When I Was a Child

Mt. Moriah Ministries

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When I Was a Child

by Meredith Giles

December 9, 2024

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When I Was a Child

I Corinthians 13:11

11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

Oh how tough a lot of the lessons in growing up can be! I remember feeling like I was going to die because some of my lessons were wrenching my very soul and reshaping my emotions. We all love puppies and kittens because they are so cute, right? Human babies are almost always just as cute—but different in a lot of ways. Probably God makes babies cute on purpose because we soon find out how demanding they can be, especially in the middle of the night when they want to be awake, demanding feeding, diapers changed, and close, cuddly rocking. You are having all you can do to stay awake, yet they don’t care. they want what they want. They come off as little dictators, noisy, nasty, smelly, and icky little monsters. They are expensive even before they are born, and until they leave your house. Fancy restaurants are out for quite a few years, and forget taking them to weddings, because they will demand their attention no matter what is going on around them. Church is a yes for attendance, but they really don’t care, they still will make a scene. Unfortunately, even the cutest little things outgrow their babyhood and their cuteness. It eventually is time for them to grow up. Our heavenly Father demands we grow up. Even nature expects us to mature. First a bud, then a flower, then it grows into a green apple, which matures into a red apple filled with multiple seeds. God’s purpose is to grow, and many seeds to eventually become more apple trees. Growing up is the goal, and how can we really know if that is happening? Big giant football players can truly be nothing but big babies. And there can be 15-year-olds who are more mature way beyond their present age. Babies eat different foods than adults. At the beginning of their life, they don’t have any teeth, so steak is out. They can’t chew it nor can they digest it. This is true for baby Christians as well. Some teachings in the Bible seem hard for infant Christians to swallow. Everyone comes from a different background and family. Maybe they have been taught some wrong things and need to unlearn some concepts and attitudes of those who don’t know Jesus. Babies often spit up, and baby Christians often may feel funny about truths from God’s Word at first just like a new food introduced to a baby feels funny in their mouth. Yet newborn babes naturally desire the sincere milk of the Word, but they can be very slow at swallowing the really meaty things. As we grow in knowing the Lord, we still love the milk, but we grow to relish the Word. Desire to mature, to grow in every way. God has a perfect plan for your life and He knows how to help you process and grow daily to mature you in Him.

What about you? Are you growing and maturing? Are you facing your challenges as the Lord teaches you to face them in His Word? It takes everyone time to mature. Daily ask Him to help you. Stay in His Word and in communion with Him. He is right there to help you. He loves you so.

My Presence Will Go With You

December 22, 2024

My Presence Will Go With You Exodus 33:15 KJV Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.” I have heard it said, “So much of what we do is done out of ministry principles instead of out of the Presence.” I have lived my whole life in church. From my earliest memories to my present life, I have spent a good portion of my time in church from dead, dry services where a boring form was followed, that seemed like to me, it had be done a million times with the same outcome. There have also been seasons of my daily personal time with the Lord that was as dry as burnt toast. I don’t like it. I know there are times when God withdraws His Presence, I believe so that we will run after Him, press into Him and do what it takes to find Him. It’s a learning and testing time before Him to trust Him in the dark and a time for Him to access the hunger level we have for Him. I’m with Moses. What’s the sense of doing life in our own strength. We only receive back our own human reasoning, relying on our own intellect, still coming up empty. I am asking and seeking Him today to increase my awareness of His Presence so I can move with the utmost sensitivity to Him, the Prince of Peace. He says He will never leave us nor forsake us. Its true, He always is near. My heart needs to settle into the understanding of this and practice it, not from my human emotions, but from my spirit as I learn to receive Him by faith, quiet myself and listen and watch expectantly for Him. He will speak. He will guide and lead us. He will come in whatever way we need Him to come. Maybe its just that we need to quiet enough, slow down long enough and trust in faith long enough for Him to do His thing. What’s the sense of pushing on without His Presence, without His direction and His sense of wellbeing that He places on our lives? I, for one, am so done with manmade ideas, good ideas, maybe, but not God breathed direction. Wouldn’t it be much better to lay out our life situations before Him, not coming to Him, telling Him what and what not to do, like He doesn’t know anything about what the challenge may be? Then practice listening carefully to what He will say and direct. Yes, this means we have to slow down and really watch and listen in faith that He will speak, that He will guide. I’ve gone down too many roads of good ideas to only come up empty when its all been said and done. I have a certainty in heart now because of many learning experiences, that our heavenly Father will show Himself faithful, if I will but trust Him. Don’t move forward today in your life without His Presence. It leads to nowhere you really want to be. What about you? Do you have areas of your life you need to talk to Him about, people you need to surrender completely to Him, and then listen and watch for what He will say and for how He will lead? Let me reassure you, He can always be trusted. Let His Presence guide you today.

