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Length of Days - Search for Freedom

Monday, August 26, 2013

Deliberately Do

"No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." Hebrews 8: 11-12 (NIV)

Do you really believe that God can forget anything? Anything at all? The passage in Hebrews doesn’t actually say that God will forget their sins. It says, he "will remember their sins no more." It is a deliberate choice. He chooses to not remember.

Love is like that for us. When things happen in life, words are spoken, actions are taken that bring us pain, love remembers it no more.

We are not God. I think that is abundantly clear to all, well at least most, of us. God forgives. Christians are to act in forgiving ways and that requires a deliberate decision - to remember the offences no more.

No, we are not going to have brain surgery to have that portion removed where the memory is stored. We will have the physical ability to remember, but we will deliberately choose not to. We will not rehearse the sin against us, going over and over it until it is etched all the way to our soul. And, yes, we still hold the offender accountable for what they did or said. That may mean the person’s word cannot be trust for a very long time until their broken trust has been mended. We learn there are some people to whom we cannot lend money, or trust someone with a secret, or even trust them with a triumph because it will be trashed under their feet like garbage. But, we can refuse to let them hurt us further by not relieving the personal attack every day, every season of our lives.

We must deliberately do what we do not naturally do. Choose love. Let us pray:

"Father of us all, you are perfect Love and holy above anything my mind can ever grasp. May my heart lead me to you, since my mind is too logical to find the way. I ask that you so fill my life with your love that I may be able to deliberately choose to not remember the wrongs against me. Forgive me when I have used your precious gift of time on your beautiful earth to dwell on that which has harmed me, rather than dwelling on your glorious gift of life. Forgive me for not forgiving others with the same voice I plead for forgiveness for myself. You are the truth of life and that truth is love. In the name of Jesus, your son and my savior whom I follow, I pray. Amen"

Doris
"God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine."
Copyright 2013 Doris Gaines Rapp
Events: Saturday Sept 14, 2013 1pm - Book Signing at Barnes & Noble, Ann Arbor, MI
Friday Sept. 20, 2013 7:00 pm - Book Signing at Barnes & Noble, Valporaiso, Indiana.

Promote Yourself - a pep talk on self-promotion. To download an eBook go to www.bn.com and www.amazon.com. Also, join the conversation at www.promoteyourself-permitsuccess.blogspot.com
It will be available in paperback by Friday, 9/6/13 at www.dorisgainesrapp.com and www.directbuybooks.com.

Monday, August 19, 2013

COME THROUGH THE HEDGE

"Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God." 3 John 1:5-6 (NIV)

Will you come through the hedge for another? We build hedges around us for various reasons. Just a few include: 1. to keep others out, 2. to form a safe framework, 3. to create a peaceful garden. Some people get stuck inside the hedge - trapped. Will you come through the hedge for them?

When we have been hurt, we protect ourselves from further attack by building a wall around ourselves. We don’t let that offender in again. Or, at the extreme, we don’t let anyone in. We wall off our heart to the world. We become fixed in a state of hypervigilance, to make sure no one slips through.

Hedges are also built to form a structure, a framework for us to hang our lives on. We get up at a prescribed time, with or without the alarm, and go to bed on the same timetable. Meals are on a regular schedule and work hours are rigidly maintained. These are the habits a person develops in order to be where they need to be and accomplish what needs to be accomplished. The problem occurs when they are required, or just want to do something outside the schedule, beyond the hedge.

Often, beautiful flowers are surrounded by a hedge, as in an English garden. Other times, a fence is erected to provide the same enclosure. The idea can be to identify your garden’s boundaries or to keep others out, including rabbits as in Mr. MacGregor’s garden. A stroll through the garden can be very peaceful and spiritual, as in the hymn, In the Garden. It can be a lonely place if you let no one else in. Some people find so much peace in loneliness that they become addicted to the solitude or depression. If you find someone trapped in their garden, will you come through the hedge for them?

Behind the hedge can be a mesmerizing place, a place so safe that it becomes impossible to step beyond the rim. Those stuck there may need to escape or just vacation from their inner life for a while. Be a friend in Christ. Come through the hedge. Invite them to walk beyond the boundaries of their world and experience a trust in God not felt as deeply when they are safe. Be their rescuer in Christ. Let us pray:

"Father God, Lord of all, sweet presence inside and outside the hedge, holy are you and precious to my heart. Give me eyes to see those trapped behind their safe wall that I might speak your words of soothing so they can step outside for a little while. I know you are everywhere, but some people trapped within the hedge, focus only on the safety, the rigid structure and the peace, and pay no heed to your voice that asks them to step beyond their comfort zone and follow you. Take down any wall or hedge of my own and let me see you there in the opening, that I may help others. In the name of Jesus, your son and my Christ, I pray. Amen"

Doris
"God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine."
Copyright 2013 Doris Gaines Rapp
Events: Saturday Sept 14, 2013 1pm - Book Signing at Barnes & Noble, Ann Arbor, MI
Friday Sept. 20, 2013 7:00 pm - Book Signing at Barnes & Noble, Valporaiso, Indiana.
www.dorisgainesrapp.com

Promote Yourself - a pep talk on self-promotion will be available in eBook form by Friday, 8/23/13 at www.bn.com and www.amazon.com. In paper back book by Friday, 9/6/13 at www.dorisgainesrapp.com and www.directbuybooks.com.

