Day 11 - Better not Bitter

31 Days

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Abundant Life

If this is your first day here you may want to read here first
 

Day 11 -Better not Bitter

 

"But rejoice in as much as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you 

may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed."

1 Peter 4:13

Better or bitter?  The choice is yours!  When suffering comes your way you are faced with a choice on how you will respond to it.  The most tempting way to respond is bitterness and anger.  I know I have been there! Bitterness tastes so sweet in the mouth of the one who has been hurt. However if Bitterness is left to take root in the heart it will ultimately have adverse effects on you and all of your relationships with others.  Why?  Because you can not contain it for that one person or situation that hurt you.  Instead it's like a rampant infectious virus effecting every area of your life.  Is it worth it?

So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves 

to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

1 Peter 4:19

Instead of holding onto and fostering bitterness I pray that you will go to God, giving it all to Him!  He can handle it!  Then every time you start to take it back I pray that instead you will once again give it to Him.  I pray also, that when you find yourself rehearsing the pain you'd recite out loud (if possible) "I have forgiven _________ " (fill in the blank) and turn your thoughts toward praise and thanksgiving to God instead.  I also pray that you will trust that God judges justly. 1 Peter 2:23-24 says:

²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he 

made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴ “He 

himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and

 live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

Jesus, the one and only Savior and God, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords could have wiped everybody out when He was on the cross, but He didn't!  Instead He chose to suffer and bear our sins in His body so that we may inherit eternal life.  Jesus entrusted Himself to the One (God) who judges justly and we can do that too.  I know it seems impossible and in the flesh it is.  However we have the Holy Spirit living in us and He is more then able to help us when we ask Him. 

" I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and 

participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,"

Philippians  3:10

 When we go through suffering we are participating in the sufferings of Christ and it proves our faith to be genuine.

⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to 

suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness 

of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by 

fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

1 Peter 1:6-7  

Oh sisters, please hear me!  You today are faced with a choice.  Are you going to respond to your past, present, of future problems with bitterness? Or do you want to come through it better?  Know that  I am praying for you today! 

"And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have  

suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."

1 Peter 5:10

One last thought for today!  Praise God trials sooner or later come to an end.  If not here on earth then in heaven.  Will you today say as I have: Today Lord, I choose to follow you and love you even if this trial doesn't' end until I get to heaven.  Lord give me the strength to persevere!

Day 10 - The Blessing of Suffering

31 Days

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Abundant Life

If this is your first day here you may want to read here first
 

Day 10 - The Blessing of Suffering

 "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared  

with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

Romans 8:18

When you read the title for today's blog I bet some of you were saying to yourself "The blessing of Suffering? Yeah, right!  You don't know what I have been through!"  Your right!  I don't, but I do know that in my own life I can look backward and say it was a blessing!  Not that I ever want to go there again.  Absolutely not!  Nor would I wish it on another!  But Praise God!  I have come out on the other end, better not bitter, and Jesus is the one who get's all the credit.  I am not who I was!  I have been set free and transformed!  I am still a work in progress, but I have come a long way.

 ²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, 

that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Romans 8:29

Yes, I believe suffering is a blessing and it is the way to abundant life in Christ!  Why? Suffering refines us!  It's a purifying fire.  It removes the ugly in us!  It conforms us to His image.  It brings us to the end of ourselves and our resources, and if we allow it, it can cause us to plummet the depths of Christs love.  In my own life it was the catalyst that I believe the Lord allowed to bring me to Himself.  Afterward it was what kept me flying to Jesus and His Word devouring every sweet morsel of it.  For me His Word was and is life sustaining Bread! 

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of 

all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who 

are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  ⁵ For as 

the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ."

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 

Suffering has also taught me that God is a good and loving Father who holds His children tenderly in His arms and weeps when they weep!  In moments when I was in great despair He would cause a friend to call in the right moment and give her the words to say and pray.  Other ways He comforted me were timely messages or music on the radio or a note in the mail etc...It it because of suffering that I have glimpsed the depth of His unfathomable love, His absolute faithfulness, and His trustworthy character in very real and tangible ways.  I love Him to the degree I do, because of all that Jesus has done for me a sinful and flawed woman!

