The Cure for Busyness!

I will never forget when an older woman shared with me, “If the enemy can’t get you to stop, he’ll try to get you so busy you don’t do anything well.”  I can’t even begin to count the number of times I’ve fallen into this trap!

But what a difference it can make to embrace in the depths of my heart that a key part of my identity is being a servant of Jesus Christ!  Servants do what their master wants!  They seek first of all to please their master not other people!  And since we serve a master whose yoke is easy and his burden is light – can it ever be freeing to let Him call the shots, doing all we do in response to His leading, for His glory.

And that’s not just true for religious activities, but for all of life!    Has it ever been freeing to process this week’s truth, “I am a servant” from Jerry Bridges’ book Who Am I?

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To get started, click on Week 7 in the menu bar at the top of the website. And may the Lord make His grace and peace abound so you experience Him even more as you do this!

On My Worst Day…

How would you finish that sentence?

I’ve been reading a book written by John Lynch that features this as its title.  About a third of the way through this autobiography he states:

On my worst day I am adored, enjoyed, clean, righteous, absolutely forgiven, new, acceptable, complete, chosen, able, intimately loved, smiled upon, planned for, protected, continually thought about, enjoyed, cared for, comforted, understood, known completely, given all mercy, compassion, guarded, matured, bragged on, defended, valued, esteemed, held, hugged and caressed, kissed, heard, honored, in unity with, favored, enough, on time, lacking nothing, directed, guided continually, never failed, waited for, anticipated, part of, belonging, never alone, praised, secure, safe, believed, appreciated, given all grace, all patience, at peace with, pure, shining, precious, cried over, grieved with, strengthened, emboldened, drawn kindly to repentance, relaxed with, never on trial, never frowned at, never hit with a two by four, at rest in, receiving complete access, given gifts, given dreams, given new dreams, continually healed, nurtured, carried, never mocked, never punished, most of my humor enjoyed, not behind, not outside, given endless affection.  

It doesn’t always feel like it at the moment.  This is the depth of His love whether you or I deserve it or not. “Deserve” has long ago left the building.

Is that not incredible?!  And it’s all because of Jesus!

In this next chapter, Jerry Bridges helps us unpack the reality of something else we don’t “deserve” ~ everyone who is in Christ is a saint!  He explains, “…sainthood is not a spiritual attainment, or even a recognition of such attainment.  It is rather a state or status into which God brings every believer.”  And he goes on to say, “The implications of living as a saint – one who is “owned” by Christ Jesus – are quite radical, far more so than most of us are accustomed to thinking about.  What then will motivate us to pursue saintly lives?  What is it that will make us want to be what we ought to be?  The answer is love and gratitude for what God has done for us in Christ, as expressed in the gospel.”

What a difference it can make when we embrace this in the depths of our hearts… especially on our worst days!

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To dive in, explore and start embracing and living out the reality of this truth, click on Week 6 in the menu above. And may the Lord pour on the grace and meet you in a special way as you do!

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NOTE:  Christian Audio is currently offering Jerry Bridges’ book Who Am I? (the book on which this online art journaling course is based) for FREE!!!  You can download it from here:  http://christianaudio.com/who-am-i-jerry-bridges-audiobook-download

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