Character of Dependability — The "Ds"

As I was studying Galatians 5;22, 23, I decided to see what other verses used the same words.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)

Faithfulness: character of dependability

I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. Philemon 1:4-6 (NKJV)

Faithfulness is Directional

• hearing of your love and faith which you have toward
• Toward: motion towards to interface with; literally, moving toward a goal or destination

Faithfulness is Definite

• toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints
• It's not a random goal, rather it's specific — to the Lord Jesus and then the saints. 

Faithfulness is to be Dispersed

• sharing of your faith
• Sharing: something in which one has participation
• Faithfulness is active and because you have taken part in God's salvation, a natural progression is to share that faith with others. 

Character of Dependability. Faithfulness toward Christ, then followed toward the saints, all with the underlying understanding of what God did for me — His gift of salvation. 

Thanks Living—366 Days!

Thinking.
Last year at Church we were encouraged to give a gift to God. In my Bible Study part of Acts 9:31 (MSG) stood out to me: "They were permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God. The Holy Spirit was with them, strengthening them."

For my gift to God for 2015, I wanted my heart to be permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God. I plan to continue to strive toward that throughout the year ahead as well.

But I don't want to "re-gift" to God this year, so I have been praying about what gift can I give God this year?

A friend recently sent me this quote, "Thanksgiving is once a year. Thanks Living is all year long." 

Give thanks with a grateful heart. "Giving thanks always for all things to God." "Be thankful to Him." "With the sacrifice of thanksgiving." "That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all Your wondrous works." "May cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God."

Thanksgiving.
"grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors, especially to God." (dictionary.reference.com) 

Thanksgiving.
Giving thanks to God 366 days (2016 is a Leap Year).... seems like a simple thing, yet if it's so simple, why don't I do it each and every day?
This year, my Gift to God is a Thankful Heart. I want to learn to not only say "Thank you, God!", but I want a heart that is grateful to God and a heart that recognizes His work in my life.

Why am I posting this to my blog? Accountable. Call me out, if you see that I'm not being thankful. Challenge me to remain thankful all 366 days of 2016.

Thanks Living—366 Days!

Proverbs 11:16 A Gracious Woman

A gracious woman retains honor, but ruthless men retain riches. Proverbs 11:16

Gracious: favor, grace, elegance: of form and appearance

Retains: to obtain, keep fast; maintain

Honor: splendor, glory, of external condition and circumstances

Gracious: 

• civil 
• courteous 
• devoted 
• kind 
• polite 
• respectful 
• thoughtful
• beneficent 
• favorable 
• friendly
• generous 
• gentle 
• good 
• goodhearted 
• good-humored 
• good-natured
• kind 
• merciful 
• mild 
• sympathetic

We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the psalms, and that the habit of celebrating the greatness and graciousness of God yields an endless flow of thankfulness, joy, and zeal. J.I. Packer

"Gracious" is a characteristic that comes from God. When a heart is permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God (Acts 9:31 MSG), then grace flows freely. 

A gracious woman is one that fears God and then lives a life in accordance with His wisdom, and she is recognized by the endless flow of thankfulness, joy, and zeal for all the God has done and is doing. 

A gracious woman—a title for which to strive daily. 

Proverbs 2:1-5: It's all about the Verbs!

My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:1-5

Receive: accept

Treasure: hide with thyself, in thine own keeping

Commands: code of wisdom

Incline your ear: cause to attend, give attention

Wisdom: ethical and religious

Apply: incline one's own heart unto God and his commands

Heart: intelligent mind

Understanding: the object of knowledge

Cry out: call unto some one

Discernment: knowledge, meaning, perfectly, understanding, wisdom

Lift up: utter a sound, lift up the voice

Understanding: the object of knowledge

Seek: seek to find

Search: make diligent search

Understand: know with the mind

Fear of the Lord: fear of God, reverence, piety

Find: thing sought

Knowledge: in highest sense, knowledge of God (including obedience)

God: the (TRUE) God; Yahweh is God in truth

IF you do these things — THEN, you will understand and have wisdom. Wisdom does not come by wishing. To get wisdom you must DO. It's all about the VERBS! Action is required. 

But not just any action—specific, directed action. 

RECEIVE. HEAR. APPLY. CRY OUT, SEEK. Verbs that are specific and are directed toward a goal of wisdom. 

