Category: Uncategorized

WHO AM I SERVING?

One question I often ask myself is,

“who am I serving?”

Am I serving God or man? Or am I merely serving myself?

It brings me back to my Center, which is Christ in me, first and foremost. A servant of God hears his voice and follows him.

Years ago, when I was around 16, a Catholic monk gave me a wonderful illustration of the cross as our symbol of love and service. When our vertical relationship with God comes first and is healthy, our hands, like Christ’s, will be outstretched in love and service to other people; our neighbors. Which brings us the the greatest commandment; to love God with all of our being and our neighbors as ourselves. It’s really one commandment with two sides or facets, like a coin. A coin is valueless without both heads and tails; can’t have one without the other. The two sides make up one unit. And so, loving God and one another become one at the cross.

Whenever you become confused or without peace, go back to the Cross, regain your focus and your center.

Jesus tells us to “deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me.” (Mark 8:34)

The cross is our symbol of love, sacrifice and service.

Are you loving and serving God and other people?

External Revelation: what can clearly be seen through creation and, particularly, in the heavens

The vastness of space: What we know pales in comparison to what we don’t know. The more mankind travels into space, either in person with manned spacecrafts, or visually with telescopes and other, more advanced technology, the more we learn about what’s out there in the heavens. Whatever advances are made, the more our desires to go deeper and farther into space expands

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭19:1‭-‬6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
[1] The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. [2] Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. [3] There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. [4] Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, [5] Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. [6] Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Internal Revelation

Although the proof of God’s existence is clearly revealed through the heavens and the firmament above, we can come to know Him more intimately through His word, the Scriptures.

As we read And meditate on His word, His digs deeper and deeper into our soul

https://bible.com/bible/114/psa.19.1.NKJV

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭19:7‭-‬11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
[7] The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; [8] The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; [9] The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. [10] More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. [11] Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.

Personal revelation

As God’s word penetrates our heart, mind and soul, we begin to see Him at work on the inside, personally and more intimately.

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭19:12‭-‬14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
[12] Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. [13] Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression. [14] Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

https://bible.com/bible/114/psa.19.12.NKJV

https://bible.com/bible/114/psa.19.7.NKJV

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:14‭-‬16 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/mat.5.14-16.NKJV

Living in light, living as light, showing others the way to life as Christ lives in and through us.

When you’re filled with light, you cannot be filled with darkness. Darkness and light cannot coexist. The way to be full of light is to be in the scriptures, consecrating my life daily and continuing on the road of repentance and righteousness. This is an inner focus, between me and God: that place at the core of my being, where Christ sits on the throne of my heart. This is the place of self reflection and where truth resides.

I can lie to others all I want, even lie to myself and try to deny truth, but my heart is yielded to another, I’m no longer the king of my own heart. I cannot step into darkness and think that God will let me go! Those who belong to Christ live in the light, like a city set on a hill.

Live in the light, live as light, let your light shine and lead otters to the Light of the World!

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
Psalms 139:11‭-‬12 NKJV

“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
Matthew 6:8 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/mat.6.8.NKJV

Back in December I was really hoping and pushing for inpatient therapy at a rehabilitation hospital or skilled nursing facility. MVP was reluctant to approve me for inpatient therapy, saying I don’t need that level of physical therapy, even at a subacute level. They were only offering to pay for outpatient and/or home care PT.

I was angry, thinking MVP was just being cheap, bartering with my health and wellbeing. But once I had an in home physical therapy evaluation, and then subsequent sessions with Eddy Visiting Nurses, it became apparent to me that I did not really need to be institutionalized for these services. My physical therapist said , although I probably would have benefited from a brief course of inpatient therapy, I would mostly be sitting around in my room in between daily therapy sessions.

Through this entire process of learning to live with and recover from my LBKA surgery, I’ve simply prayed for the best outcome. God knows what we need before we even ask. Closed doors may simply be His way of saying no. Sometimes those closed doors seem unfair, but we have a choice to accept it and move on or keep kicking and remain stagnant. I chose to move forward and go with the options that were available to me.

