Stubbornness

“For I strongly warned your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt until today, warning them time and time again: Obey My voice. Yet they would not obey or pay attention; each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart. So I brought on them all the curses of this covenant, because they had not done what I commanded them to do.”Jeremiah 11:7-8 HCSB

Stubbornness.  Every parent’s nightmare. The hours spent arguing with a teenager trying to convince them that you’re only looking out for their best interest.  Or the struggle to get your seven year old to take a shower and get to bed on time. No matter what the task at hand, dealing with a stubborn person can be taxing and difficult.

Webster’s dictionary defines stubbornness as “performing or carrying on in an unyielding, obstinate, or persistent manner.” Sound familiar? I have seen that behavior rise up in both my boys from time to time. But to be fair, I’ve seen it in myself too. We all have that stubborn streak in us.

Last week, while looking up verses for a Bible study, I came across Jeremiah 11:7-8.  As I read it, the words “each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart.”  jumped off the page at me. God had called His people to obey His voice, but instead they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts.

So many times, I’ve look down on the children of Israel. I wonder how they could be so disobedient with God so close by their sides. How could they forget God and turn to idols when they saw the miracles God preformed.  I’ve found myself shaking my head in wonder of how rebellious they acted. Then I remember my life….

Stubbornness.  It comes from an evil heart.  A morally reprehensible heart. A heart that has turned from God.  Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”  Beating in our chest is an evil heart that God describes as desperately wicked. The root to our stubbornness is our evil heart. I shudder to think about it.

Thankfully, we don’t have to live with this condition.  Jesus came to reconcile us to Him. He has created in us a new creature. 1 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.” 

I’m thankful for a God who loves me enough to forgive me for the disobedience that comes from evil heart that I have.  I’m thankful He loved me through my seasons of stubbornness. I’m thankful He drew me back to Him.

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the kind compassion You show me.  Even though my heart is  desperately wicked You love me.  Guide me, Lord, to seek You daily so I won’t turn from You and grow stubborn.  Amen.

The Difference in Knowing

Do you know who Meg Ryan is?  What can you tell me about her?  I can tell you she an actress. She’s famous.  She’s a mother and wife. She’s meet some very famous people.

Do you know who Barack Obama is?  What can you tell me about him?  Obviously, he’s the president of the United States.  He’s married to Michelle Obama.  He has two daughters and a dog. He lives in the White House. He’s a democrat.

Do you know who Beth Moore is?  What can you tell me about her?  She is a Bible Study teacher.  She lives in Texas. She’s married to Keith Moore and has two grown daughters, Amanda and Melissa. She has a grandson named Jackson. She loves women’s ministry. She loves to study God’s word. She travels extensively to speak. She runs Living Proof Ministry.  She loves Starbucks. For her birthday, her staff took her to a painting class.

Do you know who Carol is? What can you tell me about her? I can tell you she’s been married for 30 years. She and her husband were high school sweethearts.  She has two children who are both adults. She has three sisters. Her dad has passed away.  She loves pastel colors.  She knows every actor and actress on the planet and what they have played in. She teaches in Awana. She enjoys her church family.  She lived in Chicago as a child. She knows Orlando like the back of her hand.  She loves old movies.  She enjoys hot tea.  She enjoys people and loves to go out to eat.  She can talk for hours.

Now of all the people above which one do I really know?  I’ve never met or even seen Meg Ryan or President Obama in person.  I know who they are, but do I really know them? No, not really.

I have seen Beth Moore in person. I’ve watched her teach many times, but I’ve never shook her hand.  I know who she is, but do I really know her?  No, not really.

Which one do I sit and talk for hours with?  Which one has been in my home, hugged my neck, laughed and cried with me?  You guessed it! Carol.  She and I have been friends for many years.  I love her and trust her with my heart.  She’s a true friend. 

As I read John 15:1-17 thoughts of my relationship with Christ came to mind. Recently I read a statement in Lysa TurKeurst’s book, Becoming More than Just a Good Bible Study Girl  that I can’t get out of my head. It’s had a profound affected on me for weeks.  She says, “I want to see Him (Jesus) in me, around me, and through me. I want to hear His voice so clearly that I won’t doubt when He asks for my obedience. I want to know Him- not just facts about Him- but really know Him personally and intimately.”  I got to thinking about my relationship with Christ.  Do I know Him or do I just know facts about Him?  Do I know Him like I do Meg, President Obama or Beth?  Or do I know Him like I do Carol?

Psalms 46:10a tells me to “Be still and know that I am God...”  In Psalm 100:3a God instructs me to “Know ye that the LORD he is God...” God desires a close personal relationship with each of us.  One in which when He speaks to us, we will know it’s Him. One that allows us to talk to Him about anything. A relationship that craves daily communication.

Knowing just the facts about God and knowing Him are vastly different.  I like this quote by Tim Hansel. “There is a difference between memorizing Scripture and thinking biblically. There’s a difference between knowing the words and experiencing their meaning. There is a difference between having sentences embedded in your head and having their impact embedded in your heart. There is a difference between “doing Christianity” and being a Christian.” It’s my prayer that I will seek to “know God” in a deep and intimate way.

John 15:1-17

I thought it fitting to begin my new blog with the verses that inspired me to live my life abiding in Christ.  I'm looking forward to this journey and I hope those of you who check in often will be inspired too.

John 15:1-17

¹I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. ²Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. ³Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. ⁴Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. ⁵I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. ⁶If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. ⁸Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

⁹As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. ¹⁰If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. ¹¹These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. ¹²This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. ¹³Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. ¹⁵Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. ¹⁶Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. ¹⁷These things I command you, that ye love one another.