ddykema5@gmail.com

Jul

2021

Be Still

I went hiking in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) of Michigan with my middle daughter. She asked me a while ago if I wanted to go hiking and camping in the U.P. I told her I would be willing to camp 1 night in a tent. I know for you campers that is not a big deal, but for me that was a big deal. (My hips told me for about 5 days after how big of a deal it was.) So we left the house on Friday morning at 4:30 a.m. We arrived to our destination and began our hike by 11:00 a.m. We hiked the Lakeshore North Country trail for about 15 miles and ended at a campsite in Grand Marais. The view was breathtaking. The companionship was wonderful. The memories we made were priceless. The endurance I had amazed me. We brought our dehydrated meals in pouches and my daughter brought a little pot with a little propane heater to heat the water. I was so spoiled, I even had a cup of tea as we watched the sun set over Lake Superior.

It was an amazing trip. It was a much needed trip. I wouldn’t say that 30 miles of hiking in 2 days and sleeping on the ground in a tent with the movie “Back to the Future” blaring until midnight a vacation, but getting away from life for 2 days to gaze in fullness at God’s creation was something that my soul needed.

I found my worship in church so much richer.

I found my perspective a bit deeper.

I found my desire “to be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

Jesus knew how to be Mary and Martha both. He knew how to sit and worship His Father, disciple His disciples, and heal the many who followed Him. He had the perfect balance of worship and work, and His work always pointed to His Father.

I long for this balance.

As I was hiking, I was often meditating on Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God.” Why do I need to be so busy? So often, I get my identity from all that I do. I am a nurse. I am a real estate agent. I am a counselor. I am a puppy raiser…

Is it enough to say “I am a Child of God?” I try to get my value and my worth from the titles I wear. God in His graciousness has allowed me to be part of His story, but am I always taking the pen? Am I trying to write in my version of the story by getting my value and worth from these titles rather than from my Savior who shed His blood for me?

The most important roles in my life are wife and mother. I never want to be so busy with all the other things I do that the ones I love best miss out on my best.

So what did I learn while hiking 30 miles and sleeping on the hard ground and taking countless pictures and marveling over and over at the beauty that surrounded me? I learned that life is short, and I need to live it to the fullest doing the things that are most meaningful and always taking time for the people in my life. The question is how will I live that out?

How do I make a living and still have time to be still? What do I say no to and what do I say yes to? I feel like it is harder now than it was when the girls were smaller. I long to be a Mary and a Martha. I long to walk as Jesus walked and not get hung up proving who I am.

Apr

2021

The Meditations of My Heart

I love spring. Everything starts to get green, and the yellows, reds, and whites of the flowers and trees begin to give off their radiant beauty. The drab brown of winter is replaced by the spectacular colors of spring. I have some beautiful tulips that have added some beauty to one of my flower beds that I don’t remember coming up in previous years. I love the surprises of bulbs.

From my kitchen, I can see the flower bed that is the most work of all my flower beds, but it also has the most beauty. It always needs to be weeded or flowers dead headed. I spent an afternoon weeding it and sprucing it up. It still needs a bit more work, but it looks so much better now. Getting rid of the weeds and the dead leaves from last year brings out the beauty and the fresh colors of spring. As I write this, I am looking out my window and enjoying the beauty of this flower bed and am thankful I put the work into cleaning it up. My back was sore after I finished, but the pain is worth the enjoyment.

Psalms 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

The meditations of my heart are like my flower bed. As I meditate on the sweet things of Scripture there is beauty that comes from my mouth and my life. When I meditate on the things that are opposite of what Philippians 4:8 says we are to think on, the weeds and dead leaves are what comes from my mouth and life.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Phil. 4:8).

Have you found yourself thinking and meditating on things that are opposite of this list in Phil 4:8? Thinking about lies, dishonorable, impure/dirty, shameful, humiliating, and decrepit things. These are the weeds and the dead leaves that clutter our hearts and our minds.

Most of us don’t consider that our thoughts contribute to our health, our viewpoint on things, the words that come from our mouths, our sleep, and the actions that we perform.

The meditations in our hearts impact our lives.

So we must be intentional about the meditations of our hearts. Many times we are not aware of the things we think. They are fleeting thoughts that come and go without us even realizing it. Yet, when we begin to be intentional with our thoughts, the beauty of intentional meditation and prayer changes our lives.

The beauty of the tulips did not happen overnight. The bulbs were planted years ago with forethought. Now that all the dead leaves and weeds are gone they are better able to give off their vibrant beauty. It is with intention that the bulbs were planted and it was with intention that I cleared the bed of all the ugly debris.

So we must be intentional that the meditations of our hearts are “acceptable in your sight, O Lord.” (Psa. 19:14). He wants to help us with this as well so the Psalmist draws our attention to this fact by using two more names for our Lord. “Our Rock and our Redeemer.”

Jesus saved us and rescued us from our sin. He wants to continue to rescue us from the sin that so quickly comes to our thoughts. The sins we so quickly seek to meditate on.

Be intentional on what you meditate on. There is no better thing to “chew on” and dwell on that God’s Word. Pray it back to Him. Have a conversation throughout your day with God about His word. Don’t let you morning devotion time be lost memory throughout your day, rather let it be a lasting and impactful memory throughout your day.

Psalms 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

Apr

2021

What is your aroma?

Only a few more weeks and our youngest daughter will be home from college. I love having the girls home and being able to see them every day and here about their days and make memories with them. Every time, after this daughter leaves to go back to school, I have a hard time going into her room. Not only does her room remind me of her, but the smell of her perfume always lingers in the air. When the smell of her perfume permeates my senses, I am reminded of her in an even stronger way. Sometimes, I think the smell causes me to tear up more than the sight of her room. Our senses are a strange thing.

This is a positive association I have with smell.

On the flip side, I had a different experience a few weeks ago. All day long as I went through my day, I kept smelling this smell. It smelled like fish. It didn’t seem to matter where I went or what I did, I could smell this fishy smell. I started smelling my shirt, my hair, my skin. You name it, I was smelling it. I may have even smelled my feet. Even though I could smell this fish smell, I could not figure out where it was coming from. As the day was drawing to a close, I smelled the pocket of my pants. That was where the terrible fish smell was coming from. I had accidentally washed one of my fish oil pills and it had spread its wonderful smell to the pocket of my pants.

This was obviously a very negative smell association.

As I went through my day smelling fish oil, I began to think about my life. What kind of smell/aroma was I giving off with my actions, attitudes, or words? How was I spending my time, talents, or treasure? Did these things show forth Christ or did they show forth my own selfish desires and ambitions? Am I worshipping my Savior and Lord with my life or am I worshipping the idols of my heart?

I was reminded of Ephesians 5:1, 2. “Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

In order to give off the sweet smell like my daughter’s perfume rather than the smell of fish oil, I need to be an imitator of God. An imitator of God, walks in love. Not only does an imitator of God walk in love but they willingly sacrifice for others. Jesus not only sacrificed His life on the cross for me, He also sacrificed His life on the cross for the thieves hanging next to Him, the Roman soldiers who crucified Him, and all the onlookers standing there that day.

Does every word, action, or attitude bring glory and honor to my Father in heaven or bring honor and glory to myself? Does the person who leaves my presence feel encouraged and challenged to look to God in heaven or discouraged?

Pastor Townsend used to remind us that we are either joy givers or joy suckers. Do you ever think that many of the decisions you make in life could be put into these two categories? Every decision that we make is reflection on who we are as a person and if we are believers, it is a reflection on our Savior.

Are you a joy giver or a joy sucker?

Let’s look at small decisions of how we spend our time, talents, and treasure. When you make a decision about going somewhere are you early, on time, or late? If someone has to wait for you because you are late, whose time is more important to you? What aroma are you giving off?

Has God given you talents and abilities that you are not using for His honor and glory? What aroma are you giving off?

The treasure that God has so generously given you, do spend your money with the thought of being a good steward with what God has given you? Or do you spend your money with your own selfish desires in mind?

Every decision we make, every word we speak, every action we do speaks of what is in our hearts. The way we spend our time, talents, and treasure gives off an aroma of being either an imitator of God or seeking after our own pleasures. Every decision we make.

