Brick walls and towers

[Meditations on devotional entitled "Made to Crave" by Lysa Terkeurst]

Use each craving for a prompt to pray, then

Brick by brick

dismantle the tower and

pave a pathway of prayer

to victory!

<> When I read these words I asked God why he couldn't just take a wrecking ball to my wall/tower ... He said all I would have left is a pile of rubble to deal with. Brick by brick is more thorough, and just watch God make something beautiful out of your mess! He can turn fear into faith, shame into Godly identity, jealousy into love and compassion.

A wise fish will recognize LURES

[Meditations on a devotional book entitled "Made To Crave" by Lysa TerKeurst]

I have been born and raised in a Christian home, and it always amazes me when passages I have read through, and heard preached on at least a dozen times, reveal yet more! So it was in chapter one of this devotional.

1 John 2:16 clearly highlights THREE LURES to tempt us...
"For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but of the world."
1)LUST OF THE FLESH
-craving for sensual gratification (Amplified)
-PHYSICAL NEEDS (Lysa)
2)LUST OF THE EYES
-greedy longings of the mind (Amplified)
-MATERIAL NEEDS OR DESIRES (Lysa)
3)PRIDE OF LIFE
-assurance in own resources, and stability of world (Amp.)
-NEED FOR SIGNIFICANCE (lysa)

Now look at Gen.3:6
Eve
1)Saw tree was good for food (physical need)
2)it was delightful to look at (material desire)
3)desired in order to make one wise (need for significance)
Lysa says "the very downfall of humanity was caused when Eve surrendered to a temptation to eat something she wasn't suppose to eat" - ouch!

Then we look at Matt.4:1-11
Jesus was tempted to:
1)make stones into bread (physical need)
2)have kingdoms of the world (material desire)
3)throw Himself down onto rocks (need for significance)
-proving Himself Son of God
Of course, Jesus did not nibble at the lures.
Makes me think of all the scriptures that talk about the power of Christ in us. He is our example and help to recognize and resist temptation.
'His divine power has given us everything we need for life'
2Peter 1:3-11

1John goes on to say,
"the world is passing away and the lust of it;
but he who does the will of God abides forever."

Throughout the days that have followed my original reading of this chapter my eyes opened anew to the motives behind thoughts and feelings. It's rather startling - how SO much comes down to these three things.

What are you rich in?

[Meditations on a devotional book entitled "Made To Crave" by Lysa Terkeust]

In Matthew 19 a rich man comes to Jesus seeking life. Jesus recites the commandments to him and the man says he has kept them all from his youth. Then Jesus tells him to sell all he owns and come and follow Him. The rich man went away sad.
Some may use this to talk about money - but I really like how Lysa articulates it.

"The rich young man then goes away sad because he won't give up the one thing that consumes him. ... Jesus didn't mean this as a sweeping command for everyone who has a lot of money. Jesus meant this for any of us who wallow in whatever abundance we have. I imagine Jesus looked straight into this young man's soul and said, 'I want you to give up the one thing you crave more than me. Then come, follow me.' ... Following Jesus is serious business...'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.' "

So what are you rich in,
that you crave more than God,
that causes a wedge between you and your Creator?
I can assure you (and myself!) that denying one self
- choosing not all that is permissable, but only what is beneficial
- picking up that cross and following Jesus
- THAT has rewards far greater than anything else can offer.