Perspective: the appearance to the eye of objects in respect to their relative distances and positions

A few weeks ago I was blessed with the opportunity to spend an entire afternoon alone in New York City. I decided to take a walk through Central Park and spend my time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The prospect of this perfect afternoon eased my nerves and excited my intellect. I was in for a greater experience than expected.

As I meandered through the Met I relished the Roman antiquities: sculptures, bronzes, adornments. I recognized pieces featured in various books and magazines I have read in my lifetime. They were not all new to me. I know what to appreciate about them. The cut of the marble, the craftsman ship, the brilliance of the jewels, all were somewhat familiar. It was exactly what I wanted and expected to see.

I moved on from the Greek and Roman art exhibit with no real sense of where to go next. I walked around a corner and was instantly challenged. There I was in Modern and Contemporary Art facing several paintings I knew that I could have painted myself, had I sat down to do it. Yet, I was challenged. Why this color here? Why so basic here, but intricate there? He used ovals everywhere, why ovals? The title of this piece does not correspond with what I see, so what am I missing? This collection was thought provoking. As I worked through piece after piece I happened to look directly ahead and saw a mass of oil on paper in a renaissance-like frame about fifty feet away.

From where I was standing, I saw an ear. An enormous ear painted in what seemed to be black and white with hints of peach and bluish-grey. I did not know what to think other than how peculiar. (I later learned the artist called this the “ear of an angel.”) I moved in for a closer look and with each step, the picture began to change. From about six feet away I clearly saw a Madonna with child inside the ear. Of course I paused. “Whaaat?” I thought, equally amused and curious. At this point one could also discern a “profusion of pink and grey dots,” as the description card explained it, covering the entire image. “Why?” I thought aloud. I didn’t get it. I proceeded, only to realize at close range the painting seemed abstract except for a surreal creased piece of paper with a red ball hanging from it casting a shadow. The crispness of this part of the image suggested to me that my attention to it was required. I scooted over to get a closer look at the trompe l’oeil and sure enough discovered the signature of the artist. I had just witnessed Salvador Dali’s Madonna (1958).

I walked back and forth experiencing this masterpiece over and over again. At one point as I was stepping back to see the big picture once again, a man came up to the painting at close range. A little distracted by his form obscuring what I wanted to appreciate, I waited for him to move. But almost instantly I acknowledged that he was experiencing this too. He slowly moved backwards and I, forwards. After resuming a close range position, I turned to look back at the man. He looked at me and we both nodded knowingly. We had just seen four separate elements of one painting. We received what the artist had to show us based on how we worked through the experience and where we had positioned ourselves.

Is it not so with our relationship with God? Is it not so with our one word? We seek what we can readily recognize and understand in our walk with God and we are satisfied with staying there. It kind of massages our spiritual ego. But when it is time to get to work, when its time for us to take our word and find new and challenging places to apply it, will we? I pray for you and for me that the answer is a bold and adamant yes! It is thrilling to see God work in the unknown areas of our souls. To observe and ask, “Why here, Lord?”, “What purpose will this serve?”, “You can actually use this, Lord?” “How can I move forth with this person in my path?” It is thrilling to continue in obedience learning and growing. It is all about your perspective of your one word. Will you witness the masterpiece as it changes and becomes richer before your eyes? Will you let the Master show you His work in you at each step?

Perspective: a mental view or prospect.

J. Becton Skiba

Your Word is not just a promise that you must keep or else you will fail.  It is more about the process of formation than a destination in which you will be “holy.”

This is an interesting word. “Holy.” It sounds like some kind of super-spiritual behavior – it sounds like finally arriving at some great spiritual finish line: “I am finally holy!  My life is all perfectly arranged! I’ve made it!”

Perhaps of all the religious and spiritual things we Christians throw around, holiness has the biggest image problem. Think of a holy person and chances are the first thing that comes to mind is someone who is stiff and never has a moment of fun.

In truth, all that is meant by holiness is that someone or something was set apart for God’s use. The Bible is filled with stories that take place on holy ground. The only reason those plots of land are special is because something special happened on them. Their holiness depends on how God used them.

So how is He going to use you?

The goal of this year is to put yourself in a position where God will use you. So your word must become a vantage point – otherwise, opportunities will be lost.  We want your One Word to become the lens through which you not only see your life and what God wants to do through you, but also how you view each passing moment.

