Martha's Orbital Buzz

Lent is a very special time for introspection and analysis of our spiritual habits and relationships. It can be a most profound journey into the depths of our soul if we allow ourselves to be focused and determined. Getting started can often be the hardest step. Some may not even have taken any steps yet and here we are already approaching Holy Week. We can simply start by asking Jesus to show us where we need to make changes, or what in our character needs fine tuning. Then, if we sit in the silence and listen with an open mind (and soul), He will show us. It might not be what we expect or even want to hear, or it might be what we already knew we would hear. None of that really matters because, regardless, it will be exactly what we need to hear. Big or small, easy or hard, it will be exactly what He wants us to concentrate on, especially during Holy Week.
There are far too many areas I struggle with and need to continuously work on. At the very root of them all is self. So my own personal desire and goal for every Lenten season is to turn self out in order that I may offer myself completely to Jesus to be used wherever He desires. To help me work on this, I have created for myself the following list of temptations/sins and alternative reactions and/actions to help guide me in times of temptation. Because I fail so miserably, I need to check in on it every so often to reset my intentions. It might give you some ideas of what particular areas you might want /need focus on over the next week.
1. Pride in looks, clothing, actions, etc.? – Ask myself why and who it is I am trying to impress? Any other answer than Jesus is wrong.
2. Greed or materialism? – Aim for simplicity of life. Declutter; get rid of something I am hoarding. Review my alms giving and make sure it is not from excess but rather from the first fruits of my finances. Jesus must be at the top of my budget.
3. Gossip or speaking ill of others? – Build that other person up. My words must be as if Jesus is speaking about that person through my mouth.
4. Negativity? – Focus on the good all around me and in me. I must train my eyes to see the good. I must train my eyes to look for and see Jesus in everyone and everything, even myself.
5. Self-centeredness? – Put someone else first. I must give of myself to someone else. I must follow Jesus’ example of self-sacrifice.
6. Anxiety (Stress) or Perfectionism? – I must accept something as is. I must have faith that Jesus is in control. I must loosen my tight grip on every minute detail and offer it up to Jesus.
7. Judging others? – Bless them instead. I must lift others up to the Lord and ask His blessing on them in all things. I must pray to be humble like Jesus.
8. Too busy? – Sit at the foot of The Cross. I must spend time in stillness before God. I must stay with Him until I no longer feel the world in control, until I am absorbed in Jesus.
These are just some of the many ways I need to work at turning out self this Lent. Change is often difficult and growth can sometimes be painful, yet I know my efforts will be rewarded, for Jesus is ever at my side.
Ask Jesus to show you areas in your own life that need improvement and how you can do so successfully. Allow Him to be your loving guide this Lent on a more profound journey to the depths of your soul. Your efforts will certainly be greatly rewarded. He only asks for our effort, not perfection.
Blessings on your Faith and Lenten Journey everyone.

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“You are Creator, Lord; I am Your created.”

As I prayed this simple prayer entering into The Stillness this morning, my mind began to ponder just how profound a statement it truly is. He stopped me at that moment and beckoned me to write. I can honestly say I am not sure what I am about to write, but as an obedient daughter, I pay attention to His leadings. So here goes.

Can you truly say, do you honestly believe, that your very existence here on this earth is not because you were created? And if not created by God, the Supreme Being, then how were you created? Science is what non-believers, even questioning Christians, always try to provide as an explanation. Evolution from apes along with the Big Bang theory of collisions in the universe are the usual arguments brought to the table. It is true that these beliefs can be proven scientifically and give one pause to think and ponder. I dare say, however, that it is a very pregnant pause. For science and faith need not always be at odds.

In that pregnant pause, if we go back to the scientific beginning of collisions of matter in the universe we will still find the dangling gnawing question of where did that first matter come from? How did splitting atoms and division of cells create living breathing beings?

Scientists have studied and found many forms of life, down to the tiniest amoeba that divide and multiply cells seemingly on their own. They know that water is a key component and a required element to support, snd even begin life. They search far and wide across the universe for any signs of water in hopes of discovering life forms. But again, how did the first drop of water come into existence?

Did you know that your human body is made up mostly of water? About 60%!  “According to H.H. Mitchell, Journal of Biological Chemistry 158, the brain and heart are composed of 73% water, and the lungs are about 83% water. The skin contains 64% water, muscles and kidneys are 79%, and even the bones are watery: 31%. Each day humans must consume a certain amount of water to survive.” Yet, water is only one component of the intricacy of the miracle that is the human body.

Atheists and non-believers think science has all the answers and will cling desperately to that in hopes of being right. But then there are the other dangling gnawing questions of why. Why does life exist? What purpose do the many and varied forms of life hold? Why is there a need for life at all? Oh, how hopeless must they be who have no answer to these questions other than science. They have no reason for being, no purpose for their life. They only exist because of science.

It is true that scientists can present us with scientifically created life, but let’s ask ourselves some of the following dangling gnawing questions.  How was the first breath ever taken? The first thought formed in a brain? The first sight seen by an eye? The first word spoken? How was the first feeling of love felt in a heart?