Are you a sweet smelling perfume that brings smiles and sweet memories to those you leave behind or are you the stink of fish oil? I think I washed those pants about 5 different times using all sorts of different products to get rid of the smell. The fish oil did not bring about smiles and sweet memories, but rather was a lot of work to get rid of.

Ephesians 5:1, 2. “Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Mar

2021

Grumbling and Mumbling

I have come to the conclusion that I am a grumbler. In other words, I am not a thankful person. I also am always finding something to complain about.

I am cold.

I am tired.

I am hungry. (I say this a lot)

I am not happy about my job.

That costs so much money.

There is too much to do.

Can you relate to any of these things? My poor husband must cringe every time I open my mouth. What is she going to complain and whine about now?

I am reading through the book of Numbers right now, and God smacked me right in the middle of the forehead with Number 21:5.

“For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.”

So the Israelites were wandering around in the dessert because they did not trust God to take care of them when they went into the Promised Land, and “they grumbled against the Lord.” (Numbers 14:1). After the report of the spies, 10 spies had a bad report and 2 spies had a “I trust in God report,” The Israelites grumbled against the Lord and God said that’s fine you grumble against Me, you can wander in the wilderness for 40 years.

Apparently, they didn’t get the message.

God supplied for them manna and quail every day, and what did they say about the provisions of God?

“There is no food and not water, and we loathe this worthless food.” (Numbers 21:5)

The food that they have, that has been sustaining them, is not what they want; so they consider it that they have no food. The food that God has been miraculously supplying them they call “worthless.”

How worthless is something that keeps you alive?

As I have read through the book of Numbers, the Israelites are characterized as being grumblers. It seems that with each event that happens in their lives they grumble about it.

As I considered this scenario, I thought about Daniel.

“He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before God” (Daniel 6:10)

Isn’t that quite the contrast to the Israelites who are ungrateful for the life sustaining food that God provides for them? How self-centered they were because they did not have the Egyptian food that they had had as captives. Not only that, but God had told them that the Promised Land was a land flowing with milk and honey. Yet, when they referred to Egypt they said, “You have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness.” (Numbers 16:13).

Not too many days earlier “the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery.” (Ex. 2:23).

They want freedom on their own terms. They don’t want to follow God and the path that He has for them. They don’t want to be thankful for what they have. They just want to whine, grumble, complain, and be ungrateful for what God has done for them.

So let me ask you, do you grumble and complain about what God has given to you? I do. I am no different than those Israelites. I started praying as I went through my house for the many wonderful things that God has given to me.

What on earth do I have to grumble about?

Jesus paid my sin debt that I could never pay. He gave me His righteousness that I could never earn (justification). He loves me with a love that I can never repay.

Tell me what I have to grumble about? Tell me what you have to grumble about?

Let us as Christians make a pact together to be viewed by those who don’t know our Savior as the most thankful of all people. Let no word of grumbling come out of your mouth, but only that of praise and thanksgiving. Wouldn’t that change our world?

Mar

2021

Journey with the Lord as my Shepherd

I love to travel. I love going to different places and staying at hotels and eating at different restaurants and meeting different people. I love to be at airports and see all the different people hustling to get to their next destination. I love an adventure. I love a journey.

I know that I probably like these things because I don’t have to travel for work, and if I did than I wouldn’t want to travel anymore. I love to be at home too.

I love the journey, not just the destination. What about you? Do you enjoy the journey or do you just want to get to the destination?

I have been on a journey this week, but not a physical journey. I have been on a spiritual journey, and it has been so amazing for my walk with the Lord. I just wanted to share with whoever wants to read this.

In Sunday school, we began a study on prayer. Prayer has been something I have been trying to focus on in my walk with the Lord. I am actually reading a book right now called Draw the Circle. It is about praying circles around the things you are praying for. It is taken from the idea of the Israelites walking around the wall of Jericho for seven days before God brought the walls down. Imagine the Israelites walking around a wall with their enemies towering above them. That would produce some major fear in anyone’s heart, but the Israelites followed God’s direction and did just as He commanded. Imagine how much prayer was going in the hearts and minds of these people as they walked.