"³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or 

persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: “For 

Your sake we are killed all day long;We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 

³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  

³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor 

powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any 

other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in 

Christ Jesus our Lord." 

Romans 8:35-39

When I speak of Christ, I am not just sharing some thoughts I read in a book from some theologian, but my very real experience with Him through suffering.  And I do not say these things because He answered my prayers in the ways I wanted Him to, because He didn't.  Oh, but let me clarify I do believe God did and still is answering my heart wrenching prayers.  Only it's through His wisdom and His timing not my limited understanding.  He does always answer prayers in one of these three ways: yes, wait, or I have something better!  How true!  I'm still waiting and trusting that God has something better for me though I have yet to fully understand or see it.  Sometimes we can't know why until we are in heaven.  That's when we have to trust the Character of God!  He is good, all the time!  We on the other hand are but dust and ashes!  We can't know that though unless we are reading His Word through and through!

^"26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should 

pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings 

which cannot be uttered. ²⁷ Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the 

Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God."

 Romans 8:26-27

Dear sweet sisters, please here me!  Suffering is what brought me to Christ, taught me the depths of His love, enabled me to experience His comfort, and refined my theology!  I would not be where I am today if I had not faced the trials that I have thus far faced!  If you are going through trials you can know that that same can be true for you!  I am praying for you!  That you will cry out to Jesus as I did, and tell Him all about it!  The pain, the anger, the fear, the helplessness...whatever it is.  Then after you have had a good cry get up in the strength of the Holy Spirit and simply do the next thing (make dinner, change a diaper, finish that report for work etc...)!  I promise you, if you do, you will be forever changed!!!

Day 9 - Surrendered Heart

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Abundant Life

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Day 9 - Surrendered Heart

He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying,  

“O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, 

not as I will, but as You will.”

Matthew 26:39-43 

Did you know that when Jesus was praying that prayer He was in agony.  So much so that His sweat became droplets of blood. Luke 22:44 says:"And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground."  

Christ was not just saying a bunch of words here, nor was it easy in any way for Him to surrender! 

Just like Christ, whenever I need to release someone or something to God I find it to be hard too!   In fact I've never found it to be easy once. No it's not easy, but it is necessary if you want to live the Abundant Christian life!  

Praying dear sisters, that you and I can live lives that are completely surrendered to the Will of God!

Day 8 - The Blessing of Serving

31 Days

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Abundant Life

If this is your first day here you may want to read here first
 

Day 8 - The Blessing of Serving

  ⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should 

wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have 

done for you.⁶ Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, 

nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.  

 John 13:14-16

One thing the Lord has really been teaching me is the blessing of sacrificially serving others.  It is not easy to notice the need of another and then take the time to help them.  Especially when there are many days that you yourself are exhausted and feel as though you could really use some help.   What I'm finding out though is that the more I help others, the more blessed I am.  It's ironic really since it does take up precious free time.  

If you want to experience more of the abundant life then let me suggest that when you are prompted by the Spirit to do something for another, do it!  You will be glad you did!

Day 7- In His Presence

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Abundant Life

If this is your first day here you may want to read here first
 

Day 7 - In His Presence

  " It was very early in the morning and still dark. Jesus got up and left the house. 

He went to a place where he could be alone. There he prayed."

Mark 1:35(NIRV)

"But Jesus often went away to be by himself and pray."

Luke 5:16 (NIRV)

Have you ever thought about the fact that Jesus often went off by Himself to pray?  If Jesus who is God found it important to be alone with God in prayer, how much more should we?  I am convinced that if you and I want to live an abundant life in Christ we need to run to God with everything!  Our joys, our sorrows, and even our needs.  

In a book called "The Practice of the Presence of God" Brother Lawrence wrote about how he daily and moment by moment sought to practice the presence of  God while doing mundane work such as washing the dishes (his daily job).  Did you pick up on that?  It was in the mundane every day tasks that he sought God!  I want to be more and more like that!   After all, I know that the more I pray the more peace I have in my life.  I also know that when I pray God hears and answers!  It may not always be what I want, but He does answer.  He either says yes, wait, or I have something better!  And I also know that through prayer I am changed!   

