"Many people saw the miraculous things he (Jesus) was doing and believed in him. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them for he knew all men."
Why do we try to "hide" from God? Don't we understand he knows us in the truest sense of the word. I Samual 16:7 says "Man looks on the outward appearance but God sees into the heart." I never read that without getting chills down my spine - he sees right into my heart, my motives, my thoughts....and he loves me, still.
Come to God with all your truth, the good, bad and ugly! He KNOWS you and because he does, he can cut right through that facad or mask you often wear and get down to business! See this as a good thing and embrace his desire to forgive, guide. lead and direct your footsteps. He created you and has a purpose for your life so ask him what it is and wait expectantly for him to reveal it.
Don't hide from God. He wants you to come into the light and confess those dark places he already knows about so he can heal and restore you.
Still Climbing,
Cher
Monday
What Are You Seeking?
Web friends! Grab your favorite cup of coffee and let's chat for a few. I have something exciting I want to share with you and it begins with a question.
What are you seeking? I mean beyond your second cup of coffee!:-p
In my quiet time, this morning, I was reading in John chapter 1 and this phrase struck me in verse 38...Jesus looked at them (the disciples) and said, "What are you seeking?" One version says, "What do you want?"
I prayed for God to speak to my heart and change my life with the passage I was about to read (as is my custom when I get ready to read my Bible). I consider it an opportunity to have a real encounter with the Lord of the universe so I open his Word with expectation and he always honors my request to know more of him and for the Holy Spirit to grow me in some area of my life. If you aren't already practicing this, I encourage you to try it! I'm convinced you'll be glad you did!
So....what are you seeking? How do you answer that question? Let's begin with the word "seeking." You know I'm a word geek! :-)
Seek:
To try to locate or discover; search for.
To endeavor to obtain or reach
To go to or toward:
In other words, was Jesus asking, "What are you trying to locate or discover in your life? What are you searching for? What is it that you are endeavoring to reach or obtain? What are you going toward?
How do we know the answer to this question? I believe that the key is in this definition. Would the people who see you most often and know you best, family, close friends, co-workers, guess what you are seeking, what you are trying to obtain or reach? Can they see what you "go toward?" It seems logical that the things we are seeking most come to light based on what we are doing. If I could stand back and observe my habits, what kind of "seeking" would they reveal? How do I spend my time, my resources, my talents?
If I'm doing as Jesus instructed, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness...." then I think I'm going to have some skin in the game, don't you? What is showing up as the affection(s)of my heart? What do I spend my time away from work doing? What kinds of things do I talk about and how do I talk? Does that depend on who I'm talking with? What do I enjoy for entertainment? Where do my thoughts wander when I have a few free moments? Do I pray as I go through my day? None of us is perfect in any of these areas! But what characterizes me? What is the pattern of my day to day? Good thoughts to consider on a beautiful day!
I pray our God be gracious to each of us and lead us into right seeking!
Still Climbing,
Cher
What are you seeking? I mean beyond your second cup of coffee!:-p
In my quiet time, this morning, I was reading in John chapter 1 and this phrase struck me in verse 38...Jesus looked at them (the disciples) and said, "What are you seeking?" One version says, "What do you want?"
I prayed for God to speak to my heart and change my life with the passage I was about to read (as is my custom when I get ready to read my Bible). I consider it an opportunity to have a real encounter with the Lord of the universe so I open his Word with expectation and he always honors my request to know more of him and for the Holy Spirit to grow me in some area of my life. If you aren't already practicing this, I encourage you to try it! I'm convinced you'll be glad you did!
So....what are you seeking? How do you answer that question? Let's begin with the word "seeking." You know I'm a word geek! :-)
Seek:
To try to locate or discover; search for.
To endeavor to obtain or reach
To go to or toward:
In other words, was Jesus asking, "What are you trying to locate or discover in your life? What are you searching for? What is it that you are endeavoring to reach or obtain? What are you going toward?
