narrowpath – gracetogrowdaily

Ecclesiastes 7:18-20 “…..a man who fears God will avoid all extremes”

Wow. This says a mouthful. I’ve been observing and thinking about extremes lately. It’s in politics. People are extreme about sharing their opinions, (invited or not). Extremely liberal. Extremely Conservative.

Years ago, the Lord literally arrested me with the passage of scripture above. He let me know, I was being extreme at the time. We were denied ice cream as a kid, so we get obsessed with ice cream. Or fun. Or money. Whatever we didn’t have, that’s what we tend to crave the most.

I see it in the church too. We were denied spiritual gifts, so that’s all we think about. In my case, I went through a time I did not cherish the old hymns as I should have, simply because I was afraid of being stuck there, and not experiencing all God had for me. I got extreme.

I was extreme about spiritual warfare at one time, and pretty much thought everything bad was the devil. Truth be told, everything bad or twisted DID originate from him. But whether (the enemy) shot a flaming lie in to our minds which has to be extinguished (Ephesians 4) or whether he planted a bad seed that grew into a giant weed (Matthew 13), depends on the particular situation. We need to see and discern.

As people shout from the housetops what they believe we need to think, it’s a cultivated and deliberate process to continue asking God what to think. “Give us your viewpoint Father, for we truly want to know!”

Those who do this are walking a lonely road, off by themselves somewhere. While the rest of the world shouts and argues, they are quietly reflecting on what the bible says, while simultaneously asking the Holy Spirit to help them apply those words in a truly effective way. A heart set on growing, is a heart set on God.

Please pray with me: “Father, in Jesus’ name, please forgive me of extreme thinking. Show me the areas where I have been extreme. Brace me for your loving correction. Help me stay humble. I want to learn.”

Amen Minister of the Lord and his servant, Laura Grace

Proverbs 22: “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.”

I will never forget the day I made a stance to discipline my child, and how the enemy came against me. I had been praying and reading the above passage, and even though I thought my daughter was adorable, I was beginning to understand the importance of discipline.

I was from a household where authority had been unjust at times and was afraid of doing the same thing. For that reason, I’d been a little paralyzed concerning discipline.

I was praying like this:

“Father, I know discipline is love, so please help me love my children your way, and discipline them when it’s necessary.”

I had just come out of the grocery store and was loading groceries into my trunk. My daughter, age 5, wanted to help, and went to grab the gallon jug of red juice out of the cart for me. I knew she was too young to successfully navigate the jug, so I said, “No honey, wait a minute.”

My plan was to let her unload something smaller, but she was not having it.

As I placed a bag in the trunk, she suddenly appeared with the jug, and slammed it down into the trunk in a moment of defiance. The jug was punctured by a metal object (Probably the jack), and juice went all over the trunk, onto the paper bags, and caused a lot of grocery chaos.

“I told you no!” I said in my loud mommy voice.

Within a fraction of a minute, a woman came out of nowhere and said,

“Ma’am, it’s not a big deal, you can go buy another bottle of juice.”

I wasn’t spanking her, but I was having a moment with her to reinforce what I said.

The woman continued to talk at me and even offered to buy more juice.

I remember for about a week after this incident, I struggled with whether I was too harsh. And why? Because the enemy sent someone to question my parenting, just when I had decided to follow the Lords’ ways. In 1 Peter 5:8 we are told to be sober and vigilant, as the enemy prowls around, looking for whom he can devour. And what is it he wants to devour most? (You ask?).

The seed of God’s word is his first target. If He can take that from you, your life will never be effective for Christ. I suggest reading Matthew 13, and the passage on seeds and sowing for further reference and contemplation, with the Holy Spirit at your side.

Here is food for thought: God’s ways are always going to go against the current of modern society.

Love you! In Him,

Laura Grace

Tag: narrowpath

We live in a world of extreme thinking

Folly and the enemies’ Folly …….