Living a Spirit Led Life

Hearing from God in Everyday Living

Word of the Day

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Word of the Day: Lettuce

Lettuce consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  
Lettuce not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,
but lettuce encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
—Hebrews 10: 24-25

The Invitation: These became the Bible’s lettuce verses for me as I thought of creative ways to memorize scriptures for the Experiencing God study years ago. And, if you can be-leaf it, the verses have ro-mained with me!*

With the pandemic, most of us have gotten out of the habit of reading the Bible as a group and meeting together. I’ve heard people say they prefer listening to a podcast or watching church in their living room. It’s easier and faster. They can stay in their pj’s and mute or fast forward through music they don’t care for.

Last week I attended my first socially undistanced event at our church–a memorial service. The sanctuary was full, and I saw people I hadn’t seen for a year and a half. We gathered to remember a life well-lived—someone we all cared about. We comforted one another and were reassured that the promise of eternal life is real. The peace and hope of God was passed from one person to another. Many of us left that service asking God to help us love more extravagantly and live more generously. And when we see each other again, we’ll be able to ask one another how it’s going.

That was church. No, not the building, although we need a place to gather on a regular basis. It was the people. The Christian life is meant to be lived in community—not just for what I can get out of it, but for what I have to give and you have to give that people will miss out on if we don’t show up.

We can get information about Jesus and grow in our understanding of the Bible on our own. We can pray and worship in our personal quiet time. But it’s through my church community that I’ve been refined, challenged, encouraged, and held to a higher standard than at the grocery store, soccer field, or workplace. Church is where someone will not only empathize with me, but will pray with me. Church is where I’m made aware of my rough edges through another’s gentleness. Church is where I have opportunities to give in ways that make a difference for eternity.

Whenever possible, lettuce meet together.

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another,
especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
—Hebrews 10:24-25 (NLT)

Your Response: Today, talk with the Lord about your going-to-church feelings. Ask Him what He wants to say to you through these verses. If you’d like some prompts, try these:

  • Lord, show me how I feel about church right now. What does my heart for the church look like?
  • Now Lord, show me Your heart for Your church.
  • If my heart doesn’t line up with Your heart, Lord, may the Holy Spirit to set it aright. Do I need to die to selfishness in some way or exchange apathy for action? (Take time to listen and respond.)
  • Lord, You say that the church is the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:25-27). May I be given Christ’s heart for the church. May I serve Your church and love Your people. Is there anything specific You want me to know or do?

*P.S. I was thinking of including more salad jokes in this post, but I tossed them.

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Word of the Day: Quicksand

The Invitation: While backpacking through a slot canyon in Utah, fellow hikers warned our group to be careful of the quicksand. They said a woman had fallen in up to her waist several days before. I quickly asked, “How did she get out?” They responded, “Her husband pulled her out.” This potential hazard sounded scary and not something I wanted to experience.

Seeing my dismay, one of our group members assured me that if I fell into quicksand I wouldn’t die. I just needed to respond appropriately. Although counterintuitive, since quicksand is filled with water, the best response is to put your head back and move to the edge with swimming-like motions. This made total sense to me. In water-like conditions, adapt to the principles of the water. Moving through water with the motions that are efficient over land, won’t work. Stop. Don’t panic. Readjust. My anxiety disappeared.

I thought of times in life when it feels as if I’ve stepped into emotional quicksand. I unknowingly wander into difficult situations where I worry, feel stuck, or keep working harder to get myself out, and anxiety creeps in. What if I took the time to shift gears, change my thinking, and do something new? Maybe even something counterintuitive? It might be a time to put my head back, find God in the midst, ask for help, and stop working so hard.

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray.
Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers,
letting God know your concerns.
Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness,
everything coming together for good,
will come and settle you down.
It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
–Philippians 4:6-7 (MSG)

Your Response: Thank you Lord that You came to save us. You offer us a way out of seemingly hopeless situations by inviting us to think and act differently. As I go through life, sometimes I step into situations that tempt me to sink into anxiety. When that happens, what is the best way to respond?

Is there a situation in my life where I am thinking or responding in a way that is outside of Your principles or ways? What would it look like for me to stop and readjust in this situation?

Thank you Lord that You promise to bring a sense of peace and to displace worry with Your love. Today I choose You and Your way, even when it’s counterintuitive or not how the world says to respond. May my heart be full of praise as I live with You at the center of my life.

