Karen Gamble Writes

Psalm 63:6

I often wake up at least twice a night.

I used to either get up, get a drink of water, and walk through the house wondering why I was awake, or else lie there and grumble to myself about being awake when all I wanted to do was sleep.

Then I came across Psalm 63:6:

On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. (NIV)

I realized instead of being in a foul mood about being awake I could talk to the Lord about things on my mind, or pray about/review Scripture or sermons I’d recently heard..

As I began to do this, my attitude began to change.

I began to look forward to waking up in the middle of the night and having these quiet moments with the Lord.

My sleep began to improve.

i began to wake up more rested than before.

Best of all, I wake up with my mind more focused on the Lord than it has ever been.

What I thought was a problem and inconvenience turned into one of the sweetest and best parts of not just my day but my faith walk.

I still have times when I wake up grumpy because I’m awake in the middle of the night, but the moment I look to God and begin talking to Him, the bad mood leaves and peace washes over me.

I relax and feel so much better.

If you wake up in the middle of the night I hope you will try this and see how much it can improve your mood, your faith walk, and even your life.

Let me know how it goes.

My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises .Psalm 119:148 (NIV)

I previously wrote a longer version of this post. You can find it here: Praying In the Night.

I wrote today’s post discussing it again because it is an important topic and it is good to occasionally have reminders.

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Rationalizing

Rationalize -to attempt to explain or justify one’s own, or another person’s, behavior or attitude with logical, plausible reasons, even if the reasons are not true or appropriate. -Google dictionary

Rationalizing – we’ve all done it.

We’ve explained things away – also called making excuses, for our bad or improper behavior.

We make up reasons and twist words and phrases to make it sound like what we are doing or thinking is okay, even though it isn’t.

It makes us feel better about ourselves and feel like maybe, just maybe, our choice is better when we already know it isn’t.

Someone else used this tactic – the enemy.

In the Garden of Eden, when the serpent tempted Eve with the fruit, she knew she wasn’t supposed to eat it.

The enemy, in the form of the serpent, didn’t say, “hey, eat this.”.

Instead, he was sly about it.

Yes, he did call into question whether God really said what Eve knew He said.

But, then he started talking and explaining why things wouldn’t turn out as bad as God had said they would.

He also explained why there were things to be gained by doing it; and why it was okay to do what she wanted instead of what God had said.

Unfortunately, Eve gave in to the temptation of the lies and believed him.

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Memorizing Scripture

We live in a society where Scripture (the Bible) is easily accessible.

There are several websites that have the entire Bible available to read and search.

Stores everywhere sell copies.

There are tons of Bible Study books, commentaries, and devotionals available.

We even have apps for our phone.

If it is so accessible, then why is it so important to memorize Scripture?

There are several reasons.

The Bible tells us to.

Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

To hide something in our heart means to learn it in the deepest part of us so that it becomes part of who we are.

More than facts, it is deep knowledge on the most intimate level.

When we have Scripture in us, it shapes how and what we think and do.

If it is in us, the Holy Spirit can remind us of it when we need it, like when we are witnessing to someone or when we are dealing with a situation.

This helps us know what we should and shouldn’t do as we walk through our day so that we can live a life honoring to God.

Category: God, Life, Obedience, Scripture Study | LEAVE A COMMENT

Lamenting Before the Lord

Sometimes I get really frustrated or annoyed about something and will sit on my friend’s porch and talk about it.

I will whine, cry, question the circumstance, and list out all that is bothering me.

By the end of the conversation we are both saying, “But God can help. He can intervene.”

This is more than griping, complaining, or whining.

It’s lamenting.

Lament – to express deep regret, grief, anger or sorrow. It is followed by moving to an expression of trust.

The Bible is filled with these types of things.

My favorite is Psalm 13.

David has had all these bad things happening; things he’s concerned and worried about.

He writes about them specifically in the first 4 verses when he is asking God how long he (David) must suffer in all these areas.

Then in verse 5 he tells God, “But I trust in Your unfailing love…”.

He wraps up the Psalm by declaring he will sing God’s praise –

He will praise God because God has been good to him.

Instead of focusing on his problems he chooses to look to God and His unfailing love,

In other words, David is saying he has all these problems but is choosing to look to the Lord and to trust Him.,

Not so God will fix them.

Not so God will answer his prayers, but because David recognizes who God is and what He’s done for him.

Category: God, Submission, Trust, Truth | LEAVE A COMMENT

Galatians 3:3

In Galatians 3, Paul is explaining to the Christians in Galatia that it’s not about following the law that makes us free.

Some Jewish converts to Christianity in Antioch were telling the Gentile Christians the men had to be circumcised if they wanted to be true Christians. They were trying to make it a condition of salvation.

They were teaching this because under the law of the Old Testament, God told all Jewish men to be circumcised.

Paul was explaining that it was no longer necessary to live according to the law.

Once Christ came the Old Testament law was fulfilled by His life, death, burial, and resurrection. Therefore it no longer applied.

Then Paul brought the point home when he asked the question:

Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Galatians 3:3 NIV

In other words, you know it’s grace that saves you by having faith in Christ and what He did for you at Calvary. Why are you now trying to use your works and your actions to make it happen?

