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The Good Thing vs. The God Thing and Grace and Truth Link Up

February 7, 2020 by Lauren 28 Comments

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

40 A man with leprosy[a] came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

41 Jesus was indignant.[b] He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

Mark 1:40-45 NIV

 

I can see this story, and many other miracles of Jesus, depicted in fuzzy flannel graph in my mind.  I’m not sure if the flannel itself was fuzzy or if my childhood memories, in general, have lost their sharpness in my middle-aged brain.  What I do remember is that Jesus’ instructions to this man confused me.  Be quiet.  Don’t tell anyone, He said.  What?  How could this man not tell EVERYONE about the most exciting thing that’s happened to him?  And furthermore, didn’t Jesus want others to know about Him?  The healed man obviously didn’t understand either and chose what HE thought was best – blabbing about the miracle to anyone who would listen.  And it hindered the ministry of Jesus.  Our Savior didn’t (and still doesn’t) just want people to know ABOUT Him.  He wants people to know HIM.  The crowds became too interested in the works He could do to listen to His message of love and forgiveness.

 

In Acts 22, we find the apostle Paul in a similar struggle of good vs. God.  After his dramatic and miraculous blinding and conversion, God speaks to him (Did you hear that?  He didn’t just have a feeling.  GOD SPOKE TO HIM!) and told him to leave Jerusalem to preach to the Gentiles.  And yet Paul argued that his own people knew his conversion story and would listen to him.  Bringing the Good News of Jesus to the Jews was a noble endeavor, but not what God had for Paul.  So like the patient Father He is, he calmly reiterated that Paul was to go.

 

Not even by taking off my socks and my shoes can I count the number of times I decided to forge ahead into something “good” without waiting for confirmation that it was from God.  I get overcommitted by jumping to fill a need that I don’t have time for.  And I get over my head when I tackle projects that aren’t in my wheelhouse.  More importantly, when I lack the discernment to decipher good deeds from God ordained ministry, I miss what God is inviting me to be a part of and potentially rob someone else of the blessing that was theirs.

 

What makes sense in my feeble brain is most often not God’s best.  Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”declares the Lord.9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  

 

Unless the Lord builds a house,
the work of the builders is wasted.
Unless the Lord protects a city,
guarding it with sentries will do no good.

Psalm 127:1 NLT

Now for this week’s featured post

Does Your Fresh Start Need a Fresh Start? by Lois Flowers

Oh how we beat ourselves up over those blasted New Year’s resolutions or the belief that things will be better just because the calendar page turned.  I know I’m in this category right now, but Lois offers sweet encouragement for us here.

Visit Waxing Gibbous here to read the post.

Now for this week’s link-up! Let’s bless and encourage one another in our walk with the Lord.

Grace & Truth : A Weekly Christian Link UpGrace & Truth exists to point people to Jesus! We hope this link-up will be a source of encouragement every week. If you’re a blogger, we hope you’ll use this space as a way to meet new friends within the Christian blogging community. If you’re a reader, we hope that you’ll encounter new bloggers that love Jesus as much as you do! Most of all, we hope you’ll meet Jesus here.

Join us each Friday for the Grace and Truth Link-Up!

To receive a weekly reminder of when the link-up goes live subscribe to laurensparks.net in the right hand column of this page.

 

 

Maree Dee

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Lauren Sparks

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Heather Hart & Valerie Riese

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Grace&Truth-Rules2

1.)  Following your hosts via their blog and social media channels is not mandatory, but appreciated!

To receive a weekly reminder of when the link-up goes live subscribe to laurensparks.net in the right hand column of this page.

2.) Leave 1-2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. Please do not link DIY, Crafts, Recipes, etc. We will delete these links. We also reserve the right to remove articles that don’t align with the theme or are deemed by the hostesses to be inappropriate.

3.) Visit 1-2 other links and leave a meaningful comment! We want to encourage community among us, so please don’t link and run!

4.) We sort all links randomly – feel free to link as early or as late as you’d like. The playing field is even!

Featured Post Requirements

5.) Grab a button or link back to encourage new linkers. It is not mandatory, but it is required to be featured.

6.) Each host will choose one link to emphasize and promote via their social media channels next week.


