Blog Archives - Jane Hinrichs

What are you feeding?

8/31/2011

I just have a few verses to share with you today. The thoughts I share aren't unique to me. Yet, they are good things to think about.

What we think about, what we put into our minds, this stuff is the food. Will it give strength to the flesh or the spirit?

"Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work.'"John 4:34

"man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD." Deuteronomy 8:3b

"For the mind set on the flesh (sinful impulses) is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so." Romans 8:6-7

"Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted which is able to save your souls." James 1:21

Focus

8/30/2011

"And he who makes haste with his feet errs (sins)." Proverbs 19:2b

This verse is my reality so often. I am getting better, but there have been so many times I've wasted time or money and emotional and mental power running toward something that was a good thing but it wasn't what God told me to do at the moment.

We have to stay on task.

May I give you an illustration from my own life?

If I have a new problem, I just know a book will give me the answer. And it often does but sometimes I get a new book on a subject that I want to pursue in my life. I will get this book and spend time looking at it and it is just a distraction. One of my dreams is to have a comic strip. That probably sounds silly to some, but there is a comic strip I read daily that makes me chuckle: http://babyblues.com.

And often I think I'm living a comic strip with my three youngest children. Some of the things they say and do are so out there, funny and nonsensical. I should be writing these things down. Well, I got a book on comic strips. Actually I believe I have two. Maybe one day I will have a comic strip but presently it just gets me off course from what I know I am supposed to do.

I have three primary things I must do: pray for the people God has called me to pray for; write the assignments God has given me (which presently includes this blog, my weekly column, a book for a client and a once-a-month writers study sheet); and take care of my son Hawken.

Now, I have of course more to do than that (like care for my other five kids, my husband and the house and the garden and the stuff at church), but my brain power during the day needs to focus on the three tasks at hand: prayer, writing, Hawk.

When I get distracted I get off course.

Grumblers miss out

8/29/2011

"In the morning, however, they rose up early and went up to the ridge of the hill country, saying, 'Here we are; we have indeed sinned, but we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised." Numbers 14:40

What a sad verse. The story behind this is that Moses sent spies into the promised land to get a report of the lay of the land and its residents. Two of the spies: Joshua and Caleb were pumped about it. They said it was ready to be taken. The rest of them though said the residents were giants and there was no way God's children could win. They would be defeated.

The Israelites listened to the ten spies instead of the two and they wailed and cried and complained.

God heard. God was mad. God told them through Moses they would die in the wilderness and their children would have to live 40 years as shepherds in the wilderness before they entered the promised land. But they would enter.

The next day the verse quoted above happened. Moses told them it was too late. They went anyway and were beaten down by the enemy.

When we sin especially with unbelief and fear, we miss out and we can't get that God opportunity back. God can and will restore us when we turn back to Him but that opportunity is gone. We will never know what we might have seen or had or done.

Grumbling is in the present too. When we grumble we are looking at ourselves rather than God or we are looking at others and complaining about them.

In Numbers 11 the people complain about God's provision.

In Numbers 12, Aaron and Miriam complain about Moses, God's servant.

In Numbers 13, the people chosen to do a God-task complain about the obstacles to the opportunity -- promote fear instead of faith in the people.

And in Numbers 14, the people refuse to believe God can overcome and cry because they are scared.

All of these kinds of complaints still happen among God's people. "There is nothing new under the sun."

Please don't be a grumbler.

Who to Blame

8/26/2011

Today, I had some thoughts to share about John 9 but I am instead going to cut and paste the chapter from http://Biblegateway.com from The Message Bible. It is very thought-provoking and I think if you read it you'll be touched. Thanks for reading. And thanks for commenting. I hope you have a lovely weekend.
1-2 Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?" 3-5Jesus said, "You're asking the wrong question. You're looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do. We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over. For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light. I am the world's Light." 6-7He said this and then spit in the dust, made a clay paste with the saliva, rubbed the paste on the blind man's eyes, and said, "Go, wash at the Pool of Siloam" (Siloam means "Sent"). The man went and washed—and saw.

8Soon the town was buzzing. His relatives and those who year after year had seen him as a blind man begging were saying, "Why, isn't this the man we knew, who sat here and begged?"

9Others said, "It's him all right!"

   But others objected, "It's not the same man at all. It just looks like him."

   He said, "It's me, the very one."

