Monthly Archives: August 2009

No Shortcuts

Posted on
Reply

(c) Amy S. Lewis, 2009

Hebrews 6:1: “So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.”

Time just has a way of melting away when you’re on the back of a horse. Hours seem like minutes; the world a million miles away. And suddenly, you’re jettison back to reality with one look at your watch. That’s usually when I discover I’m behind schedule and I’m at the furthest point out. I become restless, looking for any possible shortcut, only to realize there are none. I can’t cut corners. All I can do is trot and canter to cover ground more quickly.

There are other areas of life where there are no shortcuts. An eight-second ride can’t be cut short. Losing weight can’t be done overnight, sadly. Earning a trip to the National Finals Rodeo has to be earned over time. Kids head back to school each fall to work toward graduation. No shortcuts.

There are also no shortcuts in our spiritual growth. It is a process guided by the Holy Spirit and it requires our cooperation. We grow in spiritual maturity through Bible study and prayer, and by allowing the Holy Spirit to shape us into more godly people. We can’t take one class and consider our efforts done. The Holy Spirit is continually refining us. He constantly has more to teach us. We need to be willing to learn, step by step, day by day. We need to be gracious toward ourselves when we stumble – it’s all part of the process. As we demonstrate our love and trust, God will give us more knowledge and revelations of himself. And as we grow in our faith, allowing it to be stretched, and following God’s will, He will take us deeper and deeper.

Matthew 13:11-12 (NLT), “He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”

Just like there are often no shortcuts when we’re riding or in our training program, so too there are no shortcuts in our spiritual growth. Sometimes the Christian road seems hard and long. The journey, however, can’t be rushed. The reward is eternal.

Questions for reflection:
1. Do you have a desire to grow deeper in your faith? To be closer to God? What one thing could you do today to move towards him?

2. Fall is a great time to “return to school” and start a new routine. As kids return to school in the fall, what activity could you do to gain a greater understanding of God and His Word? Many church classes like Alpha and Bible studies such as Bible Study Fellowship begin in September. (I attend the evening women’s class in Burnsville, MN – we start on Monday, Sept. 14 at 6:55 p.m.)

3. What has propelled your spiritual development or faith in the past? Why did it have an effect on you? How have you built on what you learned?

Best of intentions

Posted on
Reply

I have the best of intentions to update this blog more frequently. I feel a responsibility to do so — for you who read it and for myself. (I’m not motivated strictly by altruism or my call from God.)

Writing for personal reasons centers me. It fills and restores me. Some days it’s cathartic to think through random thoughts circling in my mind or troubling situations that I’ve yet to turn over to God. Other days it’s exciting for me to share some new revelation. Sometimes I feel a need to ‘fess up to things I’ve done or said or thought that reveal how human I really am. You are my accountability partners (which begs the question, how come none of you are questioning me or my progress?).

The truth is, if you haven’t seen a posting here in a while, it probably means life is out of balance and I’m one crabby individual. When I’m not writing, I’m not fulfilling God’s purpose for me. I’m not being fed and connecting to my spirit, the Holy Spirit or to others. So, if you haven’t seen a posting in a while, drop me an email because I could probably use some encouragement or a reminder as to what is really important.

And as always, please comment on my postings so that I know someone is reading my ramblings. That’s a huge encouragement to me! Thanks.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Eph. 2:10

P.S. I’m scheduling a couple of postings for this coming week, just to make up for some lost time. Stay tuned!

Consistency in spite of hills

Posted on
Reply

I’ve been riding my bike a lot lately — almost daily. I was doing chores at my barn every morning and night. Instead of setting aside my morning workouts to accommodate chores, I rode my bike to the barn and back — about 17 miles round trip.

I like to push myself when I rdie to see if I can improve my average speed from one day to the next. Problem is, I don’t tend to think about that during the whole ride. I tend to only think about my speed on the way home — when my legs are tired. I would probably be able to raise my average speed if I paced myself from start to finish rather than having short bursts of speed here and there. I might also be able to increase my average speed if my route didn’t have so many hills. I hate those hills but I also know those hills help increase my endurance, lung capacity and leg strength. If my whole route were downhill both ways (ok, impossible, I know), it wouldn’t be that great of a workout. And, I wouldn’t get that sense of relief or satisfaction every time I reach the top of a hill.

My faith walk also benefits from consistency and those ups and downs of hills. I tend to have periods when I’m totally on fire and other times when I’m dry and distant. Fits and starts. I wish I could achieve a consistency in my faith activities and heart for God that I wouldn’t ever feel separated from him. But I let life get in the way sometimes.

I also have hills that come in the form of challenges — trying situations, times of confusion and uncertainty, big decisions — to build my faith muscles. Those are the times I need to apply myself to reach the top of the hill. Without those spiritual hills, my faith would continue to be weak. They help me learn to trust God and seek his direction.

I feel a sense of accomplishment when I’m able to up my average speed. I also feel accomplishment when I’m closer to God and assured that I’m in his will. The memory of these past victories draw me back to God when new hills arise. Consistency and steadfastness help me grow in my faith and build a sense of gratitude to God.

Bred for Life

Posted on
Reply

(C) Amy Lewis, 2009

I find it fascinating to observe the way breeders choose studs and mares they cross. They go to great lengths to get what they hope will be a favorable outcome. They’ll study blood lines, colorings, performance records, conformation, past foals, videos and health histories. They’ll travel the country or the world to see horses in person. And the costs involved – stud fees, mare care, vet bills. All to predict the somewhat unpredictable, to increase the chances for a known outcome. Fortunately, these efforts sometimes payoff. Other times, recessive genes rear their ugly head, resulting in undesirable markings, lack of speed or “cowiness,” or conformation or health issues. Sometimes a disappointing result has no explanation.

God has gone to great lengths in creating us as well. He has made each of us wonderfully complex, according to Psalm 139. And Genesis tells us that we are made in his image, which we know is incomprehensibly complex.

Genesis 1:26-27: “Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves. So God created people in His own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them.”

Think what that means! Just like a horse breeder carefully chooses his crosses for a predictable outcome, the Lord has created each of us to take after him. He has shaped each of us as a potter shapes a clay pot; as a breeder calculates the odds of a desirable foal. In our case, there are no disappointing results – we are exactly as God designed us.

The complexity of each of our bodies, our spirits, our thoughts and emotions is a sign of God’s love for us. He certainly would not go to so much trouble if he didn’t love us, would he?

How does that make you feel? Honored? Do you sense a responsibility to become more Godly simply by gaining an understanding that we were created in His image? If you tend to have a critical self image how can this realization change your thinking about who you are physically, emotionally and spiritually?

Know and trust that you have been made exactly as God designed you.

Questions for reflection:
1. If you have bred a horse, how have you chosen the mare and stud crosses? What were the outcomes of those matches? What results were as you predicted?
2. How does it make you feel to know that you have been made by God and in His image?
3. In what ways do feel like you don’t measure up to your own or others’ expectations? Why? When do these emotions arise? Make a plan for combating these emotions before they come up again.