daily IMPACT by selahV

GLORY IN THIS

“But let him who glories glory in this,

that he understands and knows Me,

That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.

For in these I delight,” says the Lord.”  Jeremiah 9:24

Ever have someone praise you for what you do? Ever get all swelled up and feel great about it? Ever think that it is you who has accomplished so much that you are worthy of those words of praise? Satan loves to get us all puffed-up and thinking we are beyond reproach and revelling in past accolades.  The moment this happens we must check our egos, our pride, our attitudes. While it is good that we are validated for what we do, it is well that we remember for Whom we do it and why. For “a haughty spirit comes before a fall, and pride beforethe rich man in his riches destruction.”

“Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich in his riches;” Jeremiah 9:23

Our wisdom is of God. Our might is of God. Our possessions and the accumulation of those possessions is of God. He and He alone is our Sufficiency in all areas of our lives. His “delight” is that we recognize this and pay honor and glory due Him. selahV

[copyrighted, selahV Today, hariette petersen, 2007, 2009]

COMPLETING THE WORK

For three years now, I have battled wild Morning Glory vines in my back yard. They root deeper and grow faster than crabgrass. They grow beneath my barriers and up the stems of every plant I have, then choke the life out of them. I can weed them one day and they’ll be back with a vengeance the next day. I’ve even covered them in mulch in hopes of smothering them. I’ve dug, tossed and dug till I’m wearied with their continual growth. I was ready to give up and let them have their way in my flowerbeds. I was beginning to think that pristine beds of mums, daisies, lavendar and roses just aren’t worth my time or effort. Then I thought about myself.

What if God felt that way about me? Every time He weeds out something in my life, something else sprouts and begins to grow. I will never be perfect this side of heaven; none of us will. Yet, unlike me, God never gives up. Nor would He think of it. He knows what He wants to make of my life. He knows what He wants to accomplish through me. And He will dig till He gets to the root of my problems. He will weed out the things that seek to destroy His vision for me until I am complete.

“And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.” Philippians 1:6

[copyrighted, 2009, SelahVToday, hariette petersen]

BEFORE THE EMBER DIES

My son was ten. He was watching me stoke the fire in our woodstove. I placed a new log on the pile of burning coals and one of the coals fell onto the stove front. I closed the door and placed the poker in the stand. My son picked up the poker and toyed with the errant red coal. Slowly its color lessened and turned black. When it did, Chad put the poker back into its stand. In its brightness Chad was drawn to it, intrigued. When it turned dark and cold, Chad lost interest. Does that happen to the world? Are they drawn to light or darkness? Positive or negative?

“But you are not in [given up to the power of] darkness, brethren, for that day to overtake you by surprise like a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of day; we do not belong either to the night or to darkness.” 1 Thessalonians 5:4,5.

We can talk about grace and graciousness. We can write about being quick to listen, and slow to anger. We can preach the Word, and teach doctrines and profess all the right theology. But unless we live these things out in our own lives, we are but an ember set outside the hearth. Soon we go out, become black and cold, and no one gains any warmth from being near us. We must live in a world filled with darkness, but we are not darkness. We are light. To deny the Light within us is to deny the Life sacrificed in our behalf. Can we do this without communing with God through His Word? Can we glow without gathering regularly with other Christians who burn brightly, who are hungry to reach a lost world?  Before the ember dies, seek the warmth of His Light.  selahV

[copyrighted, 2009, SelahVToday, hariette petersen]

FINDING REST

Every morning I get up. Sometimes I have a plan for my day. Sometimes I’ve nothing scheduled. It is the days I have nothing planned that I often find God prompting me to do specific things. I wonder if that is because I am more open to His voice; I have no preconceived ideas. I don’t get annoyed when my schedule is interrupted, or circumstances cause me to change a course of action. Instead, I’m relaxed and resting in His Spirit. My days go so much better on those days. And for some reason I seem to get far more accomplished.

“Thus says the Lord, Stand by the roads and look, and ask for the eternal paths, where the good, old way is; then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16b

What is “the good, old way”? Could it be the commandments of the Lord? What does the Lord require of us, exactly? “To fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your mind, heart and with your entire being.”
I think if we follow that directive, our lives will fill with joy, love and contentment. I think our conscience would be clear and we’d have no guilt; the accuser could not penetrate the peace of God in our hearts. And as we walked in all His ways, our souls would be in constant rest. Yet, in our own power, we know we cannot be perfect in all His ways. We need Jesus. And Jesus is our peace. We can stand in the righteousness He has given us, then walk on in rest.

Stand.  Look.  Ask.  Walk.  Then rest.  Not such a hard thing when you look at it His way. selahV, hariette petersen

FROM ONE GENERATION TO ANOTHER

One of my favorite books in the Bible is the Psalms.  I love David.  He goes from utter brokenness to completeness. I relate well to David. His brokenness is in his reliance upon himself. His completeness is in the sovereignty and mercy of God. Over and over David extols the magnifigance and glory of the Lord.

Do we? Each day I think about what the Lord would have me do with my life. When I write I think about my grandchildren and their children reading what I’ve said. Will it make a difference in their lives? Will they want to know how God worked in my life–on a daily basis? Maybe. But even if they don’t, I must praise the Lord and give glory due His name. For it is written:

“One generation shall laud Your works to another and shall declare Your mighty acts.” Psalm 145:4

What works is the Lord doing in your life today that you can share with your descendants? What mighty acts is He working out in your life today that you can declare as His hand upon you? What is our generation leaving to the next?

[copyrighted, 4/2009, SelahVToday, hariette petersen] 

FRUIT OF THE VINE

My grandmother use to have the most wonderful grapevines behind her house as I was growing up.  We children would go out there and pick the grapes and eat them till we got sick.  Grandma made the best grape jelly from those clusters of grapes.  The vines didn't just happen.  Grandma planted them.  And every year she tended the vine.  She pruned it and watered it.  She cut away and cast aside the deadened, useless portions that robbed the main branches from life-giving water and sustenance.  Why?  To bring forth the best fruit for the best juice.  When Grandma made her jelly, she removed any green and unripened grapes from the bunch and tossed out the blighted grapes; only the choicest of the fruit was picked for processing.

"Behave yourselves wisely [living prudently and with discretion] in your world (the non-Christians), making the very most of the time and seizing (buying up) the opportunity."  Colossians 4:5

Jesus is the Vine; we are the branches.  He brings forth the fruit worthy of the Vinedresser.

As Christians, we must behave in such a way that the world of unbelievers will see the choicest part of the bunch and choose the best path for their own lives.  It's through our prudence and faithfulness that when we are squeezed by the difficulties and temptations in life, the world sees the sweetness of our faith and the best God offers through His Son.  As these doors of opportunity open to us, unbelievers will see the fruit  of God flowing through us as we abide in the Vine.    selahV

[copyrighted, 2009, SelahV Today, hariette petersen]  

WHAT DOOR WOULD YOU PRAY FOR?

Have you been praying for a door to open lately?  What are you hoping for?

 “And at the same time pray for us also, that God may open a door to us for the Word, to proclaim the mystery concerning Christ on account of which I am in prison: that I may proclaim it fully and make it clear as is my duty.” Colossians 4:3,4.

Paul asks his fellow Christians to pray for him that God would open a door to proclaim the Gospel. He wanted to use every opportunity and more to reach beyond the prison walls which bound him for the act of sharing Christ—that he might “proclaim it fully”.  Do we pray for God to open a door for our pastors, ministers, and missionaries? Our professors, our mothers, our children? Our neighbors, our brothers and sisters in Christ? It’s a rather simple thing to ask of God.

Paul urges the Colossians to do this “at the same time” that they are praying for their own needs. He implores them in verse 2: “Be earnest and unwearied and steadfast in you prayer [life], being [both] alert and intent in [your praying] with thanksgiving. And at the same time pray for us also, that God may open a door…”

What was the “door” that God threw open at their prayerful requests on Paul’s behalf? What door opened to spread the Gospel as Paul so desparately desired as he sat imprisoned for sharing the mystery of Jesus?

The door of opportunity. That door, unbeknownest to Paul at the time, was his letters to all the churches while he was in prison. That door is one we read (or have opportunity to read) each time we pick up our Bibles. I wonder if Paul knew how influencial his penned words would be to me? to you? to millions of other Christians that would come after him?

