James 1:19

I am reading James this morning and this scripture gets me every time. 

 

James 1:19 …………………………………..Be quick to listen , slow to speak and slow to become angry 

 

 I have to think about this all the time.  So I am just sitting here contemplating ….. is this it ?   Then it all came together for me. 

 

When I judge ( I hate admitting this) It is because I don’t listen,  when I judge I speak quickly and when I judge I cause my own pain and become angry.  It is a vicious cycle that happens on occasion.  This was revelation for me this morning.  I have never put the two together until this morning.

 
Thank you Jesus

 Be Blessed today!

 

Kee

Repentance and surrender

Repentance does not cause a sense of sin— it causes a sense of inexpressible unworthiness. When I repent, I realize that I am absolutely helpless, and I know that through and through I am not worthy even to carry His sandals. Have I repented like that, or do I have a lingering thought of possibly trying to defend my actions? The reason God cannot come into my life is that I am not at the point of complete repentance.  Oswald chambers

 

As I am reading this it takes me back to surrendering.  I almost feel that repentance and surrendering go hand and hand.  I have an area in my life that I know I have not completely surrendered.  You may ask,  “how is that working for you?”   well …. It is not, but I am working on it.  I have to be honest there are times when I feel like I have completely surrendered and I do have peace.

 

Jeremiah 38:17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surely surrender  to the king of Babylon’s princes, (or whatever is going on in your life right now) then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.   Here is what I know for me.  My life is so much calmer when I surrender.

 

 

Let me tell you what real surrender is.  It is simply resting in the love of the Lord, as a little baby rests in his mother arms.  A perfect surrender must even be willing to quit surrendering, if that is what the Lord wants.  We renounce ourselves, and yet, God never lets us know when it is complete.  If we knew, it would no longer BE complete, for there is nothing that bolsters the ego quiet so much as knowing that it is fully surrendered.    Surrender consist, not in doing great, heroic deeds about which self can brag, but simply in accepting whatever God sends, and not seeking to change it.    Full surrender is full peace.  If we are restless and concerned about things that are formally renounced, we have not genuinely surrendered.  Surrender is the source of true peace. If we are not at peace.  It is because our surrender is not complete.

 

This whole week with Oswald Chambers has really spoken to me about rest.

 

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

 

 

His grace will win you over

I thought this was really good so I wanted to share it.  It is from Joseph Prince.

Meditate On

For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Romans 6:14

 

His Grace Will Win You Over

I love the story of the woman caught in adultery for the way our Lord loved her. While others wanted her dead, Jesus didn’t. He defended her and gave her the gift of no condemnation so that she would have the power to “go and sin no more”.

He looked tenderly into her eyes and asked her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (John 8:10–11).

You see, the power to stop sin from destroying your life comes from receiving the gift of no condemnation from Jesus. This is the Lord’s grace, my friend. This is His unmerited favor! The legalist will say that God will not condemn you only if you stop sinning. However, Grace says, “I have taken your condemnation on the cross. Now, you can go and sin no more.”

God’s Word says that “sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace [unmerited favor].” So if you are still struggling with sin, it is time to stop depending on your self-efforts. Fall upon Jesus’ unmerited favor like this woman did. When you know that Christ has made you righteous apart from your works, and that He does not condemn you but loves you unconditionally, that will give you the ability to overcome every sinful temptation, habit and addiction in your life!

Have you Judged God lately?

 I have often thought this when something goes awry on a job.  Sometimes we think this when we are close to someone who has gone to be with the Lord.  I have often thought this in my own struggles.

Job 40:8
Will you also annul (set aside and render void) my judgment? Will you condemn Me [your God], that you may [appear] righteous and justified?  AMP

Job 40:8
“Do you presume to tell me what I’m doing wrong? Are you calling me a sinner so you can be a saint?   The Message

Do you create a concept of God that justifies your life experiences.  What I mean is so many times we recreate God in our own image instead of seeing Him the way scripture says who He is.  We want God to see the experiences in our lives the way we want him to see them. 

Quote:  When we begin to ask “why” in regard to God, we enter into judgment about Him.  God has told us all we need to know about Him in His word.  He sent Jesus, who modeled all that He is.  We should be able to look at the life of Jesus and understand God.  But we don’t – we look to our experiences and ask” Why did this happen to me?”  “why did God let that happen”

So here is the big question, are you judging God and asking him to bless your life in the same sentence?  The rest of the passage below. 
Job 40:9-14
Do you have an arm like my arm? Can you shout in thunder the way I can? Go ahead, show your stuff. Let’s see what you’re made of, what you can do. Unleash your outrage. Target the arrogant and lay them flat. Target the arrogant and bring them to their knees. Stop the wicked in their tracks—make mincemeat of them! Dig a mass grave and dump them in it— faceless corpses in an unmarked grave. I’ll gladly step aside and hand things over to you— you can surely save yourself with no help from me! The Message

Have a blessed day!