Focusing on God

Hey, y'all!

I hope you all have been well and flourishing in the Lord since the last time we "met" via blog!

I'm going to open today's post by asking a simple question: Do you have trouble focusing?

I don't mean focusing on your work, your school, or your family; I mean focusing on God. God is to be the primary focus of our lives. As Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (NKJV) Christ died for us and now we should live for Him. Our love for the Lord should be leading us to focus on loving God and living for the Lord Jesus Christ.

But how can you to tell whether you are focusing on God? Here are some questions to help us evaluate our focus:

When that handsome guy sits next to you in church, are you able to focus on God during the service?
When your daily life seems to involve running in five directions at once, are you able to focus on God during the busyness?
When your boss wants you to turn in more projects by the end of the week than you could possibly handle, are you able to focus on God during the stress?
When your husband is running late, your kids are screaming, and supper still has to be cooked for everyone, are you able to focus on God during the chaos?

Let's stop and think for a minute...all right, how many of us are realizing right now that we don't focus on the Lord as much as we should? No hand-raising is necessary. Just an honest, quiet evaluation of your focus will do just fine (though if you'd like to raise your hand, go ahead). I know I personally don't focus on God enough. Many times, especially those weeks when I have too much to do, I find myself distracted from the real focus of my life. As a result, I stress over everything, I'm physically and mentally exhausted, and worst of all, I'm spiritually off-balance. Last week and this week have been weeks like that for me, and I know y'all can relate. We all go through rough patches in our lives; times when everything seems to get out of hand. It's times like these that we desperately need to remember our focus. If we start to focus on things other than the Lord, we are going to find life hard and the temptations we face overwhelming.

How much easier it would be, if we remembered the focus of our lives. If only we would remember that the Lord works everything for the good of His children! If only we would remember those sweet words, "Be still, and know that I am God..." (Psalm 46:10a, NKJV)! If only we would remember to focus on the One who is meant to be focused on!

This has not only an everyday application, but a special holiday application as well. As we prepare the menus for Thanksgiving and Christmas, as we plan the parties and the celebrations, as we buy the presents and deck the halls, we should keep in mind Who the focus of the holidays is to be. The focus should be on the Lord. He blessed you with the many blessings for which you are being thankful. He took on human form through the Incarnation, so that He could live a sinless life and die on the Cross to atone for the sins of His people. If we take away the true focus of the holidays (and our lives in general), we are robbing God of His proper glory and we are robbing ourselves of the joy of focusing on the One who died for us.

Have a blessed (and focused) week!
Love y'all!

Trust Issues....

Hey, y'all!

Today, I want to talk about a rather uncomfortable issue for me; the issue of trust. Trust issues are something that many people struggle with, including me. Quite honestly, I can't pinpoint why. My family is great, my friends are amazing, my puppies are the most adorable ones in the world, so why do I have trust issues?

Maybe it's because I've given my heart away to several guys when they didn't earn it (and some of them didn't deserve it). Maybe it's because when I was young one of my close friends "abandoned me" (though all she really did was move on). I just don't know why I have problems trusting others.

What I do know is that I wasn't made to live this way; I was not made to live in fear of being hurt. I was not made to live in fear of being ridiculed and embarrassed. I simply have come to my breaking point. I cannot, I will not, go on living in this fearful manner. It's ungodly and damaging to my spiritual life.

It's damaging to my spiritual life because I am essentially saying, "I don't trust God with relationships enough to let Him control what happens to me and what other people do." That is an ungodly attitude, if I've ever heard one! Paul says in Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (NKJV) Instead of fearing the future, what I should be doing is thanking God for the present and trusting that, because of His goodness and love for me, He will not allow anything that doesn't in the end turn out for my good to happen! Now, this doesn't mean that you will never get hurt. We are all sinners, so even Christians will sometimes hurt other Christians. We may even not mean to hurt each other, but we still do, whether we mean to or not.

The promise of Romans 8:28 also doesn't mean that if your best friend suddenly finds someone else to spend her time with, eventually she will become your best friend again. God does do that, but He doesn't promise to always do that. He promises that no matter what happens, it will be for your good in the end. The circumstances may have changed a big part of your life, but there is always a reason. You will prayerfully grow closer to the Lord through the tough time. And additionally, you may become closer to another friend, whom you never would have gotten to know as well had your best friend not taken a step back.

As human beings, we were made to have relationships with one another. Most of us are not made to stay in a room by ourselves all the time and never see anyone else. I know I can't. I'm a very social person, even though I'm extremely shy, and staying by myself for too long would drive me crazy! Yet oftentimes because of my fear, I am afraid to speak with others or even smile at someone. My personal shyness cuts me off from people; my shyness comes from fear and lack of faith. Fear and lack of faith harm my relationships with God and with other people

Relationships are a blessing from the Lord, but they do involve big steps of faith. Faith that the other person won't betray your trust, and faith that, if they do, God will take care of you, no matter how much the broken relationship hurts. Faith is a gigantic step, but it's a gigantic step in the right direction.