Every day you will have an opportunity to “see” your life and your world though the lens of your One Word. If your word is compassion, it changes the way you see. You can’t simply measure your growth by whether or not you have been compassionate – you must begin to monitor how you see what is happening around you. You walk into a situation and begin to see through the lens of compassion and become available to bring God’s compassion where it might be needed. This is to be holy – you are set apart for his purposes.

If your word is love or faith, it changes the way you see your world. You are looking for opportunities. You are looking for ways for God to use what he is doing in you. You are set apart for his work – your One Word becomes a way to see things and not just a thing to do!

The first step to discovering what He has in store for you is by developing the vision of seeing what you can do for Him.  As you are thinking about your word, ask yourself what your perspective would be like through the lens of your One Word.  Then, surrender your normal, natural pace to be set apart for him – you are holy (1 Peter 1:16).

Thermostats are pretty important but easy to ignore. If you’re reasonably comfortable you don’t even think about it. Thermostats are pretty simple: they have a sensor, a comparator and a responder. A good word for MOW is a word that can be used as a lens and while doing that I was reminded of how a thermostat works in the way I need my word to work in my life.

The “sensor” makes the thermostat AWARE of the current temperature–or how things are right now. A good word can do that too. When my word was relational I was made much more aware of how interconnected I am with others. With compass I’m far more aware of my “position” as it relates to God, to others, to requirements, to aspirations. It is easier to see when you’re “lost” when your word is compass.

The “comparator” measures the difference between how things are now and how things should be. What is the distance between the real and the ideal? What is the difference between my recent response to a “honey do” request and how Christ calls me to respond? What is the distance between the way I recently disciplined my daughter and the way Proverbs and other scriptures call me to parent?

The “responder” guides the reaction or behavior undertaken to minimize the distance between the ideal and the real. With a thermostat it is pretty simple: turn on the unit that cools or heats. Our repertoire of responses has to be much much greater. I can’t even discipline my two kids the same way. For my daughter being grounded is agony. My son wouldn’t even notice he was being punished . . . . until he ran out of drawing paper. The WWJD bracelet serves as a reminder to try to respond like Jesus.

So when I have remembered to use my word as a lens it has taken me through this process of sensitivity to the things that matter most, comparing where I am at with where I should be and then identifying responses that would please Christ.

For example, the other day I could feel myself just wanting to vent at my family about the messy house after stepping over her stuff, around his stuff and on still more stuff. The words were ready for launch . . . . But then I used my word “compass” to ask “where should I really be on this issue?” What matters most? What is the ideal of a godly home? The needle pointed to “peace.” Within that climate of peace we can deal with other issues. That was about 20 seconds of internal dialogue that change a rant about “What the heck is going on here!!!!” Into calm, “OK, let’s have a 3 minute speed clean before I make some lunch. I’ll get the trash, each of you get your stuff. Somebody set the timer on the stove. GO!”

The potential of a word to act as a lens is not simply to put myself under a microscope and find every flaw. Instead I have found it works best to help me become more aware of myself AND my situations and then use my word as a catalyst for both personal growth and expressions of that growth in the real situations of my life.

Reflect on how your word can help you in each of the components above:

• What does it make you more sensitive to that you might otherwise overlook or take for granted?

• How does it help you see the distance between the real and ideal set forth in God’s truth about the issue or situation?

• How can it inform your responses to bring the real in alignment with the ideal?

Yesterday my oldest daughter came face to face with one of her biggest fears: the fireman pole at the local playground. This contraption has caused great distress and fear in her life for the greater part of a month. Me being the overprotective parent haven’t helped matters either. Luckily, my wife has been encouraging both of us to be brave.

With Madison now in 1st grade, she is tackling things that once terrified her all in the name of being a “big girl.” Climbing the stairs confidently and placing two hands on the pole, she was going to laugh in the face of danger. Yet, as quickly as the confidence appeared, it disappeared. In an instant, the second she looked down, all her momentum vanished. Even though in reality she was only a few feet off the ground, to her it must have felt like miles. The view left her frozen. It wasn’t until she looked at her parents on either side of the pole, cheering her on, that she mustered the courage to jump and slide.

In our efforts to have Christ’s heart formed in us, we all face situations similar to Madison and the fireman’s pole. Our eyes play tricks on us and we are left feeling intimidated and completely out of our comfort zone. In these moments, living out our One Word terrifies us. When we are in the heat of a situation it is often difficult to achieve any clarity of what should be done.

