commonplace
adjective
ordinary; undistinguished or uninteresting; without individuality:a commonplace person.trite; hackneyed; platitudinous:a commonplace remark.
noun
a well-known, customary, or obvious remark; a trite or uninteresting saying.anything common, ordinary, or uninteresting.Archaic. a place or passage in a book or writing noted as important for reference or quotation. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/commonplace
precious
adjective
of high price or great value; very valuable or costly:precious metals.highly esteemed for some spiritual, nonmaterial, or moral quality:precious memories.dear; beloved:a precious child.affectedly or excessively delicate, refined, or nice:precious manners. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/precious?s=t
Has the Holy Bible become commonplace for you or is it precious for you? I will be honest and say, that it used to be commonplace to me. I committed scripture to memory in many aspects and it seemed that once was so precious, because I was so used to it became commonplace. I knew it. I then began to approach the Bible as such, a duty rather than delight. I would tell God, “you do not speak to me, you speak to others.” It made me very sad. Truth is, I was in a very dangerous place. There are some facts at play here. Jesus Christ is the Living Word of God. Next is that Jesus Christ is Living Stone that the Church is built on. He is not common, but precious and divine, but only to those who believe. When my heart was growing bored of the reading and adhering to the Bible, God rescued my heart and revived my belief. This came through trials. He allowed some hard things for a few seasons in my life to reveal to me that I am not God and He is! He had to reveal to me that His Word holds weight and is my precious answer in times of trouble and times of joy, not mine! I had to first believe that He is God and then that He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). I had to believe that if I draw near to Him, that He would draw near to me (James 4:8). I had to hold my life up to the scripture and see the command, the comfort, the love, and the lesson. I had to allow my mind to be transformed and renewed by the Word (Romans 12:1-2). I cound not be conformed to this world but I had to be transformed. That was only going to happen by putting Jesus in his rightful place as King of my heart. I needed to fear the Lord. I needed to grow in understanding of His love for me.
Now, the word is alive in me! It is precious, valuable, sacred to me. Now, I fight for time in the word of God because it transforms me! Now, I want it and realize so clearly my need for it.
Has the word of God become boring to you? Read the passage below and ask God to take his word in your heart from rejected to received, and from commonplace to precious. This I will note is not just for non-Christ followers, this is for Christ-followers who are experiencing a dry season in GOd. He has not gone anywhere, but I would beg you to consider if you have. Have you allowed the cares of life to choke out the seed of God’s precious Word and promises in the ground of your heart? Have you grown hardened? Let Truth bust up the fallow ground and prepare the soil of your heart to take in good seed.
The Living Stone and a Chosen People
4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”[b]
7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”[c]
8 and,
“A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”[d]
They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+2%3A4-10&version=NIV
Regain the wonder! Ask questions again! When you say “Yes!” to life in Jesus Christ you are entering a marriage! Just like you would participate in your marriage to keep the love growing and evolving with your spouse, do so with the Lover of your soul! He loves you and does not want to hide Himself from you. More than He wants you to know about Him, He wants you to understand Him. How do you know that your love for God supersedes knowledge (winning the trivia game about Him) and has grown to understanding? It is when the decisions you make are made based on His word, to not only affect you but for His delight and His glory. When I marry, I will no longer just represent me, but my husband as well. The pondering of my heart in private will impact the decisions I make in public, which will indicate to the world who my husband is and how he loves me. If I demote my husband from precious to commonplace, it also shows the world who I am as a wife and how I love (or do not love) my husband. Cherish the Word of God and it will change EVERYTHING about you. Mature as an adult in the Word, but come as a teachable, hungry, wondering, willing child!
Question: What are you believing about God that is wrongly taking Him from precious to common place in your heart? What can you do differently to receive Him in your heart as the Precious Stone, who you build your hope and your life and decisions on? You hear who I say He is, but who do you say He is?
#perspectiveiseverything #PreciousStone #youmustbelieve #heartcheck
Refresh Her Course 