Fret not yourself...

Did you know that Psalm 37 says this phrase, "Fret not yourself...," three times in the first eight verses?

Hmmm...Do you think He means it?

Verse 8 states it pretty strongly:  "...fret not yourself---it tends only to evildoing."

I've also read that the Word says to "fear not" 365 times.

One for each day of the year.

Hmmm...Do you think He means it?

And then there is always Philippians 4:6 (NIV)  "Do not be anxious about anything..."

SO...

Here's a conversation I have frequently 

with the LORD, my Rock of Faithfulness:

Me:  "Well, then LORD, what am I supposed to do when things are feeling out of control?"

Philippians 4:6 (NIV)  "...but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

1Peter 5:7a (Amp.)  "Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all you concerns, once and for all] on Him..."

Psalm 37:3-7(Amp.)  "Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the LORD and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed.  Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.  Commit your way to the LORD [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.  Be still and rest in the LORD; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him..."


Me:  "Well, if I don't fret, LORD, what will I do?"

Psalm 46:10a (NIV)  "Be still and know that I AM God."


Me:  "If I don't fret, LORD, what can I count on You to do for me?"


Philippians 4:7 (NIV)  "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."


Psalm 37:3-7(Amp.)  "...so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed.  Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart....He will bring it to pass."


Me:  "And, why should I trust You?"

1Peter 5:7b (Amp.)  "...for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully."

Hmmm...I think He means it.

This is a lesson the LORD has spoken to me about and tried me on 

and led me through over and over again.

I'll just think I've finally gotten it, "once and for all" 

and then something difficult will happen and 

I'll feel my nerves jump and 

my neck will start burning.

Like last night, for instance:

My son was out in the yard, where my husband has stashed old fence pieces while he is putting in the new, and he was climbing on the pieces.  He stepped on a rusty nail and it went through his shoe.  He came to tell us about it.  Before I even knew the full story, anxiety leaped upon me, burning neck and all.  Praise the LORD, upon inspection of his foot, no puncturing had occurred.  Whew!  Crisis averted.

How I would love, however, to get to the place 

where my heart leaps instantly into trustful peace,

instead of into instant fretfulness.  

Because I agree with the LORD, 

fretting does lead only to evildoing, 

AND ulcers!

Back to my constant prayer:  

"Please change me, LORD.  

If You don't help me, I'll NEVER

be any better than I am.  

HELP!!!"

Plus a song for good measure:

Change my heart, O God.  

Make it ever true.  

Change my heart, O God.  

May I be like You.

Intertwined

John 10:30 "I and the Father are One."

The Son and the Father; the Father and the Son, are irrevocably intertwined.  You can't have One without the Other.  People seem to want the Father, the Creator God, or however they view Him.  They want to believe in an image of God they can be happy with; one who doesn't interfere too much in their lives.  They create a God in their own image, breaking the 2nd commandment (Exodus 20:4).

Jesus has hard teachings that our fleshly nature does not like.  But the Father and the Son are inseparable, bound together in love, thought, and deed.  You might not like this concept, but it is the Truth.  God the Father will not allow a person to accept Him without His Son.

John 6:44a "No one can come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me draws him."

John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I AM the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me."

John 14:7-11 "If you really knew Me, you would know My Father as well.  From now on you do know Him and have seen Him."
       Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
       Jesus answered:  "Don't you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?  Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.  How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  Don't you believe that I AM in the Father and that the Father is in Me?  The words I say to you are not just my own.  Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, Who is doing His work.  Believe Me when I say that I AM in the Father and the Father is in Me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves."

John said, "We accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the Testimony of God, which He has given about His Son.  Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart.  Anyone who does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about His Son.  And this is the Testimony:  God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.  I write these things to you who believe in the Name of the Son of God so that you may KNOW that you have eternal life."  (1John 5:9-13)  "For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.  Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because He has not believed in the Name of God's One and Only Son."  (John 3:16-18)

Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind.  Does He speak and then not act?  Does He promise and not fulfill?"

1Samuel 15:29 "He Who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man, that He should change His mind."

God, as the LORD God Almighty, gets to say Who He is and how to get to Him.  He, as the Sovereign of all creation has the right.  We, as His creatures, do not have a leg to stand on in telling Him how we will be saved.  We must submit to His Way and His Truth to get His life.

Isaiah 43:10-13  "You are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I AM He.  Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me.  I, even I, AM the LORD, and apart from Me there is no savior.  I have revealed and saved and proclaimed---I, and not some foreign god among you.  You are My witnesses," declares the LORD, "that I AM God.  Yes, and from ancient days, I AM He.  No one can deliver out of My hand.  When I act, who can reverse it?"

Isaiah 44:6  This is what the LORD says---Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: "I AM the first and I AM the last; apart from Me there is no God."

Isaiah 45:5-6  "I AM the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.  I will strengthen you though you have not acknowledged Me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides Me.  I AM the LORD, and there is no other."

Consider the wonder of Him!

I have so been enjoying God's creation this spring and thinking about the wonderous variety of His creation.  He has made so many things that we can never see them all.  Some of His creation, a human will never see.  He's made it just for His own enjoyment.  He is amazing.

Knowing the scale of His creation makes me wonder anew at His love for me.  The Creator of the Universe is personally concerned with my life.  Woah! Not only that, but He LAVISHES His love on this child of His.  (1John 3:1)

Knowing how amazing He is gives me a lot of comfort.  Surely the God Who holds the planets in place can hold my puny life together.  Surely the God Who sustains the biosphere which holds all life can sustain me.  Surely the God Who created DNA can minister to my innermost being all that it needs.

Pondering His vastness and power and marveling over His gentleness and love builds trust in my heart toward Him.  His character draws me close and makes me want to fall in love with Him.

Some people believe in God as a concept.  Some people even go so far as to believe in Jesus and what He did for us.  Others do the wise thing and fall head-over-heels in love with Him.  That's what I want to do.  And why not?  He's given me every reason.

Tulips are pretty in pink!

God didn't have to make a gazillion kinds of flowers.

But He did.

Why?

To enjoy and to be enjoyed.

Thank You, Father, for Your creativity and Your blessing of nature.

KA-POW!!!

And...

the 'piece de resistance'...

POP!!!

First rose of the season.

Look at her from all her gorgeous angles.

 

 Here she is with her sisters.

 

 The red is really showing up all over today!

Praise the Lord for the glory of His creation.

"Who is a great God like our God?"

Psalm 77:13b

Roses are ready to POP!

The garden is growing great guns!

Color has been exploding everywhere!

And now for the roses:

There are what seem to be a gazillion buds on this bush.

Here's a closer preview of the numbers and the color of them.

And here are close-ups of the buds from yesterday.

Will they be full-fledged flowers today?

Stay-tuned...