I couldn’t be happier with the outcome and the progress I’m making. I’m up daily on my prosthetic leg, longer and longer each day, walking and moving forward towards full functional mobility. Next week I will progress to outpatient therapy at Sunnyview rehabilitation hospital. I’ll pickup where home physical therapy left off. There is still more for me to learn that can’t be accommodated in my home environment. I’ve been walking more outdoors as the weather permits. I’ll get there one day at a time.

Hoping my experience can be an encouragement to others who are struggling with the loss of a limb or in general. We all struggle with our own life choices and experiences. Please feel free to reach out to me if you need someone to talk to and encourage you 😉🙏❤️😘

I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.
Psalm 18:1‭-‬3 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.18.1-3.ESV

So often we think of our enemies as other people who are out to get us, trip us up or cause us harm. But God’s word tells us…

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

These outside forces toy with my inner being and attempt to invade my inner peace and occupy my mind. My mind is the battlefield where this war between fiesh and spirit is waged. These battles cannot, therefore, be fought in the flesh, but in the Spirit. When I’m filled with and walking in the Spirit, I will not carry out the desires of my fiesh, which is controlled by my sinful human nature. I need to have Christ on the throne of my heart, so that I’m not the one ruling my life and mind, which are easily influenced by feelings and emotions, which lead to wrongful desires and selfish goals and ambitions.

A new kind of transformation tuesday, transforming from amputation of my left lower leg and foot to walking with my prosthesis/artificial limb . This has been much more challenging than I thought it would be. I took for granted, having two legs and feet and being fully mobile and functional. When that was taken away I had to learn how to adapt, #live and #thrive. We can allow our circumstances to crush and defeat us or, “rise, take up my mat (or prosthetic leg) and walk.

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their chains in pieces.
Psalms 107:13‭-‬14 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/psa.107.13-14.NKJV

Which promises of God are for me?

Let’s start with these promises as written in the word of God

By Faith Alone…
We accept by faith that the sacred Scriptures we identify as the Holy Bible are the inspired (God-breathed), infallible (never failing), and inerrant (without error) Word of God. Once we accept this truth, there is an enormous amount of value to be gained from its pages. It tells us of the grand story of God’s self-revelation to the world. More specifically, it tells us how we, God’s creation, can be restored to an eternal relationship with God through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

As a way of communicating to us the ways in which God has worked throughout history and continues to work today to redeem His people back to Himself, the Bible share an incredible number of promises. According to one count, there are 3,573 promises in the Bible. These promises cover the gamut of topics from God’s plan of salvation to assurances we can claim for our daily living.

Which promises are for you? Well, if you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, it’s safe to say that it’s all of them. But, no doubt certain promises resonate with us depending on where we are at a particular point in our lives or in our faith journeys. Here are five promises that resonate with me:

1. The Promise of Salvation
There are many verses in the Bible that give us assurance of eternal salvation. The “Roman Road” is a series of verses in Romans that lay out the way of salvation. Perhaps the most poignant for me is Romans 10:9-10:

“If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.”

Among Evangelical Christians, there is debate on the nuances of salvation, including the measures of God’s action versus ours, the role of repentance and works, and even the work of the Holy Spirit. But to me, these two verses lay it out simply and explicitly…confess Jesus as Lord and believe He’s who He said He is and you are saved.

2. The Promise of Freedom from Sin’s Grip
It’s important to make a distinction between this promise and the promise of salvation because we have to understand that our salvation is not dependent upon our behavior. Sure, we believe our behavior will change as a result of our salvation, but there is nothing to indicate that we must have victory over our own sin to be saved. That comes as part of the process of growth as a believer. The older I get, the more I recognize how pervasive sin is in the world and yes, in the lives of believers. That’s why it’s important that we embrace the promise that the Holy Spirit can and will help us in our struggles with sin. Perhaps the best passage to understand this promise is I Corinthians 10:13:

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it.”

