Day 4 - Week 44 - Romans 12:2 "Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing and perfect will of God."

Transformation through Christ brings with it many revelations of truth.  We no longer accept what the world says about life and death. 

The world says, "He's dead - he's gone - it's over." That's not what we say.  When we, as Christians, see someone we love go home to heaven, and we know that they had accepted Christ's blood over their lives as purification enabling them to enter God's presence, then we challenge the world's statement with a resounding, "It's not over - it's only just begun!"  We got to make that statement yesterday as we celebrated Shorty's life here on earth, and more importantly,celebrated his entrance into eternal life with his Lord. 

The world tells us many other things that as we allow the Holy Spirit to renew our minds we discover are very contrary to the good, pleasing and perfect will of God.  Paul wrote these words so many years ago, but his words "do not be conformed to this age", have applied to every age that the world has gone through ever since.  Whatever age of the world people have found themselves in when hearing or reading these words, one thing all have had in common....we live in the age this side of heaven.  We live in the age of this earthly world, and Paul instructs us to pull ourselves out of it. 

We are, as Jesus told Nicodemus, to remember that we are not children of this world, but we have been born again into a life that is so very different, a life that is not designed for moments that click away, but for an eternity of purposefulness.  We must allow the Holy Spirit to constantly renew our minds into thought processes that take us out of the temporal and into the eternal...that is the only way that we can start to see the Kingdom of God in clarity, and to understand with more certainty what the, and here that lovely phrase is again, "good, pleasing and perfect will of God " is for us.

This morning, let's ask the Holy Spirit to wash over us with a cleansing of our minds, a cleansing removing those thoughts of this age that argue with the truths of God's eternal ages.  Let's pull ourselves out of this age and see the pictures of God's truths spoken to us over all the ages...the truths of creation, the truths of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and especially this morning, the truth of the Christ child born in Bethlehem, bringing all of God's truth and grace to mankind forever. 

Hallelujah, how the angels sang!! Hallelujah, how it rang.
And the sky was bright with God’s holy light.
It was the birthday of the King!

Day 3 - Week 44 - Now a new verse...

Excuse my absence.  We have have had two hard days of going through the motions that are required after someone dies, and tomorrow we will have the burial and memorial services for our sweet Shorty.   I believe these actions are probably good for all, they keep you going and your mind focused on other things than your extreme sadness in these initial days.  And then when things quiet down, you move into a deeper sense of grieving, but one without the intense emotions that come upon you in the beginning.  I thank God for my wonderful sister-in-law, Mary, who is the picture of graciousness and strength.  I pray that I will be the sister-in-law she needs me to be in the days ahead.

So we go on to our third verse in our set of ten regarding obedience.  But let's go through a quick review first.

The Gift of Assurance (10)

1 John 5:11 And this is the testimony:  God has given us eternal life and that life is in His Son.

1 John 5:12-13  The one who has the Son has life.  The one who doesn't have the Son of God, does not have life.  I say these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know you have eternal life.

John 14:1  Your heart must not be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in Me.

John 14:2  In my Father's house are many mansion, if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.

John 14:3  And if I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you unto Myself, so that where I am, you may be also.

John 14:6  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you.  I do not give as the world gives.  Your heart must not be troubled or afraid.

Isaiah 26:3-4  You will keep in perfect peace the mind that is dependent on You, for it is trusting in You.  Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.

Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed . (KJV)

Isaiah 53:6  We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished Him for the iniquities of us all.

Praise and Thanksgiving (4)

1 Peter 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  According to His great mercy He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Psalm 100:4  Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.  Give thanks to Him and praise His name. 

Psalm 100:5  For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Revelation 4:11  You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.

Promises of God (10)

Matthew 6:33  But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (ESV)

Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.

Jeremiah 29:11  "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

1 Corinthians 10:13   No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity.  God is faithful and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will provide a way of escape, so that you are able to bear it.