We are so quick to trust our own eyes without realizing how deceiving they can be. Intimidating obstacles and self-doubt cloud our judgment and distort our view. We get to the edge of taking that next step, but instead settle for what we know. Putting our word into action can be so frightening that many of us would be quick to give up and live in the midst of our status quo.

However, if we don’t take those little steps of faith we can never get to our ultimate destination: a life defined by our intense trust in God. How do we take off our limited view blinders and gain a God perspective? This change doesn’t happen overnight, but these few tips will help aid in the process:

1. Take A Step Back and Reflect. All of us experience spiritual amnesia when it comes to remembering God’s faithfulness. We get so caught up in the here and now that we forget how many times God carried us through challenging times.  Journaling allows us to look back and see how God’s story is unfolding and what role we’ve played in it.
2. Refresh Our Eyes. Many times we become our own worst enemy when it comes to taking a step of faith. We define our self-worth solely by our own standard. The moment we think God is asking us to move, we instantly dismiss it by saying, “He can’t be asking me to do this because….(fill in the blank).” Everybody’s excuse is different, but if we are honest with ourselves, we know what excuse we use to justify our standing still. As challenging as this might be, we must begin to define ourselves by who we are in Christ.
3. Create A Mental Mosaic. We will never get the entire picture of what God wants us to do all at one time. If we did, there would be no need for faith. We must take time to understand the pieces of the puzzle that God has made clear. These little pieces often provide some insight to what direction God might be leading.
4. Practice The Next Step. Focusing solely on the destination can be so overwhelming that we think the entire task is virtually impossible. What we don’t realize is that God isn’t asking or expecting us to jump from point A to Z in one quick action. All He wants us to do is take that next step. Yet, don’t be fooled. This won’t lead to a more comfortable life. God will always direct us to places that require greater faith.

We’d love to hear your response to the following question: One way to gain a deeper perspective on how God is shaping you is by taking that next step of faith. What does the next step of living out your One Word look like for you? What are you risking by taking this next step? What is at stake by staying where you are?

A fifth-grade teacher took her class to an art museum. Throughout the day, they looked at numerous pieces of art from all different time periods. The curator of the museum accompanied them to one specific painting that hung on a wall. He stopped the class and asked a simple question: “What do you see?”

For a short time the class was silent. Then, slowly, students began speaking. One little girl said the painting looked like a rainbow caught in a windstorm and all the colors got mixed around. One of the boys in the back was reminded of summertime. Another girl said she liked the pretty flowers.

This went on until finally one boy exclaimed, “If you ask me, it just looks like something my little brother brought home from preschool that my mom put on the fridge.”

Funny how one painting can mean so many different things to different people.

Life is like the painting, and as we look at our lives, our perception is shaped by our personal experiences and circumstances. We each have different lenses through which we see the world. These lenses influence the way we perceive God and faith, and define our views of success and failure.

What you see determines where you are headed. Direction is driven by perspective. If the lens you use to view yourself is focused on failures from your past, it is impossible to see the future God has for you. Vision is simply what you see.

As you engage in this My One Word experiment, clarity and direction are needed for growth to occur. Focusing on your circumstances and the regrets from your past will place your pursuit in neutral and can even shift things into reverse. When you live this way you not only see your past; you also live life running from it. Without realizing it, you are walking into the future backwards.

Why does this picture of your old self remain at the forefront of your attention? Why do you let this become the lens that defines your future? The reasons vary:

• Every time you pay for the mistakes of the past it serves as a reminder of the person you once were.
• Those labels of being worthless and a bad seed are challenging to remove from your heart and head.
• When you’ve been told your entire life you are unlovable you begin to believe the lie and let that define you.
• Old habits die hard and fight to remain in control.

Why do you stay in neutral by focusing on the failures of the past? Where is your lens set? Your Word will be determined by your vision. Instead of spending your time trying not to be the kind of person you once were, place your gaze on the person you want to become.

Trying to type this blog post is getting increasingly difficult. This is not due to writer’s block, but for the simple fact that my eyes are playing tricks on me. The screen to my laptop is one big fuzzy, blurry mess. Each letter glows like a star and I honestly can’t make out anything I type. I’m just hoping that my fingers are steady and that this entry doesn’t come out as complete mish-mash of misspellings.

For the past hour my glasses have been missing in action – the latest victim of my youngest daughter’s grabby hands. What she snatches is never to be seen again. No household item stands a chance. Sometimes it is the television remote. Other times it is mommy’s cell phone. All of her normal hiding places have been checked and so far no luck. I’m sure she had a good chuckle watching me maneuver around the house like a zombie, knocking over anything in my way.

