There is always so much to read and to learn from the Word, but today God spoke some very specific things to me:
Matthew 1-6:18
3:8 "Bear fruit in keeping with repentance."
- This was a good reminder for me that when I repent, then I can bear fruit. I want to be a fruit bearer and I want repentance to come immediately. I have to admit that sometimes, when I have let something/someone else get in the way, repentance doesn't come immediately. We are heading into springtime now and it is such a good reminder of wanting to be that fruit...the flower in the rain. There is a song by Jaci Valasquez called "Flower in the Rain" that comes to mind as I think about bearing fruit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA69xAUrNTA
3:9 "God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham."
- What do I believe that God is able to do in my life? Heal my body? Help me lose weight? Allow me to get married and have kids? Nothing is too big for God. Today, I read a blog by a very Godly woman about healing. It was such a great reminder that He is the physician.
http://www.hespeaksinthesilence.com/2011/03/iatros-physician/
4:4 "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."
- This is a good reminder that I need to remember my really sustenance comes from God first. Yes, He provides food, but I need to adopt the mentality that I need to live by Him first. When my mind is "God-focused", I can truly live.
4:19-20 "And he said to them, 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.' Immediately they left their nets and followed him."
- This story yet amazes me again. The followed Jesus simply by one sentence. How many times do I want more from Him? How many times do I want Him to give me every explanation and angle for why He wants me to do something instead of following the examples of the disciples and simply following? What is God asking me to do right now? What is He asking me to do that I am requiring an explanation instead of just following Him?
5:1 "Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain and when he sat down, his disciples came to him."
- I have a note from a previous time I read this verse and it continues to be a good reminder for me. I tend to be the kind of person that wants to go to people. That wants to draw things out of people because I am a "fixer". Sometimes, that goes too far. In fact, this weekend, I was stressed out because I have been trying really hard to figure out how to have something in common with my sister-in-law and it is not working. It makes me sad. I don't understand why everyone else seems to have something in common with her but me. Then, this morning when I was journaling, I felt the Lord just asking me to let it go. This is not easy for sure because I really want to figure it out...I don't want to let it go because there is this little part of me that thinks if I keep trying, it might work. Then, I read this verse. Granted, it is in a different context, but the note I had written next to it made me think. It said
"Jesus wanted to get away. The disciples came to Him. Sometimes we need to wait for people to come to us."
I do not tend to wait well. I wish I could say that I did, but I don't. This is where my faith is tested and I don't tend to embrace it very well. As I have been writing this, God has reminded me of how faithful He has been when I have waited. He has reminded me of two of my sister-in-laws that this has been the case with and now we are closer and I actually enjoy spending time with them. God has given me something in common with both of them. How could I not believe that He will do the same with this woman? It will just be a matter of time. So, now I wait...and give my sister-in-law to Him. Entrust her into His care and trust that if His will is that we become close, He will work it out. Now I need to stop pushing and just wait.
