Not Just a Holy Santa Claus

Have you ever thought about what God is to us? Have you ever wondered when we pray, what are we praying? When I was a kid, we were taught the acronym P-Praise R-Repent A- Ask  Y-Yield. I have been using this format with my kids when we pray. Sometimes it is so hard to pray this way because you have to really look inward and humble yourself. God is no longer just a holy Santa Claus. That is what kids do, you know, they have their "wish list" for the Lord and list it all out every night. Sometimes this overflows into our adult prayer habits. Tonight the Lord led me to this little passage and it struck me as an important component of a healthy relationship with God. 

Psalm 105:4-6New International Version (NIV)

4 Look to the Lord and his strength;
    seek his face always.

5 Remember the wonders he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
6 you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,
    his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.

Sometimes the circumstances in our life are like a blaring stop sign.

This year has been like that for me personally. It is so easy to say "Look to the Lord" when things are going good yet it is when things are not going so great that is when  we need to "seek his face always".

I am very moved by verse five which says remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, 

I can hear the Holy Spirit whispering to me:  remember the good times but also remember the pain. Remember how it put you on your face in full desperation for God to have mercy! 

Yet here I am I am still his servant, a descendant of Abraham, his chosen one, a child of  Jacob, ingrafted into the vine, by the grace of God. He did not turn me away in  my moments of shame. In fact, he still sang over me and comforted me with his love. He never leaves me in the storm. He is with me in the good times too- but somehow as I am lead by the spirit, I am more convinced  more  than ever that remembering his judgements has a way of keeping us balanced with a holy fear of God. It is a way to keep us walking the narrow way.

 It seems like we all want to boast of his miracles and wonders, we want to brag of the things he has done and that is well and good! He is a good God, worthy of our praise! But without the judgments there is nothing to measure. There is nothing to keep us humble!  I am also reminded that I do not need to shout out the jugdments of God  but to just remember them. I do not have to write them down, just remember them. I do  not have to sing about them, just remember them. I do not have to talk about them, just remember them. I do not have to confess the judgements of God, just remember them.

Do you remember times in your life that were not so good? What is your perspective on that time? Are you thankful for it? Are you in awe? Do you have a reverence for who God is? He is LOVE, but he is also JUST.

Lay an altar on your heart. In Bible times, each time God did something they wanted to remember, they built an altar to the Lord. They gave a sacrifice to God to remember what God did. Both the good and the bad were remembered in this way. 

Prayer: Jesus, I pray we receive your justice. Help us to remember and receive your judgments. I pray that you help us not to forget your judgements help us to walk in truth, recognising who you are and not exalting our pride of  who we think you are in our lives. You are not just a holy Santa Claus. 

Blessings Friends,

Ruth A. Hidalgo

One Word That Is Paralyzing

I really love writing! I think of  topics to write about all the time! It is not just one subject that permeates  my thoughts but several topics, Topics such as Song Writing, Poetry, Faith, Motivation, Inspiration, Devotionals, Gardening, Health, Natural Health, Raising a Family, Teaching Children, Homeschooling, Corporate Worship and Intimate worship,  "Challenging" Children, How to live Frugally, Leadership Strategies, Ministering on a daily basis,  and the list goes on and on! I am a defender of these topics and hold them dear to my heart. There is one tiny word that "gets me" every time I go to the laptop to brainstorm. It is only three letters, yet has had a tremendous impact on my lack of writing. It is the word BUT!

Can anyone else relate?

...But I am not an expert

...But no one would read it

... But I am still testing my theories

... But I do not have enough time

...But I do not have a professional looking Blog

.... But I need technical support

... But I need an editor

The list of "Buts" could go on and on. 

It really gets to me when I think about my life's passion: What sums up my whole life's existence is not found on the page of a Blog. It is found in the pages of one book, Ok so you can already guess what the one book is... The Bible

. Sounds Cliche', however,  it is the truth, The only thing that matters is how to live it out. This is not "works-based"; It is not some kind of "checklist" where I say I have fulfilled different instructions in the Bible.  I am not saying that at all. I am not setting some kind of unobtainable goal, The standard of the Bible is to keep me moving forward. To keep me pressing toward the goals that God has. When I am busy doing something I am constantly analyzing it to see if it lines up. If it does not, I go back to the drawing board. I have been back to the drawing board so many times I can't even keep track. Right now I am in one of those "back to the drawing board" times.

So here is my plea for my readers: So now you know I want to write, and you know that I have not been writing too. Pray that I will defeat every "But" that gets in the way of writing. I do not care the outcome, what I care about is fulfilling that inner desire that God placed in my heart to write. It is there for a purpose. If I do not do it, how will I ever know what that purpose is? Maybe you have something that you want to do too.

Let me know and I will commit to praying for you as you put faith into action.

"The question is not what we intended ourselves to be, but what He intended us to be when He made us" C.S. Lewis

Thanks for reading,

Ruth A. Hidalgo

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