10They said, "How did your eyes get opened?"

11"A man named Jesus made a paste and rubbed it on my eyes and told me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' I did what he said. When I washed, I saw."

12"So where is he?"

   "I don't know."

13-15They marched the man to the Pharisees. This day when Jesus made the paste and healed his blindness was the Sabbath. The Pharisees grilled him again on how he had come to see. He said, "He put a clay paste on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see."

16Some of the Pharisees said, "Obviously, this man can't be from God. He doesn't keep the Sabbath."

   Others countered, "How can a bad man do miraculous, God-revealing things like this?" There was a split in their ranks.

17They came back at the blind man, "You're the expert. He opened your eyes. What do you say about him?"

   He said, "He is a prophet."

18-19The Jews didn't believe it, didn't believe the man was blind to begin with. So they called the parents of the man now bright-eyed with sight. They asked them, "Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? So how is it that he now sees?"

20-23His parents said, "We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind. But we don't know how he came to see—haven't a clue about who opened his eyes. Why don't you ask him? He's a grown man and can speak for himself." (His parents were talking like this because they were intimidated by the Jewish leaders, who had already decided that anyone who took a stand that this was the Messiah would be kicked out of the meeting place. That's why his parents said, "Ask him. He's a grown man.")

24They called the man back a second time—the man who had been blind— and told him, "Give credit to God. We know this man is an impostor."

25He replied, "I know nothing about that one way or the other. But I know one thing for sure: I was blind . . . I now see."

26They said, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"

27"I've told you over and over and you haven't listened. Why do you want to hear it again? Are you so eager to become his disciples?"

28-29With that they jumped all over him. "You might be a disciple of that man, but we're disciples of Moses. We know for sure that God spoke to Moses, but we have no idea where this man even comes from."

30-33The man replied, "This is amazing! You claim to know nothing about him, but the fact is, he opened my eyes! It's well known that God isn't at the beck and call of sinners, but listens carefully to anyone who lives in reverence and does his will. That someone opened the eyes of a man born blind has never been heard of—ever. If this man didn't come from God, he wouldn't be able to do anything."

34They said, "You're nothing but dirt! How dare you take that tone with us!" Then they threw him out in the street.

35Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and went and found him. He asked him, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

36The man said, "Point him out to me, sir, so that I can believe in him."

37Jesus said, "You're looking right at him. Don't you recognize my voice?"

38"Master, I believe," the man said, and worshiped him.

39Jesus then said, "I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all the distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind."

40Some Pharisees overheard him and said, "Does that mean you're calling us blind?"

41Jesus said, "If you were really blind, you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, you're accountable for every fault and failure."

Good Things (and yet another public service announcement)

8/25/2011

"Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights" James 1:17a

Any kindness, any gentleness, any touch of love that touches our lives is from God. Every thing that makes you smile, everything that reminds you that life is not that bad, that you are noticed, is God loving you.

Read these verses from Hosea 11:

"I took them in My arms; But they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love, And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws (got them out of slavery); And I bent down and fed them."

Isn't that cool! God is touching every life everywhere showing them they are loved. There are rotten things in this world but God can overcome all of them, have compassion seep through. He's not far from anyone. He hasn't left anyone alone.

And my public service announcement is that I can post this in the morning sometimes. So, if you benefit from this before you go to work, you can. Thank you so much for reading.

Religion

8/24/2011

"'Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.'" Mark 7:8

Jesus said this to some of the local teachers after they complained about his disciples not washing their hands before they ate. Jesus wasn't concerned about it. They were. They were miffed because the disciples didn't follow the rules and traditions they set up for the people.

This is a wake-up call for me and for you too if you listen. Do we put our traditions and the "it's-the-way-we've-always-done-it" mentality over God's word or His Spirit. We can be such sticklers to keeping it as always that we don't let the Spirit move.

Now God doesn't go against His word. He won't lead us to do sin. But He very likely will lead us to do something outside the way we've always done it when it is more effective than the usual way.

Often, it is easier just to do it the way everyone expects to. We then create no conflict. We keep everyone relatively happy or at least keep the gripes to a minimum. But at what price?

If God is calling us to do something in a new way and we refuse, we've just denied God and ignored His voice. The more we ignore His voice the less we will be able to hear it. And eventually, if we continue to choose Man's traditions over God's Spirit we won't hear anymore.

