The voices in my head...and my heart

Sadie Robertson (yes, from Duck Dynasty!) posted this list on twitter a few weeks ago:

Why is it so important to develop the skill of discerning God's voice? Because we know things go awry when we listen to Satan's voice instead of God. In Jeremiah 7:23-24, the Lord commanded his people, saying "'Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.' Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward." 

Sometimes I have so many thoughts running through my head that it's tough to just STOP and determine what is real, aka GOD, and what is a lie. Unfortunately, no one is exempt from Satan's distracting voice - even Jesus, who heard Satan in the desert. (Matthew 4:1-11) Still, we are commanded to "resist the devil," and in return promised that "he will flee from" us. (James 4:7) For me, this means closely examining the voices in my head:

The voice giving me anxiety about the future...

That isn't God.

The voice telling me I'm not good enough...

That isn't God.

The voice making judgments about the people around me...

That isn't God.

The voice in my heart reminding me that "all things work together for good" if I fix my eyes on HIM...

THAT, my friends, is God.

By the way... not only is this list a reminder to listen to God's voice, it is also a reminder to emulate his voice. "Therefore, be imitators of God as dear children." (Ephesians 5:1); "He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction." (Proverbs 13:3) As Christians, we should filter our words through the list above - regardless of who we are speaking to. We need to start asking ourselves:

* What is the purpose of my words?

* What will be the consequence of my words?

Who is speaking to you now? Whose voice are you emulating now?

Faithful Friday {The Source of Temptation}

Each and every one of us face temptation in our daily lives:

tempted to be lazy

tempted to get angry

tempted to lust after someone

tempted to lie

tempted to be selfish

tempted to put life before God

tempted to judge

tempted not to take care of yourself

Feeling convicted yet? I know I am!

Sometimes I get irritated with God when I'm having trouble with a particular temptation. The conversation goes something like this:

God, why are You putting me through this?! I'm trying to grow as a Christian and now You throw THIS in front of me? I'm not strong enough to resist it! YOU KNOW I'M NOT! Can't You just make it stop?

...and when, predictably, I give into the temptation:

I'm sorry God, I really am. I didn't MEAN to do/think/feel/act ___, but I told You! I can't handle it! I asked You to take it away and You didn't. What else did You expect?

I fall into a cycle, alternating between begging God to shield me from temptation and justifying it when I don't resist. However, when I complain to God this way I'm making a fundamental error: HE is not the one who tempts me! Satan is!

James writes,

"Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed."
{James 1:12-14 NKJV}

God doesn't tempt us - He just allows us to be tempted. That's part of the whole "free will" thing He gave us! He knows that we ALL have a human desire to sin, and He knows that we will fall sometimes!

God does not expect for us to be perfect. All He truly wants is for us to seek Him in the face of temptation, try our best to resist it - with His help! - to truthfully confess our sins when we give into temptation, and to ask for His mercy and forgiveness - which He freely offers to all who believe in Him.

Bloggers Building for God

In 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, Paul wrote,

"For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."

Paul's words remind me of the experience that I've had with blogging thus far. I have been so encouraged and built up by the community of Christian women blogging about Christ! What an amazing work is being done from right here from behind our computers!

Here's the dynamic I've observed: one woman will write a post about something (for example, Marquis from Simply Clarke's post on discipleship, or Emily from Newlywed Moments' post on trusting God) and it will inspire other bloggers - myself included! - to write their own posts that build on the topic. Sometimes we continue the conversation via comments or e-mail; other times we participate in a link-up like Faithful Friday or Into the Word Wednesdays. I find it so fascinating to read other believers' views on so many topics that are salient to our lives! What's more is, though our readers may vary from 100-1000, each and every one of us are making an impact for our Lord - blogging is our ministry! I can say this with certainty, because I know personally I have matured tremendously in my spiritual walk since creating this blog and interacting with all of you.

However...

Paul also warns us to "take heed" how we build on the foundation, so as not to undermine Christ. Each of us that minister through our blog must be careful about how we come across! We must think about things like:

• Who our posts glorify. It should be Jesus, but sometimes we inadvertently glorify ourselves!
• Using Scripture in context. (self explanatory!)
• Writing non-judgmentally. Only our Lord can judge! (P.S. - this is something I myself struggle with when writing.)
• Bringing others to Christ, rather than turning them away. We need to show our readers how joyful and fulfilling life as a Christian can be! I don't mean we shouldn't write about our trials and tribulations - that can be the best testimony! However, I do think we should try to keep Christ as the center, and show how He is helping us through the tough times!

So thankful today for you special bloggers who help me grow in the Lord! I pray that together, we can show God's love to the online community :)