Living Presently Sitting at His Feet

Proverbs 9:9 “Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.” Taking instruction. When I think I got everything down or I know what I’m doing, it’s hard for me to take instruction. I get upset because I don’t want to be told how to do something if I already know how to do it. I don’t like being told that I don’t do something well enough if I know what I’m doing. But that’s not being wise. There is always room for improvement, so I shouldn’t get upset when someone is trying to help me out.  Also, I want to be wise. I pray for wisdom. And wise people don’t get upset when someone is trying to help them. “Instruct the wise and they will be wiser.” When I’m instructed, it’s shaping me into being wise. I’m not very wise yet, but if I keep this new attitude of accepting instruction with an open mind and good heart, then I’ll become wise. I need to continue submitting to authority and take instruction and hold on to it. P...

Luke 2:46 “After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.” This is Jesus they’re talking about. He’s asking questions and listening to the teachers there. Jesus, the person that was sent from Heaven who knows all things, was sitting submissively to these teachers and absorbing the information they told him. Jesus who was sent to die for every person was asking these teachers questions. Jesus. Jesus did it first. If Jesus did it, then why shouldn’t I? I can submissively sit under teachers and learn from them. I can absorb all the information that is taught to me. I can ask questions and listen.  I can do all that, but I used to not. I didn’t want to sit and listen or ask questions. I wanted to go out and do the things I wanted to do. I didn’t want to take the time to learn. But this isn’t right. I should’ve wanted to sit and learn. I should’ve wanted to be a sponge, sucking in all that was bei...

1 Timothy 4:8 “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” Almost everyone is obsessed with looking thin and fit. They spend so much time counting calories and going to the gym. They become devoted to looking good. Spending so much money to get surgery to “enhance” their physical appearance. But it is all of little value. It’s not going to be eternal. It’s not going to fulfill their hearts. Obviously, it’s good to eat healthy and keep up with other health things, that’s why the verse says it has some value. But, like I just said, it’s not going to be eternal.  On the other side of the coin, godliness has eternal value. If everyone put as much money into their faith as they do in looking good, Christianity and peoples relationship with God would be amazing. Devoting your life to Christ, following Him, and obeying His word promises the present life and the life to come. But...

Mark 4:10-11 “When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables.” The secret of the Kingdom of God has been given to you. Given; I didn’t have to do anything to receive that, except for believing faithfully in Christ. He paid the price and suffered and gave me a way to Heaven. Christ took horrible beatings, lashes, and a gruesome death on the torturous cross so that I could know the secret. So that the Kingdom of God would be open to me. I didn’t do anything to deserve that, yet the love He has for me made it all worth it to Him. His love is stronger then any other love out there. I don’t have to earn it or work for it, it is given.  He made it clear to me, the secret, when I believed. And the stronger my belief gets the clearer the secret gets. When my faith was weak and I didn’t have much of a relationship...

Psalm 119:11/Mark 1:35 “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Doing devotions is such an important thing to do. It doesn’t matter when you do them, as long as you take time out of your day to spend with your creator. Hiding the word in your heart. I love doing my devotions in the morning. Waking up and hanging out with my Father before anything else takes place in the day. It puts me in the right mood and makes the whole day better. Because what could be better then starting the day off with your first love?  A lot of times we get to busy to do our devotions. We have busy schedules; groceries to shop for, houses to run, jobs to do, etc. We are busy people. But that’s when we have to gain that discipline to get up early or stay up late and be dedicated to spend time with our God. Jesus sets the example her...

1 Peter 4:7 “The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.” Praying is so important. It’s communicating to God. It keeps us connected to Him, close to His heart. He loves it when we talk to Him. He listens to what we are saying and He always answers in His timing. He won’t always answer in the way we want Him too or when we want Him too. But He will. And when we pray, we must listen as well. He’s got things He wants to tell us, we just have to stop talking and listen.  Prayer is our most powerful weapon. We should probably use it more. Prayer, talking to God, helps us keep the devil out of our heart. When this verse says to be alert and of sober mind so that we can pray, that’s very important to listen too. Speaking to God and being in communication with Him protects us. It keeps us aware and helps us discern things. It keeps us from making stupid decisions. When we aren’t alert and aren’t of sober mind then we can fall so easi...

2 Samuel 11:11-13 “Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” Then David said to him, “stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.” Uriah, knowing that his army people are sleeping in tents and such, wanted to respect them by not enjoying the things they couldn’t have. That takes great discipline. Especially with him getting drunk, he still slept out on his mat. If I were in his position, I would definitely go and eat. Having that respect for his people is praiseworthy. This man knew both self discipline and respe...

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” Everyone competing goes into strict training. They work hard, disciplining themselves, and spend most of their time practicing. They do not become lazy, they fight through the exhaustion. Yet, their end result is a prize that will not last eternally. It’s earthly and worthless in the Kingdom of God. But 1 Corinthians tells us to be like that. To work hard, being disciplined, spending all our time training. To not become lazy. For our prize wi...

