my wings are made of faith

No Stopping It

In the fifth chapter of Acts, a lawyer named Gamaliel warned the men of the temple to be careful about what they intended to do with the disciples.  He told them of another teacher named Judas whom the people had followed during the time of the taxations.  He too had been killed, and his followers simply dispersed, Gamaliel reasoned.  So to the men who wished to threaten, jail, and perhaps even have Jesus's servants punished and killed, he said:

And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought.  But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it. Lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. Acts 5:38 - 39.

He could have been a lawyer for the disciples... LOL.

I suppose he thought that they would just go away eventually.  Yet he spoke with more wisdom than any lawyer I have ever known.  He spoke a profound truth!

Take a good look at the things that are gaining momentum in your life.  If it is something men are devising, in the great timeline, it will mean nothing at some point.  But if it is of God, we have no effect on it.  We pray as Jesus taught us: "Thy Will Be Done." But sometimes we pray it as if we are giving God permission.  Lest we forget, it is God's will.  We are merely deciding to accept it, or reject it, whether to submit to it or to "fight against God."

Sometimes we want something to happen or to not happen so badly, that we try praying harder, longer, with more faith that our will might be done..."Please please please God we pray."  I can name you times when I have fallen into that trap.  The question is - "what is God's will?"

Prophecy is like that.  If God says it is going to come to pass, it will. Sometimes our politics fall into a routine of trying to make something God predicted would happen to NOT HAPPEN.  We are missing the mark!  God didn't put Christ on this earth to make the politics of the earth suit Christians.  Our freedom is first a freedom from the burden of sin. I believe the forefathers of the USA understood the principles of freedom and justice as presented in God's word.  But they also understood that the real constitution, which makes a difference, is when, in an environment of freedom to do so, we are about the business of winning souls to Christ. No laws or president will be able to change the circumstances of our political or social standings.  Only the change of men's hearts will bring about such changes.  In the days that Peter and Paul and the other disciples taught about the Lord, souls were added to the church daily....DAILY.  At least once, more than 5000 men had that amazing change of heart that began to build the church among Jews and Gentiles, which spread into the whole world. 

Put your energies into God's plan, and it won't be wasted.  In the sixties, when I was young, I had the great joy of being present when I saw this kind of thing happening.  Our pastor was a man who stood firmly on the word of God.  He took his truths from the scriptures, without making an agenda from them.  He made it clear at church and on the radio when he preached, that God's full intent was to save the souls of lost men and women.  God accepts us just as we are.  No consideration for where we've been or plan to go. He doesn't judge us by our depth of sin. He simply provided a solution for all sin, and included all to be eligible for freedom from sin. 

Gamaliel didn't figure on the impact this would have on people who needed that kind of God.  Or maybe he did...just maybe he knew that he would appease those who sought to do the will of Satan, long enough to let as many people as possible hear this great news...because he knew that once men heard, they would know the freedom he knew.  I like to believe that Gamaliel had discovered Jesus as his own Savoir.  And he knew that there was no stopping the momentum that having a savoir affect men's lives could have.

One more note. I have always said that if what you are doing is leading souls to Christ, then you can know that you are a part of God's plan.  If your church isn't growing, if you never have opportunity to share your savoir as the Christ, if you are not planting seeds, if you go years without seeing souls around you being saved in some place where you are involved....Satan has you genuinely fooled into thinking your life is right with God.   But no ministry will gain souls by holding the feet of the children to the firey heat of the law.  Or bashing their saints til they are discouraged.  This is why we at My Wings Are Made Of Faith seek to uplift the readers, to bring joy to those in pain, and share the freedom the children of God should be experiencing.  But we encourage you to know you are in God's will, because as Gamaliel said: " If it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it."

Why not be a part of it?

Dear God,  I long for my children and grandchildren to see what happens when people hungry for the power, that was winning souls by the thousands in the days of the disciples, is governing the hearts and actions of everyday people. If that same momentum was to occur in our generation of technical ability, the whole world could hear of and be changed by the grace and mercy of your love in a few days!  Lives could be changed by the thousands today as much as then. Even now, in our age of sarcasm and disappointed Saints.  Fill us Lord with a new amazement for the change you made in each of our own lives. AMEN

God Gives.

Praise the Lord, my soul; 
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 
² Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your sins 
    and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion, 
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. —Psalm 103:1-5

What powerful and encouraging these verses these are! It reminds us that God forgives our sins and that He heals us. As if those two things aren't great enough, it tells us that He pulls our life out of the deepest, darkest pits we find ourselves in. He crowns us with unending love and deep compassion. What a great God He is!

All those gifts He gives us and He still loves to give us more. He graciously satisfies our desires with good things so that we may be encouraged and our faith renewed. 

Day after day these gifts are ours. God gives and gives and gives. Take some time today to reflect on all the little ways He blesses you daily and praise Him for giving you all that you need.

 

Fret Not Thyself

In Psalm 37 the first phrase in the chapter is, "Fret not thyself."  Before verse 10, it appears in the text twice more.  Now the translation would obviously be: Don't be anxious," but there is a curious thing about the way it is spoken in the old form.  It seems to say that anxiousness and worry are something we do to ourselves.  As a worrier myself, I have been trying to apply these verses, with the recognition of that fact.  If I worry, I may be bringing a state of FRET on myself.  So since I know I have a need to do SOMETHING, what can I do in response to what causes me to worry that would be the right response?

These are the words God gives us to replace being fretful.They are given in an almost " if we, then God" format -

If we:

• vs. 3 ~ Trust (in the Lord) & Do Good - then God will provide that we will dwell in our land and be fed.
• vs. 4 ~ Delight ourselves (find pleasure in the Lord) - then expect Him to give you the desires of your heart.
• vs. 5 ~ Commit our way (to the Lord) &  believe He will "bring it to pass," - then He will make our right choices perfectly clear in time, bright as the noonday sun.
• vs. 7 ~ Rest and wait patiently (on the Lord) staying  focused, without looking at what's happening with others, (for in time wicked people get their justice,) then we can hear God laughing at them, because he sees their day is coming.
• vs. 8 ~ Cease (from anger, leaving wrath behind), turning our thoughts from doing evil..or retribution - then He will take care of those who do evil things in our pathway, and take that burden from us.

I especially like the light-heartedness of God telling us to imagine Him laughing at people who try to devise thier own way out of their troubles. Can't you just see Him shakin' His head? But wait, he calls them wicked.  Oh yes, when we are trying to spend all that time figuring a way out, and worrying ourselves with the devices, it is sin.  Sin is anything going in the opposite direction of how God is trying to take us.  So I guess, any devisive thinking, is really sin, because God says "don't fret yourself with it."  SO...

Three Thousand Souls

Now when they hear this they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the Apostles, Men and  brethren, what shall we do?  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord Our God shall call.... 41. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. Acts 2: 37 - 39, and 41.

This is such a lovely set of verses, which tell in a couple of brief statements exactly what to do to receive the Lord Jesus as your Savoir. Several things delight me that they are included in this "summary." 

1. I totally love this phrase "pricked in their hearts."  It refers to the "call" of the Lord, that is a little like the love attraction of a young man or woman. It is new, is often constant, and is attention grabbing.  When God calls to your heart, it can be a bit of a stabbing heart ache, for something you may not understand.  Here we find a new phenomenon, where 3 thousand people have been "pricked in their heart" to move to some kind of action, and they could do nothing else but find someone who could give them answers. 
2. Secondly, the question: "what shall we do."  They were certain in a very innocent way, that there was something they were being impressed to do.  Being baptized for the repentance of sins was not something new. Since the time of John the Baptist, and maybe fefore, Jews were seeking something to do to be faithful, to acknowlege before God their sins, and their repentance.  What was new was receiving the Holy Ghost as a gift, and not being a prophet or king or priest.  In years gone by, they knew only of God's special interaction of speaking to his people through his Spirit, as coming through some sort of leader, whom God chose.  God speaking to individuals was an incredible concept.  Notice they didn't shy away. Instead they came by the thousands to receive this gift. These people were craving the one-on-one love of God.

Debt Free and Choosing to Live Like It

Today is the day that we choose to acknowledge the death of our Savoir.  Over time, I have come to celebrate the day with joy, but each year, if I take time to think much about it, I am always brought to tears. Realizing what Christ was willing to do to provide the forgiveness promised for centuries, and to know it was an act done in love…   Well, I can’t even think how someone could love me that much. 

It wasn’t a romantic novel, a dramatic imaginary saga, like some modern movie that compels us to watch but walk away unaffected, trying not to have nightmares. It took some time when I was a child, contemplating whether I wanted to accept the necessity of such an act.  But even as a child, I was able to be convinced of my inability to free myself from my sins.  The Holy Spirit did a great job of that. I had tried to be a good girl and had fallen short, when in my mind I found myself capable of hating someone, or knowing my own selfishness.  Although I was frightened to near dysfunction of dying before I was “saved” from my sins, the gruesomeness of Christ’s death had no effect on my decision.  It was only after I was born into God’s family, accepting his death and resurrection as truth, that I was overcome with compassion for His great sacrifice.  But even then, He didn’t let me linger in my tears, because His resurrection is where he wanted me to focus. It is why we honor Good Friday, and celebrate Easter.  We must not stay at the cross.

It has always been obvious to me that this great act, was complete.  It was the total package, all that needed to be done to remedy the distance that sin put between me and my heavenly Father. When he said that it was finished, it was.  The long process, from man’s point of view, to make an end of all the reasons that sin burdened our lives, was final. God no longer seemed mean and judgmental to me. I would come to realize how loving and merciful He is.  He really wants us to accept the forgiveness he offers. Totally accept it, without trying to pay for it, earn it, or make excuses for it.  He has been ready to forgive us, since before Adam and Eve disobeyed Him. There’s plenty of mercy for all who will ask, no limits.  God didn’t reserve His forgiveness and grace for just a few, for one nation, or color or kind of people.  There is only one restriction on forgiveness.  It is that forgiveness is of no effect if we don’t receive it on an individual basis.

 I love to remember - "I" am forgiven, it is individual. I "AM" forgiven, it is ongoing.  I am "FORGIVEN", it is complete freedom.   Because He died, because His blood was shed, being forgiven became my choice. How do you convey the power of that to people who live in fear of a God who expects them to somehow pay for being responsible for the death of His Son?  That’s how some people live. As if we owe God for our redemption. Define mercy to mean that God also forgives us for the fact that His Son had to die, and we were responsible for His death. It is not, and never was, held against us. We are forgiven for the death of his Son, because Christ had power over death, both physical and spiritual. He also had the power not to die. He chose to die. To pay the price- so that we might be debt-free. It was the most powerful death ever on earth, which gives to all, who believe, power over death in a spiritual realm.   

This week we’ve discussed forgiveness for our sins, forgiveness from our sins, forgiving others and forgiving ourselves. Today I wanted to remember the depth of our forgiveness, to the extent even that we are not held responsible that Christ had to die for our sins.  What more is there to be forgiven for? Yet there is one thing for which there is no forgiveness…  There is no remedy for not calling on the Lord to ask for this great gift. It's like winning the lottery, and not claiming the prize.

For thou, Lord art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.  Psalm 86: 5

Forgiveness Means Freedom

Have you ever, for even a second, thought, "God, you could stop this from happening if you just would?" I know I have wondered why God seems to not have mercy in certain situations and just stop death and suffering and illness and hunger. If we are in the situation, we could develop resentment toward God for not doing something positive that we think needs to be done. Especially, if the results hurt us personally.  Being hurt requires forgiveness as a resolution, so this issue is one of 3 that Christ dealt with on the Cross requarding personal injury.  And the hurt was to himself.

When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane praying before he was taken, he prayed and asked God to let this cup pass from him, if there was any way.  The full realization of his emminent death, and the severity of how it was to occur was taking a tole on his human Psyche.  He had a desire that he would rather not suffer in such a way, if there was any way out.  He must have thought about the time God asked Abraham to sacrifice Issaac, but provided "the Lamb of God" instead and saved Isaac from the knife. Might there be a way, would God show Him something new in these final hours? They say that He sweated great drops of blood as he pleaded with God, enduring the stress that his human body most certainly was beginning to endure. Most pastors say that it was not the death that concerned him most, but that he was taking on the sins of the world.  The misjudgement of the world, the shame he did not deserve, the lies that were out there for anyone to believe, and the hurt of all our sins laid on him...were surely  more compelling to stress than merely wishing he did not have to suffer. He was wounded for our transgressions, inside and out.  But his parent, his loving Father, would leave him to this one act of maturity, to find his way through it, with no way out but to endure the unfathonable.  Jesus could have rejected his Father based on allowing him to suffer anyway, just as most of us would. Just this week I read or knew of at least 3 specific real life cases, where teens decided thier parents didn't love them, because they allowed them to suffer in some way.  Dr. Charles Stanley discusses in his book, "THE GIFT OF FORGIVENESS," how anyone hurt by someone, because they didn't come through when you expected them to, must deal with the issue of the hurt and find a way to forgive. 

We aren't told that Jesus said, "I will forgive you anyway, Father,"  but he did say, "not my will, but thine be done..." He rose from his ordeal of pleading with his Father, accepting the Father's will, rather than his own.  Accepting the circumstances can be the first step to forgiveness.

What will you do when you are alone and adrift?

I watched as my daughter disciplined her toddler son one day.  And I thought how Godly the process was. He was kicking and screaming, resisting what his Mom wanted him to do. She got his attention, put him in time out, and when the time had come that he understood he had done wrong, and ceased crying and feeling sorry for himself, she brought him back to herself, having fulfilled the resolution for his behavior. She made him understand she still loved him.

Sometimes we want to go our own way.  God made us with a sense of independence.  It is what motivates us to get up in the morning and get things done. But independence without the balance of unity, someone to love us, and boundaries can take us to places of loneliness and ineffectiveness.  Sin is when we ignore the need we have as humans for our creator to provide that balance.  We become heavily weighted on self-indulgence and things get out of kilter. 

Think of an astronaut in space.  He is a daring independent kind of guy.  Extremely so sometimes.  Intelligent and capable of flying his craft. If he weren’t, he might not get home. Apollo 13 was a great example.  But without his team on earth - helping him find the boundaries, sort the difficult calculations and extremes of detail - he would fail, and the results could be disastrous. I heard an astronaut say yesterday that if you are off just a little in the beginning and don’t adjust early, you could miss your target altogether. Without the altering of the cross on the sin issue, we would miss our eternal target all together, but we will miss the daily blessings of God as well.

God wants our independent character to get us where we are going.  He desires his best for us.  But we need a mission control!  Personally, I don’t like thinking of being alone in this great big universe like a pilot alone in outer space with no contact to what grounds him.  I want God’s universe-capable power to reel me in. 

Sin, Sins, or Sinful? It Grows on Ya!

I have been accused often of being too soft on sin.  And I have been told often that I am a pessimist.  But to me those are people who don’t recognize sin for the power it has on life, and fail to do the one simple thing that is required to resolve the issue.  An “ignorance is bliss” attitude will never give anyone the same optimism I have, that my sin has been dealt with.  I confidently trust the power of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ to take care of my sin.  And I walk daily in that confidence.

 Sin is frequently dealt with in the extremes: from the extreme of denial to the extreme of constant fear - of not having confessed sin.  Christ wants us to be in neither place. Our place is also not a middle ground somewhere in between these two. Living in the middle ground is a push/pull life of trying to figure out where you stand on what constitutes sin – which things to do and which to not do, to stay in a right relationship with God. One church says this and another that. Sin is a job for God, and He freed us from that kind of life. It is not a life of choices of which sins, but what resolution, that I chose to live by. The point of scripture in its entirety is to reveal this truth. It is necessary to trust that God has done what it takes to meet his own standards for reconciliation, and come to him with complete and utter confidence that our sins are covered by the blood. 

I do not wish to undermine the effects of sin on our lives.  Or say that salvation takes away the consequences of sin.  Not so. Recognizing our sin, and desiring to avoid those consequences by avoiding the sin acts is a matter of mapping our life to seek God’s best. That too was what the cross was about. I did a research project of the words in the Greek and Hebrew that are generally translated “sin.”  I discovered that the whole gist of it fell into two major categories throughout the ages of scripture.  By far the most scripture words refer to “missing the mark.” Aiming for God’s best and hitting somewhere outside the bull’s-eye. The second is a concept that sin is an element of our inner character which leads to us acting out in a sinful way. It was not the individual sin actions that the scripture themes of redemption, salvation, etc. deal with, but rather, the sin nature.   That nature is the seed for the sinful acts, which grow into the sin condition.  There’s a long discussion of how dealing with sin as if it were individual acts of “dos and don’ts” is out of man’s thinking.  Suffice it to say, that I prefer to deal with allowing God to replace my sin nature with his divine nature, and then I don’t have to worry about how to deal with individual acts. Whether or not I am aware of individual acts, I try to focus frequently on the fact that my behavior should reflect that I am not governed by my sin nature when God is in control.

 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8: 3-4

Lord, I accept that my sin nature steers me outside the boundaries of your best for my life.  I confess a need for the divine nature to overrule my actions sometimes.  Please, Lord, don’t let sin take root in my life, but fill me with your power to live in a Christ-like way.  AMEN

Growing in Faith

³ By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. ⁴ And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. —1 Peter 1:3-4

i find these 2 verses in 1 Peter really inspiring. These words remind us that we lack nothing. Even in our darkest moments or when our bank account is empty or when we are battling a disease .... we lack absolutely nothing. God has given us everything we need to live a godly life, we just have to take what He has given us and be grateful, believing that what He has given us is enough to sustain us.

But lacking nothing means that we have to do our part to understand what God means by giving us all we need. God doesn't make it a secret, He tells us how to do it in the second sentence of verse 3:

We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 

How do we come to know Him? We proclaim Him as our savior, the King of our heart and the One who we believe has died on a cross to give us everlasting life. i also believe that it means we continue to get to know Him intimately as a true friend by studying His Word and spending time with Him daily in prayer and thanksgiving. 

The scripture goes on to tell us the reward of knowing Him (verse 4). He has given us great and precious promises that enable us to share in His divine nature. What a great gift from our Lord! 

Knowing that i have everything i need, regardless of my circumstances brings a life full of joy and gratitude. His promises await! If you haven't accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, don't lose out on another minute of being able to claim His promises. If you have, are you nurturing your relationship with Him daily? 

Jesus, draw me near to you and hold me tightly in your arms. Don't let me miss out on your precious promises. For i know that even if i am far away from you, that you will be right there if i turn around and run towards you. You are my hope, my love, my one and only Savior. Thank you for you precious promises. In Jesus name!

Courage to Move Forward

I confess that I have difficulty sometimes with moving forward, having the confidence and a will to get finished, which I was really good at in my professional life. There are legitamate reasons, not the least of which is my husband's criticism early in every project I tackle.  I have to just do things when he isn't here, more than when he is.  In my old shop, my landlord was telling me a new reason everyday to be afraid to unlock the door and stay there all day. He told me once that there were some men who were robbing little shops along the very road mine was on, but several miles west.  If I had not just thought that I was where God wanted me to be, and said a little prayer for protection, I might not have gone into work in the morning until they caught the men.  Once there was a bear which was roaming our neighborhood and turning over people's trashcans.  If I had not just said, "God please protect my children." and believed He would, they would not have gone out of the house again until the bear was caught. Recently, my grandson took his first dirve alone with his new driver's license. His mother and I just looked at each other and when he got to the top of the drive, turned and blew us a kiss, we both almost hit the dirt. All she could say was, "How did you do this?"  We didn't have to say it..we both knew it was prayer.

I often encourage others to move forward and find myself crippled from moving forward, afraid of not having enough money, or of being crushed by my husband's broken record that resounds like my Mother saying, "You don't need to do that."  But oh yes I do!  I do because God gave me gifts to do certain things. I have been successful doing so many things for other people that I know God's calling on my life, in this stage of my life, is to find the courage to move forward in my own life.

So I have challenged myself over the last few years.  I haven't succeeded in quite the way I wanted to, and it is tempting to think, "Lord, did I misunderstand?" But I already know the answer. Part of cultivating the courage to move forward each day is just doing it.  Not with expectations of results necessarily. For me lists are a huge motivator.  Picturing the possible scenarios can backfire if I dwell on the possible things that can go wrong, so I admit the foibles but make myself not dwell there. But the biggest thing that moves me forward is prayer.  Just sharing all those things with God, admitting my fears, and tackling things.  Then the next thing is forgiveness. I have learned to forgive myself when I just don't  get done when others think I should. Thirdly, I have learned to use what I  have.   I often have almost everything I need to get a project going.  God is a provider. A forgiver. A motivator. An encourager. I am trying more and more to heed His voice and act upon the ideas He gives me.  Together, we can get a lot done. In the end, however, God doesn't want me to tarry too long in prayer, or sit a while forgiving myself in pity, or just keep taking inventory of all he has given me.....He wants me to ACT upon all that. To borrow the famous NIKE phrase: "JUST DO IT."

