Regenerated Heart with MORNA

Have you ever asked yourself, “Why did I do this?” or “How did I get here?”

Obviously, you have. Most ALL of us have. As I was recommitting myself to the ‘battle of the bulge’, I was asking myself these questions.

Then I asked the Lord these same questions. 

“So Lord, how did I get to this place in my life?”

He promptly reminded me of the verse in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and SELF-CONTROL. Against such things there is no law.”  I have read and quoted this verse many times but never before had I seen SELF-CONTROL in neon lights!

So I started thinking about it. I realized almost every battle I am facing, almost every blunder I have made, and almost every barricade in my way is due to MY lack of SELF-CONTROL! That’s depressing!

So I decided it was time I address my lack of SELF-CONTROL and study to show myself approved by my Maker.

Obviously, since SELF-CONTROL is a part of the fruit of the Spirit—we need to be filled with the Spirit in order to demonstrate it. So the first assignment was to intentionally post reminders for me to ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit; not quench the power of the Spirit; and to listen to His promptings. His Spirit is already within me but oftentimes He is masked by….me. So I need to get ME out of the way!!

How about you? 

This last summer while spending time with friends, my daughter’s ‘man-friend’ took to the skis and did some phenomenal skiing. It gave me a picture of the stark difference between him skiing and me skiing. (Don’t laugh!?) For me to ski would take an act of Congress for one thing but it would also raise the level of the river due to my sink-ability when it comes to swimming!

That is…unless I relax… and let the water hold me up. It’s when I try to control my situation myself that I start to sink. But if I can mentally remember the water CAN hold me up, allow the water to do what it is designed by God to do, and then learn a little skill—it is free sailing for this ole gal!

For me to trust the water to do “its thing” is very similar to us allowing the Holy Spirit to do “His thing” in us. We all need to allow Him to do what He was designed for and then trust Him to carry us…and “float our boat.”

There is also some responsibility on our part when it comes to self-control. We can’t ski unless we put the skis on. We can’t make awesome “rooster tails” unless we have practiced and practiced and break through the “wake of life” and do the extraordinary.  This is where self-control gets practical. Not a list of do’s and don’ts but definitely a list of guidelines for mastering this character quality so we will reach the ultimate goal: being a genuine reflection of Jesus to a sin-sick world.

As a child, do you ever remember being tempted with fresh cookies on the kitchen counter, or maybe some candy in a dish, or something else that you know was not yours but it was like a strong magnet pulling you in its direction? “Take me…take me…take me” It’s haunting call is sometimes more powerful than us. In fact, MOST OF THE TIME that ‘call’ is more powerful than us. This is where the Holy Spirit steps in with a small quiet voice and gives us an option: to say “NO!” to the temptation.  The Spirit IS strong enough to resist the temptation, but we are not—in ourselves. This is how God designed us. God WANTS US to be dependent on Him!! The key: are we listening to His quiet voice? Are we obeying Him?

So we’re in the water but now we need to get equipped.  Here are some keys from Character First!

Look beyond today: pursue something greater than your own immediate satisfaction and think about what will give you the greatest benefit tomorrow. Set goals—and even if you change your mind—goals are good to help you discern what is good, best, and better.

Guard your steps: recognize your weaknesses, and identify those people, places, and circumstances that lower your resistance to temptation.

Restrain yourself:  determine beforehand how you will respond to temptation.

Turn away: walk away from compromising situations.

Seek accountability: find trust-worthy friends who can point out your bad attitudes; don’t keep secrets from them; and listen when they try to help you. We ALL need others to help us!Holy Spirit and GOOD friends!

So now we have our skis on but we are dying to hit the wake and perform above the ordinary!

Focus your energy! A nuclear bomb spreads destruction across a wide area, but a nuclear power plant takes the same energy and controls it for the benefit of thousands. Similarly, an undisciplined person distracts others and undermines good efforts; but a disciplined person makes a positive contribution.

So now we are in the water and skiing up a storm, but part of perfecting that awesome power on skis requires letting go of some bad habits!

Losing our temper because we “need to get something off our chest” is like dumping gasoline on a fire because we didn’t have time to grab some water. Maybe we had a rotten day—we still don’t have a right to take it out on someone else. Whatever we struggle with, we need to take responsibility and break the cycle. Take the blame—get help—tell the truth—do something different—and practice.

Get on those skis and let’s see some rooster tails!!!

 IF you are interested in Character related materials from Character First! go to:  http://store.characterfirst.com/cgi/refer.rb?0054

I had the privilege of being interviewed on Words to Live By and it is available at www.words.net and the date is October 2, 2009.

 www.rbc.org (radio/tv link – then Words to Live By link)

This broadcast will be on 325 stations worldwide including Canada, the Caribbean, Singapore, the Philippines, Central America, and South Africa.

Morna

www.regeneratedheart.com

“A woman’s heart should be so hidden in Christ

that a man should have to seek Him first

to find her.”

I’ve been in a desert lately – feeling rather parched and empty.  I’ve actually been trying to fill my empty soul with lots of Bible reading and book reading on the good side, and eating (not goodL) on the bad side.  

I know God is still here/there – so I plod on through the sand, wind, and heat knowing He will administer an oasis with precision timing.

I actually read three books in the past five days – that’s how starved I’ve been!  “Do Hard Things” by Brett and Alex Harris, “Why Pray?” by Philip Yancey, and “When God Breaks Your Heart” by Ed Underwood are the books I have devoured.  I highly recommend all three of them.

The thought I woke up with this morning comes from John 11 (the theme of “When God Breaks…”) where Jesus is speaking to Martha at the onset of raising Lazarus up from the tomb. Both pondering Mary and practical Martha had approached Jesus, when he arrived to do his ministering, in their typical manner:  Martha – running anxiously demanding an answer (vs. 20); and Mary – waited to be summoned by the Lord, and then responded obediently (vs. 28-29).

Both stated, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (vs. 21, 32)

Jesus comes to the tomb and makes a request for the stone to be taken away.

Martha does what so many of us do: “But Lord…by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”  (vs. 39)

How many times do we say: “BUT Lord?!”  

We always seem to have a practical and logical reason to say “but Lord…” don’t we?

Jesus replied by saying, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”  (s. 40)

This verse has gripped my heart with the reality of living by faith in a God Who is sovereign-ly faithful. I wonder how many times I fail to believe He is always at work and never sleeps – or I fail to believe that He truly loves me – or that His timing is always perfect or I fail to believe that He can only demonstrate perfect love, mercy, and truth because that is Who He is? He cannot do otherwise.

And yet, I fail to believe at times that He has my best interest in mind.

“…if you believed…you would see my Glory.”

This hits me hard especially in light of my husband losing one of his two jobs – meaning we are desperately in need of more income. Or when I face the trials of remembering past pains and have to face those people one more time. Or when I have to return a phone call to someone who hurts me deeply and I’m not sure I can take their comments. Or when my body feels horrid and is not cooperating. Or when I read the news – the politics – the direction our country is spiraling into – do I truly believe He is still on the Throne?

And yet, He says, “If you believe – you will see my Glory.” 

This is not saying that in the midst of the storm my specific prayer requests, my timing or my wishes will actually happen the way I desire them to happen. In reality this verse is promising that if I am committed to responsibly believing He is capable of choosing what is best, then He is committed to fulfill His promise: “YOU will see my Glory!”

We believe and then will see Him in the midst of our drama!

Therefore, anything that comes into our life is an opportunity to demonstrate faith – for without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6) – and more importantly it is an opportunity for Him to demonstrate HIS GLORY!

Isn’t that what we are on planet earth for? Isn’t that the ultimate in blessing: to experience His Holy Presence in our circumstances?

If you believe – you will see His Glory. It’s a promise.

Even from the desert – a cactus flower can bring His Glory to a weary soul.

Standing on Holy Ground

The winds of turmoil fill the air - with grief beyond compare;

Be strong dear saint, you are standing on Holy Ground.

