My Theme for 2011...

Yes, I'm late in the game. Better late than never, eh?

The Lord has been speaking to my heart about one main thing in the past few months and has brought my focus onto one word: gratefulness.

In past years I have kept a Gratitude Journal, but I needed something more visual to remind me. I have a wipe-off board on my fridge. I have used it for chore lists, notes, reminders, and everything in between. This past week, however, I began using it for a new thing. I wrote at the top: "Grateful..." And I am endeavouring to write something for which I am grateful every day. It's just another way I can act upon what God is prompting in my heart--and a method in which I can get my family involved as well!

"Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" ~ Psalm 107:9

What's your praise today?

The Perfect Plan

The Perfect Plan

(c) Dayna Spear Guenther, March 2011

Mine, yet not really mine—

I hold on, Lord, with open hands;

You alone are in control—

Help me trust in Your perfect plan.

Tiny hands and sweetest voice—

How can I simply let go?

Beautiful smile and tinkling laugh—

God, You see, and so well You know.

In my Bible I read, “For this child I prayed,”

Yet I do not know for how long;

You, Lord, alone hold my heart in Your hands,

I will trust, and through You, be strong.

I pour my very self into this child,

She may go, next month or next year;

I’m “the called”—I’m the one to stand in the gap,

I will rest in Your arms, not fear.

Mine, yet not really mine—

I hold on, Lord, with open hands;

You alone are in control—

Help me trust in Your perfect plan.

It's Not Fair!

Why me? 


I don't deserve this.


I deserve better.


What did I do to deserve this?

Continual questions flow through my mind. I feel I try so hard to "be good" and "do right." And things continue to go "wrong."

It's not fair! 

There's another expression of emotion that comes easily when I don't truly believe God for Who He is.

God is good. I have been taught that. I know that in my head. But do I truly believe it in my heart?

Recently, I had an epiphany of sorts over a familiar verse. I learned to quote this verse as a two-year-old child:

And we know that all things work together for good, to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. ~ Romans 8:28

Yeah. I've read and quoted that verse so many times. But now I notice that it says, "the called according to His purpose."

I am the called one. The position in which God has placed me in life is for His purpose and ultimately for my good.

God has not maliciously placed me in this position. He has good reasons that I may not know now, but I will know one day. Jesus said:

What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. ~ John 13:7

So it is up to me to believe God is Who He says He is!

The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him. ~ Nahum 1:7

Knowing God intimately is the privilege of those who trust in Him. If I know and trust that He is good, He becomes my stronghold in the day of trouble.

Countless Scriptures tell me that God is good. That God orchestrates everything in my life. That nothing happens by accident.

The question is: Will I trust in a good God today?

I will trust when I cannot see,

When I'm faced with adversity;

And believe Your will is always best for me,

I will trust when I cannot see.

~ John W. Peterson

God's a Good Housekeeper!

Today I would like to share a portion of The God of All Comfort by Hannah Whitall Smith:

If I have a friend whom I know to be a good housekeeper, I do not trouble over the fact that at housecleaning time things in her house may seem to be more or less upset, carpets up, and furniture shrouded in coverings, and even perhaps painting and decorating making some rooms uninhabitable. I say to myself, “My friend is a good housekeeper, and although things look so uncomfortable now, all this upset is only because she means in the end to make it far more comfortable than ever it was before.”

 

This world is God’s housekeeping; and although things at present look grievously upset, yet, since we know that He is good, and therefore must be a good Housekeeper, we may be perfectly sure that all this present upset is only to bring about in the end a far better state of things than could have been without it. I dare say we have all felt at times as though we could have done God’s housekeeping better than He does it Himself, but, when we realize that God is good, we can feel this no longer. And it comforts me enormously, when the world seems to me to be going all wrong, just to say to myself, “It is not my housekeeping, but it is the Lord’s; and the Lord is good, therefore His housekeeping must be good too; and it is foolish for me to trouble.”

 

A deeply taught Christian was asked by a despairing child of God, “Does not the world look to you like a wreck?

 

“Yes,” was the reply, in a tone of cheerful confidence; “yes, like the wreck of a bursting seed.” Any of us who have watched the first sproutings of an oak tree from the heart of a decaying acorn will understand what this means. Before the acorn can bring forth the oak, it must become itself a wreck. No plant ever came from any but a wrecked seed.

 

Our Lord uses this fact to teach us the meaning of His processes with us. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but, if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”

 

The whole explanation of the apparent wreckage of the world at large, or of our own personal lives in particular, is here set forth. And, looked at in this light, we can understand how it is that the Lord can be good, and yet can permit the existence of sorrow and wrong in the world He has created, and in the lives of the human beings He loves.

 

It is His very goodness that compels Him to permit it. For He knows that, only through such apparent wreckage, can the fruition of His glorious purposes for us be brought to pass. And we whose hearts also long for that fruition will, if we understand His ways, be able to praise Him for all His goodness, even when things seem hardest and most mysterious.