Our Sunday school teacher challenged us to pray through Psalm 23 throughout the week. I was so excited to follow his direction. I have Psalm 23 memorized so it was easy for me to review and pray through this Psalm when I was driving or folding laundry or making dinner. But I also spent time on my knees with my Bible open to Psalm 23.

The things I began to see in this passage that I have missed in the past, and the beauty of using Psalm 23 as a guide to my prayers was transformational. This journey I have been on this past week has transformed my prayers.

As I considered each of the verses and used them to guide my prayers, I realized how I was praying God’s will for my life and for those that I was praying for. Don’t you sometimes wonder when you are praying if you are praying God’s will? I do. When I pray God’s word, though, I am praying His will back to him.

Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”

So often when I have thought about this verse, I thought about “wanting” as my “needs.” I have needs and since God is my Shepherd He will provide for my needs. How many times have you prayed for God to supply your needs, but what you thought was a need was not a need but a desire for things to go the way you wanted them to go?

I have written in the past about idols of our hearts. An idol of our heart is anything that we want that we do not have, and many times we are willing to sin to get that want satisfied.

If I am looking to the Lord to be my Shepherd, if I am worshipping Him for who He is, I won’t be wanting. If the Lord as my Shepherd is sufficient enough to meet my needs and I am worshipping Him as the Lord of my life, than I will not be wanting. If I am always looking to God to meet my needs, then I won’t be wanting.

If I am looking to anything other than God to meet my needs, than I will be wanting.

As I have prayed this verse for myself and others, I have realized how selfishly I pray for myself and quite honestly for others.

Psalm 23:3 “…He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

The goal of our lives is to honor God in all we do. All we do needs to be for His name’s sake, not for our name’s sake. If the Lord is truly our Shepherd and we allow Him to lead us in paths of righteousness, not only will we not want we will also be living our lives for His name’s sake, not ours.

We will be living life for His glory. This may seem like we won’t get our needs met, but the contrary is true. I have found that the more I seek after my Shepherd and trust in His plan, not only will my needs be met but I will have an abundance that will be overflowing into the lives of others.

I want to challenge to get on your knees and open your Bible to Psalm 23 and begin to pray it through for yourself and all those on your prayer list. Then watch what God will do. You never know where this journey will take you.

Mar

2021

Who are you Following?

Following. Watching. Being prepared.

I am now reading through the book of Numbers for my daily devotions. This morning I read, “Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time that the cloud continued over the tabernacle abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD they set out. They kept the change of the LORD at the command of the LORD by Moses.” (Numbers 9:22, 23)

You are probably familiar with this passage and knew that this was how the Israelites knew that it was time to pack up camp and move to their next destination.

Let me ask you to ponder with me what they needed to do?

Always be watching. They had to always be watching for the cloud to see if it started to move. When the cloud began to move, there must have been an uproar in the camp as everyone began to spread the word, “The cloud is moving. The Lord is moving.”
Always be prepared. There was no need to hang the pictures on the tent walls. No need to unpack the boxes. They might move in 2 days or a month. Hanging the pictures on the walls is always the last thing we have done when we have moved. It always has that feeling of being settled. There is some excitement in moving, but it is also nice to be settled. The Israelites were nomads for 40 years. The excitement had to have worn off and the unsettled feeling lingered for a long time. Imagine when they finally arrived in Israel. Hanging that first picture must have seemed unreal.
They were always following God’s presence in the cloud. Whether a cloud of fire by night or a cloud by day. Imagine the thrill of knowing that God’s presence was watching over you as you slept and was leading you as you went. God was in a visible form for the Israelites to follow.

As I was reading this passage I thought about how applicable to our life it is. These 3 things the Israelites had to do are also the 3 things we need to do.

Always be watching. God is always at work. “He never sleeps or slumbers.” (Psa. 121:3, 4). Too often we think that God isn’t doing anything. We don’t see Him working or moving or doing great miracles in front of us like sending manna or quail or moving as a cloud of fire in the night. God moves in different ways, and uses different means today. He also wants to use us to perform amazing things if we are willing to do it for His honor and glory, but we need to always be watching. One of my favorite books is called The Noticer by Andy Andrews. The character does not rush through life but notices things about people and then lets them know what he notices. These things help to change their lives. God wants us to be noticers. He wants us to be watching. He is always working, but are we watching how we can be working alongside of Him or are we not paying attention and working against Him. There are so many people in the world that need a Savior. There are so many people in the world that need a word of encouragement. I for one get so wrapped up on my own agenda and my own “duties” that I forget to be a noticer. I forget to watch and see where God is working so I can work alongside of Him, so I can be His hands and feet. (Mt. 28:19, 20).

