Mark 12:34a "When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God".
When you know in your heart that you love the Lord God with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and then you love your neighbor as yourself, you have passed from this kingdom to the spiritual kingdom of God. To the kingdom where my King dwells. In me, in you. When this love flows throughout your heart for our Lord, and there is no separating of who He is and who you are in Him, you are dwelling in the spiritual kingdom of God.
I know on Whom I believe; I know Who it is that I love with all my heart; I know that my God dwells in me, loving me, so loving me. My King is my life. He is the truest friend I will ever know; He is the gentle touch on my arm as He guides me in His Light; He is the sweet voice that tells me that He loves me, even when I feel I have disappointed Him, He reminds me that He loves me; He is the lover of my soul. In His kingdom, my spirit dwells, even while I am walking this earth, my spirit dwells in His kingdom. Softly, He calls me to walk with Him as I seek His face, as I look for Him when I awake in the morning, He is not far. As I drive to work, He sits beside me, He listens as I sing my songs of worship to Him, as I pour my love on Him, as I pray in the heavenly tongue He has given me; He sits beside me and pours His love back onto me.
My Lord, how I love You; how I love to sing Your praises; to worship You with my whole heart. You are my King, and I, your adoring servant. I just want to sit at Your feet and listen to Your words of knowledge, the wisdom You impart to me, the encouraging words You give me when I need them most. I love You, my King, I love You. You are all I will ever need, You are certainly all I will ever want. My hand in Yours, my eyes forever on You, my King, You and I; yes, my King and I.
05-29-12
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Sunday, May 27, 2012
WHEN HEAVEN COMES DOWN
Job 27:3 "....as long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils..."
Many times I have felt the presence of my Lord, around me, with me, in me. But never more than last night at the Glory Explosion in Dallas. Close your eyes a moment, and come with me, walk into a room filled with people, the air heavy with expectation, and hear the music, the heart of the worshiper singing, "Dance with me, O, Lover of my soul", and begin to experience His glory.
As I walked up to where I was to sit, I stood there and began to sing with the music, "Dance with me, O Lover of my soul, Dance with me". And then feel yourself being lifted from your body as your spirit began to dance with the King, softly floating along, not caring about anything other than the One holding your hand.
The worshipers changed at the keyboard, was the moment over? No, the Presence was still there, quietly, waiting to see what would take place. Would the moment be broken, would the mood change, would the Bride look away from Him? No, the Bride was intent on bringing honor to her Lord, her God, her Bridegroom. Worship began again and the fragrance began to fill the room. The joyful fragrance of the Lord began to sweetly fill my nostrils as I stood worshiping. When time to sit came, I could not smell the fragrance as well, but as soon as I stood again to worship, it was there, that sweet, sweet smell of the Lord's love flowing all around His Bride as they worshiped.
Heaven comes down only when there is true worship, a true spirit of love and adoration being lifted up from the earthly choir of saints, the Lord's chosen, those chosen to worship with all their hearts, those chosen to be partakers of the wedding feast of Jesus and His Bride. Heaven comes down in all His glory when He is beckoned with the love expression of His Bride. Heaven comes down to fill her heart with joy and fullness.
Heaven came down last night. As I breathed in that sweetness of my Lord, I knew it would be a night I would remember for a long time, probably until I become part of the Bride. The wonderful part of this experience is that I know that each time I, alone, or as a part of the earthly choir of worshipers, He will come again, He will pour out His glory, He will fill His Bride with His fullness and joy, His fragrant love will fill us and cause our cup to overflow onto all those we come in contact with. You can be a part of this glory, it takes but a heartfelt flow of love, that new song coming from deep within your soul, flowing up to glorify the God of heaven, the Lover of our souls.
05-27-12
Many times I have felt the presence of my Lord, around me, with me, in me. But never more than last night at the Glory Explosion in Dallas. Close your eyes a moment, and come with me, walk into a room filled with people, the air heavy with expectation, and hear the music, the heart of the worshiper singing, "Dance with me, O, Lover of my soul", and begin to experience His glory.
As I walked up to where I was to sit, I stood there and began to sing with the music, "Dance with me, O Lover of my soul, Dance with me". And then feel yourself being lifted from your body as your spirit began to dance with the King, softly floating along, not caring about anything other than the One holding your hand.
The worshipers changed at the keyboard, was the moment over? No, the Presence was still there, quietly, waiting to see what would take place. Would the moment be broken, would the mood change, would the Bride look away from Him? No, the Bride was intent on bringing honor to her Lord, her God, her Bridegroom. Worship began again and the fragrance began to fill the room. The joyful fragrance of the Lord began to sweetly fill my nostrils as I stood worshiping. When time to sit came, I could not smell the fragrance as well, but as soon as I stood again to worship, it was there, that sweet, sweet smell of the Lord's love flowing all around His Bride as they worshiped.
Heaven comes down only when there is true worship, a true spirit of love and adoration being lifted up from the earthly choir of saints, the Lord's chosen, those chosen to worship with all their hearts, those chosen to be partakers of the wedding feast of Jesus and His Bride. Heaven comes down in all His glory when He is beckoned with the love expression of His Bride. Heaven comes down to fill her heart with joy and fullness.
Heaven came down last night. As I breathed in that sweetness of my Lord, I knew it would be a night I would remember for a long time, probably until I become part of the Bride. The wonderful part of this experience is that I know that each time I, alone, or as a part of the earthly choir of worshipers, He will come again, He will pour out His glory, He will fill His Bride with His fullness and joy, His fragrant love will fill us and cause our cup to overflow onto all those we come in contact with. You can be a part of this glory, it takes but a heartfelt flow of love, that new song coming from deep within your soul, flowing up to glorify the God of heaven, the Lover of our souls.
05-27-12
Friday, May 25, 2012
AFRAID TO ENTER
Psalm 63:1a "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you...."
Does your mind throw up a stop sign in front of you when the Holy Spirit draws you, beckons you to enter into the presence of the Lord? As you worship, pouring your heart of love out to the Lord, drawing so near, do you get so far and then stop for fear of what the Lord will see.....does the enemy taunt you with words that make you feel you will be rejected by God?
The Word tells us "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise...". The Lord says to us "Come unto Me, I will give you rest...". If the Holy Spirit is drawing you, to come near to the Lord, then He knows you are ready, your heart is right, you have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus of all your sins. The Holy Spirit will not compel you to come until He has shown you if there is any unclean thing in your heart that you need to repent of; He will help you deal with all things that would hinder you from the Lord's presence. Then as you begin to worship the Lord, from your heart, singing a new song of love and adoration, the Holy Spirit will draw you into the presence of the Lord. DO NOT LET your mind....do not let any thoughts be present except the thoughts of being in the presence of the Lord. He has been waiting for this moment. The enemy will do whatever he can to prevent your connecting with God in this intimate way. Do not pay any attention to negative thoughts....just enter in; sing, worship, praise the Lord. Let His love wash you in joy, let His touch fill you with peace, let His fragrance penetrate your soul so you can never forget what His presence is like. Your soul, your heart will long to be in His presence always. Your heart's desire will draw you to return again and again to His throne room.
Your worship, your prayers will intensify as your prayer becomes that of a child wanting to be held by the Father; you will rejoice and just sing your heart's adoration to Him. Sing, praise, dance before the King. How He loves your attention.
So sad I feel when I hear people say they have never experienced the presence, that beautiful presence of the Lord, and I can see the longing in their eyes....hear it in their words and know in my heart they are afraid. Some are afraid of the change it will make in their lives. You know how some people are truly afraid to give their all, to relinquish control of their lives. O Lord, what they are missing. What joy they forsake, all from fear....of being truly Yours.
Let me stay, Lord, my God, my King....let me stay in Your presence forever. Let me live inside Your courts, worship at Your feet and let me know that the manifest presence of my Creator is with me, drawing me, holding me, loving me.....eternally.
05-25-12
Does your mind throw up a stop sign in front of you when the Holy Spirit draws you, beckons you to enter into the presence of the Lord? As you worship, pouring your heart of love out to the Lord, drawing so near, do you get so far and then stop for fear of what the Lord will see.....does the enemy taunt you with words that make you feel you will be rejected by God?
The Word tells us "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise...". The Lord says to us "Come unto Me, I will give you rest...". If the Holy Spirit is drawing you, to come near to the Lord, then He knows you are ready, your heart is right, you have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus of all your sins. The Holy Spirit will not compel you to come until He has shown you if there is any unclean thing in your heart that you need to repent of; He will help you deal with all things that would hinder you from the Lord's presence. Then as you begin to worship the Lord, from your heart, singing a new song of love and adoration, the Holy Spirit will draw you into the presence of the Lord. DO NOT LET your mind....do not let any thoughts be present except the thoughts of being in the presence of the Lord. He has been waiting for this moment. The enemy will do whatever he can to prevent your connecting with God in this intimate way. Do not pay any attention to negative thoughts....just enter in; sing, worship, praise the Lord. Let His love wash you in joy, let His touch fill you with peace, let His fragrance penetrate your soul so you can never forget what His presence is like. Your soul, your heart will long to be in His presence always. Your heart's desire will draw you to return again and again to His throne room.
Your worship, your prayers will intensify as your prayer becomes that of a child wanting to be held by the Father; you will rejoice and just sing your heart's adoration to Him. Sing, praise, dance before the King. How He loves your attention.
So sad I feel when I hear people say they have never experienced the presence, that beautiful presence of the Lord, and I can see the longing in their eyes....hear it in their words and know in my heart they are afraid. Some are afraid of the change it will make in their lives. You know how some people are truly afraid to give their all, to relinquish control of their lives. O Lord, what they are missing. What joy they forsake, all from fear....of being truly Yours.
Let me stay, Lord, my God, my King....let me stay in Your presence forever. Let me live inside Your courts, worship at Your feet and let me know that the manifest presence of my Creator is with me, drawing me, holding me, loving me.....eternally.
05-25-12
Thursday, May 24, 2012
OPEN DOOR POLICY
James 4:8 "Come near to God and He will come near to you."
Every one I believe has heard their boss or someone else, say they have an open door policy. This is suppose to mean that you can come in any time you want to and discuss any problems you might have. Have you found this to be true? For the most part, I have only had rare experiences where this was fact. And still I hear this, and find myself knowing that they really do not care to hear how I feel about something, or my thoughts on how things are going, or if I have a problem....what do I expect them to do about it? Sad....but true. However, I do know of One whose "open door policy" is true and just.
My Lord and God has told me, He has told you to come near to Him and He will come near to me and you. And He means it. My Lord is interested in what I have to say; He cares about my problems and He will never ask me what I expect Him to do about it. He knows just what I need Him to do, and if I am in His will, if I have come to Him, lovingly, asking with an open heart, He will do what I ask. If I am faithful to my God, He will always be faithful to me.
There is nothing that can happen that the Lord is not interested in, concerning my life, or your life. He wants us to come to Him and tell Him every detail of our day, the good, the bad and the ugly. He will gently guide us through the process of filtering out those things that we should let go of, those things that seemed so hurtful and we want to hold on to them and fret over them; stress over them; but that is not our Lord's way. He wants us to let go of those things, give them right over to Him and let Him replace all that hurt and stress with His sweet love. Our Lord wants us to tell Him the exciting things that happened, our successes, the joy of the day....yes, He knows what all happened but He loves us to come and tell Him about it, in our words, with our hearts communing with His. It totally makes His day, and when you are with the Lord, in His beautiful presence, it will totally make your day also. I know it makes mine. When I am in the presence of the Lord, all the things that went wrong during the day, they just slip away, unnoticed and meaningless. What could they possibly matter when you are in the magnificent presence of our Holy God. What could be more wonderful than to visit with the Lord at the end of each day, and let Him sift through those things of your day and wash away all the things that have no real value in us, and leave us with the things of Him that give us such joy and peace.
The Open Door.....of the Lord is one you will definitely want to go through each night before your rest. The Lord will pour His love into you and you will be so relaxed that you will sleep just like a baby....for you will rest in the Father's arms, as He holds you close, His child, His beloved child. You love Him so much, you enter into His door each night....He always leaves it open, and His Light is always on.
05-24-12
Every one I believe has heard their boss or someone else, say they have an open door policy. This is suppose to mean that you can come in any time you want to and discuss any problems you might have. Have you found this to be true? For the most part, I have only had rare experiences where this was fact. And still I hear this, and find myself knowing that they really do not care to hear how I feel about something, or my thoughts on how things are going, or if I have a problem....what do I expect them to do about it? Sad....but true. However, I do know of One whose "open door policy" is true and just.
My Lord and God has told me, He has told you to come near to Him and He will come near to me and you. And He means it. My Lord is interested in what I have to say; He cares about my problems and He will never ask me what I expect Him to do about it. He knows just what I need Him to do, and if I am in His will, if I have come to Him, lovingly, asking with an open heart, He will do what I ask. If I am faithful to my God, He will always be faithful to me.
