I have recently become a Christian again, (and I mean very recently; a couple of months ago) and I just cannot believe the amazing sense of peace/joy that I feel daily. This is not to say that every day is perfect or that I don't struggle at times, for I do. And yet even the struggling is a different, more positive kind of struggle. I feel like I'm finally struggling with purpose; to be closer to God and to know Christ personally and this purpose just makes struggling rewarding. :-) Before I became a Christian again, I always felt like something was missing. My heart was aching almost every day and I was struggling against myself and against God's will for me. I feel ashamed to admit it, but I doubted God and doubted his love for me...Sometimes it still hurts to look back on those times and to remember the pain I tried to deal with on my own. But ultimately, I look back on these struggles and on this pain and am thankful. God taught me the hardest, but most necessary lesson of my entire life; I cannot live without him and, more importantly, I don't ever want to try again.
I know this isn't directly related to the posts, but I felt compelled to share this. :-) I hope you all are having a beautiful evening!~ Thank you for this blog space and your support/friendship!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Reflecting
This morning I am thinking about our first week's reading and longing to sit down with Jesus in person (like John was so blessed to be able to do!) and ask him my questions, express my concerns, feel his peace. I know we can and do that daily through prayer and his Word given to us, but sometimes I just ache to have him nearer. For the hustling and busy-ness of our world to stop distracting me, for even the resounding quiet of my house, empty now with husband at work, to be quieter still. The cars still whir by and the neighbor dogs bark and I hear the running water of whoever lives above us scrambling to get washed and ready for the day. SO MUCH steals my thoughts and commitment and focus. I really long some days to have less of a Type A personality :) haha
But really that is why I am so sure studying God's word in the way we are is right for busy women like ourselves. It is essential to only take a spoonful at a time some days, to think on it for more than a fleeting second and to allow God to change the course of our day through what seemed to be such a small stretch of time with Him. After re-reading 1 John 1:1-4, I read through the introductory pages of our study plan this morning and fell in love again with Psalm 1:2,3!
...and also a quote that was included by William Gurnall:
But really that is why I am so sure studying God's word in the way we are is right for busy women like ourselves. It is essential to only take a spoonful at a time some days, to think on it for more than a fleeting second and to allow God to change the course of our day through what seemed to be such a small stretch of time with Him. After re-reading 1 John 1:1-4, I read through the introductory pages of our study plan this morning and fell in love again with Psalm 1:2,3!
"Blessed is the [woman] whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law [she] meditates day and night. [She] is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever [she] does prospers."
...and also a quote that was included by William Gurnall:
"Remember, it is not hasty reading - but serious meditating upon holy and heavenly truths, that make them prove sweet and profitable to the soul. It is not the bee's touching of the flower, which gathers honey - but her abiding for a time upon the flower, which draws out the sweet. It is not he who reads most - but he who meditates most, who will prove the choicest, sweetest, wisest and strongest Christian."
What I learned this week is that I need Jesus to survive, to excel, to breathe, to love. Anything I desire or long to do for him is propelled forward by his presence in me through Word and Sacrament, through hearing and reading a healthy dose of his Law and Gospel messages. It is impossible to have meaning and purpose in life without him. And secondly, I am praying for more opportunities and courage to share him with others that need him! Saying all that feels so familiar to my ears, and our verses from this week - well, I've read and heard them and skimmed over them in the past. So my heart is asking God to help me see what I haven't in the past - in these 4 verses of 1 John...and in others and the world around me. To have eyes that truly see.
(It's like Brandon Heath's song "Give me Your Eyes" - listen to it if you haven't :))
Love you all - thanks for taking this learning journey with me!
Have a great weekend!!
-Cait
Thursday, September 22, 2011
1 John 1:4
"We write this to make our joy complete."
The introduction to this book in my Bible says that John wrote this letter " out of his love for his brothers and sisters in Christ to expose false teachers, and to give assurance of salvation" John wanted to save early Christians from Gnosticism so that they wouldn't be led away from the truth Christ really gives us. He is a great example for us because he cared so much for these people even though they were turning away from Christ and living without any morals. I know that if I had been in his position I might have been tempted to give up and let them make their own decisions. How sinful is that!
When I think of my friends that do not share the same faith I do, I feel like all I can do is pray, because I know that they know about God, and they know that I am a Christian. I have talked to them about what I believe and confessed my faith to them, but after the first few times I stopped expecting anything to change. Giving up on people, especially close friends that don't believe, is something I struggle with. I never know if there is anything I can do, and if there is I am too afraid to do anything about it.
I would love to follow John's example in my life - especially since I am going into the public ministry! Doing what he did made his "joy complete" and pleased God! This week I'm praying for boldness :)
The introduction to this book in my Bible says that John wrote this letter " out of his love for his brothers and sisters in Christ to expose false teachers, and to give assurance of salvation" John wanted to save early Christians from Gnosticism so that they wouldn't be led away from the truth Christ really gives us. He is a great example for us because he cared so much for these people even though they were turning away from Christ and living without any morals. I know that if I had been in his position I might have been tempted to give up and let them make their own decisions. How sinful is that!
When I think of my friends that do not share the same faith I do, I feel like all I can do is pray, because I know that they know about God, and they know that I am a Christian. I have talked to them about what I believe and confessed my faith to them, but after the first few times I stopped expecting anything to change. Giving up on people, especially close friends that don't believe, is something I struggle with. I never know if there is anything I can do, and if there is I am too afraid to do anything about it.
