Heart Health
Author: mustardseedlens
The LORD’s
Some will say, ‘I belong to the LORD’: others will call themselves by the name Jacob; still others will write on their hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and will take the name Israel.
Isaiah 44:5
Am I willing to make a bold statement as this to write on my hand that I am the LORD’s? Are you? While I do not have any tattoo’s or plans to get any, this certainly would be one that would be noticed. I don’t imagine it to be small but something that everyone would notice.
But could I even spend a day with it written on my hand in pen, or permanent marker that lasts a few days? For anyone I came across to see and question me about. Could I be bold enough to speak about this God that saved me and gives me eternal life? To share my faith with anyone that asks or rolls their eyes at the ridiculous idea that Jesus is who he said he was?
A thought to ponder. A bold statement to make.
Thundering Voice
Lay it before Him
Isaiah 37:14 “Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD.”
I was struck by this verse when I was reading it. Hezekiah is being ridiculed by the Assyrian’s for believing that “his God” will save him and his people from their forces. And what does Hezekiah do? Panic, take things into his own hands, make a quick decision?
Nope.
He literally lays the letter on the throne of God and prays for guidance. He shows God what was said (not that he didn’t already know) and prays that God will “deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, LORD, are the only God.” (verse 20).
I need reminded to lay it all out before God when adversaries attack me. Even when I feel like they are going to win. Even when I’d rather run the other way or make a decision that is not what God has planned for me.
I need to stop and pray in the midst of the moments and trust that God will deliver me from whatever is before me.
Rest
Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ Jeremiah 6:16 ESV
Oh Jeremiah… the prophet to Israel that no one seemed to listen as he warned them of their punishment that was to come. It was like he was speaking to the wind with his words being carried away as quickly as they came out of his mouth.
But God was using him even if he did not see it. Maybe not with those people, or maybe they did hear in some way. But future generations would hear his recorded words. And I reflect on them today.
Am I guilty too of not wanting to walk in the path laid out before me? Jeremiah 6:16 says a few things about how to go about walking these paths.
First – Stand. Nothing active there… well, except you you have to support yourself and be still. I think of a parent telling their child to stand in a certain spot while they unbuckle another child in a busy parking lot. They want them to be still and wait not moving – just stand. It’s not as easy as it sounds. We get distracted, bored, anxious… we want to move. But first, we must stand.
Second – Look. A definition of this would be to “direct one’s gaze toward someone or something or in a specified direction”. I like how it says gaze. He’s not saying in this verse to just give a quick “left, right, left” look down the road. He wants us to gaze – really focus on what is on the road. Search for the path he is calling you to follow.
Third – Ask. In this verse, ask for the ancient paths – the paths of our forefathers – of Adam, Abraham, Moses. But mostly of God in his creation of the world. We are to stand, look, and ask for these ancient paths, the good way. Not the way of the world, but the way of God. That narrow “gate” Matthew 7:13 mentions.
Finally – Walk. And now we take action. We might have waited, standing, looking, asking, for some time. BUT God will always call us to walk. At times it feels like he will never ask us to take the next step. We can become distracted by the things of the world, by our daily busy lives, by even doing good things. Maybe God is waiting to be sure you are ready to be obedient to his call. But to find rest in all this we need to walk in the ways of the LORD, those ancient paths.
Will you take that ancient path and find rest? It’s not popular today. It is certainly not easy. The ancient path is what anchors us to God and gives us strength to fight the good fight. This path keeps us close to him, reminds us that he is in control, and brings us peace. For me, I stay on this path by reading his word daily, studying it and listening to what he wants me to learn that day. It opens my eyes to the way he wants me to walk and respond to the situations in my life. And through it all I have rest. I certainly stumble and step off from time to time, but the closer I daily stay to Christ, the easier it is to get back on the path.
Don’t be like the people Jeremiah was a prophet to – choose to walk in the path he has set before you and find rest.
Sleep in His safety
Mustard Seed Faith
When I was a young girl my Mom had a rock on her night stand that had a Bible verse glued onto it. I am not sure where it came from or why she had the verse she did. Maybe a retreat that focused on the verse? As I sat on her bed and she did my hair I would read the verse and it became one I can still recite from memory. It brings back so many great memories of those moments with my Mom but it also has been a great reminder as I grew in my walk with Christ.
The verse is Matthew 17:20 which says “He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
The backdrop to Jesus speaking is the disciples asking why they could not cast out a demon from a boy. He told them it was because they did not have faith that they could do it and that their faith only need to be as small as a mustard seed. That is not much faith is it? Mustard seeds are only about 1-2 millimeters!
Mustard seeds are small but they can make a mighty plant (or tree/tree like bush). It seems to me, if I can have faith as small as a mustard seed that it will grow in me and my faith will grow as big as the plant multiplying into other seeds of faith for those in my life.
But I only need that small faith and I can move a mountain. Some days just the laundry seems like a mountain I need faith to move… but just those every day problems that come up I just have to have faith that I can handle that mountain. That God will be there with me to help move it. Maybe not take care of it or remove it, but just show me that I can handle the problem. We all have mountains in our lives that we need to apply a little faith. Challenges at school, marriage issues, wayward children, aging parents that need our help, bills…. the list could go on and on.
Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” We just need to believe in God, in every circumstance, even without seeing evidence. This faith can start out small but will be mighty, we only need to take a step in that faith and watch what God will do with it.
Imagine if we all had this faith and shared about the mountains that we moved with others. That mustard seed faith would certainly grow and spread around the world.
The Beginning
This blog will be sharing about my journey as I read through the Bible. It’s something I did for the first time in 2018 and I’ve been a Christian for more than a few years. In most circles, that would seem shocking, but a small percentage of people have finished the whole Bible front to back. In a survey of 1000 people, Lifeway found that only 11% had done so. It’s not easy as some of the books are long lists of history and genealogy. But if you can dedicate the time to read it all you will start to see the strands of the story weave from the beginning to the end. Most days I can complete the reading in 20-30 minutes so I’m sure anyone can find the time.
This year I’ll be reading it chronologically in the English Standard Version. Last time I just opened it and moved through it front to back (in New International Version). I think I’ll enjoy seeing the Psalm’s David wrote as I read about him and Saul as well with the other history that is connected. I always use a reading plan to guide me daily. Last year it was My Year in the Bible, this year I’ll use the plan in the back of my Bible.
I’ll also use this blog to share my photography work. I love being behind the lens in both my business and my personal life. Capturing daily things with my phone or getting my professional camera out to get a better image is something that brings me peace and challenges me to see things in a different way.
Along the way, I’m sure I’ll share photography tips, maybe recipes, or random things. But for the most part, it will just be about my faith journey and my photography. Let’s get this started!
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