+/-
my eyes to the world seem to trick me sometimes. sometimes i feel like everything is under control and sometimes i feel like i'm trying to balance 12 shots of 'sotb' (sorry i think there are underaged readers...) with one arm through a crowded bar... um yeah. i've tried and it never makes it. the shots usually end up in some poor girl's lap before it gets to it's destination. time just never seems to be enough. i'm glad i quit my job.
last sunday andy g. spoke on the ninth commandment: don't lie (exodus 20:16). but he chose not to focus on the don't part of it. rather, he turned around and looked at the mirror image: tell the truth. a small, yet densely significant, difference.
there is power in speaking the truth. speaking Truth. jesus told a lot of truths. take john 8:31. if you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. a mere 2 short sentences, yet there is such amazing power in those few words.
look at them carefully. think about what they're saying.
obedience comes before enlightenment. so often people ask why and demand answers before they are willing to act, or believe. but very simply, jesus says here that we first need to hold to the teachings (live according to them), THEN you will know the truth. and THEN we are set free. knowledge sets us free. knowledge of our own errors and limitations sets us free from them. how many of us feel stuck in our own failings, inabilities, imperfections? we simply need to walk in the truth, and we will be free. FREE!!
a couple of years ago, a friend and i had a discussion about whether continued obedience can undo the chains of spiritual bondage just as much as a deliverance session. this verse very clearly says yes. God may choose to break bondages in a moment's time, or he may choose to loosen them through our obedience.
i sometimes wonder if some people really grasp the significance and value of freedom. true spiritual freedom. sometimes i come across people who are only able to see the negative of every situation, and they allow the negatives to overtake any possibility of a positive. then they complain about how miserable life is.
maybe we should all look just a little beyond ourselves, and find the positive. it doesn't mean pretending that nothing is wrong, but it's choosing to receive the rights over all the wrongs. i believe there is power in that, when we choose to look at the things that are good. it's just turning around and looking at the flipside, the mirror image. let's look at the truth of something rather than the lie. the Truth is what can move us forward. the Truth is what can change our perspective. the Truth is what can change the situation. the Truth is what sets us free, not the lies. wallowing in the lies just keeps us stuck in that place. i don't want to be stuck in the same place. i like moving, moving forward.
psalm 91
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 This I declare of the LORD:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I am trusting him.
3 For he will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from the fatal plague.
4 He will shield you with his wings.
He will shelter you with his feathers.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor fear the dangers of the day,
6 nor dread the plague that stalks in darkness,
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
7 Though a thousand fall at your side,
though ten thousand are dying around you,
these evils will not touch you.
8 But you will see it with your eyes;
you will see how the wicked are punished.
9 If you make the LORD your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,
10 no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your dwelling.
11 For he orders his angels
to protect you wherever you go.
12 They will hold you with their hands
to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.
13 You will trample down lions and poisonous snakes;
you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
14 The LORD says, "I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name.
15 When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue them and honor them.
16 I will satisfy them with a long life
and give them my salvation."
my eyes to the world seem to trick me sometimes. sometimes i feel like everything is under control and sometimes i feel like i'm trying to balance 12 shots of 'sotb' (sorry i think there are underaged readers...) with one arm through a crowded bar... um yeah. i've tried and it never makes it. the shots usually end up in some poor girl's lap before it gets to it's destination. time just never seems to be enough. i'm glad i quit my job.
last sunday andy g. spoke on the ninth commandment: don't lie (exodus 20:16). but he chose not to focus on the don't part of it. rather, he turned around and looked at the mirror image: tell the truth. a small, yet densely significant, difference.
there is power in speaking the truth. speaking Truth. jesus told a lot of truths. take john 8:31. if you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. a mere 2 short sentences, yet there is such amazing power in those few words.
look at them carefully. think about what they're saying.
obedience comes before enlightenment. so often people ask why and demand answers before they are willing to act, or believe. but very simply, jesus says here that we first need to hold to the teachings (live according to them), THEN you will know the truth. and THEN we are set free. knowledge sets us free. knowledge of our own errors and limitations sets us free from them. how many of us feel stuck in our own failings, inabilities, imperfections? we simply need to walk in the truth, and we will be free. FREE!!
a couple of years ago, a friend and i had a discussion about whether continued obedience can undo the chains of spiritual bondage just as much as a deliverance session. this verse very clearly says yes. God may choose to break bondages in a moment's time, or he may choose to loosen them through our obedience.
i sometimes wonder if some people really grasp the significance and value of freedom. true spiritual freedom. sometimes i come across people who are only able to see the negative of every situation, and they allow the negatives to overtake any possibility of a positive. then they complain about how miserable life is.
maybe we should all look just a little beyond ourselves, and find the positive. it doesn't mean pretending that nothing is wrong, but it's choosing to receive the rights over all the wrongs. i believe there is power in that, when we choose to look at the things that are good. it's just turning around and looking at the flipside, the mirror image. let's look at the truth of something rather than the lie. the Truth is what can move us forward. the Truth is what can change our perspective. the Truth is what can change the situation. the Truth is what sets us free, not the lies. wallowing in the lies just keeps us stuck in that place. i don't want to be stuck in the same place. i like moving, moving forward.
psalm 91
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 This I declare of the LORD:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I am trusting him.
3 For he will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from the fatal plague.
4 He will shield you with his wings.
He will shelter you with his feathers.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor fear the dangers of the day,
6 nor dread the plague that stalks in darkness,
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
7 Though a thousand fall at your side,
though ten thousand are dying around you,
these evils will not touch you.
8 But you will see it with your eyes;
you will see how the wicked are punished.
9 If you make the LORD your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,
10 no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your dwelling.
11 For he orders his angels
to protect you wherever you go.
12 They will hold you with their hands
to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.
13 You will trample down lions and poisonous snakes;
you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
14 The LORD says, "I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name.
15 When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue them and honor them.
16 I will satisfy them with a long life
and give them my salvation."
posted by jana* at 11:54 PM