Food for thought: areas of ministry that have become religious might be found in: music choice, order of service, dress codes, volume of service, days we worship, programs. None of these are bad and often they are quite good. But we should regularly evaluate the choices our church body is making. Sometimes God has led us to a certain type of ministry that maybe needs to change in

Word Power

8/23/2011

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit." Proverbs 18:21

Boy, words are powerful, for good or evil. And we're talking spoken and written words, heard words too (not sure if that is technically right but the words you hear are powerful to your life). Last night I was at my Created to Create Writers Group where share things we have written recently, then give each other encouragement and criticism. We talked about how much power is in the written word. It will change hearts.

I want to share a story with you from 2 Kings 2. It is about the prophet Elisha. He was Elijah's servant and took Elijah's place when God brought Elijah home. Elisha asked for a double-portion of Elijah's spirit and he got it. And there was power in his words big-time.

Here's 2 Kings 2:23-24:

"Then (Elisha) went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, 'Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!'

"When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number. And he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria."

I read this story to my husband this morning. We had two entirely different reactions to this story. I thought to myself, Wow, that's kind of harsh. The mob of kids made fun of Elisha so they were attacked by bears. I thought maybe he should have just ignored them. It is quite sobering to think that if we are careless with cursing others we might be behind their destruction.

My husband's comment was this: you don't mess with God's prophet.

Both are right. And wow, what diffferent perspectives. What he said was true. We aren't to mess, make fun of, ridicule God's prophets. These days we might not know if someone is God's prophet or not. So, just in case, don't ridicu

Word Power

8/23/2011

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit." Proverbs 18:21

Boy, words are powerful, for good or evil. And we're talking spoken and written words, heard words too (not sure if that is technically right but the words you hear are powerful to your life). Last night I was at my Created to Create Writers Group where share things we have written recently, then give each other encouragement and criticism. We talked about how much power is in the written word. It will change hearts.

I want to share a story with you from 2 Kings 2. It is about the prophet Elisha. He was Elijah's servant and took Elijah's place when God brought Elijah home. Elisha asked for a double-portion of Elijah's spirit and he got it. And there was power in his words big-time.

Here's 2 Kings 2:23-24:

"Then (Elisha) went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, 'Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!'

"When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number. And he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria."

I read this story to my husband this morning. We had two entirely different reactions to this story. I thought to myself, Wow, that's kind of harsh. The mob of kids made fun of Elisha so they were attacked by bears. I thought maybe he should have just ignored them. It is quite sobering to think that if we are careless with cursing others we might be behind their destruction.

My husband's comment was this: you don't mess with God's prophet.

Both are right. And wow, what diffferent perspectives. What he said was true. We aren't to mess, make fun of, ridicule God's prophets. These days we might not know if someone is God's prophet or not. So, just in case, don't ridicu

Wait for it . . . and a small service announcement

8/22/2011

"Yet God is my King from of old, Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth." Psalm 74:12

Oh boy, I have at least two more scriptures I want to share with the one above. We really sell ourselves short when we don't wait on God for solutions, for working things out, for answers to problems. How do you know if you aren't waiting? You take the problem into your hands and figure it out. You are waiting for provision but you're in panic mode. You make it work but later there are all sorts of consequences to deal with because of how you "fixed" it.

Don't do anything out of panic or fear! Nothing!

Read that verse above again. It says God works "deeds" of deliverance. God isn't into quick stuff or slapping a band-aid on the problem. He truly restores us to life and joy and peace. This kind of restoration takes time but while taking that time God is doing more than we can realize in so many more areas than just us. When we insist on our own way we are saying, "It's about me! Do it my way! I don't want to wait. I don't care what else God could be planning. I just want my problem taken away."

We miss out. The world misses out. Everyone loses when we don't wait on God.

Okay, now I have a couple more scriptures for you that are just so cool. Here we go:

"Light is sown like seed for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart." Psalm 97:11

"Light arises in the darkness for the upright." Psalm 112:4a

Yes, wait for the light. It will come. God will come through. But you have to wait. If you wait you will gain new strength. If you wait you will see some incredible miracle that will increase your faith and speak to so many who are watching your life.

