Blamelessness Brings Power

Today’s message comes from Psalm 101. It’s an awesome reminder of God’s love for us, and of His standard and boundaries for us.

The very first and second verses are our focus. ” I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will make music. I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh when will you come to me? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house;” Singing of God’s steadfast love and justice keeps our spirit stirred up, and our faith strong. Pondering the way that is blameless means that we do not impute, or assume wickedness or ill intent to anyone or anything, until we’ve checked things out thoroughly. When we impute wickedness or ill intent, we automatically create a negative environment. Blamelessness, or neutrality, not forming a negative opinion about the person or the situation, brings us the power to diffuse the devil’s “darts,” and to learn (truth) from the person or situation. It also brings us the power and the opportunity to minister to that person (s) in that situation, empowering them, and bringing victory over the situation.

An example would be that spilled drink. Imputing ill intent would have us saying something negative like, “You’re so clumsy!” That’s a judgment and an accusation of carelessness. “What happened?” (seeking truth) “You spilled your drink.” (truth) Truth can empower responsibility. “Let’s get it cleaned up.” (empowerment) Victory! If you haven’t found out how it happened, especially when we’re dealing with a child, now would be the time to help him/her figure that out. (Put the cup too close to the edge of the table, not paying enough attention and forgot the cup was there, etc.) This empowers them with the knowledge that there is a way to avoid that happening, and helps them to be more mindful, which brings more confidence.

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It Is I

Today’s message comes from Psalm 75. It is a song written by Asaph, extolling God’s power, and warning the wicked not to exalt themselves against God. Verse 3 caught my attention. “When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars.” (ESV)

When I read this, and thought about my life-fresh out of my parent’s house as a single woman, and later as a wife and mother. When we live under generational curses, we’re not always aware that we are reacting in the present, to what we’ve experienced in the past. That statement in verse three means a couple of things to me.

First, it makes me think about running helter skelter, here and there, to and fro, trying to keep all the little balls I was juggling from hitting the ground. You know, you become a “god” or “goddess.” You’ve got it all “together” and those wounds…WHAT?! What wounds? Yeah, those ones, my dear. We don’t think they show, but they do. If we’re lucky and smart enough to turn to God (The Real GOD), He’ll help us see them too. Secondly, I think of the responsibility of keeping our little family “earth” from tottering, spinning out of control, and coming apart. This, when you’re living under generational curses, doesn’t work well. You can find yourself living co-dependently; and you’re passing on all the things you learned wrong.

The flip-side of all of that is that you can unlearn those things, and learn new things; the right things. You can heal the wounds, so you no longer have to cover them up. You can establish new standards and new boundaries for yourself, and for your children. Hopefully, your children will have better things to pass on to their children, as a result. After all, when it comes to the choice to change things and make them better, who makes the choice? It is I.

Romans 2:1-6 was referenced with this psalm. It’s a great checklist to look at when we’re coming out from under those generational curses. It’s also a great reminder of where you may have been, and a help to keep one humble and compassionate.

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Maybe He’s Doin’ You A Favor

Today’s message comes to us from Psalms and Proverbs 30. Psalm 30 is King David singing to the LORD. The whole thing is beautiful! (Psalm 30:6-7)”As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.”
By your favor, O LORD, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed.” (ESV) This one really caught my attention. I’ve had three or four of those mountains in my life. There’s a twofold revelation here. First, we can get so caught up in our success(es) that we forget who got us there. “King/Queen of the hill, I am.” You’re already in trouble the minute you think it. I know; you think God would say, “Oh, yeah?” He doesn’t. God says, “Oh, no!” He knows what you’re in for. The devil loves to knock you down. That’s where the second revelation comes in. “By your favor,” O LORD, you made my mountain stand strong.” Oh, oh; what happened to my mountain? My high place just turned into a desert wilderness! It’s a mountain of sand! And here comes the storm! “God, why did you let that happen? God, can you hear me down here?! GOD, ARE YOU LISTENING?!! GOD, HELP ME!” “Yes, my child, I am listening. Now you’ve got it right.” (Matthew 5:1-14) (ESV)

Proverbs 30:1-9 reinforce Psalm 30. It’s almost like a small recap of Job. “I’ve learned my lesson, and I’ll just shut up and praise you now, LORD/Lord.” LOL Proverbs 30:7-9 go on with a short request by Agur, of the LORD. Then the rest of the proverb gives us some observations Agur has made. He ends with a bit of wise advice.

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Put Some Meat On Your Bones

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that spiritual strength and power comes to us through doing God’s Will. We are bid to make it our daily goal. It’s one of the reasons I do this blog. I have seen major changes in the way I deal with just daily living, just by doing this blog. My knowledge of, and relationship with the Lord have grown. Some of the things I’ve come away from and come away with surprise me-pleasantly, of course.

I hear people talk about wanting to “know God’s Will for them.” The best way to do that is to pray and ask Him what it is. Then, pay attention; because the Holy Spirit always leads, guides, and prompts us. Another thing that can be helpful is to look at the things that you’re passionate about, the things that you love to do, and the things that really interest you. God puts those things in us; and He does that for a reason. Something that helped me early on was to read about God’s heart for us, and to read what Jesus had to say about His purpose for being here on Earth. He also gave us the order to preach the Gospel, and said, “it’s enough for a servant to be like his Master.” He came to destroy the works of the devil, and to help us to have life more abundantly-real life. Something to remember is that ministry is so much more than those big revivals and miracle crusades, etc. Ministry can be something as simple as taking someone a meal, giving someone a ride, speaking an encouraging word to someone. When we put it in proper perspective, ministry the way God sees it, is living a life of love and caring for one another.

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He Loves You More

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that God loves us, and longs for our love and companionship, as much as we do (or should) His.

I began to see God’s way of reaching out to me in the little birds I love so much. I’ve shared some of the funny things that have happened-and I just know He was behind them. Then, there are those quiet interludes of peace. He makes His presence known in so many ways, if we just pay attention-look, listen, and live with our hearts. I believe the best way to cultivate that intimacy with our LORD/Lord is to make time to seek Him; time to be alone with Him.

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