It's Been Too Long...

...Since I have written an entry.

There is no good excuse. The only reason I have for not writing is this: too caught up in my own self and sins. I have had plenty to write about, actually. I have been busier, and the Lord has definitely laid a lot on my heart to study and talk about. Yet, instead of being faithful, (like He wants me to be), I have been stupidly sinful.

Enough of that already~~Life is too precious to be so stupid!

     God has been letting me read Jeremiah lately, amongst other books.  It has been very personal reading that book in particular, simply because I can relate to the sinfulness seen in its pages.  I am not proud admitting that fact, yet I am grateful for the opportunity to have my spirit be put forth in front of God's mirror.

     For those who have not had the opportunity yet to read this part of God's Word:  Israel during this time was very rebellious toward God, yet God was still pleading with them to repent of their sins.  He also warned them that if they did not repent, He would make of them a desolation.  God sent the prophet Jeremiah to preach these words to His people, yet they wanted none of it.  In fact, they were so vitriolic toward God's Word that they attacked Jeremiah.  There were many, many false prophets saying that they were preaching God's Word when they were not, and people would rather listen to sweet words of the false prophets than the harsh, yet loving, words of the Lord God.
     Too many times I have found myself that way. I want to hear something good, have my back scratched or patted, feel good about what is being said to me.  A lot of "preachers" are that way anymore, so it is not too hard to look one up and get what you want.  Yet, my soul never has been satisfied with that sugary muck that the flesh adores.  It may give me an emotional high for a bit, make me self-righteous in my own eyes, but it always leaves me with a gross feeling in my gut. Sometimes I try to ignore it, other times God intensifies that grossness by the truth of HIS WORD to remind me that He is not happy with my choice.
     Any parent who wants to take care of their child(ren) knows that not everything that their child needs to eat is going to taste good, yet their little bodies need it to grow strong and healthy.  (You are probably saying "Duh! I've heard this many times; it's a no-brainer.")  For those who are saved, God is our Heavenly Father and is much better a parent than any earthly parent can hope to strive to be.  And I know not everything always "tastes good" to me...at first...when He is giving me what I need.  I must change my way of thinking towards my spiritual appetite:  it is not always a pleasant experience growing and getting healthy in the Lord, for there is always the issue of sin God is dealing with in me.

"For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness."
I Thessalonians 4:7

"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." 
John 17:17

     Holy living means being in the Word of the Lord.  Yet, I have found myself lacking in that area.  I will run through a devotion, and my mind struggles with staying focused in it.  I have to go back and re-read a portion that seemed to fly by me, because my mind drifted to some inane thought.  Then, when I should be meditating on His Word, I am meditating on every other thing but His Word.  When I should be doing the studies He has laid on my heart, for my own benefit and others, I do not; rather, I give in to my flesh's desires. Yuck.

     God is good to me. Though I cannot rely on my own self for anything, I can always rely on Him.  By His Word He saved me, by His Word He will keep me going.  By Him do I live.  Boy, do I wish I loved Him more, and I would not give into myself like I do.

^"For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.

If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.

Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."

Romans 7:15-25