For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." --2 Corinthians 2:15
Showing posts with label Hebrews 12:2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hebrews 12:2. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Names Part III
Today is my second born's 30th birthday...
A jolly little fellow wasn't he! His name--Matthew--came to me two weeks before he was born. It means "Gift of God", and I can say that he was and continues to be so. He was somewhat shy and an easy child--even his birth was easy--but only until he turned 15. Once his older brother left for college, he stepped out of the shadows and exerted his true personality. It's a wonderful personality! But, I wasn't prepared for the metamorphosis that seemed to take place overnight. Who was this young man-to-be I thought I knew? Needless to say, I had a lot of adjusting to do and it took a while for us to come to understand each other.
Like his brothers we gave him my maiden name as his second middle name. His first middle name is Kenneth, after his Dad, because they are both a second son of a second son. He has lived up to the meaning of Kenneth, too: Handsome...
 |
| Matthew's & Paola's engagement photo |
Living up to our names takes on a whole new meaning when the name is "Christian" (of, relating to, or professing Christianity or its teachings). As followers of Christ we profess that we believe He is our Saviour because we need saving from our sins. When we make this profession we receive the Holy Spirit which is confirmed by the evidence of our changed lives. Scripture refers to this evidence as the Fruit of the Spirit...
The list sounds like an impossibility! That is, until you realize it is not you that is producing this fruit but the Holy Spirit in you. It took me years and years to grasp this. I was constantly on one self-improvement kick after another. It was only when I started reading my Bible and came to understand all I need do is surrender my will to God and the Holy Spirit would then be free to live His life through me. It's His life in me that is bearing the fruit, not I, me, myself. That's so I can't take credit and become conceited. Ha! I assure you, the ego will try to take credit whenever it can. But, God, in His infinite Grace, provides opportunities for me to be humbled so that I once again realize that in and of myself I will always fail in being perfect because God's kind of perfect means complete. To be complete in Christ means that whenever I allow the Holy Spirit freedom I will always love, always experience joy and peace, always be patient, kind, gentle, good and have self-control. Yes, even the have faith I have is imparted to me by the Holy Spirit.
Our metamorphosis takes place when we die to self and live for Christ. We become one with Christ as He is one with the Father. Christ was perfect (complete) and so can we be.
Father, You are the completer of my faith. I need only give myself over to You so that my faith can grow into the fruit that the Holy Spirit in me produces.
Link to Scripture: Hebrews 12:2
Take action: The Work of the Holy Spirit
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Submission
"Secret things belong unto God, and He only can reveal them according to His good pleasure. Our concern is with those that are revealed; and we may trust we shall be sufficiently enlightened to pursue the right way. Submission to the Divine Will in all things is our duty, and will prove the source of our greatest happiness...." --Margaret Woods, 1818
This past Saturday I attended a writer's workshop for writers who hope to have their stories for children published. Here is my manuscript ready for submission:
One of the questions the speaker asked us was, "Why do you write for children?" As I thought about it the first thing that came to mind was it's because I'm still a child at heart. The speaker suggested that we might not think our stories are worthy of being read by adults and that is why we write for children. She pointed out, however, that writing for children is not easy and we really should see it as a calling. That is why we must examine our reasons for wanting to get published. Is it because we have this need to write or because we have this need to be recognized as a published author? Because if it's the latter, it will show in our writing. She said the words "author" and "authentic" come from the same root. If we are truly to be an author our writing must be from the heart and not from the desire to be recognized for having a published book.
Margaret Woods speaks of submission to the Divine Will. It made me think of my manuscript submission to a publisher. Once the contract is signed I give up my rights to my manuscript as far as it's publication goes. They will choose the illustrator, the jacket cover, when the book comes out, and a host of other details will be their call. There are even "submission guidelines" I must follow before they will even look at my manuscript.
Is God showing me what it looks like to submit to Him? There are guidelines for submitting to Him as well. I must humble myself for starters. And once He accepts my submission I must bow to His direction, as He edits my life--removing sections that do not move my story along and adding those that do, correcting my misspellings and grammar, adding words that show instead of just tell the story that is my life. I must also be authentic if my life is to fulfill its purpose. Then if I submit to God's "guidelines" in all things, it will be the source of my greatest happiness, as Margaret Woods says, whether or not I can ever call myself a published author.
Imagine being able to know Jesus feels this way about you. Would it change your life?
This past Saturday I attended a writer's workshop for writers who hope to have their stories for children published. Here is my manuscript ready for submission:
One of the questions the speaker asked us was, "Why do you write for children?" As I thought about it the first thing that came to mind was it's because I'm still a child at heart. The speaker suggested that we might not think our stories are worthy of being read by adults and that is why we write for children. She pointed out, however, that writing for children is not easy and we really should see it as a calling. That is why we must examine our reasons for wanting to get published. Is it because we have this need to write or because we have this need to be recognized as a published author? Because if it's the latter, it will show in our writing. She said the words "author" and "authentic" come from the same root. If we are truly to be an author our writing must be from the heart and not from the desire to be recognized for having a published book.
Margaret Woods speaks of submission to the Divine Will. It made me think of my manuscript submission to a publisher. Once the contract is signed I give up my rights to my manuscript as far as it's publication goes. They will choose the illustrator, the jacket cover, when the book comes out, and a host of other details will be their call. There are even "submission guidelines" I must follow before they will even look at my manuscript.
Is God showing me what it looks like to submit to Him? There are guidelines for submitting to Him as well. I must humble myself for starters. And once He accepts my submission I must bow to His direction, as He edits my life--removing sections that do not move my story along and adding those that do, correcting my misspellings and grammar, adding words that show instead of just tell the story that is my life. I must also be authentic if my life is to fulfill its purpose. Then if I submit to God's "guidelines" in all things, it will be the source of my greatest happiness, as Margaret Woods says, whether or not I can ever call myself a published author.
Imagine being able to know Jesus feels this way about you. Would it change your life?
Father, thank you for the story that is my life. May I live it authentically, showing others Your Love.
Link to scripture: Hebrews 12:2
Take action: How to submit to God
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)