples left Him. He then turns to the twelve and asks them if they want to leave as well. This is when Peter speaks up and tells the Lord, where would we go? You have the words of eternal life. This is one of the verses that, I believe keeps me in the battle. It wouldn’t make sense for me to leave now, especially knowing what I know about the Lord, which will never be enough no matter how much I learn from now on. This verse has, and will help me persevere in times of trouble.
As Christians I believe that we should be all in for Jesus. One quote from True Discipleship by William McDonald that stood out to me was: “There is no room for half-hearted followers in His army.” That is cut and dry statement. Being a very black and white person, this stood out to me. It’s all or nothing for those who are disciples of Christ. This “revelation” alone sparks a zeal inside me that I don’t want to ever quench. How can I live a “normal” Christian lifestyle when Jesus said that we must forsake all to follow Him. If I want to be a disciple of Jesus, it can’t be without zeal. “If the Christian faith is worth believing in at all, it is worth believing in heroically” – Findlay. That is my prayer, to believe heroically; to be all or nothing.
I believe this last verse of a poem by Amy Carmichael pretty much sums up what I want to aspire to: a passion for the Lord. To be a crazy, maniac disciple sold out for Jesus.
“Give me the love that leads the way,
The faith that nothing can dismay,
The hope no disappointments tire,
The passion that will burn like fire,
Let me not sink to be a clod:
Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God”
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