Weekly Impressions - For His Glory

Philippians 2:3-4

"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own interests, but also for the interests of others."

It’s easy to think a post has to have something profound to say, but in reality, I started this to chronicle what God was teaching me. God doesn’t always teach in epiphanies. I think His lessons in life are most often the small “notes to self” with a significant amount of practice and repetition. As I have been practicing “looking out for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4) this week - particularly this weekend - God has been showing me the difference between serving others to serve myself, and serving others to serve Him (and them).

I must continually put myself to the question as to my true motive, because it can change from moment to moment. An easy way to check if it's in the right place is to check on my joy in the Lord. Am I getting annoyed? Frustrated? Anxious? Depressed? These are all indicators of a strayed focus, and of motives no longer rooted in the Lord.

Instead, I need to put myself in the shoes of the other person and then ask “myself”: “What do I need? What do I want? What would help me right now?” This certainly isn’t a be-all end-all answer, but it is a beginning. (I have to remind myself not to be afraid to actually ask the person, either!)

It’s nice to be used by God. Not that anything I do could thwart His purpose, but it is definitely fulfilling to live within His will, rather than outside it. There is a peace in it, and the joy of the Lord shines brighter through it, overflowing in an upward spiral that glorifies God. May I be cognizant of the way in which my life glorifies Him.

What are your motives in serving others?

Milk

1 Corinthians 3:1-2a

"And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it."

As the mother of a one-year-old who really enjoys his bottle, I’m thankful for milk. I mentioned in I love the ability to spend a some quieter time with my little man (while he’s being still!) as I rock him to sleep with his bottle. This wouldn’t be possible without the milk in the bottle. Occasionally, we run out and I’ll use warm water instead. He rocks and drinks it just as well... but he doesn’t go to sleep as well. The milk seems to help prepare his tummy for the fast during sleep.

Milk helps little ones to grow and prepares them for the next step. God does this with His children, too. Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 3:2a: “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it.”

Even though I've been a christian more than 20 years, I think this discipline of being thankful has become my spiritual milk. It really is a very basic principle of following God, and has opened my eyes to a whole new and wonderful world, filled with blessings, contentment, joy, and peace, just to name a few. Not that I was completely void of these things before, but it is a foundation from which I can begin to eat more solid food.

And I rather enjoy my bottle. I think it's important to note that milk is still useful to supplement the solid food. Were I to stop my discipline of thankfulness, my foundation would crumble, and my solid spiritual food would be less relevant. Rather, I am to not only have milk. I must continue to practice the basics alongside the more advanced principles.

The most famous example of this is in 1 Corinthians 13: “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging symbol.” Let me not forget the basic principles of Christ - why I do what I do.

I thank God for His working in my life through thankfulness, my spiritual milk. I pray it blesses you, too, and that He would lead you to search out His workings in your own life, producing in you the thankfulness and trust He deserves.

Have you found thankfulness to be your milk?

Blossoms

Psalm 63:6-8

"When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches, for You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me."

Lord,

Your blossoms make me smile.
Such a soft and pretty thing:
Op'ning on the branch,
Blanketing bare limbs.

You catch them up with wind -
They float upon the breeze.
Dancing, spritely beckoning
Bright laughs in Your creation.

Alone, I’ll join the dance.
With others, smile and laugh.
Your gaiety is infectious,
May I practice it wisely.

May I spread it when appropriate,
Value its presence when not,
And always may I meditate
Upon Your works;
Upon Your glory;
Upon Your grace;
Upon Your love.

Amen.


Have you ever felt like God was being playful in the way He carries the blossoms on the wind, encouraging You to join Him in the fun? When I walk through life conscious of His presence - usually through my meditation on Him - it's like He shares so much more with me; life often feels much more light-hearted. What difference would you see in the world around you if you saw Him in each moment and task?

Sunshine

John 10:14-15

"I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep."

It was a beautiful day today. The new spring growth budded a brilliant green in the warm suns’ rays. That light and new growth make His creation so prominent I can’t avoid thinking about Him. God steps in front of me, so to speak, and waves, “Here I am!”

The sunshine often feels to me like God’s warm and loving embrace saying, “You are My child.” There’s a lot in that statement. It is both a protection and a command. As His child, I can have the peace and contentment of knowing He's looking out for me. Yet it is also a command to shine His glory. His glory is all around anyway, but He invites me to be a part of it. To walk in His sunshine, and to reflect its glow to those around me.

I am thankful for the physical, spiritual, and metaphorical messages of sunshine. May my thoughts be filled with Him, that He may overflow. Would you walk through life differently if you considered how to show His light to others?

Hope

Romans 15:13

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

There are so many verses on hope, because our God is a God of hope. I praise Him that He is! So often, as my focus draws inward, I begin to place my hope in the things of this world, and am sorely disappointed. Yet God’s hope will never disappoint. He is perfect, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent; there is nothing my God cannot do!

This God who can do anything loves me - no matter what I’ve done or will do - with a perfect love and tenacity to never let go of me. In His perfect love and perfect will, He is conforming me into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:28-29, Philippians 1:6) Present tense. He knows I don’t have it down perfectly, and He doesn’t expect me to.

In my sin, I cannot please Him, but in His Son, I am justified - I am saved. I am given access to the Holy Spirit, who can please Him. No one can now condemn me (and how prideful of me to condemn myself!), as it says in Romans 8:1.

I am so thankful for the hope God gives us!

Elders

1 Timothy 5:17

"The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at teaching and preaching."

If only it were so easy to be a leader as to download the qualities of one from the internet! Being a leader takes quite a bit of work... and being an elder in a church is a hefty calling. I am thankful God designed the church to have elders with the qualification to teach. Whenever our pastor is away for a weekend or two, one of our elders steps up and preaches a sermon. They may not be quite as polished as our pastor in their delivery, but they definitely share the Word of God in an understandable way, and seeing their point of view through the way they teach helps me to better trust their decisions.

I am thankful for the work our elders do in running the church, fellowshipping, mediating, guiding, teaching, and leading. I pray they would be encouraged in the work God has given them, and for God’s endurance and wisdom to carry out His work. May they ever reveal God’s glory to His children. If you're in a church with elders, have you thanked them for their work?

Weekly Impressions - Pliable

Psalm 25:4-5

"Make me know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day."

Lord,

Help me not to become calloused to Your instruction and to gloss over Your reminders. Keep my heart humble and pliable in Your hands. May I not disregard opinions until I have considered them in Your light. Teach me to empty myself so I might fill myself with You. May my heart never grow cold.

In Jesus’ Name, amen.


There are times in life when I catch myself going through the motions. Somewhere along the way, I lose the drive behind my Christian walk. This also means I lose my joy. This is unveils the importance of the battlefield of thoughts (what I choose to fill them with, and what I choose not to think about). If not intentional in my meditations, I cripple myself, driven by the flow of circumstances. I lose sight of God's love, and my heart grows cold and rigid. As difficult as "...taking every thought captive according to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5b) can be, the alternative is worse.

His love fuels the hope and subsequent joy that makes life life! "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..." (1 Peter 1:3). 

Have you noticed your heart grow cold, or are you going through the motions of life? What have you been thinking about? Confront your thoughts with God's truth - His Word.