I almost forgot, my service announcement. Starting Wednesday, my blog post won't be posted until later in the morning. Right now I usually post it before 7:30 central time. But Wednesday my mornings get a whole lot busier. My six kids will need to get ready for school. And that means my mom duties have to come first. So please, don't quit coming if you've been chiming in early in the morning. Just stop by a bit later. Also, share this with your friends. We all need Jesus. We all need encouragement. We all need strength to face the challenges. Right now we are getting about 2000 people a day spending a few minutes here. Let's try and get 10,000 by the end of the year. That would be cool.

Get the whole story

8/19/2011

"others were saying, 'This is the Christ.' Still others were saying, 'Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from . . . Bethlehem (?) . . . So there arose a division in the multitude because of Him." John 7:41-43

The problem was none of the them had the whole story. Instead of digging deeper they just wrote Jesus off. If they had dug deeper, gone deeper than the contradiction they would have seen it wasn't a contradiction at all. But they stopped at what they knew and wrote Jesus off.

What about us? When Scripture or life seems to be in contradiction to what we think God is or what we know Him to be, do we dig deeper and get past that contradiction and find the truth? If we don't we are really missing out on something profound.

Stories

8/18/2011

"When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, 'Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry, and have children of harlotry, for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the LORD.'" Hosea 1:2

Sometimes the things God calls His kids to do are tough and will be filled with heartbreak. He told Hosea to marry a prostitute because God was using Hosea's life as a living story to speak through to His chosen people.

God still does this. He still speaks through His children's lives. Maybe He's speaking so the world hears and sees. Maybe He's speaking through your life so your neighbors see, others Believers see or maybe just a passing stranger. We have no idea how He's using our lives often. We don't have to know.

You know what, He can even use us when we have bad attitudes. Think of Jonah. He didn't want to go to Ninevah. He finally went and did what God told him too. He told them doom and destruction were coming, but he sure didn't do it with a humble heart and with love. God still was able to use his pathetic effort. The whole city repented and turned to God.

Maybe that was just a tangent but it works.

One more thing from the first chapter of Hosea: verse seven is great. It says:

"But I will have compassion on the house of Judah and deliver them by the LORD their God, and will not deliver them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horseman." Hosea 1:7

When we allow God to deliver us rather than take matters into our own hands, He will do it in a very unexpected way. He won't deliver us in the way we think He will or should. He is so much more creative than we can even fathom.

I hope you don't mind but I want to share a quick illustration from my own life here. Money has always been an issue in my adult life. I want to handle it myself -- and not money exactly but providence, how things will be provided for. In years past I've tried to figure it out on my own and messed things up royally. Because of these mess-ups I'm still digging myself out of a hole. But God has freed me from worrrying about finances. He truly provides even when things looks terrible. He has shown me this in such incredible miraculous ways.

BUT, the flesh will quickly take over again if we allow it too. As long as we are still alive in these temporary bodies we have to monitor our attitudes and make sure we are trusting in God and not ourselves.

Out of the blue I get a call from someone. She asks me to write a book for her. It is totally a God thing! I've prayed about being a ghost. From what I've read there are thousands of ghosts out there who make good livings. But I can't write just anything. So I let it be. This opportunity came up and it is straight from God. For my first ghost assignment I am getting paid well overall. With my contract with my client I get paid three times. The fee is split between the payments. I got paid the first third with the signing of the contract. About halfway through I'll get the second third. And when it is complete I'll get the last payment.

Well, my flesh got into this deal lately. I am scheming -- thinking if I work really hard I can get paid quicker. I want to do a fantastic job so I began pushing myself to do volumes of work very quickly. Cause I was thinking -- okay I can use that money to pay this, do this, pay this mortgage payment, etc. This isn't from GOD!!!! I was trying to figure it out once again.

My client saved me from this -- showed me what I was doing. She said, "Jane, I'm in no hurry. Take time. Pray, think. It will come."

That stopped me quick. It shined the light on that nasty flesh that was trying to take over. God is in control. I don't have to fret or scheme when it comes to finances. I am not the provider. He is. If I get more ghost jobs He will bring them. That is how He works with me and finances.

Finances might not be the area you need to work on, guard against. Whatever you've dealt with a lot probably is an area that needs to be watched by you. God will be in charge of that area. Just don't take it back. Let Him work.

A bit more on Mercy and Compassion

8/17/2011

God is "rich in mercy." Ephesians 2:4a

To say God is rich in something is mind-boggling if you give it a few minutes thinking time. Mercy and compassion are often interchangeable. Are we rich in compassion? Are we rich in compassion and mercy toward those we see every day at work, at home, in the market place? Or, do we quickly judge someone if their appearance is distasteful or if we think in our great wisdom they could help themselves?

