From Self-Centered to God-Centered

Finally, Saul the son of Kish was chosen. 

But when they looked for him, he was nowhere to be found.

The people prayed, "Our LORD, is Saul here?"

 "Yes," the LORD answered, "he is hiding behind the baggage." 

1 Samuel 10:21-22 cev

But some scoundrels said, 

“How can this fellow save us?” 

They despised him and brought him no gifts. 

But Saul kept silent. 

1 Samuel 10:27 niv

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"Self-consciousness constitutes the opposite of God-consciousness.

Rather thank gratefully rejoicing in the privilege 

God was freely extending to him,

Saul's concern ran to himself

and what others would think of him."

-- Beth Moore from the study "David"

This stuff of self

pulls and drags

holding me down,

miring me in the muddiness of this world. 

Pleasing people

is an endless rat-race,

running on an endless wheel

that exhausts and does not fulfill.

Living up to the pictures in my head

is impossible and so defeating. 

I cannot do it.

Focusing on self

brings death.

What is the remedy?

What brings life and peace?

"You can't worship two gods at once. 

Loving one god, you'll end up hating the other. 

Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. 

You can't worship God and Money both.

If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, 

it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes 

or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. 

There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, 

more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. 

Look at the birds, free and unfettered, 

not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. 

And you count far more to him than birds. 

What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, 

to not be so preoccupied with getting, 

so you can respond to God's giving. 

People who don't know God and the way he works 

fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. 

Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. 

Don't worry about missing out. 

You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, 

and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. 

God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes"

Matthew 6:25-26, 31-34 msg

Passionate Patience

There's more to come: 

We continue to shout our praise 

even when we're hemmed in with troubles, 

because we know how troubles can develop 

passionate patience 

in us, and how that patience in turn 

forges the tempered steel of virtue, 

keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. 

In alert expectancy such as this, 

we're never left feeling shortchanged. 

Quite the contrary—

we can't round up enough containers 

to hold everything God generously pours 

into our lives through the Holy Spirit! 

Romans 5:3-5 msg

O how I wish I could say 

those Words above are mine.

Patience is not my first choice,

especially in the midst of chaos,

when my tension is rising,

things need to get done,

and kids need to be kept on track.

I feel the pull down

into the whirl of it all

and far too often I lash out.

My discomfort 

becomes all I see.

Oh Lord,

You are right there

waiting for me to come to You,

to wait on You. 

If I choose patience

You will build endurance

and that endurance grows into character.

Please help me to choose to 

hold my tongue and wait.

Help me to choose patience.

But that's not all! We gladly suffer, because

we know that suffering helps us to endure. 

And endurance builds character, 

which gives us a hope that will never disappoint us. 

All of this happens because 

God has given us the Holy Spirit, 

who fills our hearts with his love.

Romans 5:3-5 cev

I asked the LORD for help,

   and he saved me

   from all my fears.

    Keep your eyes on the LORD!

   You will shine like the sun

   and never blush with shame.

   I was a nobody, but I prayed,

   and the LORD saved me

   from all my troubles.

   If you honor the LORD,

   his angel will protect you. 

Psalm 34:4-7 cev

I Have Nothing

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. 

When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, 

"Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."  

He said to them, "When you pray, say: 

" 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 

 Give us each day our daily bread.  

Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. 

And lead us not into temptation. ' " 

 Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, 

and he goes to him at midnight and says, '

Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,  

because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and 

I have nothing to set before him.'  

"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. 

The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. 

I can't get up and give you anything.' 

  I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread 

because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness 

he will get up and give him as much as he needs. 

 "So I say to you:  

Ask 

and it will be given to you; 

seek 

and you will find;

knock 

and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks receives; 

he who seeks finds; 

and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

 

"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, 

will give him a snake instead?

Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

If you then, though you are evil, 

know how to give good gifts to your children, 

how much more will your Father in heaven 

give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Luke 11:1-13 niv

 I was reading the verses above 

this morning.

As usual, floating around in my head

are the concerns I often 

think about.

Mothering is a huge task.

  

As I read the verses above,

these words jumped off the page:

"I have nothing!"

 I want my kids to speak to each other in love. 

I want peace to fill my home.

I want my kids to hunger for God and 

live their lives in His power and strength. 

I want to produce Spirit fruit in my life.

I have nothing

that will cause any of this to happen.

Over and over in His Word 

God tells us to come to Him.

He knows I have nothing.

He wants to give me

everything I need.

I simply have to come to Him.

We have a great high priest, who has gone into heaven, 

and he is Jesus the Son of God. 

That is why we must hold on 

to what we have said about him. 

Jesus understands every weakness of ours, 

because he was tempted in every way that we are. 

But he did not sin! 

So whenever we are in need, 

we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. 

There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, 

and we will find help. 

Hebrews 4:14-16 cev 

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We have a great high priest who is in charge of God's house. 

So let's come near God with pure hearts 

and a confidence that comes from having faith. 

Let's keep our hearts pure, 

our consciences free from evil, 

and our bodies washed with clean water.  

 We must hold tightly to the hope that we say is ours. 

After all, we can trust the one who made the agreement with us. 

Hebrews 10:21-23 cev 

Exactly as He Said

He said, "Don't be afraid. 

I know you're looking for Jesus the Nazarene, 

the One they nailed on the cross. 

He's been raised up; He's here no longer. 

