Having a Heart in a Sometimes Heartless World
Day 213 – Month of July at a Glance
Scripture focus: I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. John 14:18 NLT
This month we looked at discouragement, depression, anhedonia, regret, temptation, shortcuts, and the neurology of emotion. But we didn’t talk about this in order to become brainiacs. Instead, we’re seeking after the good life that Jesus says (with conviction) that we are to experience as his followers. “I came that they might have, keep, and constantly retain – vitality, gusto, vigor and zest for living”….
We turned our attention to the enemy – who definitely doesn’t want us to experience the abundant life and we dissected some of the pitfalls and roadblocks to this vital, vigorous life. To gather our courage before this exploration, we reminded ourselves of God’s part –
Point one: The life God dreamed for us is far better than we could have chosen for ourselves. It’s better than the best toy we could afford to buy with all our material wealth, better than the perfect husband and kids, better than the most fabulous job in the world…better better better than any big dream you and I could dream up for ourselves.
Point two: This unrivaled, unequaled, matchless, incomparably rich and overflowing life is up to God. When we acknowledge our powerlessness AND notice our unmanageable lives AND when we come to believe that there is a power greater than ourselves and he can restore us to sanity AND when we make the decision to turn our life over to him – he picks the dream. It’s a good dream – no, it’s a great dream. But God picks. We don’t pick. God picks.
Armed with a reminder of God’s promises to us, we looked at three common false beliefs that get us off track, and open us up to attack from the enemy who came to kill, steal, and destroy. These false beliefs are: 1. I must do well. 2. The world must treat me well. And 3. Life should be easy.
We continued our exploration of pitfalls and roadblocks by discussing ways to improve our ability to step as God speaks. Proper nutrition, adequate play time, taking thoughts captive, and commitment to feeling the full range of emotions skimmed the surface of a call to become our true, God-created identity.
We were reminded of the need for feeling our feelings without bullying others with them. We talked about how to express ourselves without violating God’s principles of love. We considered what it means to receive a “fit reply” and we were given some tips to improve both our share and our listen.
But lest we forget, we’re not running this race to become consummate communicators – we’re simply allowing God, our gardener, to landscape us with his word. If the Lord isn’t in the midst of this process, it won’t much matter how well we eat, adequately we play, sharply we think, or big we feel. And so we concluded the month with a reminder to think clearly, pray regularly, and express gratitude continually. We can’t do this if we aren’t able to speak wisely, take responsibility eagerly, forgive regularly, and love lavishly. Whew! We’ve been busy!
Recommended reading: 2 Chronicles 26, 27 and 28 in the morning; 2 Chronicles 29 and Romans 14 in the evening
This month we looked at discouragement, depression, anhedonia, regret, temptation, shortcuts, and the neurology of emotion. But we didn’t talk about this in order to become brainiacs. Instead, we’re seeking after the good life that Jesus says (with conviction) that we are to experience as his followers. “I came that they might have, keep, and constantly retain – vitality, gusto, vigor and zest for living”….
We turned our attention to the enemy – who definitely doesn’t want us to experience the abundant life and we dissected some of the pitfalls and roadblocks to this vital, vigorous life. To gather our courage before this exploration, we reminded ourselves of God’s part –
Point one: The life God dreamed for us is far better than we could have chosen for ourselves. It’s better than the best toy we could afford to buy with all our material wealth, better than the perfect husband and kids, better than the most fabulous job in the world…better better better than any big dream you and I could dream up for ourselves.
Point two: This unrivaled, unequaled, matchless, incomparably rich and overflowing life is up to God. When we acknowledge our powerlessness AND notice our unmanageable lives AND when we come to believe that there is a power greater than ourselves and he can restore us to sanity AND when we make the decision to turn our life over to him – he picks the dream. It’s a good dream – no, it’s a great dream. But God picks. We don’t pick. God picks.
Armed with a reminder of God’s promises to us, we looked at three common false beliefs that get us off track, and open us up to attack from the enemy who came to kill, steal, and destroy. These false beliefs are: 1. I must do well. 2. The world must treat me well. And 3. Life should be easy.
We continued our exploration of pitfalls and roadblocks by discussing ways to improve our ability to step as God speaks. Proper nutrition, adequate play time, taking thoughts captive, and commitment to feeling the full range of emotions skimmed the surface of a call to become our true, God-created identity.
We were reminded of the need for feeling our feelings without bullying others with them. We talked about how to express ourselves without violating God’s principles of love. We considered what it means to receive a “fit reply” and we were given some tips to improve both our share and our listen.
But lest we forget, we’re not running this race to become consummate communicators – we’re simply allowing God, our gardener, to landscape us with his word. If the Lord isn’t in the midst of this process, it won’t much matter how well we eat, adequately we play, sharply we think, or big we feel. And so we concluded the month with a reminder to think clearly, pray regularly, and express gratitude continually. We can’t do this if we aren’t able to speak wisely, take responsibility eagerly, forgive regularly, and love lavishly. Whew! We’ve been busy!
Recommended reading: 2 Chronicles 26, 27 and 28 in the morning; 2 Chronicles 29 and Romans 14 in the evening
Copyright 2008 NorthStar Community
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