He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens,

that He might fill all things.

Ephesians 4:10

Empty. I had looked forward to it all day.

My favorite treat—organic dark-chocolate peanut butter cups. Rich and creamy, I love the way they melt on my tongue. Salty and chocolate in one delectable bite (I am sure God made organic dark-chocolate peanut butter cups on the last day of creation because they are VERY GOOD). Peanut butter cups are why I jog. They’re why I eat dinner.

All afternoon at school, I had anticipated my after dinner treat with gusto. A few minutes for myself with delicious treat and a good book is like a mini retreat. Bliss. I reached my hand into the bag and … what? EMPTY. Who did it? Who ate the last treat and left an empty bag? Son #1? Son #2? Husband? I didn’t even want to know.

Empty is not good.

Empty is so empty. Empty calories, empty nest, running on empty, empty promises, empty-handed. No one likes empty. Neither does God. God fills things. Look at the following verses:

• “Open wide your mouth and I shall fill it.”  Psalm 81:10
• “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the LORD.”  Jeremiah 23:24
• “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope  by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
• “Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” Exodus 40:34
• “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”  Matthew 5:6
• “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:4.

My life before Jesus was #empty.

I was filled with a consuming emptiness I thought would destroy me. But God used the emptiness to drive me to Him so He could fill my soul with His Spirit and my life with purpose, and meaning. No more emptiness. Only full.

In the original language, fill means “to cause to abound, to fill to the full, to make complete, to be liberally supplied, of hollow vessels filled, of the soul thoroughly permeated.” When we are saved, we are filled to the full with the blessings and presence of the Holy Spirit. We are made complete and are liberally supplied with everything we need pertaining to life and godliness. Because we are filled, we have enough to share. Give, and you will receive … “Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” NLT Luke 6:38

This brings great comfort to people like me.

Before Jesus, I had nothing to give, nothing to offer; my heart and soul were empty and hollow. How wonderful to know that because of the filling of the Holy Spirit, I now have purpose and resources to bring God glory and help others find, follow and be filled by Jesus.

From empty to filled.

Action Points:

1. What’s missing from your life? How is your life incomplete? What do you need God to fill?
2. What is taking up too much room in your life? What do you need to downsize so you can download more Jesus?
3. Who can you help fill today? Whose heart needs to be filled? Whose stomach needs to be filled? Whose mind needs to be filled with the Good News?

Life is sweet. Fill it with Jesus.

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“For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you.” 2 Corinthians 1:12

I like simple.

Simple pleasures, simple foods, simple days. A flower in an unexpected place.  A hearty bowl of stew on a cold wintry day, meandering down a country road or an evening with the family gathered in the living room sharing laughs and love … all of these things bring a smile to my face and peace to my soul.

Ironically simplicity requires difficult choices, an iron will, and nerves of steel. The world, your work, and even your own heart will try to sneak in and wreak havoc with a simple life.

Jesus led a simple life.  He had one goal: to do His Father’s will. How simple is that? Without a smart phone or iPad (my two mainstays), He managed to turn the world upside down. In order to live a simple life, we must simplify our priorities.

Simple Life Focus:

One command: Love the Lord with all your heart

One commission: Tell the world

One goal: Bring Him Glory

Empty your heart. Fill up with God.

It’s simple.

To learn more about the simple life, simply scroll through the Sway. Have a blessed Lent.

Here is our TalkShoe chat on Simplicity:

Have a simply blessed Lent.

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Do you have a few minutes for Bible study?

:Come let us reason together. Though your sins be as scarlet, you shall be white as snow…” Isaiah 1:18

All of us are hurting. All of us have sinned. We all need the grace God offers by the cross of Christ. Who will may receive the gift of grace? God’s word says anyone … the broken ones, the scarred ones, the scared ones, the little ones, the any ones. Anyone may come to the cross and find grace for their sin and healing for their wounds. Anyone may join God in His kingdom work. No matter your past, no matter your present, anyone is welcome at the foot of the cross.

Press the play button to hear to i hear: anyone

 

Don’t forget to leave a comment below about what you learned today. We’d love to hear from you!

Have a blessed day.

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Copyright 2016

Lent is a season of opposites.

