What does it mean to "walk in the Spirit?" I think sometimes we toss a lot of "Christiianese" around, without knowing for sure what it means. I do like the way the Amplified Bible opens this verse up.

Here is something that I have trouble understanding. As I observe some people who call themselves Christians, I see that their focus seems to be more on using God then on letting Him use them. They want the blessings that come with being a child of God, but they still want to have control. Instead of serving, they expect to be served. I don't get it. It makes me wonder if they have opened their Bible and done any reading or studying.

Often I see the word "servant" in the Bible. I also see the term "bondservant." James referred to himself as a bondservant in James 1:1. Peter also called himself a bondservant. This comes from the word dulos and is defined as a slave, or one in a servile condition. The best definition I found was - “devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests.” A bondservant is one who follows their master with a total disregard for their own will, emotions, or desires.

It can't be any plainer that that. If He isn't Lord OF ALL, He isn't Lord AT ALL.

Blessings to you at Easter time.

 

Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior,
Waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!



Up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph o'er His foes
He arose the victor from the dark domain

And He lives forever, with His saints to reign. 
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!

(Rom 5:5-8 NLT)  And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.



Here the bells ringing
They're singing that you can be born again



Here the bells ringing
They're singing Christ is risen from the dead



The angel up on the tombstone
Said He has risen, just as He said



Quickly now, go tell his disciples
That Jesus Christ is no longer dead



Joy to the word,
He has risen, hallelujah



He's risen, hallelujah
He's risen, hallelujah!



So glad the tomb is empty!

There are so many areas of life that encourage us to have wrong expectations! While in the States, my daughter and I saw a sweet, romantic movie. Nothing wrong with that. But, then we started talking about REAL LIFE, and how different it is. There is no perfect husband. The good ones love us. Yes they do! And, bless their hearts, they do the best they can, but let's face it -- most of them cannot compare to romantic movies where the guy can read his love's mind, caters to her every wish, and always gets it right. No. Life is not like that, and I think it is unfair to put that expectation on anyone. My husband is not very "romantic," but he shows me his devotion by vacuuming, because he knows it hurts my back to do it. OK, Vacuuming may not equate to a big box of chocolates and flowers to some, but it makes me smile and feel cherished. He also patiently stops the car when we are out for a drive if I yell STOP because I see something I want to photograph. That makes me happy. He makes me happy.. He is my love. Neither of us our perfect, but we still love each other.

But I must turn back from this bunny trail and continue talking about expectations.  We are often disappointed because we were looking for something to happen, and it didn't. We had an idea in our head of how a certain event was supposed to be, or how a certain person was supposed to respond, and when it didn't happen the way we thought it should, we are hurt.

Life is like that. The movies rarely show that making love in a field of wildflowers can lead to a bee sting, or a nasty rash! They hardly ever show that the handsome, romantic hero of the story leaves his wet towels on the floor in the bathroom or farts in bed.

We can experience this same disappointment through advertising. Products often promise to make wrinkles disappear, pounds drop off like magic, or investments multiply to make us an easy million. Yeah. They say a sucker is born every minute, don't they?   I am not a cynical person, but I am very realistic. My gram always said if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

Sadly, I have found that even in church, promises can be made and false expectations given. If you were told  when you became a Christian that all your problems would float away, it is a wrong and unscriptural expectation. Things do get better, because the guilt and shame are gone, and the Holy Spirit comes in with His peace and joy. But Jesus said that in this world we would have tribulation. Problems come with living, but we have God's help, and the Holy Spirit's guidance when we invite Jesus in. Bad things still happen to good people, but we are not alone in going through them.

(Psalm 33:20-22 NLT)  We put our hope in the LORD. He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.

If you want to place your hopes in the right place, give them to God. He always keeps His promises. He is totally trustworthy. I know this from the Bible, and from my own experience. People often disappoint, but God is faithful.

(Proverbs 23:18 AMP.)  For surely there is a latter end [a future and a reward], and your hope and expectation shall not be cut off.

Put your hope in God!

Here in Denmark, when you are invited to someone’s house for dinner, it is customary to bring flowers or candy to the hostess. I think this is a nice custom, and it is way of showing honor to the people who invited you.

(1Chronicles16:29 KJV)  Give unto the LORD the glory due unto His name: bring an offering, and come before Him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

While reading my Bible this week, those words BRING AN OFFERING really caught my eye. So often, I think we come to church expecting God to “do something” for us. We want to be lifted up and encouraged. We want to be blessed. We want to be ministered to. That’s wonderful! We should always come to God’s house with expectation!