There is a line of thought in some Christian circles that is so anti-God but is embraced (actually there is probably a lot more than one). What I'm talking about is the line of thought that if you aren't healthy, wealthy and successful you are not doing something right. You are not following God fully.

This is so wrong.

This kind of thinking breeds all sorts of nasty traits -- judgment, pride, arrogance. The list is pretty endless.

Whenever Jesus mentions the poor, He says to have mercy on them. He doesn't condemn them ever. Actually, the only ones Jesus condemns in Scripture are the so called "successful religious" dudes, the pharisees. And that is the sin Believers, if they are living "good" lives can commit so easily and feel justified doing it. It is also a type of deception. We can lose everything in a day or gain a whole bunch in a day.

I just want to share some scriptures now. There are so many on mercy and compassion. Here we go:

"In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them; And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old." Isaiah 63:9c

"break away now from you sins by doing righteousness, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity." Daniel 4:27

"How blessed is he who considers the helpless (the poor); the LORD will deliver him in a day of trouble." Psalm 41:1

"Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy." Matthew 5:7

God is rich "in grace." Ephesians 1:7c

Oh, that we would be like our Father in Heaven! God help us!!

Ours vs. God's

8/16/2011

"And should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals." Jonah 4:11

In the verse I quoted above Jonah was mad at God for taking away a plant. Jonah had more compassion for a plant (which had given him shade) than he did for the many people of Nineveh. He didn't want to tell that city's population about God. He wanted them to perish in their sin! But before we judge Jonah for his callousness, sometimes we can be just like him.

Our compassion towards others is cruel compared to God's. God doesn't write anyone off. We do every time we judge someone. Every time we throw someone out with the trash so to speak we break God's heart.

"be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the LORD, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the LORD."
1 Corinthians 16:14

"Keep yourselves in the love of God." Jude 21a

Flesh Examinations

8/15/2011

"Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!" 1 Corinthians 13:5a

Human tendency is to examine others to see if they are in the faith. Problem with that is that first, we don't know the whole story. We have no idea what God is doing within others. We have no idea what God has called them to do, what God is saying to them, even where they are at in life. And second, it's none of our business and we should stick to what we need to stick to -- examining ourselves.

How do we know if we are in the faith? If we are living our faith out or if it is just lip service? We will know by how we act, how we think. Galatians 5 is a good one to read about flesh deeds and spirit fruit. Check it out here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=galatians%205&version=MSG

If you catch yourself reacting in anger, jealousy, frustration, striving, pride -- ah, I'll just copy and paste a few verses from Galatians 5. They are really good. I'm using the The Message Bible here:

19-21It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.

The first part of those verses say it all -- when we are trying to get our own way. If we are doing that we aren't doing it God's way. Even if we are Believers, we still have to deal with our flesh on a day-to-day basis. We can be super spiritual giants one day and the next fall into a bunch of fleshly behavior and thinking. We need to be aware of ourselves. We need to live intentionally. We need to catch ourselves falling back into this bad behavior and go to God and let Him get you back where you need to be. We are to be free from our flesh. Living in the flesh stinks: no peace, no joy, nothing good.

"But fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" Galatians 5:22-23a

Flesh Examinations

8/15/2011

"Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!" 1 Corinthians 13:5a

Human tendency is to examine others to see if they are in the faith. Problem with that is that first, we don't know the whole story. We have no idea what God is doing within others. We have no idea what God has called them to do, what God is saying to them, even where they are at in life. And second, it's none of our business and we should stick to what we need to stick to -- examining ourselves.

How do we know if we are in the faith? If we are living our faith out or if it is just lip service? We will know by how we act, how we think. Galatians 5 is a good one to read about flesh deeds and spirit fruit. Check it out here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=galatians%205&version=MSG

If you catch yourself reacting in anger, jealousy, frustration, striving, pride -- ah, I'll just copy and paste a few verses from Galatians 5. They are really good. I'm using the The Message Bible here:

19-21It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.

