Journal from May 2011

Today’s devotional talks of doing things different: “throw your net on the right side.”  There are many things I need to do differently: money management, weight loss, relationships, teaching, being a mommy.  I guess that is just about everything!  

Lord, I also need to go about talking with you differently!!!!  I just ask and then listen for about 30 seconds and then move on.  Then during the day, I don’t stop and listen to you, I let the world get between us, and you are probably talking to me, but I can’t hear you, because of all the interference.  I know you will help me, when I ask, and I am asking now, but I, also, know that I have to be willing to stop during the day, and listen.  Quiet the interference, and listen to the Lord.  One of the men in Sunday School on Sunday, said it is hard to live a life listening to You.  That it is easy to live away from you.  I didn’t say anything at the time, but YES IT IS.  It is so much easier to live throwing out a token to you.  It makes us think that we are doing enough, but you are not doing anything.  We say we cannot hear you, so you must not be talking.  Maybe you don’t even hear us, so why even talk to you?  That is NOT the life I want to live.  It is the easier life, but life is not always easy, and I know that the life you have for me is SOOOO MUCH better than ANYTHING I could ever imagine!  Yes, Lord, I want your help in my daily life, from moment to moment, but I KNOW that I HAVE TO CHANGE MY WAY FIRST.  I need to be able to be still and listen, to ground myself EVERYDAY in Your word.  To take time with you, to talk with you, to listen to you, to bask in your love for me, to honor you, to obey you, to trust you, and to love you with all I have and am!!!!!!!!!

I can say “starting now”, or I can just do it.  I know I will stumble, I know I will not succeed the first time I try, but I must keep trying until I get it right.  That is the only way that I am going live life to YOUR FULLEST FOR ME! And to receive ALL THE BLESSINGS you have for me!!!!  So, Lord, I know you are reaching out to me, and I am going to keep trying to reach out to you, and we will meet on your Holy ground!!!

AMEN!

Study of Zechariah (book of the Bible)

Zechariah 1:3-6:


3The first message the Lord sent Zechariah: ' Return to me and I will return to you.  Don't be like your ancestors who would not listen or pay attention.  Turn from your evil ways and stop all your evil practices.'


     We have to each be our own person.  It does not matter how we are raised or who our families are.       We are each responsible for our own actions.  We know, even if it is deep, down inside... we know what is right and wrong.  We must stop doing the things we know are wrong - against ourselves, against others, and against God.


5Everything I said through prophets happened.  Because of this your ancestors repented and said 'We have received what we deserved.  He has done what he said he would do.'


     The Lord has said that evil will punished.  We know the penalty of sin is death.  Even from the first sin of Adam and Eve: they would have lived with God on earth forever, but then they went against God, they eventually had to die.  Jesus was the last sacrificial death for sin.  He took all sin and died for it.  We, however, cannot continue to knowingly sin.  When we sin (and EVERYONE sins) we must repent, ask for forgiveness, forgive ourselves and learn not to commit that sin again.  It is hard and EVERYONE will fall again and again, but that is the beauty of Jesus!  He died for ALL sin.  However, if we keep sinning over and over and not repenting and not learning, we move farther from God and Jesus.  God has said EVERYONE will stand before him to be judged.  I don't know about you, but I want Jesus, the one who loved me so much he died for me, as my lawyer, defending me!!


The words in black are paraphrased from the Tyndale Life Application Study Bible, New Living Translation.  The words in purple are written by Lisa Anne Thomas.