There is nothing that can happen that the Lord is not interested in, concerning my life, or your life. He wants us to come to Him and tell Him every detail of our day, the good, the bad and the ugly. He will gently guide us through the process of filtering out those things that we should let go of, those things that seemed so hurtful and we want to hold on to them and fret over them; stress over them; but that is not our Lord's way. He wants us to let go of those things, give them right over to Him and let Him replace all that hurt and stress with His sweet love. Our Lord wants us to tell Him the exciting things that happened, our successes, the joy of the day....yes, He knows what all happened but He loves us to come and tell Him about it, in our words, with our hearts communing with His. It totally makes His day, and when you are with the Lord, in His beautiful presence, it will totally make your day also. I know it makes mine. When I am in the presence of the Lord, all the things that went wrong during the day, they just slip away, unnoticed and meaningless. What could they possibly matter when you are in the magnificent presence of our Holy God. What could be more wonderful than to visit with the Lord at the end of each day, and let Him sift through those things of your day and wash away all the things that have no real value in us, and leave us with the things of Him that give us such joy and peace.
The Open Door.....of the Lord is one you will definitely want to go through each night before your rest. The Lord will pour His love into you and you will be so relaxed that you will sleep just like a baby....for you will rest in the Father's arms, as He holds you close, His child, His beloved child. You love Him so much, you enter into His door each night....He always leaves it open, and His Light is always on.
05-24-12
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
GRACE TO FORGIVE
Matthew 6:12 "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."
Forgiving is sometimes very difficult. Just when I think I have no unforgiveness in me, something will spring up.....I can assure you it is not myself that has brought this up, but my Lord, through His Spirit, His Holy Spirit, my dearest Friend, who has caused these things to surface. And I think to myself, I am sure I have forgiven all.....but as the Lord shows me, if I think of these things, of what was done, if those things still cause me pain, then I have not completely forgiven them. When you truly forgive, when there is no longer any unforgiveness in a situation, the pain of what happened will be gone and although there may be sadness when it comes to mind, and trust me, the enemy will see that it comes to mind, but after the completed work of forgiveness through the grace of our Lord, these things will no longer affect you. You will think perhaps of them for a moment, and the response will be, "Thank You, Lord, for Your grace in which I was able to forgive".
So many people go around with such unforgiveness inside, and it has been there so long, they no longer consider it sin. It becomes a part of their life, just part of who they are. A lot of time they can't remember why they feel the way they do, it is just there. We all want to be held by our loving Father, knowing that there is nothing standing between us, knowing that we can be righteous in His sight, but when we feel that distance, that space that we don't seem to be able to cross, no matter how much we worship our Beloved Lord, no matter how much we pray and seek His face....there is that strange distance. If we ask, if we truly desire to know, the Holy Spirit will bring up to the surface, anything that is not of God. Do not ask if you are not ready to deal with it. For once it is on the surface it will stay there until you either ask the Lord for His grace to forgive this hurt, or you decide you will just keep things the way they have been, bottled up inside, relentlessly troubled and broken in spirit.
Thank You, Lord, for Your grace to forgive. Thank You, Holy Spirit for bring anything that is hidden, undealt with deep inside me to the surface so I can deal with it, in the Lord's Light of love, and rid myself of anything that would keep me from the sweet presence of my God. Your grace still amazes me, Lord, it never runs dry, it never stops flowing down to me, each moment of each day. I can do all things in You, through Your grace and with Your love. With Your grace I am forgiven, and with Your grace, I forgive. I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy call. You gave Your love to me, I will give Your love to all.
05-23-12
Forgiving is sometimes very difficult. Just when I think I have no unforgiveness in me, something will spring up.....I can assure you it is not myself that has brought this up, but my Lord, through His Spirit, His Holy Spirit, my dearest Friend, who has caused these things to surface. And I think to myself, I am sure I have forgiven all.....but as the Lord shows me, if I think of these things, of what was done, if those things still cause me pain, then I have not completely forgiven them. When you truly forgive, when there is no longer any unforgiveness in a situation, the pain of what happened will be gone and although there may be sadness when it comes to mind, and trust me, the enemy will see that it comes to mind, but after the completed work of forgiveness through the grace of our Lord, these things will no longer affect you. You will think perhaps of them for a moment, and the response will be, "Thank You, Lord, for Your grace in which I was able to forgive".
So many people go around with such unforgiveness inside, and it has been there so long, they no longer consider it sin. It becomes a part of their life, just part of who they are. A lot of time they can't remember why they feel the way they do, it is just there. We all want to be held by our loving Father, knowing that there is nothing standing between us, knowing that we can be righteous in His sight, but when we feel that distance, that space that we don't seem to be able to cross, no matter how much we worship our Beloved Lord, no matter how much we pray and seek His face....there is that strange distance. If we ask, if we truly desire to know, the Holy Spirit will bring up to the surface, anything that is not of God. Do not ask if you are not ready to deal with it. For once it is on the surface it will stay there until you either ask the Lord for His grace to forgive this hurt, or you decide you will just keep things the way they have been, bottled up inside, relentlessly troubled and broken in spirit.
Thank You, Lord, for Your grace to forgive. Thank You, Holy Spirit for bring anything that is hidden, undealt with deep inside me to the surface so I can deal with it, in the Lord's Light of love, and rid myself of anything that would keep me from the sweet presence of my God. Your grace still amazes me, Lord, it never runs dry, it never stops flowing down to me, each moment of each day. I can do all things in You, through Your grace and with Your love. With Your grace I am forgiven, and with Your grace, I forgive. I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy call. You gave Your love to me, I will give Your love to all.
05-23-12
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
IN THE COOL OF THE EVENING
Ezekiel 28: 17b-18a "You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, you were in Eden, the garden of God."
The Lord began to speak to me this morning, sweetly, calling to me, to meet Him in the cool of the evening. Almost immediately, the mind, you know, the mind that always thinks of things as you see them....., well the mind says, it is hot, it is not going to be cool. And this is what the Lord told me:
Come to my garden, in the cool of the evening, and walk with Me. Where I am, it is always perfect. As you come into the garden, you will feel a fine mist as My Glory begins to fall all over you, and My Glory will wash all the trappings, all the lingerings, all the coating of the world off of you. As you walk into My Glory, as you come forward and begin to feel yourself become lighter as the cares and woes of the day are washed away, you will feel the coolness of the air; you will feel the sweet breeze of My Spirit as He draws you closer into My presence. Come and walk with Me, I desire to have My child, My beloved child with me.
As we come into the presence of the Lord, as we are cleansed of the day, as we are brought back into the perfected Light of our Lord, we will become as beautiful as anything.... no, it will be nothing we can imagine, for the beauty that the Lord places on us cannot be seen with the human eye. It is a spiritual beauty that only is seen by the heart. This is how our Lord sees us. This is the beautiful child that He desires so to walk with Him and spend time with Him. It is nothing we can gain on our own, it is nothing we can buy or beg.....it is given freely to us as we come into His presence, as we yield ourselves to His desire to spend time with us, as we desire to be in His presence more than anything else, we go from what we see to what He sees, the one He loves so, His beloved.
I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses, and the voice I hear falling on mine ear, the Son of God discloses.....and He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own.....
What greater joy has a worshiper of our God than to be invited to walk with Him in the cool of the evening.
The Lord began to speak to me this morning, sweetly, calling to me, to meet Him in the cool of the evening. Almost immediately, the mind, you know, the mind that always thinks of things as you see them....., well the mind says, it is hot, it is not going to be cool. And this is what the Lord told me:
Come to my garden, in the cool of the evening, and walk with Me. Where I am, it is always perfect. As you come into the garden, you will feel a fine mist as My Glory begins to fall all over you, and My Glory will wash all the trappings, all the lingerings, all the coating of the world off of you. As you walk into My Glory, as you come forward and begin to feel yourself become lighter as the cares and woes of the day are washed away, you will feel the coolness of the air; you will feel the sweet breeze of My Spirit as He draws you closer into My presence. Come and walk with Me, I desire to have My child, My beloved child with me.
As we come into the presence of the Lord, as we are cleansed of the day, as we are brought back into the perfected Light of our Lord, we will become as beautiful as anything.... no, it will be nothing we can imagine, for the beauty that the Lord places on us cannot be seen with the human eye. It is a spiritual beauty that only is seen by the heart. This is how our Lord sees us. This is the beautiful child that He desires so to walk with Him and spend time with Him. It is nothing we can gain on our own, it is nothing we can buy or beg.....it is given freely to us as we come into His presence, as we yield ourselves to His desire to spend time with us, as we desire to be in His presence more than anything else, we go from what we see to what He sees, the one He loves so, His beloved.
I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses, and the voice I hear falling on mine ear, the Son of God discloses.....and He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own.....
What greater joy has a worshiper of our God than to be invited to walk with Him in the cool of the evening.
Monday, May 21, 2012
THY ROD AND THY STAFF
Psalm 23:4 "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
My Lord and God, Your love overwhelms me at times. When I began to think of how much You love me, I thought of this verse. I have no fear of anything evil, of what harm the enemy might plan for me, You go before me to dispel it; to bring it to naught. Your rod of correction, of authority over my life brings me comfort. I can remember when I was a child and I needed correcting, my daddy would sometimes need to spank me. It wasn't often and I realize now it was because it hurt him so much to spank me. I know he had as many tears in his eyes as I had in mine, and I believe I got over it so much quicker than he did. I know when You correct me, Lord, that it distresses You also. I know so as I have felt You hold me close to Your heart as You are correcting me; so close that I know how much love You have for me. Close so I can feel Your heart reach out to me with Your abiding love to let me know that it is because of this love that You correct me, that You desire to keep me on the path that You have set for me; that You will not let me off the track again, ever again. You are jealous for me. You will not have me set my eyes on anyone, anything other than You, my Lord. I am Your worshiper and You will not let me go from You. And my Lord, I do not ever want to go from You. I thank You that You keep me close to You, that You keep me in Your will; that You love me enough to correct me when I am wrong.
Your staff, Lord, comforts me. Your staff keeps me close to You, drawing me into Your side when danger appears; bringing me back when I may step outside the path You have me on. I am comforted knowing that You will not let me drift from You, that all my steps are guided by You. I love how You pull me close to You for times of sweet fellowship; for times of intimate conversation, as You tell me of Your love for me and as You listen as I sing to You my words of love and adoration. I am comforted, I am at peace, I am filled with joy.
I love You my Lord. I sing praises to Your Name, O Lord, praises to Your Name. You are the One I adore, You are the One I live for. You are my King, my Master, my Everything.
05-21-12
My Lord and God, Your love overwhelms me at times. When I began to think of how much You love me, I thought of this verse. I have no fear of anything evil, of what harm the enemy might plan for me, You go before me to dispel it; to bring it to naught. Your rod of correction, of authority over my life brings me comfort. I can remember when I was a child and I needed correcting, my daddy would sometimes need to spank me. It wasn't often and I realize now it was because it hurt him so much to spank me. I know he had as many tears in his eyes as I had in mine, and I believe I got over it so much quicker than he did. I know when You correct me, Lord, that it distresses You also. I know so as I have felt You hold me close to Your heart as You are correcting me; so close that I know how much love You have for me. Close so I can feel Your heart reach out to me with Your abiding love to let me know that it is because of this love that You correct me, that You desire to keep me on the path that You have set for me; that You will not let me off the track again, ever again. You are jealous for me. You will not have me set my eyes on anyone, anything other than You, my Lord. I am Your worshiper and You will not let me go from You. And my Lord, I do not ever want to go from You. I thank You that You keep me close to You, that You keep me in Your will; that You love me enough to correct me when I am wrong.
Your staff, Lord, comforts me. Your staff keeps me close to You, drawing me into Your side when danger appears; bringing me back when I may step outside the path You have me on. I am comforted knowing that You will not let me drift from You, that all my steps are guided by You. I love how You pull me close to You for times of sweet fellowship; for times of intimate conversation, as You tell me of Your love for me and as You listen as I sing to You my words of love and adoration. I am comforted, I am at peace, I am filled with joy.
I love You my Lord. I sing praises to Your Name, O Lord, praises to Your Name. You are the One I adore, You are the One I live for. You are my King, my Master, my Everything.
05-21-12
Sunday, May 20, 2012
I SURRENDER, LORD, I SURRENDER
Romans 12:2 "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is; his good, pleasing and perfect will."
This morning on the way to church, I have about a 35-40 minute drive to church, depending on traffic; on the way, the Holy Spirit began to deal with me on the things I watch on TV. Now, most folks I know probably watch the same things on regular channels (WOW, that use to say, it was safe to watch, but that, sadly, in no longer the case), but the Lord began once again to deal with me on this. Have you watched some things, either or TV or at the movies, things other Christians watch and told you were good, but as you watch, your spirit begins to grieve, begins to stir in you in a manner that is uncomfortable? Now, before we go any further, let me assure you that the Lord told me in that what is okay for some to watch, and it is, but it does not mean it is okay for me or for others. I believe the Lord deals with us individually on matters as this. What may be perfectly okay for some to watch, will not be what the Lord wants for others. He is showing me that when my spirit is uncomfortable, or stirring up a whirlwind inside of me, then I will know right then that I should not be watching it. I have already scratched so many shows this past year that I use to enjoy, but no longer can enjoy for one reason or another. If a show has so many bleeps in it then I know my spirit will be moving about restlessly, wanting me to change the channel. I don't watch a lot of TV, and have found that I have to tape everything, mainly as commercials have gotten so bad. Yes, you know exactly what I mean by that. But let me get back to this morning.
The Holy Spirit began to deal with me on one show in particular. The conclusion is tonight. Whereas I do enjoy the show, well, I did, there are a lot of bleeps in it, so sad, and the last two standing, although good people, live a live style that I know is now of the Lord. The Holy Spirit, in love, told me again, love the sinner and hate the sin. But He also told me that I was not to put myself in partnership with this by watching. It is the world's way I believe of white washing things are are not of God. By making programs that are likable, interesting, but including so much more and more these days of what tries to white wash God's Word. God's Word cannot be white washed, it is the same as it has always been. God's Word does not change. It cannot be changed just because the individuals are good people. Love the sinner, hate the sin. But the Lord told me, this is not for me. I began to ask the Lord's forgiveness for ignoring the signs that the Spirit within me was giving me, working in my spirit to let me know this was a "no" for me. I got to church a few minutes early and took out my little notebook and began to write:
"I surrender, Lord. What some of Your children can do is not what you want for me to do. What some are allowed to watch, to attend, to do, is not what You have called me to. I must turn from all things that are not what You have for me. All things that You show me are not for me to do, to watch, I must turn from. I cannot excuse it by saying, "so and so does it". You have other plans for me. I must follow You into the plan for my life and not be concerned that others are allowed to do it. Forgive me Lord for excusing it in my mind as my spirit struggled when I do these things, watch these things that You have instructed me against. Strengthen me Holy Spirit to keep myself in my God's will alone. Not my will but Your, O Lord. I surrender all to You, my God."
I finished this and service began. Then I found out why the Holy Spirit dealt with me on the way to church. He wanted my spirit to be in right standing with my God so I could receive what He had for me in this beautiful service. So I could move my hands back and forth like a child that could not speak the right words for what was wanted, but just indicate, "give me, give me, give me". Give me Lord all those things You have been preparing to pour out onto me. More strength, more power, more of You in my life. The things You have wanted to give and I was still hedging on some of the things You wanted me to surrender, so I could be totally given unto You alone. Thank You, Lord. You always prepare me for what is to come, You did not want me to leave church this morning, wishing I had been in the place, right standing, to receive Your blessing....You made sure I was totally in Your will so I could receive. Thank You, Lord.
For you, my friends......this is not to indicate that you are watching things you should not. The Lord was very distinct about that. He will deal with you as He did with me, on everything, that He wishes you not to do as He works in you as He does in me. It doesn't mean that you are doing anything wrong. It is not wrong unless while you watch that TV program or that movie, the Spirit that dwells in you begins to cause rumbling in your spirit against it. Then you will know, it's not for you.
I love You, Lord, with all my heart. You are King over my life, Master of my heart and soul. I surrender all my life to You, my Savior, my Beloved, my Everything.
05-20-12
This morning on the way to church, I have about a 35-40 minute drive to church, depending on traffic; on the way, the Holy Spirit began to deal with me on the things I watch on TV. Now, most folks I know probably watch the same things on regular channels (WOW, that use to say, it was safe to watch, but that, sadly, in no longer the case), but the Lord began once again to deal with me on this. Have you watched some things, either or TV or at the movies, things other Christians watch and told you were good, but as you watch, your spirit begins to grieve, begins to stir in you in a manner that is uncomfortable? Now, before we go any further, let me assure you that the Lord told me in that what is okay for some to watch, and it is, but it does not mean it is okay for me or for others. I believe the Lord deals with us individually on matters as this. What may be perfectly okay for some to watch, will not be what the Lord wants for others. He is showing me that when my spirit is uncomfortable, or stirring up a whirlwind inside of me, then I will know right then that I should not be watching it. I have already scratched so many shows this past year that I use to enjoy, but no longer can enjoy for one reason or another. If a show has so many bleeps in it then I know my spirit will be moving about restlessly, wanting me to change the channel. I don't watch a lot of TV, and have found that I have to tape everything, mainly as commercials have gotten so bad. Yes, you know exactly what I mean by that. But let me get back to this morning.
The Holy Spirit began to deal with me on one show in particular. The conclusion is tonight. Whereas I do enjoy the show, well, I did, there are a lot of bleeps in it, so sad, and the last two standing, although good people, live a live style that I know is now of the Lord. The Holy Spirit, in love, told me again, love the sinner and hate the sin. But He also told me that I was not to put myself in partnership with this by watching. It is the world's way I believe of white washing things are are not of God. By making programs that are likable, interesting, but including so much more and more these days of what tries to white wash God's Word. God's Word cannot be white washed, it is the same as it has always been. God's Word does not change. It cannot be changed just because the individuals are good people. Love the sinner, hate the sin. But the Lord told me, this is not for me. I began to ask the Lord's forgiveness for ignoring the signs that the Spirit within me was giving me, working in my spirit to let me know this was a "no" for me. I got to church a few minutes early and took out my little notebook and began to write:
"I surrender, Lord. What some of Your children can do is not what you want for me to do. What some are allowed to watch, to attend, to do, is not what You have called me to. I must turn from all things that are not what You have for me. All things that You show me are not for me to do, to watch, I must turn from. I cannot excuse it by saying, "so and so does it". You have other plans for me. I must follow You into the plan for my life and not be concerned that others are allowed to do it. Forgive me Lord for excusing it in my mind as my spirit struggled when I do these things, watch these things that You have instructed me against. Strengthen me Holy Spirit to keep myself in my God's will alone. Not my will but Your, O Lord. I surrender all to You, my God."
I finished this and service began. Then I found out why the Holy Spirit dealt with me on the way to church. He wanted my spirit to be in right standing with my God so I could receive what He had for me in this beautiful service. So I could move my hands back and forth like a child that could not speak the right words for what was wanted, but just indicate, "give me, give me, give me". Give me Lord all those things You have been preparing to pour out onto me. More strength, more power, more of You in my life. The things You have wanted to give and I was still hedging on some of the things You wanted me to surrender, so I could be totally given unto You alone. Thank You, Lord. You always prepare me for what is to come, You did not want me to leave church this morning, wishing I had been in the place, right standing, to receive Your blessing....You made sure I was totally in Your will so I could receive. Thank You, Lord.
For you, my friends......this is not to indicate that you are watching things you should not. The Lord was very distinct about that. He will deal with you as He did with me, on everything, that He wishes you not to do as He works in you as He does in me. It doesn't mean that you are doing anything wrong. It is not wrong unless while you watch that TV program or that movie, the Spirit that dwells in you begins to cause rumbling in your spirit against it. Then you will know, it's not for you.
I love You, Lord, with all my heart. You are King over my life, Master of my heart and soul. I surrender all my life to You, my Savior, my Beloved, my Everything.
05-20-12
Saturday, May 19, 2012
CAUGHT IN HIS LIES
Psalm 59:12 "For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride."
We are all aware of the lies of the devil. For satan will not stop at one or two, but he will continue his manipulation, his lies, his schemes until he confuses those that are weak.
Driving to work yesterday morning, satan attempted to work on my mind again....but it backfired on him. I was worshiping the Lord and just telling my God what a beautiful day He had made for me, how I appreciated His provision, and just how much I loved Him. I asked Him to bless my day and help me show His love to others. Well, ol' satan pops up in my ear and says "There is not really a God you know". "He does not really exist". I actually began to laugh. "Satan", I said, "you are such a liar. Two reasons clearly tell me you are lying right now". I told him that in the first place, if there was not a God in heaven, where did he think he came from? And it was only his fault that he was no longer welcome there with his mind set, thinking he was better than God. Second, I told him, if there was no God, and if God's Spirit did not live in me, he, satan, would not be bothering with me at all. There would be no reason for him to constantly try and tempt me, try to cause me to stumble, and tell me all these lies all the time.
His pride caused him to stumble. I don't think satan will ever learn. His pride caused him to be thrown from God's throne room, and his pride caused him to be caught in his own lies. I am sure he is trying to find something to hit me with real hard, but I also know he sees how close I am to my Father. I believe he sees how close so many of God's children are to Him, and even though satan still tries to get to us, he can't. Not unless we let him. If we keep him in the place where the Lord has put him, under our feet, then he can not harm us, not at all. If we keep our eyes on Jesus, if we let the Holy Spirit lead us, and if we continually stay in the Word of God, we will be wise to all satan tries to do.
Satan is a liar and he knows that God's children who stay so close to Him recognize him in an instant when he shows up. You wonder why he keeps trying, fighting a losing battle.....his pride. See he even lies to himself, and his pride won't let him stop. He knows the Word of God, but as some people do, they only use the scriptures that they can turn for their own purpose......satan seems to have let one slip by...."Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18
When you hear those lies coming to you, just pronounce satan a liar right there, and thank our good, wonderful God that we can recognize him, he cannot disguise himself in the eyes of a believer, in the eyes of a child of God.
Thank You, Father, that You have given me wisdom and knowledge in the ways of the world, satan's playground, and You keep me from falling into his pits of deceit.
05-19-12
We are all aware of the lies of the devil. For satan will not stop at one or two, but he will continue his manipulation, his lies, his schemes until he confuses those that are weak.
Driving to work yesterday morning, satan attempted to work on my mind again....but it backfired on him. I was worshiping the Lord and just telling my God what a beautiful day He had made for me, how I appreciated His provision, and just how much I loved Him. I asked Him to bless my day and help me show His love to others. Well, ol' satan pops up in my ear and says "There is not really a God you know". "He does not really exist". I actually began to laugh. "Satan", I said, "you are such a liar. Two reasons clearly tell me you are lying right now". I told him that in the first place, if there was not a God in heaven, where did he think he came from? And it was only his fault that he was no longer welcome there with his mind set, thinking he was better than God. Second, I told him, if there was no God, and if God's Spirit did not live in me, he, satan, would not be bothering with me at all. There would be no reason for him to constantly try and tempt me, try to cause me to stumble, and tell me all these lies all the time.
His pride caused him to stumble. I don't think satan will ever learn. His pride caused him to be thrown from God's throne room, and his pride caused him to be caught in his own lies. I am sure he is trying to find something to hit me with real hard, but I also know he sees how close I am to my Father. I believe he sees how close so many of God's children are to Him, and even though satan still tries to get to us, he can't. Not unless we let him. If we keep him in the place where the Lord has put him, under our feet, then he can not harm us, not at all. If we keep our eyes on Jesus, if we let the Holy Spirit lead us, and if we continually stay in the Word of God, we will be wise to all satan tries to do.
Satan is a liar and he knows that God's children who stay so close to Him recognize him in an instant when he shows up. You wonder why he keeps trying, fighting a losing battle.....his pride. See he even lies to himself, and his pride won't let him stop. He knows the Word of God, but as some people do, they only use the scriptures that they can turn for their own purpose......satan seems to have let one slip by...."Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18
When you hear those lies coming to you, just pronounce satan a liar right there, and thank our good, wonderful God that we can recognize him, he cannot disguise himself in the eyes of a believer, in the eyes of a child of God.
Thank You, Father, that You have given me wisdom and knowledge in the ways of the world, satan's playground, and You keep me from falling into his pits of deceit.
05-19-12
Friday, May 18, 2012
DESIRE AND DEVOTION
Psalm 40:6-8 "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, Here I am, I have come.....it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."
Desire and devotion. Desire.....a longing for, yearning for. Devotion....deep, steady affection, loyalty, faithfulness. These things are the things that our God is looking for; these things is His heart seeking to find in our hearts. He needs no sacrifice on our part; He does not ask us to make burnt or sin offerings any more. He does not need our money, He does not need our talents, He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. All of the gold, all of the silver, this earth is His to do with as He pleases. Our God has one need.....He has one desire above all else....No, not that people are saved....He can see to this also, He can draw people to Himself. Do not misunderstand me, the Lord wants us to draw others to Him, to be a light of His love, His forgiveness, to be a witness of His love for all. But His deepest desire is for His children to be devoted to Him, to show their devotion to Him and Him alone. The Lord desires to see us long for Him to be with us, to seek Him with all our hearts, all our souls, to show Him that there is no one, no one we place in our affections over Him. That we love Him above all others, all things. There is no other gods before Him. He is our God, He is Whom we love, and He is needed by us all.....just because He is Who He is.
When we begin to love the Lord our God for just Who He is, not for what we want from Him, or what we need him to do for us, but just because He Is, then we are showing true devotion to our God; then we are fulfilling His deepest desire. We then are fulfilling the needs of the Father, and in doing so, we are fulfilling the deepest need we will ever have.....we will have found the secret to living in perfect relationship with our God. There we will find that we have truly become One, as there will be nothing that can come between ourselves and our Lord. He will have become all we desire, all we need, all we want.......there is nothing else that God desires from us, but this one thing....to be all to us. All to us.
My Lord, You are everything to me.....You are All to me. I desire to be One with You, letting nothing come between us ever. My desire is to be Your desire......alone.
05-18-12
Desire and devotion. Desire.....a longing for, yearning for. Devotion....deep, steady affection, loyalty, faithfulness. These things are the things that our God is looking for; these things is His heart seeking to find in our hearts. He needs no sacrifice on our part; He does not ask us to make burnt or sin offerings any more. He does not need our money, He does not need our talents, He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. All of the gold, all of the silver, this earth is His to do with as He pleases. Our God has one need.....He has one desire above all else....No, not that people are saved....He can see to this also, He can draw people to Himself. Do not misunderstand me, the Lord wants us to draw others to Him, to be a light of His love, His forgiveness, to be a witness of His love for all. But His deepest desire is for His children to be devoted to Him, to show their devotion to Him and Him alone. The Lord desires to see us long for Him to be with us, to seek Him with all our hearts, all our souls, to show Him that there is no one, no one we place in our affections over Him. That we love Him above all others, all things. There is no other gods before Him. He is our God, He is Whom we love, and He is needed by us all.....just because He is Who He is.
When we begin to love the Lord our God for just Who He is, not for what we want from Him, or what we need him to do for us, but just because He Is, then we are showing true devotion to our God; then we are fulfilling His deepest desire. We then are fulfilling the needs of the Father, and in doing so, we are fulfilling the deepest need we will ever have.....we will have found the secret to living in perfect relationship with our God. There we will find that we have truly become One, as there will be nothing that can come between ourselves and our Lord. He will have become all we desire, all we need, all we want.......there is nothing else that God desires from us, but this one thing....to be all to us. All to us.
My Lord, You are everything to me.....You are All to me. I desire to be One with You, letting nothing come between us ever. My desire is to be Your desire......alone.
05-18-12
Thursday, May 17, 2012
IF YOU REALLY LOVE ME
John 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command."
We have, at one time or another, used the phrase "If you really love me" and then added what it was we wanted someone to do for us. This was sometimes accompanied by tears or threats of what would happen if they did not do what we asked. But when the Lord made this statement, it was just one of fact. See, if we love the Lord, we want to follow Him. We want to keep His commands. And if you remember Jesus only gave us two commandments......"Love the Lord, your God with all your heart and soul" and "Love thy neighbor as thyself" paraphrased. So it isn't as thought He has put a lot out there for us to do. Just love. And He says if we love Him, we will obey what He commands.
Jesus did not place threats on His words, nor did he deliver them with tears and hysterics as we at times tend to do. He just stated facts. If we love Him..... So the question tonight is, do you love Him? Do you really love Him? Just what are you willing to do for the Lover of YOUR soul; what are you willing to give to the Lamb of God who gave His all for you?
Like our precious Lord, there will be no hysterics here, no what if's, no if you don'ts; just fact. If you love Him, you will obey His commands.
I love You, my Lord and I will obey Your commands. I love the Father with all my heart, all my soul; He is my God and I will never go from Him. I will love others as You would have me love, I will love them through You, I will love them for You and I will share Your love with them. Love is what You are, love is who You are. I love You. I love You. I really love You.
05-17-12
We have, at one time or another, used the phrase "If you really love me" and then added what it was we wanted someone to do for us. This was sometimes accompanied by tears or threats of what would happen if they did not do what we asked. But when the Lord made this statement, it was just one of fact. See, if we love the Lord, we want to follow Him. We want to keep His commands. And if you remember Jesus only gave us two commandments......"Love the Lord, your God with all your heart and soul" and "Love thy neighbor as thyself" paraphrased. So it isn't as thought He has put a lot out there for us to do. Just love. And He says if we love Him, we will obey what He commands.
Jesus did not place threats on His words, nor did he deliver them with tears and hysterics as we at times tend to do. He just stated facts. If we love Him..... So the question tonight is, do you love Him? Do you really love Him? Just what are you willing to do for the Lover of YOUR soul; what are you willing to give to the Lamb of God who gave His all for you?
Like our precious Lord, there will be no hysterics here, no what if's, no if you don'ts; just fact. If you love Him, you will obey His commands.
I love You, my Lord and I will obey Your commands. I love the Father with all my heart, all my soul; He is my God and I will never go from Him. I will love others as You would have me love, I will love them through You, I will love them for You and I will share Your love with them. Love is what You are, love is who You are. I love You. I love You. I really love You.
05-17-12
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
THANK YOU FOR THE LOVELY DAY
1 Chronicles 16:8 "Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done."
I am in teaching mode again, finished teaching one assistant a couple of weeks ago and began with another young lady this week. Yesterday, as she was leaving for the day, she said goodbye and then turned around to me again and said "Thank you for the lovely day". It was so sweet and a really nice surprise to me. No one I have trained has ever thanked me for a lovely day. You have to know it made me feel real special. When she left today, I asked her if she had another lovely day, and she told me, yes, I really did.
As I got in my car to come home, I sat there for a minute and then I said, "Thank You, Lord, for the lovely day". So often, I believe in our tiredness, our joy at work being done for the day, we forget to thank the One, the Keeper of our day, for the lovely day. And it doesn't really matter if you think it was out of the ordinary, or even special, but you must know in your heart, if the Lord was in it, it was a lovely day. If the Lord, our God, is in our day, each day is lovely just because He was with us. If you did not feel His presence with you, then it is not our Lord to blame.....He is always with us, if His presence is not felt, it is because we did not look for Him, we did not invite Him into our day, we did not expect Him.
I don't know about you, but I ask the Lord to share my day and because I am His child, and I asked, I expect Him to be in my day. He has told me, He has told all His children, that whatsoever we ask in Jesus Name, He will do. So I ask Him, I invite Him to share my days, my nights with me. I always want the Lord's presence in my life, at all times. Forgive me, Lord, for all, yes, I know there have been many, all the times I failed at the end of the day for thanking You for the lovely day your provided. Sometimes I have let my weariness, my lack of strength at the end of the day to consume my thoughts and have failed to look back and see the lovely ways you blessed me during it. I am trying so, my Lord, to never fail to thank You, to show my appreciation for all You do for me all day long. Just a smile from a stranger is a gift from You. Traffic opening up when I approach the interstate is a gift from you. You pour blessings out all day long, and I want to recognize You in every thing that my day holds. You make each day lovely for me. Your mercy, new each morning, and Your grace abounds to me each day. Thank You, Lord, for your ever present Spirit, living in me, drawing me to You at all times.....all I have to do is ask.....all I have to do is call Your Name.....and I can rest in You right then.
Thank You, Lord, for the lovely day You have provided. Your provide for all my needs, Your love is everything to me.....Your presence my very breath. I love You so.
05-16-12
I am in teaching mode again, finished teaching one assistant a couple of weeks ago and began with another young lady this week. Yesterday, as she was leaving for the day, she said goodbye and then turned around to me again and said "Thank you for the lovely day". It was so sweet and a really nice surprise to me. No one I have trained has ever thanked me for a lovely day. You have to know it made me feel real special. When she left today, I asked her if she had another lovely day, and she told me, yes, I really did.
As I got in my car to come home, I sat there for a minute and then I said, "Thank You, Lord, for the lovely day". So often, I believe in our tiredness, our joy at work being done for the day, we forget to thank the One, the Keeper of our day, for the lovely day. And it doesn't really matter if you think it was out of the ordinary, or even special, but you must know in your heart, if the Lord was in it, it was a lovely day. If the Lord, our God, is in our day, each day is lovely just because He was with us. If you did not feel His presence with you, then it is not our Lord to blame.....He is always with us, if His presence is not felt, it is because we did not look for Him, we did not invite Him into our day, we did not expect Him.
I don't know about you, but I ask the Lord to share my day and because I am His child, and I asked, I expect Him to be in my day. He has told me, He has told all His children, that whatsoever we ask in Jesus Name, He will do. So I ask Him, I invite Him to share my days, my nights with me. I always want the Lord's presence in my life, at all times. Forgive me, Lord, for all, yes, I know there have been many, all the times I failed at the end of the day for thanking You for the lovely day your provided. Sometimes I have let my weariness, my lack of strength at the end of the day to consume my thoughts and have failed to look back and see the lovely ways you blessed me during it. I am trying so, my Lord, to never fail to thank You, to show my appreciation for all You do for me all day long. Just a smile from a stranger is a gift from You. Traffic opening up when I approach the interstate is a gift from you. You pour blessings out all day long, and I want to recognize You in every thing that my day holds. You make each day lovely for me. Your mercy, new each morning, and Your grace abounds to me each day. Thank You, Lord, for your ever present Spirit, living in me, drawing me to You at all times.....all I have to do is ask.....all I have to do is call Your Name.....and I can rest in You right then.
Thank You, Lord, for the lovely day You have provided. Your provide for all my needs, Your love is everything to me.....Your presence my very breath. I love You so.
05-16-12
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
PROVISION FOR THE HOUSE OF GOD
Malachi 3:10a "Bring the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house."
Ever get something from the Lord and wonder "why me?" And yet, you know why all the time you are asking the Lord. This is stepping out on the edge of the mountain.....but I know the Lord is holding me so, here goes....
I was reading some posts earlier on FB and again there was the age old argument on tithing. I must say, so many people have so many ideas about this subject it makes you wonder what the Lord thinks about these disagreements among His children. As I was reading the scripture in Malachi, one of the places in God's Word where tithing is dealt with, the first part of verse 10 caught my eye. As I reread it a few times, the Lord told me, "Bring the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be "PROVISION" in my house. He showed me His house, the place where His ministers dwelt. His ministers of the Word, His ministers that lead His children to worship Him, and His ministers around the world, taking the Word to those that are in far reaching areas. Provide for My ministers, the Lord has told me for a long time. I realize some of these ministers have misused that provision, but you know what, that is not my business. MY business is to do what the Lord tells me to do, and let Him deal with those that misuse it.
We also should be sensitive to give to those the Lord lays on our hearts. Ever see someone on the street corner needing a hand, needing a few dollars from you and the Lord tells you to give? Provide. I have had people tell me I should not do this as it will probably be money misused but, you know, if the Lord tells me to do it, I do it. It is not my business how they use the money, that is between them and God. My business is to be obedient to the Father.
I have seen people complain that ministers that write a book, make a CD, or do something that requires payment for, that they should do it for free. Those same people would not think of working for no pay, so why do we expect pastors, ministers, musicians, worship leaders to work for nothing; or to give away the products they work so hard to produce, to glorify the Lord. Their work is just as hard for them, if not harder, than our work is. And we expect to get paid well....
I keep praying the Lord will let me erase all this, once we get it off our chests, but so far, no such thing. So I will continue and post it....and through doing so, perhaps, some will see how the Lord feels about all this arguing.
Give and it will be given unto you. Keep your fist tightly around what the Lord tells you to give and He will respond likely unto you. Give or don't. I think the Lord gets so tired of hearing people try to justify why they will not give to this one or that one, that He cares not if you ever give. See, He will love you anyway, for that is how He is......you only rob yourself of so much when you rob God.
I believe, Father, you will let me stop with that. I believe You want those words to sink in, to let Your children begin to feel how You feel with all this ....."to tithe....not to tithe....to give...not to give". Forgive us, Lord.....forgive us, Your children. Lord, I love You, and I know all I have is yours. I like to think that I please You with my giving, I try to do exactly what You tell me, to give where You direct. If I make a mistake sometimes, I am sorry, I try so hard to please You and do Your will as far as what You give me is concerned. Thank You for blessing me, thank You for Your provision for me. I pray provision in Your house....for Your ministers....will flow as Your blessings flow to us. I love You Lord.
05-15-12
Ever get something from the Lord and wonder "why me?" And yet, you know why all the time you are asking the Lord. This is stepping out on the edge of the mountain.....but I know the Lord is holding me so, here goes....
I was reading some posts earlier on FB and again there was the age old argument on tithing. I must say, so many people have so many ideas about this subject it makes you wonder what the Lord thinks about these disagreements among His children. As I was reading the scripture in Malachi, one of the places in God's Word where tithing is dealt with, the first part of verse 10 caught my eye. As I reread it a few times, the Lord told me, "Bring the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be "PROVISION" in my house. He showed me His house, the place where His ministers dwelt. His ministers of the Word, His ministers that lead His children to worship Him, and His ministers around the world, taking the Word to those that are in far reaching areas. Provide for My ministers, the Lord has told me for a long time. I realize some of these ministers have misused that provision, but you know what, that is not my business. MY business is to do what the Lord tells me to do, and let Him deal with those that misuse it.
We also should be sensitive to give to those the Lord lays on our hearts. Ever see someone on the street corner needing a hand, needing a few dollars from you and the Lord tells you to give? Provide. I have had people tell me I should not do this as it will probably be money misused but, you know, if the Lord tells me to do it, I do it. It is not my business how they use the money, that is between them and God. My business is to be obedient to the Father.
I have seen people complain that ministers that write a book, make a CD, or do something that requires payment for, that they should do it for free. Those same people would not think of working for no pay, so why do we expect pastors, ministers, musicians, worship leaders to work for nothing; or to give away the products they work so hard to produce, to glorify the Lord. Their work is just as hard for them, if not harder, than our work is. And we expect to get paid well....
I keep praying the Lord will let me erase all this, once we get it off our chests, but so far, no such thing. So I will continue and post it....and through doing so, perhaps, some will see how the Lord feels about all this arguing.
Give and it will be given unto you. Keep your fist tightly around what the Lord tells you to give and He will respond likely unto you. Give or don't. I think the Lord gets so tired of hearing people try to justify why they will not give to this one or that one, that He cares not if you ever give. See, He will love you anyway, for that is how He is......you only rob yourself of so much when you rob God.
I believe, Father, you will let me stop with that. I believe You want those words to sink in, to let Your children begin to feel how You feel with all this ....."to tithe....not to tithe....to give...not to give". Forgive us, Lord.....forgive us, Your children. Lord, I love You, and I know all I have is yours. I like to think that I please You with my giving, I try to do exactly what You tell me, to give where You direct. If I make a mistake sometimes, I am sorry, I try so hard to please You and do Your will as far as what You give me is concerned. Thank You for blessing me, thank You for Your provision for me. I pray provision in Your house....for Your ministers....will flow as Your blessings flow to us. I love You Lord.
05-15-12
Monday, May 14, 2012
RETURNED, UNDELIVERABLE
1 Peter 2:25 "For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."
Have you every sent a letter to someone you have not corresponded with in a long while, or perhaps, in this day and age, an email, only to have it returned, undeliverable? How did you feel, did you wish at that time you had not taken so long to reach out to them, wishing there was something you could do. Did you try to find another way to reach them?
Can you imagine this is how the Lord feels when He sends His Spirit, the Holy Spirit to us, to draw us to Him, to return us to His care, and to have the Holy Spirit put on hold, "I'll do this later" or "When I am older, I will come to the Lord", or "I'll seek Him when I am not so busy". I know that our Lord does not give us on us, He keeps trying and trying to get our attention. I know personally how many times the Holy Spirit touched my life, drawing me to the Lord, telling me that the Lord was waiting. I left Him waiting for much longer than I wish I had. What time was wasted, what joy was put aside. But now....thank You, Lord, for loving me so much.
But there are those who are still returning His messages unanswered. How long will you wait? What would you do if you thought there would not be another message sent......would that make you surrender now to the Lord's calling? How long will you stray, wander aimlessly, needing a Savior? How long will you ignore the call He has on your life?
"I can hear my Savior calling, I can hear my Savior calling.......". Answer His call, if it be for salvation that He is calling you to, or perhaps a ministry He has called you to. You know He has a plan, His plan is to bless you. Answer today.......answer today.
05-14-12
Have you every sent a letter to someone you have not corresponded with in a long while, or perhaps, in this day and age, an email, only to have it returned, undeliverable? How did you feel, did you wish at that time you had not taken so long to reach out to them, wishing there was something you could do. Did you try to find another way to reach them?
Can you imagine this is how the Lord feels when He sends His Spirit, the Holy Spirit to us, to draw us to Him, to return us to His care, and to have the Holy Spirit put on hold, "I'll do this later" or "When I am older, I will come to the Lord", or "I'll seek Him when I am not so busy". I know that our Lord does not give us on us, He keeps trying and trying to get our attention. I know personally how many times the Holy Spirit touched my life, drawing me to the Lord, telling me that the Lord was waiting. I left Him waiting for much longer than I wish I had. What time was wasted, what joy was put aside. But now....thank You, Lord, for loving me so much.
But there are those who are still returning His messages unanswered. How long will you wait? What would you do if you thought there would not be another message sent......would that make you surrender now to the Lord's calling? How long will you stray, wander aimlessly, needing a Savior? How long will you ignore the call He has on your life?
"I can hear my Savior calling, I can hear my Savior calling.......". Answer His call, if it be for salvation that He is calling you to, or perhaps a ministry He has called you to. You know He has a plan, His plan is to bless you. Answer today.......answer today.
05-14-12
Sunday, May 13, 2012
ALL THINGS, LORD, ALL THINGS
Jeremiah 17:14 "Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise."
So often, especially lately, I find that the things the Lord directs me to do, the words He flows through me to write, those things, those words that He uses to help others are the very words and things the Lord uses to help me. He uses them to cleanse me and heal my heart, my disappointments, my shame....and my sin. He uses all those things, working them together, for my good, because I love Him and have yielded to Him. His will is what I desire above my own. I must follow Him for I know no other way but His any more. I look for no other way but His.
As the Lord works in me, those things that He finds in me, those deep hidden things that even I forgot were there, He is bringing forth to show me, to allow me to see what still remains so deep and unthought of, but not something that He wants in this vessel where He abides. The Lord, my God, is a jealous God and only wants what is of Him in me, in each of us, so He will root out all things and help us purge those things from our hearts, from our souls, from our spirits, until all is removed that is not of Him. Just when I think there cannot possibly be anything else, the Holy Spirit will draw my mind to a memory, a memory that will bring up questions, asking myself if this is still there, why is it still there and how does it affect me now. Sometimes there is no effect, but so often there is and I know that all I need do is ask the Lord to help me, to show me why this is still residing inside my heart, and please, Father, help me to get through the purging of yet one more thing that is not of Him. I only want the things of my Lord and Savior to be in me.
We come to the Lord with so much baggage, so many hurts, some we have buried so deep we have not thought of them in years and years, but they are there. As long as those things remain, we give the enemy tools to use against us, and we never know when these things will rise up against us, causing us pain, throwing us off balance. Denying that there are things like this still remaining in us only delays the process, hinders the Holy Spirit's work in us. Releasing all to the Lord, giving Him total access to our heart and soul proclaims to all that we are yielding our life to the Lord for His cleansing touch, His redeeming love and grace. Lets the enemy know that we will not hold anything back from the Lord's Light; nothing will remain in darkness where he might hide. Nothing; no darkness, only the Light of our Savior.
Thank You, my Lord, for Your continued work in my life. I surrender all to You, I surrender all. You are my God and I worship You with all my heart and soul. My spirit cries to You, Abba Father, my spirit cries to You, my Lord, I love You, I love You, I love You. You are everything to me.
05-13-12
So often, especially lately, I find that the things the Lord directs me to do, the words He flows through me to write, those things, those words that He uses to help others are the very words and things the Lord uses to help me. He uses them to cleanse me and heal my heart, my disappointments, my shame....and my sin. He uses all those things, working them together, for my good, because I love Him and have yielded to Him. His will is what I desire above my own. I must follow Him for I know no other way but His any more. I look for no other way but His.
As the Lord works in me, those things that He finds in me, those deep hidden things that even I forgot were there, He is bringing forth to show me, to allow me to see what still remains so deep and unthought of, but not something that He wants in this vessel where He abides. The Lord, my God, is a jealous God and only wants what is of Him in me, in each of us, so He will root out all things and help us purge those things from our hearts, from our souls, from our spirits, until all is removed that is not of Him. Just when I think there cannot possibly be anything else, the Holy Spirit will draw my mind to a memory, a memory that will bring up questions, asking myself if this is still there, why is it still there and how does it affect me now. Sometimes there is no effect, but so often there is and I know that all I need do is ask the Lord to help me, to show me why this is still residing inside my heart, and please, Father, help me to get through the purging of yet one more thing that is not of Him. I only want the things of my Lord and Savior to be in me.
We come to the Lord with so much baggage, so many hurts, some we have buried so deep we have not thought of them in years and years, but they are there. As long as those things remain, we give the enemy tools to use against us, and we never know when these things will rise up against us, causing us pain, throwing us off balance. Denying that there are things like this still remaining in us only delays the process, hinders the Holy Spirit's work in us. Releasing all to the Lord, giving Him total access to our heart and soul proclaims to all that we are yielding our life to the Lord for His cleansing touch, His redeeming love and grace. Lets the enemy know that we will not hold anything back from the Lord's Light; nothing will remain in darkness where he might hide. Nothing; no darkness, only the Light of our Savior.
Thank You, my Lord, for Your continued work in my life. I surrender all to You, I surrender all. You are my God and I worship You with all my heart and soul. My spirit cries to You, Abba Father, my spirit cries to You, my Lord, I love You, I love You, I love You. You are everything to me.
05-13-12
Saturday, May 12, 2012
EMPTY NEST
Isaiah 54:1 "Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child, burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor, because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband," says the Lord."
Mothers Day, not my favorite holiday. I believe first, because I feel mothers should be appreciated and shown special attention each day, not having to set aside one special day to do so. Falls into the same category as Fathers Day. I realize not everyone has had a beautiful relationship with their mothers. I know this is so, but I did, and this is my heart, my story. I am so sorry if you are reading this and your relationship with your mom was not good, I truly am and I pray the Lord will heal your hurt from this, heal your heart.
The Lord has done a lot of healing in my heart concerning my momma......see, she and daddy have been gone 29 years the 23rd of this month. It is strange, I find it, that it affects me more in the weeks before than on the actual day. Especially as tomorrow is Mother's Day. I have the sadness evolve around me so. The Lord has truly blessed me year after year, in so many ways. He has given me relationships with such wonderful women who have been like a mother to me; some younger than I, but that have given me such sweet love, a mother's love; some older and they also, have loved me as a mother would. Listening to me, giving me that mother's attention. I love them all so much, and I pray the Lord blesses them abundantly.
The emptiness, when you lose a parent, and in my case, both, can be so hard. My Lord has filled me with so much of His love, He has taken that emptiness and filled it with more of Himself. That is what He does when we have a loss, when empty spots flood the rooms of our heart, He fills them with His love, with His special, sweet presence. I love You so much, my Lord. You have replaced all the hurt and loss with Your special tenderness.
Barren, yes, I am. No children. When I look back over my life, and see where, once again, I was to have dreams of youth, dreams of being a mother, it could be painful if not for the tenderness of the Lord. No children of my own, but the Lord has delivered me so many throughout my lifetime that they have filled me with a contentment of motherhood. Even people that the Lord has brought into my life that are filling my life with joy, they in a way, are children that the Lord gives me. When there are people that the Lord gives you that you begin to love, to mother, to pray for, to desire happiness for, they are like children, in the family of God; your children He gives you to nurture, to show love and caring for. So in the eyes of the Lord, I am a mother, to His children. Thank You Father.
This is not meant for anyone to feel sorry for me, no, not at all. It is truly meant to show, once again, the love of the Lord to me, also to you. My God is so worthy of all praise, always, all praise, as He has brought me through such painful, hurting times, and given me such joy, such peace, that all I can do is desire to worship Him more. Holy, holy, holy are You, my Lord. I worship You with all that is in me, with all I am, with all You have made me to be. I thank You for teaching me to worship You. I thank You for giving me this life You have brought me to. I thank You for the beautiful relationship I have with You and I want to draw closer and closer to You. You are my God; I love You so much. I may have an empty nest in the eyes of the world, but in You, my God, I am filled to capacity, overflowing with Your love and joy.
05-12-12
Mothers Day, not my favorite holiday. I believe first, because I feel mothers should be appreciated and shown special attention each day, not having to set aside one special day to do so. Falls into the same category as Fathers Day. I realize not everyone has had a beautiful relationship with their mothers. I know this is so, but I did, and this is my heart, my story. I am so sorry if you are reading this and your relationship with your mom was not good, I truly am and I pray the Lord will heal your hurt from this, heal your heart.
The Lord has done a lot of healing in my heart concerning my momma......see, she and daddy have been gone 29 years the 23rd of this month. It is strange, I find it, that it affects me more in the weeks before than on the actual day. Especially as tomorrow is Mother's Day. I have the sadness evolve around me so. The Lord has truly blessed me year after year, in so many ways. He has given me relationships with such wonderful women who have been like a mother to me; some younger than I, but that have given me such sweet love, a mother's love; some older and they also, have loved me as a mother would. Listening to me, giving me that mother's attention. I love them all so much, and I pray the Lord blesses them abundantly.
The emptiness, when you lose a parent, and in my case, both, can be so hard. My Lord has filled me with so much of His love, He has taken that emptiness and filled it with more of Himself. That is what He does when we have a loss, when empty spots flood the rooms of our heart, He fills them with His love, with His special, sweet presence. I love You so much, my Lord. You have replaced all the hurt and loss with Your special tenderness.
Barren, yes, I am. No children. When I look back over my life, and see where, once again, I was to have dreams of youth, dreams of being a mother, it could be painful if not for the tenderness of the Lord. No children of my own, but the Lord has delivered me so many throughout my lifetime that they have filled me with a contentment of motherhood. Even people that the Lord has brought into my life that are filling my life with joy, they in a way, are children that the Lord gives me. When there are people that the Lord gives you that you begin to love, to mother, to pray for, to desire happiness for, they are like children, in the family of God; your children He gives you to nurture, to show love and caring for. So in the eyes of the Lord, I am a mother, to His children. Thank You Father.
This is not meant for anyone to feel sorry for me, no, not at all. It is truly meant to show, once again, the love of the Lord to me, also to you. My God is so worthy of all praise, always, all praise, as He has brought me through such painful, hurting times, and given me such joy, such peace, that all I can do is desire to worship Him more. Holy, holy, holy are You, my Lord. I worship You with all that is in me, with all I am, with all You have made me to be. I thank You for teaching me to worship You. I thank You for giving me this life You have brought me to. I thank You for the beautiful relationship I have with You and I want to draw closer and closer to You. You are my God; I love You so much. I may have an empty nest in the eyes of the world, but in You, my God, I am filled to capacity, overflowing with Your love and joy.
05-12-12
Friday, May 11, 2012
UNDERLYING PRESENCE
Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."
Always present, in all I do, my God is always with me. I am always quite busy at work on Fridays, I mean really busy, sometimes on my feet for a few hours at a time. Today, as I was working, moving customers in and out, keeping up a little chatter with them, inquiring about their day, asking about their needs, trying to bring a little joy of the Lord to them as they leave for the rest of their day; and I was just stunned by the revelation of every word I was saying had the underlying presence of the Lord in it. It was as though as I spoke I was so aware of His presence, of my thoughts on my God with each word. When I was alone again for a while, I just could not stop telling the Lord how much I loved Him. It did not matter what I did, wait on a customer, talk on the phone, drive to the bank, or even drive home that I was not aware of the Lord being in my every thought. I could talk to someone but He was on my mind. I could conduct business, speaking the words necessary for this work, but the Lord was on my mind, in my thoughts. Continually. His underlying presence was coming through all I did.
