Psalm 57:2

I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills His purpose for me. (NIV)

A month away from home capped off by four days on the road has given me plenty of time to ponder my purpose - not figure it out, mind you, but ponder it. I know, I know, my purpose is to serve and glorify God through worship and obedience. That's everyone's purpose. I want details. How exactly am I supposed to be accomplishing this?

Apparently I'm not the only one who wants me to discover my purpose. In the past few days I've been bombarded with messages about this very thing.

The other day I started reading a book I've had for months but had not yet touched. I first picked up best-selling author Debbie Macomber's Knit Together: Discover God's Pattern for Your Life because I saw it in a display of knitting books. I love knitting...well, I love the idea of knitting. I inherited my dear departed mother's innate ability to buy yarn and begin projects. Upon my death Genny may well be presented with a huge plastic tub of unfinished needlework, as was I....but I digress. Saw the book in the window. Thought, "Oh, isn't that neat? She knits. She's a Christian. I'll take it." (and this and this and this... but that's beside the point) Really didn't expect much. I'd read a couple of her books and found them a little too fluffy for my taste. OK, perhaps, for an occasional, feel-good diversion, but that's about it. Fast forward a few months. I finally get around to starting the book, and find it's anything but fluffy. It's as if every word was written just for me, right now. In fact, I find myself having to put it down and only read a bit at a time because, what might some other time be no more than a nice little bit of encouragement, is so powerful and convicting and personal to me.

So yesterday while I was sitting on the beach taking a break from attempting to discover my specific purpose, I studied a couple of my scripture memory verses, including Jeremiah 29:11, which I repeated over and over. When I was ready for more of the book, I plunged back in and what did I read on the very next page?

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

And yes, I typed that from memory ;-) (except for the punctuation!) Anyway, this is good. God knows his plans for me. Awesome. But if I could just have a little hint, Lord...

Well, here we are at today, and the verse I had planned on using for my scripture memory didn't really sit right with me for some reason. I visited the Liberty Bell earlier this month and thought it might be neat to memorize Leviticus 25:10, a portion of which is inscribed on the bell. But when I looked up the whole verse it just didn't seem pertinent or inspiring. (One of Beth Moore's hints for scripture memorization is that you choose a verse you need so it's meaningful and nourishing as you meditate on it and commit it to memory.) So I logged on to the LPM blog kind of aimlessly hoping for something to pop out at me that I'd be inspired to memorize. Sure enough, there's Beth quoting Psalm 57:2 and telling me how God always fulfills his purpose for me. OK, I hear you, Lord...

So for now I'll rest with that. I may not be clear on my purpose, but God is, so I'll cling to him, hoping for a glimpse and knowing that His purpose for me is way beyond anything I can imagine on my own.

Been meaning to get to this one...

...for a while. No explanation required.

"Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips."
Psalm 141:3 NIV

It is what it is

This summer I'm joining Beth Moore and hundreds of others via her LPM blog doing a new Bible study by Jennifer Rothschild entitled "Me Myself & Lies: a thought-closet makeover." It's based on her book "Self Talk, Soul Talk: What to Say When You Talk to Yourself," and it helps up explore "the things we commonly say to ourselves and teaches us to practice godly and biblical self-talk." Having completed only the first few days, the study has already had a profound impact on me, and through it God has made quite clear what my next memory verse should be:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

Week One, Day 4 deals with worry, which Jennifer defines as "fixating or meditating on what if rather than what is." As an exercise participants are presented with a drawing of two closet doors. On the first we're asked to write a list of "what if" temptations to worry. Not much thought required there for me - it takes mere seconds for me to jot down an entire repertoire of worries that can easily occupy my mind. Then on the second door, for each of the "what ifs" we noted, we're asked to write the corresponding "what is" - the truth from God's Word - that can fill our meditation instead. On that door I could only come up with one truth: Jeremiah 29:11. For every worry I can think up, God answers me with the same words:
"I know my plans for you."
"But what if..."
"...I will see that you prosper..."
"But I don't think I can..."
"...I will never harm you..."
"If only I hadn't..."
"Don't worry about that, just think about the possibilities..."
"Lord, I try so hard, but I just keep failing."
"Don't give up. You're future is secure and exciting with me."
"You're right. Thank you, Father. You always know what to say to make me feel better."