The first part of those verses say it all -- when we are trying to get our own way. If we are doing that we aren't doing it God's way. Even if we are Believers, we still have to deal with our flesh on a day-to-day basis. We can be super spiritual giants one day and the next fall into a bunch of fleshly behavior and thinking. We need to be aware of ourselves. We need to live intentionally. We need to catch ourselves falling back into this bad behavior and go to God and let Him get you back where you need to be. We are to be free from our flesh. Living in the flesh stinks: no peace, no joy, nothing good.

"But fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" Galatians 5:22-23a

New Stuff

8/12/2011

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth; where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matthew 6:19-20

I've got a new laptop -- new for me anyway. I bought it off Ebay a few days ago and I am using it right now for this blog entry. I got a new ghosting job and my family situation dictates that I needed a more flexible work environment (this means I can take the laptop into my bedroom and shut the door).

I've wanted a laptop for a long time. As a writer it will make my job easier. And because of my new ghost job I had a bit more wiggle room in my finances for a a bit of time.

I plan on using this laptop for a long time. For that to happen I need to take care of it and keep it out of hands that will mess it up. But, this doesn't mean that it will ever become more important than God and people. When things become more important to us than God and people, our priorities are screwed up and our hearts are in the wrong place.

It makes it easier really if our priorities stay with God and people. If we don't get the stuff we want we can wait for it. We can trust God to bring us good things at the perfect time and we can trust Him to know He will meet our needs. If stuff takes priority we will begin to try and control our worlds with our stuff.

This week has been so busy for some reason in my household. Maybe it's because school will start in a couple weeks. But I am feeling so frazzled (also my husband is away copping at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally....I sure admire parents who parent alone all the time), scattered within. When I'm like this I know I've got to get centered on Jesus again. If your heart is filled with stuff or if you are beginning to identify yourself by your stuff, finding peace in Jesus isn't going to work. We can't have both. We have to hold our temporary things on this earth every loosely. We shouldn't invest ourselves emotionally in them. It's okay to enjoy them. It's okay to find delight in them. And definitely it's a good thing to take care of the stuff you in your life. BUT, we need to make sure they stay just stuff, stuff we can easily give up.

As I said I'm a bit frazzled. All my kids are up and playing around me. My schedule is totally off. But one more thing. God provides the things we need to do His work. This laptop is a great illustration of this. If you need a car to go where He's calling you to go, He'll provide a car. If God has called you to do something that costs money, He'll provide the funds. When He calls He equips.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Let me share a few scriptures with you. I'm not sure the stuff I wrote above makes sense!

Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light . . . Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Psalm 37:4-7a

What are you called?

8/11/2011

And he (a really big angel) said, "O man of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you, take courage and be courageous!" Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength . . . Daniel 10:19

Daniel was known in the unseen realm as the man who was highly esteemed by God. Wow. Highly esteemed. The above verse isn't the only time an angel gives Daniel this title. Earlier in this same chapter (verse 11) he calls Daniel that. And then in the previous chapter, Daniel 9:23, Daniel is called the same thing by the angel.

This is all really impressive, amazing, humbling to think that this is how angels and God refer to you, but the other really awesome thing you might not know is that there were years between chapters 9 and 10. So this means that Daniel stayed faithful. He just got closer and closer to God. He stayed faithful through so much.

As I read this this morning I wondered, how does God refer to me? How does He refer to you? I don't know. I don't know if I will ever know -- though when we get there God gives us all our own secret name just between Him and us. Check this out pasted from http://Biblegateway.com. It is Revelation 2:17:

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’

Choose to be faithful today. John Fischer of The Catch shares a great blog entry on faithfulness today. Check it out if you have time: http://catchjohnfischer.wordpress.com/.

It's Back!

8/10/2011

Glory, glory, do a happy dance. The Weebly Team got my blog back. Thank you Weebly People (http://weebly.com is a GREAT place to have a website).

Never give up! Never give up! Never give up!

Because it is so late in the day, I will cut and paste the link to my weekly column Perfectly Blunt in The Capital Journal. I think you'll like it. Here it is (and thanks so much for not giving up on me):
http://www.capjournal.com/opinions/perfectly_blunt/

Power and waiting

8/9/2011

and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. Luke 5:17c

A lot of stuff gets down to timing. Is it the right time?

God asks His kids to wait on Him, wait on His timing. If we do according to Isaiah 40:31 we will gain new strength. I think that new strength is God's strength. We will be operating in His power because we waited till He said yes, go ahead.

