In the Lord's Eyes

In a church message I received by email this morning, it talked about listening to the voice of the Lord instead of the alternate voices of the world, and not letting the world decide if we are good

enough - if we are attractive enough, spiritual enough, smart enough, talented enough, and basically, just plain good enough. Those same voices also try to coax us into blending in with the rest of the world instead of standing out like we were born to, and being a light of the Lord.

I ask you, what is more important, how the world sees us or how God sees us? Will we bend to emulate the standards of others or will we seek after the standards of the Lord? After all, the world can't save us from sin, nor cleanse us spiritually. But the Lord can. So, it stands to reason that the Lord's opinion and the way He sees us is far more important than the opinion of man.
We must remember that the natural man/woman is an enemy to God, and unless we are striving to be true men and women of God, there is rarely any importance in the natural man's words as pertaining to the things of God.

The voices of the world are extremely loud, but the whispering of the Spirit of God is far more powerful, and if we let it, His voice can, and will, silence the others.
May we all have ears to hear and listen to His voice always, then internalize the Savior's view of us instead of seeing ourselves through the blurry, unclean lenses of the world.

A New Heart

Despite my blatant imperfections, I pray for a renewed heart daily. The Lord blessed me with a new

heart years ago, and because of the sinner that I am, and because of the natural man (woman) in me, I now seek for a daily renewal. Striving to turn a life over to the Lord completely is no small thing. We are all weak and it takes constant effort. And because of this, I am always asking Heavenly Father to make my heart His, to align it with His, to change my ways to His ways. I pray to become so in tune with the spirit that all I do, say, and think will be in accordance to His will for me, and that I won’t seek after anything that is against it.

In essence, my longing for a renewed heart each day is a heartfelt longing to know Him–to truly be the person I was before coming to the earth, the person who walked and talked with the Father and the Son, the person who knew Them intimately. And I will never stop praying and pleading until I am that person again, until I can finally kneel before my Savior and know without a doubt that He is pleased with me, and my offering.

May we all pray earnestly for a new heart – a heart that can truly be claimed by the Lord.

The Shaping

Growing closer to the Lord during trials is more important than we know. We can allow our trials to shape us into the strong, righteous, holy people that God needs us to be, or shape us into the bitter,

stagnant, miserable people that Satan desires to have. One leads to spiritual growth and progression while the other leads to loneliness, despair, and regression. One road leads to God, the other leads away from Him. One is an upward climb, moving an inch at a time to heavenly rewards, the other, a slippery slope or free-fall into darkness.
Either way, the Lord's hand is there for us to grab and hold onto. Because that hand can pull us up the steep climb, or catch us before we fall down the slope. We just need to keep our eyes fixed - especially during dark times - that we may never lose sight of it.

Happy Sabbath!

Sometimes we want to accept Christ in our lives on our own terms instead of His. With all the things

going on in the world, I would much rather have Him in my life on His terms, no matter what they are, because when I need help, as a beggar, I can't be choosy. I love Him too much to ever go there.

The Savior's Promises

“On that very night, the night of the greatest suffering that has ever taken place in the world or that ever will take place, the Savior said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you... Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27) I submit to

you, that may be one of the Savior's commandments that is, even in the hearts of otherwise faithful Latter-day Saints, almost universally disobeyed; and yet I wonder whether our resistance to this invitation could be any more grievous to the Lord's merciful heart.”~Jeffrey R. Holland

I've been pondering this quote, and in my pondering, I have discovered a truth that brought a sense of guilt and a firm resolve to heed the Lord's counsel and believe His promises. The Lord never makes a promise without fulfilling it, providing that we do our part.

Something to remember.

Woman of Faith

Since I'm finishing up my short story of a modern-day Ruth, this amazing woman has been on my mind constantly, and I just love her so much and desire that kind of faith and strength. I thought I would share my thoughts on Ruth and how her example has affected my life.

Ruth

“Blessed be thou of the Lord.” ~Ruth 3:10

“For whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” ~Ruth 1:16

Even though I knew bits and pieces of Ruth’s story, it wasn’t until this past year or so that I truly came to learn of her, and love her.

Facts we know about Ruth:

First: She was a Moabite who married one of the sons of Naomi and Elimelech, an older Israelite couple who moved their family to Moab because of a famine in their own country.

