Do You Know That God Is Faithful?

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

Deut 7:9

God is so faithful.

When we need Him most, we don't have to go very far. In fact, we don't have to move or turn or stretch to find Him. He's right there, right wherever we are.

In the hustle and bustle of living, especially when circumstances all around us are tenuous at best, and in some cases, down right frightening, it's easy to forget that God is still God.

But He is.

He's faithful.

He provides for us.

He sustains us.

Most of all, He loves us.

This past week, my family had a scary situation. For lack of a relatively small amount of money, we were looking at possible eviction. A number of things have conspired to place us in this position but that's not important. The fact was we had a deadline and we were running out of options.

Trembling with anxiety, I heard God say, "Ask". I felt led to reach out to people I've come to know in recent years, many of whom I only know online and wouldn't recognize if they passed me on the street. I felt peculiar making such a request.

But I try hard to be obedient to the Lord.

I asked.

He provided.

The response was overwhelming. In less than 24 hours, I had more than I requested. And I knew that those who weren't able to give were covering my family with their prayers.

For each and every gift, loan, prayer, thought, concern, I am grateful.

The very same morning that I marvelled at God's goodness, I heard of the man in California who killed his wife and five children, then turned the gun on himself, despondent over their financial situation, even as they prepared to move to KS where they would be with family who loved them and were willing to help.

The only way I can make sense of his actions is to say that he didn't know the God I serve.

If he had, he couldn't have done that to himself or his family, no matter how he felt at that moment.

He would have known that life and death belong to God.

He would have known that God always makes a way.

He would have known that God had plans for each of their lives and that, had he weathered the storm, God's glory would have been revealed through his life to others.

I'm thankful--and humbled--that I know.

Again, I say thank you to all, and I pray many blessings for each of you. In this tough economy, take a moment to share God's goodness with someone. They need to know.

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Everything You Need is Already In You

Do I really know EVERYTHING I need to know to lose weight? Then what's the problem?

Previously I said, "The bottomline is that living life in a healthy manner--physically, emotionally, spiritually--begins with me. It's about my choices, my attitude, my actions."

God whispered this into my spirit. He does that, usually to teach me something new in His Word or to remind me of a past lesson.

Lest you think I'm a total egomaniac, I went on a Scripture search this weekend. That's the next step following a God whisper. I knew there was a passage that speaks to this.

I found it in 2 Pet 1.

From the New Living Translation:

1 This letter is from Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to you who share the same precious faith we have. This faith was given to you because of the justice and fairness of Jesus Christ, our God and Savior.

2 May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.

3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.

4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge,

6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness,

7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

A couple of things stand out for me:

1. God has given us everything we need for living a godly life
   
   There it is! We're guilty of thinking if we just had this or if we only knew this or if we could only achieve that... But we already have EVERYTHING we need. For certain, there are conveniences--more and more everyday--that make a particular task easier or faster but those are wants, not needs.
   
   We have what we need.
   
   Of course, having everything is not quite the same as knowing everything, as I said previously. But "having" speaks to inner capacity, the capacity or capability for everything.
   
   
2. These are the promises that enable you to...escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.
   
   Wow! Stop right there. A promise! To escape the negative results of our desires. Like eating too much or the wrong kinds of foods? Like watching TV or sleeping when I might be exercising? In my case, the desires that corrupt my health.
   
   
3. "...make every effort to respond..."
   
   This brings me back to "It starts with me." God made the promise. Now I have to do my part. If I make every effort to lose weight, part of living a godly life because it means I'm taking the best care I can of the body God has given me, then I should have success.
   
   As I've said, I've had short periods of success over the years but I can't honestly say I've made a determined effort, every day, year in and year out, to take the best possible care of my body. Can you?
   
   
4. "...Supplement your faith ... with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control..."
   
   Self-control here means doing the things we know we should do and not doing the things that we know we shouldn't. Like eating that 400 calorie chocolate bar Saturday evening I brought home from the pharmacy and hid from my husband. (Note: He occasionally reads my blogs but he already knows about my bad habits.)
   
   Controlling self. I get that. I really do. It's just soooooo HARD! Don't you agree?
   
   
5. But then the Word continues with "The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be..."
   
   Not one verse suggests anything about this being easy. Things were pretty easy in the Garden of Eden. Look how that turned out.

It might seem as though some folks decide to go on a diet or change careers or grow their hair long or write a book or whatever, and they have immediate success.

For me, it's not that way. Time to accept that.

But if I stay focused and do what I need to do, because I have everything already in me, and if I supplement my faith with knowledge and my knowledge with self-control, then I should see results. And as I continue to do this, I'll get better at it.

So will you.

Read that as SUCCESS.

What's the biggest issue for you? Is it self-control? Is it knowledge? Is it faith, i.e. trusting in God's promises? Have you made every effort?

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia