....are wonderful times to learn with a unique group of women I met last year. Here is some food for thought.
Three points to ponder:
Stop pretending
Stop presuming
Stop pushing
We discussed this at length and it was hard to conclude. I see that these things happen in a wide span of places. I'm going to think and try to act on these statements. What comes up in your mind when you read them?
Intimate Thoughts For Reflection
9.08.2014
"In With The New!"
Everywhere you look today there is something new being made. New foods. New styles. New cars that are more efficient. New hairstyles. New crazy adventures being sought (a man jumping into a volcano? Come on!) New clothing being manufactured. New flavored drinks. New latte recipes. New ways to consume junk food (fried donuts with eggs and sweet syrups, Yes only in Texas ha ha. You can even add ice cream!). New restaurants coming to be. Did you ever wonder where all these new things are coming from? Or why?
My thought for the why is boredom. The new wears off and something new-er is needed to replace the thrill from the first thing. How many new things will it take? I'm guessing infinity. Yet we don't have that long on this earth. God says we are like grass. Here today. Gone tomorrow. Psalms tells us in chapter 103: 15-16,
15 As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field;16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.
In Jeremiah the Lord told His people to look for the ancient paths. Ancient paths? What in the world does that mean? He said look for the good ways, the old ways, and follow them. Chapter 6 verse 16 says,
"This is what the LORD says: Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask which paths are the old, reliable paths. Ask which way leads to blessings. Live that way, and find a resting place for yourselves. But you said that you wouldn't live that way." Jeremiah 6:16
The word ancient in the Merriam Webster dictionary defines it as, "very old; having lived or existed for a very long time; of, coming from, or belonging to a time that was long ago in the past."
Another definition I discovered was: "..belonging to the very distant past and no longer in exisitence. For ex. "the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean."
Some would say the old paths do not exist. They are obsolete.
Swerving off the path is easy to do. There are so many distractions. If we follow the pattern of these special people the Israelites we will see we really aren't that different from them. God in His loving kindness gave them many warnings, drawing them back with His fatherly love yet allowing them to feel the consequences of their sheep like behavior.
I am thankful for His loving kindness. It is natural for us to judge others, yet wrong.
My thought for the why is boredom. The new wears off and something new-er is needed to replace the thrill from the first thing. How many new things will it take? I'm guessing infinity. Yet we don't have that long on this earth. God says we are like grass. Here today. Gone tomorrow. Psalms tells us in chapter 103: 15-16,
15 As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field;16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.
In Jeremiah the Lord told His people to look for the ancient paths. Ancient paths? What in the world does that mean? He said look for the good ways, the old ways, and follow them. Chapter 6 verse 16 says,
"This is what the LORD says: Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask which paths are the old, reliable paths. Ask which way leads to blessings. Live that way, and find a resting place for yourselves. But you said that you wouldn't live that way." Jeremiah 6:16
The word ancient in the Merriam Webster dictionary defines it as, "very old; having lived or existed for a very long time; of, coming from, or belonging to a time that was long ago in the past."
Another definition I discovered was: "..belonging to the very distant past and no longer in exisitence. For ex. "the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean."
Some would say the old paths do not exist. They are obsolete.
Swerving off the path is easy to do. There are so many distractions. If we follow the pattern of these special people the Israelites we will see we really aren't that different from them. God in His loving kindness gave them many warnings, drawing them back with His fatherly love yet allowing them to feel the consequences of their sheep like behavior.
I am thankful for His loving kindness. It is natural for us to judge others, yet wrong.
......Okay back to the "New." The previous point or beginning to this post. I was looking at some ads that came in my mail today and saw in bold writing and sighed.....
"IN WITH THE NEW!!"
It was an ad for new clothes. Immediately I thought of the other part of this phrase ...And out with the old!
I definitely think the old ways have not changed, we have. There is nothing new under the sun it says in Ecclesiastes. It's all laid out in His word, and it works! Following God's word brings peace and hope. It brings stability. I know because I have tried the other way. More than a couple times over my life span. I am not perfect. God never gets old. We do. I have found God gets better and better the more I know Him in a personal up close way,wait or I get more understanding and more wisdom. How can God get better? He is all complete.
Which turns my heart to Micah 6:8 which says,
"You mortals, the LORD has told you what is good. This is what the LORD requires from you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to live humbly with your God."
Simple yet profound.
* Do what is right
* Love mercy
* Live humbly with your God
Simple yet profound.
* Do what is right
* Love mercy
* Live humbly with your God
How simple of a directive! It is short isn't it? Does not seem complicated. Every time we sway off the path and we all do, turn back to Him. DO it fast. Don't grope for days in condemnation. He loves us that much! Jump back in to the pool of His love.
Wherever you are in your journey with God (providing you are on that journey) when you are falling, confused, unsure of where you are and life is very dark. Or you just don't get it and have questions. When God seems far (or you are) let Him draw you back just as He did the Israelites with His Father Love. He is the Shepard. Who longs for you to be near Him. There is so much more to gain by running to Him rather than from Him. <3
Wherever you are in your journey with God (providing you are on that journey) when you are falling, confused, unsure of where you are and life is very dark. Or you just don't get it and have questions. When God seems far (or you are) let Him draw you back just as He did the Israelites with His Father Love. He is the Shepard. Who longs for you to be near Him. There is so much more to gain by running to Him rather than from Him. <3
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