Better than lemonade in the desert

I read this verse the other day in the One Year Bible:

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord..." Acts 3:19 (NIV)

I just love that, don't you? I love the words "wiped out" which remind me that forgiveness involves a measure of forgetfulness. When we truly repent, God doesn't just overlook our faults, he erases them completely and gives us a fresh start (over and over and over again!) The Psalmist tells us "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:12), and in Hebrews we read God's words, "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more," (Hebrews 8:12) and a couple chapters later, "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." (Hebrews 10:17) I am so easily exasperated by forgetfulness in others, but it looks like I need to rethink that....turns out selective memory is a Godly quality!

But my favorite part of the verse is "times of refreshing." It brings to mind such things as swimming in a cool ocean on a hot day, a frosty cold drink on a parched throat, or reading a book in a shady hammock. I've always been big on refreshing. (In fact one summer I actually taught my type-A friend how to do nothing! Couldn't believe she didn't know. lol) But you can be sure that "refreshing...from the Lord" is even better than anything we can humanly imagine.

A sober warning

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."
Colossians 2:8 (NIV)

This verse is used by author John Rosemond in reference to postmodern psychological parenting in his book "Parenting by The Book: Biblical Wisdom for Raising Your Child." Today marks the start of an online book club on my GottaWearShades blog, and this will be the first book we read. If you'd like to join us for some virtual discussion and see how parenting and fellowship and blogging can all come together, visit GWS for more info.

So how do we see to it that we're not taken captive? How do we recognize hollow and deceptive philosophy so we can steer clear? I'm reminded of something I heard years ago in small group Bible study. Lauren Blackburn related that people who are counterfeit money detection experts train not by studying examples of fake money, but rather by spending hours and hours examining every detail of the real thing. They know the genuine bill so well that the counterfeit is easy to spot. Her point was that this is how we should learn to discern lies, by submerging ourselves in the Truth, by studying and examining God's Word so much that we can detect the enemy's counterfeit.

If you are not currently involved in a Bible study, I encourage you to get started. Go on ChristianBook.com or Lifeway.com, narrow your search by gender, or topic or price or anything, and find something that appeals to you. The possibilities are endless. If you're stumped ask me - I'm building quite a library myself, and I even have some DVD kits I'm itching to lend out. Or participate online in a study of Proverbs, beginning next Wednesday on the GWS blog. Study all by yourself, or get together with a friend or a few, or join a Bible study class. God will bless your study, and he will give you a hunger for more. And all the while you'll be learning to recognize the world's lies by becoming familiar with the standard of Truth.

John 9:39 - Amazing Grace

I love it when God blesses my procrastination. Sometimes he shows me that pushing deadlines and putting off my "to do" list is actually his restraining hand at work. (Note: sometimes it's not!)

In Journey to Confidence: Becoming Women Who Witness, the author has us write out several verses that are useful in witnessing, and encourages us to commit them to memory so we can call them to mind by the Holy Spirit when given the opportunity to share the Gospel. "Great," I thought, "I'll use these as my memory verses for the next few months, and I don't have to worry about what to choose for a while." (As if I'm the one doing the choosing!) So I wrote them all in my index card book and was planning on posting Romans 10:9-10 on 15th...

...but Friday came and went........then Saturday came and went....I knew on Sunday I had to get this out of the way - both this entry and my quick sign-in post on the LPM blog, both of which are serving as accountability motivation on my scripture memory journey.

So on the 17th I got up at 6, got my first cup of coffee and settled in the family room with my One Year Bible, thinking I'd knock out the day's reading, then knock out this post. And wouldn't you know it, by the end of the reading God had given me a completely different verse to memorize! It comes near the end of the May 17 New Testament passage:

Then Jesus told him, "I have come to judge the world. I have come to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind." John 9:39 (NLT)

This verse jumped off the page at me, and I immediately realized its value in my "witnessing repertoire", if you will. You see, this scripture addresses the number one cause for my reluctance to share my faith, which is that I believe, mistakenly or otherwise, that most people think they're just fine, that they're "good people," and that that's enough for this life and the next. Who am I to suggest to them that they are lacking? That there's more? That they are unsaved sinners? Yet these are the very ones about whom Jesus is speaking here - those who think they see, who think they have it all under control, who believe that as long as they're less wicked than the next guy and do some good deeds here and there that everything will turn out alright for them.

