Great Blessings

“Great blessings belong to those who don’t listen to evil advice, who don’t live like sinners, and who don’t join those who make fun of God. Instead, they love the Lord’s teachings and think about them day and night. So they grow strong, like a tree planted by a stream— a tree that produces fruit when it should and has leaves that never fall. Everything they do is successful.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭1:1-3‬ ‭ERV‬‬

We read in Psalms 1 the simple promises of a full and blessed life following the Lord. Is there anyone who does not want a life of strength and blessings? Why are there so few who find this? In verse 2 the secret is to love the Lord’s teachings and think about them day and night!

Are you willing to pay the price to inherit this? To live with no regrets? To face the future without fear of what it holds? Begin today, January 1, 2019. Do not go another day without running after the Lord. Commit to read his word everyday. If you haven’t read the entire Bible from cover to cover, what are you waiting for?

I'm reading the @YouVersion plan 'Eat this Book: One Year Bible with Daily Psalm'. Check it out here:

Eat this Book: One Year Bible with Daily Psalm

1 Year

Following aspects of the traditional Jewish order in the Old Testament, this plan offers a sustainable reading pace, allowing you to experience first the Old Testament and then the New Testament in one year. Each day, you’ll explore an average of four chapters, and you’ll close your time in prayer by reading a Psalm.


Eat this Book: One Year Bible with Daily Psalm

Suggestion...invite someone to join you on this journey. You Version has the option to invite someone to hold you accountable. You will change your life and possibly someone else’s. Happy New Year! Praying that 2019 will be the most wonderful year of your entire life.

Two Forks in the Road

“If you wander from the right path, either to the right or to the left, you will hear a voice behind you saying, “You should go this way. Here is the right way.””
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭30:21‬ ‭ERV‬‬

There are small forks on the road everyday, small choices. I think that these small choices determine what your future will look like. But it is a paradox. The wrong way is filled with flowers and green grass and laughter and it actually looks easier.

It involves sleeping later and having a day off on Sunday. It involves not giving away any of your money to church because you need that money for something else. It promises eating anything you want and however much you want. You can satisfy your sexual needs anytime you want. Instant gratification is there for the taking...no waiting.

God’s way appears to be the least attractive way. It seems to be harder. It requires sacrifice. It requires discipline.

However, let’s see what happens when you choose the easier way. After you have been satisfied momentarily, you realize that you have some consequences waiting for you. For example, if you are trying to eat healthy and you eat a dozen cookies one day and then a bunch of chips the next day and then three brownies the day after your clothes won’t fit anymore. Happens every time. That option looked good but it ended up bad. The opposite is true. If you eat healthy all week, you feel there is a better chance that you won’t die of heart disease.

Let’s say that you decide that you need a day off on Sundays and you never attend a small group and worship service. It seems like the best choice. You say, “I need my rest.” After a period of time, you wonder where your friends are...I mean good friends who will love you when you are not lovable and walk you through dark days.

Here is the good news. When you get into the Word and follow what God is saying, you start to notice that this was a good choice.

The Lord says, “I will teach you and guide you in the way you should live. I will watch over you and be your guide.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭32:8‬ ‭ERV‬‬

You start walking up the mountain and the view is phenomenal! You will thank yourself for choosing His way. You will begin to experience a more abundant life. You will begin to praise the Lord for how good he is!

It reminds me of my favorite verse.
“Do not conform 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.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

You will see that God wanted the best for you all along. He wanted you to experience the abundant life.

I have to throw this in. Many people think that there is a third alternative. The way that you have to make no changes whatsoever, but you will still see the Promised Land. There is no third alternative. Never believe that lie.

Begin everyday realizing that are always two choices to every decision. Think about want you want your future to look like. Depends on which fork in the road you chose.

The Search for Significance

“Then the devil led Jesus to the top of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and all the wonderful things in them. The devil said, “If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things.” Jesus said to him, “Get away from me, Satan! The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God. Serve only him!’” Deuteronomy 6:13”
Matthew 4:8-10 ERV

The third temptation of Jesus may be our biggest temptation that we face. The search for significance. The longing to be noticed. The hunger for power in the world around us, however small our world is. 