But, shouldn’t we also come to church with a desire in our hearts to do something for GOD? What can we do to show Him we appreciate Him? I don’t think He has any use for a box of candy, and since He created flowers,  He has plenty of them! 

What can we offer Him? Our time? Our utmost devotion? Our money? Our worship? Our service? Our undivided attention?

We need to bring Him an offering. He is WORTHY of that. The Old Testament talks a lot about what an acceptable offering for the Lord is. No sick lambs, blighted crops or leftover junk. The Israelites were instructed to bring Him their best!

(Psalm 96:8 NLT)  Give to the LORD the glory He deserves! Bring your offering and come into His courts.

My daughter reminded me of this song, and it says so much more than I can about where my heart is today when writing this post. You can hear it here. Please listen to it if you can.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-vjd6LJFi0

A Little Longer -  Jenn Johnson

What can I do for You? What can I bring to You?
What kind of song would you like me to sing?

'Cause I'll dance a dance for You. Pour out my love to You
What can I do for You beautiful king?

'Cause I... can't thank You enough. I can't thank You enough
What can I do for You? What can I bring to You?
What kind of song would you like me to sing?

'Cause I'll dance a dance for You
Pour out my love to You
What can I do for You beautiful king?

'Cause I... can't thank You enough. I can't thank You enough
All of the words that I find... and I can't thank You enough.
No matter I try... I can't thank You enough.

Then I hear You sing to me "You... don't have to do a thing
Just simply be with me and let those things go
'Cause they can wait another minute.”
Wait... this moment is too sweet. Would you please stay here with Me
And love on Me a little longer"

Wait... this moment is too sweet. Would you please stay here with Me
And love on Me a little longer I'd love to be with you a little longer 'cause I'm in love with you.

He is so precious, and His love is so incredible! We can give Him everything, and it still wouldn’t be enough, but let’s try anyway! Let’s pour our love, praise and honor on Him every day! Let’s give Him our BEST offering!

As I understand it, a “committed relationship” is one where the parties involved have decided that they will be an exclusive couple. In other words, they are not “shopping around” anymore, but have found someone they want to be serious about. I would think the next step, if you are really committed, would be marriage, but this is not always the case. But I digress...

I am in a committed relationship with my husband of almost 39 years. He is the guy for me. I love him. I would never dream of cheating on him. I stood up before God, family and friends and promised I would love him til I die. I fully intend to do that. I trust him to do that, too.

Shockingly, I am also in ANOTHER committed relationship. Yes. It’s true. (Thankfully, my husband doesn’t mind.) One day, many years ago, I handed my heart over to Jesus. He is the one for me. I will love Him forever. I trust Him completely. I would never dream of cheating on Him.

(Psalm 86:11 NIV)  Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

I think loving God helps me be a better wife, a better mom, a better grandma, a better friend -- Loving God helps me be a better ME! I am learning that He is the key to whether I stand or fall. He has to be at the center. He must come first.  My heart must be undivided.

Perhaps one of the enemy’s greatest tricks is to pull our devotion away from God. He can do this in so many ways. He can get us super busy. He can distract us with the things our flesh desires. He can lie to us, if we allow it, and a lot of us do allow it. He can get us rationalizing that something we have our eyes and desires on is really important, or right, or necessary and totally OK. We start spending more and more time working to obtain that "something" and our devotion to God lessens.

How can we protect ourselves from having our heart divided? How can we be made aware of when we are slipping into that dangerous place of rationalizing something that we know is wrong? How can we keep from cheating on our Savior?

The verse above from the Psalms says, “Teach me Your way.”  There are all kinds of “ways,” aren’t there? Often, when we are facing a conflict, we go all over the place gathering advice. “What do YOU think I should do?” we ask. When we do this, we often get several different options, and then we pick the one we like the best. (Usually, the one that’s easiest and fits what we were going to do anyway!) 

How many of us, when we face a problem take it immediately to the Lord? 

(Proverbs 16:25 NKJV) "There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of it is the ways of death." God sees everything. God knows everything. God loves us completely and without compromise. I would think HE would be the best one to go to for counsel, don’t you?

If we can get into the habit of taking our problems, disappointments, concerns, questions, WHATEVER to the Lord, we would make better decisions.