Philippians 3:12-13 “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” Press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. “Fight the good fight of faith.” (1 Timothy 6:12).  He fought for me, chased after me, suffered for me, and died for me. He did it first, and now it’s my turn to fight for Him, chase after Him, suffer for Him, and die to myself for Him. Paul says to “Be imitators of me”, for he imitates Christ. (1 Corinthians 4:16). I need to follow after Him, do all I can for Him. I need to press on and take hold of that for which Christ took hold of me. He took hold of me first, and now I’ll take hold of Him.  The fact that Paul says He hasn’t taken hold of it yet shows that it’s no...

Philippians 3:11 “And so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” That is so powerful. Achieving resurrection from death. Jesus raised Himself from the dead. That’s insane. When people say they don’t care to follow Christ or they don’t believe He’s got power, they’re wrong. First of all, there are so many proofs of God’s amazing power. But here, He raised Himself from death. That’s power. I believe that. But I’m really good at diminishing the power He has. I forget the intensity of it, putting it in a little box and then going on about my day. The fact that God created this universe, breathed life into my nostrils, and could take my life at any second should just always be a constant reminder of how powerful He is. For some reason, though, I just don’t think about it. I fully believe the power He has, I just make it seem not as big of a deal then it is. And it’s a pretty big deal. God is someone I always want to follow after, someone I always want to obey.  ...

 Philippians 3:10 “I want to know Christ — yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” I want to know Christ. I’ve said that so many different times throughout my life. I wanted to know Christ, but I never cared to get to know Him. I didn’t want to take time out of my day to spend with Him. I didn’t want to sacrifice an hour or two to sit down and be with my savior. I didn’t feel as if it were important. I’d rather watch television or hang out with my friends. I also didn’t like the idea of suffering. I thought I’d get away with not suffering by not spending time with God, which caused more suffering in my life.  Throughout time, I learned that Christ is my friend. And since He’s my friend, I should spend time with Him. I don’t like it when I have a friend that never wants to hang out with me except when it’s convenient for them, likewise I should spend time with God even if I don’t want to and it...

Philippians 3:9 “…and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” Having a righteousness that comes through faith in Christ. I can’t gain righteousness through myself or the law. I can’t do things to have righteousness. My good deeds won’t save a spot for me in Heaven. It’s only through Christ. Having a relationship with Him. That’s the only way. And to have a relationship with Him I must have faith. Because I can’t physically see Him, I have to have faith. And that’s sometimes really hard for me. I’ve never wanted to be like the doubting Thomas, not believing until I see. But that’s hard to do. I’m such a visual person that I’ve always just wanted a sign, to see something that shows that He’s there. I’ve always wanted to know that He’s physically with me. But it’s through Spirit. That’s the faith. Having faith to believe that He’s there e...

Philippians 3:8 “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.” Losing all things to gain Christ, considering them garbage. That’s intense. That’s hard to do. It takes a lot of faith and trust to get to that point. It’s one step at a time. Growing up, I’d here this verse. “You have to get rid of everything to have Christ.” That scared me, I didn’t want to get rid of my baby dolls and nail polish. As I got older, I learned the deeper truth to this verse. It’s not just giving up items, it’s giving up bad habits, your wants, your rights. It’s giving it all to God to know Him better.  When God told me to do Potter’s Field, I said no. I didn’t want to give anything up. I wanted to keep control, doing what I wanted to do, following my own dreams, holding on to earthly possessions. As God worked on my heart, it got harder to say no....

Amos 3:3 “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?” You can’t force two people to like each other and be friends. It’s a mutual decision between the two people. We all go our whole lives making this decision with people we like, and people we don’t like, we choose to stay clear of them. Friendships, people who walk together, have been decided upon by the two people in the group. It’s not everyone else telling them to be friends, it’s an agreement.  My best friend, Trista, and I met when we were in high school. We become friends because we both agreed. The friendship formed very quickly and thrived. No one told us we had to be friends, we chose to be friends. And because we chose to be friends, we were inseparable for four years until we graduated, forcing us to take different paths. But our friendship was unique, godly, and strong.  I’ve been forced to be friends with people before that don’t care to be my friend either, and it’s awkward, uncomforta...

Matthew 18:15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.” Conflict is something I try to stay away from, but for some reason, I’m really good at finding it. I can get upset with someone and stay upset for a long time over the dumbest things. I’m good at holding grudges and taking defense very quickly. That is not good. That causes more conflict. Matthew 18 here says to confront. I don’t like doing that. Confrontation is something I’ve always been bad at; whether it was to confront my brothers or friends or if it was someone confronting me. I always hated confronting people, I hardly ever did that, and when I did it was in a rude way, not Godly at all. If something would happen, I would stay upset and just let time solve the problem or yell at that person. Being confronting is always weird too. Having someone point out your faults and then talk about it is uncomfortable. In a way, con...