So, no matter how scary it may be to talk to a new person or say yes to that cute guy when he asks you out on a date (assuming he is a Christian, but that's for another post), you should step out in courage. No matter what happens, God is there with you. "The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore." (Psalm 121:7-8, NKJV)

I would love to hear your thoughts on this! God bless you and always remember, "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6, NKJV)

Love in Christ,

Legalism

Hey, y'all!

I will be able to blog more regularly from now on, Lord willing, because I was able to finish a rather large writing project I had been working on for quite some time.

For a while now, my life has been legalistic. "Do this...don't do that..." and so on. While talking about my struggles with one of my sisters in Christ, I came to realize that the true problem I was having was with my image of God. I was acting as if God was going to condemn me to hell for something as insignificant as choosing sweet tea over soft drink! That may not seem like a major concern, but my life is full of legalism mostly over ridiculous little things like that!

The fact that my view had gotten twisted in the first place was my fault. Legalism is not a godly thing. It's basically doing what you think to be "behaving" because you're afraid that if you don't, God will be mad at you and "let you go."  But God promises in Deuteronomy 31:6, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (NIV)

I had at first tried to "fix" my legalism by myself. It didn't occur to me to look up Scripture verses to help me until I was blogging (How far I have to go, Lord!). I hope these verses speak to you, as they have spoken to me.

And several times in Romans 8, God reminds us, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4, NIV)

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:37-39, NIV)

From now on, I'm going to try to remember this when I begin to think legalistically. I pray that I will think of these verses often, so I may be strengthened in the Lord.

Have a blessed Lord's Day!
Lydia

Blessed Assurance

Hey, y'all!

Hope everyone has been doing well since the last time I posted! Sorry it has been such a long while!

Today, I'm just going to speak straight from the heart. The Lord has been working with me a lot lately. He really has written it on my heart that salvation is by faith Jesus alone. I knew this truth before; I believed it, but now God has applied it to my life beyond salvation to my assurance of salvation.

Let me give you an example of what I mean: If I am struggling with a sin and I commit it, many times the temptation that follows is to think, "How could you be a Christian if you committed that sin so easily?" Thoughts like this have haunted me for a long time. But think about it, Christians still sin. We are not going to be perfected until we die and go to be with the Lord or until He returns. He died for that sin. It's dealt with. Period!

I now learned when I start doubting to think, "It's Christ, not me," to ask God to forgive me for doubting (and committing whatever sin that caused me to doubt), and, if necessary, to preach the Gospel to myself. Girlfriend, I have literally done this. I have said to myself, "I am a sinner and cannot save myself. Jesus became incarnate, lived, died, and rose again. He took the wrath which should be on me. He loves me. His Spirit indwells me. God the Father loves me and has forgiven me through Jesus." It helps me. Don't let people call you crazy. If it helps you, do it! You don't have to say all this out loud, you can think it to yourself.

Also, looking up Scripture verses dealing with what Christ has done for you will help immensely. Some of my personal favorites are 1 John 4:10: "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (NKJV) and Isaiah 61:10: "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." (NKJV)

Christ's love for you is everlasting! Rest upon it!


In His love alone,

True Happiness....

Hey, y'all!

So many things are in my heart today, I feel like the sons of Korah who write in Psalm 45, "My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer." (NKJV) Wow! That's me today. Why? Well, many reasons, which I will tell you about for the next several days.

First, I have learned an important thing today: contentment is not based on circumstances. I have heard Beth Moore mention this before (if you're looking for a great Biblical teacher, who makes you love the Lord more and more, check out her blog here: http://blog.lproof.org/  or her ministry web site: http://www.lproof.org/). I knew it to be true, but now I have experienced it in my life!

For a while, I wasn't considering a certain opportunity in my life because I thought it would be "boring." I also felt that if I were supposed to take advantage of the opportunity, I would feel it. We've all been there, right? Well, yesterday, I was presented with many reasons to take this opportunity and I felt myself being swayed in that direction. So, I thought, "What is going on here, Lord?" I prayed and contemplated; I asked God to reveal to me if this was His will for me.

Then today, it hit me: When I thought about taking this opportunity, I was content. Not because I thought this opportunity would be the best thing ever in itself, but because Jesus Christ would be with me no matter what. Those times that we don't "feel" convinced we are supposed to go in a particular direction in life, if what we are considering is not sinful and everything else seems to be pointing in that direction, we may just be being called in that direction. Remember, it's not circumstances that make you happy, it's the Lord Jesus Christ Who is with you always Who makes you happy.

