Alone Time

"Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done. The things You planned for us, no one can recount to You; were I to speak and tell of them they would be too many to declare."

- Psalm 40:4,5

It is essential that we get away from our busy lives and spend some time alone with God recounting all that He has done for us, or rather those things which we can recall. It helps us to realize that He is at work, has always been at work, will continue to be at work in our lives. When we remember all that He has done, we can leave room in our hearts for what is yet to come. God has so many things planned for us, and they are all wonderful.

Freedom

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. - Galatians 5:1

This verse has been coming to mind quite often of late. Again, I've been struggling with thoughts and emotions regarding choices that I have made which I feel are not the 'right' or 'best' choices. Choices which I continue to make even while struggling with guilt and shame.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free!
When we allow thoughts of guilt and shame to rule us, we become entrapped by them and are unable to look to God. These thoughts keep us inexorably tied to our sin. When we refuse to turn to and accept God's grace and forgiveness, we are not free, and we are not living as Christ meant us to.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free!
This means that we need not be governed by any human standard, not even our own self-imposed ones.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free!
We have already been set free, yet so often we live as though we have not because we are still tethered to the sin we have already confessed, refusing to let go of it to receive the forgiveness that has already been granted to us.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then!
Take a stand in Christ. Do not allow past sins, present sins, or future sins to strip you of the freedom you have in Christ. Confess your sin, repent of it, and then take God at His immutable word, that, "...as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:12) and that, when we confess our sin, He is, "...faithful and just to forgive us our sin and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1John 1:9).

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery!
No matter the yoke, man-made, self-made, societal...do not take it on! Do not try to live up to some personal or worldly standard God has not called you to. Take Him at His unchangeable word. He does not lie to or trick us and He sees our heart, knows our thoughts and is intimate with our daily struggles. He does not wish for us to live with extra, self-imposed burdens or to constantly be oppressed by endlessy recounting confessed sin.

He knows everything about each and every one of us and still loves and approves of us.

It is for freedome that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery!

Unexpected Blessings

This morning I set out at 5:30 in the morning to catch the sunrise at the beach, hoping to have an experience like the one I had on Christmas morning. The only problem was that it was cloudy and there was no clear rising of the sun. Even so, I enjoyed the way the sky lightened and the clouds were tinted with the soft light of the sun which could not be seen.

An hour later, rain began to fall in gentle waves. I contemplated leaving, but decided to stick it out as the rain wasn't coming down that hard and the heavier clouds appeared to be moving out of the way. Had I left, I would've missed out on seeing a glorious double rainbow, meeting a new friend, and watching a monk seal playing in the surf.

This morning was not what I was hoping it would be. There was no beautiful sunrise on an umblemished horizon, no golden coloring on the ocean as the sun rose above it, not even the absolute solitude I had in mind when I left the house this morning.

No, it was not what I had expected, it was better than what I was expecting.

God gives us amazing opportunities every day, whether or not we see them as the opportunities they are is up to us. I could have been bummed that my morning had not turned out the way I wanted it to. The thing is, though, that God had something better planned. I am glad that I allowed Him to show me what that was.

The ocean stretches far as the eye

can see - no further, much further

than any human eye can see -

God's voice, a panorama of surround sound -

each wave collapsing

one on another, coming, beckoning new

waves; daring them to lose themselves

along the shore.

Control

I have a tendency to want to be 'in control' of people and events around me. I know that this is an illusion and impossible and that the only one that I can be in control of is myself, yet it does not stop me from feeling like everything is in a whirlwind when I am not the one 'in control'.

God has been working on this fear of mine by showing me that, ultimately, He is the one in control. He controls the entire universe. There are at least fifty scripture references to the word, 'control'. He does not ask me to be 'in control' of others or the events surrounding me, what He does ask, is that I trust that He is 'in control' and that I exercise self-control.

I cannot control what people do to me or what happens in this world, but I can decide to trust in the One who holds the entire universe in His hands, and let Him lead and direct me. The only one I am responsible for controlling, is myself.

I Peter 5:8 (link to scripture by clicking on the title: Control)

Delight Yourself in the Lord

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the LORD

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

As a young girl, I’d often be lost in my own thoughts, admiring God’s beauty through what He had created. Seeing it through eyes of childlike faith, I believed that all that I saw was put there by Him for my benefit and for me to share with Him.

I delighted in pointing out the wonders He had created, as though He gained enjoyment in my enthusiasm over sharing with Him what He had done. I would point out a particularly beautiful flower or how pretty the trickling of the water in the creek sounded or how warm the sun felt on my skin, “God did You see that? Isn’t it wonderful?”

I still enjoy sharing God’s world with Him. In childlike wonder I point to the sunset and ask if He sees it too or take a moment to stop and admire a flower or a uniquely shaped leaf which has caught my eye. Does He take delight in what I take delight in? I believe that He does.

To share God’s multi-faceted world with Him is but a small thing. To stop for a moment and sigh in wonder and breathe out a thanks to Him for putting such a lovely cloud in the sky or to simply admire what He has done is to delight ourselves in the ways of the Lord. Yes, I do believe this makes Him happy.

Poem based on Acts 20:22-21:5

Paul, who faced bodily harm
upon his return to Jerusalem,
steadily, stoically, stubbornly
went.
Warnings came, yet on he went
heedless of those who bore witness
to the pain and suffering that awaited him.
Bound hand and foot, he suffered much
clinging to the jagged rock of faith
and awoke in glory.

Contemplations on John chapter 10

Today, as I started out on my walk, I pondered which direction to take. I stepped out of my back gate and there was this small dog standing there. A lady pulled up and explained that he had tried to enter her gate as well and that he lived down at the corner. I shut my gate and called for the small dog to follow me in the direction the lady had indicated. He followed me obediently, though I was not his owner.

When another stranger walked up, he started to follow the other stranger, no longer heeding my voice. I stopped just outside of what I thought must have been his gate, only to discover that he had decided to stop and visit with another dog. He was only a few houses from his own, so I felt safe in leaving and going on my way, in the direction that I had taken to try to lead the dog back to his home.

Just as a hired hand is not as interested in the sheep, I cared about the dog, but was not interested in having him follow me for too long, only in him getting back to the gate which was his. Additionally, though he initially followed my voice, he got sidetracked and because I was not his owner (shepherd), he was under no obligation to listen to and follow my strange voice. Were I his owner, he would have followed me, even being sidetracked, much as we follow Jesus’ voice because we recognize Him as our shepherd, as the one who cares for us.

Hello

Hi,

This is Kristal, one of the many Hawaiian Ha'ole's out there. Nothing exciting to write about at the moment.