Month: September 2012

This week my job landed me at the Oregon Medical Group Management Association conference here at the Riverhouse Convention Center.  My team and I set up a little exhibit booth amongst the big shots of medical group business support.  This was our first time at this particular gathering and were not sure if we were at the right venue to promote our business. I still haven’t concluded if it was the ‘right’ place for us to market our business but I do know it was the ‘RIGHT’ place for my team and I to be for lunch on Thursday.

Rita Davenport drew my attention during lunch the moment she began speaking because she is southern, oh how I love the southern accent.  Maybe in my next life I can be born in Tennessee and speak like her and Beth Moore and Dolly Parton! 

Many of the things Ms. Davenport spoke of I was sure must have some scriptural truth in them because most of what she said seemed biblical to me!  Almost every other point she made inspired a blog in my mind, so you’ll be hearing more of these truths that she spoke of, but I began to wonder….

…is all Truth God’s truth?

My opinion is ALL truth comes from the word of God, it just doesn’t all come with a scripture reference.  If you speak a truth, its from God.  No doubt about it! 

Truth is the accurate assessment of what has, is or will happen.  Truth provides for us a proper relational understanding of acts, events and situations.  Falsehood is confusion of Truth.  We must interpret everything not by what we feel, what we believe or even hope. We handle God’s truth all the time but we don’t always discern it as such because we use truth only for our own purposes, we don’t bring full glory to God.  

As you go about your day tomorrow and you hear ‘truths’, I wonder if you would bring GLORY to God for the truth that is HIS!

My favorite truth from Ms. Davenports presentation was:

You will be as happy as you make up your mind to be.

Where do you suppose that is found in God’s word?

TRUTH….It’s HIS!

Surely goodness, mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and through the length of my days the house of the Lord (AND HIS PRESENCE) shall be my DWELLING PLACE.  Psalm 23:6

Where do you dwell? 

All over scripture it tells us that God will DWELL AMONG THEM. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives (Jer. 17). Job spends a lot of time wondering where does understanding dwell? 

In Isaiah God tells us he will humble those who dwell on high (Is. 26) and tells those who dwell in dust, wake up and shout for joy!

We learn that wisdom dwells with prudence (Prov. 8), Justice will dwell in the desert (Is. 32). We also know not to dwell on the past (Is. 43)

Christ can dwell in your hearts through faith(Eph. 3).  As a matter of fact,The word of Christ can dwell in you richly (col. 3)

But WHERE do YOU dwell?

Many scriptures tell us where we shall dwell….in the shelter of the most high, dwell in safety (ps 8), dwell in the house of the Lord (ps 27), dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture (ps 37).

This morning as I contemplate my dwelling place, I look around my home and although this is where I dwell physically, it is not where my spirit dwells.  I have chosen the LORD and HIS presence to be my dwelling place.  Through the storms, in the quiet pastures, in turbulence, in gliding through life; I dwell in His presence.  Every morning when I get up and every night when I sleep my thoughts are on Him, on the expectation of His return, on the Glory of his name.  As I work through my day, when I drive the kids to school, when I go to a meeting, when I sit on my couch…ever dwelling in his presence.  A conscious move toward God in all I do, in all I say, in all I think….

He shall be my dwelling place.

Last night before turning off the lights I was reading tweets.  Yes you read that right, I was browsing tweets on twitter.  Such a funny culture we live in with the FBing, tweeting and checking in wherever we go.  I like to read twitter before I go to bed because they are short one sentence nuggets that I usually find and can contemplate as I fall into slumber.  *note: most of the people I follow on twitter tweet positive Christian words, scriptures and truths.  Very rarely do I read Lady Gaga, Oprah and Justin Beibers tweets, well at night anyway, HA*

Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz and new book available tomorrow Storyline, tweeted: “One of the tope five regrets of the dying was not sharing their opinion.  Lose twitter followers.  Your opinion matters.”

Now I don’t think some people have a problem sharing their opinion.  Some don’t have much tact actually and sharing their opinion is not only brutal but detrimental.  However, mostly I think people don’t share their opinion for fear of loosing friends, loosing a following, loosing prestige, loosing their coolness…whatever it may be we bite our lip and hold our tongue when something should be said. 

I woke up this morning and grabbed a book on my way to meet with Jesus.  I knew I had started it a while ago and figured I should finish it up before I go in search for the next read.  The Jesus You can’t Ignore by John MacArthur.  I opened it up assuming I’d be at the last couple chapters, that is where I thought I had stopped, but alas I was just on Chapter 1.  Interesting that I am just now starting this book about the Jesus you can’t ignore.

Two people with an opinion they aren’t afraid to share Jesus and the the author of this book John Macarthur.  First chapter all about the political community in Jesus day, people not afraid to share their opinion, second chapter will be about a Jesus that wasn’t only NOT afraid to share his opinion but actually instigated the calling out of the wolves in sheep’s clothing back in the day.

What do you think about this sharing of your opinion? Do you think your opinion matters?  In light of the upcoming presidential elections do you think your opinion matters?  What if everyone kept their opinion to themselves?  Where would our country be in 2016?  Where would your children be?

Your opinion matters.