SIFTING NUGGETS!

Sunday’s Monday

I attended a luncheon with a few brothers in Christ this week and enjoyed it as I always do. We had a very insightful discussion that led to the subject of filtering our thoughts through our faith. In attendance was a young 12-year-old boy named Noah and he was interested in knowing more about filtering. I think his question was how do you filter thoughts? To which someone interjected the old flour sifter as a way to explain filtering and that discussion led to a box screen used to sift dirt. Noah immediately understood the concept of sifting dirt and compared it to that of that a person sifting dirt to find Gold. Which I hit me in my spirit because it was a great simplistic answer to a very complicated subject. Sometimes (more than not) we adults magnify the confusion with our intelligent suffocated sounding (people pleasing) answers. A lot of the time our children have the correct answer their just fact checking with us adults.

To my knowledge the bible doesn’t speak of nuggets per se, however it is filled with bits of wisdom for each believer to find at the appropriate time to fuel spiritual growth and man calls these “spiritual nuggets.” As we sift through the bible learning about God and how to become more like Jesus, we see things we have read before but never in the light of the moment we’re in and it brings a whole new level of understanding to our lives. For the reader, this nugget of wisdom is more valuable than Gold and can never be taken from us. Much like the understanding of young Noah, we sift in search of value. I read a quote a while back that said “If we don’t teach our children to follow Christ, the world will teach them not to.” Our children will seek to learn (that’s what children are wired to do) and will be taught either from the world or the word and unfortunately in most cases the parents who are responsible fail to initiate the choice process at an early age and children are lost to the world and to suffer its ways.

I believe God left us the simplest, most straightforward instruction in the history of man, and it’s found in Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (ESV), 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. I believe one of the greatest nuggets I’ve received (thus far) is, if we would take everything we think, do, say, learn, teach, etc. and filter / sift it through these verses of scripture everything else would fall into its proper place. The confusion of trying to fit round pegs into square holes would soon cease to exist. We would not over complicate the simplest of spiritual things. Most of us are like 10-year-olds trying to understand the teachings of God through a 30-year old’s perspective. I try my best to “Keep It Spiritually Simple!” And for me Deuteronomy 6:6-9 fills the bill perfectly. Again, what makes this nugget great for me is, it’s a “one size fits all” bit of wisdom. When one (at any age) get confused, conflicted, and concerned, he or she need only to remember Deuteronomy 6:6-9, recite what it says and rely on God to bring it to fruition. I heard this said and it is so inspiring, to ignite the fire that once burned so intensely, you must return to that place of passion that once fueled the flame.

My prayer for this week is that we all become sifters to prevent becoming drifters. Your nuggets are still out there, just as real, and more tangible than anything of this world. Help us to find our passion for you Father that we might pass it on to the younger generation. God help our live style to answer most questions about you from the people around us and may our love for you resolve any of the issues they have toward you. Dear Lord, I pray Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (ESV), 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates; for us, all this week. I pray it saturate each and every heart that reads it. Thank you, Jesus for your agape love for us. Amen

HAVE A BLESSED WEEK BY BEING A BLESSING TO OTHERS!

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