Perhaps the door we should continue to pray for is that God continues to open the door for Paul’s words to be read, preached and studied throughout the world. May God continue to spread the gospel message through each of us. May we continue to earnestly pray and be intent on praying for His message to be heard. selahV

[copyrighted, 11/19/2007, selahV Today, hariette petersen]

WHEN MY WORK INSULTS GOD

Could it really? Could all my efforts and plans and strategies and maneuverings be an insult to God?

“All my devotion is an insult to God unless every bit of my practical life squares with Jesus Christ’s demands. Let Him make our lives narrow; let Him make them intense; let Him make them absolutely His.” Oswald Chambers.

Whew! Oswald is pretty tough here. “Unless every bit of my practical life squares with Christ’s demands,” I am insulting God. The sincerity of my speech. The attitude I show. The idleness or diligence in my workplace. Washing dishes. Writing blogs. Cooking dinner. Folding laundry. Cleaning toilets. Caring for my grandchildren.  My “entire practical life”, all my thoughts and all my works.

“Commit thy works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.” Proverbs 16:3

Notice that says “thy” works. Not someone else’s. It’s what you do–no matter what that work is in your mind–menial or significant, it needs to be committed to the Lord. Then He will establish your thoughts and direct your path and bring it to pass.

Are your works half-heartedly done? Do you do them begrudgingly? The trouble with some of us is we commit ourselves to our jobs, our positions. We commit ourselves to our goals, our dreams. But we fail to commit ourselves to Jesus. It’s when we yield ourselves to Jesus and we commit our works to Him, that our thoughts are in sync with Him. Our words and attitudes will reflect His control over us. What do people see in you? What do you see in me? selahV

[copyrighted, 9/12/2007, SelahVToday, hariette petersen, 2009]

HAVE YOU BEEN HARDENED?

Ever wonder how some people are able to endure one difficulty after another? Ever question the justice in tragic situations that repeatedly fall on one person’s doorstep?  God gives an answer:

“…I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties.” Isaiah 41:10

I think of all the trials I've been going through lately, what I have endured.  If God is strengthening me for the difficulties I will face, and I’ve faced the incomprehensible, then I wonder what else could be ahead.  The Lord assures me I have nothing to fear. He reminds me He is with me.  “Fear not for I am with you…”.  Notice He says I AM with you–not I will be, or I can be with you. He IS with me.

He promises that in the difficulties–the deep waters, the raging furnaces–He will harden me so I can deal with them.  Just how does God harden me? How does He strengthen me?

He repeatedly uses that part of me that will be most required in the day of difficulty. He stretches my faith. He tests my patience. He regularly puts exercises in my life that demands me to use my faith, my trust, my reliance upon Him. As I rely upon Him in smaller difficulties, it produces a protective callous around my heart and soul. The trials build spiritual muscles so I can handle greater difficulties.

This makes James’ words all the more understandable. “Count it all joy, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall in various temptations.” James 1:2.

These trials and tempations are there to help strengthen me and harden me for greater use in the Master’s Kingdom. He would that I not grow weary, that I not faint in the day of adversity. He would have me take the trials and count them all joy so that He would be glorified in them. He seeks to be the strength in my weakness. And He tells me, “My grace is sufficient to meet all your needs.” What else could I need? selahV

[copyrighted, SelahVToday, hariette petersen, 9/7/2007]

NEEDLESS WEIGHTS WE BEAR

"A glad heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken." Proverbs 15:13

When a spirit is broken, brokenness shows itself in expressions, actions and attitudes.  Fear floods the mind with questions.  Is life bad?  Am I?

"Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down, but an encouraging word makes it glad." Proverbs 12:25

When anxiety invades the heart with worry, fear or frustration, there is little room for lighthearted playfulness, patient understanding, gentle approaches or lips of praise.

Oh, but what an encouraging word can do!

Received or given.  Encouragement fills a heart with gladness which floods the face with cheer.  And that cheer is contagious.  What a wonderful reward for encouraging another, wouldn't you say?   

O, El Elyon, our Most High God.  Fill our hearts with joy and shield them from the desire to be weighted with the cares of this world.  Keep our minds stayed on Thee.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2007]