However, I don't know about you, but to often I am self reliant.  It's just to easy to not think about God when things are going well.  Of course the opposite is true too!  When things are hard I am very quick to run to Him.  Oh, intellectually I know that being self reliant is a very dangerous place to be, yet I find my nature just naturally does it. 

Because prayer in all things does not come naturally to me I find that I have to make conscience choices to spend time in prayer.  Some people write it  in on their schedule.  If you are a schedule kind of person, by all means do that!  If you are a sticky note kind of person (my style) do that.  Whatever you need to do to remind yourself to pray in all circumstances, do it!  You may want to copy the below verse and put it on a sticky note on your headboard or bathroom mirror so that from the time you get up in the morning you are reminded to pray!  But don't just read and memorize the verse do it, more and more!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and 

petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Philippians 4:6

For those of you who might be thinking "that's great but I don't know how."  Here is a simple acronym to help you (this is not the only way to pray, but it is one way to do it):

The word is ACTS = Adoration Confession  Thanksgiving Supplication

Adoration = Praise - that means you simply praise God for who He is

Confession = Involves agreeing with God about your sin & repenting - turning from it

Thanksgiving = Thank God for what He has done for you.  Think of (10) things every day, morning & night

Supplication = This is where you ask God for what you want or need.

Another way to pray is to take Scripture and place your name or anothers name in as the who in the verse. Or of course you could pray the praise verses in the book of Psalms to God.  To pray for others using scripture see the example below:

"I pray to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is the glorious Father. I keep asking him to give you (Suzie) the wisdom and understanding that come from the Holy Spirit. I want you(Suzie) to know God better."

 "I also pray that your (Suzie's) mind might see more clearly. Then you (Suzie) will know the hope God has chosen you (for her) to receive. You (Suzie) will know that the things God’s people will receive are rich and glorious. ¹⁹ And you (Suzie) will know His great power. It can’t be compared with anything else. It is at work for us who believe. It is like the mighty strength ²⁰ God showed when he raised Christ from the dead."

Ephesians 1:17-20

The words/name in parentheses was added in to show you how you could add a friends name or your own.  FYI Suzie is a fictitious name.

Dear sweet sister,  know that God wants to hear from you.  He wants to be the most important one in your life.  If He is then you will make every effort to make Him a priority in your day!  So then, no matter the situation you are facing today talk to God about it! Whether it's simply getting kids off to school, making dinner, or it's a problem at your job.   He wants you to pour out your heart to Him!  Then when you do, hold all the things you pray about with open hands and a surrendered heart to God's will!  Just like Christ did in the garden right before His crucifixion." 

Jesus prayed three times:

"Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, 'My Father, 

if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Matthew 25:39 (see also vs 42,44)

Lord, we want to pray always and in all things, help our lack of prayer! Amen

Day 6 - Food for Thought

31 Days

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Abundant Life

If this is your first day here you may want to read here first
 

Day 6 - Food for Thought

 

"Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. The  

Scriptures give us strength to go on. They cheer us up and give us hope.

 Our God is a God who strengthens you and cheers you up. May he help 

you agree with each other as you follow Christ Jesus."

Romans 15:4-5 (NIRV)

Feeling today like all your strength is drained out of you?  Weighed down by the many trials, big or small that you face?  Romans 15:4-5 reminds us that the Scriptures strengthen us, cheer us up, and give us hope.  So, why not open up your Bible today and ask God to revive you as you read?  Tell Him about it all: every buried hope, every irritation, and every person who you are sure was put there just to trip you up, etc...  Then ask God to show you in His Word His perspective on all of it.   

When you ask God for His perspective He is more then willing to show it to those who honestly want it!   But be prepared because when He answers you will forever be changed!  Why?  Because God's ways are not like ours.  Should we doubt that?  After all He is the one who created all things even man.  And He is the only one who fully knows what is in our heart.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than 

your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."    