We weep so we may rejoice. We sacrifice so we may receive. We empty so we can be filled. In Hebrew the word for empty transliterates as reyqam, which means in vain, empty, idle, without affect. I must admit I have been reyqam — vainly focused on myself, idly wasting my time and talents so my life was without affect. Empty. Longing to be full.

Reyqam also means to be poured out or hungry. Does this season find you hungry for something different? Have you poured yourself out for that which does not satisfy, chasing the wind? Are you ready to be full?

Come to the cross. Give Jesus your empty heart; taste and see that the Lord is good and be full.

From empty to full.

Please scroll through the Sway below to access our Bible study content for this week.

 

Please comment on what you have learned in the comment section below or on our empty to full Facebook page.

Be full.

and

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“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Genesis 1:1

Creating is a very godlike thing to do.

I like creating many different things such as scarves, hats, home decor, watercolors, blogs, skits and memes. I am also legendary for creating my delicious  secret-recipe Fresh Strawberry Cream Cake—made from scratch. Despite my many creative endeavors, God is the master creator. In fact, we can say, creating is His specialty.

In the first book of the Bible, front and center, we learn of God’s penchant for creating … God created the heavens and the earth. Bara’, the Hebrew word used for create in verse 1 means “to shape, fashion or create, always with God as the subject.” Only God has the power of creation. 

What does He create?

Planets, galaxies, flowers, mountains, animals and oceans. He also creates relationships, opportunities, legacies, covenants, circumstances, dreams, hope, love, joy, peace and faith … the list is as endless as He is eternal.

From what does God create?

I like to create with the freshest ingredients, the finest fabrics, and the most vibrant watercolors. But God can create from nothing; the Great I AM simply speaks and something is. His Words drip with life and overflow with the breath of the Spirit. At other times God gets His hands dirty and creates beautiful valuable things from common ingredients like dust, dirt and clay … things such as man. This is good news for those of who’ve felt like dirt, or have been treated like dirt or who’ve been the dirt beneath someone’s feet. God creates beautiful things from dirt.

Bara’ also means to create by cutting away.

At first glance creating and cutting seem to be inharmonious. Can these two concepts possibly complement each other? Think for a moment. We can cut away activities from our schedule to create room for God. God creates in us a clean heart by cutting away sin and sickness. God cuts covenant with us and creates a way for us to be with Him forever in eternity.

The Creation Remix

God speaks His Word and scatters seeds of life into the dirt and clay of our hearts and souls. Damaged marriages, broken relationships, forgotten dreams, and tired ambitions receive new life from a fresh sowing of God’s Word. Will we nurture the seeds with Living Water?

God speaks and dead things spring forth with new life.

Nothing becomes something. Ugly becomes beautiful. Useless becomes useful.

Shadows to substance. Death to life …  a Lazarus awakening.

He is the potter and we are the clay. He forms, shapes, smooths, and fires us in the furnace of adversity until we emerge, covered with the fingerprints of God. Pure. Beautiful. Useful.

Action Points:

1. Speak His Word. God has instilled His Word with life and power and has given us the privilege of speaking His Word into our situations and challenges. What area of your life needs a redo? Your relationships? Your career? Find a Bible verse that applies to your current situation and pray it forward.
2. Create some margin. OK, you need this one … we ALL do. Stop saying you’ll be there in 10 minutes when you know it’ll take 20. Stop adding more stuff to your already too long to-do list. Everything takes longer than you think. Add ten minutes to every task on your list for today. If you have children add 20 extra minutes — for each child ; ).
3. Create something. Take some time today to create something. Create a poem, sketch a picture, write a blog post, try a new recipe, or create some time to take a nap, a walk or an afternoon off. And after you have created something, step back and say, “It is very good!”

 

Life is sweet. Create!

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Do you have a few minutes for Bible study?

Abram was living the good life in the land of Ur — never dreaming of doing a re-lo. Ur wasn’t any little old city, it was the largest city of the province of Shinar. But, Ur wasn’t big enough for what God had planned for Abram. Life in Ur was good, but

. God was calling Abram to walk with Him to a better place. God calls us too. He wants us to live fruitful abundant lives. This journey is not for the weak of heart — it will be a walk a faith.

If you’re ready to leave Ur and set out for Or, please click on the play button below.

 

Thank you for joining me today for Bible study. Please let me know what you learned by leaving a comment in the Comment Section below. Scroll way down!

i hear Him!

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copyright 2016