And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago.  Now therefore perform the doing of it: that as there was a readiness to will so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. II Corinthians 8:10 - 12

Looks like I am not the only one who has needed help in moving forward. God is bigger than anything that holds me back. I need to trust that.

Lord, I never want to go back to driving myself to ridiculous scedules, but I don't want to fall into the quagmire of not giving myself the same value that I gave to everyone else.  When I set out to get things done, let me do it with purpose. I confess a need to value the tasks you direct me to in my own life the same way I do when doing something for others. Keep me grounded, but give me courage at every task to move forward. AMEN

 

Growing Deeper

When I first became a Christian I wanted to understand more about God’s Word.  I often felt confused and embarrassed because it seemed that other people comprehended so much more than I did about Biblical issues.  Right out of the salvation gate, I felt beaten down and inadequate.  

As the years have passed, I still do not have all of the answers, but there are certain resources that I use to help me when I’m stuck.  The first and most important resource I use is God’s Word itself.  I know this sounds like a strange starting point, but the Bible will never contradict itself.  It is perfectly complete and can be applied to every situation you will ever face.  The Holy Spirit, our helper, is there to help us understand the Bible when we are stuck.

The next resource I often use is the wisdom from other believers.  Like Jesus, I rely on three very close friends who are entrenched in God’s Word.  They not only study, but are strong prayer warriors.  All three of these women have testimonies of the Lord’s works in their lives.  

The last resource is wisdom from trusted authors.  Some of my favorite authors are people that I have taken Bible studies that they’ve written, know personally, or attended conferences where I felt the Holy Spirit relating my spirit to their spoken words.  This list is just my preferences, but a good place to start if you are feeling confused in going deeper with the Lord.

Books and Bible studies that I love include:

Praying God’s Word, Breaking Free, Get Out of That Pit, When Godly People Do Ungodly Things, and Believing God                                                                                         Author: Beth Moore (Living Proof Ministries)

His Imprint, My Expression, Israel My Beloved, and Lord, I Want to Know You                                                                                                  Author: Kay Arthur (Precept Ministries)

Big Girls Don’t Whine and Look At It This Way            Author: Jan Silivious

Experiencing the Love Jesus Knew            Author: Vikki Waters (Growing in Grace Ministries, Chattanooga, TN)

Power of the Praying Woman (Wife, and Mother too), The Prayer that Changes Everything, Praying God’s Will for your Life, and Just Enough Light For the Step I’m On                        Author: Stormie OMartian

I believe that when we are earnestly seeking the Lord, we are where we are supposed to be which is in fellowship with Him.  This doesn’t minimize our consequences or difficulties, but allows God to offer peace along the journey.  In other words, although you may feel inadequate or stuck, you aren’t when you are seeking God.

My Prayer:  God, thank you for your precious fellowship.  We praise you for giving us your perfect Word and other resources to help encourage and enlighten us in our journeys.  I rebuke the lie of inadequacy for believers because we know that we are where we are supposed to be when you have called us according to your purpose.  Holy Spirit, lead and direct us to deeper understanding and fellowship withe the King.  In Jesus name!

 

 

 

 

Pursuing the Proverbs: Day 4

As a Sunday school teacher, I often sought ways to make a principle stick with kids. It isn’t only the scripture, but the principle, which bears learning.  And the fun thing I discovered early on, was that the first letter of words – alliterations, helped the children remember “The Principle.”  What was even better, the letter that kept coming up in all the principle words was “P”. So if I asked, “Can you guess which letter the principle this week begins with,” they would all chime, “P”, because they knew from experience, it always began with the letter “P”. 

I am loving our theme this month, because, guess what?  Proverbs begins with “P”. And it is all about adventures in principles, and the first of my selected scriptures also begins with the letter “P”.  Are you feeling like we are on Sesame Street and the letter of the day is “P”, yet? LOL

So what is this Perfectly Principled word?  It is Plan.

Today's Reflection: Proverbs 4:26 says: Ponder the Path of thy feet. 

Oh, yaayy! More “P” words!   Say it three times fast. I mean it. 3 times beginning - now. That will help it stick. OK. You are not 6.  So why do most of us act like 6 years olds, living day in and out without sitting down and pondering what steps we should take for the day? Then share that with God? 

If for a few minutes each day we do four things:

1. Ponder our path – give the day a little thought.  Rather than striking out into it blindly doing what we did the day before. 
2. Like most of you I need lists.  So as part of your Plan try to:

        Pray the list – if you have a list of things to do, pray for –

• guidance – let God point the way.
• presence of mind -  defined as “existence in a certain place” in the mind
• peaceful and prosperous productivity
• and passion for the purpose

   3.  Purpose to Prove God’s Power – Claim that power by filtering our plan through his word. Then prove him, put God to the test. On Purpose… have purpose.

 A reason to do what is on the list makes certain things Priority.  So –

   4.  Prioritize the plans.

Then: 

• We might get everyone in the family on the same page.
• We might see God in our day.
• We won’t walk alone.
• We might realize some things were not as important as we thought.

Result? Things will go wrong anyway, the plans won’t always pan out, and you will feel like a pitiful failure at the end of the day - IF you forget that the plan was a guide, not the perfect will of God.  Please put a little fun in and plan to laugh and make changes to the plan. Proverbs are Character builders, not the “LAW OF GOD.”  Use them as tools to fashion a little more perfect YOU.

 Then above all – refer to Acts 2: 21 often, at the end of your day: and remember the old joke which quotes only half the verse but reeks with wisdom: “it shall come to pass”.  Tomorrow’s another day. Think about it! And Ponder a new Plan.

Today's Prayer: Lord Jesus, your word helps us know that everything about you is one big plan. There is purpose in every element of your creation. Help me be a part of that plan, but also help me to include you in my daily plan.  But most of all, help me to emulate you and have a plan. Lovin’ having fun as part of the plan. I think I see you smiling.  AMEN

For more wisdom, read Chapter 4 of Proverbs.

Ever Felt "WALKED ON"

Believe this:

Claim this:    (As you relate to the people of Israel)

Thus sayeth thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out thine hand the cup of trembling…thou shalt no more drink it again.

But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over; and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street to them that went over. Isaiah 51: 22-23

Awake, awake; put on thy strength…put on thy beautiful garments…Shake thyself from the dust… Isaiah 52: 1-2

Be assured by this:

…my people shall know my name: they shall know in that day that I am He that speaks; behold it is I. Isaiah 52:6

Pray this:

Lord, I believe and claim what you have promised.  I am assured that you are speaking to my heart, and I accept the promise and obey.  I arise from the position of letting this happen to me, and put on my strength which you give, I shake off the dust, and dress myself as if it never happened.  Lord I ask… and receive and open the door to newness… Help me as I choose to love my offender. Amen.

And Do this:

If ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? For sinners also love those that love them… Luke 7:32  But love your enemies, and do good…vs 35.  (See also: Proverbs 25:21 – 22 on how to do this.)

Remember this:

As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them. Psalms 140: 9

And this:

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.

The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me…Psalm 138: 7 – 8 

Realize this:

 The Lord never asks us to deal with people who walk on us, until he first allows that we are able to rise up from the dirt, dust ourselves off, put on our strength, and dress ourselves with beauty.  And then he promises that he WILL deal with them. It is one of the “opposites of God” precepts that we allow God to fight our battles. Though we don’t understand sometimes –

Accept this:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55: 8-9

 

Honor God in this, and watch and wait….See what the hand of the Lord can do!

Life Application: A Time For Everything

Throughout my walk as a Christian, one thing that has become clear to me is that God truly has appointed a time for everything. There are really sunny seasons, but also really rainy and dry seasons. The sunny season gives us hope for when the season changes—knowing that it won't always be rainy. The rainy season draws us closer to God and gives us an even greater appreciation for the good season.

God gives us this scripture in Ecclesiastes to remind us that we will experience both seasons in our lifetime. The hope lies in knowing that no matter the season, God walks right beside us through them.

¹ There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—

 ² A time to give birth and a time to die; 
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. 
³ A time to kill and a time to heal; 
A time to tear down and a time to build up. 
⁴ A time to weep and a time to laugh; 
A time to mourn and a time to dance. 
⁵ A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; 
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. 
⁶ A time to search and a time to give up as lost; 
A time to keep and a time to throw away. 
⁷ A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; 
A time to be silent and a time to speak. 
⁸ A time to love and a time to hate; 
A time for war and a time for peace.

 ⁹ What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils? ¹⁰ I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.

Going through a good season? Praise God and ask Him to make you strong before the rainy season comes.

Walking in the rain right now? Draw near to Him, keep praying, and believe in the hope that there will be a time when the sun emerges and you'll be thankful for how He brought you through.

My Peace I Give YOU

When I  began to research the word “PEACE”, I was amazed to find that there are arguments that are historical about the translation of the Christmas passage that is so familiar to us:

 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:4

In the early centuries, transcribing errors caused a multitude of early documents to have a different meaning than the texts before them, of which there are only a few.  Translating scholars chose the meaning in the multitude of erroneous documents available to men of the 15-17^th centuries, and made those highly copied errors the meaning of the verse.  Out of that came great discussions about whether “on earth peace, good will toward men” meant peace between men, and a lack of war - wherein men were to do the right thing and be at peace with one another - making peace on earth a viable and desirable “life’s work.” As if it were the call of God on their lives to pursue peace, and avoid war because of Christ’s birth. As if the Angels declared a new and great commandment unto mankind. Some stake their basic beliefs about how God feels about war on this concept.

I am not sure that I ever thought the verse meant to avoid war at all costs, because to me it always had to do with “inner peace.”  So I was surprised to find that this beloved verse had controversy around it. Why, the very fact that a verse about peace caused contention between men, sort of had a ring of discord to me.  It was as if I could hear Satan laughing in the background.  What was the great news that the angels proclaimed on that night? Did they really come to tell us that Jesus came so that we could make a commitment to ourselves to seek peace between us?  Wow!  Are we failing at that or what?  Time alone has made God a liar, if his message to us was that because of Jesus we would have the power within us to establish peace on earth.  So why does this scripture seem to be a lie in God’s word? Did Jesus bring the potential of a world of nations at total peace, when he came as a babe in a manger?

