This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you  do. Joshua 1:9 ^CSB

Sharing what you meditate on helps you remember, helps you internalize, helps you do. bh

Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, by holding firm to the word of life. Phil. 2:14-16 ^CSB

It’s hard not to be dismayed and brokenhearted in a perverted world. We’d probably be in denial if we weren’t. But if we want to shine in the darkness so that people can see our God, we need to be blameless (not sinning on purpose), pure (undivided in heart) and not grumbling and arguing because we know God is good and always working for good and for glory. We cannot work this up, but He can work it out.

You need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised. Hebrews  10:36 ^CSB

Endurance is something that keeps us going even when we don’t think we can keep going. Endurance is the ability to withstand hardship or adversity.  It’s the capacity and power to bear up under difficult circumstances. It’s a hopeful fortitude that perseveres to the end. It is a quality built by remaining under pressure, something our natural inclination wants to drift away from. From: Resilient Hope by Christine Caine

The key is to keep believing God – then His strength moves through us. Satan’s goal is for us to become defeated by our weaknesses. God’s goal is for us to boast in weakness (so not my natural bent) 2 Cor.12:9. He is looking for those in whom He can show Himself strong (absolutely my desire) 2 Chron. 16:9. Which says to me I’m going to have to keep the goal in mind and deny the natural bent.

Looking back, I see how faithfully God has worked to renew my mind.

 I wanted to be good (I wanted to earn). I wanted to be loveable (I wanted to deserve). I wanted to be strong (I wanted to be able to do the things that would earn me favor and love.). I thought it was good, profitable, necessary to go after these things. Couldn’t even fathom not trying with all my might.  And yet, all of this trying was lies believed and wounds that needed to be healed.

Col. 2:23 ^NKJV These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

The only goodness that’s enough is His. He gives us the gift of His righteousness.

Trying to earn rather than believe and receive is a major work of the flesh. If we try to earn what can only be received, we despair, wear ourselves out, give up, or settle for what we can do.

We die humbly when we are not depending on our goodness but knowing we can count on full redemption. Tim Keller

At a Jim Hylton revival years ago (1989 – included date to give God credit for His amazing grace, mercy, patience, and persistence with me) he said: The first blessing we receive is the blessing of being able to receive blessing. We need to give up our efforts to be worthy and recognize that Worthy is the Lamb. I humble myself to receive the gift of righteousness and the gift of His Spirit to enable me to walk in righteousness. Then I can receive every other blessing.

2 Cor. 1:20 ^NKJV For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, an in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.

God can, in perfect justice, fulfill all His promises to us because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. So we can say – so be it. Then God is glorified through us!!

The only safe love is unconditional, unending love. He loves us because He loves us. We are valuable because He loves us. Our value is revealed by the price He paid for us. If we were not as valuable to Him, as loved by Him, as Jesus, He wouldn’t have given Jesus for us.

We do not need to be overwhelmed by how far we have to go (again, not my natural bent). Matt. 4:19 Then He said to them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. My part – follow Him. His part – make me. Though I often can be, He is not discouraged by the process.

We do not need to think that all that time we were slowly coming to see was wasted, unprofitable, shameful, or at best useless. There are numerous times in Scripture when God’s people come out of bad times with great profit. When the Israelites were coming out of slavery, they came out with great wealth. When they were returning from Babylon, they also came out with great treasure. Moses time in the wilderness was preparation. Joseph’s mistreatment by his brothers set him up to rule. The profit is God’s doing, and He has purposes for it. He can never not be working for our good and His glory (the two are inseparable).

The only sufficient strength is His. The only way for me to learn that is through weakness. I am learning that in a new and deeper way by physical weakness – profound weakness. When you barely have strength to walk across a room, or you’re feeling how much energy it takes to hold your eyes open, you understand “without me you can do nothing” in a way you never have before, in a way you didn’t want, probably because you didn’t know how badly you needed to learn it. Accepting weakness is part of learning contentment, part of being a living sacrifice, part of praising in all things, and absolutely essential to experience His strength. He is looking for those in whom He can show HIMSELF strong. But I am struggling with this ongoing weakness. So hard not to fight His ways!! But how wonderful to be led to surrender. My strength never was enough, but as long as I had it, I depended on it!

A few years ago, I remember saying to my class that I had wounds that probably wouldn’t be healed until I died. But I can see that in the last few years He is working on that. The wounds of thinking I needed to be good, loveable, and strong in order to please Him and others are being healed. I won’t be perfected in this life, but I am being healed, transformed, changed from glory to glory.

Eph. 3:2 ^NKJV Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us (which is His power).

And for those who aren’t familiar with or those who love the Amplified version (a great version for promises) here’s Jude 24 -25: Now to Him who is able to keep you without stumbling or slipping, or falling and to present [you] unblemished (blameless and faultless) before the presence of His glory – with unspeakable, ecstatic delight – in triumphant joy and exaltation, to the one only God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory (splendor), majesty, might and dominion, and power and authority, before all time and now and forever – unto all the ages of eternity. Amen – so be it.