November 21, 2024

My Name is ‘Worthy’

May 25, 2013 by

It has been quite a week—the horrific tornado in Oklahoma and the tragic loss of so many lives…stuff and nonsense happening in my own life…hearing of sadness and grief experienced by dear friends.  All this wears on my heart; have you found this to be so?  Sometimes our hearts and minds get distracted by the things of this world and we forget to believe the Truth that we know.  And, sometimes, it causes us to wonder, ‘Why?’

Why?  The truth is we have an enemy.  One who loathes…no…truly hates God and His children.  He is determined to take what our Lord came to make available to us.  Jesus said,

A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
I have come so that they may have life, and have it in abundance.
John 10:10

The evil that we experience is meant to draw us away from dwelling in God’s presence—to steal.  It is designed to dampen and diminish our love for our Lord—to kill.  And, ultimately, to cause us to turn away from God and His Word—to destroy.  This is what the enemy of our souls attempts to do.  However, Jesus has made it available for us to have LIFE full of grace and mercy, free, in abundance, joyous, peace-filled, and blessed!  Amen?

So much that God has intended for us is ours to simply receive—by His grace!  But we do have a  part to play in enjoying this life that Jesus has made available—we need to hold the Truth of God’s Word in our hearts and minds.

Your Word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.
Psalms 119:11

Treasured is also translated in other versions as ‘hid…hidden…stored…laid up.’  God’s Word(s) hidden in our hearts keeps us from sinning.  When the treasure of His Word is stored up in our hearts we remember what is written in the Scriptures and not only do we believe His promises but we trust in them, we act on them, we obey…all very pleasing to our Father God!

In my own heart, I can be distracted by words (from the past as well as the present) that are NOT the Truth.  These lies are the enemy’s attempts to steal, kill, and destroy my relationship with the One Who loves me so.  I must take His Word that I have treasured in my heart and remember it, believe it, trust in it, act on it, and obey!  When I do…oh, the abundant, joyous, free, grace and mercy-filled life I enjoy!  His Word tells me the TRUTH of who I am!!!

See what great love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God!
And that is what we are!
1 John 3:1

Hello, child of God!  What is your ‘name’?  I would love it if you would share it with us in the comments below!  My name is ‘worthy!’

Praying for each of you!  ♥ 

♥  coleen

_________________________________

If you would like to send a personal message to Coleen concerning this blog post, you may email her at: Coleen@girlfriendscoffeehour.com

Filed Under: Women's Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Loving God = Obedience to Him

April 27, 2013 by

I am going to ask a seemingly ridiculous question.  Do you love God?  Yes, really; this is not a rhetorical question!  Alright, here’s another one: How about Jesus…do you love Him? Without any stretch of the imagination, I can see y’all enthusiastically nodding your heads!  Of course you are…me, too!  Oh, how we love Him so!

So then, if/since we do so VERY much love our heavenly Father and our Lord then we will equally affirm that we live out the following statements of our Lord’s…

If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands.
John 14:15

If a person [really] loves Me, he will keep My word [obey My teaching]….
Anyone who does not [really] love Me does not observe and obey My teaching.
And the teaching which you hear and heed is not Mine,
but [comes] from the Father Who sent Me.
(verses 23 and 24)

So I ask you, Jesus girl, follower of the Master, fellow-believer, child of God, “Is there any other way to REALLY love Him other than obeying?”  The answer—Jesus’ answer—is a simple, decisive, emphatic ‘no.’  Oh, there are other ways to demonstrate our love for Him, such as prayer, praise, worship through song, service to others, love for others, etc.

But loving God = obedience to Him.

There is only one way—His way.  We have not been left on our own, to figure out how to obey His commands or even to figure out what His commands are!  By the grace of God, we have a ‘ rule book,’ guideline, structure.  We have the Bible—His Holy Words!  God has never left His people—starting with Adam and his Eve…to Abraham…to Moses and the children of Israel…to David…to Solomon…to the long line of prophets that God used to bring His Words to His people…to John the Baptist…to Jesus’ Apostles…to Paul…to us—without direction, without reminders of His commands, without loving reproof to help them back to the Truth.  Our God is a Faithful Father Who is always there to help and guide and correct and lead, so that we can live lives of obedience to His Words.