If we wait on God it goes a lot better. He has a plan. He sees everyone and everything. Often, when He works in our lives (and actually probably always) when He answers your prayer, when He provides, when the miracle comes (etc, etc, etc) it isn't just about you. He has other people in place. Maybe someone needed to see that miracle. Maybe someone else needed to see that God actually will provide for His children. Or maybe when He answers that prayer you had to be in a different place emotionally or even physically.

I'm waiting for God to heal my son Hawk. Hawk wants to walk. Right now Hawk can't walk or talk or sit. He can roll around really well and he is very flexible. He can do the lotus position backwards (meaning as he lays on his stomach he does that lotus thing behind his back). But he can't do any self-care tasks as of yet.

I don't know why God hasn't healed Hawk yet. It isn't because we don't have faith. Maybe it is because a certain someone needs to see it happen and that person isn't around yet. Maybe it's because God wants Hawk older so it is an even "Bigger" miracle in people's eyes. That guy in Acts had been unable to walk since birth (the guy that sat by the Gate Beautiful). He could have been healed prior to when he was but maybe God wanted all the people who passed him for years to see that God does indeed perform miracles. No one is ever a lost cause.

Slavery

8/8/2011

You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? Galatians 5:7

Is there someone or something controlling you? Do you feel caught in a trap? Are you pressured by someone or something to act a certain way? Is there something you constantly worry about or dwell on that you can't get past?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you've entered into slavery that you don't need to enter into.

Is there an area in your life that is always a struggle? Is there an area in your life you will over and over again, have trials in? Very likely God is trying to free you from the yoke of slavery that is hindering you from being the person He's made you to be.

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you should not be their slaves, and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect. Leviticus 26:13

There are some positive things about being a slave (if you want to look at them that way). If you are a slave to something, you don't think for yourself. If you're a slave to something you don't make any decisions. You just go where you are told. You do what is expected of you. If you're a slave to a substance the need for more of that substance controls you and what you do. If you're a slave to someone else, your life depends on what that person tells you to do.

Being a slave stinks but so many of us willingly become slaves because it is the cowardly way, the unimaginative way of living. We do things the world's way because that is how we were taught. Very likely whatever is your area of slavery, is an area of slavery you were born into. Maybe your parents and their parents and their parents before them were slaves to this same area. You know no different. They knew no different. But God has a better way.

Let me give you an example. Let's say you constantly struggle with finances. This is a big one because most people are caught in the world's system in their finances. We are inundated with world system financial propaganda wherever we turn. So it is reinforced daily, hourly. It takes guts to get out of it.

I'm not saying to not pay your taxes. I'm not even saying not to use credit. Credit is okay as long as it doesn't control your life. We need to use the things of this world loosely and not put trust in them. If we worry about finances we are trying to control them and trying to be our own God in this area. God will provide in this area abundantly but we have to give Him the freedom and time to do it. We shouldn't expect Him to act in this area on our timetable. He is so much more creative than we are. He sees everything. He'll take care of it but you gotta give him the reins.

You gotta not care what others think. You gotta not care about your credit score or whatever other vehicle by which you gain the world's approval. And if you need something that costs money, pray about it and give God the chance to provide it. So many mistakes were made by me because I tried to figure it out, tried to fix stuff that would have been better left to God. I tried to get the things my family needed without waiting on God.

Incredible words and an apology

8/6/2011

Hey, thanks for coming back and reading my blog. My hope and prayer for this blog is that many will be encouraged to seek God, read the Word and be free in the Spirit. I also want my readers to realize how much they are loved and how incredible this adventure called Life can be.

That being said, please forgive the lack of an entry yesterday. My goal is to have an entry every week day. I take the weekend off usually to focus entirely on the family and my church family. Sometimes life gets in the way of this plan. Yesterday I drove my 14 year old daughter to the west edge of South Dakota for some very needed medical procedures for diagnosis and healing.

My thoughts were with you all though.

So, I want to share just a few scriptures today and a really good quote from Kay Arthur. The quote first:

Sin is not the end of life. Unless God takes us home prematurely, which is possible according to 1 John 5:16-17, we have lessons to learn and a new level of righteousness to be acquired . . . Don't faint; rather, endure.

And now the scriptures:

The LORD will give strength to His people;
The LORD will bless His people with peace.
Psalm 29:11

And from The Message Bible, Acts 17:24-31 (copied and pasted from http://Biblegateway.com):

24-29"The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn't live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn't take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don't make him.

Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn't play hide-and-seek with us. He's not remote; he's near. We live and move in him, can't get away from him! One of your poets said it well: 'We're the God-created.' Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn't make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?

30-31"God overlooks it as long as you don't know any better—but that time is past. The unknown is now known, and he's calling for a radical life-change. He has set a day when the entire human race will be judged and everything set right. And he has already appointed the judge, confirming him before everyone by raising him from the dead."

Dan the teen

8/4/2011

But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king's choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. Daniel 1:8

Daniel was the man even when he was a teenager! He had decided beforehand that he would honor God in the foreign land.

Notice what he didn't do.

He didn't get in the face of the guy in charge. He didn't make a scene. He didn't embarrass those on the king's staff. He was very respectful and he even gave the guy a test time. He told the man if after ten days of eating just vegetables and water, if he looked worse than the other young guys, he'd eat the king's food.

He also was concerned about this guy in charge. He worked with him.

After ten days he and his three friends looked better than the rest!

God never fails. If we honor God God will be glorified.

An interesting note to this story (and if you've never read it go to http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%201&version=NASB and read it now if you have time...You can even pick a different version. The Message one is a great one to check out) is that Daniel and his three friends were not the only young men from Judah. Daniel 1:6 says, Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

So what did the other young men from Judah do? I don't know for sure but it seems they went ahead and took on the practices of the foreign lands. And their names have been forgotten...

Tempers

8/3/2011

A quick tempered man acts foolishly, And a man of evil devices is hated . . . He who is slow to anger has great understanding, But he who is quick-tempered exalts folly. Proverbs 14:17, 29

Quick tempers can destroy and kill people's lives. Letting your temper rule you will fill your life with regrets. A quick temper brings nothing good into your life or into your world. Oh, that we would be patient and kind and understanding; that we would be thoughtful before confronting, before expressing anger!

Psalm 8 is what God has planned for each of us. Read it here at Biblegateway.com http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%208&version=NASB

Foolishness will hinder God's plans in our live. Foolishness can even stop God's plans for us. The enemy can't destroy God's plans for us. Other people can't either. Only we can destroy God's plans for us. The enemy and others can put up obstacles but God will always get past those. The only ones He won't get past are the ones we put up ourselves. We must surrender them. We must move them.

And now I am going to ask you to do something if you have a minute or two. Three law enforcement officers were shot last night in Rapid City, South Dakota. One died almost immediately. One is in critical condition as of last night. The third officer is in stable condition. All three of these men are young. My husband, Shannon Hinrichs, was one of their law enforcement instructors. This story hits my heart. Pray for their families, for the healing of the two officers still alive. Pray for the Rapid City Police Department and the city. Here is a link to the story: http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/routine-stop-turned-into-a-nightmare/article_2bf027fa-bd9a-11e0-b7d5-001cc4c03286.html.

And please don't let your children play cop killer video games (and please don't play them yourselves). Yes, there are "bad" cops out there, but most of them are people who have put on the uniform to serve their communities. Please respect the officers. They are not only officers. They are spouses, someone's children, someone's parent, grandparent even. Thank you.

Neighbors

8/2/2011

Jesus calls us to be good neighbors. Who is our neighbor? Our neighbors are our friends, actual physical neighbors, other humans. Where there is hurt Jesus has called us to heal.

Sometimes it is good just to reread a familiar passage. I am going to cut and paste part of Luke 10 from http://biblegateway.com.

30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was AJ)'>(AJ)going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and n]'>[n]beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a AK)'>(AK)Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 On the next day he took out two o]'>[o]denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ 36 Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” 37 And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do p]'>[p]the same.”

How does that apply to your life today?

This world needs good neighbors, people who go out of their way to give and help and share their belongings and take responsibility for those who can't help themselves.

Blocks

8/1/2011

You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's. Matthew 16:24

These are Jesus' words to Peter when Peter told Jesus he wouldn't let him die. Any of us can be a stumbling block.

it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes! Matthew 18:7

Set your mind on God and living for Him. He'll keep you from being a stumbling block to a fellow Believer.

If you do this rightly though, know that you will be a stumbling block to those who have rejected God. They will stumble over you. And this is okay. Actually, this is quite good because by stumbling over your light, maybe it will cause them to land flat on their backs and look up to God.