I Press On

(This is a picture of my Bible Study set up this morning! I set up a beach chair at the park and brought my little portable desk with me and dove into God's word while basking in God's glorious creation.)

Yesterday I was having trouble feeling God's love for me, actually receiving that He forgives me no matter what, and that I am worthy of His love. I believe this is a lie that Satan wants me to hold on to and God gave me scripture today to write down on my note cards to use as my armor of God when Satan comes to battle.

"I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of my heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God." (1 Corinthians 4:3-5)

Wouldn't it be nice if we could all think like this? I am very concerned with what people think of me and that hinders my ability to really feel accepted by God. This is a barrier that does not need to be in my way! Not only do I worry about other people passing judgement on me, but I also pass judgement on myself. I need to remind myself that it is not my place or anyone else's place to judge me and that is the Lord's job. He knows my heart, and that is what matters. In my Prayer circle study, the leader, Michele, wrote "He promises that when we seek we find, and when we do, the lens that we view the world though changes." (Kader 2014). When I seek God's advice on something rather than focus my attention on what others think of me, my heart will change and I will start to see forgiveness through God's eyes and not my own or any other human's rendition of forgiveness.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9). God tells us that even if we do not have grace for ourselves, He has grace for us. When we fail, that is when we lean in to Him the most and His power is truly shown. We come together in times of trouble and we can use our trials to produce character in ourselves and a sense of community with others when we allow them to do so.

"Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little." (Luke 7:47). Jesus tells us that it is easier to love more when we have been forgiven a lot. Our number one commandment is to love the Lord our God and to love others. We are all sinners and we all need forgiveness. The more we accept that we have sinned and that God forgives us, it will be easier to open our heart to forgive ourselves and forgive others.

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new ting!... I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." (Isaiah 43:18-19). When we dwell on the past, we lose sight of what God can do with our story. By sharing our stories and our trials with one another, we are spreading God's love and His good news into our world that is so consumed with wordly values.

"I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more." (Isaiah 43:25). God forgets our sins, why do we need to keep remembering them? Have you ever been in a situation where you keep playing something over and over in your head about something you did to someone and you bring it up later and they say, "Oh, it's fine, I forgot about that! I haven't even thought twice about it". When that happens to me, I really step back and say, "Wow, I have been toiling over my behavior and they were so graceful toward me!" I am so thankful for people like that and I strive to be like that person. God does that for everyone and for every sin we have against Him.

"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14). When I focus on my past and play it over and over again in my head, I am missing out on the fulfilled life in which God wants me to live. He has plans for me, big plans, and I am stuck thinking about my past. When I look forward and strain toward what is ahead, I will focus my eyes on what is right and good and it will help me to fulfill that plan that God has for me. It doesn't say "breeze" toward what is ahead. It is a battle moving forward and not thinking about my past, but with God's armor I can do anything and He will help me move forward.

I wrote all of these scriptures among a few others on some note cards for me to carry around, memorize, and call on when I am caught in the downward spiral of thinking I am not enough or I am not worthy of God's love. How do these scriptures speak to you? Do you have other things you focus on when looking to God's scripture for advice?