The truth is we can’t.

Salvation is only given to us by us having faith in Jesus, not by anything else we do.

No matter what we do, we can never be “good enough” to earn our way in to Heaven.

It doesn’t work that way.

As I was reading this verse I thought about how we as humans often try to make things happen, not just concerning salvation but also in our lives and the lives of others.

Category: Faith, Galatians, Scripture Study, Teaching, Trust | LEAVE A COMMENT

Prayer Language

One of the struggles I’ve had with praying is feeling comfortable with what I’m saying.

When I was a child I was taught to pray by my grandmother.

Because she read the King James Bible (KJV), she used that grammar and vocabulary when she prayed.

Not that there is anything wrong with that version of the Bible.

There isn’t.

It’s just that it’s a very old version and was written in Old English and some of our words and ways of saying things have changed.

For example, instead of you, the KJV says thou.

Instead of brothers it says brethren.

Still the same message, just different vocabulary.

As I grew up, I tended to pray the way my grandmother did.

It felt stiff, bulky, and awkward.

In short, it felt fake.

I thought that was how you were supposed to pray and that because it made no sense to me I must not be doing it right.

I knew prayer was supposed to be respectful and reverent, but I thought I had to speak God’s language to be heard.

So, after awhile I just stopped praying.

Then, one day I found this verse:

Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8

Category: God, Prayer, Trust | LEAVE A COMMENT

Idols

There are a lot of talent shows on t.v. these days.

Some even encourage you to try out and see if you’re the next Idol.

Did you get that?

Idol.

Throughout the Bible, God has shown His displeasure with idols in very clear ways.

In Exodus 20:3-6 God specifically says we are not to have any type of idol. We are not to make one in any shape. We are not to bow down to anything or to worship anything other than Him.

He goes on to tell us He is a jealous God and that He will severely punish those who make these choices.

God then shows He means this in Exodus 32.

In that passage we read about how angry God was the people had made a golden calf while they were waiting for Moses to return from visiting Mt. Sinai.

He responded by sending a plague on them as punishment (verse 35).

The subject of idols is also covered in the New Testament.

The book of 1 John closes with this warning –

Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

in 1 Corinthians 10:14, Paul specifically tells us to flee from idolatry*.

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The Idolatry of Prayer

One thing Christians say and hear a lot is that when things are going on or we are dealing with situations, we should just pray about it.

Praying is a very important part of our faith walk.

There’s just one question, though::

What is our motive for praying?

Really deep down, why are we praying?

Is it:

Because we’re supposed to?

Because we know God will probably help?

Because we have something we want God to do?

Because we want God to intervene in a situation and cause it to turn out the way we think it should?

Or, is it because we know God is our only hope and that He is the only one who can handle the situation so that it turns out the way it should?

Category: God, Prayer, Trust | LEAVE A COMMENT

Overview of the Bible

The Christian Bible is the most important piece of literature ever written.

More than just a bunch of stories, it is a true account of people throughout history, their lives, and their relationship with God. It is a show of how much God loves mankind and an explanation of the redemption plan He has put into place to rescue us all from our sins.

It tells about God, His nature, His character, and His plan for mankind. It also gives instructions and advice on how to live a holy life that is pleasing to Him.

The bible is broken up into 2 parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament. Each part is a collection of books, written by various authors throughout history.

The Old Testament opens with the beginning of time when God created the world and mankind. It ends about 400 years before the birth of Jesus.

it’s books are sorted and classified into four categories.

The books of law are the first five books of the Old Testament. They were primarily written by Moses. They share how God created the world and mankind. They also explain how God established laws and explained His expectations for the Israelites. In these books He established how societies, governments, and families should be organized. He also gave clear and specific warnings against certain actions.

The books labeled history share events that happened to the Israelites. Their purpose is not to just tell us history. Their purpose is to show us God at work in the people group of Israel* and to help us understand that God has an active hand in the lives of His people.

Also called the wisdom books, the five books of poetry focus on the individual and their need for a relationship with God. These books cover every emotion we have. They are mostly made up of poetry and wise saying written by men. They are focused on helping us make wise decisions and showing us how to worship God.

The major prophets and minor prophets are books of warning. In them, the prophets are cautioning the people against disrespecting God. They help us to see where God’s heart was and how He continued to warn and work with the people even as they continued to get farther and farther away from Him. The difference between the major and minor prophet books is their length.

The New Testament starts with the birth of Jesus and goes through the end of time.

Category: New Testament, Old Testament, Scripture Study, Teaching | LEAVE A COMMENT

Verse Mapping

I am a visual person.

I learn better by looking at something than by just hearing it or reading about it.

Because of this, I like to write down passages of Scripture I am studying.

I also jot down what I’m seeing and learning as well as notes from resources and study books I am using..

i don’t have a particular way to do this.

Sometimes it’s a list.

Other times I spread it out and draw circles and balloons to write the information in.

The circles and balloons approach is called Verse Mapping.

It looks sorta like this:

(Even tho I made a little mistake on one word I kept going. It’s not about a perfect looking paper. It’s about learning God’s Word.)

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