Well there are a number of other scriptures that admonish us to seek peace within our families, with our neighbors, and ultimately, desire it that we may have allies and friends among nations.  But, to me, and in the words of the earliest documents, the angels were addressing a more Holy issue.  Just as some rulers & church leaders of Christ’s day misunderstood when he said he was King of the World, it is a great mistake to lower this verse to the man-to-man level.  No. This verse is about God’s plan to bring peace to link himself to man. For mankind, this meant no fear of retaliation, ever. In the Old Testament, there was a peace offering brought to the temple, which was intended to placate God.  That offering was a ritualistic act to remind people not to feel enmity with God when they fell into their sinful nature, and stay trapped there. Jews understood this concept of bringing an offering before God, which would be like a bringing a gift to a loved one to say, “I’m sorry.”

However, even in the most loving environments, we get tired of hearing someone say over and over again, that they are sorry for repeatedly going back to some act, which continues to hurt the relationship, every time it occurs.  With most “I’m sorry” gifts, is the often hollow promise of  “I will never do that again.” When we’ve heard it over and over, not only the act is offensive, but the lie about never doing it again becomes worse.  This is what would be our station in life with God, repeatedly answering for our sins, apologizing with high hopes of not falling short in his eyes again, only to find it is an impossible task…if Jesus had not become our forever peace offering.

Peace was needed between God and man.  A kind of peace that set our hearts and minds at ease, about not being able to be perfect in God’s eyes.  As we discipline children, we sit them down to think about what they’ve done, asking them to not do it again, but to listen and do what we are telling them to do instead.  Once they get up from the “time out”, we ask that they say they are sorry.  Sometimes, the process wears on us to the point of not being enforced, due to lack of will power on our part.  The result is a wayward child, and having to start all over with the discipline. Yet if there is to be peace in the family, a loving parent can’t loose the will to be consistent with discipline. 

Years of discipline without a healthy balance of forgiveness will build up an animosity that sometimes comes out as rebellion in teens.  Constantly keeping our noses to the “pleasing God” grindstone will cause animosity between us and God, as well. Satan will do all he can to add fuel to the fire, hoping to cause rebellion toward God in our hearts.  God gave the peace offering of ancient days, as a point in time, when people could come to him, and ask for a fresh start.  But years and years of peace offerings didn’t bring the inner peace, which God and man were seeking.  Just as in so many other of the ways that Christ fulfilled the law, Jesus came to be our “peace offering.”  And the angels were sent to declare that God and his heavenly family were rejoicing that there could finally be a remedy to the constant inner battle, a means of healing the friction between God and man.

Let’s hear it from Jesus: Not the Peace the World seeks - 

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. Matthew 10:34(KJV)

Jesus’ coming actually stirred up trouble between nations of various religions, and between people of various beliefs, and between sinners and God. He knew his coming would not bring peace in the worldly sense. 

Rather - Peace between God and Man –

Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. John 20:21

And from the Apostle Paul to the church at Phillipi:

And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:7 

Jesus did ask that we share our peace.  Our inner peace. To give the world what they really need, release from the animosity between them and God.

 Thank you, Father, that you reached out to me with your permanent peace offering.  Thank you for ending the ritual, for allowing that there might be peace between us. Thank you for accepting me as I am, flaws and all, while giving me the power and authority to overcome the patterns of sin in my life. Yet, no matter where or when I fail, you are simply there with love and adoration to hug me back into your mercies, forgive me of sin, and let there be PEACE between you and me. AMEN 

 By the way, when Jesus returns the second time…we are promised that he will bring the peace that earth and nations desire. Then He will be the Prince of Peace.  There is no peace without his intervention.  We should all hold peace for the world dear in our hearts, and long for the day that he will come and bring a genuine peace to the whole world…but that’s another story.

Life Application: Be influenced by God, not the culture

Our culture dictates what we should wear by the latest trends. The latest diet fad has us believing that we can be thin and beautiful via a pill or surgery. If we're simply unhappy in marriage without a drive to make it work, culture tells us to just divorce. Culture tells us that we have to have a certain amount of money and possessions to be worth something. It's a vicious cycle isn't it? Trying to keep up with the culture gets us nowhere and more often than not it leaves us feeling empty.

God specifically tells us in His Word not to fall prey to worldly things:

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.—Romans 12:2 NLT

i love how The Message version is translated:

Place Your Life Before God
^1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.—Romans 12:2 MSG

When we follow God's way, not the world's way, God transforms us from the inside-out into a vessel that can be used for good. True joy comes from being transformed by God, not the culture, because we know that with God we will never lack anything and that He will always give us His best—two things the culture cannot promise. God loves when we give Him our simple, ordinary life—His grace, love, and power can instantly make our life extraordinary. 

Lord, Light My Way

Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet and a Light unto my path. Psa.119:105

The song about this scripture has been running through my head, lately. It is partly due to the lights we put up on the house and in the yard, which have made my approach to the house at night so much easier. I noticed one night as I reached for my house key that I didn’t need to also pull out my flashlight.  Coming home from work for all the years that Jimmy has worked nights - to a dark house and entering it alone – made me very conscious of how many dark places there are from the car to the door.  And in the last several years, going from dark to light, or the opposite, causes me to not be able to walk straight. I joke that I look like I am inebriated, but it isn’t really funny when it happens.   Jimmy has obliged me by placing motion lights at the doors and drive, and under the deck.  He also has kindly supplied me with little tricks to light my way. I have a key cover that has a tiny LED light which shines exactly on the door knob from the key, so I can see the key hole.  He installed solar lights up the walkway, but the bushes always grew over them and shaded out the sun.  He allowed that a line of rope lights remained lining the walkway after the holidays. But the grass soon grew over it.  So I got a small flash light that I attach to the handles of my purse with a D-ring.  My grandson thinks it’s his toy, but it is to get me up the walk. In other words, I do anything I can to be able to light my path when it is difficult to see.  But these days, no need. If I have remembered to turn on the Christmas lights before leaving, the entire lawn is bright with light when I return.

When we were children, my mother’s home backed up to a AAA baseball field.  In summer, it was the grandest thing a kid could ever want.  The stadium lights lightened the back yard so brightly that we could play ‘til hours past dark.  I remember helping Daddy plow the garden in the brightness of those lights, in the cool of the evening, tossing up the sweet smell of earth, and proud as I could be that he let me guide the tiller, even though I sank to my ankles in the soft broken ground.   Where the light shone brightly, it was like daylight.  But the shadows were deep enough to hide in, and we did. Our favorite night time game was hide and seek, for we could simply lie down in a shadow, and be totally hidden from the seeker.  Hmmm.  Lying in the dirt in the dark…doesn’t sound like so much fun as it was. LOL  

Can you imagine that light, any light which lit your pathway after dark in Christ’s day was a blessing? It was valuable; and required effort to have in any form. In the temple there were strict instructions how, when and where the lamps, wicks, oils, and all assorted related paraphernalia were to be used and kept in the finest working condition.  Light held a place of importance. This year Jimmy wanted candles in the windows. I have always loved them, and was a bit surprised.  He was inspired by light bulbs that flickered with the appearance of a real candle burning.  When we make our traditional gifts to his employees, we will place a candle in the middle of each one.  Not because it is aesthetically, pleasing, but because it is a symbol of the Word of God that came to live among us, even as it was in the temple.

 Sometimes, when the dark times of life make it difficult to see my way, I am so thankful that I have the words of God to lighten my path.  And I just love when God shines so brightly that my path is as bright as my Christmas lights.  Can I leave them up please?  OK, OK… not past February, I promise.  Anyone know where I can get some Valentine’s lights? LOL

The only thing missing from God’s light to my path is the light switch.  In order to have the simplicity of clicking the switch, to have instant light, I have to do the work to put up the lights in my yard.  In order to have the instant light of God’s Word in my darkest hours, I need to have it installed in my heart.  I have a terrible mind for memorization.  I have always had difficulty with it.  But if I am persistant, and read something often enough, I at least can know what I am looking for to look it up quickly when I need it.  But I have on occasion resorted to hanging index cards on the mirror, and putting scriptures in my wallet so that every time I look in these frequented places, I am faced with the scripture I want lighting my path.   One of the first I ever learned was one required to learn in my Girl’s Auxiliary program as as child. 

Arise shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. Isaiah 60:1  

 Even then, I understood that this verse was speaking of Jesus, who wasn’t born at the time.  I understood that God gave prophecy for Christ to be born as the light of the World. And when he said, “I am the light of the world,” I knew he was referring to prophecies like this one. I am glad Christmas comes in the winter, when the darkness descends on the earth early, so we feel a need to put up lights. I love being able to use lights to celebrate the season.  It just would not be the same in the summer.  Lights are not simply a materialistic, unrelated element of Christmas commercialization.  They are about God and who he said he was. They are about a baby who came to light our world with his love and wisdom, freedom and power, grace and hope, peace and promise.  May he light your way today.

Feeling sad… light a candle and praise His name.

Lord, shine brightly into the dark places in the lives of those who need your enlightenment today.  Give guidance, and stability, freedom from fear, and clarity to the path of any who seek your way. AMEN

 For You are my lamp, O LORD; The LORD shall enlighten my darkness.    II Samuel 22: 29 NKJV

His love reaches to the heavens

⁵ Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens, 
   your faithfulness to the skies. 
⁶ Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, 
   your justice like the great deep. 
   You, LORD, preserve both people and animals. 
⁷ How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! 
   People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 
⁸ They feast on the abundance of your house; 
   you give them drink from your river of delights. 
⁹ For with you is the fountain of life; 
   in your light we see light.

 ¹⁰ Continue your love to those who know you, 
   your righteousness to the upright in heart. 

—Psalm 36:5-10

 

Choose Joy

In Nehemiah 8, Ezra the prophet, and the Levites who provided the music, read and explained the law of God to the people. It says: Vs 4: “ Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose.”  The people had gathered in the street, and the pulpit was high above them. When Ezra opened the book of the Law in the sight of all the people, they all stood up. He read to them from the “Bible” of their time. Afterwards, Nehemiah taught the people and helped them understand what was being read to them. Upon hearing and understanding it, they cried.

I don’t know about you, but that scene seems as familiar to me as if I were there. Like a good blessing church service. But for these people, this was extremely special, because they hadn't had access to their scriptures as we do today. There wasn’t a Bible or two for every person. I think I actually own 4 not counting the coffee table versions or the family bibles from my mom. I can’t imagine not being able to pick up one, open it and glean from its words whenever I pleased.  There have been centuries of people who have not had that easy access.  We sometimes don’t consider what a glorious opportunity we have in our age to choose any verse we desire to read. With a concordance by my side, or Bible Gateway open, I can actually choose to read only the verses that speak of my subject. It blesses me so much, that I can’t imagine not having that option.

When the people heard what Nehemiah taught, they cried.  Yet he admonished them to make a choice not to be sad:

Vs. 9. …This day is holy unto the Lord your God. Mourn not, nor weep.

Vs 10. Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to them for whom nothing is prepared…Neither be ye sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

When we are faced with the toils of the world, and sadness or worry stealthily seek to spoil our joy, God desires that we choose Joy, that we may have strength in those times. Ever notice how sorrow zaps your strength.  My husband and son often choose to joke in what seems like inappropriate times to me. If I am sad, my husband goes out of his way to make jokes so I will smile. Sometimes I don’t feel like smiling, and I don’t want him joking.  But his is actually the better attitude. I allow the sorrow to drain me. He finds joy and remains strong.

Vs. 12  says: And all the people went their way to eat and to drink, to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.

Nehemiah was helping the people to choose how they placed their focus. He wanted them not to dwell on the fact that they had not known the law, and hadn’t understood God’s desires for their lives; not to let their regret take the stand in their lives.  Rather, he wanted them to direct their focus on the fact that they now had understanding, and that was a reason to be glad.

I believe the Lord has led me this season, to find Joy for my strength.  I have been saying for a week how much stronger I felt this Christmas, and was well aware that I was choosing to have joy. But only when I asked the Lord what I should I write about this week, did I see the multitude of scriptures that indicated that choosing Joy is the reason for my renewed strength. The Spirit of God had led me to joy even before I read the admonitions of scripture. And he had demonstrated the results, so that I might have no doubt when I read the words.

Isaiah 61:3 says: To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning.

The medicine for sadness around the holidays or any time, is to chose to have joy.

In Nehemiah 8, the Levites who were the praise and worship people, found themselves with a different task. It says in verse 11 that they stilled the people and said “hold your peace… neither be ye grieved.”  Many of the verses in my concordance, which speak of joy, note that God gives joy coupled with peace. So I have decided, in the words of the old pastors and ministers of the Word, to “HOLD MY PEACE” AND CHOOSE TO HAVE JOY…

When we get together at a funeral of one of my husband’s family, there is always laughing in the hallways.  And by the casket, for that matter.  There was a time when I wondered what other people who were in other rooms thought, but I finally realized, that since so many of Jimmy’s family are secure in their salvation, that the laughter was more than appropriate. They are a family who lives their joy. There is scripture to back the desire to rejoice when someone has died and gone to the presence of God.  But most of all, the Word clearly tells us to make being joyful the remedy for our sadness, and the means by which we return to a place of strength. His family most definitely finds their release and ability to  move on in their knack for laughter.

One of the “Opposites of God” basics is that we can turn from one thing and be renewed in its opposite.  This fits the principle, that we should release the one and seek the other.Let me challenge anyone who finds themselves weary and overwhelmed, to find Joy so that they may also find Strength.

An exercise in renewing your mind would be to write the word JOY and place it everywhere.  Hang it on the fridge, on the mirror, on the dash of your car.  If jokes aren’t your thing, then find pictures that make you smile, or wear colors that bring you joy. Look in the mirror and actually make yourself smile.  During the day, raise your eyebrows and follow it by relaxing your face, then smile.  Think of God and Smile. Think of your favorite food and smile. Think of something and close your eyes and spell out silently: J O Y. Visualize it. Hold your smile for as long as you can and time it. Ask your co-worker to tell their joke again, and this time smile! Renew your mind.

Much love to everyone this Holiday season. And for those who are really having a hard time finding joy this year, say this over and over: “Count It All Joy.”  It won’t feel like joy, but the mind will eventually obey God’s Word. For you I pray in a special way, cause I’ve been there…I know how hard it is to choose joy in pain. But the time will come…the time will come.

Lord, help the hurting, the weary, the sad and grieving, those with loss and those who just don’t know why they don’t have joy to choose selectively to find joy, that they may have the strength your Word promises.  Grant this is Jesus Name and for whom we celebrate. AMEN

How He Loves Me

A friend recommended this song to me yesterday and as i listened to it, i started to cry. For a moment, i couldn't figure out what emotion was driving the tears so i sat quietly and just waited on the Lord to speak to my heart.

Despite the ugly divorce, i have felt tremendously blessed in every area of my life lately. The Lord is truly showing me His glory through all of this—His faithfulness moved me to tears.

You see, i've been made to feel like i don't deserve anything good from people who have been very good at judging my life, by those who don't know me or who have never taken the time to know me or my heart. So to receive good, overwhelmingly abundant blessings has left me standing in awe before God with my hands raised high in praise.

God reminded me today, as i study Galatians, that i just need to keep focusing on Jesus and not what people think of me.

For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.—Galatians 1:10

 

How wide, O how wide Lord
How deep, O how deep Lord
How great, O how great
Is Your love for me

If you are in a similar place of thinking you don't deserve anything good—it is a LIE from the enemy. God wants you to know that you deserve:
• His undying love
• every good gift He has to offer
• peace
• true love
• pure joy
• to know and experience Truth
• rest

And it's not that we deserve it because of anything we have or haven't done, but because of what HE has done for us—thank you, Jesus, for the cross. His love for us is deeper, wider, greater than we could ever imagine. He rises the sun for us each morning, surrounds us with flowers in the spring, and is nearer than our next breath. He is an amazing God who is worthy of all our praise.

Send him packin'

Ever wonder exactly why the Bible seems to harp heavily on not breaking the law of God, and if you read scriptures randomly, especially in the Old Testament, that it seems to be all about working harder and harder to please God by not breaking the laws?  When your pastor or teacher teaches the Word, ask yourself this question.  Did he or she take me to a place of victory over SIN in this discussion? Most teachers will lead you to a place of recognizing the sin in your life but not to a full understanding of winning the sin battle.  Please remember that SIN is that which is outside the boundaries of what God has planned as the best for you.  If life isn’t functioning the way God designed it to, it is not a failure of the design… Now having said that, return to my question.  Is the person I am allowing to be my shepherd, leading me to a place of victory over my sin, or did they leave me to be a sacrifice to the wolves?

Many preachers in churches I have attended, felt that just getting people to an altar for confession of sin, was the job they had to do, and they went to great lengths to get it done. However, I went to a church in my youth that was very different than that, and by God’s grace, I was gifted with that pastor’s great example of how to fill the altars - God’s way. At this church, every time this man preached, more and more people came to the altars to accept Christ as their savoir.  His was not a message of beating people over the head with their sin. His was a message of Christ’s release from sin. And that simple truth was such a joy to people, that they went out with great excitement and invited their friends to come hear someone who tells you how to have that freedom.  It was infectious.  It was on target. It was so like Jesus - soooo  CHRIST- LIKE.  That is exactly how the early church began to grow so quickly. Because the message from God was freedom from the ritualistic grind of obedience to the law, and people were so glad to hear it. 

But it is confusing.  If it is something you grapple with, read Galations 3 and 4.  God’s design even in the beginning, even in the sacrifices of the Temple, was to set us free from the trap - when operating outside devine design captures our life, and holds it prisoner.   Paul saw the early Christians doing battle with this concept. It was not just a Christian battle. The Jews and their forefathers had done battle with this concept forever.  But even Paul had not seen clearly the truth about God until he became a Christian.  Now as the shepherd to young churches, he understood that they had not truly seen the Grace of God in their hearts. They had not grasped the freedom in such a way as to have it seered into their consciousness. Their minds had not been renewed to the point that they ceased to slip back into living under the law. 

It’s no different for us. It is the same battle that every Christian must wage, until that is, that by the renewing of their mind, their thought processes are more apt to take them directly to the power of the knowledge of GRACE, than the power of the Law.

Paul says: vs. 2.  (paraphrased) – I only ask you this.  Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?  3. Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now depending on being made perfect in the flesh? 4. "have you suffered so many things in vain?"

            vs. 10. – as many as work to keep the law are under the curse.  For it is written: “Cursed is every one that continueth not in all the things which are written in the book of the law to do them.”  11. But, that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident. For “the just shall live by faith!” 12. The law is not of faith.  Anyone who does them (the laws) "shall LIVE IN THEM".   13.  “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.  For it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree:" (one of the laws). 

Paul then discusses the difference between God’s promises and his law, and that the covenant of the promise actually came 430 years before the law, and the law was never intended to “make the promise of none effect.”  He says that "if the inheritance be of law, it is no more of promise…but God gave it to Abraham by promise.”  Paul then poses the question we all have wrestled with:  vs 21. “ Is the law then against the promises of God?”

 Have YOU suffered so many things in vain?  As God gently leads you through the consequences of sin, or the trials by fire that strengthen your steel, do you enter your battles and try to fight them yourselves, or do you grow in the knowledge that God offers peace. Think about the word Peace. One of the most wonderful principles of scripture is among the “opposites of God” set of principles.  It is that God asks us to set ourselves in array for the battle and come boldly to the place of battle…and then requires that we STAND and watch as He takes care of the enemy. I love the whole armor scripture.  Love it, mostly because of this fact. God understands that, while we are going through the processes of life and learning (growing in Grace), we need something to do.  And we need protection from the enemy and ourselves. So he tells us to prepare our minds, to rethink our life patterns, and renew by casting away the old thought patterns, then revise our determination to serve according to the plan. Get up, Get dressed, Go out to battle. But when we have done all that, He calls us to the battle to watch Him win the battle! That’s sooooo cool!!!  God always leads us to Victory, We are unable to be certain of victory if we fight the battle ourselves.  Only when God fights the battle do we have confidence we can truly win.

When James said, “Faith without Works is dead,” (James 1:20) he understood that God calls us to a process. We don’t come to faith without the process.  A process of learning more about God, while learning that His laws work only when He is in control of them. They are His laws, and  it’s all His creation.  We just muck it up. God didn’t create us to become God. He created us to become Friends of God. All He wants us to do is Love Him, and let Him Love us.  And share that with anyone who doesn’t understand it. 