 

The apostle tells us that the will of God is “good and acceptable, and perfect.” The will of a good God cannot help being “good”—in fact, it must be perfect’; and, when we come to know this, we always find it “acceptable”; that is we come to love it. I am convinced that all trouble about submitting to the will of God would disappear, if once we could see clearly that His will is good. We struggle and struggle in vain to submit to a will that we do not believe to be good, but when we see that it is really good, we submit to it with delight. We want it to be accomplished. Our hearts spring out to meet it.

 

Space fails me to tell all that I might of the infinite goodness of the Lord. Each one must “taste and see” for himself. And if he will but do it honestly and faithfully, the words of the psalmist will become true of him: “They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.”

 

God is our PERFECT FATHER, and He can be trusted!

Psalm 116:7 says, "Return unto thy rest, O my soul [that's my mind, will, and emotions!]; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee."

Watch this video of the song "I Can Trust Jesus" by the Collingsworth Family:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcLBdlfkGJs

Tomorrow--Love It or Fear It?

NOTE: To listen to this video, you will need to scroll to the bottom of this page and pause the automatic music player.

Have you been slammed with yet another jolt in life? Makes you wonder what tomorrow holds, doesn't it? Have you ever asked, "What else could possibly go wrong?!"

Sometimes life throws us curve balls that have us fearing tomorrow rather than loving it. (My apologies to Orphan Annie.)

A little song that I play for my two-year-old granddaughter convicts me:

Are you humbly grateful, or grumbly hateful?

What's your attitude?

Do you grumble and groan, or let it be known

You're grateful for all God's done for you?

No matter what is going on in life, we still have so many blessings for which to thank God. I woke up this morning with a roof over my head, a furnace heating my home, warm blankets, a warm shower, a loving husband, and a host of other blessings!

Whenever I enjoy a hot shower, God seems to bring to my mind all the persecuted Christians around the world who are in prison, have spent time in prison or concentration camps for their faith, or who just don't have the amenities we have in our western world. He reminds me of two things: 1.) to pray for the persecuted believers around the world, and 2.) to be grateful for the riches I have.

I may not be rich by this world's standards. I don't live in a mansion, or even a newly built home. I don't have endless money to spend. There are problems in my life that I wish weren't there. There are relationships in my life that I wish were better. But I am rich!

The church of Laodicea was rebuked of God because they were lukewarm. Why were they considered lukewarm? God said,

Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: ~ Revelation 3:17

Does God want me to grovel? No. But He does want me to see that without Him, I am nothing. Because He wants me to rely completely on Him, and realize that everything I have is from Him.

What in the world does this have to do with fearing tomorrow? When I see life through the gratefulness lens, I don't fear tomorrow, because I have the assurance that God, the Almighty, my Creator, the Lover of my soul, has everything planned, purposed, and under control. When I see Him as a loving heavenly Father, a perfect one, I can lean back in His arms and trust that everything He is allowing--and will ever allow--in my life is for a perfect plan and purpose. That it's all for my good. That one day I will understand it all. It will all make sense.

The late Corrie ten Boom used the illustration of a cross-stitch piece. On earth, we only see the underside of the cross-stitch of our lives: all tangles and knots, not pretty. When we get to heaven, we will see the beauty of the top side: the completed cross-stitch He has made of everything in our lives. Then we will know why and we will be eternally grateful for all that He did allow--even the uglies--to make something so beautiful of our lives.

Fear not tomorrow! God is already there!

Daily Personal Application of the Bible

I am convinced that many do not really know how to apply the Bible in their daily reading, and that is why they struggle with daily reading. This is not meant to be a judgment over others; quite the contrary. It is my passion for others to have a vibrant walk with God that includes daily, practical application of His Word! And it is possible!

Honestly, when I come before God each morning, expecting something for my heart and life, I am excited to read His Word! It's not a "have-to." I'm not claiming to have it all down pat, but I would love to share some ways that I endeavour to apply the Word every day. If you're struggling in this area, don't be embarrassed or ashamed. It's true that you may just need to develop the character and discipline to a daily schedule of reading God's Word. But perhaps it's just some practical "how-to" knowledge that would get you over the hump!

This is a very simple, basic example of one of the ways I journal my application of the Bible. I am presenting it unedited from my journals. During my morning time with God, I also include other devotional books such as My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers and Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Charles Cowman. However, for the notes that follow, I have read straight from the Scripture, with no notes from other sources. All these application notes are what God spoke to me about as I was reading this morning, in a very basic format.

January 10, 2011

Mt. 8:10-12. Jesus mentioned “great faith,” and verse 11 says that many shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Then verse 12 starts with a contrasting “but,” and talks about “the children of the kingdom” being cast into outer darkness. Does the contrasting word merely indicate the contrast between their destination: heaven or hell? Or does the contrasting word indicate that many will “sit down with” the saved here on earth, but they are not truly saved? {thinking about this!}

Ps. 9:16. “The Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth: {colon—the next phrase explains this further} the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.” There is a choice we make that will bring consequences. It is not a matter of a mean, surly God happily executing judgment on people.

