Monday, January 23, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
James is Back From Africa...
Monday, January 16, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
Things To Do While Waiting On God: Take a Trip
Ease your mind by boarding a ship and travel with Gilligan and the Skipper through scripture. Dig into how people in the Bible handled struggles similar to yours and watch how God provided for them. Just because the scriptures were written way before you were a glimmer in your parents' eyes does not mean the Bible does not have great truths for your life today.
A few years ago, I went through a loss that left me broken beyond repair, or so I thought. I knew glory was brought to God through my loss, but I could not figure out how to trust in his ways and be joyful. That was until I was directed to start reading Psalms. What better example of praising in the storm than to look at David? A man who suffered many losses but still sang praise to the Lord. There were days I started out reading David’s Psalms to remind myself of God’s power and strength. Other times, I read of Paul, only to think how petty I must be to complain about my life when he suffered imprisonment and beatings -- all to serve God.
When you walk in Paul’s shoes through Ephesians and Philippians, you see how he continued to proclaim God’s love and to have faith in God’s ways, even while he was in prison. Yes, prison! I do believe that might be the true test of having faith in God’s ways. When I get to a point of pity, the Lord usually throws a Paul story in my Bible readings; how thoughtful of him to remind me!
The next great stop I like to take is with Abraham’s life. I do believe that man waited for the Lord to work, and when the Lord provided one of his promises in the way of Isaac, Abraham went to offer his son as a sacrifice, and, again, the Lord provided.
We want the Lord to hand us our promise the moment he speaks it to our heart. We do not want to walk through the pain and crisis that often comes between trusting in God and watching him fulfill. God’s true power becomes real when we overcome adversity. If I had my way, the path I would have chosen to grow me closer to him would have included far less pain. But it would have also included far less people being touched by the Lord. The path you are on is heavily guarded by the Lord, so take peace in understanding he knows what is best for you. Read Hebrews 11 to see account after account of faith that endured.
Lindy Biglieni
A few years ago, I went through a loss that left me broken beyond repair, or so I thought. I knew glory was brought to God through my loss, but I could not figure out how to trust in his ways and be joyful. That was until I was directed to start reading Psalms. What better example of praising in the storm than to look at David? A man who suffered many losses but still sang praise to the Lord. There were days I started out reading David’s Psalms to remind myself of God’s power and strength. Other times, I read of Paul, only to think how petty I must be to complain about my life when he suffered imprisonment and beatings -- all to serve God.
When you walk in Paul’s shoes through Ephesians and Philippians, you see how he continued to proclaim God’s love and to have faith in God’s ways, even while he was in prison. Yes, prison! I do believe that might be the true test of having faith in God’s ways. When I get to a point of pity, the Lord usually throws a Paul story in my Bible readings; how thoughtful of him to remind me!
The next great stop I like to take is with Abraham’s life. I do believe that man waited for the Lord to work, and when the Lord provided one of his promises in the way of Isaac, Abraham went to offer his son as a sacrifice, and, again, the Lord provided.
We want the Lord to hand us our promise the moment he speaks it to our heart. We do not want to walk through the pain and crisis that often comes between trusting in God and watching him fulfill. God’s true power becomes real when we overcome adversity. If I had my way, the path I would have chosen to grow me closer to him would have included far less pain. But it would have also included far less people being touched by the Lord. The path you are on is heavily guarded by the Lord, so take peace in understanding he knows what is best for you. Read Hebrews 11 to see account after account of faith that endured.
Lindy Biglieni
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Things To Do While Waiting On God: Take a Nap
God’s desire is that we rest in the love he has for us, knowing that he has things under control. We all live busy lives. Between school, time with friends, work, family time, sports and church. Some weeks can seem worse than others and you hit the weekend needing a breather. When you are walking with the Lord, struggles and, often times, the ways of the world can drain you like a busy week. You need a time to relax and recharge your body and mind. Many times, we walk around with huge burdens of worry, fret and sins; God wants us to turn everything over to him to deal with first. God wants us to live a life of peace and not carry a heavy load. The load we are carrying is not ours to carry.
Take rest in him. “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30.
When you cast your cares upon Christ’s shoulders, you are saying, "I have faith in your ways and believe you are working in my life and the situation. So, Lord, while you are working, I’m going to lay back and take in some rays." When you read through the Psalms, over and over David talks about meditating on God’s commands and his word. Meditating is a great form of relaxation and David mentions countless times of meditation in scripture as a way to reaffirm God’s commands and to bring reassurance to his ways. So rest! And let God’s loving words roll around in your head.
Psalm 18: 1-3
Psalm 121
Philippians 4:7
Romans 15:13
Lindy Biglieni
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)