Good morning,
Dear friends,
I woke up this morning with the impression that I should write some thoughts that I believe are of God and that have been circulating in my mind all morning. I believe the Lord was specific for me to share them with you here at FGGAM.
After a long study journey on a word called, “Ledges,” I come to the conclusion of a question that all believers must ask ourselves. “How do I express love?
I am challenged even more today to work on my listening skills and apply my hearing, before I open my mouth to speak.
The Bible verse today is pictured; and 1 John 3:18 AMPC reads:
Little children, let us not love [merely] in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth (in practice and in sincerity). …. By this we shall come to…
19 By this we shall come to know (perceive, recognize, and understand) that we are of the Truth, and can reassure (quiet, conciliate, and pacify) our hearts in His presence,
20 Whenever our hearts in [[a]tormenting] self-accusation make us feel guilty and condemn us. [For [b]we are in God’s hands.] For He is above and greater than our consciences (our hearts), and He knows (perceives and understands) everything [nothing is hidden from Him].
On the “LEDGE” Jesus is a good footing!
- Salvation can’t be earned – only the kindness and mercy of God can do that.
- What else can we learn about salvation?
- Salvation is a gift. Not just a gift to us, but a gift that can be given through us when we choose to demonstrate His love to others!
- May we see the Salvation of the Lord working!
- What does Salvation look like to God?
- We are called by Jesus, Little Children of God …
Our Purpose in this life is to know and believe in the love God has for us; and then to help those in need! By the same help we ourselves receive. But how? It seems easy after we get Deliverance; I mean doesn’t it? But it wasn’t so easy in the process of being made whole in Christ! Transformation is hard! But worth the battle! – Victory in Jesus IS already and waiting to be found! Didn’t Jesus appoint us to help each other at a time such as this …
The purpose of me writing today is that I struggle in behaving myself with my “fixing words.” Maybe I am not the only one who needs to learn from Jesus.
I just hope this helps a little. And, to God be the glory.
NOTE: I can’t read this to look for sense, but I hope there is a morsel waiting on you to find. Forgive any necessary edits and I will appreciate your pointing them out to me and your thoughts as you hear from the Lord.
- A human has feelings, thinks and has a will.
As a human, one may think “I walked it at my own risk, tying to keep my balance on a narrow ledge, afraid, praying I’d make it the length of the bridge unscathed.
- In the physical, a ledge is a sturdy wooden construction, an entrance hole big enough to accommodate adult owls. I think of Jesus was a carpenter too and He is the Way that is dependable, but Jesus is always a teacher, and His methods reached into the depths of our human hearts to recognize that all humans have a deep need for God.
- A ledge is also like a mount that has bendable legs that make a phone sit flat on uneven surfaces and even grip onto ledges and pipes. I believe that the Holy Spirit in us is the waterline to Jesus, and Jesus the bridge to God.
- A reef, or line of rocks in the sea or other body of water; A ledge in this world of troubled thoughts, if we are in the right position of our mind of Christ, we can be in a position to help someone on the ledge of life.
- Maybe a person is not overwhelmed, but stress and worry and thought of not good enough can be a torment to a person.
What I am learning is how we validate a person’s thoughts can earn us the right to offer a different perspective.
I have been so guilty of missing the validation step. We can care and speak truth but miss the point that a person is on a different battlefield. Although your enthusiastic or optimistic statements might be 100% true, to a person who feels thoughts, to them they are real.
We start from here. It is possible to say something positive and flattering about a person that is dismissive and invalidating.
Facts are so much less important than you think (to the person). It’s less important to the person whether or not their feelings are a reality, to person feelings are real. This is where truth begins: In the reality of how we feel and think. A person’s feelings and thought are valid.
As a believer, I believe we can skip past this point of the place of the battlefield and go right to wanting to crack a person’s head open and dump our perspective in on them. Perhaps, to a person who is already dealing with tormenting thoughts of failure or inadequacy, although we can know this is simply not true … Our thoughts can just be overwhelming???
Like if your soul was a balloon filled with bad air, more air – even if good air, would pop the balloon. Old thoughts and feelings must have an opportunity to escape our soul, before the new air can be welcome.
Nothing is simple until understanding comes. But I think that when we get delivered, we tend to think we can fix people with our story? Sure, our testimony is valid and is important on the ledge, but don’t we have to have to 1st earn the right (with a person) to share our perspective?
Otherwise, we would be just contradicting their facts . . .
- It might feel like we’ve won the battle, but we’ve completely missed the point that the battle is on a different field.
- It’s less important to the person whether or not their feelings are true -if they feel like they are …
- Don’t be surprised if you get shutdown as they move on to a more receptive audience for their doubts and concerns.
18 Little children, let us not love [merely] in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth (in practice and in sincerity). 1 John 3:18
Instead of standing your ground and talking about the situation from your perspective,
Go stand with them on the ledge.
Validate them
and letting them know that you heard
what they said, and take it seriously.
Validation
“If you feel like you want to quit. That’s serious.”
“If you feel like you can’t take it anymore. I’m glad you shared that with me.”
Show Respect for the person.
THEN, ask the person, “Would be okay if we talked about it?”
Follow their Lead … Have you earned the right to share your perspective?
“Could I ask you a few questions and see if I can help? Wait until they feel comfortable; and ask some gentle questions, but don’t include judgement.
Like building a puzzle: What are the facts? What are the emotions? Say what you see or sense (as the good Lord helps you).
Most people are relieved that someone is willing to listen and help them sort out the muddy thoughts in their heads.
Help name what they are feeling: anger, frustration, …
Connect to their emotions in underlying values ….
Help them reframe how they are thinking about something.
Ask a question that generates forward thinking.
Now, you’ve earned the right to share your perception.
I’m glad you shared with me how you felt about …
I get it now. That said, I want you to know that I have a great confidence in you and think you are an indispensable member of the team. You can come to me with your concerns anytime.
If someone is “on the ledge,” go stand there with them for a bit. Check out the view. Be an ally. Then, you’ve earned the right to help them create a plan that makes them want to climb back inside and carry on.
Normally, I don’t use so much from a regular piece, but because the revelation was so strong to talk about the ledge and this is where I landed, I share this.
Credits:
Short-term, ignorance seems like bliss, but Jesus said, and it is written in the Old Testament,
Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”
OT and NT, the same God! The entire Bible is the story of how much we need Jesus.
It’s just on my learning side of my heart that we just need to learn how to connect with people who have dismissed Jesus from their life to earn the right to share our perspective. They’ve heard it before, but what have they experienced?
If I have learned one thinG in my life
It is to remember
that we need to quit needling people to change.
Isn’t it the same grace we all need. God finished His Work. Let’s let His work be made complete in us. Jesus is the only one, who is the way, the Truth and the life.
And the Holy Spirit does the work. God gave them to us because He so loves us all. It’s the Word of God that pricks out heart. Not us needling others.
Before I leave you with some Scriptures, another visual of how we are learning to follow Jesus as children of God (TOGETHER) *
God gave us each a measure of faith…someone is always ahead of us to help us; and someone is always needing our hand too. Read Thess. These short reads are power to our understanding. Holy Spirit you are welcome here in Jesus Name, I pray.
As teaching a child to swim, a Ledge in shallow water teaches children their capabilities, and the difference between deep and shallow water. This understanding of deep and water eventually leads the children learning a respect for the water which makes them less likely to wander into dangerous situations.
**Active supervision is still mandatory with all shallow water exploration, because it is easy for babies to over-balance and struggle to recover.
Study the milk of the word and the meat of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This is good news! Jesus teaches us breath control on command to ensure our underwater work is performed safely.
Dive into the Word of God to see what underneath – to gain understanding in HOW to love those whom God places in your life. Remember, on the ledge of life with God, you are in a position to make a difference.
*Be aware of the temptation on the Ledge too; and stand with Jesus; don’t contradict the person’s feelings, Jesus is the bridge / not the dynamite.
From the Bible APP, yesterday:
Salvation is a gift.
Not just a gift to us, but a gift
that can be given through us
when we choose to demonstrate
His love to others.
Titus 3:4-5 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost.
This verse reminds us that we cannot earn our salvation – only the kindness and mercy of God can do that.
1 John 4:16 For we have known and believed in the love God has for us. God is love. Abide in God and God in you (emphasis mine).
Somewhere in Proverbs … we learn.
- Jesus is a friend who loves at all times, and a brother born for …
- Jesus was born a brother for our adversity
…. In Him … so are we in this world
“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith (Romans 12:3).”
18 Little children, let us not love [merely] in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth (in practice and in sincerity). – 1 John 3:18
Read the Letters of John, they explain so much!
I hope this is encouraging and helpful to you. Writing gets the message of the Lord deeper in me. So I thank you for this opportunity to express my faith and love for the Lord and thought him, my love in Christ for you as well.
Love in Christ Jesus, Saviour, Lord, Bother and Friend,
Karen Rowe
Hope in Today Ministries … yes! There is hope in today. That is why we are still here!