The next part of that verse talks about relying on God’s faithfulness. He is faithful. Totally. He won’t steer us wrong. Maybe, in the moment, we don’t understand the plan. Maybe things look hopeless, or uncomfortable. Maybe God is even asking us to do something we would rather not do. That’s when trusting in His faithfulness is very important!  How do we learn to trust His faithfulness? We have to spend time with Him. We have to read His book. We have to remind ourselves of all the times in the past when He has been faithful to us. Sometimes it can help to hear others tell of His faithfulness to them, but the best way to really learn it is to know God for yourself.

Be very wary of things that compete with your love for God. Guard your heart!

Lord, give me an undivided heart! 

If we are being honest, most of us would admit we could be doing more to make the world better, right? I decided to make a list, and I am hoping you all can help me by adding things. Some of the things on the list would cost you some time. Some would cost you a bit of money and some no money at all. Just a few minutes each day could make a difference in someone's life. Feel free to choose a few things from the list and put them into practice. Blessings and thanks if you are already doing some of this!

1, SMILE!
2. Donate blood.
3. Read to the blind.
4. Volunteer at a school to tutor kids in reading.
5. Bake cookies for a neighbor.
6. Pick up a few cans of something extra each week when you shop to donate to a food cupboard.
7. Sponsor a child.  http://www.compassion.com/

(1Jn 3:16-18 NLT)  We know what real love is because Jesus gave up His life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God's love be in that person? Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

8. Check out Samaritan’s Purse or other charitable organizations. For just $15.00 you can feed a hungry baby for a week, or help teach a child to read. For a bit more, you can give to provide a well of clean drinking water, or buy chickens, goats, and seeds for a family so their lives can be better.
    https://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/Giving/gift_catalog/
9, Volunteer at a soup kitchen
10. Donate usable, outgrown clothing and other goods to the Salvation Army, Good Will, etc.
11. Have a garage sale and donate the money to some worthy cause.
12. Help support a missionary!
13. Give people a ride to church.
14. Teach a Sunday School class.
15. Sponsor a child to go on a mission trip.
16. Take a meal to a new mom or a shut in.
17. Do yard work for someone who is not able to do it themselves.
18. Go through a drive through and pay for the people behind you.
19. Forgive!
20. Write some letters to people who you appreciate. (Your child’s teacher, your pastor, etc.) It would make their day.
21. Volunteer at Ronald McDonald House Charities
22. Babysit for a mom who really needs to get out.
23. Adopt an animal, or donate to have one neutered at the local animal shelter.
24. Cut out coupons and share them with others.
25. Sponsor a child in NYC through Metro Ministries. (One of my daughters used to work here. They are good guys.)  http://www.metroministries.org/
26. Recycle
27. Plant a tree or two.
28. Pray for our leaders.
29. Pick up trash.
30. Teach someone to do something useful. (Bake, crochet, play piano, sew, change the oil of their car, garden, computer skills)
31. Buy smoke alarms for newlyweds.
32. Give away plants when you are thinning out your garden.
33. Smile at a cashier.
34. Encourage someone.

(Col 3:17 NLT)  And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

35. Save sample size items and give to organizations who help the homeless.
36. Get out of debt and live on what you have.
37. Donate to our church's outreach in Romania, NTC (Need To Care) http://needtocare.org/index.php/home  You can help a child get an education, provide school materials or send a child to camp. Check out the site for more ways you could help.
38. Sign up to be a Big Brother or Big Sister.
39. Coach a team.
40. Buy flowers for a shut in.
41. Share your faith.
42. Pray!

These are just a few of the many, many ways you can be a blessing and make the world a better place. Please feel free to add to the list and share your own experiences!

I know a couple who have a multi-million dollar business, but they do not live in a mansion. They do not have a lavish lifestyle. Years ago, they stepped out in faith and began to tithe on the profits of their business. As the business grew, they decided to cap their own incomes, and give the rest away. WOW. That is wonderful!

What do you think about that? Are you saying to yourself, “Well, if I were that rich, I would do that too!  It would be easy.” Oh, really? The same temptations and desires apply whether you have hundreds or millions. It doesn’t really matter how much we have, it is all about the focus of our heart.

(Mat 6:33 MSG)  Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

Many of us only  focus on our own little kingdoms. Our family. Our home. Our stuff. We are short-sighted. We need to lift our vision higher, higher, HIGHER! We need to lift it all the way up to God’s kingdom – the only kingdom that will remain when the rest of this stuff we work so hard to obtain burns up and turns to dust. But it is hard, isn’t it?

