Articles

Musings and Amusing

Relationship

patricia grace

Lord, there are many in my life who are struggling in their relationships. Marriages are falling apart all around me, including my own. You can be glorified in bringing these people together, can’t You Lord? Please hear my plea–it is inadequate, but I come to You knowing that nothing is too hard for You.

First, I ask as I have many times that You would do a work of grace in the heart of my husband. May our marriage not be eternally severed. I thank You that I am content to be single, however. That is a gift from You and I praise You for helping me, so needy, to be content in this way.

It has come to mind that a cousin is going through a divorce. You already know the situation, Lord. They have a child Lord. Please, mend their relationships. Grant them repentance and new hearts. Of supreme importance is their relationship with Christ. Would You reconcile them to You through faith in Your Son, the King? And then bring them back to one another? For Your glory and for the sake of the child? That she may grow up with a mom and dad who love You and love one another? Please grant this request. You have all wisdom and know the best thing to do, so I thank You for what You are doing in their lives. Forgive them.

My dear friend is struggling in another relationship–You know all Lord. You know that she has been through so many trials, and now is living with her biological father, who did not raise her. There is tension and irritation in their relationship, Lord. Lord, I pray, first, that they would both be born again and know You fully. Once they know You, then You grant Your Spirit to live in them, working in them what is pleasing to You. You love Your creation loving one another, so I pray that they would grow in You, then their relationship will be full of love, respect, and kindness. Please soften the heart of this man–he’s involved in a “church” that teaches prosperity and the power of our own voice, rather than relying on YOUR WORD, and submitting to it. Grant him discernment, please, Lord, and lead him to worship in a place where truth where is spoken. I pray that they might worship together.

I pray you would bless the marriage of my mom and step-dad. May they spend their time in a manner that is pleasing to You, respecting and honoring one another, and not taking one another for granted. May she respect her husband and may he cherish her, according to Your word, Lord, and not be hard towards her when she isn’t feeling well, and may she bear with him in his habits and mannerisms. Thank You for their kindness to me and to all people. Thank You for the gentleness they have shown to me and others, especially now in my time of need when I didn’t have a place to live.

  • My marriage
  • My cousin’s marriage
  • My dear friend and her Dad
  • My parents

I give these relationships up to You. You already know what You will do and I thank You that we can rely on Your wisdom and not lean to our own understanding. Please mend, Lord. Amen.

Sermons

Proverbs 4:23-27 “The Sentinel of Our Sanity”

patricia grace

Sunday, May 3, 2015 A.M. Service – Blackrock Baptist Church

Proverbs 4:23-27 “The Sentinel of Our Sanity”

 
 

23 Keep your heart with all vigilance,

for from it flow the springs of life.

 24 Put away from you crooked speech,

and put devious talk far from you.

25 Let your eyes look directly forward,

and your gaze be straight before you.

 26 Ponder the path of your feet;

then all your ways will be sure.

 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left;

turn your foot away from evil.  (ESV)

The battlefield of the believer is in the heart and mind; it’s not a geographical location, on the job, at school, etc. It’s not against other people either.

v23. The term “keep” used here is a military term. It has the idea of standing guard. We are to guard our hearts and minds and to “…take every thought captive to obey Christ…” (2 Cor 10:5)

We protect our material possessions–we should take even more care to protect our hearts and minds. WE ARE IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE: “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ…” (2 Cor 10:3-5)

Hide the Word of God in your heart to assist in guarding your heart. When a security alarm is breached, there’s a signal. Hiding the Word in our hearts helps make us sensitive when our thoughts wander where they shouldn’t.

Remember Eve and the serpent (Genesis ch. 3)– the enemy got her thoughts on to something that God had forbidden. He planted an idea of doubt about the goodness of God and an idea of something better outside of God’s will. “Did God actually say….?”– he planted doubt about the Word of God. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God…” –he tempted Eve to doubt God’s goodness and His good intentions for them.

There is a progression in the passage of Proverbs 4:23-27 — Heart, mouth, eyes, feet. A guarded heart and a guided heart leads to:

  • a moral mouth v.24
  • established eyes v.25
  • faithful feet v.26-27


Jesus tells us in Matthew ch. 15 “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. ”  Evil comes out of our hearts.

First, we need a new heart. Education, information, and relocation can’t give us a new heart. Regeneration is necessary. Information without transformation will lead to frustration. Information with transformation leads to celebration.  It’s not just an informed mind that we must have; it’s a transformed mind we need. (Rom 12:2)
Musings and Amusing

Seething

patricia grace

[I starting writing this March 12, 2015 and never published it. Just reread it and am publishing it now on Sun, April 19th as I am still feeling much the same…]

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Drove home from work in a seething rage tonight.

Thankfully, I kept some control and didn’t drive like a maniac, but all the discontent, anger, and confusion came bubbling to the surface and I wanted to scream.

The darkness of my heart was revealed as I wanted to shout “I hate You!” at God. It’s so discouraging to realize that after years of seeking God, praying and pleading, reading His word, studying His word, seeking counsel from other Christians, and being an active member of local body believers, that I still have so much rage, anger, and pride in my heart. I just can’t seem to get it right.

I wanted to phone my husband and scream at him too. I wanted to tell him that he’d ruined my life and remind him of how his separating from our marriage, primarily over finances, is about the dumbest financial move he could have made. We have an offer on the house, but not much equity. Neither of us are doing any better financially since he moved out. I picture myself going to his apartment and pounding on his door and screaming, screaming, screaming, yelling, yelling…

This new job I have job is typical low paid service work* you find everywhere, but especially in tourist industry towns like mine. These jobs are always available due to high turnover rates and never very satisfying. At 41 years of age, I thought God might be pleased to move me on from this type of work; it’s the type of work I’ve done for years and now that so much has been taken from me (Dad, husband, home) I crave fulfilling work more than ever. I crave comfort and security. I get less of both.

I want to blame everyone for where I am. God, my parents, my husband. My husband for leaving me and causing me to have to scramble to find extra employment; my parents for not sending me to a university and encouraging me to get marketable skills, and God, of course, because He’s sovereign and NOTHING happens without Him knowing it, causing it, or, at least, allowing it.

Work late, work two doubles, getting up early and tomorrow work for a client in the middle of those shifts which makes for one loooooong, tiring day. How am I not maturing? Why am I still so ungrateful? It is not God’s will for me to be grateful, thankful, and to have endurance? I ask for these things and his word says if we pray according to his will he hears, and if we know that he hears then we know that we have what we asked for!!! pleszs;ldkng;.aeklrng;oaerklsjgn;baosdzfkl,.mva’ nedzcl/v

*Don’t get me wrong: there’s nothing inherently wrong with this type of labor. It’s a perfectly fine job for young people who don’t have a lot of financial obligations yet. Keeping low paying jobs around probably helps control prices of goods and services for all of us. Those who are still in college or just entering the adult world, or kids just wanting some pocket money can learn about forming a good work ethic at these types of jobs. (Hopefully, doing this work fosters some appreciation and kindness towards other service workers, too.)