Forever For His Glory

I love Proverbs. There are so many wonderful and insightful verses. I came across this one last night as I was looking for another verse... To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. Proverbs 22:3 It immediately reminded me of 1 Samuel 15 where King Saul spared King Agag and saved the “fat of the land” against God’s direct orders to completely annihilate the Amalekites. Because of it, God rejected Saul as King and we all know the familiar verse that Samuel told Saul, “ Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. ” (1 Sam. 15:22) Have you ever thought of how that verse affects your life? And I’m not talking about head -knowledge, I’m talking about heart -knowledge. We can memorize the entire Bible, but if it never means anything to us personally - if it never grips our innermost-being - it’s useless. ...

Sensitivity can be a plague sometimes. Women are naturally sensitive and I have apparently been given and extra measure of it. Some ways it’s handy and other times it’s horrid. I am able to connect with people easily because I pick-up on their emotions, and I’m able to get them to talk because of it. But, I also pick-up on their anger and displeasure, and I guess I like to please people too much. One harsh(ish) word and I can burst into tears. “How could they say that ?” It can be quite a challenge sometimes. I tend to play things over-and-over again in my head. “What did I do wrong? What could I have done better to not make them angry/displeased?” Yet, that thinking is very selfish. “Why did they do that to me ? Do they enjoy making me feel miserable? They don’t understand me . I’m uncomfortable with what they said. It hurt my feelings.” Which only comes back to pride and the breaking of the 2nd commandment from an inordinate view of self. Since when did I become so import...

“ Honoring your parents I believe is living a God-honoring life, not parent-honoring life, even though it honors the parents that is not the focus. ” - Heather Patenaude On and off for the last year or so, I’ve been thinking about what it means to honor your parents. In the Old and New Testament, it is something that children are expected and instructed to do. Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” Deuteronomy 5:16 ‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.’ Deuteronomy 21:18-21 “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elder...

Humility has never been the easiest thing for me. I always put a lot of pressure on myself when I’m doing anything in front of people; especially when I sing. I have always had/have a deep fear of messing up, i.e. squeaking when I hit a high note, etc. Lately, God has really been dealing with me on this subject. Whenever I sing in front of people (by myself), my throat tightens, my heart-rate increases, and my face turns red(der). I always want it to be perfect. It has to be perfect! I’ve always been told to strive to do my best, unfortunately, I took it a little too literally. Anything other than a perfect performance, and I’m discouraged. Now, by this time, you’re probably thinking, “ Make a joyful noise to the Lord! It doesn’t have to be perfect! ” Which is something I’ve been told over-and-over again, but I haven’t really accepted it. I mean, aren’t we supposed to do everything as unto God? As if He was right there? Does that not mean that we’re supposed to do our best? Yes an...