As I scratch my eyes and try to deal with a migraine setting in, I am beginning to realize just how important vision and perspective are to movement.

Without a lens through which to view the world, everything is blurry and we don’t know which way to move. This inevitably leads us to falter and stumble. It is only a matter of time before frustration sets in.

With this in mind, spend the month of April exploring the idea of creating a lens through which to view your One Word. We hope you can see your life and each moment that passes by in a different light through the perspective of your word. It is critical to learn how to recognize opportunities that come your way, to see if your word puts you in a position where God will use you.

To develop such a lens, first search out the needs that exist around you on a daily basis. If your word is “compassion” and you walk into your house, office or neighborhood, your lens forces you to ask yourself, “Where is compassion needed?” Someone whose word is “patience” looks for a way to respond with steadiness in the midst of chaos. For someone with a word like “consistent,” the alarm clock isn’t a nuisance – it’s a reminder of their commitment.

Viewing your circumstances through a clarifying lens helps the quality you want to obtain begin to embed itself in your character. In addition, a shift in perspective not only impacts you – it can also touch those around you. Something amazing happens when your eyes focus on living out your One Word. God begins directing more and more people into your path who are desperate to experience the living love of Christ. Through this lens, we should always view change.

• Read Psalm 119:17-18 and Proverbs 4:25-26. How has your One Word begun to influence your perspective? Where have you noticed a change in the way you would normally view a situation?

• How would you describe the current lens you are using? What does your current lens say about what takes priority and importance in your life?

Are you looking for a way to keep your word in front of you all year long? Register for a My One Word account! One of the key features of a MOW account is an online Word Journal that allows you to capture your thoughts to reflective questions like you see above. You can go back at any time to read your completed journals to see how God has been moving in your life through your word in 2011.  If you already have an account, the questions from this blog have been posted to your Word Journal — log in to your account to start your Word Journal today!

War. Take any history class and you’ll spend the majority of your time discussing it. Now with the United States at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, military conflicts, unfortunately, remain a huge reality. Images flood the evening news, showing the brutality and danger of war zones.

Another war – one we’ll likely never see on television – is taking place, too, one that touches even closer to home. And just like any war, life hangs in the balance. Many of us don’t realize it, but we’re in this war. Its battleground lies right between our ears.

Satan knows that if he captures your mind, he can completely cripple you. Creating a stronghold over your mind is his best tactic for weakening the potential power your One Word can have on your heart. Gaining such presence in your thoughts allows him to alter the lens through which you view the world and your part in it.

Instead of recognizing this as war, we instead engage in what seem like harmless head games. But if we view this as war, doesn’t it then sound insane to sit back, remain idle, or even retreat? It is crucial we fight back, first by identifying the start of our thoughts, then willfully surrendering them by declaring our trust in God as the only one who gives us the desires of our heart.

By thinking our thoughts – by taking control of our minds – we go on the offensive against the enemy. This clarifies our perspective. Remember the old sports saying – the best defense is a good offense.

Our struggles don’t come about randomly or by coincidence. There is a purpose behind it and a natural path with a definite direction. It boils down to a need we are not allowing God to fulfill and is ultimately a lack of trust in Him when He says that He will provide for our needs. We are impatient, selfish and obsessed with instant gratification. We don’t like waiting on God’s timing, so we begin to justify and rationalize our actions so we can convince ourselves that what we did wrong was actually right.

More often than not, our realizations of truth come from experiencing it  through regret rather than faith.

The thoughts that trip us into temptation don’t just randomly show up. They have points of origin. These initial stages of our thoughts usually go unnoticed until it is too late. When we allow our thoughts to stay long enough to take root, they can then lead to great physical and emotional pain. Identifying our thoughts’ origins is critical if we are to capture them before it is too late.

However, we cannot stop at just identifying the start of our thoughts. Understanding when and why they take place is drastically different from doing something about them. It will remain easy to justify and rationalize our actions, while at the same time, keeping the desire to meet our needs as the determining factor in our decision process. This leads to indifferent actions, in which we ignore the bigger audience (God) we need to answer to.

Until we take the next step in willfully surrendering and declaring our trust in God, we will remain helpless, unable to conquer our thoughts. Willful surrender involves (1) acknowledging that acting on these thoughts may lead to the satisfaction of our felt desire at that particular moment and (2) surrendering that potential satisfaction, denying ourselves that so-craved instant gratification.