Monday, August 12, 2013

THE FOUR LEAF CLOVER


"The lazy person craves, yet receives nothing, but the desires of the diligent are satisfied." Proverbs 13: 4 (International Standard Version)


Is it luck or is it a blessing? Many people look all of their lives for their "four leaf clover" - some piece of luck that will bring them riches and perhaps fame. Proverbs 13: 4 describes "the lazy person" who craves (wishes) for things, then receives nothing at all. When we work within the will of God and are diligent, we are satisfied.


While walking through the grass last Thursday, I looked down and saw/felt an anomaly, a departure from the norm in the patch of clover at my feet. I bent down and picked up this beautiful clover with four leaves. Was it luck? No, it was there all along. It was God’s blessing that allowed me to see it.

If we are unable to proceed to success, or begin an adventure, until we are lucky enough for that great windfall to come our way, we will receive nothing. And, even if we do find that clover, we may be completely stuck, forever poised with our noses to the ground in front of us, as we wait for the next strike of luck to come. But, we will never be satisfied. With every fulfilled "wish," our appetite for more luck only grows larger.

My four leaf clover was not luck; it was a blessing. If you see every gift from God that he bestows on us, we are blessed every day of our lives. If we wait to find the next clover with the beautiful leaves before we continue, we will be forever stuck on Thursday, August 8, 2013.

We may have "discovered" the next great mousetrap, but we will go no farther if we believe it was luck. Luck waits for luck to return. Faith in God receives each blessing as it comes our way. Let us pray:

"Our loving father, you shower us with your blessings every day. Holy are you and worthy of our praise. I ask that your Holy Spirit make a home in my soul that I may see each gift you give. Today, oh father, help me to put away lazy cravings and diligently seek the desires of your heart that they may become the desires of my heart. Then I will be satisfied. May I be a blessing to others as I walk through life, that I may rescue them from the evil jaws of ‘if only.’ All these things I ask in the name of Jesus, who sought only your face so that we might see your face in him, I pray. Amen"

Doris
"God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine."
Copyright 2013 Doris Gaines Rapp
Events: Saturday Sept 14, 2013 1pm - Book Signing at Barnes & Noble, Ann Arbor, MI

Friday Sept. 20, 2013 7:00 pm - Book Signing at Barnes & Noble, Valporaiso, Indiana.

www.dorisgainesrapp.com

Monday, August 5, 2013

THE WALL

"I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one." Ezekiel 22:30 (NIV)

"I have a rock over here that might fit in that hole," Bill called from our yard across the street.

The two hired Amish men, in their round black hats and handmade shirts and pants, came over and studied the rock. "It looks like it could have come out of that empty spot in the wall." They thanked him and carried the stone over to the beautiful fieldstone wall of St. Felix Friary, built by the Capuchin Friars in 1928.

I love to sit and watch the changing light on the rough surface of the stones. One night when I couldn’t sleep, I came downstairs to write a little on my laptop. As I neared the foot of the stairs, a thought popped into my head, "Look at the deer."

What deer? I went to the windows in the front door and waited a second. Eight graceful long-legged deer leaped and danced along the side yard from the back. They bounded into the street until they came to the wall, then they stopped. They looked at the wall, to the left and right. Finally, they walked a few yards along the wall and through the open gate, like polite visitors to a lovely meadow. Then, they leaped in rhythmic ballet form across the meadow to the small woods beyond. There is a blessing in everything if you will view it with eyes that expect to see bucks and does.

I thought about the graceful deer and the majestic wall and remembered Ezekiel 22:30. God looks for those who are willing to build up the wall and become part of it - to stand in the gap. That position of protection is not just between our family and the world, but also to intercede (pray) for those who are in danger out there, that the Lord God will bless them, keep them safe, and welcome them into His heavenly family. God has looked for wall-standers in former times and found none. Are you willing to stand in the gap on behalf of your loved ones? Let us pray:

"Father God, Lord of all and even me, holy and precious is your name. Too often I forget the power of your name and refrain from calling on you when someone is in need, or I use it frivolously. Holy, holy, holy are you. May I remember that I dwell in the light of your presence at all times. Today, may I see my place on the wall, as I lift stones of love and joy and peace into place and then stand in the gap to pray for those beyond the wall. Forgive me when I fail to see the simple pattern in the artful placement of the stones and think that my design is far better, only to have to pick up the crumbled rubble once again. May I find my place in the gap and pray unendingly, day and night. In the name of Jesus, your son and our redeeming brother I pray. Amen:

Doris
"God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine."
Copyright 2013 Doris Gaines Rapp
Events: Saturday Sept 14, 2013 1pm - Book Signing at Barnes & Noble, Ann Arbor, MI
Friday Sept. 20, 2013 7:00 pm - Book Signing at Barnes & Noble, Valporaiso, Indiana.

www.dorisgainesrapp.com