God bless everyone of you!

Lessons from Hair: Part 2

Hey y'all!

Today we move on to the second lesson from our passage in John.

Judas was not a nice guy (definitely an understatement) and he was very harsh with Mary in this passage. He was offended that she would "waste" such expensive perfume on something he considered frivolous. How many times have we been discouraged by someone who thinks that what we have to offer the Lord isn't the right thing to offer or been discouraged by someone who thinks that what we offer can serve some better purpose?

Yet the Lord Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial." (NKJV) Did you notice that first part? "Let her alone." How awesome is that? I know many, many times I have wished I could have someone to stand up on my behalf. Mary didn't have just anyone stand up for her, she had the very Son of God!

Jesus accepted and loved what Mary had given to Him, even though Judas found her gift disgraceful. Jesus accepts and loves what we give Him in the same way. He loves our gifts to Him because He loves us. Our gifts may not be the most spectacular, the prettiest, the most obvious, etc. but when we offer them up to God and use them for His glory, He loves them!

As I was typing this post, I was led to see yet another lesson from the words, "Let her alone." I have struggled with assurance most of my Christian life. I don't doubt the Lord, but I doubt myself. Many times I have thought that I deserve condemnation and hell. And you know what? I do! We all do! But the Lord Jesus Christ redeemed us from our sins by His death on the cross! His righteous life is imputed to us when we believe on Him, it's not and never will be about how "good" we can be. Now, of course, this is not license to sin, but it's comforting to know that the work is already completely accomplished. Oh and you know what? If the devil ever tries to convince the Lord that we belong to the devil instead of to Him because of our sin, I feel that the Lord will answer in a similar manner to the way He answered Judas, "Let her alone..."


Have a blessed Lord's Day!

Lessons from Hair....

Hey, y'all!

A few days ago, I was reading John 12 in my personal devotions. As I read verses 1-7, something really struck me: Mary used her hair to wipe Jesus' feet! Right about now, I feel y'all thinking, "Yes, Lydia. It's always said that, honey...." That's true, but have you ever though about it? I mean really thought about it? I feel that there are two parts to this lesson; we'll only deal with the first lesson today.

Let's consider what hair mean to us as ladies: For many of us, hair is a way of expression; hair is fun to style (unless you have really thick, straight hair, but let's not go there now); hair is something that we use to beautify ourselves; hair is one of our most prized possessions.

And Mary used her hair to wipe Jesus' feet.

She committed to the Lord something that she most likely considered one of her most prized possessions. She considered Him more important than her hair. Not only did she commit it to Him, she used one of  her highest forms of beauty to wipe his feet. No one would have said a word if she had had she wiped the Lord's feet with a towel! Yet, she loved Him enough to voluntarily use one of her greatest gifts for what some, like Judas, probably considered an unimportant service.
 
This is not an attack against hair. I enjoy trying new products and styles on my hair. Two of my best friends can attest that I love hair and always have. I am simply struck that many times we have an attitude of, "Oh Lord, you can have control of everything in my life...except...." Mary didn't add the "except" to the end of her commitment, she gave that one special thing to Jesus. There should be nothing in this life that we value more than the glory of the Lord.

May our Lord bless you!


P.S. I would love to hear what y'all think of my posts! Is there anything that you would like to have me write about in upcoming posts? Hope to hear from y'all!

Beauty in the Lord....

Hey, y'all!

I thought that it would be appropriate to start a blog named "Clothed with Strength and Dignity" with a shopping story. Usually, shopping is one of my favorite things to do. I love constructing modest, but flattering outfits!

On the day that my story took place, however, things weren't quite as sunny. My sister and I were at K-Mart and I had tried on several different articles of clothing...nothing fit. How many of us have been there? Having lost quite a bit of weight in the last year, it frustrated me to know that I was slowly, but surely, gaining it back. Saying I was bummed is an understatement: I was flat out mad. I was mad at myself for regaining the weight, I was mad at exercise for being so hard, and I was mad at food for tasting so good (I was mad and slightly crazed). Standing in the checkout line, while my sister paid for her purchases, it occurred to me that I was mad over something that in the long run, had very little significance. Yes, I had regained the weight; yes, I would have to go through the process of losing it all over again, but, you know what? It's the Holy Spirit inside of me who makes me beautiful. Doesn't matter what size I am. I am God's dwelling place. I am beloved of the Lord. I am beautiful in His eyes, whether I'm a size 10 or a size 110. Outside beauty is not what is important: inside beauty is what counts.

Yours in Christ,