3. The Promise of His Provision
Compared to most of the rest of the world, we enjoy lives of comfort and luxury. But that doesn’t remove anxiety about our needs. The loss of a job, an economic decline, a divorce, or any other number of circumstances can cause us to worry about how we will support ourselves and our families. Matthew 6:25-26 provides this promise:

“This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?”

4. The Promise of Freedom from Fear

Most of us struggle with fear…fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of loss, fear of being alone. Joshua 1:9 says, “Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” It’s debated how many times the Bible says some version of “don’t be afraid” in this context; but we know the words “fear not” were spoken as an imperative from the lips of Jesus. So we can be sure it’s a command. The promise of Christ’s return. Perhaps one of the greatest promises in the Bible is the promise of Christ’s return for His people. This is perhaps the greatest reason we can have hope for the future, despite the appearance of a world that’s moving farther and farther away from God. The New Testament is full of references to Christ’s return, referred to in many ways including “the day of the Lord,” “the day of Christ,” “the return of the Lord,” “the revelation of Christ’s glory,” and “the future of our Lord.” Once again, Christ’s own words tell us of this promise in John 14:3:

“If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.”

Conclusion

Perhaps these promises resonate with you as they have with me. We have a God who keeps His promises (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Thinking about the clutter in my life, the stuff we accumulate over time that takes up space. When we amass too much stuff, we can either get more space to keep it all, or learn to declutter and let some stuff go.

Then I was thinking about how much I allow my mind to become cluttered with mental baggage. It is important to let go of all the negative thoughts and emotions that make you feel bogged down. Eliminating unnecessary thoughts, fears and concerns help reduce stress, boost self-esteem and free up mental space. Monitor your thoughts regularly and try to replace your negative thoughts with positive ones.

Taking inventory of our thoughts, feelings and emotions helps us to declutter our minds and brings peace into the midst of chaos and disorder. Praying through such stress filled times helps us to see what is really important and worth hanging onto vs unnecessary clutter, taking up space in our heads.

Time to let go and let God be God

a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
Ecclesiastes 3:6 ESV

For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.
1 Peter 1:23 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1pe.1.23.NLT

Does not my word burn like fire?” says the Lord. “Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces?
Jeremiah 23:29 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jer.23.29.NLT

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
1 Thessalonians 2:13 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/1th.2.13.ESV

But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.
1 Corinthians 14:24‭-‬25 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.14.24-25.ESV

and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
Ephesians 6:17 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/eph.6.17.ESV

There is a living and active power in God’s word that penetrates our heart and our thoughts and transforms us by renewing our minds and delivering us from immorality and lustful desires that the enemy will use to destroy us from the inside out (proverbs ch. 5).

Sexual immorality in all of its genres; adultery (marital unfaithfulness) formication (sex between unmarried people) homosexuality (sex between those of the same gender) , etc; all draw on a man’s human nature and natural lusts and desires for sexual pleasure and release. But God’s design and plan is for a man to have his wife.

However, we live in a fallen world that is not subject to the will of God, nor can be, because the will of God is only discerned by those who have “ears to hear” the word of God. The world is under the sway (influence) of the god of this world, Satan. This is why the law as written in the Old Testament was given; to tell people what they already know on the inside, in their conscience, what the righteous requirements are. From the beginning; from the fall of Adam, until the coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah and Savior of the world, mankind turned away from his Creator.

When Adam disobeyed God, the fall of man commenced, only to be destroyed when Jesus Christ died on the cross, as the Lamb of God; the atonement and propitiation for our sins. When Jesus uttered the words “IT IS FINISHED” the vail of the tent of the Tabernacle was torn on two, symbolizing the end of sin, death, the law and Satan!

The entire New Testament is the record and testimony of what the Old Testament prophesied of and prepared God’s people for. The world, still under the control of the devil, until the day comes when Christ returns and calls the church, the body of Christ, home and the remaining prophecies of Revelation, Daniel, Ezekiel, etc are fulfilled in Israel and in the Church.

Until then, may His kingdom come and His will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven