After my brief hiatus from the Blogger host, I've come crawling back. Overall, Blogger is more user friendly. Furthermore, with Blogger's new design templates and ease of making changes to fonts, colors and layouts, I'm excited about the move back and am looking forward to a hopefully more pleasing blog - both for my readers and myself.
Also, I've deleted all of my previous blog posts. Well, I actually kept them, but I've removed them from the blog. I feel like I needed a fresh start, and I want my blog to have more of a purpose. I'm not sure what that purpose is, but I'm working on it.
After reading these words, I realized that I'm the kind of guy to whom James is referring in verse six. Often I will ask God for certain things: wisdom, endurance, patience, etc. and I will find myself doubting that He will provide, and as a result, my spiritual life does go through wave periods where I feel as if I'm being pulled down by the undertow of a powerful tide of sin and doubt.
So today and this week, I'm asking for endurance with my dedication to a quiet time with God on a daily basis. The only difference is that this time, I'm believing - believing that God will provide me with this endurance.
Honestly, I'm not so sure why I doubt God. I know that He is capable, and I know that He is willing. I guess sometimes I simply feel that I'm incapable of receiving whatever I ask for and therefore doubt that I will ever receive it.
I don't want to be this "double-minded and unstable" person any longer. I'm ready and willing to receive that which God wants me to have.
Also, I've deleted all of my previous blog posts. Well, I actually kept them, but I've removed them from the blog. I feel like I needed a fresh start, and I want my blog to have more of a purpose. I'm not sure what that purpose is, but I'm working on it.
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I used my moleskin as a journal for the first time today. I'm fresh off of an awesome weekend retreat with my church and just felt the need to jot some thoughts down after I finished my morning quiet time. It's not something I do very often, but after logging a couple pages today, I decided it might be something I try to do more frequently.
My friend Drew and I are leading a community group on practical faith this semester and are focusing our Bible study on the book of James. It was after reading the first few verses of James that I felt the need to record my thoughts. Check it out:
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
After reading these words, I realized that I'm the kind of guy to whom James is referring in verse six. Often I will ask God for certain things: wisdom, endurance, patience, etc. and I will find myself doubting that He will provide, and as a result, my spiritual life does go through wave periods where I feel as if I'm being pulled down by the undertow of a powerful tide of sin and doubt.
So today and this week, I'm asking for endurance with my dedication to a quiet time with God on a daily basis. The only difference is that this time, I'm believing - believing that God will provide me with this endurance.
Honestly, I'm not so sure why I doubt God. I know that He is capable, and I know that He is willing. I guess sometimes I simply feel that I'm incapable of receiving whatever I ask for and therefore doubt that I will ever receive it.
I don't want to be this "double-minded and unstable" person any longer. I'm ready and willing to receive that which God wants me to have.