Ps. 9:20. Prayer for the City of Woodstock: “Put them in fear, O LORD: that [Woodstock] may know themselves to be but men.”

Pr. 3:5-6 can only be claimed in the context of verse 1-4: “My son, forget not my law... keep my commandments…” Hold onto mercy and truth, both together; not one without the other. THEN you can trust in the LORD with all thine heart… lean not to thine own understanding… acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” Too many people claim these verses for direction without realizing they have forgotten God’s law in many areas, they are not keeping His commandments (which are not grievous), and they are not holding to mercy and truth TOGETHER. Trusting must come along with obeying.

1.     Forget not my law—get the Scripture inside your mind and heart!

2.     Keep my commandments—obey Scripture!

3.     Don’t forget that mercy and truth go together—you can’t have one without the other.

4.     Trust in the LORD with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding—don’t try to figure things out on your own.

5.     Acknowledge Him in ALL thy ways—He should be central to your life, invited and involved in everything you are and do.

Note: The way I select these passages for reading is by using a One Year Bible--the entire KJV arranged in 365 daily readings. I do not hold myself to reading this entire Bible in one year, but I use it as a guide. If I get behind, I do not try to catch it all up in one or two days, because this causes me to speed-read, rather than read to apply personally, and it discourages me. I don't want to put God in a box; if He leads me to read different passages one morning, then I do. In the One Year Bible, I put a little checkmark at the end of each passage that I read, just to use as a record of what I have read. When I go through it next year, I can easily see the passages I have read, as well as those I have not yet read in this context of study. This may not work for others, but it is a way I have found that is not self-defeating. I don't want to set such a lofty goal for myself that I set myself up for failure, and I don't want my Bible reading time to become a formula. I believe it should be a wonderful communication time between God and me! However, I do want to have a plan to meet with God so that the day does not slide by without this important quiet time!

Journaling is not for everyone. But it is a scientific fact that writing things down (or typing them) helps one learn and apply things better than merely reading. By the same token, reading aloud is better than reading silently, because you are not just using your eyes; your ears are also hearing it, and your voice is speaking it. The more senses you use when learning something, the more you tend to remember and apply it in life.

Have a wonderful quiet time with God! He loves you and longs to meet with JUST YOU!

From My Journals... Ramblings From My Heart...

Photo courtesy of Monique Tremblay

 I am burdened as we start the New Year. I feel the church is passive. I feel that we as individual believers are passive and apathetic. I feel a burden to prayer and consecrated living more than ever… and I am not talking about religion or pious legalism.

What are we really living for? What is our purpose? To walk with Him. To have a relationship with Him that is real and personal! Not to “make it” or to have significance in this world! That search for significance is a bug that somehow I have been bitten by, even with my strong Christian upbringing. If Christ is “all and in all” as Colossians says, then why do we live for such shallow things? 

I feel so ashamed that I have lived this past year (and years!) more for my own pleasure and comfort than in joyful abandon to God. Sure, I’m committed to God, to a vibrant walk with Him, and to the ministry to which He has called me. But looking at the saints of old like Hannah Whitall Smith or Jim Elliot … am I really? Looking at the saints who were persecuted for their faith, who lived (and even today live) under the constant threat of being arrested, imprisoned, beaten, or in some other way persecuted… am I really that devoted to God? Looking at my prayer life… do I pray for myself? To be relieved of sufferings or even for wisdom more than I pray to be humbled myself or pray for the souls of the unsaved or for the walks of my fellow believers to become more passionate?

What does walking “in His steps” really mean? Do I have any idea what it means to ask in everything, “What would Jesus do?” And then to do it? I feel my heart is apathetic; not just the hearts of others at church! I must be the change I would like to see in the church. I must not judge the next person, but allow my own passion for Christ—that which He alone can awaken in me—to shine through to inspire others to the same calling. It has nothing to do with my own efforts to "do better." I must merely yield to His Spirit in me!

If Christ is to be all, what does that look like in my daily life? How much more time in prayer would I feel compelled to spend—not for formula’s sake, not for show, not to look or feel more spiritual, but because I feel so drawn to spend the time with my Lord?!

How many more tears would I shed at the mere feeling of humility before my Lord? Not tears of grief for myself because of my sufferings and trials or things I dislike, but tears of humility, realizing that I’m the last one worthy and the first one grateful that He would even deign to walk or talk with me! That He would even desire to be intimate with me! That He would go to all the trouble of coming to earth and living in this painful world just to show me that He cares about the feelings of my infirmities! That He would even go through the beating and scourging and the awful death of crucifixion just because He loves me! Little me! A nobody who became somebody only because of Him!

God, grant me a heart to know You more… truly in a real, personal, and passionate way! Not just platitudes and pious prayers coming out of my lips, but a genuine grateful heart that understands more and more every day what Your Son did for me! That the things of this earth would grow strangely dim in the light of Your glory and grace!

If I only knew and understood the depth of what He did!