What science can connect those dots for you? For me there is no satisfactory answer to any of those questions other than that Science + Miracle = Proof. I believe we, His created, are the greatest miraculous proof of His very existence. And, while we are made up of a lot of water, the largest and most important component is love. We are made IN, BY, and FOR Love. It is God who breathes the breath of Life into all beings. It is God who made possible the miracles of thought, sight, speech, and love. Science might be able to reproduce or create certain forms of life, even clone existing forms, but they can’t create love.

It is God who retains ultimate creative control, creative license, if you will. And the answer to why is Love. His Love for us is the reason we exist, and our purpose in life is to love. Oh, how hopeful believers are who have answers to these important questions.

When I have questions I always try to remember this little formula: ‘Knowledge + Faith = Confidence’. We must seek answers for our questions from trusted authentic sources. We must then sift the information through the sieve of our faith. And then prayerfully we will gain confidence in the answers we find.

So, this is where He led me, what He led me to write. I had to interrupt the writing yesterday and return to it this morning. I honestly gave it no thought until I began again and it just continued to flow. My prayer is that He is speaking to the heart who needs to hear this, the heart He is seeking.

God Bless us one and all.

Genesis 1:1-5    “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”

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Last year I felt I was asked by God to do, and share with all of you, an entire Lenten study on the Names of God. As hard as it was at times, I honored my promise and commitment to Him, and in doing so, found that I personally grew in my own knowledge and faith throughout.

Very early on in that study we learned that ‘Knowledge + Faith = Confidence’, in other words, to know His Name and to call upon Him in faithful trust is to be confident in His promises to us. By the time Easter was upon us we had learned many beautiful names of God to call upon in our times of need.

Two special ones for me were Jehovah-rapha, The God Who Heals, and Jehovah-jireh, The LORD Will Provide. Both names were greatly needed by many across our weary world in Pandemic 2020, and were very special for me as I ministered to my beloved Beagle who was dying of cancer.

Hopefully, as we ventured forward into an uncertain 2021, many of us have found that there is always a Name of God representing one of His many characteristics, one of His great attributes, to be called upon, to boast in, to have confidence in, no matter the circumstance in our day of need.

If none of those beautiful names comes to mind the Name Above All Names is all that is needed. Jesus.

We are born into a world that seemingly has much to offer to those willing to partake. It flaunts glitter and glam before our eyes often mesmerizing and at times hypnotizing us. We unwittingly become desensitized to it. It becomes an acceptable norm, whether it be standards of living, unhealthy eating, or sinful ways of life. We think (are told) there is no harm in live and let live. We say we hate the sin but love the sinner. We convince ourselves that God has allowed these things so even He is okay with them. We close our eyes and our minds and go about our own merry way.

In time we find we have entered a self-absorbent cocoon. From it we come and go not realizing we are headed for a fall. This fall will come when we least expect it. It will come in the form of a major life changing event or a small nag from within that refuses to stop. Either way there will be an undeniable shift in our thinking, in our viewpoints, in our hardened heart. Whether we realize it or not, it is our soul crying out from within begging us to stop the madness and look within for real meaning and joy.

While we may continue on living in a world of self-indulgence and self-centeredness, there is now an awakened soul within longing to rise above it all straight into the loving arms of its Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Many, however, will “live and die without reflecting at all upon the state of things in which they find themselves”.  Being ruled mainly by physical pain and pleasure in a world that seems bright and sunny and made for enjoyment, they never seem to find real purpose or spiritual awareness in their lives. (Paraphrased From “The Tears Of Christ -Meditations for Lent” St John Henry Newman Edited by Christopher O. Blum)

And, until the soul learns to shut out the loud clamor of the world, to refrain from the temptations of the glitter and glamor, and to loosen Satan’s grip on its inclinations, its innate longing for all that is good and true will never be allowed to fully surface. For some this seems an insurmountable task and they choose to hide from the truth of their own being, the very reason why they exist in the first place. They choose to shut out that still small voice beckoning them to look within. Instead, they grab all the happiness the world has to offer, often both the good and the bad.

However, there are some who do hear that small longing voice, and heed its call diving in to find the knowledge and Truth their soul has been longing for, thirsting for. To the casual observer they seem to live an ordinary life, still coming and going from their self-absorbent cocoon, when all the while they are changing internally and living in secret communion with the Spirit of the Lord within them. Gradually they become more self-assured rather than self-absorbed. The inner glow begins to radiate outward as they become a person of Joy. Others begin to notice, to ask, to seek the the secret to their newfound Peace and Joy in this crazy snd battered world.

The Good News is that we don’t really have to go through the shock of a major life changing event to turn inward and seek the soul’s secrets to a fulfilled and happy life here on earth. He is always there within you, always calling out and seeking you from within your soul. If you could but stop even for a nano second and incline your ear inward. Whisper His Name, Jesus. You will hear Him then speak your name. The rest will happen, He promises, in His timing. Whisper His Name right now. JESUS.

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