What's more, I was once one of those wretches who didn't know she was blind till after she could see.

I now realize it's not my responsibility to convince people they need Jesus. Conviction falls under the Holy Spirit's job description. And according to Walt Larrimore and Bill Peel, authors of Going Public with Your Faith, I don't need to be an expert witness with all the answers to all the questions. I just need to be a material witness and testify to what I've seen and heard and what I know to be true. In this case, I know that Jesus said his purpose was to open the eyes of the blind. And I know that since I've been studying the Bible and walking with God, my life is so much easier and more joyful and more meaningful than when I thought I knew it all.

Wish I'd known this years ago...

...but at least I know it now and can teach my kids this and other biblical truths about choosing friends:

He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.
Proverbs 13:20 (NIV)

See my neat new widget on the right? This is counting down the minutes till I go to Houston for Beth Moore's special event for all the LPM Scripture Memory particpants. She claims that we're going to have to recite at least 10 verses to get in the door, but I have trouble believing that they'd actually turn people away. However, I'll be armed (with the sword of the Spirit!) and ready should I have to prove my eligibility. I've been reviewing and rehearsing all my year-to-date verses. Beth says they'll give prizes to those who can recite all 24 verses, and I'm planning on claiming my prize!

I've always been in awe of people who could quote chapter and verse, and now, thanks to Beth Moore's challenge, my accountability to you ThySpace readers, and my motivating countdown widget, I now have 9 verses under my belt - the belt of truth, that is! Hmmm, perhaps Ephesians 6 should be next...

Just what is the Good News?

As Christians we're charged by Jesus to "go and make disciples" (Matthew 28:19) and told that before His return "the gospel must first be preached to all nations" (Mark 13:10). The word gospel literally means "good news", and though many of us know in our hearts and through our experiences that Jesus Christ is indeed The Good News, I for one have a tough time verbalizing this articulately and succinctly.

This brings me to my ambitious memory challenge, 1Corinthians 15:3-8: (That's right - 6 verses!)

"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born." NIV


Kay Arthur points to this passage when she sums up the gospel message as follows:

"Briefly condensed, the good news according to the Scriptures is: Jesus died for our sins and was buried (vv.3-4). He rose again on the third day and was seen by many (vv. 4-8)." (Lord, Teach Me to Pray Bible Study, pg. 15)

Now there's a clear, succinct statement of belief.

But that's not all. As if to drive home the significance of this passage, God kept putting it before me over the past few weeks. In fact, it is cited again and again in Lee Strobel's "The Case for Christ," where it is repeatedly referred to as one of Christianity's earliest creeds. Though Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians about 55 A.D., there is strong evidence that here he is actually reciting a Christian creed, received by him 20 years earlier when he met with Peter and James in Jerusalem. That means this basic statement of belief would have been initially formulated and adopted within just a few years of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.

I challenge you to memorize this passage with me. Many of us know the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed - they are much longer and more detailed than this, yet we know them by heart. Use Kay Arthur's paraphrase above to provide a framework or summary to help prompt you. To commit these words to memory, and better yet to share them with others, is to hold in our hearts and minds the same statement of faith embraced by the very first believers - those who saw the resurrected Christ face to face, and to speak literally the same words they spoke to share the Good News.

Arrow prayer with a punch

You know what an arrow prayer is, right? It's a quick prayer that you shoot up as it comes to mind, wherever you are, whatever you're doing. Well, apparently David used them, too, and I came across this one the other day in the One Year Bible:

"Please, God, rescue me! Come quickly, LORD, and help me." Psalm 70:1 (NLT)


Now that's something I can memorize with no trouble - 10 words! I bet you can, too. And there's no end to the situations in which this prayer might be appropriate. I can think of all kinds of circumstances from which I may need or want to be rescued. What about you?

The Life Application Bible sums it up nicely - it lists the theme of Psalm 70 to be "An urgent prayer for help. It can be your prayer when you're short on time and long on need." Amen!