The fluff of empty words - strike your frustration cords;

Be strong dear saint, you are standing on Holy Ground.

Good intentions are seething - with distractions that send you reeling;

Be strong dear saint, you are standing on Holy Ground.

Grab those quiet moments - away from resounding torments;

Be strong dear saint, you are standing on Holy Ground.

Brokenness has its pure rewards - laced with His Holy Words;

Be strong dear saint, you are standing on Holy Ground.

Digest His Words, embrace His strength - its breadth and length;

Be strong dear saint, you are standing on Holy Ground.

Ashes turned into beauty - His perfect will your duty;

Be strong dear saint, you are standing on Holy Ground.

Gaze face to face into His eyes - peace like a river lies;

Be strong dear saint, you are standing on Holy Ground.

Kneel on bended knees my friend - and endure until the end;

Be strong dear saint, you are standing on Holy Ground.

A precious glorious place to be - prostrate with surrendered knee;

Be strong dear saint, you are kneeling on Holy Ground.

Written by Morna Gilbert

2009 Copyright

www.regeneratedheart.com

morna@regeneratedheart.com

I am excited to share that a secular magazine has just arrived in my mail and I have an article in it!? Can I believe it?!  No! But there it is!

www.balancemagazine.com  pages 72-73 (current issue - Spring 2009)

In the past several months I have felt the urge to pursue getting a college education.  Giggle.  I am 56+ years old and a degree seemed sooooooo far away! Since my IBM 360 Computer programming course of 38 years ago (basically as archaic as that computer), I concluded I would have to start at square one: the very beginning.  But I’m too old for such an endeavor, I told myself! Nevertheless, I still felt a strong sense that I needed to get a degree.  So I prayed.  Researched my options. Asked questions. Prayed some more.  Then the building blocks started to come together one tiny piece at a time. Thus my journey began as December 31, 2008 I enrolled in a college program to earn my B.A. in Communications.  Today, April 29, 2009, I am three classes away from earning my B.A. in Communications! I can hardly believe it.  Yes, I have had my tush sitting a lot and my nose in the books more than I thought possible and my computer keys hot with actively typing essays, but I have literally inhaled and digested every course and enjoyed the process immensely!!

My most recent assignments included reading Lead Like Jesus by Ken Blanchard/Phil Hodges and Failing Forward by John Maxwell. WOW what incredible resources! I highly encourage reading them. I personally believe every ministry leader should take their team through these books as a study and hold one another accountable to their teachings, especially Lead Like Jesus.

One of my courses required memorizing between 25-30 verses before the final exam.  As I carried my index cards everywhere I went to try to absorb the words of wisdom, I thought to myself why is it I have to be going to school to earn something in order to be motivated to do such activities? Why doesn’t my heart just naturally want to do this kind of work “just cuz?”  I guess, the key word in that question is the word “work” - huh? Rarely do we work at something just because it’s there to do. We lack the motivation to do work unless there is compensation and/or reward, right?

I remember a teaching one time long ago that stated that when our Lord mentions the words “good works” that it can literally mean “works done in secret.” 

No audience? No public reward? No “atta boys?” Not necessarily here.

Heaven, yes.

And isn’t that where it’s all at? We are heaven bound and will spend a whole lot more time there than we will on planet earth so isn’t that WHERE we want the compensation, rewards, and ”atta boys?”

I believe Heaven will be the ultimate in degrees - don’t you agree? 

Let’s press on together…

“Morna is truly an awesome advocate of the Lord. Her intensity in testimony is I’m sure a blessing to so many people on her journey to respresenting the Lord. The armor of God around her through her own path truly shows God’s truth and strength. Her insight is so amazing.”

“You are a fabulous gift! I appreciate the sharing of your testimony and scriptures and tools we can use in our lives in various seasons. Thanks for blessing me.”

“I enjoy your enthusiasm for the Lord. I thought you were very professional in your presentation. I can tell you were well prepared and you did a good job teaching us how to have faith.”

“Morna is an incredibly gifted speaker - she is an inspiration.”