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Word of the Day: Handoff

The Invitation: I tried to listen to the Lord—about whatever was on His mind. But even though I was sitting down, my mind was busy, as if it had turned into a playground for thoughts. They were racing, taunting, and jumping around. I pictured myself nestling up close to Jesus, determined to listen. He knew what was going on and calmly invited me to do a handoff. A handoff? Sounded like football to me. I looked it up.

Handoff–hand·off/noun: an exchange made by handing the ball to a teammate; to relinquish
—Oxford English Dictionary

“Handoff implies an interaction between two people with a common goal.
Also, handing off often means the other person is going to do something with the object.”
—english.stackexchange.com

I sensed Jesus telling me I had hopes and hard things that were blocking my capacity to listen to Him. The hopes were things that were out of my control, and when they popped into my mind, a simple prayer would still their voices. I chose to pray “Giver of Life, Your kingdom come” when my dreams or desires tempted me to take things into my own hands. The prayer was a handoff or relinquishment to the Lord.

The hard things? They were tasks that are necessary but no fun, making complicated decisions and plans, the details of life, etc. I made a list of all those things and handed it off to Jesus in prayer. I don’t expect Him to do them for me, but He will manage the list and even go before me—leading me to what is the most important for today and encouraging me along the way.

Circumstances hadn’t changed, but my mind had free space. I could listen to the Lord, and I realized that handing off hopes and hard things allowed me to take on God’s perspective and heart. It also allowed God’s hand to be at work in circumstances beyond my reach.

Therefore…let us strip off every weight that slows us down,
especially the sin that so easily trips us up.
And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
—Hebrews 12:1 (NLT)

Your Response: (Pray) Lord, I don’t want anything to get in the way of being able to hear Your voice. I give You permission to strip off things that block me or slow me down from being available to You. You are the One who sets good things before me and shows me the way.

Lord, when hopes come into my mind that I can’t make happen, what words do I pray to hand them off to You?
(Listen and write down what you hear. Then practice using this prayer; sense the difference it makes.)

Lord, bring to mind all the hard things on my mental to-do list.
(Listen and write them down in any order.)
I handoff the list to You, Lord. (Picture yourself doing so in prayer.)
Thank you for showing me what I’m to do in the next hour or day, and how You want to help me complete the tasks.

Now, Lord, I’m ready to listen. What’s on Your heart?

And the LORD came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!”
And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”
—1 Samuel 3:10 (NLT)

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Word of the Day: Nurture

The Invitation: My brother, the gardener, visited last weekend. He has a greenhouse, raised garden beds—and the green thumb in the family. It’s early spring, and he’s watering the seeds he planted in his greenhouse, waiting until they’ve matured enough to move to the beds. The greenhouse seeds take a lot of care. If he ignores them, it’s back to square one and starting over.

This thought came to mind as I asked the Lord why it seems I’m continually starting over in changing certain thought patterns. How does worry creep in—again—when my desire is to trust God? Perhaps fear becomes larger than faith, or I step into the fixing mode instead of waiting on God. It’s different for all of us.

At first, it takes a lot of nurture to change thought patterns. Daily practice. Then the transformation takes root, and the maintenance is occasional. Just as I marvel at the new blossoms of spring, I marvel when I realize the new way of thinking has become the regular way of thinking. I reap the fruit of nurture.

My brother can’t put a seed in a seedling pot and hope it will grow, and I can’t grow a new way of thinking on hope alone. I must nurture it with prayer, practice, and perseverance. Are you willing to nurture one new thought pattern this spring? If so, perhaps this summer you’ll realize a new way of thinking has become your regular way of thinking—and marvel.

But the seed in the good soil,
these are the ones who have heard the word with a good and virtuous heart,
and hold it firmly, and produce fruit with perseverance.
—Luke 8:15 (NASV)

Try it out: Lord, Your ways of thinking are what I want to hold firmly in my mind. I ask You to weed out any mindsets that don’t line up with Your Word and plant new seeds of truth. Then show me how to nurture the truth with perseverance through prayer and practice.

Lord, if I have a pattern of thinking that needs to be replaced with Your way of thinking, reveal it to me.
(Any thought that is tied to “things will never change,” “I’m not enough,” “God has forgotten me,” etc. are like weeds that need to be pulled. Take time to listen.)

Lord, what do You replace that thought with? What is the truth as seen in the Bible?

Show me what it looks like to weed out the old pattern of thinking and plant a new seed?
Then show me how to nurture the seed so it will grow and become my regular way of thinking.

Now, tell me why it is important to persevere in this place, and what will grow from nurturing this new way of thinking.

But the seed in the good earth—
these are the good-hearts who seize the Word and hold on no matter what,
sticking with it until there’s a harvest.
—Luke 8:15 (The Message paraphrase)