SelahV Today

WHEN THE VESSEL CRACKS

The world seems abuzz with the excitement of Christmas.  Lots of festivities scheduled on the calendar.  Cookies to bake, shopping to do, trees to trim, packages to wrap.  Then snap!!  Life gets in the way.  The furnace breaks down, the car needs brakes, new tires, an alignment--didn't anyone tell my house and car it is Christmas? my body is forced to move in short, guarded steps to avoid muscle strain and greater back pain.  So much to do...so little resources to do it with.   Then....a scripture thought is delivered to my inbox from Adrian Rogers.  And I say, "Ah...that's me."

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."  2 Corinthians 4:7

Ever have that happen to you?  The words are exactly what you need to hear.  The frustrations of the world melt a bit.  The energy you're holding onto to face another day, another hour, an unexpected crisis, seems to seep right out of your frazzled mind.  My ideas, my plans take a back seat and I let God prioritize my life.  Again.

All too often the fuel I use to propel me through a day is self-infused.  Thinking a positive thought.  Resisting the negative.  Seeking an answer, then acting on what I deem appropriate for the situation...thinking, thinking, thinking.  God wants me to relax...let go...stop doing, going, thinking, just let go of the tension and rest in His arms.  Let His power carry me where I think I have been taking myself.  Christ in me is the "treasure" in my "earthen vessel".  Christ's power flows through me and so often I let life get in the way of His grace and glory.  I stand in front of His windows of opportunity.  Instead of letting Him shine, I pull the curtains of discontent, irritation, and sheer exhaustion over windows of hope, strength, and power.

Today I rest.  I rest in Him.  I need His filling, His refreshment.  Today the cracks within my soul and mind need His mending.  How about you? 

I'm Reading: "Get Out of That Pit"

Beth Moore calls it a "pit".  A miry, slippery, dank place.  It's not necessarily a literal 20-foot cistern.  It is more of a discouraging, debilitating place of emotional, spiritual imprisonment.  It's a state of mind.  A state in which you find yourself trapped with seemingly no way out. There's three ways to get into a pit:  you're tossed in; you slipped in; or you jumped in.  As I read this book I see a trail of pits I've encountered throughout my life, and I see the way I got out of those pits.  I've been underlining and looking up scriptures.  I've been praying for folks whom I know are in some of the pits she describes.  I'm halfway through the 249 pages and it's already convinced me of a pit I, myself, am squirming to get out of at the moment.  Until I read the book, it wasn't quite as clear as it is right now.

So what am I gonna do about it?  Firstly, I came to the conclusion I'm in it.  Secondly, I decided I don't want to stay here.  Okay, personally, I think that's half the battle--recognizing there is a pit and I am in it.  Now, I'm going to finish the book and see what Beth offers in the way of advice to get out.  I'll try and keep you updated on my progress.

In the meantime, let me suggest if you're struggling with a relationship, to get out of a particular situation, feel weighed down by some outside force, long for a brighter day, then get yourself a copy of Beth Moore's book and begin today to "Get Out Of That Pit" that is controlling your life.  BTW, as much as I've heard about Beth Moore, this is the first time I've ever read one of her books.  So, take that for what it's worth.  selahV

[Special thanks to my friend, Rose, who sent this to me for Christmas because I told her I planned to buy it.  It was a great surprise.]  

NO MATTER WHAT, GOD IS MY REFUGE

So many folks I know today are enduring hardships, loss, and illness.  I'm sure you know lots of people who are coping with the same things.  It isn't easy to endure, to persevere.  It isn't much easier to watch our friends and family battle, cope, and keep faith in these situations.  We stumble and search for words to offer; we want to comfort where comfort can only be brought from God. 

All things turn back to our salvation in Christ.  That solitary fact--salvation.  Though thieves of life want to rob us of sleep, peace and security, we still own security.  We have security in the salvation of our Lord.  Nothing can separate us from the hand of our Lord.  Famine, joblessness, nor death...we still have our salvation.  That is our glory.  That is worth more than anything this world offers us or takes away from us.

We feel so weak, so faithless in the darker moments of our struggles.  But our refuge is in God.  He is the Rock--the foundation, the strength we need to make it through the fire, flood and storm.  When the world casts doubt, we trust.  Each day, every moment, at all times, we trust Him to see us through.  We know we cannot rely upon ourselves, which is why we falter in our faith.  We must remember to pour out our heart to Him and let Him know we trust Him.  He knows we are battered.  He knows we are weary.  He knows we are broken.  He is our refuge, our healing place.  He says, "Come unto Me, all ye who are weary and heavy laden."

"In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah"  Psalm 62:7,8

Leave the burdens of the world--the crushing weight of despair, discouragement, and weariness.  "Come."  selahV

WITHOUT WEARINESS

Packed schedules.  Demands of others.  Everyday mundane matters.  Illness.  They can take a toll on the human body, mind and spirit.  A good night's rest can do a lot.  So can a vacation.  But the ministering servant of God needs more.  A servant of God is continually being spent--using up energy, resources and strength for others.

Apostle Paul said, "...I labor [unto weariness], striving with all the superhuman energy which He so mightily enkindles and works within me."  (Col. 1:29)  Even Paul labored unto weariness, and he knew full well from Where his strength came.

How much more I need the power that only God can give.  I so covet the prayers of God's people.  When I consider the little I do, and the little I am able to do, I realize afresh how much more I must pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ who labor tirelessly in His name.  Paul knew this when he wrote to the Colossians after Epaphras reported the news of their faith.  He wrote:

"[We pray] that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forebearance) with joy.  Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints in the Light." Colossians 1:11-12.

I find it is easier to relate to the weariness of others when I am in need of refreshment.  I find it expedient to pray for the well-being of others when I am sick and without strength to go on another hour.  I do pray you find joy in all your labor today.  I pray God invigorates you and empowers you to endure the attacks of evil you face.  I pray you are able to pace yourself in the race you have before you.  May you sense God's presence and see evidence of Him manifested in all you do today.  May His grace be sufficient and meet the need of your heartache and void this very hour.  selahV

[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]      

FULL OF MYSELF

 Last night I made Mexican Chili.  I made up the recipe.  It was sooooo good that I ate two bowls--one bowl too many.  I feel like I'm going to pop.  I really didn't need two bowls of soup.  In fact, with all the physical problems I've been having with my stomach, I never should have eaten more than the first bowl.  If I get sick, I have no one to blame but myself.

As Christians, we sometimes live our lives with the same self-indulgence as I did with my chili.  We crave things we don't really need.  Because they make us feel good, we do them; we buy them; we read them; we watch them; we revel in them.  We feed on someone's complaint or flaw.  Then we engorge ourselves with all the gossip and criticism that surrounds the situation.  We dig into the midst of the gruel with gigantic spoonfuls of our own opinions, our own critiques, our own self-righteous accusations.  After we've feasted on the weakness of another, we wonder why we feel so stuffed and miserable afterwards.  We discover we are wrong to have indulged in the carcus-stripping and bone-gnawing.  There's is nothing satisfying in that.

Why do folks do this?  What is so appetizing about picking another person or group of people apart?  Is it to reconcile someone to another?  Is it to bring healing?  Is it to enlighten, to edify, to warn?  Is it to motivate and guide?  Does the indulgence fill us with Christ's Spirit of love, kindness, mercy, gentleness and goodness?

 "The only way to live a life filled with Christ is to crucify selfish ambition and conceit by worrying more about what's best for others and far less about what we think is best for ourselves.  When serving others is our goal, there is rarely a conflict of interest.  When serving others is our goal, dying to self is our practice.  And, when dying to self is our practice, life is filled with Christ   We participate, we voice our opinions, and we stand for what is right, but we don't have to be right, first, or even heard.  The goal of our lives is not our way, but His way.  It doesn't mean that we don't matter.  It means we choose not to assert the fact that we matter, just as Christ did not assert the fact that He mattered.  Instead, we lay down our rights for the good of others, just as He laid down His life for the salvation of man and the glory of God."  Cyle Clayton, "AN UNNATURAL LIFE".

Too often our desire to right wrongs, to fight for the rights of others, to protest an injustice, leads us into a second bowl of soup that just wasn't needed.  Nor does it serve anyone else a measure of goodness for us to have given into our desire.  It seems like all it does is make me full of myself.  selahV

[copyrighted, 2009, SelahVToday, hariette petersen]

THE SEVENTH DAY PRINCIPLE OF REVIVAL

We can schedule ourselves into every corner of our calendars and never have time for Jesus.  Everyone is vulnerable.  Mothers, children, husbands, fathers, preachers, coaches and teachers.

Sometimes our calendars and planners are more of a hindrance than a help.  We use them to coordinate each hour of the day, each day of the week.  Some plan months and years in advance and spend every day of their lives simply planning for another event.  It's literally their vocation to plan.  For the type A personality, a calendar, list or palm-planner is essential to living.

Jesus had no planner, but He had a plan. Surely no one in life had more to accomplish than He in the three years He ministered on earth.  We do not have the accounts of all He said or all He did. Though people were in a rush to see Him, He never rushed.  He drew away to be with the Father.  He rose early to be with the Father.  He took time to eat and He made time for others to eat--even providing the food for the picnic.

Why rest?

Our bodies must have rest to walk in the midst of the lions that prowl about seeking whom they may devour.  One of the greatest tools of Satan is to keep a Christian so busy they have no time to rest in God.

Yet, God thought rest so important that He set aside an entire day for rest. If we cannot take time to rest, we won’t restore the most vital part of our lives.  Even machines need to rest if they are going to work efficiently.  Music scores need a rest in order to gain power for crescendos and to emphasize the melody.

People with the gift of service are all the more vulnerable to attacks on their time. Jesus wants us to take time for rest. He told his disciples, “Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest a while.” Mark 6:31.

I think we could use the 7th day principle of revival when trying to find time in our schedules:  Every 7th hour of our waking day could be given to 7 minutes of solitude. Park your car on the side of the road and listen to the music of a Christian artist. Stop in the middle of your workday and read 7 pages of a devotional poetry such as Helen Steiner Rice, or simply meditate on 7 ways in which God has blessed you that day. Let 7 people, or 7 pastor friends, or 7 churches be called to your mind by the Holy Spirit and spend time praying for them.  And be sure to take the 7th minute to simply sit still and know that He is God.

May God bless you mightily with power and peace in your busyness.  May your spirit be restored with each task you perform for His honor and glory. If this is too preachy, then forgive me 7 times 70. selahV

[© SelahV Today, 2008]

For another 4 Ways to Keep Close To Jesus amidst a busy schedule, see Tony Kummer's post }HERE{