Does that make us not responsible for our sin? Absolutely not.  Awareness of sin is awareness of how totally lost and helpless we are without our creator. We need God. We need to be in Awe of God.  But we need to let God be God and know a lot more everyday about what that means. But our love of God is doing us no good if it puts a wedge between us and God, because we strive more and more everyday, to obey a set of laws that is impossible to keep….thereby making us Hate God for giving them to us in the first place.  One of the OPPOSITES OF GOD is: He gave us laws < & > He NEVER meant for us know HOW to NOT break them?!!?  He knew when He made us that we would eventually break them, even in the Garden of EDEN. He had a plan for our salvation.

Christy and I talked earlier this week about the spiritual battles, and how you must learn as you go while fighting them. It is never a sin to not understand while God is teaching us.  But it is a sin to disobey what we understand.  Sometimes we give into disobedience, just because we are too weary to keep doing the obedience thing. That’s OK. To all who find themselves in this push-pull struggle, including myself, I would love to ask:  “Do you get it? that God only asks us to continue striving until we really get it?  that He really doesn’t want us to go there?  so He lets us go there, so we can see where it leads us?  and see how exhausted we will get? Then HE brings us back from there - and hopes we will have learned not to keep going there?”  (Parents will relate.)   Yet God always provides a remedy for sin. (Note to parents: this is why hugs are necessary after discipline.)

God didn’t let the Israelites show up to Jericho and not have a list of things He wanted them to do. Then, He made them march around the city. He made Noah build a boat that no one else had ever seen the likes of.  He asks big things of us, with a complicated instruction manual as our help. It all seems fruitless sometimes. But when it boils down to it, we will do all He asks us to do, to the best of our ability, and in the end, all He wants from us is to lock ourselves in the ark and ride out the storm.  ~Totally, in His control.  In the end, or rather NEW BEGINNING, we let go of our striving and Let God fight and WIN the battle. Your armor is your defense against the enemies secret attacks on you. But when Christ comes in offense, rejoice that you are fully prepared, and turn the battle over to the Lord. 

…If there had been a law given which could have given life, righteousness should have been by the law.

The law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Galations 3:21 & 24

 Thank you, Lord for saying, “It is Finished,”  in your dying breaths.  And thank you for the Resurrection - an end to the power of the law and a new beginning full of power to defeat the effects of the law.  Help me, Dear Lord to not fall back to living under the curse.  Help me not to have suffered in vain. Help me not grow weary while training to be a soldier..  As we are called to the battles in our lives, give us peace and help us Stand, as YOU gain MY victory. Especially when others bring sin into our lives Help me Lord to not give up while I am building the “Ark” in my life. It is hard enough dealing with when I bring sin into my life, but I feel helpless when I can’t control when other sources bring sin in.  Lord, be in control, and help me feel secure when YOU are in control. AMEN 

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Life Application: Dress appropriately for daily battles

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.—Ephesians 6:10-17

Just like we get up in the morning every day and get dressed for work, we should get up and appropriately dress for our daily battles. Big or small battles, we cannot make it through a day without them. A fight with a spouse, a depressive state of mind, a broken-down car, stuck in traffic, etc. are all just examples of daily battles.  During our battles we become completely vulnerable and the devil uses those moments to tell us lies (see my open letter to the thief here), adding fuel to the fire. It's why God tells us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 

No matter what the battle is, God has given us the best armor, as described in Ephesians chapter  six, to fight our way through it in a Godly manner. We have to clothe ourselves in truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and our salvation daily. Making it a habit to do this before climbing out of bed  ensures we are prepared for every battle of the day and that we aren't caught off guard. You see, every little battle will turn into a war if you let satan onto the battlefield. Put on your armor and defend yourself and your family before war has a chance to break out. And realize at the start of the battle that prayer and knowing scripture are your best defense.

And, ultimately, ask and let God fight your battles—avoid trying to hurt people, seeking revenge, or being angry ... the more things like this that you do, the more weapons you give to satan to use against you.

Who Will Recognize Him?

Have you ever looked out over a lake and thought what it must have been like to have Jesus come to where you were docked, and say, “ I will make you fishers of men.”   He was an adventurer who was willing to share the risks of the lifestyles and workloads of his disciples. It must have been more common to use a boat for transportation than we might imagine.  It appears that when he was physically tired, he retreated to the ships and cast off from the ever-present crowds for escape.  Tired enough to sleep through a storm that scared everyone into believing they were going to die. 

Did he go to the water’s edge looking for disciples, watching for the men who displayed tenacity and faith; or did he stumble upon them just teaching curious men, and recognized in their personality a flair for engaging family and friends in every exciting new thing in their lives Were their hearts already prepared, since the social and political environment of their time had men looking to God for a savoir of some sort.  Did they expect such a King to come to them as they worked by the sea? Were these successful men whose boats were decked with beautiful white sails?  Did they have vendors waiting by the shores to buy their harvests?  Was Jesus drawn to them because they looked successful?

You are probably screaming at me in your head. He was Jesus, he already knew everything about them.  Ah well, duh…but why these particular men? Were they so burned out on their present occupation that they just laid everything down and followed him?  Why did they just leave the life they obviously put enough into to own a boat? 

Have you ever seen where they are unearthing the antiquities and only in recent years understand the capacity of the rulers of Jesus’ day to build the most modern cities of the world, until that time.  Jesus didn’t live in a dumpy world of uneducated, struggling, poverty stricken populace.  Yes those people reached out to him.  But his world was one of fashionable cities, full of vigor, architecture, lovely landscapes and gardens, massive homes on hills surrounding a beautiful little sea.  Imagine Jesus showing up on the dock in Alaska and asking one of the skippers of “DEADLIEST CATCH” to drop everything and follow him.  Seriously??? But these were the sort of men He asked. Except for the freezing cold temps, it was just like that.

 Was there already a burning desire to do God’s will in the hearts of these men?  If we read the stories of the disciples on the dock when Jesus called them to follow him, the questions they asked among themselves indicated they were seeking someone who could do miracles.  They believed that the man who would come to lead them would show them things they never saw before.  They only knew the half of it, for after his death and resurrection he spent many days teaching them how he fulfilled the prophetic scriptures as the Messiah, and what he yet had to do to continue to fulfill the prophecies. But it didn’t require that they know everything about him to follow Him.  And that was what He wants us to know. If your heart is seeking… If he is standing at your dock saying “follow me,”… and your heart has been burning to have God in your life, do you respond, “I think I need to wait ‘til I know everything about you?”  They recognized him!  On that day their hearts were open, and they were full of expectancy that God was about to do something with their lives.

We recognize him too. We know when He has called us to follow Him.  God is willing that you are first at a place to want a Savoir before he asks you to follow him.  And Jesus comes to you where you are. He knows you have skills that will be useful to His glory.  And he only promises that if we follow him, our yield will be the hearts of men. The first thing these men knew of him was his poetic, curious way of giving us information. ” Follow me,” He said, and I will make you fishers of men.” He was saying I can use you, just as you are.   Out of thousands,  Jesus  picked only 12. And He set them on a mission to win the world.  

   Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

Just a note: Every time you go fishing, you don’t always catch fish.  But, you seldom don’t get at least a nibble. LOL

Lord, all I intend to do is just a little fishing.  Use me, to say or do something that will help someone recognize you, to know you are the one they have been looking for. AMEN

Unconditional Love

Face it! We are at odds with people around us.  We find ourselves married to spouses who are our exact opposites, most of the time.  Our children begin to show how differently they think than we do almost immediately. By the time they are teens, they feel like strangers in our house.  The boss thinks it should be done one way and we can only do it the way we know how.  In the end it gets done, so why does butting heads matter? Smack in the middle of all the things that push us apart, are a million reasons why we need to come together, and even though we know love is the answer, how do you love someone who is so forcefully drawing away. The walls that go up are so hard to pull down.  Sometimes it feels like you would have to be God to actually practice unconditional love.

Take a long look at the word – unconditional.           UNCONDITIONAL   

U N C O N D I T I O N A L.   

NOT conditional.  How many times during the day does what you say to someone hold a condition? Discipline demands conditions.  To our children we say, “you can go play, if you clean your room.”
Busy lives have conditional demands on our time.” I will take care of that when take care of this.” But the one thing in our lives that must not have conditions is LOVE. Love is a time out from the routine that sets us on a perpetual path to opposite tracks.  It is the time when we stop going in opposite directions and come together, with no conditions.

Almost never is it the choice of both individuals at once.  Generally, if it is between us and God - that a mountain of opposites have grown - it is usually God who is trying to remove the obstacles.  Many times the label of SIN is placed on the pile of stuff that causes us to keep such distance from God.  If you haven’t noticed, it is God who made a way to remove the pile .Sin is just the trash to him, to be tossed or burned. His definition of sin is that which separates us from Him.   He went so far as to say that if you desire, you can say to the mountain, “mountain go away,” and God promised that we have the power to send the mountain to the sea. Why, because it is just that simple to follow through on the principles of God and have them work. The moment we take advantage of God’s unconditional love, the mountain is removed.  There will be things that have to be worked on to fix the broken stuff. Or decide to just toss it, and get new .* But the love of God which never changed, but was difficult to see as the mountain grew, becomes suddenly visible again.

Now take that picture and use the image of removing the mountain… no matter what their age, decide to have unconditional love for your children.  No matter the issues between you and your spouse, decide to have unconditional love.  Can you love your boss, your friend, your mother or father – unconditionally? It something you must choose to do, just as forgiveness is.  A Choice.

If the mountain comes down, are all the broken things fixed?  NO.  Do you always get a reciprocal from the one on the other side of the wall.  NO.  But does it give you a break from the stress of living in a world  where we spend more time building the walls than taking them down?. YES.  Is it really helpful?. YES Totally.

Two things:

1.    Toss the hurts if you are able, and decide to build on love instead.  It takes courage, and there will be a fear that you will need to build a wall of protection.  When abuse is the issue, put time frames on how long you will accept a changed behavior. Example - to a spouse one might say: “We will see how it goes for six months, and we will talk again, but I am drawing the line now on the abuse.  You will never abuse me again, NEVER.  If you abuse me again within that six months, you will have lost your final opportunity to show you love me enough to do whatever it takes to put that out of our lives.  Putting a condition on abuse is not the same as putting a condition on love. It actually gives unconditional love a chance to blossom, and grow. This principle works for children as well, but put shorter time limits.  And remember that conditions on behavior are not the same as conditions on love. 

