Such a tiny little word with so much potential. One little conjugation, two letters, packing so much punch. Mr. Webster tells us that if could indicate, "in the event that......allowing that..... on condition that.....even though ..... it is also used as a function word to introduce an exclamation expressing a wish ...."
In this case, the if that captured my fancy this morning was related to a special place in GOD's Word ~ the book of Deuteronomy. I have these words written at the top of the page of Deuteronomy 28 .... The blessing of If .... The entire passage is GOD's iteration of His Covenant with us. He wants to bless us. So He gives us the ifs.....
"If you will listen diligently to the voice of the Lord your GOD, then....."
And the blessings are stated. Personally, I like all these blessings. I would much rather live and walk in the blessings of GOD rather that what follows ~ the but if.....
Oooooooooo....the but ifs aren't so much fun.
Basically it's like this; you listen to GOD and do what He says (not a big deal) and you are blessed beyond your wildest dreams. Or you don't, and it's not so pretty for you. All we have to do is look around us and see the lives people lead, the frustrations, the heartaches, the struggles, the anxiety, the fears, etc, etc, etc...... Personally this is a no-brainer for me.
Blessing or curse..... uh....DUH! I'll take Blessing, Alex for $1000. Actually, it's priceless. (sounds like a commercial? uh huh...)
But this is no commercial. It is eternal fact. If you will.......then I say.......
You have to read the book to get "the rest of the story."
The blessing of if . . . . . . I'm all about the if.
See you in the high places!
Sharoni
...giving voice to those with none....
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
An Urgent Kind of Love
"You cannot touch your neighbor's heart with anything less than your own."
Powerful statement, isn't it? "To 'love your neighbor as yourself' requires the same kind of love. It's a love that notices the need of another person and won't rest until it's been met. It's a gentle, tender love that thinks and acts carefully. It's the sacrificial and compassionate love that a nameless Samaritan had for a fallen traveler. It's the kind of love GOD wants to share with your neighbors through you."
This is my daily goal. It's what I hope to do every day in whatever way I can....a smile, a simple, "hello, how are you?", speaking a blessing, showing a kindness by paying for someone's lunch I don't know have never seen before & probably never will again. I actually missed out on that opportunity once and it haunts me to this day. I saw a young lady at a drive-up in front of me and it was taking a long time for her to pay. She tried one card after another, all returned to her in short order. My heart went out to her. I am still so disappointed in myself that I did not get out of my car and go up to pay for her! Haunting disappointments. But do we let that drag us down? No.....it's a very simple and painful reminder to never let it happen again.
What did Jesus say? Oh yeah....."if you give a cup of water unto the least of these, you give it to Me." Yeah.....I won't let that pass me by again. My heart hurts at the memory. I've been that young woman in the car. The humiliation and helplessness you feel in those circumstances is, well, simply that.
For whatever His reasons, GOD has chosen to allow us to be the representatives of His love on this earth. That is a daunting task, for sure.
Breathe.....love.....
it's that simple!
Off to love some people today!
Sharoni
...giving voice to those with none....
Powerful statement, isn't it? "To 'love your neighbor as yourself' requires the same kind of love. It's a love that notices the need of another person and won't rest until it's been met. It's a gentle, tender love that thinks and acts carefully. It's the sacrificial and compassionate love that a nameless Samaritan had for a fallen traveler. It's the kind of love GOD wants to share with your neighbors through you."
This is my daily goal. It's what I hope to do every day in whatever way I can....a smile, a simple, "hello, how are you?", speaking a blessing, showing a kindness by paying for someone's lunch I don't know have never seen before & probably never will again. I actually missed out on that opportunity once and it haunts me to this day. I saw a young lady at a drive-up in front of me and it was taking a long time for her to pay. She tried one card after another, all returned to her in short order. My heart went out to her. I am still so disappointed in myself that I did not get out of my car and go up to pay for her! Haunting disappointments. But do we let that drag us down? No.....it's a very simple and painful reminder to never let it happen again.
What did Jesus say? Oh yeah....."if you give a cup of water unto the least of these, you give it to Me." Yeah.....I won't let that pass me by again. My heart hurts at the memory. I've been that young woman in the car. The humiliation and helplessness you feel in those circumstances is, well, simply that.
For whatever His reasons, GOD has chosen to allow us to be the representatives of His love on this earth. That is a daunting task, for sure.
Breathe.....love.....
it's that simple!
Off to love some people today!
Sharoni
...giving voice to those with none....
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Redirectes
This was the title of my devotional this morning. It shared the story about a young and very successful pianist who lost his ability to play. This fellow was world-renown. After walking through his downtime and adjustment period, he became a teacher and conductor. He said that he loved music more than he loved the piano.
I just noticed that my title had a typo; I had intended to entitle it "Redirected," just as the devotional page did. But as I reached to change it, I stopped. No, leave it as it is. It is meant to be that. Redirects......how many of those have I had in my life? How many have we all experienced? By choice, by consequence of choices, by life circumstances beyond our control.......whatever the reason, whoever said that redirects are a bad thing?
Artists inherently seek to raise the bar and tweak and achieve a place never experienced before in their medium. Most of my life I never considered myself an artist.....I've addressed that many times before.......I never considered myself a true musician. I thought that "true" musicians possessed talent way beyond my own. I always said, Oh I have talent, but not that kind of talent. Phooey!
I realize now that I really am an artist......an artist in music appreciation and expression......an artist with words from time to time........an artist in my ability to appreciate people in all their complexities and lovliness.........an artist in my ability to have a conversation of substance with anyone, almost anywhere and almost anytime - but that always comes at the LORD's direction. And I am an artist in my ability to capture vision. Artists see the world in all its beauty and all its implied beauty......the potential beyond the realized. If you can look at a fallen branch of a tree and see the beauty in that......you might be an artist! :)
The hard question asked this morning was: "When our dreams are shattered, how do we react?" And the story of Joseph was shared. I know this! Yes.....my dreams have been shattered......and my life was a train wreck for a period of time on more than one occassion. But those times.....those shattered dreams are what have allowed me to flourish in this season of my life. Had I remained in a dysfunctional relationship and stayed in the music industry, who knows where or what I would be right now? Certainly not a nurse. And being a nurse is a life-long dream of mine, held since I was a little girl.
Imagine.......dare to dream.....it is the stuff realities are made of.
Sharoni
....giving voice to those with none.....
"A man's heart plans his way.......but the LORD directs his steps."
Proverbs 16:9
I just noticed that my title had a typo; I had intended to entitle it "Redirected," just as the devotional page did. But as I reached to change it, I stopped. No, leave it as it is. It is meant to be that. Redirects......how many of those have I had in my life? How many have we all experienced? By choice, by consequence of choices, by life circumstances beyond our control.......whatever the reason, whoever said that redirects are a bad thing?
Artists inherently seek to raise the bar and tweak and achieve a place never experienced before in their medium. Most of my life I never considered myself an artist.....I've addressed that many times before.......I never considered myself a true musician. I thought that "true" musicians possessed talent way beyond my own. I always said, Oh I have talent, but not that kind of talent. Phooey!
I realize now that I really am an artist......an artist in music appreciation and expression......an artist with words from time to time........an artist in my ability to appreciate people in all their complexities and lovliness.........an artist in my ability to have a conversation of substance with anyone, almost anywhere and almost anytime - but that always comes at the LORD's direction. And I am an artist in my ability to capture vision. Artists see the world in all its beauty and all its implied beauty......the potential beyond the realized. If you can look at a fallen branch of a tree and see the beauty in that......you might be an artist! :)
The hard question asked this morning was: "When our dreams are shattered, how do we react?" And the story of Joseph was shared. I know this! Yes.....my dreams have been shattered......and my life was a train wreck for a period of time on more than one occassion. But those times.....those shattered dreams are what have allowed me to flourish in this season of my life. Had I remained in a dysfunctional relationship and stayed in the music industry, who knows where or what I would be right now? Certainly not a nurse. And being a nurse is a life-long dream of mine, held since I was a little girl.
Imagine.......dare to dream.....it is the stuff realities are made of.