2 Corinthians 13:11 “Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace.  And the God of love and peace will be with you.” Everyone likes being encouraged and living in peace. So why is it so hard to do that? Well, you can’t live in peace without Christ. If He’s out of the picture then so is peace. Keeping Him the center of all we do will bring peace. We want to honor God and to do that we’ll follow His word. With all of our brothers and sisters seeking God’s face and wanting to glorify Him, then we’ll be of one mind resulting in peace. There will be days of trials, though. It’s not saying encourage one another and be of one mind to get something out of it. Things won’t always go well, but we’ll have that sense of peace in our hearts. We’ll know the God of love and peace is with us. And that’s a comforting feeling. I want the God of love and peace to be with me. It brings a confidence. Knowing that what...

Romans 12:6 “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith…” Having different gifts is good. It makes people work together better, making them rely on each other to come through. Christ gave everyone a different gift to make people come together and work together as one. In 1 Corinthians 12:12 it says, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” Every body has different gifts, making them different, unique, and helpful in their own way.  Growing up in a pastors home, gifts have always been a thing. I’ve always known about that and have always been in regular school and Sunday school classes where we take those gifts tests to see what we all had. It’s always been normal. But I never knew what gifts I had. I would always see everybody else, watch them, and be able to pick out their gifts. I’d get jealous because I wou...

1 John 1:5-7 “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” There are many people, most people, who say they have fellowship with God and walk in darkness. This has always driven me insane. You can’t fellowship with Him and walk in the darkness at the same time. It doesn’t work. To say that you’re a follower and then go out and party doesn’t match up. That’s walking in darkness, and this type of darkness has no light. Light cannot shine in that.    To truly fellowship with Him is to be in relationship, following His word, listening to Him, living a godly life. Following Him is walking in light, and that’s comforting since God is light. I don’t ever...

Luke 12:37-40 “It will be good for those servants whose master finds them washing when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him.” You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him. It’s so easy to be lazy and wait around. Procrastination is a thing I’m very good at. God doesn’t tell us to be lazy and procrastinate though. He says to be ready, get things done, be prepared. No one knows when Jesus will come back, and it’d be better if we were expecting Him. How awful would it be if He came ba...

John 15:15 “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”  Jesus is powerful and mighty. God’s son. And He calls us His friends. Jesus desires us to be friends with Him. He loves us so much, and He wants us to love Him back. It sucks when you love someone who doesn’t love you back. The fact that our God, King of Kings, the one who created everything wants a relationship with us is very humbling. And we all know that relationships take work.  When Jesus calls us to be His friends, He didn’t mean that we are friends that don’t have to try. To be in any sort of relationship, you have to be there, be present, and willing to listen and talk. It’s so easy to forget that. When I was growing up I would talk to God, but it was the type of prayers that you’re taught in Sunday School. It was never heart felt, and I just rambled on ...

Matthew 20:26-28 “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Everyone wants to be great. We want to be number one without working for it. But as this verse says, we must be servants. Just like Jesus. He is a King, the son of God. And yet, He didn’t come down to earth as any King we would ever expect too. He came down and was born in a stable. He worked. He served. The King of Kings served his people instead of making them serve Him. Most Kings have many people serving them. They sit up high on their nice thrones with their royal robes and have servants all around them ready to jump at whatever task it is that the King demands. I’ve never heard of a King who serves instead of being served except for Jesus. He was the one who got down on hands and knees to wash dirty feet. He was...

Luke 17:7-10 “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, “Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”  Wow. These verses are tough. It’s always nice to be told thank you when you do something. Whether it was asked of you or not. It’s just common curtesy. But if it’s your job, then why should you be thanked? Like it says, you did what was told of you; your job!  I know I always want to be thanked when I do something. Even if it is my job or not. And all my life I have been thanked. I’ve taken those “thank you Anna”! and stored them in my heart thinking that that’s wh...

John 12:26 “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My father will honor the one who serves me.” Serving God and following Him. I’m good at “serving him”, you know, doing things to honor Him; like volunteering at church. It’s pretty easy for me to do service like that. It’s what I’ve always done. Go to church, volunteer wherever they needed me. I always made my service take place of my relationship, all the while God just wanted me to follow Him.  Following Him is something I’ve always struggled with. Doing what He’s called me to do, being who He’s called me to be. Having that relationship with Him. Learning that to serve God I need to have a relationship with Him. A legitimate relationship with Him. Not just one where I ask God for all these things and that’s it. It’s where I spend time with Him. I pray, I listen, I hear by His word.  Following Him is more of a challenge, it’s scary. It takes you out of your comfort zone and yo...