Who am I?

James 1:22-24

²²But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

²³For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

²⁴For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

I love the Lord, praise His Name, and wonder at His glory. I am a Christian, redeemed by His precious blood, and following Him.

Then one of those splinters in my heart gets rubbed the wrong way. Doesn't even take a lot, maybe my father-in-law ate my last custard, maybe my fingers gripped around my stuff too hard and I refused to give. Whatever it is, I forget who I am.

In Christ, I am a new creation.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

But when my heart is pricked, I revert all too quickly to the old nature, forgetting who I am.

Basically, you can't hear the word of God and say I Will and not follow through and do what He tells you.

Instead, read the Word, listen to His voice, and say as You Will I do.

DAY 209

Watching and waiting with eager anticipation.

That's Jacs, our wild papillon, watching for a loved one to come home. He'll sit there, a pile of toys under him, waiting until he sees the car come down the drive.

Mark 13:37
And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

(NASB) ¹³ Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. ¹⁴ Let all that you do be done in love.

Colossians 4:2
Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;

What are we watching for?

Watching for the return of our Lord, the King of all kings.

Watching over those we love, our country, our friends, and following through with prayer.

Watching over ourselves to guard our minds and hearts from a fallen and perverse world.

Watching for the sweet presence and words of a loving God to guide us on our life's journey.

Watching for the schemes of the enemy to avoid his perverse way.

Watching over His Word, praying for understanding that we may not be deceived by those who persuade with slick speech for their own profit and to our destruction.

Watching for the goodness of God, singing His praises for the wonderful grace He has given us.

WATCH and PRAY.

DAY 207

My word!

Words, they can bring life or sow death. The wise guard their mouths and what comes out. For even our words live forever, and all of them, we will have to account for before the Lord. Scary thought.

Best to consider that everything we say will go out into the universe. I read a poem in third grade that has stuck with me, (and that is a lot of sticking : )

It said something like -- Words are so proud, for once they go out, they can never be called back.

If we concentrate on the WORD, before we say our words, we might just catch some of those proud words before they escape.

Matthew 12:37
For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

^{James 3:10 10}Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

Fill your mind and heart with the pure Word of the Lord, memorize His Word, and guard your tongue. Speak words of blessing and truth.

DAY 166

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” - Romans 11:33

The Lord is so much bigger, wiser, and amazing than we can even begin to understand.

Read His Word. Ask the Holy Spirit for understanding and be amazed at the new things He reveals to you in the scriptures.

The Bible is a living word just as we serve a living God. Not bound to our ideals and religious thinking, but alive and ready to quicken our spirits with His wisdom.

Seek a quiet place, ask the Holy Spirit for understanding, and read the Word.

It is amazing.