Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Building A Foundation
The word of my testimony today has to do with the knowing of a testimony to come.
The choices I have made in my adult life have often brought me to places I would rather not be.
Time and time again I would struggle to not make those same types of choices , sometimes thinking surely , I had been successful this time , only to find later on , that nope , sure enough here I am back where I was again.
Repeated behavior can be a blessing if you do not mind looking at your past like reading a good mystery book. Looking for clues as to "why." Oh, my Christian friends are always right when they say, " It is that old nature that drives us to do those things." However, I have found if you want to stop driving down the same road, you have to take time to assess , why do you keep doing it ?
The Bible talks about taking off the old man like a garment and putting on the new man , the new nature that Christ Jesus gives us.
My experience is you have to be very familiar about the one that is coming off as well as being very familiar with the one that is coming on.
Some of the repeated behaviors that I have seen in my life evidently have sprung up from being moved around so much in my childhood.
Now I have learned from other repeated behaviors that I have been able to quit , that forgiveness is the key.
Oh, if you didn't know that , think about the Lord's Prayer and what an emphasis was made on that. However, before you can really forgive, ( I think ) you must be able to believe that you really are forgiven. So if forgiving is a new idea, try thinking about, do you believe you are forgiven?
Try as hard as I could, I could not keep my children from the devastation of changing schools and having no long term friends. Here's where I need to believe that I am forgiven.
Trying as hard as I can, I have tried to forgive gypsy like parents who seemed unable to settle in one place for long.
The situation has looked hopeless to me until I stumbled upon this wonderful verse today.
I will build them up and not tear them down;
I will plant them and not uproot them,
I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord.
JEREMIAH 24:6-7
What a promise of a testimony to be. I will trust Him to bring it to pass for me and my household .
How helpful it is to know that our God's intention for us is to restore. That which was taken from us, He will restore. He promises to be a husband to the widow, and a father to the fatherless. Truly a God who says He will restore what has been taken from you. Truly a God to turn to and say, "I will do things Your way. If You say, forgive, then Lord I will forgive."
The choices I have made in my adult life have often brought me to places I would rather not be.
Time and time again I would struggle to not make those same types of choices , sometimes thinking surely , I had been successful this time , only to find later on , that nope , sure enough here I am back where I was again.
Repeated behavior can be a blessing if you do not mind looking at your past like reading a good mystery book. Looking for clues as to "why." Oh, my Christian friends are always right when they say, " It is that old nature that drives us to do those things." However, I have found if you want to stop driving down the same road, you have to take time to assess , why do you keep doing it ?
The Bible talks about taking off the old man like a garment and putting on the new man , the new nature that Christ Jesus gives us.
My experience is you have to be very familiar about the one that is coming off as well as being very familiar with the one that is coming on.
Some of the repeated behaviors that I have seen in my life evidently have sprung up from being moved around so much in my childhood.
Now I have learned from other repeated behaviors that I have been able to quit , that forgiveness is the key.
Oh, if you didn't know that , think about the Lord's Prayer and what an emphasis was made on that. However, before you can really forgive, ( I think ) you must be able to believe that you really are forgiven. So if forgiving is a new idea, try thinking about, do you believe you are forgiven?
Try as hard as I could, I could not keep my children from the devastation of changing schools and having no long term friends. Here's where I need to believe that I am forgiven.
Trying as hard as I can, I have tried to forgive gypsy like parents who seemed unable to settle in one place for long.
The situation has looked hopeless to me until I stumbled upon this wonderful verse today.
I will build them up and not tear them down;
I will plant them and not uproot them,
I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord.
JEREMIAH 24:6-7
What a promise of a testimony to be. I will trust Him to bring it to pass for me and my household .
How helpful it is to know that our God's intention for us is to restore. That which was taken from us, He will restore. He promises to be a husband to the widow, and a father to the fatherless. Truly a God who says He will restore what has been taken from you. Truly a God to turn to and say, "I will do things Your way. If You say, forgive, then Lord I will forgive."