My God, how I have prayed for this moment to come. Where You constantly are the only real thoughts I have. And then I was aware of one stronger emotion that began to flood my heart.....I want more. I still want more of You, Lord. Even where I find myself now, I know there is more of You and I want it. I will not be satisfied with today's joy when I know there is more of You to discover, more of You that can fill me to overflowing. And I want You to be all, my all. Each time I read the Word, I am more and more aware that You have so much more for us to find in You and it is ours for the seeking and for the having. I also know that there are steps to coming into the fullness of Your love and Your presence. I know from today's revelation that I have moved in closer than I was, but I also know that I have only just broken through, there is more, so much more.
Just as the universe has so much more than has ever been discovered by man, there is so much more of You, my God, that is waiting to be shown to Your children. I know, I can feel Your heart as we draw closer and closer to You. I sense an excitement in You as we come closer with each new discovery of another attribute we were unaware of. Endless are the many facets of You, my God. I cannot even imagine all that You are, I only know I want to know all of You, I want to be a part of Who You are, I want to be so close to You, so very close.
Thank You, Lord, for drawing me into You today. I am going to continue to seek to draw closer, I do not want to lose ground, to fall back from where I have come today. I will do all I can to keep going forward in You, never to regress, but to seek You with all my heart and soul. I am in love with You, my King, so in love with You. Can You feel my love coming up to You this night? I know You felt my love this day, as I could feel Your smile, Your joy in my love. Your presence, Your underlying presence, may it always be with me.
05-11-12
Always present, in all I do, my God is always with me. I am always quite busy at work on Fridays, I mean really busy, sometimes on my feet for a few hours at a time. Today, as I was working, moving customers in and out, keeping up a little chatter with them, inquiring about their day, asking about their needs, trying to bring a little joy of the Lord to them as they leave for the rest of their day; and I was just stunned by the revelation of every word I was saying had the underlying presence of the Lord in it. It was as though as I spoke I was so aware of His presence, of my thoughts on my God with each word. When I was alone again for a while, I just could not stop telling the Lord how much I loved Him. It did not matter what I did, wait on a customer, talk on the phone, drive to the bank, or even drive home that I was not aware of the Lord being in my every thought. I could talk to someone but He was on my mind. I could conduct business, speaking the words necessary for this work, but the Lord was on my mind, in my thoughts. Continually. His underlying presence was coming through all I did.
My God, how I have prayed for this moment to come. Where You constantly are the only real thoughts I have. And then I was aware of one stronger emotion that began to flood my heart.....I want more. I still want more of You, Lord. Even where I find myself now, I know there is more of You and I want it. I will not be satisfied with today's joy when I know there is more of You to discover, more of You that can fill me to overflowing. And I want You to be all, my all. Each time I read the Word, I am more and more aware that You have so much more for us to find in You and it is ours for the seeking and for the having. I also know that there are steps to coming into the fullness of Your love and Your presence. I know from today's revelation that I have moved in closer than I was, but I also know that I have only just broken through, there is more, so much more.
Just as the universe has so much more than has ever been discovered by man, there is so much more of You, my God, that is waiting to be shown to Your children. I know, I can feel Your heart as we draw closer and closer to You. I sense an excitement in You as we come closer with each new discovery of another attribute we were unaware of. Endless are the many facets of You, my God. I cannot even imagine all that You are, I only know I want to know all of You, I want to be a part of Who You are, I want to be so close to You, so very close.
Thank You, Lord, for drawing me into You today. I am going to continue to seek to draw closer, I do not want to lose ground, to fall back from where I have come today. I will do all I can to keep going forward in You, never to regress, but to seek You with all my heart and soul. I am in love with You, my King, so in love with You. Can You feel my love coming up to You this night? I know You felt my love this day, as I could feel Your smile, Your joy in my love. Your presence, Your underlying presence, may it always be with me.
05-11-12
Thursday, May 10, 2012
LIVING IN HIS LOVE
John 15:9 "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; Now remain in my love."
"Abide in my love", Jesus tells me. He tells you this also. Abide...stay. Secure and sheltered in my love.
What a beautiful relationship awaits each of us when we begin to abide in the love of our Lord. It is as though He is telling us "Welcome to My world"; a sweet invitation extended to us from Jesus. In pouring out His love to us, giving us His Holy Spirit to live in us, abide always in us, so we are never alone, we are never without divine direction and inspiration, the place that Jesus desires us to be is ours for the accepting. We do not even have to ask for this, we just have to accept this gift.
We must always realize thought that the invitation does not come until we have yielded our lives to our Lord. There is no way we could even begin to understand what living in His love is until we have completely become sold out to our God. Once we give our heart and soul to our Lord, all the blessings and gifts He so desires to pour into and onto us are ours for the receiving, for the accepting.
I believe the greatest gifts begin to come as we start flowing and walking in His love, when we begin to desire abiding with the Lord more than our next breath. That time when having intimacy in fellowship, in a true relationship with our God, is when we truly feel gifted and blessed. We know, I think, we are before this, but the depth of these gifts cannot manifest themselves until we are so deep into abiding with God that they truly mean so much to us. I know this is wordy, but sometimes the thoughts of love, of true intimate love and relationship with the Lord are so hard to describe. Those of you that know what I mean know exactly how I feel, for you are living in His love also.
Now this does not mean that we will not have trials.....perhaps they will be more difficult than others have....but the victories of these trials, the cross of these trials, bring such glorious revelation of our Lord's love that we might never know otherwise. Living in the Lord's love does not make us exempt from pain or heartache, trials and tribulation.....what it means is that we are not overcome by them, we are not left devastated by them for we know to Whom we belong and that He is with us each step of the way. We are not shaken as we are holding the hand of the Creator of all, our Lord God.
Lord, my Lord, how I love You. How I love the life You have given me. Thank You, my Savior, for Your never ending love for me. Surely my cup runneth over, again and again and again. You are All to me.
05-10-12
"Abide in my love", Jesus tells me. He tells you this also. Abide...stay. Secure and sheltered in my love.
What a beautiful relationship awaits each of us when we begin to abide in the love of our Lord. It is as though He is telling us "Welcome to My world"; a sweet invitation extended to us from Jesus. In pouring out His love to us, giving us His Holy Spirit to live in us, abide always in us, so we are never alone, we are never without divine direction and inspiration, the place that Jesus desires us to be is ours for the accepting. We do not even have to ask for this, we just have to accept this gift.
We must always realize thought that the invitation does not come until we have yielded our lives to our Lord. There is no way we could even begin to understand what living in His love is until we have completely become sold out to our God. Once we give our heart and soul to our Lord, all the blessings and gifts He so desires to pour into and onto us are ours for the receiving, for the accepting.
I believe the greatest gifts begin to come as we start flowing and walking in His love, when we begin to desire abiding with the Lord more than our next breath. That time when having intimacy in fellowship, in a true relationship with our God, is when we truly feel gifted and blessed. We know, I think, we are before this, but the depth of these gifts cannot manifest themselves until we are so deep into abiding with God that they truly mean so much to us. I know this is wordy, but sometimes the thoughts of love, of true intimate love and relationship with the Lord are so hard to describe. Those of you that know what I mean know exactly how I feel, for you are living in His love also.
Now this does not mean that we will not have trials.....perhaps they will be more difficult than others have....but the victories of these trials, the cross of these trials, bring such glorious revelation of our Lord's love that we might never know otherwise. Living in the Lord's love does not make us exempt from pain or heartache, trials and tribulation.....what it means is that we are not overcome by them, we are not left devastated by them for we know to Whom we belong and that He is with us each step of the way. We are not shaken as we are holding the hand of the Creator of all, our Lord God.
Lord, my Lord, how I love You. How I love the life You have given me. Thank You, my Savior, for Your never ending love for me. Surely my cup runneth over, again and again and again. You are All to me.
05-10-12
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
PERFECT MEASURE
Ephesians 3:19 ".....and to know this love that surpasses knowledge....that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
Last night I baked a cake for a friend's birthday; actually homemade. I had measured out all the ingredients ahead of time; different measurements for each one that was needed for this cake. When you bake different things, the measurement of ingredients are not all the same. Each recipe, each plan calls for its own measurement.
A few minutes ago, the Lord brought what I had done to mind. Last night as I was pouring each pre-measured ingredient into the bowl, the Lord showed me this was akin to what He does for us each morning. He knows before hand what our day will bring and He has prepared just the necessary measurement of Himself that will be needed for our day. When we wake up in the morning and begin our praises and devotions to the Lord, He begins to pour out His pre-measured gifts of Himself needed for the day. Large portions of mercy and grace, fresh each day (like flour and sugar in the cake, larger portions than the other ingredients as that makes up the base). So mercy and grace are a good base for our day; as there is no way we can even begin without them. Then He pours in added faith to enhance the faith we received the day before. I see faith like yeast perhaps, our faith gets warmed by the river of living water that the Holy Spirit brings to us, and like the yeast in warm water, it begins to bubble up inside us and grow, and grow. Then the Lord pours in strength, healing where needed, oh, yes, Lord, more peace is poured into us and then joy. Joy is kind of like the vanilla I added, that sweet, fragrant, delightful taste to our mouths, this is the Lord's joy. Then like the liquid I poured into the cake, the Lord pours in love that moistens and binds all the ingredients together and makes us what He wants us to be, a blessing. He knows just how much of each thing we need for each day; use it all up, there is more for tomorrow. Share what He gives you, mercy, grace, faith, love.
What a beautiful God I serve, that you serve. How He takes something I have done, or am doing and weaves it into a new revelation of His glory, of His goodness to me. He wastes nothing that I do or that I have done to show me His love and His glory. He turns even the simplest act I do into something that will bring me closer to Him, knowing Him deeper.
Do you see this happening in your life? I know the Lord does these things for others also. Do you take the time to listen when He begins to speak to you? Do you stop and write His words down, His reflections to you on how His plans, His Word has a direct action on something you did. He relates my life to Him. What joy this brings to me daily. I believe He uses these things so I will write them to encourage you, my friends. He will use your day to encourage others as you tell them what He has shown you in them. I love sharing my experiences with the Lord with you all. In doing so, I am sharing His love with some, perhaps, that don't know that love very well. I can never run out of love, joy, peace.....none of His blessings as He replenishes what I pour out daily. The more I give and share of His love and blessings, the more He gives unto me.
All the Lord wants is a willing vessel, an open heart, sensitive to His heart and loving His children as He would have them loved.
So the next time you are baking a cake.....or hitting a golf ball....or driving down a freeway, open your heart and listen for His voice, He so loves to commune with you.
Thank You, Lord, thank You for using me. I am so blessed by Your touch.
05-09-12
Last night I baked a cake for a friend's birthday; actually homemade. I had measured out all the ingredients ahead of time; different measurements for each one that was needed for this cake. When you bake different things, the measurement of ingredients are not all the same. Each recipe, each plan calls for its own measurement.
A few minutes ago, the Lord brought what I had done to mind. Last night as I was pouring each pre-measured ingredient into the bowl, the Lord showed me this was akin to what He does for us each morning. He knows before hand what our day will bring and He has prepared just the necessary measurement of Himself that will be needed for our day. When we wake up in the morning and begin our praises and devotions to the Lord, He begins to pour out His pre-measured gifts of Himself needed for the day. Large portions of mercy and grace, fresh each day (like flour and sugar in the cake, larger portions than the other ingredients as that makes up the base). So mercy and grace are a good base for our day; as there is no way we can even begin without them. Then He pours in added faith to enhance the faith we received the day before. I see faith like yeast perhaps, our faith gets warmed by the river of living water that the Holy Spirit brings to us, and like the yeast in warm water, it begins to bubble up inside us and grow, and grow. Then the Lord pours in strength, healing where needed, oh, yes, Lord, more peace is poured into us and then joy. Joy is kind of like the vanilla I added, that sweet, fragrant, delightful taste to our mouths, this is the Lord's joy. Then like the liquid I poured into the cake, the Lord pours in love that moistens and binds all the ingredients together and makes us what He wants us to be, a blessing. He knows just how much of each thing we need for each day; use it all up, there is more for tomorrow. Share what He gives you, mercy, grace, faith, love.
What a beautiful God I serve, that you serve. How He takes something I have done, or am doing and weaves it into a new revelation of His glory, of His goodness to me. He wastes nothing that I do or that I have done to show me His love and His glory. He turns even the simplest act I do into something that will bring me closer to Him, knowing Him deeper.
Do you see this happening in your life? I know the Lord does these things for others also. Do you take the time to listen when He begins to speak to you? Do you stop and write His words down, His reflections to you on how His plans, His Word has a direct action on something you did. He relates my life to Him. What joy this brings to me daily. I believe He uses these things so I will write them to encourage you, my friends. He will use your day to encourage others as you tell them what He has shown you in them. I love sharing my experiences with the Lord with you all. In doing so, I am sharing His love with some, perhaps, that don't know that love very well. I can never run out of love, joy, peace.....none of His blessings as He replenishes what I pour out daily. The more I give and share of His love and blessings, the more He gives unto me.
All the Lord wants is a willing vessel, an open heart, sensitive to His heart and loving His children as He would have them loved.