Are you watching?

Always be prepared. This doesn’t mean to always have your suitcase packed and all your earthly belongings in a box and ready to go. In order to be prepared we must be daily spending time with God. Spending time reading our Bibles. Spending time in prayer. Not just in the morning after we get done with our Bible reading. Not just before we eat our meals. No, all the time. We are talking about prayer in our Sunday school class. The teacher challenged us to pray through Psalm 23. I have been doing this throughout my day. It then occurred to me to pray Psalm 23 for those on my prayer list throughout my day. How is this preparing me? It is keeping my focus on God. When my focus is on God, it is not on me. When my focus is not on myself, I can better help others. See how all this ties together. Being prepared is daily meeting with the Creator of the Universe and the Savior of the World and with eager anticipation being ready for whatever comes up in my day to notice about others. Another thing that I have added to my walk with the Lord is Scripture memory. This is another way that I can be preparing.

Are you daily preparing?

This is the most important part of the whole equation. Who or what are you following? The Israelites had a cloud that they followed. It was a visible representation of the Lord. They could see it. Do we struggle with following the Lord because we cannot see Him? So we find it easier to follow something we can see, or we follow what our hearts want and desire. This most often is what we end up following: our own selfish desires, or as I have talked about in previous blogs, the idols of our heart. The problem with following the idols of our hearts is that they never satisfy. We are always looking for more. As Jeremiah says the idols of our hearts are “broken cisterns that hold no water.” (Jer. 2:13). So before you think about watching and being prepared, you must first consider who you are following. If we make the decision to follow the Lord, we will be following and be satisfied by “the fountain of Living Water.” (Jer. 2:13)

Who or what are you following?

Mar

2021

The Truth of God for a Lie

I am sure you have heard someone say, “This is my truth.” Our culture has become a company of people who think that their truth is the right truth and the only truth. What does the word truth actually mean? Facts. The opposite of truth is a lie.

We can look at truth in a very simple way. The opposite of truth is a lie. So if someone steals a candy bar, what is the truth? They stole the candy bar. What is “their truth?” They didn’t steal the candy bar but rather they were hungry and had to have something to eat and the candy bar was right there so they took it and ate it without paying for it. The truth is the stolen candy bar. The lie is they didn’t steal the candy bar, they satisfied their hunger.

Bethany Christian Services came out and said that they would allow LGBTQ people to adopt children.

I have had two thoughts about this and these thoughts have been about so much that is happening in our culture today.

“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator…” (Romans 1:25).

The truth of God can be found in the Bible. This is the only truth that does not change based on our whims and passing fancies. God is faithful and His truth is unchangeable.

Why is living our lives based on truth rather than on changing truth (lies) so important?

IT IS STABLE!

As I consider these children that grow up in homes that have 2 mommies or 2 daddies or a mom and a dad that are one day a mom and another day a dad, I felt such strong compassion for these children that are going to grow up in a home that is fraught with confusion.

Kids need and want stability.

I remember when our girls were young and I would be gone and their dad would be taking care of them. If he gave them the wrong sippy cup, their world fell apart. That was just a sippy cup.

God created the world and designed it to have a man and a women get married and have children. That was God’s design. So when we as creatures change the design there will be only confusion on the part of these children.

What happens when the truth is exchanged? Confusion.

My second thought that we as believers need to remember is that we are in a battle. I forget this most days. Most days I want life to be easy and I don’t want to be in a battle. Am I not worshipping my idol of comfort and ease of life? (See my last blog post)

“Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. …Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth…” (Eph. 6:12-14).

The families that came to this country wanted to be able to teach their children the truth of God’s Word. As we trace through our country’s history we see that so often God’s truth has been mixed with man’s truth. When we do this we are “…serving the creature not the Creator…” (Rom. 1:25).

