top of page
IMG_0871.JPG

Embrace the Within

Focusing inward to create the abundant life God wants.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Sep 5, 2022
  • 3 min read

In the first century, there were no media at all. If Jesus Christ had not, clearly and without doubt, been raised bodily from the grave, we would have never heard of him.

  • Richard Bewes The Resurrection: Fact or Fiction? (Oxford, England: Lion Hudson, 1999).

How much do we talk about things from the past year? past decade? past century? BUT we are still talking about Christ two thousand years later. Praise God. Some of us are talking about Him for good reasons and some of us are talking about Him for bad reasons and that is nothing new. Christ had plenty of problems with folks trying to find fault when He was walking around the Middle East two thousand years ago and He still has folks finding fault today.

And just like the Pharisees, there are plenty of folks that believe they are right. I was there myself not too long ago. If I read enough books and studied enough thought and science, then I would figure this whole existence out and be able to hack it for my own benefit. I was right to a point because all that reading and all that thought and all that science led me back to the Father through Christ. BUT there are so many sources out there, so much data out there, so many interpretations out there, that it can get exhausting mentally and spiritually which then wears you out physically. It wore me out and then I would get defeated. I would be on the verge of a breakthrough and then find that this was just more of the same. And that is what I found over the past few years. A lot of the same pretending to be something new.

BUT, what doesn’t change and is always the same is God. And there is a lot of newness to discover in that unchanging beacon of truth. Folks can pick at it like the Pharisees. Folks can add their BUTs to it. None of that is going to change the Truth. One of those little sayings when I was beginning back into my faith that Matt and I repeated a lot was, “The Truth is the Truth”.

And guess what? I am not the Truth. I like to think that since I was made in God’s image that I can be God. And I can spend all this time criticizing God for my problems with whatever. Maybe I don’t like my situation this week because I have fluid in my knee and I can’t walk and suddenly that is God’s fault. Maybe I have trouble with some coworkers being unreliable and unprofessional and suddenly it’s God’s fault that I hate going to work. Maybe poor economic policies are stressing my finances and suddenly that’s God’s fault for allowing these folks authority. Maybe I don’t like that God’s Truth doesn’t match with the wokeness of my culture and suddenly it’s God’s fault.

The Truth is that it’s my fault. It’s always my fault. I am trying to put myself in the throne. I am trying to take authority over my life. I am trying to make the rules. BUT I change. I am fickle. I am inconsistent. I am fallible. I am broken. And I need God. God doesn’t need me.

So I need to stop thinking that I know better than God. Where do we get the audacity to think we know better than God? Sin. It’s quite simply our broken and fallen nature that the spirits of evil can easily sink their thoughts into and turn me, you, us astray.

The Word has survived for thousands of years as an instruction manual for life. If you want to see colossal failure and why humanity doesn’t deserve to be in charge, then read The Bible. You can also just watch the state-sponsored propaganda outlets as well. No one is hiding how comically tragic people are. Well, no one but ourselves in our own pride and arrogance because we’re different than everyone else. We’re better than everyone else. We’re smarter than everyone else.

Guess what? I am not and you are not either. The moment we get it through our stiff-necks and start living our purpose, the simpler life becomes. BUT giving up control is not our nature. That takes a lot of fighting, a lot of molding, and a lot of work. And the more I remind myself that I need God, the more I align myself with my purpose. And my purpose is not on the throne. My purpose is praising, worshiping, and magnifying the God that is enthroned.

Peace to your home. Bless your being. The reign of God is now. Be a blessing to God and others.

  • Sep 2, 2022
  • 3 min read

“Your Maker wired you with thirst–a ‘low-fluid indicator’. Let your fluid level grow low, and watch the signals flare. Dry mouth. Thick tongue. Deprive your body of necessary fluid, and your body will tell you.

Deprive your soul of spiritual water, and your soul will tell you. Dehydrated hearts send desperate messages. Snarling tempers. Waves of worry. Growling mastodons of guilt and fear. You think God wants you to live with these? Hopelessness. Sleeplessness. Irritability. Insecurity. These are symptoms of a dryness deep within.

Treat your soul as you treat your thirst. Flood your heart with a good swallow of water.”

  • Max Lucado, Fear Not For I Am with You Always

Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul.”

  • Martin Luther

Shabbat Shalom.

“Thank God It’s Friday” or TGIF is all around this broken culture BUT are we truly thankful to God for anything? I am working on expanding my spiritual health as my physical and mental health are a few miles further down the road than my spiritual health. It’s only natural since I started this whole process from being mentally healthy and looking to help out my body and after some time of those two working in alignment I finally got my spirit on board with the program. So, my nephesh isn’t always at the same health in all parts simultaneously. So, the spirit part is lagging behind.

Working on my spirit started with scripture and a devotion to reading every book that constitutes a part of any Bible version out there. As I continue to work my way through all the books, I started incorporating better prayer into my life. A lot of my prayers over the past few decades were selfish and/or self righteous and definitely infrequent. I can’t have a relationship with my wife, my children, my friends, my neighbors, my enemies, or my God if I don’t converse with any of them. So, I started the routine of praying when I first wake at least a prayer of thanksgiving for being alive and awake and a prayer of thanksgiving and blessing for others before I sleep at night. Prayer is an important component of my journey that I totally overlooked in most of my life BUT I will not overlook anymore. I neglected two really key components of a righteous walk with God, scripture and prayer. How was I going to be spiritually healthy not doing those things?

It seems kind of stupid and obvious now BUT it didn’t ever occur to me before. I wasn’t taking it seriously before. That is changing. I am still not good at remembering to pray before meals. I am still inconsistent in praying before starting a task. I am still inconsistent in keeping the conversation with God going in all things. BUT I do now have an awe and a reverence for talking to God.

So, I wanted to end this Friday blog with a prayer for the weekend. I awoke this morning a bit earlier than normal and God was convicting me about prayer. So, I figured I would work out the way my prayers are structured for the benefit of myself and others as a framework for this weekend. And I think every Friday from now on is going to at least be a prayer if nothing more. What better way to get ready for Sabbath than to get into a mind of praise and thankfulness?

“God, thanks for guiding me through another week. This week has had a lot of obstacles. You got me through that whole situation with my knee. I started this week on crutches and I ended this week back to doing my daily workout routine without pain. And for that I thank and praise You.

I started this week with very little organization in my classroom schedule this year. I was so preoccupied with my pain that I couldn’t think beyond the moment. And I am ending this week with a well-organized plan going forward. And for that I thank and praise You.

There are many obstacles and challenges that I am going to face in this journey with You. And I know that through this journey I am never alone. Lord, help me to keep my trust in your consistency. You do not change. You do not leave. You do not falter. You are always perfect.

Help me to see Your ways and to lead me in those paths. Help me to do what You tell me to do without looking for reasoning and understanding. Help me to be a better example to my self, my family, and my neighbors that Your Will and Your Truth be known.

In all these things I ask for your help through the Son, the Spirit, and the Father. Amen.”

Peace to your home. Bless your being. The reign of God is now. Be a blessing to God and others.

©2021 Embrace the Within. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page