“Morna, I am in awe of you! What an inspiration you are. You are such a warm, caring, loving person and it all comes out immediately upon meeting you and hearing you speak….you touched my heart in a big way.”

His big brown eyes looked up at me. The tiny, fluffy form begged to be rescued. Abandoned, by the side of the road, the puppy let out a little whimper as if asking for help. My walk on the county road was an escape from the realities of a pressured lifestyle, and now here I stood facing another bleeding heart-case. I gently scooped the little fur ball into my arms and noticed his broken right front leg.

The bone was set. He followed me everywhere. Being quite the sight didn’t curtail his puppy-ness. Due to the nature of the break, a sling was necessary for several weeks. He and I seemed to adapt easily to his three-legged walk as if it were natural.

Weeks later, carefully unmasking the pampered limb, I looked at my little friend - thinking his boundless energy would take over and he would delight in his new found freedom and stability. Not the case. He just laid there. Big brown eyes. Whimper. After much coaxing, and him refusing to budge, I glanced over at the sling in the garbage can. I thought, “This is ridiculous!”

Picking the sling up, his ears perked up. He raised his head as if to say, “I need that.”

I left the vet that day with a puppy, in a sling, determined to be three-legged for the rest of his life.

How many of us human beings do the same thing? We’ve all been hurt, disappointed, and/or abandoned in varying degrees. How many of us are staying there? We use drugs, drink, and denial to sling our wounded hearts and live that way til the day we die.

Everything in me says, “This is wrong!” 

Galatians 5:1 says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” In other words, get rid of the sling and walk as you were desiged by the Creator to walk! Sometimes I wonder: do I really want genuine freedom bad enough? Or is it just easier to limp along using my sling?

Lovingly written…

     After spending ten glorious days in Hawaii, complements of our children - Don and I have been relishing in the precious memories God allowed us to have while basking in the beauty of His creation and the gift of our 34 years together as a married couple.  On our drive home from Seattle we realized we did not know how desperately we NEEDED a rest, until AFTERWARDS.  My mind went automatically to Scripture talking about Sabbath rest - a command for our benefit. God designed, from Creation, the human body, soul, and spirit to have times of rest.  Would we not do well to obey this command?

     Part of the dynamic of being able to rest was the fact that our daughters were managing our home, while our son was managing the finances of our trip.  There was a huge trust “factor” there that allowed Don and me the privilege of resting…with no added worries.  Is that not how the Lord wants us to live each day - trusting HIM to manage all the circumstances we find ourselves in?  Trusting is resting, is it not?

     Coming home to piles of mail, emails, bills, and phone messages could easily erode the benefit of having a blessed rest if we allowed it to.  Don and I have committed to trying to ‘relive’ those restful moments by committing to weekly date nights and having quiet moments looking through our picture album.  We want to relish in His blessing of resting in the Palm of His Hand.  We are hoping these moments may be good reminders for us…

     Rest for our refreshment…

         Rest for our rejuvenation…

              Rest for our refinement…

                   Trusting Him enough to rest…

“…wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”  Psalm 51:7b

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD.  “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…”  Isaiah 1:18a

As we sit here in Spokane, WA under a very thick (24″ and climbing!) blanket of pure, white snow it brings to mind the phrase, ‘covers a multitude of sins!’  The beauty of it is this is so true!  What lies underneath is out of sight and out of mind - at least temporarily.  The nagging weeds, lose boards on the deck, and dead car no longer seem to haunt our ‘to do’ list.  But with the never ending snow fall there are replacement items on that list - namely: shoveling, and more shoveling.

So it is with the Redeeming Blood of the Lamb - a multitude of sins covered (permanently!) so that we undeserving humans will radiate the glistening sparkle of pure, white, unscathed snow.  The things of the past are no longer to weigh us down with ‘doing’, but with the new life we are given the power in ‘being.’  Our new assignment:  To glorify the One who loves us more than life itself…Whose blood made us clean….forever.

As you look out your window - gaze into His purity falling from Heaven’s gates to remind us of the access we have to His Holy Power to be all that He wants us to be.