Tag: renewal

  • Shine Like Stars

    “Do not be afraid to be different from other people. The path I have called you to travel is exquisitely right for you. The more closely you follow My leading, the more fully I can develop your gifts. To follow Me wholeheartedly, you must relinquish your desire to please other people. However, your closeness to Me will bless others by enabling you to shine brightly in this dark world,” Jesus Calling.

     So that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe—Philippians 2:15.

    Are you afraid to be different than other people? I would have to admit that sometimes I am; other times, I don’t have that problem at all. I do wish that I’d fall into the last category more often. When I read the quotes in this post, I understand them to say that being different just for the sake of being different is not entirely what God intended either.

    I suspect that He would have us be different in that we no longer follow the selfish goals and desires of this world including addictions to career, food and drink, fashions, etc., Purposeful forsaking those worldly pursuits in order to follow after purity and His will for our life. This might mean less time with eyes and mind focused on electronic devices and more quality time being renewed and not conforming to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will,

    I like the idea of shining brightly in this dark world and shining like a star in the universe. Someone to point others to the True North and bright and morning star. Hope. Renewal. Truth, honesty, justice, lovely praise and virtue.

    Shall we strive together to be and model those good behavior patterns, relinquishing the need to people-please, so our gifts can be more fully developed? I’m in, are you?

    *****

  • Where’s your solitary place?

    C.S. Lewis wisely points out that no one was busier than Christ. “Our model is the Jesus … of the workshop, the roads, the crowds, the clamorous demands and surly oppositions, the lack of all peace and privacy, the interruptions. For this … is the Divine life operating under human conditions.”

    Our lives don’t consist of raising people from the dead, casting out demons, or healing the multitude. We manage challenging schedules while shuttling children back and forth from school, lessons, or sporting events. And then there’s our own schedule … where do we fit into this crazy chaos? Some days it feels like the four-wheel vehicle is your home. It’s easy to think, there’s nowhere to go where I can really be alone. Someone always wants something from me. If only I had a few more hours in the day. If only my spouse would be more helpful or my children behaved?

    If Jesus felt it necessary to carve a piece of His day aside for meditation and prayer, how much more I need this sacred time of renewal.

    “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”—Mark 1:35–37.

    Reflection: Where do you go to be isolated and silent before God?  What keeps you from going there? Jot down several concrete ideas.

  • The Lord is my Shepherd

    “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” — Psalm 23:1–3.

    As I read this passage, my mind and soul feel wrapped in comfort and peace. Through the flurry of the week’s events, God’s words speak restoration and renewal.

    It’s difficult to come aside and take time to read scripture, let alone, practice what is written. Yet, I know from past experience that when I do make the time to meditate and pray my day goes smoother. My mind stays focused and uncluttered and I accomplish much more than when I constantly worry.

    Dear God, forgive me when I want more than I really need. Help me to be content with the many blessings you’ve already give. When I’m content and appreciative, it’s then that you can teach and lead me. I look forward to quiet waters and green pastures.

    Are you at a place where it’s hard to look around and see calmness in your life? Can you step aside for even 10 minutes and name your blessings one by one?

    Los Cabos shoreline – photo by Steve Lasher