We know that an intrinsic part of obedience is knowing His Word and keeping, or treasuring, His Word in our hearts and minds.

I have treasured (hid) Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You.
Psalms 119:11

 I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.
Psalms 40:8

In the epistle of 1st John, Jesus’ words are reiterated by the Apostle John.

 But he who keeps (treasures) His Word,
truly in him has the love of and for God been perfected.
chapter 2, verse 5

For this is what love for God is: to keep His commands.
Now His commands are not a burden…
chapter 5, verse 3

I am sure that you, my friend, are just like me—we SO yearn to show our love for our God!  We voice our love for Him often and passionately!  We sing our love for Him out from the depths of our hearts in songs of praise and worship and adoration!  Let us never, ever, not ever forget what comes first…what proves our love for Him…what is the start and finish of our love for Him…is a life lived in obedience to His Words.

Praying for each of you!

♥ coleen

_________________________________

If you would like to send a personal message to Coleen, you may email her at: Coleen@girlfriendscoffeehour.com, or leave a comment below.

Filed Under: Women's Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Your Word Have I Hid in My Heart

April 20, 2013 by

 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Psalms 119:11

It doesn’t matter whether one is a child learning to memorize Scripture, or an adult who has endeavored to walk in the Truth for twenty years, or a new believer just learning the power that can be wielded by God’s Word—this can be the cry of every single child of God. May I be so bold as to say, ‘This SHOULD be the cry of every one of God’s children!’

As I studied this particular verse, and read the beautiful expression of it in different Bible versions, I saw such a bigger picture.  Here, listen:

  • Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.
  • In my heart I have hid Thy saying, That I sin not before Thee.
  • In my heart I store up your words, so I might not sin against you.
  • I have treasured your promise in my heart so that I may not sin against you.

The word hidden is also translated as ‘treasured’ and ‘store up.’  I think it is like certain items that we treasure and hide, or store away.  I keep cards.  Birthday, Christmas, Happy Hearts Day, encouragement, thank you, miss you, Thanksgiving, sympathy cards…I keep ‘em all.  Why?  It is because I treasure the words of the loved ones who have given them to me and so I hide them away and store them.  (It is a BIG box!)  Similarly with God’s Words…we treasure them and so we hide them in our hearts storing them away.

Here are a few other verses that we can hide in our hearts to help us, to strengthen us:

I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.
Psalms 40:8

The mouth of the [uncompromisingly] righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks with justice.  The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
Psalms 37:30 and 31

My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you.
Proverbs 7:1

My son, if you will receive my words and treasure up my commandments within you,
Making your ear attentive to skillful and godly Wisdom and inclining and directing your heart and mind to understanding;
Yes, if you cry out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,
If you seek [Wisdom] as for silver and search for skillful and godly Wisdom as for hidden treasures,
Then you will understand the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of [our omniscient] God.
For the Lord gives skillful and godly Wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He hides away sound and godly Wisdom and stores it for the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with Him); He is a shield to those who walk uprightly and in integrity,
That He may guard the paths of justice; yes, He preserves the way of His saints.
Then you will understand righteousness, justice, and fair dealing [in every area and relation]; yes, you will understand every good path.
For skillful and godly Wisdom shall enter into your heart, and knowledge shall be pleasant to you.
from Proverbs chapter 2

One last point: in every single one of the translations of this verse in different Bible versions, one thing remains the same.  (Did you notice it, too?)  “…that I may not sin against You.”  The motivation of our hearts, yes?  Our hearts desire is to love God and be pleasing to Him.  We know from the Scriptures that the way to do that is to obey Him.  We obey God by having His Words hidden (treasured, stored up) in our hearts so that we will not sin against Him.

John 14:15
If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands.

1 Samuel 15:22
Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?

1 John 5:3
For the [true] love of God is this: that we do His commands….

The Word of God is our most powerful weapon against sin.  But useless are words on a page that are not hidden, treasured, and stored in the heart.

My prayer before our loving Father is that you…

…Put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place].
Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God,
And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness,] and the readiness of the Gospel of peace.
Lift up over all the [covering] shield of saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one].
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword that the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God.
Ephesians 6:13-17

Praying for each of you!

♥ coleen

_________________________________

If you would like to send a personal message to Coleen, you may email her at: Coleen@girlfriendscoffeehour.com, or leave a comment below.

Filed Under: Women's Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,