So the next time you are baking a cake.....or hitting a golf ball....or driving down a freeway, open your heart and listen for His voice, He so loves to commune with you.
Thank You, Lord, thank You for using me. I am so blessed by Your touch.
05-09-12
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
PRIZE FIGHTERS
Malachi 3:16-17a "Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them. So a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name. "They shall be Mine," says the Lord of hosts, "On the day that I make them My "jewels".
Have you ever listened to the introduction of a prize fighter? At a fight when the announcer is extolling all their accomplishments and bragging rights? I was listening to the news and they were playing a part of the introduction of the fighters and the announcer was just going on and on promoting the fighter, how great he was when I saw myself, I saw you also, as we prepared to enter the Kingdom of our Father, God Almighty.
The Lord was so proud as he introduced each of His children as they came into the Throne Room; like at a grand ball where you stand at the top of the stairs and your name is called out and you proceed down the stairs, like royalty. But the Lord was introducing me, I was being treated as royalty, the Lord was presenting me as royalty. He was telling everyone there, "Here comes my child. She has defeated the enemy. She has kicked heartache, she has floored depression, she has overcome the ways of the world. She is my beloved child and she is so dear to my heart; now she is here to receive her reward. And then He took me by the hand, tucked it in His arm and led me around the room introducing me to all present.
Then, just when I did not think this picture could get more wonderful, He sat me at His banquet table. Then the Lord, my God, went back to the foot of the staircase and He began to introduce you, my friend. It was so special, so special. He was bragging so on you also.
Our Lord is so proud of us. He could not love us more if He tried. His love is beyond comprehension, and He loves that we, daily, stand firm in His Word; that we refuse to let the enemy defeat us. The enemy might knock us down, but we are God's fighters, and we get right back up and continue the battle. See, it is not as hard as some might make it.....see we know the outcome of this battle.....we win! We will defeat the enemy because we have the strength and power of our God pouring through us; we have the Holy Spirit reminding us each moment of the love of our Father, and that He is so proud of us; and that we are winners through the blood of our Lord Jesus.
We cannot be defeated as long as we know....as long as we remember; as long as we believe and trust our God. He will never let us down, He will never leave us to fight the battle alone. He is on our side, He is in our corner and He will see that Victory is ours. We are His beloved prize fighters; we are victorious in Him.
05-08-12
Have you ever listened to the introduction of a prize fighter? At a fight when the announcer is extolling all their accomplishments and bragging rights? I was listening to the news and they were playing a part of the introduction of the fighters and the announcer was just going on and on promoting the fighter, how great he was when I saw myself, I saw you also, as we prepared to enter the Kingdom of our Father, God Almighty.
The Lord was so proud as he introduced each of His children as they came into the Throne Room; like at a grand ball where you stand at the top of the stairs and your name is called out and you proceed down the stairs, like royalty. But the Lord was introducing me, I was being treated as royalty, the Lord was presenting me as royalty. He was telling everyone there, "Here comes my child. She has defeated the enemy. She has kicked heartache, she has floored depression, she has overcome the ways of the world. She is my beloved child and she is so dear to my heart; now she is here to receive her reward. And then He took me by the hand, tucked it in His arm and led me around the room introducing me to all present.
Then, just when I did not think this picture could get more wonderful, He sat me at His banquet table. Then the Lord, my God, went back to the foot of the staircase and He began to introduce you, my friend. It was so special, so special. He was bragging so on you also.
Our Lord is so proud of us. He could not love us more if He tried. His love is beyond comprehension, and He loves that we, daily, stand firm in His Word; that we refuse to let the enemy defeat us. The enemy might knock us down, but we are God's fighters, and we get right back up and continue the battle. See, it is not as hard as some might make it.....see we know the outcome of this battle.....we win! We will defeat the enemy because we have the strength and power of our God pouring through us; we have the Holy Spirit reminding us each moment of the love of our Father, and that He is so proud of us; and that we are winners through the blood of our Lord Jesus.
We cannot be defeated as long as we know....as long as we remember; as long as we believe and trust our God. He will never let us down, He will never leave us to fight the battle alone. He is on our side, He is in our corner and He will see that Victory is ours. We are His beloved prize fighters; we are victorious in Him.
05-08-12
Monday, May 7, 2012
FAITHFULNESS
Deuteronomy 7:9 "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments."
The galaxies, so many of them, with thousands and thousands of stars.....planets, moons; and the Lord chose this little planet that He threw out into space to be the one that He would hold dearest to His heart. Why is this planet, Earth, so special to Him? Because I am here, because you are here. This planet, this small round shape of dust and rock called Earth wherein inhabit His people, His children, His favorite of all.
Our God could have forsaken us. I wondered today if it crossed His mind to just let this planet, so full of sin, so grievous at times, to just let us go, fling us as far as He wanted out into the far reaches of space where He could forget He ever made us, where He could forget He ever sent His Son to die for our sins, and still finding after all He has done, to still be rejected by so many.
Perhaps it crossed His mind to begin again, not to keep wooing this people, calling them to Himself, but to make a new creation.......but no....He would not. He is Faithful, Faithful, Faithful. See, once our Lord God began to create His people, His chosen, those who would be called by His Name, those who would one day, being made righteous by the blood of His only Beloved Son, He could not let us go. He loves, and when God loves, there is no turning back. When we fail Him, it grieves His heart, but He knows our weaknesses, He knows our temptations; Jesus has told Him all, Jesus is there whispering in the ear of His Father, reminding Him that it was for these "I died"; that it is for these, all has been done for "these beloved of God" who will become the Bride of Christ, the Bride that has been courted and wooed for so many years; the Bride that the beautiful home is being built for. No, God will never turn from us, in fact, if turning away is done, it is by His children, not Him.
The planning, the preparations, the giving of such precious gifts to the Bride; this process taking so long, costing so much, grieving Him so much at times and then giving Him such sweet joy when He hears the songs of the Brides' heart flowing up to Him. No, He will never leave us.
He has prepared a place for me, He has prepared a place for you, for me, and He is waiting till all preparations are completed to send His Son, the Holy One, our Bridegroom, to come and receive His Bride and bring her home to dwell forever with the Father of all; the Faithful Father.
No, He will never forsake us......Such love, such faithfulness.
05-07-12
The galaxies, so many of them, with thousands and thousands of stars.....planets, moons; and the Lord chose this little planet that He threw out into space to be the one that He would hold dearest to His heart. Why is this planet, Earth, so special to Him? Because I am here, because you are here. This planet, this small round shape of dust and rock called Earth wherein inhabit His people, His children, His favorite of all.
Our God could have forsaken us. I wondered today if it crossed His mind to just let this planet, so full of sin, so grievous at times, to just let us go, fling us as far as He wanted out into the far reaches of space where He could forget He ever made us, where He could forget He ever sent His Son to die for our sins, and still finding after all He has done, to still be rejected by so many.
Perhaps it crossed His mind to begin again, not to keep wooing this people, calling them to Himself, but to make a new creation.......but no....He would not. He is Faithful, Faithful, Faithful. See, once our Lord God began to create His people, His chosen, those who would be called by His Name, those who would one day, being made righteous by the blood of His only Beloved Son, He could not let us go. He loves, and when God loves, there is no turning back. When we fail Him, it grieves His heart, but He knows our weaknesses, He knows our temptations; Jesus has told Him all, Jesus is there whispering in the ear of His Father, reminding Him that it was for these "I died"; that it is for these, all has been done for "these beloved of God" who will become the Bride of Christ, the Bride that has been courted and wooed for so many years; the Bride that the beautiful home is being built for. No, God will never turn from us, in fact, if turning away is done, it is by His children, not Him.
The planning, the preparations, the giving of such precious gifts to the Bride; this process taking so long, costing so much, grieving Him so much at times and then giving Him such sweet joy when He hears the songs of the Brides' heart flowing up to Him. No, He will never leave us.
He has prepared a place for me, He has prepared a place for you, for me, and He is waiting till all preparations are completed to send His Son, the Holy One, our Bridegroom, to come and receive His Bride and bring her home to dwell forever with the Father of all; the Faithful Father.
No, He will never forsake us......Such love, such faithfulness.
05-07-12
Sunday, May 6, 2012
BEYOND THE SKY
Genesis 1:7-8a "So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse "sky".
I think the reason I like sunrises and sunsets so much is that they appear in the expanse between earth and heaven. There is never a doubt in my mind that the Lord takes the time each day to give us beauty to begin our day with and beauty to end it with. To constantly remind us that He loves us and wants to fill our lives with the beauty of His Glory. If you will recognize the hand of God, acknowledge that He is our Father and we are His children, some still rebellious, but none the less His children, you will know He only wants to give us beauty in our lives.
There is so much darkness on earth, so much ugliness here that is man made, perhaps satan inspired, but definitely man made. So much energy and thought is given to what satan does, we so often neglect what the Lord is doing. I refuse to let satan get glory in my life by spending a lot of time thinking about what he is doing or worrying about what he will do. He really has no role in my life, and as long as I don't give him one, he will never have one. See, satan can only have a part in your life if you give it to him. He cannot override our will, our nature, our hearts, our minds. The same free will that applys to us and the Lord, applys to us and the enemy. If you refuse to allow satan to have a say in your life, he has no say. Yes, I can remember back in the 70s to 80s the little saying that went around "the devil made me do it". But I had a free will, I could chose to do or not to do. Just as so many chose or do not chose to follow the Lord. Free will. It would have been so easy had the Lord just said, you are my children and you will do as I say. Remember your parents telling you "as long as you are under my roof!" But, no the Lord wants us to come to Him, because we want Him in our life, because we love Him so much, because we chose Him over all others.
To remind us, to show us each day, that He is beyond the sky, watching, loving, encouraging us each day, I believe the Lord splashes beauty across that expansion that separates His kingdom and the temporary home of ours. His Glory shining through. Friday night the moon looked just about full, and I was thinking how amazingly beautiful it was just seeming to hang over the interstate. Then I thought, "Thank You, Lord Jesus. One day there won't be a moon or sun, You will be the Light that gives day, You will be Light over all." One day.....
Lord, my God, Your beauty rains down on us, Your children. Let me, let us all, remember to thank You each time we see that sunrise or that sunset that drips with every color hue imaginable, beauty that is beyond our color palette. I believe You are so beautiful, it very well could be the reflection of your face that makes this beautiful sky. You are so beautiful, Lord, to me; You are so very beautiful to me.
One day I will go beyond the sky, beyond the expanse that separates us physically and I will be at Your feet, worshiping You in the Heavenlies. Until that time, my spirit soars with each thought of that day, my spirit sings of my love of You, my song I sing to You alone. I do love You so, my God.
05-06-12
I think the reason I like sunrises and sunsets so much is that they appear in the expanse between earth and heaven. There is never a doubt in my mind that the Lord takes the time each day to give us beauty to begin our day with and beauty to end it with. To constantly remind us that He loves us and wants to fill our lives with the beauty of His Glory. If you will recognize the hand of God, acknowledge that He is our Father and we are His children, some still rebellious, but none the less His children, you will know He only wants to give us beauty in our lives.
There is so much darkness on earth, so much ugliness here that is man made, perhaps satan inspired, but definitely man made. So much energy and thought is given to what satan does, we so often neglect what the Lord is doing. I refuse to let satan get glory in my life by spending a lot of time thinking about what he is doing or worrying about what he will do. He really has no role in my life, and as long as I don't give him one, he will never have one. See, satan can only have a part in your life if you give it to him. He cannot override our will, our nature, our hearts, our minds. The same free will that applys to us and the Lord, applys to us and the enemy. If you refuse to allow satan to have a say in your life, he has no say. Yes, I can remember back in the 70s to 80s the little saying that went around "the devil made me do it". But I had a free will, I could chose to do or not to do. Just as so many chose or do not chose to follow the Lord. Free will. It would have been so easy had the Lord just said, you are my children and you will do as I say. Remember your parents telling you "as long as you are under my roof!" But, no the Lord wants us to come to Him, because we want Him in our life, because we love Him so much, because we chose Him over all others.
To remind us, to show us each day, that He is beyond the sky, watching, loving, encouraging us each day, I believe the Lord splashes beauty across that expansion that separates His kingdom and the temporary home of ours. His Glory shining through. Friday night the moon looked just about full, and I was thinking how amazingly beautiful it was just seeming to hang over the interstate. Then I thought, "Thank You, Lord Jesus. One day there won't be a moon or sun, You will be the Light that gives day, You will be Light over all." One day.....
Lord, my God, Your beauty rains down on us, Your children. Let me, let us all, remember to thank You each time we see that sunrise or that sunset that drips with every color hue imaginable, beauty that is beyond our color palette. I believe You are so beautiful, it very well could be the reflection of your face that makes this beautiful sky. You are so beautiful, Lord, to me; You are so very beautiful to me.
One day I will go beyond the sky, beyond the expanse that separates us physically and I will be at Your feet, worshiping You in the Heavenlies. Until that time, my spirit soars with each thought of that day, my spirit sings of my love of You, my song I sing to You alone. I do love You so, my God.
05-06-12
Saturday, May 5, 2012
USE WHATEVER IS NEEDED, LORD
Psalm 141:1 (Message) "God, come close. Come quickly; Open your ears...it's my voice you're hearing."