(Mat 6:19-21 NLT)  "Don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Laying down our own desires -- our own ideas of "treasure"-- is a battle. You may think that because I am a missionary, I have it “all together” in that department. Nope. I must confess to you, that this is not always the case. My heart can be rebellious. I do my share of whining to the Lord, trust me. I have to constantly remind myself to seek HIS kingdom. When I begin to focus on HIM instead of ME, my perspective improves enormously!

It is just so easy to get caught up in the standards that the world holds up. We think we have to have this or that to make our lives right. Really, it is a bunch of hype, and most of us are influenced by it. We also make the mistake of comparing ourselves to others, and becoming dissatisfied because they may have things we don’t. If we focus on those things, we will never be at peace. There is always more to WANT!

But, what do we really NEED? What are the basic things we all require? Love. Air to breathe. Something to cover our bodies. Clean water. Enough food to sustain us. A safe place to rest. Medical care when needed. Work for our hands. Many in America, and other developed countries have this and plenty more. Yet, we complain about the high prices of gas, and worry that we don’t have “anything to wear” to a party. While we worry that our kids may be playing too many video games, some parents are worrying about how they are going to FEED their children.

See? It all depends on our focus. When you think about someone living in a cardboard box, or unable to feed their children, it puts a different perspective on what you have and don’t have, doesn’t it?

I think if we truly focused on God’s kingdom, we would care less about what WE don’t have, and more about what OTHERS lack. Maybe we would even be free enough to share more of what we have.

(Rom 8:1 AMP)  THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.

There may be no condemnation in Christ, but there sure is plenty in the church! Whew! My heart is so sad every time I hear a story about a person who has left a church because someone has been critical and condemning of them. It happens over and over. What I do not understand, is how the condemners think they are helping? HOW?

How does instructing a young lady who is a new Christian and just got a scripture tattooed on her arm that tattoos are evil help her feel closer to Jesus? How does judgement EVER encourage someone?

How does it comfort someone who limped back to their seat after being prayed for for healing, that the reason they are not healed is because of sin in their life? Can you picture Jesus doing that?

Does it make a grieving mom and dad feel better about their runaway child to inform them that they should have been stronger about disciplining them? Even if it were the truth, what good does it do now to bring it up? They probably already have thought about that, and are feeling guilty enough. Should we add to their pain? Would Jesus do that?

Come ON, people! Show me one place in scripture where Jesus ever did that to the broken and hurting. Yes, He did address sin, and He was strong about it, but He never condemned those who were in pain.  If Christ does not condemn, who do we think we are? What gives us the right? What is it motivated by? Love? I don't think so. Genuine caring for the welfare of others? I doubt it. Pride and our own insecurities? Probably.

Yes, there is a place to confront wrong doing, and their are scriptures which instruct us on how it is to be done. Maybe we should review them. Maybe we should remind ourselves also, that Jesus said "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. If we want mercy for our own shortcomings, we need to respond in mercy to the shortcomings of others.

 Let's love like Jesus. 

One small word. Only three letters. ALL. Such a little word, but with such a big meaning.

All to Jesus I surrender; 
All to him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust him, 
In his presence daily live. 
I surrender all, I surrender all, 
All to thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all


All. Everything. Holding nothing back.






The house
The car
The kids
The grandkids
The spouse/Boyfriend/Girlfriend
The job/career
School
Finances
Future
Dreams and desires
The pain
The anger
Time
Retirement
And everything else!

Some people get scared when they think about this. I know when I was younger, I thought
that if I really surrendered ALL to Jesus, He would surely make me do something I did 
NOT want to do, or go somewhere I did NOT want to go. But, it isn't like that.

Giving all to Jesus can be the most amazing, freeing thing ever! I used to feel like I was
captain of a boat that I didn't know how to steer. I was being tossed around by the waves 
blown about by the winds. I did not think I would ever find my destination. Yes, but 
then I turned the wheel over to the One who knew what He was doing! He knew where I needed
to go! Now, I can relax!

There is an old song by Love Song which says
I was barreling on full speed ahead
Trying really hard to be the driver
Thinking I was making real good time,
But always winding up the late arriver.
But now, I'm riding in the backseat
And, I find it is a very great relief.
Now I'm riding in the backseat
And leaving all the driving to the chief!

Pretty much says it all!

II Timothy 1:12 AMP .. I perceive, have knowledge of and am acquainted with Him -- Whom I 
have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on) and I am (positively) persuaded that 
He is able to guard and keep that which has been entrusted to me, and which I have
committed to Him until 
that day.


All.