How do we know the answer to this question? I believe that the key is in this definition. Would the people who see you most often and know you best, family, close friends, co-workers, guess what you are seeking, what you are trying to obtain or reach? Can they see what you "go toward?" It seems logical that the things we are seeking most come to light based on what we are doing. If I could stand back and observe my habits, what kind of "seeking" would they reveal? How do I spend my time, my resources, my talents?
If I'm doing as Jesus instructed, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness...." then I think I'm going to have some skin in the game, don't you? What is showing up as the affection(s)of my heart? What do I spend my time away from work doing? What kinds of things do I talk about and how do I talk? Does that depend on who I'm talking with? What do I enjoy for entertainment? Where do my thoughts wander when I have a few free moments? Do I pray as I go through my day? None of us is perfect in any of these areas! But what characterizes me? What is the pattern of my day to day? Good thoughts to consider on a beautiful day!
I pray our God be gracious to each of us and lead us into right seeking!
Still Climbing,
Cher
Authenticity Accompanied By Humility
My mom gave me some great advice some time ago (she gives a lot of great advice!) that stuck with me. She said "Always be authentic, regardless of what other people do because that is the only way to feel good about "you," and to maintain your self respect.
Let's look at some synonyms for the word authentic:
bona fide, genuine, real, true, undoubted, unquestionable. These adjectives mean not counterfeit or copied
The antonym for authentic is counterfeit.
I've seen this trait in my mom, throughout my life...and my dad, as well. My dad passed away 6 years ago, suddenly, from Leukemia and, at his funeral, the minister quoted a Bible verse that spoke volumes about him. "Though being dead, yet he speaks." The people at my dad's funeral all said the same things to us over and over, again, with a little variation... Friends, co-workers, neighbors..."Joe was the real deal. He was genuine, always the same, regardless of who was around. You knew, if Joe told you something, you could count on it as the truth and if he ever felt he had to compromise his values to do something, he wouldn't do it and would make it known, but in a humble way..." I want to be more like my dad was!
In our quest to be authentic, we need to take care to remain humble. When we are confronted with a situation that is offensive to what we believe is right or when asked a difficult question that makes it hard to answer, truthfully, we need to keep that humility as our close companion. But be authentic, we must. If we stand for nothing, as the saying goes, we will fall for anything. There are times that the only honorable thing to do is to let it be known that this isn't something I participate in or that I would appreciate it if you didn't share those types of emails with me...or I really don't want to be involved in talking about so and so. In doing this, we also gain the respect and confidence of our family and friends. My brother and I both had such confidence in the character, honesty and genuineness of our dad. That is a treasure worth far more than gold, friends! We aren't talking perfection - but authenticity! We saw his faults but so did he, which made them far more forgiveable!
There is also the authenticity that is needed when we are made to feel as though something we are doing is wrong and we, in the honesty of our hearts before God and with his Word as our confirmation, don't believe it is. In this, there are times to share our conviction and times when we simply choose to live, quietly and confidently, in the liberty that Jesus gave us, but not with an "in your face" mentality. Our first response is to consider what the loving thing is to do with the liberties we are afforded. It may mean modification of certain liberties in the presence of some individuals, not becasue we are being hypocritical but because God tells us that is a very serious offense to cause a brother or sister to stumble in their faith. (Romans 14:21, I Cor. 8:13, Luke 17:2) Love must always be the guiding factor. If we are asked, however, how we feel about a particular thing, our answer must be honest, tempered with a humble spirit. Remember, "A soft answer turns away wrath but harsh words stir up anger." (Proverbs 15:1)
There is yet another need for genuineness and that is speaking the truth with those we love and have relationships with. If we are only "yes" partners and friends, how are we genuine? How will we grow? Sometimes it isn't comfortable to be genuine. It is much easier to be a chameleon and change with the person or group we are with or not to speak a difficult truth in the face of a confrontational situation, but do we accomplish the greater good of showing the love of God this way? Ephesians 4:1-2 begs this of the believer: “…to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” After reading this part of the passage in Ephesians, only then are we ready for the verse later in the chapter,which tells us to "speak the truth in love." Speaking truth without love will lead to resentment and closed ears. Remember, in your delivery, God knows everything about YOU and yet he loves you and is gentle with you, when teaching you truths about yourself and his Word.
