Is. 26:3-4 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust yet in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.

I try to read my Bible each day until I “get” something from Him. It’s not always (or ever?) a profound Bible truth or a goose-bump giving promise, but it’s something. It may be a verse that I think would be good to memorize, or a reminder of something I need to work on. Or, it might be seeing an “old friend” – a verse I underlined sometime in the past. I was so pleased today when I opened right up and immediately heard from the Lord.

The verses above have been quoted hundreds of times. I have Is. 26:3 memorized and have had it memorized for a while now. Yet, as I read it today, along with verse 4, I heard the Savior gently calling to me, telling me that I was not heeding these verses.

If I dwell on negative thoughts, troublesome situations, hurts of the past and so forth, my countenance falls and the tears flow. Soon, my words follow my heart and I begin to pull others down by sharing my heartache with everyone. I get lost in my depressed world and snap at anyone who disturbs me. When one comes along to encourage me, to remind me of my blessings, I get resentful and I fight for my right to remain blue. Basically, I’m wallowing in self-pity. And it all began with my mind!

I’m going to practice mind control today. I’m going to try to keep my thoughts on my blessings, for there are so many! I’m going to cry out to my Father for strength when I am weak, for our verse says through Him, we have everlasting strength! That’s certainly what I need!

When I feel myself sliding down the slippery slope toward woe, I’m going to cry out to my Lord for help. Too often I pray in the morning and then no more the rest of the day. I want to talk to Him often, and rely upon Him each moment of my day.

I wish you a very blessed weekend!

Rom. 7:18-19 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

Rom.7:24-25 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord…

I recently saw a tee shirt that said “Epic Fail”. It had an arrow that pointed to the right, presumably at whomever was standing there. Those words, “epic” and “fail” are widely used now days.

I cannot think of a better way to describe my Christian life at times: “Epic Fail.” I seem to get caught up in the same sin over and over and over, like a hamster on a wheel. I know that I have a weakness. I pray about it. I read God’s Word to get strength and wisdom to defeat it. Yet, in a momentary laps, I slip back, and into the same sin. I have no more tears to shed over it, I feel numb and hopeless. Why would God forgive me again? Why would He even want to help me? I keep failing. There’s that word again, fail. That’s me: Valerie, the epic failure.

I won’t bother you with the details of my faults. I’ve been working on it for a while now, even going to the point of saying “Wow, I’m so glad I’m aware of this sin in my life. I won’t do that again, now that I know!” HA! Famous last words. I don’t do it intentionally, but then, I never have. Today, I read how Paul struggles with the same thing I do: failure. I read chapter 7 and 8 of Romans, searching for a way to cure myself of committing the same sin over and over. I wanted to find something like “If thou dwellest in the precepts of the Lord daily, thou wilt not sin.” Or, “If thou produce meekness all the days of thy life, thou wilt be perfect.” But, I didn’t find those words. It appears to my very un-trained mind that the answer is this: keep going. When I fail, get up and go again. That’s what Paul did. He died to his flesh and kept going for the Lord Jesus. Paul says in Rom.8:15 that we have been adopted and we can cry out “Abba, Father.” That’s a term of endearment. When I fail, I can cry out to my Heavenly Father. He forgives me, He picks me up, just like my earthly father would do. He comforts me, He corrects me, and He sends me back out to try again.

What a blessing it it to know that when my Heavenly Father looks at me, He doesn’t see me for what I am, an epic failure. No, He sees the blood of Jesus upon my life. And Jesus never fails.

Ex. 19:12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye  go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:

In Exodus 19, we see Moses preparing to receive the law from God on Mt. Sinai. The Lord tells Moses to set up bounds around the mountain, because anyone who touches it will die. God is truly a loving God, not wanting to hurt people. If He’d wanted to kill people, why would He have told Moses to set up a boundary around the mountain? The boundary line was a warning sign “Stop! Go no further!” The people could roam anywhere they wanted and be perfectly happy. If they crossed the line, then their happiness, or rather their family’s, would be gone.

As I thought about that boundary around the mountain, I thought about how God’s Word sets up boundaries. Again, not so that we can be miserable, but so that we can be happy and safe. I was just trying to explain to my children two nights ago that God’s “rules” are meant for our happiness. I used marriage as an example. If they choose carefully  and prayerfully in marriage, and keep their vows, then their children will never have to see their homes broken. It grieves me so much to see how so many kids these days get shuffled back and forth between parents and grandparents. Most of it could have been avoided if saved people married saved people. That’s a “rule” given in 2 Cor.6:14. That’s not given so that we won’t be happy in marriage, but so we can be. How happy I am to go to church as a family! How wonderful it is to all gather round the dinner table each night and laugh and talk, to spend every holiday together, to enjoy sweet fellowship at breakfast and bedtime! It truly is a wonderful life, and it’s all because of God’s boundaries, the Bible. This fellowship can only be broken if I or my husband decide to ignore God’s rules for marriage, if we are unfaithful to one another. As long as we “don’t cross the line”, or happiness, including our children’s, remains in tact.

I have no idea what your marital status is, and I do not at all mean to sound critical if you have been divorced. If you’ve been down that painful road, then you can agree whole-heartedly with what I’m saying: Be careful in marriage! Perhaps you did marry right, yet it ended anyway. We are all sinners, and we can certainly suffer because of the sin of others. God knows who did the wrong, and He will take care of it. Keep going and keep serving, knowing that you are loved by the Lord. He has a plan for your life. Remember, you can only stay in the boundaries for yourself. 

There are many other “boundary lines” in God’s Word. And let me say, I struggle to stay within some of them. But I want to, for I know that obedience to God’s Word will produce wonderful fruit in my life. May we all stay within God’s boundaries; may we stay in His Word.