I've heard several people over the last year say that they had chosen a "word" for the year. I had never really thought about it, but what a great idea - to focus on one word and to claim God's promises concerning that word for a whole year.
I'm not a long-term, goal-setting girl when it comes to projects. I'm the see-results-fast, short-term type. That's why I write magazine articles and not novels. Short, sweet, to the point and you get to see the finished product in less time. If I can't see immediate results, I can get discouraged very easily. So choosing one word for a whole year sounds really boring to me. Instead, I'm choosing a word to focus on for just the winter months. It's the title of a new Bible study I will be teaching this semester. It's called Stronger... Finding Hope in the Fragile Places, by Angela Thomas.
So my short-term winter word is Stronger!
On this very piano, at the age of 3 or 4, I climbed up on the bench and began to play by ear one of the first songs I ever learned, Jesus Loves Me. A line in the song says, "They are weak, but He is strong."
What a profound truth learned early in life. Exercising that truth though, is sometimes very difficult. I know that God is strong and that He is where my strength comes from. But often I want to do things my way; the way I think they should be done. So, I try to accomplish His plans in my own strength. What am I thinking?
The joy of the Lord, which is my strength, is not there when I try to do things in my own strength. It seems to get lost in the struggle for control.
I should get it already that God has a divine plan for my life. His plan is best and I should trust Him to work things out for my good, and not trust myself to work things our for His good.
This winter, as I study, learn, and teach Stronger, I am focusing on His strength and how I can be stronger because of the power of His Spirit living inside of me. Jesus Christ wants us to rest in Him so He can do the work through us. When we fight Him for control, we are actually saying, "Lord, You don't know what You're doing, so let me do things my way." That is an ungrateful attitude with sassy written all over it. An attitude that I can display well, I'm sorry to say.
Stay Calm and Live On - Stronger - in 2014 means I have to let go of the reigns of my life and trust that Jesus will lead me into a much stronger life with Him leading the way. If people are to see Jesus in me then I have to live that early learned, spiritual truth which says, "...I am weak, but He is strong! Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so." (personalized)
Go on. Sing it out loud! You know you want to!
"Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful."
(1 Corinthians 1:8-9 NIV)
My Pleasure,
Melanie
I'm not a long-term, goal-setting girl when it comes to projects. I'm the see-results-fast, short-term type. That's why I write magazine articles and not novels. Short, sweet, to the point and you get to see the finished product in less time. If I can't see immediate results, I can get discouraged very easily. So choosing one word for a whole year sounds really boring to me. Instead, I'm choosing a word to focus on for just the winter months. It's the title of a new Bible study I will be teaching this semester. It's called Stronger... Finding Hope in the Fragile Places, by Angela Thomas.
So my short-term winter word is Stronger!
On this very piano, at the age of 3 or 4, I climbed up on the bench and began to play by ear one of the first songs I ever learned, Jesus Loves Me. A line in the song says, "They are weak, but He is strong."
What a profound truth learned early in life. Exercising that truth though, is sometimes very difficult. I know that God is strong and that He is where my strength comes from. But often I want to do things my way; the way I think they should be done. So, I try to accomplish His plans in my own strength. What am I thinking?
The joy of the Lord, which is my strength, is not there when I try to do things in my own strength. It seems to get lost in the struggle for control.
I should get it already that God has a divine plan for my life. His plan is best and I should trust Him to work things out for my good, and not trust myself to work things our for His good.
This winter, as I study, learn, and teach Stronger, I am focusing on His strength and how I can be stronger because of the power of His Spirit living inside of me. Jesus Christ wants us to rest in Him so He can do the work through us. When we fight Him for control, we are actually saying, "Lord, You don't know what You're doing, so let me do things my way." That is an ungrateful attitude with sassy written all over it. An attitude that I can display well, I'm sorry to say.
Stay Calm and Live On - Stronger - in 2014 means I have to let go of the reigns of my life and trust that Jesus will lead me into a much stronger life with Him leading the way. If people are to see Jesus in me then I have to live that early learned, spiritual truth which says, "...I am weak, but He is strong! Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so." (personalized)
Go on. Sing it out loud! You know you want to!
"Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful."
(1 Corinthians 1:8-9 NIV)
My Pleasure,
Melanie
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