If we are people pleasers or are letting our pride rule, we will be tempted to forego genuineness in situations we really don't agree with but I'll leave you with this thought. Don't you have more respect for those who we stand for the true values they hold in their hearts, rather than just going along with status quo? There are millions of people who just go with the flow. When someone is genuine and humble in standing for what is right, others will take notice.
Let's ask God to give us the grace to be authentic in all of our relationships and to have humble hearts as we walk in the authenticity of who we are as Christians and as individuals.
Still Climbing,
Cher
Let's look at some synonyms for the word authentic:
bona fide, genuine, real, true, undoubted, unquestionable. These adjectives mean not counterfeit or copied
The antonym for authentic is counterfeit.
I've seen this trait in my mom, throughout my life...and my dad, as well. My dad passed away 6 years ago, suddenly, from Leukemia and, at his funeral, the minister quoted a Bible verse that spoke volumes about him. "Though being dead, yet he speaks." The people at my dad's funeral all said the same things to us over and over, again, with a little variation... Friends, co-workers, neighbors..."Joe was the real deal. He was genuine, always the same, regardless of who was around. You knew, if Joe told you something, you could count on it as the truth and if he ever felt he had to compromise his values to do something, he wouldn't do it and would make it known, but in a humble way..." I want to be more like my dad was!
In our quest to be authentic, we need to take care to remain humble. When we are confronted with a situation that is offensive to what we believe is right or when asked a difficult question that makes it hard to answer, truthfully, we need to keep that humility as our close companion. But be authentic, we must. If we stand for nothing, as the saying goes, we will fall for anything. There are times that the only honorable thing to do is to let it be known that this isn't something I participate in or that I would appreciate it if you didn't share those types of emails with me...or I really don't want to be involved in talking about so and so. In doing this, we also gain the respect and confidence of our family and friends. My brother and I both had such confidence in the character, honesty and genuineness of our dad. That is a treasure worth far more than gold, friends! We aren't talking perfection - but authenticity! We saw his faults but so did he, which made them far more forgiveable!
There is also the authenticity that is needed when we are made to feel as though something we are doing is wrong and we, in the honesty of our hearts before God and with his Word as our confirmation, don't believe it is. In this, there are times to share our conviction and times when we simply choose to live, quietly and confidently, in the liberty that Jesus gave us, but not with an "in your face" mentality. Our first response is to consider what the loving thing is to do with the liberties we are afforded. It may mean modification of certain liberties in the presence of some individuals, not becasue we are being hypocritical but because God tells us that is a very serious offense to cause a brother or sister to stumble in their faith. (Romans 14:21, I Cor. 8:13, Luke 17:2) Love must always be the guiding factor. If we are asked, however, how we feel about a particular thing, our answer must be honest, tempered with a humble spirit. Remember, "A soft answer turns away wrath but harsh words stir up anger." (Proverbs 15:1)
There is yet another need for genuineness and that is speaking the truth with those we love and have relationships with. If we are only "yes" partners and friends, how are we genuine? How will we grow? Sometimes it isn't comfortable to be genuine. It is much easier to be a chameleon and change with the person or group we are with or not to speak a difficult truth in the face of a confrontational situation, but do we accomplish the greater good of showing the love of God this way? Ephesians 4:1-2 begs this of the believer: “…to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” After reading this part of the passage in Ephesians, only then are we ready for the verse later in the chapter,which tells us to "speak the truth in love." Speaking truth without love will lead to resentment and closed ears. Remember, in your delivery, God knows everything about YOU and yet he loves you and is gentle with you, when teaching you truths about yourself and his Word.
If we are people pleasers or are letting our pride rule, we will be tempted to forego genuineness in situations we really don't agree with but I'll leave you with this thought. Don't you have more respect for those who we stand for the true values they hold in their hearts, rather than just going along with status quo? There are millions of people who just go with the flow. When someone is genuine and humble in standing for what is right, others will take notice.
Let's ask God to give us the grace to be authentic in all of our relationships and to have humble hearts as we walk in the authenticity of who we are as Christians and as individuals.
Still Climbing,
Cher
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