In Wisdom’s House

December 21, 2024

In Wisdom’s House Proverbs 21:20 TPT In wisdom’s house you’ll find delightful treasures and the oil of the Holy Spirit. But the stupid squander what they’ve been given. There are those specific people who you meet in life who you can be at ease with. You can laugh deep belly laughs with them at some hilarious story, and you can also cry hot, gushing tears with them over a traumatic happening in your life. They don’t have to fix you or have all the answers. Just their presence and real transparency of heart bring great peace and solace to your needy spirit. They are a treasure. I have had a few, very few souls like this in my life. Some are now home with the Lord, and oh, how I miss them and their sweet, priceless fellowship. Full of wisdom and delightful treasures, they were wells of sweet, sweet water. They were lamps whose precious oil of the Holy Spirit never ran dry. I want to be just that. Not someone who points a judgmental finger at someone going through rough waters, or a person who turns their back to those who need them at critical times, when instead, a delightful treasure needs to be brought to the forefront to encourage and comfort. We, as Christians, can sometimes come across as “better than thou” in our actions and words when we don’t even fully know someone’s story or heart, or what they’re living through in this season of their life. I believe our criticisms of others come from our own insecurities, when consciously or subconsciously we think we are so much better, and far more mature because we are not in the kind of situation and ramifications of poor choices, such as the ones we are presently criticizing. Wow! This for sure is not wisdom. Can we discipline ourselves to not judge others so quickly, functioning in our “know-it-all” fashion? In wisdom’s house, there are delightful treasures. Wisdom would reach out in gentleness and kindness, not in harsh criticism from a scoffing posture. If we have been in the Presence of the Holy Spirit, soaking, listening, learning, would it stand to reason that we would illuminate the essence of Him rather than our own fleshiness? Sometimes to say nothing is the wisest posture one can take. Whatever an individual’s challenges may be, whatever the mistakes one has made, the poor choices taken, wisdom says it is not helpful to lay layer upon layer of inflated, belligerent “know-it-allism,” but to be a listening ear and a neutral sounding board for this struggling soul. Here you have an opportunity to be healing balm and a refreshing spring in the midst of turmoil. Wisdom says—be that! Remember, God sees and hears all. Let’s not squander the wisdom He has afforded us. Be wise for this day and every day. What about you? Would you consider yourself “wise?” Do you just have to state your opinion and “get everyone told?” Are you gentle and kind, or quick to judge and respond in harsh ways to someone who is struggling? Don’t squander the wisdom God has made available to you. Be a conduit of His love and mercy today and every day. Value the wisdom He has given you. Blessings on your day.

According to His Will

December 20, 2024

According to His Will Ephesians 1:11 NKJV In Him also we obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will. When the Word of God speaks about “the counsel of His will,” it is telling us that God has an eternal and unchangeable plan. There is a pretty heavy thought in theology and doctrine that can take us years, (and may not even then), be able to understand it completely. The word for this is “predestination.” Ephesians 1:5 speaks of God, “having predestined us to adoption.” Also we see this thought conveyed in Ephesians 1:9, “Having made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself.” Father God’s thoughts and ways go far beyond our human finite ability to comprehend. Isaiah 46:10 says, “Declaring the end from the beginning, and ancient times things that are not yet done saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure. 11b Indeed I have spoken it. I have purposed it; I will also do it.’” Romans 8:28 which is a very much quoted verse in Christendom, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” God has a deliberate plan, a proposition, an advance plan, an intention, a design for our lives. As we stay in His Word, and have tender hearts and listening ears for His voice, He will give us wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. He will direct our paths. The eyes of your understanding will be enlightened. This simply means that there will be a “thinking through” the challenges of life and the decisions that will need to be made. Father God goes before us and prepares the way as well as comes behind us and brings up the rear, so to speak. He knows all of the things we have lived through—the good, the bad, and the ugly. He wants to heal us from all of those rough things that have happened in our lives. He knows just how to do that. He was there with you all the time. Someone may be questioning today, “Well, if He was there, why didn’t He stop these hard, harsh things from happening in my life?” Here’s the answer: God has given man a free will; he allows man to make His own decisions for good or bad; for kindness or cruelty. It’s up to each of us how we will live and treat others. I believe He weeps when He sees people suffer in such hard ways. But I also know that He is the Healer and Comforter and will restore us from those devastating crises we endured. Our verse today tells us that “He works all things according to the counsel of His will.” Joseph in Genesis 50:20, told his brothers, “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” There is a freedom and release that comes to the heart of man when we understand the truth that God has a specific plan for each one of us personally, and that we can rest assured that in the times of affliction and struggle, He is building something in us, causing us to gain strength and wisdom for the upcoming plan God has for our lives. Are you at peace today? Do you have inner struggles over life’s situations? Can you ask God to give you a glimpse of His future for you and embrace it by faith, knowing He is teaching you and preparing you for His purpose to come to pass in your life? Be strong and restful in the Lord today.