Surrendering this thought is a declaration that you are seeking God as your source for life, fullness and joy. We do this through reflex thinking – when a thought creeps into our head, we capture it and surrender it over to God, regardless if it takes one time or a thousand to deal with it.

Stack each thought up against your standard.  It is not enough to eliminate your old system of thought—it must be replaced with a new system.  This is why it is so crucial to understand what it means to bring every thought into obedience to Christ.

• Identify the start of your thoughts by reading 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. Reflect on the following questions: (1) Can you trace the thought path that typically leads you to a response that you know is not useful or helpful (temper, lust, gossip, etc.)?  Where do those responses come from? (2) What situations do you normally find yourself in when these thoughts begin to appear? (3) What emotions do you experience in this initial stage?

• By responding to the thought, you were hoping to have a certain need met. If ultimately every longing we have is a longing for God, what need were you looking to have met by yourself rather than God? Justification and rationalization stand as two of the greatest threats to the mind. How have these two elements of temptation wreaked havoc on your thoughts and altered the lens you use to view your circumstances?

Are you looking for a way to keep your word in front of you all year long? Register for a My One Word account! One of the key features of a MOW account is an online Word Journal that allows you to capture your thoughts to reflective questions like you see above. You can go back at any time to read your completed journals to see how God has been moving in your life through your word in 2010.  If you already have an account, the questions from this blog have been posted to your Word Journal — log in to your account to start your Word Journal today!

This month on the MYONEWORD.ORG blog we have been talking about how to use your word as a catalyst for long range change by seeing it as a “lens” to look through instead of a “promise” you need to keep.  In our latest video blog, Mike Ashcraft, (pastor at Port City Community Church), reveals how seeing his word as a “lens” has been affecting how he has used his word “re:guard” throughout the month of April.

To view all of the posts from this month’s focus of “creating a lens” for your word, visit the category page here.

I have a feeling my relationship with my father-in-law is where the phrase “they come from two completely different worlds” originated. Granted, I have no physical evidence to prove this claim, but it wouldn’t surprise me if I came across a Wikipedia note confirming my suspicions. I’m a city boy whose idea of roughing it is no air-conditioning or cable television while my father-in-law is Mr. Outdoors who built his dream house with his bare hands (literally). Trying to impress him with my carpentry skills or ability to put up a tent are now legendary family stories always guaranteed to give the listener a good chuckle.

So, you can understand my hesitation when he asked if I’d be interested in geocaching during our last visit out to California. Let me guess. You have no clue what he is talking about. Don’t be embarrassed, neither did I.

After googling the term, I learned that geocaching is a high tech version of treasure hunting.  You got out into the woods, with GPS in hand, searching for a hidden container. My father-in-law loved the thrill of the hunt and the excitement he felt over finding a film canister filled with a surprise after hours of searching. The prize was priceless in his eyes. From my point of view, it seemed like a lot of work just for a little, inexpensive trinket. There was one gift, but two drastically different reactions. It all had to do with the lens we were using to view the gift.

The lens we use to view a gift has the ability to alter our actions, motivation and thought process. Take God’s grace for instance. To be lavished with grace is an incredible gift. Yet, if we are honest, the lens we use to see grace makes us question what to do with the gift we’ve encountered. In some ways, we see it as a burden; wonder if there are strings attached or foolishly attempt to pay back the gift.

Our motivation for living out our One Word becomes a way to prove our worth, make up for past mistakes or cause our actions to be fueled by guilt. And during those times of inevitable failure or struggles, our distorted view of grace only condemns us even more. This is why today we want you to spend a few moments reflecting on the perspective you have of grace by reading Ephesians 2:4-7:

4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Notice the language of this verse.  But don’t look for answers.  Simply read it again and let it soak.  Let the picture come into focus.  Rich in mercy. This is God’s currency.  Dead in our transgression.  Dead.  God made us alive.  Raised.  Seated.  Intimate.  Connected.  Vibrant.  Full.  Alive.

Why?  Why would God, rich in mercy, make us alive to be with Him?  Verse 7 proclaims one of the most underestimated treasures in the universe.  God gave us His grace so we might see the incomparable riches of His grace.  Stop for a moment and let this truth influence the lens you are using to view God’s grace.