2.    Time outs should become more frequent.  If we parallel the timeout to the “SuperNanny” example,  we realize that abrupt, frequent, and responsible use of the “technique” is an effective way to deal with a child’s disciple with love. In other words, find a way to bring a halt to the behavior for a few moments. Then start again as if nothing had happened, with a hug and a promise of love. Of course, the scenario with bosses looks a little different, but the concept must be the same.  Showing the love after the break is very important.  Now see it in the context of the Mountain/wall building example.  If you remove the mountain more often, it doesn’t grow so overwhelmingly tall.  It won’t seem like such an impossible task to see the other person, without the mountain of problems and make the decision to act as if you were God-like in loving unconditionally.

My husband has a habit of saying “ I love you”  very often.  I used to tell him, that there were times I just didn’t think he loved me, because his actions spoke louder than his words.  “If you loved me…” I would say.  I see it differently now. Now I accept the offer of verbal love as his real feelings, and sometimes actually say, “I accept your love and that you love me, but  …(whatever)…doesn’t make me feel loved.  Can we handle this differently, so I will feel like you love me?”

Conversation about love must also come from an unconditional place. Not placid, not submissive in the connotation of being under someone’s power, but submissive in a response that comes first from love. Submit to the love. Conversation only takes down the mountain, when you say…”take down the mountain”.  A conscious decision must be made by one person to say, I will put the mountain aside so we can talk about loving one another unconditionally. It is critical to not see love as an excuse to let someone do harm, or behave badly. Love is only when you call the break, firmly, absolutely.

Here's a great Facebook page that has some super uplifting sayings:

A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

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  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. I John 4:7

 

Instant Prayer

My baby grandson had a minor surgery this week that resolved a problem, which left unattended could have been a big problem when he’s older. Though it pains me to see him twinging in pain now, how much better to know that it could be resolved now with a little pain, rather than being a “big pain” in the future.

 I could not help but relate to how we sometimes won’t face our problems and take them to the Lord early, but because of the pain they bring up, we let them ride until they consume us.  How much better to let the Savoir in and let him do a little surgery now, than be living with the results of our sins or heartaches later.

Sometimes it takes a bit for us to realize we have a need either because we are busy, in denial, or just didn't understand things were out of kilter.  Procrastination is not the answer once we become aware!

Romans 12:12 says: continuing instant in prayer.  We want instant food, instant messaging, and instant money.  Why not an instant remedy for whatever is burdening our hearts. 

Jesus didn’t wait a second to respond to our prayer for Salvation. In fact he doesn’t wait to answer our prayers ever.  Sometimes we have to wait for the answer to be revealed, but in God’s book, prayer and response are “instant.”

 ¹¹Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.  Psalm 42:11(KJV)

 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.  Romans 12:12

Thank you, Lord, for instant conversation between you and me. Help all the people who think they are not worthy, or must go through someone else to get prayers answered, see the truth provided in your Word that prayer was meant to be an easy conversation with an all powerful God. You speak to the lowly the same as the most “righteous.”  You hear us one and all.  I praise You for being the health of my countenance, and instant hope. AMEN

 

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Two is a Number of Hope and Blessing

The number 2 has been on my heart this month, and I have been surprised by the wonderful things the Lord is teaching me about this very symbolic number. I wrote on an earlier blog about the most significant meaning, which is “BLESSING.” A great example is when Jesus fed the masses, he first blessed the food and then he broke it into pieces to feed them. As he did at the Lord’s Supper. Breaking the bread would be of course into two pieces, thus making two pieces to feed two persons, and each time breaking it in two again and again, thus giving us the multiplicity of blessing. It is meant to be a blessing that, like all of God’s gifts, should grow and continue to bless. But this example also gives us a ground-work for the second meaning of the number “2”. Many of the numbers have double or intertwined meanings. “5” for instance means either gift of God, or grace and they are intertwined. Grace is a Gift of God, etc.

But the number “2” was initially understood by Hebrews to mean divided, broken, split, separated or changed. From the oldest scriptures, allusions were made to separation from God being the difference between Heaven and Earth, or “in the world” as opposed to “in the temple”. And that separation has a symbolic “place”. It is the Mount of Olives, east of the city of Jerusalem. There is a brook called Kidron which flows between the temple site in Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives where Jesus often went in the evenings after preaching in the city during the day. From day to night, from West to East, from work to rest, from seeking religion to seeking God in prayer, and many, many more examples of allegories can be extrapolated from the image of Jesus moving between the two.

But, the one the early Christians could relate to most was that King David made that same trek from Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives when being pursued by his Son Absolom for possession of the crown. There are numerous examples, but this one bears such a striking comparison to what Jesus did, and we know that Jesus himself was saying, “I am the king who walks from the temple to a place of rejection, but I will someday return to be your king.” It is one of the reasons they captured him in the early morning hours at the foot of the mountain, because they thought it would destroy the symbolism to stop him before he went back into the city. All Hebrews knew that David returned to Jerusalem as King. When Jesus rode into the city on a donkey, he was making a definite reference to him being the fulfillment of that as prophecy, something expected of their future Messiah. The Jewish leaders were not about to allow Jesus to become the people’s King. It would mean that they would be in definite danger of Roman retaliation. They did not understand that Jesus was the Spiritual King of their people, and that He would come only as physical King when the whole world was able to benefit. They were not expecting God to be their Messiah, they were expecting another man. Yet when God came as man, they rejected him.

What has all of that to do with the number 2. Well, in the time of Jesus, the way to cross over the Brook Kidron was by a road that topped an arched bridge…How many arches? Want to guess?  >2 of course. It was a beautiful modern stone structure, a grand part of the marvel of the city of Jerusalem in the day. The mountain ridge itself is a picture type of the number 3, referencing it as a place where all the persons of the trinity were symbolized. But, it is prophesied that the ridge will someday be spilt by an earthquake into how many pieces? > 2. These underlying twos refer to the fact that when Jesus passed back over the bridge for the last time on earth, it was to heal our separation from God and bring to us a blessing of freedom from the legalisms of human religion.

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives almost daily and to the garden called Gethsemane at the foot of the mountain to spend time in prayer with God the Father and for rest, often. He genuinely wanted us to look back at the frequency with which He went to this place and wonder why. This place provided a picture type of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus had not yet revealed to the believers. Gethsemane means “place of the olive press” or simply “olive press.” At the olive press the oil of olives was pressed for sale. Oil is a type of the Holy Spirit, so he was going to the place where oil might be obtained, symbolizing a purchase price must be paid to receive the Holy Spirit . The olives must be sacrificed to obtain the oils; Jesus to obtain the Spirit.

The trek over from the place of religion - the temple, to a place of choice - a garden, symbolizes crossing the gap between God and man. He wanted us to see the place as a type of rebirth, as going from being merely a companion to God, to becoming one with God through the Spirit, by taking him inside, allowing Him to indwell, as with the ingesting of the oil. But also to see the Spirit pictured in all the other uses of oil. As a light if burned, as warmth, as the base for healing ointments, and oh so many other references. He wanted us to see that we would no longer be separated from God, but that He wished to become our daily and constant companion by indwelling us. Choosing to walk to this garden of symbols was an invitation for us to make a daily decision to "walk the walk."

Now the Garden of Gethsemane was not at the summit of the mount, but at the base of the ridge, near the Brook Kidron, where there was water. Another illusion to the Holy Spirit- water is a symbol of receiving the Holy Spirit and his power to divide between good and evil. It was a symbol of how easy it was to become one with God. By simply walking over they were already in the place where the oil dwelled. No climbing the mountain to get there. No hiding away as King David had to save yourself. No work, for that was all done for the day. Only resting in the place where the Spirit dwells.

Now, how many picture types of the Spirit does that make? “2” Yet the greatest of all the typology here is the pairing: between 1) the elements of separation, division, and the eventual brokenness of Christ’s physical body (beginning with his capture in the Garden of Gethsemane) and 2) the element of blessing that will come from all of this symbolism and fulfillment of the prophecies.

There is hope in this pairing. It is the promise that out of brokenness, division, the separation of death, etc., there will come blessing if Jesus is our King. Jesus will come again, and scripture says he will come first to the Mount of Olives, where those buried on that hillside are said to be the first to be resurrected, but when he returns as King He will cross back over the Brook Kidron into Jerusalem as our Lord and earthly King. Just as he returned every morning from the Mount of Olives to teach and minister to his followers during his walk as Jesus of Nazareth, He will come again to minister to us and it will begin when he touches the Mount of Olives and crosses the Brook Kidron entering the city once more. Until then - separation. Separation before blessing. Two elements to a Bible truth that go hand in hand. Never under estimate the power of a number in the Bible. Believe it or not, I have only touched on the twos that are symbolically significant to the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane. Or to the principle of Twos. And all of them tell the story of this principle – the one Jesus demonstrated every time he broke bread. Brokenness leads to blessing, separation to reunion, crossing over from religion leads to communion with a real God. There are always two sides to every story, and this is the greatest story of all. Jesus was saying, although I leave you in body, I come to you in a way that they cannot kill, able to provide you with even greater blessing – by the indwelling of the Spirit.

My brother-in-law crossed the Brook Kidron this week, from earth to Heaven, to be where Jesus is with the Father, in that Beautiful Garden of Heaven….leaving us broken and separated from him. The same is true of all our loved ones who have gone before us to the Heavenly Garden Of Gethsemane, to be with Jesus and in the Father’s presence by the power of the Holy Spirit. One day all who have gone over will return, bringing to this earth a blessing like we have never known. Whether I am still here on this earth or have gone over too by the time it happens, I can be certain of one thing. All of the principles of God, made clear by the emphasis on the number "two" give assurance to my heart that God will honor his promises. This Blessing is something I can count on, place Hope in, and believe with all my heart.

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20

Lord, Christy, Lori and I are gathered in your name, with one heart - to serve you. We wish to minister truth, freedom, joy and encouragement to those who have been led into a fearful religious world. We want to emmulate what you would have said if you were here saying it. Help open the eyes of our readers to see that every part of your Word has significance and power to show your love and grace. Even the numbers are full of meaning. And every symbolic or prophetic meaning is meant to edify us. I rejoice in the Principle of Twos, and thank you that my favorite "two" is me and You. AMEN

 Please, readers add your own scriptural reference to the number two, express how it shows the Brokenness/Separation to Hope/Blessing principle.  What are your favorite pairings.  Can you think of twos that just jump right to blessing from the pairing? Leave us a message.

 

Are WE God on a Pedastal?