So what must we do? Stand up for God’s truth.

Bethany Christian Services is trying to mix God’s truth – “Care for the orphans” (James 1:27) with man’s truth – a family is any 2 people who profess love for each other.

When we mix truths there is confusion.

We are in a battle, and we must with kindness and gentleness fight for the truth, God’s truth.

Feb

2021

Idols of the Heart

Throughout the Old Testament, we see God commanding the people of Israel to “have no other gods before Him.” (Exodus 20:3). Yet, throughout the Old Testament we see the Israelites time and time again worshipping idols. I am currently reading through the book of Exodus and just read the account of the Golden Calf in Exodus 34. I look at these people and I think, “How quickly you have forgotten what God has done for you.” How could they forget the 10 plagues, crossing the Red Sea on dry ground, watching the Egyptian army that was coming after them be swallowed up by that Red Sea, manna, quail, water from a rock, etc.? As we come to Exodus 34, we see that they did. They forgot. All the miracles that God had done for them, quickly left their memories and they made a golden calf to worship instead.

We often think that the Old Testament stories are from a different era, a different time period, a different culture and have no relevance to today, but that is so far from the truth. These stories are very relevant to today. We may not worship a Golden Calf or make idols of Baal or other gods, but we can still be guilty of idolatry.

Often times, we think of current idols as “things.” Things like a car, a boat, a house, a cottage on the lake, our phones, or some other inanimate object. Yet, if we dig deeper into these things, we will find that there is something else at the base of our desire for these things.

Last week, I wrote about “Think about what you are thinking about” and asked you to trace back the emotions you are having to your thoughts and then to trace those emotions back to what you are wanting.

I have written about our emotions and thoughts in a blog last year as well. Please follow this link to read more.

When we follow the trail, we will see what our idols are. Start with your emotions. Then ask yourself, “What is it that you are thinking?” This leads to our wants. Once we dig into what we want, it will lead us to our present day idols.

Emotions – Thinking – Wanting – Idols

No one really wants to go through this process. Who wants to be told that they have idols of the heart that they are worshipping? No one does, but do you ever feel like you are empty? Maybe you feel like you are in search of things that always seem out of your grasp. Striving for that sense of satisfaction or happiness that you never can attain. That is because you are seeking after an idol.

Here is a list of present day idols of the heart that many of us seek and search after:

Security
Affection/love
Attention
Satisfaction
Comfort/refuge/ease of life
Joy/happiness
Approval

Thinking back to what I wrote about last week – you don’t receive the recognition for an accomplishment that is truly yours to receive. What idol could we be seeking? Approval or Satisfaction

What about when your friends treat you poorly? Approval or Attention

What about when you have a “discussion” with someone and they don’t seem to care about your point of view? Love, approval.

What about when things seem too hard? Comfort, ease of life.

What about when a relationship seems too hard and yet you know that you have a responsibility to help that person see Christ? Comfort/ ease of life

God wants us to have no other gods before Him, because He knows that we will never find joy and happiness when we are worshipping these other idols.

God does not need us to worship Him. We need to worship Him.

God knows that the more we seek after the idols of our hearts, the emptier we will be. The more we seek after God and seek to worship Him and Him alone, the more joyful and fulfilled we will be.

Evaluate your emotions. What are they telling you? What are you thinking? What are you wanting? What idols of the heart are you worshipping?

“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:1-4)

(There is a great book and sermon series by Brad Bigney on this topic of Idols of the Heart called Gospel Treason. This link is to the first sermon in his series on this topic.)

Feb

2021

Think about what you think about

Last week, I wrote about Scripture memorization and the transformation that it has had in my life. The transformation that has taken place is not that I can better remember where I laid my glasses, rather it has made an alteration in my thinking.

Do you ever stop to think about you’re are thinking about?

What do you think about? Have you ever taken stock in even those fleeting thoughts that are hardly even perceptible, and yet they are? I know it seems like a strange question to wonder if you have thought about what you think about, but our thoughts impact every aspect of our lives whether we realize it or not.

