breathing room for my soul

Wednesday, April 01, 2020

Vision - Lent 2020

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Hebrews 13:15 During this season of reflection and renewal (Lent February 26 - April 12), join me as we examine what "sacrifice of praise" means and how this should and can be our offering to God. What is your sacrifice of praise? – dho

Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" And Jesus stopped and said, "Call him here." So they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you." Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. And answering him, Jesus said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" And the blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!" And Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road. Mark 10:46-52 NASB

Jesus is always calling to us; He desires that we have a relationship with Him. I wonder how many of us are really like this blind man? Do we desire the mercy that Jesus offers? Is our faith truly evident? And maybe most of all, I wonder, do we really KNOW what we want from Jesus? And, if we know, do we boldly ask? When Jesus answers us, do we respond like this man with new vision?

Our sacrifice of praise ~

Ask Jesus for new vision ~ and follow Him on the road! ~dho

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Relationship - Lent 2020

In Oswald Chamber's My Utmost for His Highest, these words describe our failure to truly worship and offer prayers to God: Worship and intercession must go together, the one is impossible without the other. Intercession means that we rouse ourselves up to get the mind of Christ about the one for whom we pray. Too often . . . . we [pray] in dispute with God - "I don't see how You are going to do it." This is a sure sign we are not worshiping. . . We hurl our own petitions at God's throne and dictate to Him as to what we wish Him to do. We do not worship God, nor do we seek to form the mind of Christ.

It is true that we often "tell" God what we want. Praying with an open and humble heart that desires God's purposes is not easy. When we "tell" God what we expect Him to do, we do not demonstrate a relationship with Him that is built on faith and love. We must seek to know the mind of Christ. And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD. Ezra 3:11 ESV

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Spend time building a true relationship with God. This is His delight. ~dho

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Rescued - Lent 2020

He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me...
Psalm 55:18 NASB
As long as we live in this world, Satan will battle for our souls, battle for our attention. He seeks to destroy and distract; he desires to interrupt our focus on God. Satan interferes as often as possible. There is comfort and security in knowing that God will always offer peace to our seeking souls.
God rescues us in the battles that surround our daily life, sending angels to defend and protect. In the heavenly realms, constant battles between darkness and light, between God's angels and Satan's angel-followers rage. And us - as Believers and disciples of Christ, we stand redeemed and find peace even in the middle of the chaos.
The Message uses these words: My life is well and whole, secure in the middle of danger. (Ps.55:18)
Our sacrifice of praise ~
God-of-the-Angel-Armies sends peace ~ it comes on
angel-wings. LISTEN! ~dho

All rights reserved, copyright Donna Oswalt 2020 BreathingRoomForMySoul.com

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Be Still and Wait - Lent 2020

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.
Psalm 37:7 NIV

The world is full of noise; it delights in its fullness of distractions. Time for stillness eludes us; it escapes our attempts at quiet. In fact, we have become so programmed to noise and multi-tasking several technologies at the same time, we rarely recognize these as distractions. Rather, we question the moments of quiet and stillness, "What, no WiFi? Is the Internet down? How long will the cable be off? Why is this download so slow? Wonder why no one is texting me? Did my cell phone die? Where is my Ipad?"

Nothing in all creation is so like God as stillness. Meister Eckhart

We value busyness; we do not respect stillness! We are afraid of the stillness; we are missing God in the hurry. We have grown accustomed to fast; we are drowning in distractions. Often patience or waiting feels like the enemy. This endless loop of busy and hurry interferes with our intimate relationship with Jesus we should be growing. Be still and wait!

Our sacrifice of praise ~
As our sacrifice of praise, we should slow down and seek stillness. We would discover we are not alone; rather, God is patiently waiting for us. ~dho

Wednesday, March 04, 2020

Hungry for More - Lent 2020

The Message is as true among you today as when you first heard it. It doesn't diminish or weaken over time. It's the same all over the world. The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you. From the very first day you heard and recognized the truth of what God is doing, you've been hungry for more. Colossians 1:6 MSG

Fasting takes many forms and is a common practice during Lent. Some will sacrifice chocolate or sweets, others will give up sodas or TV. During Lent, many Catholics fast every Friday, giving up meat. The purpose of fasting goes beyond ritual; it is to draw us closer to God.

Richard Foster, in Celebration of Discipline, devotes a chapter to fasting and gives Christians insight into this discipline of faith: "Throughout Scripture fasting refers to abstaining from food for spiritual purposes... Biblical fasting always centers on spiritual purposes." Foster points out that Jesus never commands believers to fast but acknowledges that we can. In Matthew 6:16, Jesus says, "When you fast". Foster continues, "So, although Jesus does not say, 'If you fast,' neither does he say 'You must fast.' His word is, very simply, 'When you fast.'"

So why fast? Foster explains, "Fasting must forever center on God... More than any other Discipline, fasting reveals the things that control us. David writes, 'I humbled my soul with fasting' (Psalm 69:10). Therefore, in experiences of fasting we are not so much abstaining from food as we are feasting on the Word of God." Foster/Celebration of Discipline, pg 47-61

When seeking ways to offer a sacrifice of praise to God, fasting is one way. However, fasting does not have to mean "giving up" something; it can be "giving more." Consider "giving more" as your sacrifice of praise, such as: spending more time in God's Word, fasting FROM the world by spending MORE time serving people in need, making time to attend special worship programs or visiting the homebound and sick folks.The possibilities of "giving more" for God are endless.

Listen for His Voice to direct your energies. Richard Foster notes, "Outwardly, you will be performing regular duties of your day, but inwardly you will be in prayer and adoration, song and worship. In a new way, cause every task of the day to be a sacred ministry to the Lord. Cultivate a gentle receptiveness to divine breathings."

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Do you hunger for more? How will your fasting be more like feasting on the Word of God? ~dho

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Ash Wednesday - Lent 2020

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Hebrews 13:15 During this season of reflection and renewal (Lent February 26 - April 12), join me as we examine what "sacrifice of praise" means and how this should and can be our offering to God. What is your sacrifice of praise? - dho

Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God proclaiming our allegiance to His name. And don’t forget to do good and share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.Hebrews 13:15-16 NLT

"So many of us limit our praying because we are not reckless in our confidence in God. In the eyes of those who do not know God, it is madness to trust Him, but when we pray in the Holy Spirit we begin to realize the resources of God, that He is our perfect heavenly Father, and we are His children."
from If You Will Ask by Oswald Chambers

Lord, today we find ourselves kneeling at the altar, humbled by Your Divine Love, marked as a sinner in need of Your Grace! Take us on a spiritual journey these next weeks, teach our hearts how to give more as we offer a sacrifice of praise to You!

Our sacrifice of praise ~
Will we sacrifice our anxieties and be reckless in our confidence in God? ~ dho

All rights reserved, copyright Donna Oswalt 2020 BreathingRoomForMySoul.com

A New Beginning

"This is my [new] life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details . . . God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities.

And so here I am . . . writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along."
Ephesians 3:7-10, The Message

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