You can see for yourselves that the place is empty. 

Now—on your way. 

Tell His disciples and Peter that He is going on ahead of you to Galilee. 

You'll see Him there, exactly as He said." 

Mark 16:6-7 msg

•

Bewildered,

they were completely shocked

that You weren't there.

You had already told them

what to expect.

You told them You would be killed,

You would be dead for a little while,

but that You would come back.

You told them You would meet them in Galilee.

You did exactly as You said.

Thank You, Lord, that I can trust You and Your Word.

Thank You that You do exactly as You say You will do. 

Help me to hear Your voice.

Give me a heart that seeks You,

listens to You 

and believes what You say.

Keep Choosing Life and Peace

My dear friends, we must not live to satisfy our desires.  

If you do, you will die. 

But you will live, if by the help of God's Spirit 

you say "No" to your desires . 

Only those people who are led by God's Spirit are his children. 

Romans 8:12-14 cev

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It's voice is always there

telling me how to feel

telling me to look out for myself

telling me to make myself comfortable,

"I deserve to take a break...."

"Why do I have to do it all?"

"What about me?"

Listening to my old self

leads me down a dark road

lined with false promises of comfort

and happiness and relaxation.

But that road leads to shame

and death.

Having feasted on the flesh

I stand covered in carnage.

Hanging my head

filled with despair 

"What have I done?"

Will I ever end this love of myself?

•

People who are ruled by their desires think only of themselves. 

Everyone who is ruled by the Holy Spirit thinks about spiritual things. 

If our minds are ruled by our desires, we will die. 

But if our minds are ruled by the Spirit, we will have life and peace. 

Romans 8:5-6 cev

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I have a choice.

I do not have to do what my feelings tell me to do.

I have the power in me;

not my power, but the power that raised Christ from the dead —

the Holy Spirit —

to turn and do what He wants me to do.

Then I will be filled with life and peace,

instead of death and chaos. 

•

This is what the Lord says—
      your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
   “I am the Lord your God,
      who teaches you what is good for you
      and leads you along the paths you should follow.
 ¹⁸ Oh, that you had listened to my commands!
      Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river
      and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.

Isaiah 46:17-18 nlt

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Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, 

“I am the light of the world. 

If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, 

because you will have the light that leads to life."

 

John 8:12 nlt

Deciding How to Live

When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway,

deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw

he couldn't do but on what God said He would do.

Romans 4:18 msg

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Abraham was certain that God could do

what He had promised.

Romans 4:21 cev

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There has never been the slightest doubt

in my mind that the God who started

this great work in you

would keep at it and bring it to 

a flourishing finish on the very day

Christ Jesus appears. 

Philippians 1:6 msg

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No, we neither make nor save ourselves.

God does both the making and saving.

He creates each of us by Christ Jesus

to join Him in the work He does,

the good work He has gotten ready for us to do,

work we had better be doing.

Ephesians 2:10 msg

It comes so easy:

the despair

the overwhelmed feeling

the dullness. 

Looking down,

looking around,

looking within,

all is lacking.

It is so easy to see.

What is not seen is real.

It is solid,

it is what I can depend on.

I must decide how I will live,

each day,

each moment.

I am not the source,

You are.

You created me.

You saved me.

You gave me work to do.

You do the work in me

and through me.

Only You can make

something out of nothing,

speak life into death.

So I decide to look up,

to trust,

to believe.

Just as I am, He loves me

Peter blurted out, "Even if everyone else is ashamed of you 

when things fall to pieces, I won't be."

 Jesus said, "Don't be so sure. Today, this very night in fact, 

before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times."

 He blustered in protest, "Even if I have to die with you, 

I will never deny you." All the others said the same thing. 

•

He came back and found them sound asleep. 

He said to Peter, "Simon, you went to sleep on me?

Can't you stick it out with me a single hour? 

Stay alert, be in prayer, so you don't enter 

the danger zone without even knowing it. 

Don't be naive. Part of you is eager, 

ready for anything in God; 

but another part is as lazy as an old dog 

sleeping by the fire." 

•

Now Peter got really nervous and swore, 

"I never laid eyes on this man you're talking about." 

Just then the rooster crowed a second time. 

Peter remembered how Jesus had said, 

"Before a rooster crows twice, you'll deny me three times." 

He collapsed in tears.  

Mark 14:29-30, 37-38, 71-72 msg

I know so well that eager desire, 

jumping in, signing up, ready to be and do

all that God wants me to.

I think I am so much more than I am.

Just like Peter, sometimes.

Yes, Lord! I'll give my life for You!

I'll do it!

I'll go!

Here am I, send me!

My heart leaps in excited joy,

thinking of all that I will do for Him.

But then, reality hits. 

There in the shadows, around the warming fire,

I am questioned, 

the time has come to show my allegiance.

Shaking and quaking, I back away.

I am unable. 

Humbly I see how unwilling I truly am.

I seek comfort.

I desire the warmth of His presence,

forgetting that it is not always felt. 

But it is always there. 

Trust God, my friends,

and always tell him

each one of your concerns.

God is our place of safety.

We humans are only a breath;

none of us are truly great.

All of us together weigh less

than a puff of air.

Don't trust in violence

or depend on dishonesty

or rely on great wealth.

I heard God say two things:

"I am powerful,

and I am very kind."

The Lord rewards each of us

according to what we do. 

Psalm 62:8-12 cev