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Posts Tagged ‘growing in faith’

Rooted

Posted in From My Heart, tagged , , , on September 9, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Colossians 2:6-7

6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

I love the bright yellow of my Moon Cactus. The only issue that I have had with it is that it leans over. Why? After some research, I found that the Moon Cactus has a short life span because it’s roots are shallow. The roots of the Moon Cactus will never grow deep enough to allow the cactus to stand up straight. I have tried to bury it deeper in the soil, but it still leans pathetically. In my research I found that the only way for the Moon Cactus to grow deeper roots is for it to be grafted into another plant with deep roots (the example given was a dragon fruit). If it shares the roots of another stronger plant, it will flourish and stand strong.

It reminds me of us as Christians. We are the Moon Cactus. Our roots will be shallow and we will lean over if we are not grafted into something with a deeper, stronger root.

John 15: 1-8

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

John 15:1-8 tells us that Jesus is the true vine. In order for us to stand strong, in order for our roots to grow deep enough to withstand the storms of life, we need to be grafted into the one true vine, Jesus. If we want deep roots, we must remain in Jesus.

How do we remain in Jesus?

  1. Study God’s Word- We need to know the Bible. Even the Devil knows the Bible and he will use it against us any chance he gets. In order to remain grafted into the Vine, we need to study and meditate on the Word of God, so that we can defeat the Devil before he defeats us.
  2. Pray- We need to be in continual prayer as we go about our day in order to withstand the spears that will come against us in the course of the day. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to pray continually. Prayer is a conversation with God. When we enter into prayer on a continual basis, we become as one with God. Praying continually brings intimacy with God (Jesus) and we find that it is easier to remain in Him as we live our lives in this world of chaos.
  3. Give Thanks- 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to give thanks in ALL circumstances. We are not to just give thanks when our lives are going great and we are on top of the world. We are also to give thanks when we have hit rock bottom and our lives are falling apart. If we want to remain in Jesus, we must find the good in the bad. We must thank God for the trials that work to make our faith stronger and our roots deeper.
  4. Build Community- We need the fellowship of other Christians to keep us strong and standing tall. We need to be active in a local body of believers in order to be fed the Word of God and to be watered by the support and community of the Church. When we serve others and allow others to serve us we will find ourselves growing a deeper relationship with Jesus and the end result will be deeper roots.

I don’t want to be like the Moon Cactus with it’s shallow roots and short life span. I want my roots to be deep enough that I can withstand the storms of life that threaten to take me down. I want to stand tall in my faith, knowing that because I am grafted into the Vine I can withstand anything. I want to remain in Jesus, so that Jesus will remain in me.

Challenge: As you go about your life this week, I want you to dig into God’s Word. I want you to pray as you go about your daily activities. I want you to give thanks in the good and the bad. I want you to find a local church that you can build community with. You will find that as you intentionally make the effort to remain in Jesus your roots (and your faith) will grow deep enough and strong enough to withstand any storm.

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Thy Will Be Done

Posted in From My Heart, tagged , , , , on December 4, 2017| Leave a Comment »

 

I have been reading a book on prayer, Busy Lives and Restless Souls: How Prayer Can Help You Find the Missing Peace in Your Life, written by Becky Eldredge. In the book, Becky talks about the instances when God says NO! to our prayers. She asks us the question, “Would you still be willing to say Yes! if God’s answer is NO!?”

As I pondered on that question, I realized that there have been times when God did say NO! or NOT YET! and I still found myself trusting Him. Hanging onto Him until the storms of life passed. Yes, I have struggled through a divorce and the transition to single motherhood. I have struggled with poverty, chronic illness, and anxieties. I have prayed for God to alleviate the pain that these issues have caused. I have prayed for God to work in the tough situations of my life. I have heard my fair share of God’s NO’s! I still struggle. I still deal with the same situations. 17 years later and life is still a struggle. But, I have NOT prayed for the healing of a child or spouse and still had to watch them die. I have NOT lived through a mass shooting or a terrorist attack, praying for an answer and never seeming to get one. I have not tried to save a fellow Marines life while in the middle of a firefight, only to see him die and trying to find the Why in it. As much as I have struggled in life, as many times as I have prayed for help, I have not had to live through a life altering trauma such as those listed above. If I had to live through such a tragedy as any of these, could I still say, Yes! to God. Could I still say, “Thy will be done”?

Luke 22:39-44

39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. 

Jesus prayed for “this cup” to be taken from him. From my perspective, this can only mean that Jesus did NOT want to die. He knew the suffering that He would soon endure and He did NOT want to face that suffering. But, in the same breath, he says, ” yet not my will, but yours be done.” Remember that God said NO! to Jesus. God said NO! to His beloved Son and Jesus still had faith enough to trust God’s will.

If Jesus, facing death, and dealing with human emotion, was willing to say, “thy will be done” when God said NO! than I should be able to follow that example when God says NO! to my prayers. But can I? Will I? I wish I could say that I knew for sure that I would still say YES! to God in that type of situation, but because I am human and I do deal with anxieties, I honestly don’t know.

This is something that I am working on. I continue to pray. There are times when God says YES! and there are times when God says NO! I continue to go deeper in my relationship with God. I continue to push myself to where I can say YES! in any circumstance. I continue to grow in my faith.

CHALLENGE: Reflect on the question, “Will I say YES! when God says NO!?” Be willing to get real with yourself. Don’t be afraid to admit that you would not say YES! Don’t be afraid to admit that you are still growing in faith. That’s okay. Most of us are. Get real with God and find out what you need to do to get to the YES!

In the meantime, I am always here if you need me to pray with you or journey with you. You are NEVER alone!

 

 

 

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