Again, Satan puts some truth to this to make it almost believable. He is offering Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. That may confuse you. How can Satan offer all the kingdoms of the world? We need to understand that for a time, Satan is the ruler of this world. Jesus said,

“Now is the time for the world to be judged. Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out.”
John 12:31 ERV

That is the slice of truth in Satan's offer. If Jesus bows down, Satan can give him the cheap power that the world offers. Satan has the power to do that and he will do that...offer the empty things that seems wonderful. We are faced with this decision a daily basis. We long to dominate and control, if not others, at least the circumstances that we face. I teasingly stand in front of the document camera's light in my classroom and say, "I am the star of the show, not you." 

At an early age, we are drawn to the spotlight. We put a post on Facebook or Instagram and we check our "likes." The more talented or attractive or athletic we are, the greater the temptation to crave that attention. But be sure that you realizing what you are gaining...a cheap imitation for significance. 

Jesus points us to the true source of self worth. He says, " I will only worship the One who is worthy of worship." He submitted himself to the Father and did not seek the power and attention for himself. He did not seek to serve himself. In doing so, not only did he defeat his foe, he paid for our eternal significance. Until we get this right, we will spend our life trying to figure out why the world keeps disappointing us. Satan only offers the imitation. Jesus offers the real thing.

What Really Matters

You will not be in heaven two seconds before you cry out, “Why did I place so much importance on things that were so temporary? What was I thinking? ~Rick Warren 

Today make a list of all the material things that you will NOT take with you when you die. Houses, cars, retirement portfolio, clothes, furniture, etc. Continue to make a list of things that make you very happy but nonetheless, you will NOT take them with you. This list may include jobs, travel opportunities, favorite tv shows, FaceTime and Instagram, hobbies, maybe even favorite foods that you can not give up for some reason. 

Lastly make a list of people that you love more than anything else on this earth. Tricky part here is that you must decide if you will see them in heaven or not. Parents, spouses, kids, family members and friends would be on this list. 

Realize that the material things and the earthly things that bring us happiness simply will not be there. Our retiremnt savings will disappear....in a second. The amazing house that you spend a lifetime decorating. The car that we maybe spent too much on and we are straddled with a monthly payment is not there. We have a better transportation in heaven:).

Facetime or Instagram will not be anywhere but for some reason we check it once an hour and determine our selfworth with how many 'likes" we got. Food...oh, glorious favorite foods. The food that we simply cannot give up even if we know that it has a death grip on us, will not be needed in heaven. That piece of cheesecake will not be there and we will wonder why the fascination with it existed In the first place. The older I get, the more I want to eat to exist and not exist to eat. 

Let's get to the people part. When we walk into the gates of heaven, there will be no more chances to cry out and pray for the salvation of that loved one that we wanted to spend eternity with. On the other hand, when we see our loved ones that preceded us, it will seem like it was only a second snice we last saw them on earth. Then we will understand that when God took them a little too early, they were at the greatest place and we should have been so excited for them. God maybe wondered why we got so angry at Him because He knew we were going to see them "tomorrow." 

Casts a a new light on things like suffering or disappointment or losing a loved one. Makes me want to rejoice that "God is making me new" when I am disciplined for my good. Makes me want to have clearer vision and not cloudy vision. And understand that "things we see are here today and gone tomorrow." 

“So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 MSG

Do not look right or left

“Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts. Don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth; avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip. Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions. Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you. Look neither right nor left; leave evil in the dust.”
Proverbs 4:23-27 MSG

The longer I live and the busier life gets, I must watch over my heart. I feel like I am the person that these verses are describing sometimes. I do talk out of both sides of my mouth. I have an incredible amount of careless banter!!! I struggle to not gossip, but sometimes I just gossip. I hate to tell a white lie but I know that I do!

The answer lies in this verse...keep my eyes straight ahead and watching my step. As women we all know about looking right or left. I will be walking along in life with my eyes fixed on Jesus and out of the corner of my eye, I see something that looks a lot more exciting and I veer to the right. Maybe a longing for another girl's life that looks a lot more relaxing or more fulfilling or just simpler. So I travel that way and let jealously simmer in my heart.

For just today, let's keep out eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Let's don't turn left or right. Protect our heart against useless wandering off the path. Protect our heart with all the energy that we have. And then that is where the joy of the Lord will seep in.