Let’s consider a few things that we all at some point or other have thought. “That’s not fair.” I know we have all thought this one. Someone else gets recognition and you worked just as hard. It may have even been your hard work that this person received accolades for and there was no acknowledgement of you. What about the friends that are disrespectful to you and say things that are not true, and your actions toward them have been nothing but kind and honorable. Have we thought, “That’s not fair?” Or even “what did I do to deserve this?”

I am sure many of us have thought, “This is so hard. I can’t do this.” Whatever the obstacle is in front of us, it appears to be too difficult. It takes too much effort. Whether it is the challenging friendship, the difficult child (or puppy right now in my caseJ), a difficult spouse, or a grueling job. The list could go on, but there are many things in life that feel so overwhelming and we think, “I can’t do this.”

As we allow ourselves to think these thoughts repeatedly, they begin to impact our emotions. Our emotions begin to be a byproduct of our thoughts. Again, this is not something that we are even aware of.

What are we feeling when we experience the “That’s not fair” thought? If someone else receives recognition that we should receive, we might experience anger. What is at the root of that anger? We wanted the recognition, but what is at the root of us wanting the recognition? We feel like we deserve it. Rather than being happy for the other person that received the recognition, we want our fair share.

What about when you are in a “discussion” with someone and you begin to feel angry because they do not see your point of view on things. What is it you are thinking: “I just want them to understand what I am saying. I want them to see my point of view. I want them to agree with me. I just want to be heard.” When the other person does not see things our way, we get angry. Did you ever stop to think about what they are trying to say? See their point of view? Actually listen to them and seek to understand with more clarity? That anger you are experiencing is rooted in you wanting your way.

When things are harder than you thought they should be and these circumstances that you are confronted with seem too hard, what are you thinking? “I can’t do this. Why are things not going the way I thought they should be?” These thoughts can lead to feelings of anxiety or depression.

So what are you thinking? What do you need to do? When you experience an emotion, you need to evaluate it. What are you thinking? What are you wanting?

Take some time to evaluate what you are thinking and what you are wanting. Begin to evaluate these emotions, and trace them back to your thoughts.

“As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Prov. 23:7).

Feb

2021

Yes, you can Memorize Scripture

A few years ago, I wanted to improve my prayer life. I decided to work at memorizing Scripture that would be good Scripture to incorporate into my prayers. What better thing to pray than God’s Word. So I set out to memorize Scripture. I began in November 2018. I have been memorizing chapters or parts of chapters rather than a verse here and a verse there. Memorizing at my age has become more of a challenge than it used to be, but I decided I wasn’t going to let that get in the way of me memorizing God’s Word.

I am in the process of memorizing the book of James now. I am hoping to be done with it by the end of 2021. Part of my struggle is that I may have it memorized, but if I do not continue to review what I have memorized I easily forget it. So I have taken to reviewing the passages that I have already memorized so they do not escape. Now if I memorized a verse as a child, I can easily recall that. However, these chapters that I have memorized are not that engrained in my brain. When I am driving, I review a passage. When I am outside for a walk or riding my bike, I review what I have already memorized. I have to admit that I am glad that I made this decision to memorize Scripture 2 years ago. The benefits and the effects it has had on my life has been amazing.

“I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.” (Psalm 77:12). I read this verse this morning and realize that this is what I have been doing. As I review God’s Word that I have memorized, it gives me the opportunity to ponder and meditate on God’s work and mighty deeds. As I lay down at night to go to sleep, I think of the things that I have to be thankful for praise God for these. When I wake up in the night to go to the bathroom, and take a few minutes to go back to sleep I begin reviewing my verses.

Without realizing it, I have transformed my thinking. What started out as a way to improve my prayer life, has transformed what I think about.

As Paul told the Romans in Romans 12:2 “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” What are you filling your mind with? What thoughts are you dwelling on? What flits through your mind without you even realizing it? Just as an athlete must make a concerted effort in the training they do, so we must make a concerted effort in renewing our mind.

Memorizing Scripture has become something that I talk to anyone that will listen to me about. It has become a passion of mine.

“I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.” (Psalm 77:12).

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Be Still

The Meditations of My Heart

Psalms 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

The meditations in our hearts impact our lives.