Jane Hinrichs
Jane Hinrichs
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Making God sad

12/20/2016

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There is a person in my life who I adore so so so so much. This person is very important to me. This person makes me laugh, makes me cry, makes me think and is a blessing. But, this person makes me sad a lot for this person has great potential but is choosing to ignore that potential and settle for the comfortable way -- a way that is slowly destroying this person. This person knows better but refuses to choose the better way because the better way takes a lot of work.

And I think God deals with the same thing in us. He tries to lead us into a better way of life; better choices; an abundant life. But this kind of life has its challenges. It's very difficult to deny ourselves; our selfish motivations; our own agendas and embrace God's way. God knows His way will bring us so much fulfillment and contentment that, if we do choose His way, we will be so very thankful. But this result isn't immediate. It takes work to do it God's way. It takes courage. It takes holding onto His Words when everything around you tells you God's way will never work.

And so often a lot of us don't choose God's way. We choose the comfortable way. We choose what we always fall back on. And I think this makes God sad -- not sad for Him, but sad for us. He knows how we would soar through the heavens, but we choose to crawl through the mud instead. There's no condemnation in Christ (Romans 8:1) but there will be a wistfulness when thinking about what life could have been like if we had chosen God's way.

All is not lost. We can always turn to God at any moment in our lives. We can even be in the middle of following our own ways and in the middle of some mess we created because we put ourselves first. And in that mess we can cry out to our Father and He will raise us up and He can amazingly make our mess into something so beautiful that it will be woven into His plan and bring Him glory.

Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. I don't know what Christmas is like in the Southern Hemisphere but I love that here in the Northern Hemisphere we celebrate Jesus' birth at the coldest and darkest time of the year. It bring joy and hope and love when we could instead be overcome by darkness. Thank you Lord. And may we all choose to follow God's way (even when it is really hard to do).
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How far we fall...

4/5/2012

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"They led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium (Pilate's official residence), and it was early; and they themselves did not inter into the Praetorium in order that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover . . . Pilate therefore said to them, 'Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.' The Jews said to him, 'We are not permitted to put anyone to death.'" 
                                                                                                                                                               John 18:28, 31

In verse 30 they call Jesus an "evildoer."

In John 19:12 the Jews threaten Pilate with Caesar if he tries to release Jesus. 

How far we fall when we want to get something done! And then we justify ourselves in our own minds by holding religiously to  our traditions that make us look good at the same time. The Jews not only lied about Jesus they admitted they were trying to get something done that was not in God's Law. They had to go to their enemies, the Romans, to get done what they wanted done. 

Wow.....do we do we this? Sometimes I would say we do. We really want something to happen so we resort to tactics that don't glorify God, that more resemble the way Satan does things than how God does things. And we keep looking good on the outside for our benefit and others.

Oh Lord, save us!
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Thanks Biblegateway

9/18/2011

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What a reference and tool http://Biblegateway.com is for us internet people! I'm getting my eight-person family ready for church so I don't have a lot of time this morning, but I was so moved by some scripture that I want to share it. I have read this passage so many times but the Word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword (that's from Hebrews). If we allow it, it will change us permanently.
Romans 12The Message (MSG)



Romans 12Place Your Life Before God 1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. 3I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

 4-6In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.

 6-8If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

 9-10Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

 11-13Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

 14-16Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody.

 17-19Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it."

 20-21Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

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Dark Eyes

6/15/2011

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The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness. Matthew 6:23-24

This morning I felt like my eyes are clouded over a bit. Yesterday I spoke so darn negatively to a friend. I am not navigating this summer that well as far as brain goes. The days are spent with four of my children, one needs total care; the other three need directing, fed, refereeing at times. I'm enjoying them but also trying to get the stuff done I need to get done inside and outside -- house chores, yard and garden and animal chores. I'm exhausted.

So this morning I was kicking myself inside telling myself to quit being so negative, get centered in God again, pray more, pray continually (which is a command in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 and which I am sadly not obeying); Read the word throughout the day.

God didn't join in. Instead God directed me to Romans 8:1: There is . . . no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 
 
In verse 34 I am told that Jesus is praying for me (for you too) right now!

And in verse 39 we are told nothing can separate us from the love of God.

God told me not to waste time condemning my apparent lack of spirituality.

He reminds me in Romans 8:9, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.

Today is a new day People! Forget  yesterday and focus on the present (Philippians 3:13), this very moment.

Plus, condemning does the very thing we don't want to do -- it puts our eyes right on ourselves rather than God.

(Hey, if you have a minute, check out this week's Perfectly Blunt column: http://capjournal.com/articles/2011/06/15/opinions/perfectly_blunt/doc4df8106bbcb65358597922.txt.

And if you like it forward it to your local paper. It's easy to get it in the paper and it doesn't cost anything. I just send it to my editors Monday afternoons via email. It's pretty popular with people.)
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     Who is Jane Hinrichs?

    Jane is a wife, a mom, a writer, an artist, a lover of the Word of God. She has been studying the Bible since 1987 and has been writing about it almost since then. She loves to hear from her readers. Email her at:
    JaneHinrichs@mail.com

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