Isaiah 55:9    

Dear sweet sisters, want to quiet those anxious thoughts of yours?  Then prayerfully read God's Word!  But don't just read it to gain a bunch of knowledge read it as if though you are reading a very passionate love letter to you!  Because that is what is you know!!!  After all what other guy do you know joyfully but through tears of agony chose to be brutally beaten & tortuously killed so that he could make you His pure bride forever?  Yes, the Word of God is the most beautiful and passionate love letter ever written.  So what's keeping you from reading it?

 

Day 5 - If not that, then how?

31 Days

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Abundant Life

If this is your first day here you may want to read here first

Day 5 - Then How?

 

Yesterday, I briefly shared about how being a rule keeper or a rule breaker will not lead to experiencing the abundant life. Why? Rule keepers desiring to do what's right work so hard at knowing and keeping the rules that they end up making themselves miserable while imposing their misery onto others. Rule breakers thinking that they don't need to change focus solely on the grace of God thereby grieving the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30) and making a mockery of what it means to be a Christian.  Somehow both have gotten it wrong and to the degree that they have gotten it wrong they are just as miserable.

So then if neither extremes are correct then how do we live in such a way as to experience the abundant life that is for us here and now!  I know in my own faith walk I got off to a good start by trusting Christ for my salvation.  I knew that I was saved by grace through faith and not works (Ephesians 2:8) and I was grateful for that grace.  However, somehow I got the message that now that I am a Christian I have all these do's and don'ts I need to work on.  So I went to Bible Studies and diligently studied my Bible in order to know and do them.  I tried hard to produce the fruit of the Spirit in me (Galatians 5:22-23).  Which is funny looking back now, after all it's His fruit not mine.  Not only was I busy trying to do all that, I was also busy reading every Christian "how to" book I could get my hands on.  Such as how to live the Christian life; how to parent as a Christian; how to be a godly wife; how to be organized etc... I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one here who has fallen into this trap.  What I didn't realize was that while I was busy trying so hard to change, my love for Christ was growing cold.  The Christian life was becoming hard work and my view of Christ was becoming one of a harsh task master.  I was in danger of becoming like the pharisees who had head knowledge and looked good on the outside, but inside their hearts were hard towards God.  Thankfully His Holy Spirit didn't leave me there!  He used others in my life particularly my mentor at the time to bring to light my error.

Here my heart!  I'm not saying any of the above is wrong!  They aren't wrong!  What was wrong was that I was trying to do it in my own strength (see all the I's above).  Not only was I trying to do it in my own strength I was trying to do it without love.  Love was not my motivation.  My motivation was a sense of duty.

What I learned is that sometimes for awhile you have to put away all the how to books and rehearse the gospel message to yourself again. That...

"You are more sinful and flawed then you could ever have possibly imagined, and you are more welcomed and loved then you could ever dared to hope."  ( Elyse Fitzpatrick )

Now, that your heart is full of thankfulness and amazement at a holy God who loves you in Christ despite you...

                               "now go love your neighbor!" (Matthew 22:35-41)   ( Elyse Fitzpatrick )

The key to living and walking in the abundant life is love.  The greatest love you'll ever know is found in the gospel!  Therefore the one thing that ought to be driving every decision that we make is our love for Christ and all that He has done for us! So take some time today and reflect on how much Christ loves you, then listen to His Holy Spirit's leading in your life and do whatever it is that He is asking you to do!  It's that simple and there is no greater joy even when it is hard!

For those of you who think you can still go on living life your way and you were not convinced by the verse I shared yesterday, then I pray that the ones below will awaken you to the truth that when you love Christ your actions will reflect it.  Not that you will be perfect, but that you desire to do the things that please Him, hate the sin He hates, and are sinning less and less over time.  Here are the verses:

"In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. And some will say, you have faith; I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds."   
James 2:17-18

And

"You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did."   James 2:22  

  Dear Beloveds, I am praying that you might know the breadth, length, height, and depth of Christ's love which surpasses knowledge.  That you would know and walk in greater joy today. And that the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth!