Elizabeth Dianne: August 2017

Thursday, August 3, 2017

As a Christian How Should I Handle Persecution?

Ibelieve from study of the scripture that as Christians we can expect persecution at times.

I don't have time or room enough for background study on this today but you can do your own, if you like--run some references and see if you agree.

In John 16:33, Jesus tells his disciples--"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart for I have overcome the world."

And in 1 Peter 4:12-13 we read--"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you. But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that, when His glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy."

Scripture makes it clear that he is referring to sufferings for the cause of Christ, not things we have brought upon ourselves through unwise choices or ungodly living.

First of all, we are to take heart.

To me that means to be encouraged, to lift up my head in His name.

Many hours could be spent on researching "take heart"--I think--if not days!

Then we are to rejoice--oh me, oh my, really??

How do I rejoice?

How do I rejoice if my children or grandchildren succeed in their endeavors?

How do I rejoice when my favorite sports team wins?

How did I rejoice when I first realized that my sins had been washed away--as far as the east is from the west?

I usually let out some kind of shout--

I usually tell someone and brag a little on them--

I usually go about singing, making melody in my heart.

This is a huge subject with huge ramifications and I don't want to make it a long, lengthy sermon.

I do, however, want to encourage you to do the right thing.

We are to fan the flame inside of us and encourage ourselves--sometimes my flame dwindles down to a very small ember and I am not proud of the way I handle things as a Christian.

Other times, I see the growth in me when I handle things as Jesus would and am amazed at the work the Holy Spirit has done in me.

That is the person I want to be--the one who lets the Holy Spirit have complete control.

Lord, show me Your ways--teach me to trust and to walk daily, hourly, minute by minute with your precious Holy Spirit.

Hoping your day is truly blessed, Dianne

In this piece of art, the subject has surrendered her whole heart to the Lord for her whole life and will give Him praise through dance.

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem

On Wednesdays, I would like for our focus to be on praying for the peace of Jerusalem. Wondering how to pray? Psalm 122 is a good help.

Yesterday, I wrote about how important reading the Psalms all the way through each month is to me.

I read five Psalms each day--

the pattern is

August 2 I will read

Psalm 2, Psalm 32, Psalm 62, Psalm 92, and Psalm 122--It is truly amazing how the Psalms tie in together when read in that fashion.

Today I wanted to leave you with just a little taste of what I received--now granted my journal is full and it took me an hour or more to write down all the promises and things that really jumped out at me today. Each month different scriptures will seem to stand out on the page.

Psalm 2--Blessed are those who take refuge in Him--that makes me want to immediately take refuge in Him.

Psalm 32--Blessed are you when your sins are forgiven and whose spirit is no deceit--This makes me want to seek forgiveness for my sin and to live a deceit free life.

Psalm 62--My soul finds rest in the Lord and my salvation and my honor come from Him--This verse makes me realize how helpless I am apart from Him.

Psalm 92--The righteous (our righteousness comes from Jesus) will flourish like a palm tree--like a cedar of Lebanon planted in the house of the Lord--They will still bear fruit in their old age--This makes me know that God is not through with me yet.

Psalm 122--May those who love Jerusalem be secure--Makes me desire to pray more faithfully for Jerusalem.

I pray your day is lovely and blessed and that we all choose to do things God's way especially during the rough, rough seasons of life.

All my love,
Dianne

I love the scripture about how sweet it is when we are in harmony with one another--that is what I wanted the ballerina photo to represent--

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Can't Touch This!

My keyword for this year is "Proclaim." I haven't done a very good job of doing that but hopefully can rectify that in the next five months.

One thing I have written about in the past are my Bible reading disciplines. It has been years, I believe, since I wrote about them so I would like to share them again.

Every day I read five Psalms--no matter what--whether I am in another deep Bible study--no matter what--I read five Psalms everyday.

Let me tell you my rationale on that but first let me tell you how I do it. This was not my idea--I read it somewhere--but it has paid tremendous dividends for me so I want to share.

If it is August 1 like today, I read

Psalm 1, Psalm 31, Psalm 61, Psalm 91 and Psalm 121. See the pattern--whatever day of the month it is, I start there and add 30 to it until I get to the end of the book of Psalms.

I used to just read them and that was all. Now I not only read them and meditate on them but many days copy much of them into my daily journal.

I am retired and have the luxury of time to do this BUT most of us spend as much time as it would take to do this watching TV or reading secular material etc. So let's face it and be realistic, most of us do have the time even if we have to set our alarm clocks to get up an hour early.

I have read that many of the great saints of God arose at unheard of times to spend quality time with the Lord.

Previously on my blog (when I was younger), I have tried so hard to not hurt people's feelings and to say things ever so gently, but people I don't have time for that anymore. I am almost 73 years old and I need to talk straight.

I am not being self-righteous or holier than thou. In fact, those people who would accuse someone else of those things are no doubt guilty of the same thing. What we see in others is usually what we are guilty of--I think you will find that validated in scripture in Romans 2:1.

What I am saying is this--most of us who say we don't have time to linger in God's Word--that is just not true--it is our priorities.

Now let me try to explain my rationale for reading five Psalms each day.

We never have the excuse--"I just don't know where to start or what to read today." There is nothing Satan hates worse than to see a child of God become immersed in the Word of God.

Each day when I read the Psalms, I try to choose an exact word, phrase or scripture that pounds some meaning into my spirit for the day. Tomorrow I will share the scriptures that God writes on the tablet of my heart for Wednesday, August 2. I always, always, always look forward to what God has to say to me. I don't know what I would do without His Word.

For ours is not a battle of flesh and blood but of powers and principalities--

Ephesians 6:12

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Dear Ones, when we immerse ourselves in God's Word daily we become equipped to fight these battles in the way that God intends--in the way that will be victorious.

So be encouraged dear brother, dear sister in Christ. If God is for us, who can be against us.

About the art--Long story that I will try to shorten--This is a prototype for a larger canvas I will do soon--Some friends of ours lost their home in the Tennessee mountain fires last fall--the stories are harrowing of how people got off that mountain that was ablaze.

So the angel has his/her face to the fire and you can see the reflections of the flames--I added the black for some definition and then later realized that it resembles a sword--symbolizing to me the sword of the Spirit--it appears to be melting in one place but praise God continued to do its job of fighting against the enemy and rescuing that precious family.

Our friends felt as if an angel led them through the fire to safety and this is what I tried to create.