The Power of Positive Thinking

Turns out positive thinking isn't just Freudian theory or new-age psycho-babble. Almost 2000 years ago Paul was telling the church at Philippi to think positively. The gist of his letter is finding joy through humility, obedience and perseverance in seeking and following Christ, and he begins his wrap-up with the following words:

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Philippians 4:8 NIV

A couple weeks ago I was at Books-A-Million and all of a sudden the book "From Anger to Intimacy: How Forgiveness Can Transform Your Marriage" by Gary Smalley (the love languages guy) and Ted Cunningham caught my attention. Thinking this was God's way of presenting me with a Lenten discipline, I promptly bought it and thought I'd give it a read. Chapter 4 tells us how to take responsibility for our emotions, and in the section directed to those of us who tend to replay our anger (thank heavens they didn't include a picture of me on this page!), the authors quote Paul's advice above and say this:

"...what you rehearse or replay in your mind will eventually seep into your heart as a belief. If you constantly tell yourself that you didn't handle things well, you failed or you're worthless, you will begin to believe it. And if you repeatedly tell yourself that someone else failed or is worthless, you will begin to believe it, which makes forgiveness and reconciliation all the more difficult.
You may be like me and have a tendency to replay conversations years after the fact. What is the one thing you and I can do about that? Hit the Stop button. Stop rewinding. Choose to no longer go back and make up details or events that never happened or were never intended.
Instead of replaying what went wrong or what is wrong in your life, begin following the advice of Paul. Refocus your thinking on the good things."

Let's take this a step further. Last week in Women's Bible Study we focused on worshipping God by learning and praising the various names by which he is known (Healer, Provider, Redeemer, Shepherd, etc.). And isn't God the epitome of truth, nobility, righteousness, purity, loveliness, admirability, excellence and praiseworthiness? It's proven that if we turn our focus to God we naturally turn it away from ourselves, and our thoughts are transformed. So while I'm memorizing eight things to think about, in essence I need only remember one: God.

Stop stewing, start renewing!

Praying for Unity

"Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, 'Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.'" Matthew 12:25 (NIV)

Now, I bet you think I'm talking about the church, right? Not this time. This verse was presented to me in black and white just the other day by Stormie Omartian in Chapter One of "The Power of a Praying Wife." (Actually, the version I have is a triple whammy - it's a 3-in-1 collection of "Praying Wife," Praying Parent," and "Praying Woman." I happened upon it at Books-a-Million the other day - which brings me to another aside: BAM's Christian book section is absolutely impressive - 2 entire aisles of everything from Bibles to fiction - check it out!)

Anyway, Stormie calls prayer "The Ultimate Love Language" and explains how it brings unity to a marriage even if you're not praying together. On page 30 the author writes:

The point in all this is that as husband and wife we don't want to be taking separate roads. We want to be on the same path together. We want to be deeply compatible, lifelong companions, and have the love that lasts a lifetime. Prayer, as the ultimate love language, can make that happen.

Well I don't know about you, but I want all that, and if prayer can make it happen then I'm in! Committing Jesus' words above to memory this month will provide me a constant reminder to pray for my marriage, to see my husband through God's eyes, and to understand that I'm the one that needs to be transformed.

Marriage is a ministry which illustrates the relationship of Christ and the church. Ultimately I want mine to be an example that falls in the "do" column, not the "don't" column. By God's grace and for His glory my household will indeed stand, not divided against itself, but unified in Christ.

Gossip the Gospel

I can't believe that I have memorized and daily recite 3 scriptures that I didn't know 45 days ago! I hope you're right there with me. This is proving to be a powerful and faith-building discipline for me. Here's the verse I'm committing to next:

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs that it may benefit those who listen.
-Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)

May God grant me the grace not only to speak these words but to live them.

Listening for God; Listening to God

Dear Friends,

I realize this post is a few days late, and most of you know why I haven't had much time to linger in front of my computer lately. But I've been rehearsing my first two memory verses (Psalm 19:14, Proverbs 3:5&6), and both have proved valuable time and again since I committed to them. There is no doubt in my mind that God specifically gave me those passages to memorize as a means of equipping me.

Though I've fallen behind in my housekeeping, bookkeeping, laundry, food shopping, Bible study homework - the list goes on and on - one discipline I am keeping up to date is my daily reading in the One Year Bible. I missed a few days this past week, but then doubled up for a few and am now back on track. And wouldn't you know it, a verse in today's Old Testament reading practically leapt off the page at me. It's almost as if God had me delay this post until I found this verse:

"Don't be afraid," Moses said, "for God has come in this way to show you his awesome power. From now on, let your fear of him keep you from sinning!" Exodus 20:20 (NLT)

Now, if you are doing the scripture memorization challenge with me, please remember you may (or perhaps should) come up with a verse that is meaningful to you. But feel free to use this one if you wish. Either way, don't forget to post a comment so I know you're still with me. I've already got mine written in my little spiral book. Beth Moore suggests concentrating on the new one this week, and then reviewing and reciting all three next week.