Sometimes I just want to scream to the world around me, “Why do you think I am supposed to act like God, if I am not?”  Just because we are Christians with a perfect figure in the person of Jesus Christ to emulate, it doesn’t mean we can suddenly become God. It is Satan’s idea to try to become God. We are only to become “one with God.”  There’s a difference. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit gives us an edge in discernment, to help us make choices.  But His is a still small voice.  Not an over-riding one.  We don’t become God when we are born into His family. We don’t even become God-like. We become humans with the capacity to know when God is leading, teaching and molding us, to walk in his image. We can only aspire to some small part of His holiness.

God chooses to help us learn about ONE concept of living within His parameters for productive healthy life at a time.  No human gets the complete overhaul to perfection.   What is amazing to me is that God is OK with that, but people aren’t.  Why can’t our peers and critics be OK with that?

Why should I go about trying to please the whole world of people who think they know what is Christian life for me, when they can’t get it right themselves, --especially when God certainly doesn’t have expectations of me to become so God-like as to have it all right, all the time. Why do I?  Why do YOU?  Why Why Why????

Runners all enter the race knowing that there will be only one winner.  The focus of being in the race is often on winning the ultimate prize, being the best at crossing the finish line, first. It is just fine to try. Yet only one will attain. But, have all the others failed?   When hunters go to the hunt, do they always return with the kill?  The focus for sport is the trophy; for the person who seeks food on the table, the kill is the prize. And yet even the hungry often return without the expected prey. Those who hunt the devourers and feral destroyers, often return battered and wounded.  Are they all suddenly unworthy to be called “hunters?” Is there any thing in life which when we don’t attain the ultimate, we are suddenly less than when we began the journey?

I expressed discouragement to my husband once and his answer was, “Where’s your faith?”  Well my faith was exactly where it always was. In God. But my tired body and mind have to live in this world and answer to their humanity.  I don’t stop believing God is God, nor do I stop believing I am his child. But sometimes I don’t believe I can accomplish the hard things in life. People often ask: “So where is your faith now?”  You are never tired or discouraged because you lost your faith…you are just tired and discouraged, experiencing things even Christ experienced.  If it wasn’t sin for Jesus, then it isn’t sin for us.  The trick is in not allowing the expectations of others to cause me to place unnecessary expectations on myself.  The marvelous scripture: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” should come with a subheading of , “if it is what Christ wants me to do.”  So often when I feel like I am falling short, it is on what people expect of me, not what God has asked of me.  So why feel God is to blame for not giving the strength I need to meet people’s expectations. 

I have learned that not wishing others to have expectations of me, also means that I don’t have expectations of them.  If I need someone to come along side, the person God has in mind often is not the person I had in mind. Being hurt with persons whom I expected to support me, only causes me unnecessary pain.  Sometimes, God prefers that He and I go it alone, and that is not the same as being ALONE. Regardless of where my feelings are, whether or not my expected support is my actual support - I need to put those expectations aside, by choice, and see what God’s plans are for me. To take a second look at where God is.  I will find Him where He was when I began my Christian walk…indwelling me, waiting for me to get away from the din of what others think to hear His still small voice.

Humans tend to have it upside down.  If the circumstances of life have brought out the human in you, it does not mean God sees you as “not up to par.” He still sees you as saved by Grace. As his child.  As He always has seen you - through the shed blood of Jesus. As he created you - a human in need of a relationship with the creator.

Yes, we sometimes fail to meet expectations, ours or those of others.  But if we were pursuing the goal, we have not failed. We don’t cease to be born again, and we haven’t failed at being a Christian, 

or a child of God,

or at being faithful,

or even at being human.

We should rejoice when we allow God to take us off the pedestal of expectations.  Not exclusively dedicated to being first place in the race, or even being God-like, but being committed to living each day pursuing right relationships with God and man. 

Do you ever feel that good is never good enough? Are there people in your life laying in wait to shine the spotlight on areas in your life where they deem you have come up short? In the end, I am so glad that people won’t be the one to whom I will answer. Just as I do every day of my life, I will be counting on God’s Grace.                ************************

Parents – beware.  Take care to lead and direct your children, giving them the same Grace God has given us.  The whole world will be putting them on a pedestal of inspection.  Please emulate God, and take them down. Share with them that although you have a commitment to give them Godly direction, you never expect them to reach an unattainable goal of being as good as everyone else thinks they should be.  Be careful how you discipline.  Direct them to meet goals, not expectations.  And help them know that they can reject the burden of perfection from other people as well.  Help them to see everything they do as a goal, an attitude of heart, a way of getting things done.  Not as a becoming a more perfect person, who is always in a state of flux, having to become an even more perfect person…the unattainable, undesirable image of a god on a pedestal. 

When Jesus was reproached by the chief priests, scribes and elders of the temple, who thought He didn’t act much like a representative of God, He said:

“I will also ask you one thing, and answer me: The baptism of John, was it of heaven or of men?”                   Luke 20: 3-4

LORD, how well you knew the hearts of men, even when you came in flesh as Jesus. You knew that men would misjudge even You as not being representative of Yourself! Jesus, whom the “Godly” men presumed to be unworthy to be their Messiah or King…some things never change. Will people ever see you as a God who walks along with us, not as a slave master who holds a big stick over us?  Help me to make Christ’s question the litmus test for my actions: “Is it of heaven or to please people?” Then, dear Lord, help me forgive myself for all the times I thought I failed.  AMEN

An open letter to the thief

To you, thief, who comes only to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10):

You may try to:

darken my path.

throw a divorce in my face and fill me with feelings of blame.

fill those who don't know the truth about my divorce with misplaced anger and emotions to beat me down.

turn Christians, churches and religious institutions against me with lies you told them.

place temptations and other worldly things that do not stand the test of time along my path.

confiscate blessings that were meant for me.

steal my passion.

make me feel abandoned and alone.

send me in circles until I am weary.

try to mingle truth and lies.

steal my love, joy, and compassion.

interrupt my peace with fear.

tell me I’m not good enough. That I’ll never be good enough. That I am not deserving of anything good.

 

But, for every lie you tell me, I will tell YOU the truth:

Jesus has come so that I may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)

God's Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119:105)

i know the truth and it will set me free. (John 8:32)

i trust in the LORD with all my heart and i lean not on my own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)

i have food and clothing, with these i will be content. (1 Timothy 6:8)

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it. (Proverbs 10:22)

God will never leave me nor forsake me. (Hebrews 13:5)

God gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. (Isaiah 28-31)

Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. (John 14:6)

The joy of the Lord is my strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)

God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good. (Genesis 1:31)

In short, there is no room for lies in a heart that is filled with the love of God. So, go sell your lies elsewhere. 
Christy 

_________________________

Knowing the Word of God is your best weapon against the lies that the enemy will tell you. Thank you, God, for Your Words of wisdom that you have provided so that we may never be caught off guard.

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Emerging from the valley with a purpose

For a long while, i desperately attempted to find out how God would use the storm in my life for good. i was so knee deep in muck that good seemed lightyears away. But, Hope made it possible to believe that God would use this pain, heartache, and life struggle for good—even though i didn't understand how or when.

As i look to the sky these days, i see the clouds parting, revealing brilliant blue skies. i feel the warmth of the sun. The pounding rain has been reduced to a light refreshing rain. And, in the distance, i see a beautiful, vibrant rainbow and am reminded of God's promises. While this season brings many mixed emotions, i am finding balance, joy, and deep love in the Lord. This makes me realize that this is just one of the many reasons He allows us to travel through the darkest valleys—to draw us closer to Him as He molds us into the person He created us to be. 

Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. —Isaiah 64:8

i am seeing how He has taken my life and molded it into something that He could use for the greater good. He took every tear and increased my compassion for others. He took all my pain and replaced it with empathy. He showered me with grace and mercy so that i could shower others with grace and mercy. He overpowered my weakness with His strength so that i could help others be strong. He allowed the core of me to be broken so that i could experience His healing hands. He took my passion and aligned it with His will. He did not waste any detail of my life—especially the details experienced in the valley.

During my journey, God revealed to me a great need for emotional healing in not only myself but in others. God has opened a door for me to help others through emotional healing that is based on biblical truths—to help people let go of the past and move forward in forgiveness, joy, peace, and love to live the life that God has called them to. This little side job allows me to play a small part in the way God heals the mind, body, spirit and i'm extremely excited and passionate about this new journey of being outwardly focused.

My very first client was one who shared a very similar story to mine—a simple reminder from God that this is what He is calling me to do and that He has equipped me for a purpose greater than what i can imagine.

i look back on all the things i had to go through for God to bring me to a place where i could help others. The potter had to do a lot of reworking of the clay. That reshaping was not fun for me, but i am loving the work that He is creating and i can see his artistry in it. i've still got cracks and chips, but i'm learning to find the beauty in not being perfect—and to appreciate the entire journey that caused those imperfections. Sometimes we don't see the beauty in our flaws, but God does.

If you're wondering what good can come of your pain, put your trust in the Lord alone. i guarantee He will turn it into something beautiful. 

Scripture to memorize: Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. —Isaiah 64:8

 

An Ugly Word

This past weekend I heard a refreshing sermon about the importance of confession of sins not only vertically with God, but also horizontally with others.  Too often these days the word, “confession,” is considered taboo among Christians because it seems old fashioned.  When we dismiss this simple principle, we are attempting to bypass God’s plan for a healthy relationship with his children.

The word, “confession,” means “to admit or acknowledge.”  In this case it fundamentally means admitting our sins to a Holy God.  No formal ceremony needed.  

I John 1:9 says,

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

In my life, I try to take care of my confessions as the Lord brings them to mind by saying something like this, “Lord, I know that ____ was not the right thing to do.  Please forgive me and help me do better.”  This childlike act of confession clears my slate on a vertical plane.

On the horizontal axis, Matthew 5:23-24 says,

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar.  First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”  

Confession of sins to others involves prayer about the right words and timing, but can be such a beautiful, Christ centered restoration when handled properly.

I love I Timothy 1:15-16 which says,

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-of whom I am the worst.  But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”

Let’s face it: we all sin which is why we need our wonderful Savior.  When we take care of our confessions, we can share in the fellowship and freedom that forgiven children can experience.  

My Prayer:  Lord, thank you for reminding me the importance of confession to you and to others.  Holy Spirit, make me aware when there is something I need to confess so that I can enjoy abundant life as a believer.  Jesus, thank you for covering my sins on the cross.  I pray that others will embrace the freedom of confession and live joyfully in your peace.  In Jesus name!