December 23, 2024

Perfection

SeekingHimLogo

Great is the Lord and highly to be praised;
and His greatness is [so vast and deep as to be] unsearchable.
Psalm 145:3 AMP

These two Scriptures echo the unsearchable greatness of God:

Who does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number…
Job 5:9 AMP

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unfathomable (inscrutable, unsearchable) are His judgments (His decisions)!
And how untraceable (mysterious, undiscoverable) are His ways (His methods, His paths)!
Romans 11:33 AMP

Ok…I admit it…I am a word nerd.  When I read Psalm 145:3, two words stuck out – greatness and unsearchable. So I researched each word to see how it was defined in Biblical times.

Unsearchable:  infinite, deep, incomprehensible, untraceable, vast. But when I looked up greatness, one word kept reoccurring—perfection. God IS Perfection. Which is something we continually strive for but cannot attain. In others words, God is described as ‘infinite, incomprehensible, untraceable perfection’.  I cannot even begin to wrap my mind around that.  I love the question that is asked in Job 11:7 (HCSB):

Can you fathom the depths of God or discover the limits of the Almighty?

Job 26:14 (AMP) asks it this way:

Yet these are but [a small part of His doings] the outskirts of His ways
or the mere fringes of His force, the faintest whisper of His voice!
Who dares contemplate or who can understand the thunders of His full, magnificent power?

We will never be able to conceive the riches of God’s greatness or His perfection.  We tend to define God by our limited experiences and our own point of view.  But God is so immense that we will not discover His full magnitude this side of Heaven.  Yet as we continue to seek Him, He continues to reveal Himself to us.

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13

Hebrews 11:6 says “He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.”  Amazing! God continues to reveal His greatness and His perfection to us when we sincerely seek Him.  He is more than worthy of our praise.  But we will never be able to glorify Him with as much praise as He deserves because His perfection is beyond what our feeble minds can comprehend.  But the more I seek Him, the more He reveals of Himself to me and I praise Him more.  As I grow in knowledge of who God is, I am able to honor Him with more and more praise.

Great is the Lord and highly to be praised…
Psalm 145:3

Meet Wellness Coach and Fitness Designer – Crystal Bush Breaux

I Can Handle It

 

“I can handle it and figure it all out on my own. If I mess up, I do not need anyone to help me.  I am strong enough and capable to turn it around and make it right.  I know the exact time when things need to be done according to the clock, day, week, month and even year.” That WAS the story of my life. I had a need to be morally perfect and in control; which, of course, caused me internal frustration, hopelessness, and missed opportunities for a deeper relationship with God and others.

Perfection

All of my life, I have had a desire to do the right thing by pleasing God and other people.  However, when I could not keep it together and failed, I was too embarrassed to ask for help.  I knew if I tried really hard I could do it without the help of anyone, including God.  This struggle left me feeling like a failure more than once.  It was only when I realized I was powerless by myself and could admit my imperfections, I became secure and confident in whom I was as a woman in Christ.

Control

After many years of infertility, multiple miscarriages, and trying to “fix” things in my marriage on my own, I had to realize there are things in my life I can not control.  I had to be willing to submit those things to God and give up my fears, my timelines, and plans of how I think it should be done. For someone who prided herself on being organized, on time, and prepared for any situation, the lack of control in certain areas of my life left me feeling hopeless.

What a happy day when I really understood my life’s scripture.Phil1_6

What a relief. I am not expected to have it all together. God knows we are going to fail, so why shouldn’t we expect it of our self.

As a fitness and wellness coach, my purpose in life is to work with women who want to overcome the helpless feeling of not knowing how to maintain their weight and consistency in their fitness.  I understand the feeling of having control and discipline in so many areas of life, yet struggling internally in one area that is so important to a woman. It can leave you feeling powerless.

My heart is to empower women to feel confident in their choices with food and exercise, and guide them toward a life of balance physically, mentally and spiritually, no matter how busy life gets.

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Crystal will be blogging for At Home with GCH on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month.

You can follow Crystal’s business blog at www.yourfitnessdesigner.com and/or follow her on www.facebook.com/yourfitnessdesigner.

For a personal Fitness and Food Design, you can email her at crystal@yourfitnessdesigner.com to schedule a free telephone consultation.

Winning Him Without Words: A Confession

Peter wrote this letter sometime between A.D. 60 and 64. Women in the first century had no legal rights. The husband and father was the ultimate authority over everyone in the household, including his wife. If the husband did not believe in Christ, Peter assured Christian women that they did not have to preach to their husbands. In fact, direct confrontation may even backfire. However, women could still show Christ to their husbands – by their behavior and character – not by their words.

In this section of our book, Dineen relates a story about an encounter she has with a receptionist at the doctor’s office. She was ashamed at her reaction to the situation. She silently prayed, asking God for the opportunity to apologize to this harried worker. The woman comes up to her right then and Dineen is able to apologize.

The best part of this whole story is that Dineen felt led by the Holy Spirit to share this entire encounter with her unbelieving husband. Every detail – even the not-so-Christian parts. And he was proud of her.

He saw the not-so-perfect part of her and he was proud.

How often do you let your husband see the not-so-Christian parts of you? Do you hide your true self from him for fear of what he might think or say? Do you fear that you might “look bad” or “unChristian” if you are authentic, if you really let your hair down and let your unbelieving spouse see everything? Do you think you might give Jesus a “bad name”?

What do you think would happen? Make a list. I’ll wait.

Are any of these things on your list?

  • My husband might laugh at me
  • My husband might mock me
  • My husband might say I’m not really a Christian
  • My husband thinks I should be perfect if I’m a Christian
  • My husband’s words might hurt my feelings

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV)

The Holy Spirit that the Lord poured into you when you were saved is a spirit of POWER, LOVE, and of a SOUND MIND. There is one thing it is not – a spirit of fear. Even though your spouse’s words or actions may hurt you in the moment, remember that you have a power living within you that is greater than those hurtful words or actions. A power that parted the Red Sea and raised our Savior from the dead. That power is alive in you!

Girlfriends, when we are authentic, our unbelieving husbands can relate to us. They do not feel like they have to compete with this guy named Jesus. They see that we can own up to our mistakes, repent, and ask forgiveness of anyone we may have wronged. But, even more so, they will see that we are NOT perfect – and they do not have to be either. They will see that Jesus loves us anyway, even when we do mess up. And we WILL mess up! It is only through Christ that we are made perfect.

Today is the day, my dear friends. It is time to lay down the idol of perfection. We cannot be an authentic warrior for Christ if we pretend to have it all together. It is through our authenticity that Christ uses us to reach other people with the Good News of his saving grace. Are you ready to let go of the need to be a perfect Christian in front of your unsaved husband and let Jesus use your authentic self for His glory?

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Let’s Pray: Father God, in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, we come to you asking for your forgiveness. Lord, please forgive us if we have tried too hard to be a perfect Christian in front of the unbelievers in our lives. Align our hearts with yours and show us how to live authentically in front of our unsaved spouses and how to glorify your name through our gentle and quiet spirits. In your holy name we pray, Amen!

Your Assignment: Post the list that you made from the blog assignment – What do you think would happen if your unsaved spouse saw the “not-so-perfect, “unChristian” parts of you? Pray over these things and ask God to show you the truth from His Word.

Have a Blessed Week!

Jennifer

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For the “Winning Him Without Words” Bible Study, you will need the book, your Bible, pen or pencil, a highlighter and a quiet place. You can order the book right through our website by clicking the “sign-up here” button at the top of our webpage; which is also where you can sign up to participate in this awesome bible study!