Wishing you God's peace and joy,
Eleanor

Seeds for Your Heart: "Where two or three are gathered..."

Well, so far it's only two of us sharing scriptures, but that's okay. And if anyone else is led to commit to some low-key but valuable scripture memory, please join us. We're just getting started.

Here's my 2nd verse for January:

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

I have written this verse in my little flip book of index cards along with Psalm 19:14 from last time (which I have now memorized after reflecting on it for two weeks plus!) as well as some others that I jot down as I come across them - not necessarily to memorize but to have close at hand when the need arises. Beth Moore posted a great little video tutorial to help us meditate upon and memorize scripture - take a 15-minute break and check out the January 8 posting: www.livingproofministries.blogspot.com.

To record your own verse and share it with me and other ThySpace readers (about 20 subscribed), simply comment on this posting. Don't forget to include your name, book, chapter and verse, and the Bible translation (NIV, NLT, KJV, etc.). Delia, please go ahead and post your first verse, too, even though we're running a little behind :-). You never know who needs to see it!

Blessings to you as God waters these seeds in our hearts - even in the wintertime!
Eleanor

Here's a New Year's Resolution we can all benefit from - and maybe even keep!

Happy New Year to All!

I just happened to check in with Beth Moore's LPM blog the other day (which I hadn't done in months), and that very same day (12/27) she had posted a challenge to her readers to embark on a 12-month discipline of memorizing scripture. I immediately decided to do it, recognizing not only the value of internalizing scripture, but also the simplicity and "doability" of Beth's goal and framework. Check out her 12/27 and 1/1 postings to see all the details.

In a nutshell, every month on the 1st and the 15th, each participant chooses a passage she'd like to memorize (or at least meditate on), and enters it as a comment on the blog. Beth doesn't tell us what to memorize, although we can use hers or anyone else's if we want to. The only problem is, about 2400 women signed up to do this with Beth Moore! So, while I'm sure that Beth's posts will be encouraging throughout the year, any feeling of accountability on my part kind of gets lost in anonymity.

That's why I thought we could do the same thing through this blog on a more personal level. There's absolutely no obligation to participate, and no condemnation if you don't see it through for whatever reason. But just think - a year from now we could all have the benefit of having committed to memory 24 passages of scripture, and along the way reap the harvest as God cultivates the Word he plants in our hearts. We just need to choose our seeds!

I do plan to let Beth Moore know that I've taken her idea and blatantly copied it on my own blog. Somehow I think she will not be offended, but rather thrilled that the Word of God is spreading in such a manner.

So who's with me? Even if nobody is, I've just boosted my accountability tremendously merely by sharing this with you! Here's how it will work: Each month on the 1st and the 15th I will be sure to post the verse I have chosen for myself. You can either choose your own or use mine, but either way, please let us know your passage by posting a comment with your name, verse(s) and translation (i.e. NIV, NLT, KJV, etc.) Feel free to share the reason you've chosen a particular verse, but this is not required. Beth Moore suggests we each use spiral-bound index cards to record our verses - this makes them portable and readily available. Again, refer to her 12/27 post.

Since it's already the 2nd of January, consider this kick-off and the first official "Seeds for Your Heart 2009" posting. Here goes -

Eleanor
Psalm 19:14 (NIV)
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."

I have heard this verse quoted almost exclusively as a pre-sermon prayer by preachers, but a Bible study I'm doing made me realize the plea can (should?) be much more personal and informal. All my words, not just prepared talks, should be God-pleasing - in fact, it's the unplanned words that usually aren't! And we learned in "Conversation Peace" a few years ago that if we want our words to be God-pleasing, our thoughts and hearts need to be God-pleasing. I now find myself reciting this verse numerous times a day - I'll have no problem memorizing it over the next two weeks!

I pray you'll join me in this oh-so-important discipline, and I look forward to encouraging each other throughout the year, while we see our lives transformed by His Word.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Eleanor