Sharoni
....giving voice to those with none.....
"A man's heart plans his way.......but the LORD directs his steps."
Proverbs 16:9
Saturday, January 2, 2010
All I Can Do
Ever hear or - Gasp! - say the phrase...."well, all we can do is pray"?
WOW!!!
Are you kidding me?!?!? All??? Tout??
The intercessor in me cringes at the thought of these words in combination. I know that I know that I know what intercession can and will do. It is only limited by our ability to utilize our access to the throne of the Almighty.
I know my GOD. I know Who He Is....I know What He Is....and I know His great love. He loves us....and all He wants is relationship with us. I know who I am in Him....an heiress....royalty....dearly loved by my Creator, Redeemer, and Friend. And I know that because of that love I have access to the Sovereign at all times. The royal scepter is extended toward me anytime I desire to be before Him. Anything that concerns me, concerns Him.
And here is the cool thing. I don't even have to "get" anywhere special to "do" anything unusual for intercession to occur.
When I am discussing a person, a situation, any concern I may have with something...anything, it becomes intercession for me. That is because Christ Jesus is always with me, standing, sitting, walking, beside me and is engaged in any conversation I may be having. When I speak a word, it is released to do its work, because I am that person, the intercessor. My unspoken prayers are never left lying inactive, because Holy Spirit takes them directly to the Throne Room. I don't have to gyrate, meditate, or integrate myself into any type of frenzy to have that access....I already have it! All the time. And there is no limit on how much or how little I have to say or not say for GOD to delegate action in a person's behalf. Because I know that I am speaking His heart over a situation if I have laid down my own personal feelings and preconceptions, and given it to His Holiness. As His royal daughter, it is my right and responsibility to carry concerns of the Kingdom to my Father, the King.
So....all I can ever do.....all I ever should do.....is take matters of state to the Head of State, and let Him do what is His will to do.
My sincere belief is that people who utter the heartwrenching words, "all we can do..." simply do not understand this. There is no judgement here, simply a deep desire that more of us would, "get it," and walk "in it."
Can you even imagine......Kingdom kids acting like the royal heirs that we are?? WOW!!
Sharoni
...giving voice to those with none...
WOW!!!
Are you kidding me?!?!? All??? Tout??
The intercessor in me cringes at the thought of these words in combination. I know that I know that I know what intercession can and will do. It is only limited by our ability to utilize our access to the throne of the Almighty.
I know my GOD. I know Who He Is....I know What He Is....and I know His great love. He loves us....and all He wants is relationship with us. I know who I am in Him....an heiress....royalty....dearly loved by my Creator, Redeemer, and Friend. And I know that because of that love I have access to the Sovereign at all times. The royal scepter is extended toward me anytime I desire to be before Him. Anything that concerns me, concerns Him.
And here is the cool thing. I don't even have to "get" anywhere special to "do" anything unusual for intercession to occur.
When I am discussing a person, a situation, any concern I may have with something...anything, it becomes intercession for me. That is because Christ Jesus is always with me, standing, sitting, walking, beside me and is engaged in any conversation I may be having. When I speak a word, it is released to do its work, because I am that person, the intercessor. My unspoken prayers are never left lying inactive, because Holy Spirit takes them directly to the Throne Room. I don't have to gyrate, meditate, or integrate myself into any type of frenzy to have that access....I already have it! All the time. And there is no limit on how much or how little I have to say or not say for GOD to delegate action in a person's behalf. Because I know that I am speaking His heart over a situation if I have laid down my own personal feelings and preconceptions, and given it to His Holiness. As His royal daughter, it is my right and responsibility to carry concerns of the Kingdom to my Father, the King.
So....all I can ever do.....all I ever should do.....is take matters of state to the Head of State, and let Him do what is His will to do.
My sincere belief is that people who utter the heartwrenching words, "all we can do..." simply do not understand this. There is no judgement here, simply a deep desire that more of us would, "get it," and walk "in it."
Can you even imagine......Kingdom kids acting like the royal heirs that we are?? WOW!!
Sharoni
...giving voice to those with none...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)