I’d go as far as saying that words and thoughts cannot fully capture its’ worth because it shines light on the heart of God. When we receive His grace, we receive Him and capture a glimpse of the reflection of His character.

If someone gave you a million bucks, would you thank them?  The riches of grace are INCOMPARABLE.  That is why there are no words.  So instead of a prayer, just draw near to God and receive His great love for you.  Receive His life for you.  Receive the incomparable riches of His grace.  And live today by seeing life through the lens of knowing that you have treasure beyond imagination.

• How is the lens you are using to view God’s grace influencing the way you respond and live out your One Word?

• What parts of your life are you hesitant towards allowing God to form your heart and change your perspective? What drives this hesitancy?

Are you looking for a way to keep your word in front of you all year long? Register for a My One Word account! One of the key features of a MOW account is an online Word Journal that allows you to capture your thoughts to reflective questions like you see above. You can go back at any time to read your completed journals to see how God has been moving in your life through your word in 2010.  If you already have an account, the questions from this blog have been posted to your Word Journal — log in to your account to start your Word Journal today!

Few things are more aggravating for a teenager than having a broken leg during the summer. As his friends play outside, he is stuck in doors watching television, bored on the Internet or reading a magazine. The highlight of his day is attempting to soothe an itch he can’t quite reach inside his cast. Summer was supposed to be spent goofing off at the park or city pool. Then came the collision that left his leg broken and his summer plans forever changed.

He finds it increasingly difficult to resist the urge to grab a saw or scissors and free himself from the restraints of his cast. Yet, trying to get back on his feet before his leg is properly healed can have devastating effects: excruciating pain, a hitch in his step, a noticeable limp or even worse, causing a deeper break.

Chances are good he will end up right back in a new cast for an even longer amount of time all because he was unwilling to let the cast do its job. The only objective for the cast is to put his leg in the perfect environment for change to occur.

It helps his broken leg heal.

The same is true when it comes to our heart and the effect a collision with God’s truth causes. Only in the midst of our brokenness can we be truly healed and come through the other side with a new heart.

Such a collision occurs when our perspective of how things are or should be collides with God. When we run smack into the truth, when the way we see things gets challenged, we typically do not respond by surrendering.

But, when we collide with truth, as well as God’s love and mercy, it transforms us, shifting how we see things, how we respond and how we walk. However, without placing ourselves in an environment where God can begin the transformation process, our close encounter will never make it to our heart. We must allow what we experience to sink deeper.

Like the teenager who wants to rid himself of the cast, we sometimes try to speed up or completely avoid the formation process of our heart. There is no vision or plan for our growth. We are either growing into what we were made to be or shrinking from it. The choice facing us is whether we will be intentional or not about the formation process.

Romans 12:2 says to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. A renewed mind, a new way of seeing, is critical for us to offer ourselves to God and sacrifice our purposes for His. It requires submission to the truth.

Formation happens as a result of encounter. We are clay in the hands of the potter (Isaiah 64:8). As God presses in us, as a lump of clay, it is because He loves us. This sounds scary, doesn’t it?

Consider the opposite for a second. If He leaves us as a single lump of clay, then He doesn’t love us.

His shaping and forming us is an expression of His love. We are being shaped into His image. If the clay goes untouched for too long it becomes hard and dry. What the creator does is place His hands in water to keep it moist and pliable. Jesus is the living water that keeps us from becoming dry.

We must learn to surrender to the truth in order to be shaped by God. This begins when we become increasingly more aware of what we are being formed into. We encounter His truth and love when we begin to see God as God. This shifts our focus off ourselves and towards God. The formation occurs as our sense of holiness is enhanced. When we accept the invitation into God’s presence, we begin to align ourselves with His purposes. A maturing vision of God shapes our character, as our heart becomes His very own.

• Read Hebrews 4:12. One way we allow scripture to come alive is through the art of meditating on it. Choose a verse that relates to your One Word. Throughout the upcoming week, be intentional about living  out this passage. As you meditate on this scripture, reflect on the following questions: (1) How does this passage create a different lens to view my current circumstances? (2) What action is it calling me towards? (3) How can I experience what this passage says?

Are you looking for a way to keep your word in front of you all year long? Register for a My One Word account! One of the key features of a MOW account is an online Word Journal that allows you to capture your thoughts to reflective questions like you see above. You can go back at any time to read your completed journals to see how God has been moving in your life through your word in 2010.  If you already have an account, the questions from this blog have been posted to your Word Journal — log in to your account to start your Word Journal today!