1 John 1:7  But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

1 John 1:9   If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Proverbs 3:-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  (NIV)

1 Corinthians 10:13   No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity.  God is faithful and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will provide a way of escape, so that you are able to bear it.

Psalm 55:22   Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will support you.  He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

1 Peter 5:7  Casting all your care upon Him, because He cares for you.

Obedience (10)
2 Chronicles 7:14  If my people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
Lamentations 3:40  Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.

Our third verse in this set is a such a great one to know and also to dig into.  We will be able to really sit on this one through the week and meditate on all of its meaning and implications for our lives.

Romans 12:2   Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing and perfect will of God.

There is so much in this one sentence of 31 words.  So much instruction, truth and a call to a higher level of living. It will be good for me to study these words this week.

I'm back to thinking about Shorty, about what he is doing right now, what he is seeing and experiencing...and as the song says, "I can only imagine..."

Day 1 - Week 44 - Brokenhearted

I know I should be introducing a new verse today, but for right now I just have to share my sadness.  We received a phone call just thirty minutes ago from my sweet sister-in-law letting us know that her husband had just passed away.  My dear brother-in-law, James Robert McCaffree, (but known to most everyone as "Shorty") had fought lymphoma and the side effects of chemo and radiation for over ten years, but I just did not expect to get that call this morning.  He has been in and out of the hospital so many times, so many ambulance trips due to so many different things, that I guess I should have realized that one of those trips would be his last, but your mind just won't let you grab onto that thought until you are forced to.  This morning I believe God kindly took Shorty very quickly, without giving him a chance to be fearful or going through another grueling hospital stay.  God, unlike me, knew that today was the exact right time for Shorty to come home to Him, to the place He has prepared for this wonderful, funny man that we all love so much.

Psalm 34:18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.

The Bible tells us that God is near to the brokenhearted, so I know He is near to Mary, her daughters and grandchildren, and to us as we go through this time of sadness.  And I know that He will walk beside all of us as we transition into lives here on earth without the laughter and smiles that Shorty brought to it.  And I know that ultimately He will call each of us out of this world, just as He has Shorty, and bring us home to be with Him forever, where we will be reunited with all of those who have gone before. 

Thank You Lord for Your divine and inexplicable comfort and peace, even when we are so broken.  You are near.

Day 6 - Week 43 - Lamentations 3:40 "Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.'

I have gotten all wrapped up (literally!) in getting ready for Christmas --- thus, the lack of blogs this week!  I have wrapped and baked and shopped...and the irony of it all is that while missing blogging time on this week's verse, I actually very much need to examine my ways and test them.  Are all the things that are demanding so much of my time in this very special season things that God is directing me to, or are they the demands of others' expectations and my perceived "have to" list that I must accomplish in order for Christmas to be "just right" for my family? 

Could it be that the "just right" Christmas that God is directing me to, and the one that I may be very close to missing, is one where I am calm and peaceful, ready to share a moment with a friend who needs to chat, and where I welcome my family, my children, my grandchildren, into a home that is filled not so much with the perfect food, gifts and Christmas decor, but rather with honest and sincere warmth, care and concern.

I am praying that I can be the "perfect" hostess not by achievement of Martha Stewart-ish cleverness, but by exhibiting love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  The perfection achieved only by relinqushment of my aspirations to those of the Holy Spirit of God, allowing Him to turn my anxiety into His completeness, and then recognizing the contentment and fulfillment in a Christmas that may not look like perfection, but one in which my heart will feel His perfection at work, accomplishing so many, much more important things than I would have ever have been able to "cook up"!

So this is my challenge to myself and to you - examine your Christmas ways and test them, and wholeheartedly return to the Lord in a complete celebration of what the coming of the Christ child means in your life...don't miss the perfect Christmas that God has waiting for you!

(Oh - and just to clarify - that is not a picture of my Christmas tree in my ever-not-so-perfect home!  This would be a picture of a perfect Christmas tree, in a perfect home, one I will probably never achieve, but the goal will probably always taunt me....but then again...I think I may be slowly learning to be content with less than that aggravating picture of perfection!)