Second: Within ten years, Elimelech, as well as both of Naomi’s sons, Mahlon (Ruth’s Husband,) and Chilion (Orpah’s husband,) were dead.

Third: When Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem, Ruth vowed to go with her.

Fourth: To feed herself and Naomi, Ruth gleaned the barley fields of Naomi’s kinsman, Boaz.

Fifth: Ruth’s kindness won her the heart of righteous Boaz, he married her and raised up seed in her deceased husband’s name according to Levirate law–to help preserve the family name (a redeemer.) And through Ruth came King David, through whose lineage came Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer.

Ruth is the perfect example of the power of faith, hope, trust, and devotion. Because of her love for her mother-in-law, Naomi, and trust in a God that was once foreign to her, she was infinitely blessed beyond all possible measure through God’s mercy and grace. The meaning of the name Ruth is friend/companion, which is a perfectly fitting description of this righteous, godly woman.

It is obvious that Ruth had a great deal of respect for Naomi, as well as a deep love, as evidenced by Ruth heeding Naomi’s counsel that she go to the threshing floor where Boaz slept, uncover his feet, and then lay down. (Ruth 3:4) It was a righteous petition for his care, and just as righteously, Boaz blessed her for it because he knew she was a virtuous woman. (Ruth 3:9)

Ruth’s action was one that many of today’s worldly women have been taught to frown upon, because it displays dependence upon a man. The world teaches that men are not needed, and that a woman’s strength is in her independence, that she can handle anything on her own; she can replace a man in the workplace, and if she wants children, she does not need a husband to have them–in fact, she can have them and be both mother and father to them. Sadly, many of today’s worldly women would consider Ruth’s act of righteous petition a weakness.

This thinking could not be more wrong. If anything, Ruth’s act demonstrated a humility beyond words. Hers was a heart full of faith in God, obedience to Him, and boundless compassion and concern for the welfare of her mother-in-law, as well as a strong discernment that spoke to her spirit of Boaz’s goodness and holiness.

To possess a heart like Ruth’s would truly give others around the bearer a glimpse into the heart of Christ. Therefore, it is fitting that it is through her lineage that the Savior came.

There is so much more to Ruth’s story, and so much more that we can learn from it. The thoughts I have shared are only a glimpse of her life. I’ll leave it to you, the reader, to read the Book of Ruth that you might savor in full, a life that was truly blessed by the Most-High.

Be His

I frequently ask the Lord to bless me with more opportunities to share my testimony of Him and His gospel with others, and He always answers my prayers by placing those opportunities before me. He brings people into my life that have such kind hearts and that share a mutual love for the Savior. I am blessed to come in contact with others who are striving to live for the Lord on almost a daily basis.

And I am gifted with the privilege of reaching out to wandering souls every hour of the day, be it in person or online. My heart is also touched by these amazing individuals through the sharing of stories and experiences.
Another way I come in contact with new acquaintances is through our children. Some of these are lost, some are found, but all are struggling in one way or another to navigate through this journey we call life. Each of us are on different levels, nevertheless, being brothers and sisters in the eyes of God, those of us who are grounded in Christ should be holding the hands of the floundering, sharing the Lord's love in word and deed, being an example for Him, and proving our love to Him by sharing that love with others.

Too many in this world of "me, me, me" do just the opposite. We have no time for each other, we ignore, we belittle, we gossip, we hold onto anger instead of forgiving. We deceive, we tell half-truths, we want more than our neighbor has, we compare ourselves to others, sometimes believing we are better because of our possessions.
Then there are those of us who ARE the belittled, who hide our light, too afraid to share it, or feel too unworthy to share what the Lord has put into our hearts.

The bottom line is this: We were all created by the same God, we were all bought and paid for by the same Savior, and we are all indebted to Him whether we want to be or not. Whether or not we accept this truth is up to us. The question is, will we be open enough to do what is required of us? Will we become the holy people we need to be in order to do what we need to do? Will we open our hearts fully to the Lord and say to Him, "What will you have me do, Lord?"
The answer to the last question is always the same: Learn of Him, obey Him in all things, and emulate Him in all areas of our lives. This is no small task, but it can be done. It must be done! And the beauty of it is, when we are earnestly striving to do all those things, even if we fall off the path for a season, even WHEN we fall short, HE will make up the difference.
God's truth is truly a beautiful thing.
Happy Sabbath.