Thoughts, and Snow

There is one thing I know Satan wanted from Jesus. The devil wanted Jesus to break His perfect trust and love relationship with His heavenly Father.

Every aspect of Jesus' life was harrassed by the devil. Satan didn't really care too much about the 'body', if you please, of Jesus. But this Jesus was His arch enemy since days long before the creation of this world.

But Jesus had come to this world to reveal how a person - a human being - could and would act and respond when connected to the Creator God of the Universe.

So, Satan threw at Jesus every tactic he had developed over about 4,000 years of practice on human beings who had sooner or later 'fallen' and disconnected from the love of God.

What is temptation? Anything that would get us in any way, shape or form to choose any will other than God's will for us - to not trust implicitly that God loves us and wants only what is best for us.

What is God's will for me? Jesus said it quite simply. I am to Love God with everything I have in me in fact I am to Love God even more than anything or anyone else. Then very similar to that I am to love everyone else the same as I love myself.

What happens when someone does or says something that causes something inside of me to 'resist'? feel offended? get defensive? start blaming? fear? become ashamed?

I can't tell what happens to others, but I am becoming aware that when that happens in me it is a good sign that I am not, at that point in time anyway, in full agreement with or synchronized with the mind of Christ.

And the ONLY remedy is to put my thinking, my 'eyes', my feelings, back toward Jesus.

I am not saying that I will never have pain when I am connected to Jesus. That doesn't mean that I will never get hurt, that I will suffer no abuse, that no one will tease me or make snide remarks, or much worse things, which we sometimes want to label as 'persecution'.

I am coming to the conclusion that the closer I come to Jesus the more those kinds of things 'may' happen, but on the other hand, I may actually notice them less and less. Why? "Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith. Who for the JOY that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame. . . ." As I focus on who Jesus is and on what God is really like, He has promised that He will change me to become what I am focusing on by my choice and His power. In other words He will change me into becoming like Him.

He has already begun that work and has also promised to complete it.

And as I look to Jesus, He tells me that brings Him great JOY. And the Joy of the Lord is my strength.

Recently I have been also realizing that when I delight to have the Lord with me - not just for Him to delight for me to be with Him - that I get more of the JOY as well.

I have mentioned these things before but I'll say it again so as to not 'miss' a very special point here.

'JOY' without corresponding 'PEACE' is a nice experience but not of great value. When both JOY and PEACE are experienced, sort of 'in tandom' (not necessarily at the same moment, but in some way related with each other in an experience with another mind) that combination causes my mind to 'grow'.

Sometimes, especially when I am experiencing both JOY and PEACE with the Lord, I have found it can be enhanced when I am in closer to 'nature' during these times of 'growing'.

We have been having several snow falls this winter. One storm gave us about 24 inches. This past week or so we got another 6 inches and the 'latest one added about 3 or so more inches of snow. During this past snow I went out to shovel snow off some of our 'walks'. I at least try to keep the path between the two houses here on the farm open and, if the snow isn't too deep we also keep some other paths available as well. I had opened up several of the paths but as I did so I felt such an urge to take a 'walk in the snow'. I asked Duane to go with me and we walked down to the mail boxes and got the mail. It was dark by then but with the reflections from the white snow it didn't seem so 'dark', and the snow coming down was also so lovely. We spent part of the walk time thanking the Lord for His mercies. Snow is used in the Bible to represent the cleansing God wants to do in me. Even though in our daily living we can get 'too much' snow, we can never get 'too much cleansing' from our loving Lord.

Whether we get just a few inches or another 2 ft. of snow, just remember that God is more in earnest in getting you and me cleaned up - whiter than snow -than we are.

I'll try to keep posted as to our progress in white, but until later, may God's peace be with you.

Bringer of Peace

P.S. If 12-24 inches weren't enough, starting tomorrow, there is another storm predicted for early next week which can also give us more snow of possibly several inches. For those of you in the north you are probably chuckling and wondering why all the problems with just a 'few inches' of snow. I used to be farther north but it has been quite a few years now. And Virginia is supposed to be south.