Did you ever sit in church and as the message began you felt like there was a big neon sign over your head with a flashing arrow pointing right at you and a statement saying "This one's for her!" That was my experience today!
If any one of you read my post yesterday, you know I was not a happy camper. I was extremely frustrated and annoyed at our neighbor for his loud *music* (although I still contend that a continual repetitive bass beat with no notes is not music).
I had a beautiful day with no responsibilities. I had several hours of uninterrupted time. I planned on sewing curtains for the orphanage. I was looking forward to this time. BUT our neighbor blared his *music*, so I became extremely annoyed. ~~yes, notice the emphasis on *ME*
Then I went to church this morning. In Dominican churches at the beginning of the service, they read in unison the passage that the pastor will be preaching from. Today we read I Corinthians 13. That well known passage on *LOVE*. Oh yes, the neon sign was glowing brightly and flashing quickly!!!
Learned alot today even if it was in Spanish~~
We breathe because of God's love and mercy; we stand because of God's love and mercy; we walk because of God's love and mercy; we exist because of God's love and mercy. We are nothing without God's love and mercy.
Because we are His children, we should love the Father.~~ we love Him because He first loved us.
Because of our love for the Father, our whole life is to be a service to Him--If we lack godliness, then we cannot love and truly serve others. ((OUCH!))
Love is not a sentiment; Love is an action and the direction of our life.
The Lord allowed much testing of Job, but Job still served God --"The LORD giveth and the LORD taketh away; blessed be the name of the LORD."
from Deuteronomy 13:3 "...for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your mind."
Psalm 119 vs 157 "Many are my persecutors and my enemies; yet I do not turn from Your testimonies."
Psalm 119::163 "Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble."
My actions and attitude yesterday did not reflect God's love. For those of you who read that post, please forgove my complaining spirit, and lack of love. Yes, the music was obnoxiously loud and annoying; but I know I didn't handle it right. Instead of mumbling and complaining, and having a horrible attitude, I could have been praying for them. Yes, I had things I wanted to get done, but I could have prayed and asked the LORD to help me to overcome the circumstances. There were any number of things I could have prayed about, but I chose to complain, be self-centered and become bitter.
I'm sorry if I caused any of you to become discouraged, also.
I would ask for you to pray for me that I will show the love of God. Before we moved here a missionary, Jay Munoz, preached one night and he basically said "Don't go into fulltime missions, or come to the Dominican, because you love the country or you love the people. You won't always be able to love the people. Come because you love God and want to serve and please HIM." That is what I need to remember and focus on...remembering God's love, patience and mercy for me...focusing on Him...then serving Him because of my love for Him...and allowing His love to flow through me.
Hope you all are having a wonderful day!
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i, too, have noticed that God doesn't seem to delay in teaching me a lesson i need to put into practice. i'd like to think i've eaten more than my share of humble pie, but in reality, i probably need a daily portion of it.
ReplyDeleteAnna, I stopped by your blog several weeks ago, wrote you a nice little reply to a post, then discovered that I couldn't send one to you because of not accepting anonymous but now I see that I can!! yeah! I agree with this post, that we can do absolutely nothing without God. and I just want to tell you that I am praying for you and yes, I have had that neon sign hanging so brightly over my head many times!! I am glad I can communicate with you easily now! Take care! Praying for you!!! Linda Gibbons
ReplyDeleteSo good to hear from you Linda. David said you weren't able to log on to mine, so he changed it for me. soory about that. Thanks for your words of encouragment, too.
ReplyDelete~d,as for a daily portion of humble pie....I think I need the whole pie!
That neon sign has been flashing over me this week, as a result of a book on marriage I've been reading. This week's chapter was on communication - godly, gentle words that turn away wrath. Enough said.
ReplyDeleteYour previous post actually reminded me of the first "neighbor" Danny & I ever had: a guy we called "Slayer Dude" because he had black waist-length hair, smoked pot constantly, and yes, regularly blared his unique bass-driven music. I can't say we had the best attitude about him, either. Nicest guy in the world, but made it difficult to hold a Bible study in our apartment (right above his) in the summer!