Verbs, specific actions whose end result is wisdom and fearing God. But to begin with the first verb, RECEIVE, my heart must be permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God (Acts 9:31 MSG). For that is only way, I'll be willing to accept Wisdom's advice. It's all about the VERBS!

2015 Goal

A few weeks ago at Church, the Pastor asked us what our gift to God would be in 2015. As I thoughtful and prayerful considered what I would give God this year... all I could think about was what I was studying "permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God" (Acts 9:31). 

My goal in 2015,

is to permeate myself with a deep sense of reverence for God

and that will (should) have impact in my life

and the lives of those around me. 

The only way for me to develop and be permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God is to study His Word and learn more about Him and then allow those truths to change my heart and attitude, and then impact my actions. 

"Things calmed down after that and the church had smooth sailing for a while. All over the country—Judea, Samaria, Galilee—the church grew. They were permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God. The Holy Spirit was with them, strengthening them. They prospered wonderfully." Acts 9:31 (MSG)

I'm looking forward to growing in my faith and see all that God has to teach me throughout 2015.

Rob Me of Joy

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 43. Here is what I learned.

For You are the God of my strength [my Stronghold—in Whom I take refuge]; why have You cast me off? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? Psalm 43:2 (AMP)

God, you are my ·strength [refuge]. Why have you rejected me? Why am I ·sad [going around in mourning] and ·troubled [oppressed] by my enemies? Psalm 43:2 (EXB)

Why do I allow others to rob me of my joy? Why do I allow those who don’t love God to discourage me? Why do I allow the words of others to have such an impact on my life? 

The truth is that too often, I allow what others say to interfere with my goal to create a positive day. When I allow others to dictate where I’m joyful or discouraged, I put those people above God. And that is the wrong place to put any person! 

When someone says something to me that jobs me of joy, I need to first I need to consider who they are. If the person is a dear friend, then I need to evaluate what they said by comparing it to God’s Word. If the person is correcting me, then I need to take heed and get right with God. 

If the person is someone I don’t know, I still need to evaluate what they said. If what they said is not truth, then I need to ignore it and not allow their words to rob me of my joy or hinder me from reaching my goal. 

To create a positive day, I need to make sure that I’m not allowing the words of others to rob me of the joy that God provides in abundance! 

Part 1 Complete!

Last Sunday was a wonderful day for the "non-move". God blessed us with perfect moving weather; sunny, with a slight breeze.

The Gang arrived @2:00 and work began. Soon the boxes and all the furniture was out of the apartment. When the trailer was packed, there were a few items left over, so we filled some of the vehicles.

A BIG THANKS

to each of the friends who helped move and clean the apartment.

The place looks so different empty. The remodel began on Monday, May 17th. (Picture to the left is the 'old' empty bedroom.)

This entire "non-move" has been a great deal of work. Not just for me, but for my friends (who have graciously helped). Some have asked, "Is all the work, really worth it?" I guess it all depends on what you see as the final goal. If I was JUST doing this because I wanted "new" things, than maybe the effort wasn't worth it. However, there was more to this than just a new kitchen. The rug needed replacing, the walls and ceiling needed painting.

Perhaps, some would see the work, and say, "That's not for me. I'll make due with the old." But really, you can't focus on the work, rather the results. Each thing we do in life requires some level of work. As a kid, I never understood the reason for making my bed each day. "I'm just going to 'un-make it' again tonight". To me, making my bed was a waste of time. However, my parent's thought otherwise.

As we go through our lives, we determine each day what we will do and how much effort we put into each task. We make those choices each day, often without much thought. It needs to be done, so we do it. Whether it be doing laundry, making a meal, working at a job... whatever the task at hand, we make choices each day. We can do a job well, or do it so it's "just done". We can put off doing a job, only to have to rush through it, or cause more work for us in the future.

Sometimes the work is a "chore" literally. It's a drudgery to accomplish the task at hand. That's one reason God says to do all to HIS GLORY. When working toward that goal, the tasks at hand take on a new meaning. Each day we "work for God". Whether you go to a job, or stay home and clean the house and care for the kids..... God is the Boss! My work philosophy has always been "to make my boss look good."  That takes on a new meaning when I realize that God is my boss. As a Christian, my responsibility is to glorify Him and share His everlasting love with those I meet.

When I reflect back on a day, it may have been positive in areas I like... such as getting a new apartment. However, if I want the day to be a TRULY POSITIVE day, my life, attitude, and all that I did would have been to the glory of God.