Don't Miss Precious Moments

My run this morning started off strong.  I was feeling good, running strong against the wind, even did a few sprints.  I just knew that I was going to improve my time.  Then, all of a sudden, a little over half way through, I just had this strong urge to stop running and just walk.  At first, I thought it was just my body wanting to quit so I pressed on - praying for the Lord's strength to continue.  But the urge got stronger so disappointed in myself, I stopped running and started walking.  

Then I got the urge to switch my Pandora station from Lecrae radio to Praise and Worship radio - so I did.  That's when I realized that it was the Spirit of God slowing me down because He wanted to minister to my spirit.  His presence just flowed over me.  I almost fell to my knees on the side of the road and wept.  I just continued my slow stroll home enjoying His peace.  

How many times in our busyness and rush have we ignored the Spirit's leading to slow down and spend time with Him? Do we allow the "loudness" of this world to drown out that still small voice and miss precious moments with our Father?

My prayer is that His voice will become louder in my life and the voices of this world will become quieter.

What Is a Godly Mother?

I had a friend ask me today, "What exactly is a Godly Mother"?  She said that she heard that term and it made her feel sad that she hasn't measured up to that lately.  Sound familiar?

A Godly Mother – wow, something I’ve been striving after for years. But, like many women who strive for this goal, I always feel as though I come up short. There’s always room for improvement. The good news, though, is that the bible says “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3). Also, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6).

These two scriptures, in my opinion, are very important to keep in mind when comparing ourselves to what the bible describes as a Godly woman because we will always (should always) see our short-comings and should know that we have not yet attained that goal. We will be learning our whole lives and as we grow in certain areas, the Lord will reveal deeper layers in our life that needs to be dealt with and conformed into the image of God.

Now, a Godly Mother, what does that look like? Very simply, she’s a woman who puts God first in every area of her life. She prays to the Lord for wisdom and guidance about everything. Any decisions that are to be made, need to line up with God’s heart and spirit in the scriptures. A great example is, of course, the Proverbs 31 woman. Please remember, though, this is not something that we can say “Okay, I’m going to be the Proverbs 31 woman” and then, poof, it happens. As we cry out to the Lord to mold us into this woman, He will begin to work in our lives to transform us. Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it (Psalm 127:1). God must do the work in us but we must yield our lives to Him and allow Him to do the work.

A short explanation of why I chose the two scriptures above to start out with: when I think about being poor in spirit, I think about what it means to be poor. Being poor means you are basically without. That to me goes hand in hand with being humble. Think about the Pharisee who prayed to God and said “I thank you that I’m not like other people”, then he lists some sinful people and goes on to list the “good” things that he does. (Luke 18:11). In his eyes, he was “rich” in spirit. Now look at the publican, “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). The publican was poor in spirit. He understood that within man is no good thing (Romans 7:18), that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

When we come to God with this type of heart, then He can work with us, mold us. We are presenting ourselves as soft, moldable clay but when we come with pride then we are dried up, hard, unmoldable clay and God resists us.

So, as we see the example of the Godly mother and then see our present condition, we should not get discouraged but rather take that broken and contrite spirit (Psalm 34:18, 51:17) before the Lord and yield ourselves into His hands to be molded, shaped and transformed. Before you know it, by God's grace you will have things changing in your life and your character and you won’t even realize it.

Prayer Produces Great Encouragement

As I continue my study of "A Call To Prayer" by J.C. Ryle, I continue to get encouraged about praying consistently.  

Last night I read the following exert from chapter 4:

"There is everything on God's part to make prayer easy, if men will only attempt it.  All things are ready on his side.  Every objection is anticipated.  Every difficulty is provided for.  The crooked places are made straight and the rough places are made smooth.  There is no excuse left for the prayerless man."

That brought so much peace, hope and encouragement to my soul.  Truly all things are possible with God.  Every area in my life that seems hopeless, too hard, unattainable, is possible to achieve if I only take it to the Lord in prayer.  

God's desire is for us to not fret or worry (which is sin), but rather to bring everything to Him in prayer with a thankful heart (paraphrased from Phil. 4:6).  Then He will guard our hearts and minds with His peace that passes ALL understanding (Phil 4:7).  

If you're looking for peace, hope and encouragement, prayer is the place to find it.