Decided that doing my quiet time might be less frustrating and help me to calm down and relax.
Worked.
I read in Genesis, Psalm, and Matthew.
Genesis
Ch28
* this chapter confused me, don't marry a Canaanite woman but rather, marry your cousin. WHAT
*The Lord spoke in a dream.
*Jacob was afraid.
*tithe
Ch29
*um.... confusion
Psalm
Ch33
*praise and worship
*play skillfully
*God's word is right and true
*Fear the Lord
*The Lord foils plans of the nations;.... plans of the Lord stand strong.
*Size and skill is nothing without Him.
*trust.
Matthew
Ch18
*greatest in kingdom? like a child in humbleness
*whoever welcomes a child in name of the Lord is welcomed
*DON'T cause others to sin!!
*set yourself apart from what causes you to sin.
*don't look down on little ones.
*celebrate for ONE sheep found!!!
*confront problems one-on-one
*where 2 or 3 come together in His name, there He is with them
*Forgive!!!!
*cancel your debts, for Christ cancelled yours.
Ok so first.....why can't I have dreams like that?!
woke up this morning so upset because of the dream I did have and it threw off my morning. I am not sure if I had a dream I would remember, or is it so intense that you wake up and ready to go? I have been wrestlin with how to figure this stuff out. Afraid?
Afraid..... that's it!!
but wait. would I wake up afraid, or fearful? Or would it be an awe unexplainable? so many questions..... This dream and fear caused a vow from Jacob to give 10% of everything he received to God.
Tithe
What is the big problem with tithing? People seem to not understand that what we have isn't ours to begin with. No i guess you're right, you worked hard for it..... how the beef do you think you got that job?!?!
By who you are and your skills.
Where did those come from? Geeee I wonder.....stop complaining!!!! it's only 10%!!
Kurt was telling me about this guy who spoke at Catalyst about tithing and the analogy he used.
"Ok, so lets say God in his gracefulness gives you 10 one-dollar-bills to take care of. Wow, 10 whole dollars!! Then 10% would be one dollar. So you give that one dollar to God, but look!! 9 more dollars!! And it's all yours! Thank you God."
Why don't we see it like this? Makes perfect sense.
Not too sure what I was to get out of todays reading about Jacob and his love for a beautiful woman but ending up with her sister first. Maybe love? Have to read more I guess.
The passage in Psalm 33 was a bit scattered but good for me.
Importance of praise and worship and why we should. I absolutely love to worship and sing praise. When I am playing the drums for worship bands, I sometimes get caught up the sound, the look, the skill.....but wait. "Play skillfully, and shout for joy" Not sure what the thought behind this is. I mean, it's good to make sure the music is not half-hearted..... so skill would be nice....not sure.
The third bullet is self explanatory. God's word is right and true. Argue that.... (don't waste your breath)
Fearing the Lord has still got me. I don't/can't/not sure how this looks. Someone please help me out. I don't pretend to know all the answers, and if I get something wrong, please Please PLEASE correct me. I am trying.
TRUST
Constantly being beat down by trusting.....this is something I was struggling with doing and now I am feeling it. Everything constantly reminds me that I was not trusting in God and that it is a HUGE deal. It's like a slap to the face daily....and it should be.... I feel I have fixed/working on fixing it. But I first slapped Him when I didn't trust in His power.
Matthew got pretty intense in ch 18. It is stuff we should know and follow but don't always think about. The disciples ask who the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is. Jesus replies, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Wow, we so often look down on little ones because they are young. We should look at them for examples of humility. Children do not judge and they trust so easily.... what happens to us that makes us change from the children.
Right after answering their question Jesus continues to say that anyone who welcomes a child in His name welcomes Him.
I love kids. I love ministry. I love Jesus. Seems easy right?
Not always...I'll be the first to say that I get worn out by the Axiom kids. Need constant prayer for energy to continue to show Christ's love to the children.
Then Jesus says that if you cause a child to sin, you would be better off to just go die. I never really thought about that..... How many times have I been the cause of something that wouldn't have happened if it weren't for me? I am so thankful for God's grace. Not only should we not cause others to stumble, but we too should avoid the things in life that cause us to.
This is key, don't put yourself in the situation.....it wont happen.
Rejoice for ONE life saved. The parable of the lost sheep opened my eyes a while back and I love it so much. When one of our nights was over at one of the ministries I was helping with, only one kid had given his life to the Lord. Look back ten words and read to the period. ONLY ONE?!?!?!?!?! Why was this bothering me?!?! ONE DID!!!! that should call for the most amazing celebration! Heaven is rejoicing like never before for EVERY "sheep found". We should be overjoyed with every new believer added to the family.
FORGIVE!!!!
What do we have to lose when we forgive? Nothing!! why not do it? you will feel good and so will the other party. We are selfish people and it's not ok. We need to cancel our debts for Christ cancelled ours!! Do we really want to slap Him in the face by saying, " thanks for what you did, but I don't think I care enough to reflect it on others." NO!!! Forgive! Be the Moon!!
Have a wonderful friday night all. Love you
-Tyler
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