I would love to follow John's example in my life - especially since I am going into the public ministry! Doing what he did made his "joy complete" and pleased God! This week I'm praying for boldness :)
1 John 1:3-4
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.
Isn't is amazing that our fellowship with God has been restored? We had completely lost this joy due to our sin and rebellion. But even as we were dying, God sent his Son to be our brother, to take all that sin upon Himself, to wash us in His holy blood.
Sometimes fellowship can be a thorny issue and we feel uncomfortable as we deal with the situations that arise. Yet, here the apostle John uses the word JOY! To agree with another believer in heart and mind, to be one in Christ Jesus, to worship together in truth - this is joy!
Thinking about Colossians 1:6 this afternoon -"All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth." Sisters, let's keep proclaiming Him through our words and lives!
A MUST-Read!
Ladies,
On a side-note, I decided I need to refer you all to a GREAT book I finished reading this last weekend. It's for married women, technically, but to be honest - I wish I would have read it before marriage, for sure while engaged!!
I would say it's appropriate for any women that desires to be a godly wife for her husband someday, to honor him as her leader and to serve him because of her great love for God and her husband!
It's serious, funny, very conservative, and very very inspiring! Tears may or may not have been shed by the end of the book. It's seriously a game-changer. I will recommend this book to all the lovely women I know!!
On a side-note, I decided I need to refer you all to a GREAT book I finished reading this last weekend. It's for married women, technically, but to be honest - I wish I would have read it before marriage, for sure while engaged!!
I would say it's appropriate for any women that desires to be a godly wife for her husband someday, to honor him as her leader and to serve him because of her great love for God and her husband!
It's serious, funny, very conservative, and very very inspiring! Tears may or may not have been shed by the end of the book. It's seriously a game-changer. I will recommend this book to all the lovely women I know!!
 |
| Buy it here! |
You can buy it for only $6.00 on Amazon and it is totally worth it! I just had to throw this out there - if anyone buys it and reads it, let us know what you think!! :)
Have a beautiful day!
Cait
1 John 1:3-4
Good morning ladies!
A lovely thought from my commentary:
This assurance of the son-ship of God, of the fact that all causes of apprehension and fear have been removed, will ever have the same effect upon the Christians, namely, that of making their joy in faith complete and perfect, of causing them to rest in their salvation in Christ and their heavenly Father without the slightest hesitation or doubt, of imparting to them that inexpressible happiness of faith which no man can take from the believers, which they retain in the very midst of misery and tribulation.
We can't properly live lives of faith and witness without regularly seeing and hearing God through his Words and therefore our faith cannot bring us complete joy if fruits of our faith are not growing in our life. It brings such utter joy, doesn't it, to sense your faith changing and stretching closer to the Lord?...And also to find a dear friend or loved one, or even a stranger, experience life-changing hope and faith in God? There is nothing like it - I only pray and long for it to be a more common occurrence!! Or maybe with more sanctified and child-like faith I would see such evidence of God working more often...?
This is my prayer and hope today!
Leaning hard on Him with you, fighting the distractions of this world with you, praying for greater faith with you,
Love,
Cait
A lovely thought from my commentary:
This assurance of the son-ship of God, of the fact that all causes of apprehension and fear have been removed, will ever have the same effect upon the Christians, namely, that of making their joy in faith complete and perfect, of causing them to rest in their salvation in Christ and their heavenly Father without the slightest hesitation or doubt, of imparting to them that inexpressible happiness of faith which no man can take from the believers, which they retain in the very midst of misery and tribulation.
We can't properly live lives of faith and witness without regularly seeing and hearing God through his Words and therefore our faith cannot bring us complete joy if fruits of our faith are not growing in our life. It brings such utter joy, doesn't it, to sense your faith changing and stretching closer to the Lord?...And also to find a dear friend or loved one, or even a stranger, experience life-changing hope and faith in God? There is nothing like it - I only pray and long for it to be a more common occurrence!! Or maybe with more sanctified and child-like faith I would see such evidence of God working more often...?
This is my prayer and hope today!
Leaning hard on Him with you, fighting the distractions of this world with you, praying for greater faith with you,
Love,
Cait
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
1 John 1:3
"We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ."
Reading this verse makes me especially thankful for all of the Christian friends and family I have in my life. I am beyond blessed with family and friends that always lift me up with God's word, and I have an encouraging boyfriend that continually reminds me of God's promises. God put them in my life to strengthen my faith on a daily basis, and I pray that I can help do the same for them and all of you :)
When I think of fellowship, I also think of my relationship with God. I love those moments when you feel that special closeness with Him - like when you are in a church service and a hymn or song you sing hits you hard, or you are outside and are overwhelmed by His creation, and you can't help but feel SO loved. He is always with us of course, but these little moments are what I personally think of.
Those are my thoughts for the night! Sleep well everyone :)
Reading this verse makes me especially thankful for all of the Christian friends and family I have in my life. I am beyond blessed with family and friends that always lift me up with God's word, and I have an encouraging boyfriend that continually reminds me of God's promises. God put them in my life to strengthen my faith on a daily basis, and I pray that I can help do the same for them and all of you :)
When I think of fellowship, I also think of my relationship with God. I love those moments when you feel that special closeness with Him - like when you are in a church service and a hymn or song you sing hits you hard, or you are outside and are overwhelmed by His creation, and you can't help but feel SO loved. He is always with us of course, but these little moments are what I personally think of.
Those are my thoughts for the night! Sleep well everyone :)
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