Tag: Ephesians 3:20

Posted in Bible Journaling, Life Inspiration, Peace

Do You?

Written by talk2shari Published Discussion Leave a Comment on Do You?

But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.  ~ Proverbs 1:33

The grey skies of November mess with my head even in the wake of the holiday season. Sometimes because of the holiday season. I seriously try to be honest with myself and struggle. Even though the truth is within me…the literal truth of Jesus Christ; I can still suppress the wisdom of God and allow depression, fear, anxiety to creep into my heart. Reading through Proverbs 1 this morning I found one of the countless nuggets of truth that surfaced and refused to let the clouds over power it. So I thought I’d share it with you. Perhaps you need it as well.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Yes, that Christmas tune is now playing in my head, but it’s a worthy tune.

Do you hear what I hear
A song, a song
High above the trees
With a voice as big as the sea
With a voice as big as the sea

The voice of God can thunder or it can be as still as a whisper, and most usually it’s the latter. What I hear is the voice of God asking “Who’s listening?”

Are you the ‘whoso?’ Am I? Am I genuinely listening for the wisdom of God or am I waiting until He says what I want to hear?  And so I ask myself, why am I not listening? Mainly because I fear. I don’t fear death, I fear life. Dying’s easy. I have no control over that with the exception of how I take care of my body. And because I know that I know that being absent from the body is to be present with God, it’s not something I fear. But life. I struggle with it. It can get so out of control and I’m the queen of roller coaster living. Finances. Responsibilities. Accountabilities. Deeds undone. Those things make those November clouds and cold rains feel like a cloak of evil around me.

Yes… I’m a tad dramatic. My grandchildren don’t get that drama from anyone strange.

Do You Feel What I feel?

Do you feel safe? I honestly do. I know that God will not leave me nor forsake me in my hour of need! But the people of the world will. Though I have the comfort of the Holy Spirit, I don’t always feel comforted by people. Sometimes I’d rather avoid them too. A friend of mine struggles with depression far greater than I, but depression isn’t fun for anyone no matter the level. We spoke the other day about times when we’d rather not leave the house for any reason, no matter how joyous. It’s much easier to retreat inside my head and pretend that all is right with the world than to go outside and prove it’s not.

I don’t consider myself akin to Job in struggles but I understand his words when he wrote, “I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.” Job 3:26. He no doubt felt very overwhelmed. King David, felt overwhelmed and shared that thought in Psalms on 7 occasions. It’s why I felt the need to share that the Jesus Chick struggles too. For Pete’s sake if David can confess that he struggle, why cannot I?

It’s not the struggle that I want to share though, I want to share the process of victory. It’s usually not an immediate response from God that gives me peace and removes the dark clouds. It’s a conversation… You can’t hear if you’re not listening, and you can’t listen unless someone is talking.

Do You Know What I Know?

Even on days like today, when I struggle to get out of my Pajama’s and I don’t really care if the bed’s made, because I’d like to retreat back to it, I still know what I know.

I know that there is quiet from the fear of evil and it’s found in (1) the Word of God. (2) The Wisdom of God through prayer. And (3) the Way of God by hearkening to what He says.

If I’m brutally and shamefaced honest I have to tell you that sometimes I still don’t listen and the clouds continue to hover. But if I search His word and speak what I find He is faithful…

Ephesians 3:17-20 King James Version (KJV)

17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

Posted in Bible Journaling, Faith, Fear, Life Inspiration, Uncategorized

The God of Miraculosity!

Written by talk2shari Published Discussion Leave a Comment on The God of Miraculosity!

Miraculosity – Ephesians 3:20 thin  king – the Miraculous Generosity of God.

What causes unbelief in a child of God? It’s a question I ponder often. Why is it that at the times we most need faith, there is a greater presence of doubt and fear? Both were overcome at the grave of Jesus Christ when He victoriously arose the third day, and yet they didn’t die because Satan is still around to keep them alive and well. They won’t have eternal life, but they’ve been here since Satan introduced them in the garden of Eden. But moving past “Devil made me do it” phase of our lives we have to take responsibility for much of this one on our own. This is a problem in our “own country.”

Matthew 13 tells the truth of a hometown visit by Jesus with the saddest departure.

Matthew 13

54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? 56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? 57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. 58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

The Entrance

Much like Jesus arrived in His hometown, he arrives in the heart of a child of God. The Holy Spirit is Amazing! It is astonishing when you begin to know and understand things because He reveals them to you from within. I can remember picking up the word of God following my salvation, and scripture that once seemed to be written in Greek were now as plain as the nose on my face. I read and I understood because the Holy Spirit was revealing it to me. It was then that I could not get enough of the Bible. Every day, every spare moment I had that precious book open because He was speaking to me through every word.

God not only revealed the word to me through the Holy Spirit but He sent men and women of God to sew into my life; many of whom did that through not only the testimony of the word but the testimony of their lives. They shared their own miracles with me and I began to see that the Spirit of God was now as He was then. Able. He was able to all that we ask.

Ephesians 3:20

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.

Not only all that we ask but above all that we ask. How amazing is that! And yet, we don’t believe. Why? It’s not because we don’t have the power to believe because that power works in us. We see that through His word. I believe that unbelief is often a product of our surroundings.

As a new convert in Jesus Christ I was surrounded by people of testimony. For me that made the difference. I had evidence that God was still the Ephesians 3:20 God. Many of those who testified to me have gone home to be with Jesus and I’m seeing less and less of people who share the testimony of great things in Christ Jesus.

The Exam

Once Jesus arrived in His home town the people began to examine who He was. Isn’t his dad a carpenter? Isn’t his momma Mary? Don’t we know His people? How can He be anyone special? To write those words breaks my heart. The exam still continues today when we examine a situation and fail to believe that God will overcome it or that God won’t do that miracle through us because “Am I not just Shari?” Who am I to think that God would do this…? And it’s right there that we’ve resurrected doubt and fear yet again. We’re examining (questioning) the power of God.

The Exit

And so the exit. The saddest of all scriptures.

58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

They missed out on the miracles of God because they couldn’t get past that He was just a carpenter’s son. Those words pierce my soul because I’ve been just “Shari” most of my life. But fortunately interspersed within those “just Shari” years were moment of miraculosity. Yes… I know that’s not a word. But it should be. Because I’ve seen God do some pretty miraculous things with a girl named Shari. And I’ve missed out on some things because I didn’t believe the God inside the Girl would do it.

The testimonies I cut my teeth on as baby Christian are still fueling my soul today, but God didn’t intend for me to live on somebody else’s blessing. He’s given me my own. Where we are in life is “our hometown.” And before we let Jesus exit, we need to tell the people in our world about the great works God has done. Don’t sit on a testimony. I’ve been guilty so many times! What we’re doing is allowing doubt and fear to win out in our young people. They need to hear about the God of Miraculosity! Go and tell someone about the great things He’s done in your life. Tell them about the little things He’s done, they need to hear it all.