Grab a Badge and Link Back to this Post.

 

And now, let’s link up!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

 

Sharing is caring! If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

To find some great places where I might be sharing this post, click here.

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Monthly Muster for November

November 29, 2019 by Lauren 34 Comments

As I sit here listening to Shelby’s music therapy session and know that within a few hours I will have a houseful of guests, my mind is not much for writing.  This may not be my best attempt, but I have failed to set aside time as I’ve cooked and cleaned and made preparations for Thanksgiving.  So it’s now or never (for this week anyway).

 

We observed the time change to usher in this month and we see the leaves changing and falling as we escort it out.  And ready or not, the holidays are here.  I want to go on record as saying that the first thing I give thanks for is Allie’s release from concussion protocol.  The process stressed us all and taught us a lot.  And I am not sad to see it go.  A sweet friend of our family invited us to her wedding shower and Shelby and I gladly accepted and went.  Of all people I know, this young lady is worth celebrating.

 

Our kids’ school district hosted a viewing of the documentary film Angst and my husband and I thought it important to attend since our youngest struggles with anxiety.  A counselor friend of mine insists that most teens today probably suffer as well.  The NIH says 1 out of every 3.  I recommend looking at this website and seeking out a screening if you know or suspect that a teen you love is affected.

 

My sweet Mama invited me to a fall luncheon at her church where we heard Rachel Anne Ridge speak.  She owns a donkey named Flash and wrote a book by the same name as well as Walking with Henry (another donkey), Made to Belong, and Flash the Donkey Makes New Friends (a children’s book).  I squeezed in another lunch with a couple of cherished high school friends and loved catching up.  We went to a dinner fundraiser for Allie’s choir as well as one for Hope Squad – a suicide prevention group Allie helps with at school.  Whew.  All this eating and as I’m writing Thanksgiving is still a day away.

 

I feel privileged to have added to my yoga teaching schedule two groups of special needs adults.  Pretty challenging to instruct, but so near and dear to my heart.  I also got to take a dear one to a big doctor’s appointment and provide meals for two others dealing with health issues.  God is so very kind to allow me these opportunities.

 

One of the biggest highlights of the month has been Baylor football.  I fall more and more in love with it every fall and getting to go to the game against the University of Texas with my best friend of 25 years was a treat.  So much fun to get to see this team, who have fought back from so much, earn their spot in the Big 12 Championship game.  Getting to spend the better part of the weekend with my favorite family (other than my own) iced the cake.  I even blew up an air mattress on the floor of Patsy’s family’s hotel room for a night.  I’m so grateful they let me share in their vacation time.

 

We took Shelby to see Frozen II and we all loved it.  Then the girls and I took in Playing with Fire with my sister and two nieces.  It was a weird movie, but I’m still laughing about parts of it.  There are so many good movies out right now that I’m not sure how we can possibly fit them in, but I would love to try.  But now, I must close and finish preparations for my husband’s family.  As always, I love you, I thank you and I hope December treats you well.

 

Sharing is caring! If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!

 

And look up these great writers I link up with every week:

InstaEncouragements, Literacy Musing Mondays, Hello…Monday,

The Good. The Random. The Fun.

BloggerClubUK, Tea and Word Tuesday, Purposeful Faith,

GraceFull Tuesday Link-Up, Hearth and Soul Link Party,

Let’s Have Coffee, Welcome Wednesday, Recharge Wednesday,

Worth Beyond Rubies, #TellHisStory Link Up, Porch Stories,

Encouraging Word Wednesday, Tune In Thursday,

Stories of Hope, Moments of Hope, IHeart Verse Link Party,

Legacy Link Up, Fresh Market Friday, Feature Friday Time,

Friendship Friday Blog Hop, Faith on Fire, Traffic Jam Weekend,

Faith ‘n Friends, Dancing with Jesus, Grace & Truth, Booknificent

 

Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

 

 

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About Me

I love Jesus, my husband and caffeine. The order of these can change depending on how tired I am. When my two daughters, stepson, and 4 grandchildren get to be too much, I practice yoga. God graciously allows me to share our adventures, victories and flub-ups from my laptop. May He be glorified here.
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