I just finished reading a book on my Kindle, "The Dog That Talked To God". I wasn't sure where the book was going for a long time; but then it began to make sense to me. This lady had lost her husband and child in an automobile wreck; she stopped praying, she stopped talking to God. Now this is the short version, interested in the book, see Amazon for it, they should have it in regular books also. But this lady just blamed our Lord for it all and that was that. She ends up getting a little dog and one night on their walk the dog begins to talk to her and references the Lord and lets her know he talks to God. Long story short, the dog talked to her until almost the end of the story when the lady finally has a break through to the Lord, releases her anger and hurt and allows the Lord to hold her and heal her. As she returns to the Lord, the dog tells her he will no longer be speaking, it was just until she was healed and restored to the Lord.
As I thought about what I had read, I realized that the dog was not talking to her, I don't think, but I believe it was the Holy Spirit speaking to her through the dog. Just leading her, gently, and not letting go of her, just staying close to her while she was so angry, so lost. I know you probably think I have lost it this time, but I truly feel that the Lord can and will use whatever is necessary to draw us back to Him. Once we have been in a relationship with our Lord, He is not going to let us go. We may think we have left Him, we may let some hurt or disappointment, or anger stop our flow of prayer and conversation with Him, but He is not letting us go. We belong to Him and once we are in Him, He will see that we return.
Once again, here is our free will. We have the free will to leave, but, be honest....once you have known the precious goodness of our God, felt His peace calm your most inner being and had His joy pour over you like floods of fresh living water.....you will return to the Lord. You will never know any other life but what the Lord has given you. You will never find peace except that beautiful peace of God. You can insist that you do not need the Lord, but you are only trying to make your heart believe what your mind tells you. See the mind is much more stubborn than the heart. The Lord sees the heart; He sees your heart fighting back as your mind tells you that you are alright, you do not need the Lord. Pride takes place in the mind. And of course the enemy works on your mind; once you have let yourself fall into the pity, prideful mode, satan will take hold of your mind and begin, expertly, to convince you are right, you don't need the Lord. But your heart.....see, you may leave, but the Spirit of the Lord is still there; drawing you, wooing you, loving you.
So where are you tonight? Are you in that place of not talking to God, angry at Him, blaming Him for the hurt in your life? Aren't you tired of running.....aren't you tired of the turmoil in your life without your sweet relationship with our Lord? This lady, in the book, finally said, "God, are You there? It's me....". And the touch she received, the tears released her from the bondage she had put herself in, and she felt clean again, close again, in God again. It is so easy to return to the Lord, so much easier that when you first came to Him.....see, your heart knows the way. Release the reins to your heart and let go; let God heal you. Let God hold you close again. He's waiting, and He will use whatever necessary to bring you home....even a talking dog.
05-05-12
I just finished reading a book on my Kindle, "The Dog That Talked To God". I wasn't sure where the book was going for a long time; but then it began to make sense to me. This lady had lost her husband and child in an automobile wreck; she stopped praying, she stopped talking to God. Now this is the short version, interested in the book, see Amazon for it, they should have it in regular books also. But this lady just blamed our Lord for it all and that was that. She ends up getting a little dog and one night on their walk the dog begins to talk to her and references the Lord and lets her know he talks to God. Long story short, the dog talked to her until almost the end of the story when the lady finally has a break through to the Lord, releases her anger and hurt and allows the Lord to hold her and heal her. As she returns to the Lord, the dog tells her he will no longer be speaking, it was just until she was healed and restored to the Lord.
As I thought about what I had read, I realized that the dog was not talking to her, I don't think, but I believe it was the Holy Spirit speaking to her through the dog. Just leading her, gently, and not letting go of her, just staying close to her while she was so angry, so lost. I know you probably think I have lost it this time, but I truly feel that the Lord can and will use whatever is necessary to draw us back to Him. Once we have been in a relationship with our Lord, He is not going to let us go. We may think we have left Him, we may let some hurt or disappointment, or anger stop our flow of prayer and conversation with Him, but He is not letting us go. We belong to Him and once we are in Him, He will see that we return.
Once again, here is our free will. We have the free will to leave, but, be honest....once you have known the precious goodness of our God, felt His peace calm your most inner being and had His joy pour over you like floods of fresh living water.....you will return to the Lord. You will never know any other life but what the Lord has given you. You will never find peace except that beautiful peace of God. You can insist that you do not need the Lord, but you are only trying to make your heart believe what your mind tells you. See the mind is much more stubborn than the heart. The Lord sees the heart; He sees your heart fighting back as your mind tells you that you are alright, you do not need the Lord. Pride takes place in the mind. And of course the enemy works on your mind; once you have let yourself fall into the pity, prideful mode, satan will take hold of your mind and begin, expertly, to convince you are right, you don't need the Lord. But your heart.....see, you may leave, but the Spirit of the Lord is still there; drawing you, wooing you, loving you.
So where are you tonight? Are you in that place of not talking to God, angry at Him, blaming Him for the hurt in your life? Aren't you tired of running.....aren't you tired of the turmoil in your life without your sweet relationship with our Lord? This lady, in the book, finally said, "God, are You there? It's me....". And the touch she received, the tears released her from the bondage she had put herself in, and she felt clean again, close again, in God again. It is so easy to return to the Lord, so much easier that when you first came to Him.....see, your heart knows the way. Release the reins to your heart and let go; let God heal you. Let God hold you close again. He's waiting, and He will use whatever necessary to bring you home....even a talking dog.
05-05-12
Friday, May 4, 2012
EQUITY IN HEAVEN?
John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
A lady today told me something very strange. Of course, at my age, nothing should surprise me. But.... it still happens occasionally.
We were talking and I don't remember what was said to begin this conversation...perhaps it was the worship music in the background. The music is a good conversation starter; definitely a peace bringer. But she said the name of her religion (no that is not important here....I would hesitate to mention it as it although may be actually taught, it could be only her understanding of it). What she said was "It is sort of like the equity we build in heaven; all the good things we do go into an account and then we have that for us when we get to heaven".
It was like "hold me back, Lord". WOW. This conversation was put on hold as more people came in, but she will be back in a few weeks and if the Lord wills, and leads, we will revisit this. I will ask her to explain what she meant. I realize certain religions have beliefs that are not found in scripture or that have been interpreted for their own way of thinking.
The frightening thing is that I know people that go to church that believe the good things they do on earth will secure their heavenly mansion. I pray that those that call themselves Christians know the truth. Good deeds on earth do not save you. It might endure you to those around you on earth, but it will not save you. I know people that will give you everything they have; they go out of their way to help people, but they are not saved. They think they are okay; they truly believe that.
My father-in-law (Pop) always told my husband he was right with the Lord. We knew in our spirit that this was not true. Robert would try to talk to him about Jesus. All he got was "I am good with God". We were living in South Dakota at the time, and we got a call from Robert's sister. Pop was seeing demons and he was scared, real scared; he would not sleep, he was afraid to close his eyes. Robert told his sister to put the phone to Pops ears and he told Pop to listen and if he wanted to accept Jesus as his Savior to blink twice for yes. Pop could no longer speak from the Parkinson's disease he had and was having to communicate by blinking his eyes. Robert led Pop in the sinner's prayer. Pop blinked twice. Almost immediately he calmed down and he slept. He died a couple of days later. Pop had gone to church all his life, he was brought up in the Catholic church, but never really accepted Jesus; he was not saved.
So the people that have loved the Lord all their life; saved early in life and lived a good Christian life or the one that confesses Jesus as Lord and Savior at the end of their life, they certainly have no equity, no goodness to fall back on. There is only grace, the grace of God. ".....it is by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:5b)
There is only one flow, only one source of "equity" for any of us. Jesus. There is no other source by which you can be saved, by which you can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus....no other Name, by no man or woman's goodness, greatness....no matter who or what they are on earth; only one way....only the one that places their trust, their faith in Jesus; only those that have been washed in His precious blood; now redeemed; saved by His grace, will enter in to the Kingdom of Heaven, the home of the Father of us all.
Always in Jesus.....or saved by the drawing of the Holy Spirit, the sweet call of the Lord, the cleansing blood of Jesus...at their last breath, those can enter Heaven equally forgiven, equally loved, equally sought by the Father. See...everyone may not have the Lord all their life, some a long time, some only falling into His arms a few days or even hours before their death; but our God, our Father has always loved them....all equally....God is no respecter of persons. Our Father, our God has always loved them.....all equally from before time and He has waited eagerly for all to come to Him....to come home to Him.
Thank You, my Lord. All glory and honor is Yours, my Beloved Lord.
05-04-12
A lady today told me something very strange. Of course, at my age, nothing should surprise me. But.... it still happens occasionally.
We were talking and I don't remember what was said to begin this conversation...perhaps it was the worship music in the background. The music is a good conversation starter; definitely a peace bringer. But she said the name of her religion (no that is not important here....I would hesitate to mention it as it although may be actually taught, it could be only her understanding of it). What she said was "It is sort of like the equity we build in heaven; all the good things we do go into an account and then we have that for us when we get to heaven".
It was like "hold me back, Lord". WOW. This conversation was put on hold as more people came in, but she will be back in a few weeks and if the Lord wills, and leads, we will revisit this. I will ask her to explain what she meant. I realize certain religions have beliefs that are not found in scripture or that have been interpreted for their own way of thinking.
The frightening thing is that I know people that go to church that believe the good things they do on earth will secure their heavenly mansion. I pray that those that call themselves Christians know the truth. Good deeds on earth do not save you. It might endure you to those around you on earth, but it will not save you. I know people that will give you everything they have; they go out of their way to help people, but they are not saved. They think they are okay; they truly believe that.
My father-in-law (Pop) always told my husband he was right with the Lord. We knew in our spirit that this was not true. Robert would try to talk to him about Jesus. All he got was "I am good with God". We were living in South Dakota at the time, and we got a call from Robert's sister. Pop was seeing demons and he was scared, real scared; he would not sleep, he was afraid to close his eyes. Robert told his sister to put the phone to Pops ears and he told Pop to listen and if he wanted to accept Jesus as his Savior to blink twice for yes. Pop could no longer speak from the Parkinson's disease he had and was having to communicate by blinking his eyes. Robert led Pop in the sinner's prayer. Pop blinked twice. Almost immediately he calmed down and he slept. He died a couple of days later. Pop had gone to church all his life, he was brought up in the Catholic church, but never really accepted Jesus; he was not saved.
So the people that have loved the Lord all their life; saved early in life and lived a good Christian life or the one that confesses Jesus as Lord and Savior at the end of their life, they certainly have no equity, no goodness to fall back on. There is only grace, the grace of God. ".....it is by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:5b)
There is only one flow, only one source of "equity" for any of us. Jesus. There is no other source by which you can be saved, by which you can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus....no other Name, by no man or woman's goodness, greatness....no matter who or what they are on earth; only one way....only the one that places their trust, their faith in Jesus; only those that have been washed in His precious blood; now redeemed; saved by His grace, will enter in to the Kingdom of Heaven, the home of the Father of us all.
Always in Jesus.....or saved by the drawing of the Holy Spirit, the sweet call of the Lord, the cleansing blood of Jesus...at their last breath, those can enter Heaven equally forgiven, equally loved, equally sought by the Father. See...everyone may not have the Lord all their life, some a long time, some only falling into His arms a few days or even hours before their death; but our God, our Father has always loved them....all equally....God is no respecter of persons. Our Father, our God has always loved them.....all equally from before time and He has waited eagerly for all to come to Him....to come home to Him.
Thank You, my Lord. All glory and honor is Yours, my Beloved Lord.
05-04-12
Thursday, May 3, 2012
THE CLOSED DOOR
Matthew 7:8 "For everyone who asks receives; he, who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
Thinking this morning of how wonderful God has been to me. The beauty of His sweet presence. As I was just relaxing in His presence, I thought back to the time I so missed this feeling.
Strange how we, grown adults, are so susceptible to attack...to the lies of the enemy. When we allow sin to come into our lives, we literally shut the door on our Lord. I can see that door, as I look back, shut tightly as I fought the memories of what caused the door to shut; feeling so abandoned; so lonely, couldn't talk to anyone....wasn't my way. I just know the door was shut between myself and my Lord. I remember so many times standing at the door reaching out but not touching it as I heard the enemy tell me "He won't open the door...not for you".
How foolish I was! The quiet, sweet voice inside of me kept telling me to open the door. When I stopped to truly listen, I realized I was the only one that could open the door. My Lord never shut that door, I had. It was my sin that shut the door. The Lord was waiting for me to return to Him because I loved Him. He had long forgiven me, He was waiting for my heart to seek Him alone, to return to Him, to give Him my all.
Have you stood in front of the closed door of your heart? Open that door. Do not fear Who is waiting on the other side. Our Lord with His mercy and forgiveness is waiting with open arms for His child to return; for His child to come with a repetitive heart full of love for Him alone.
God never closes doors. The doors are closed by our sin, by our actions and kept shut by our shame. We are the only ones that can open those doors. The moment we call out to God, His mercy flows right down to us and that door swings open. His beautiful eyes filled with tears of joy will welcome you into His presence; once again into His wonderful presence.
05-03-12
Thinking this morning of how wonderful God has been to me. The beauty of His sweet presence. As I was just relaxing in His presence, I thought back to the time I so missed this feeling.
Strange how we, grown adults, are so susceptible to attack...to the lies of the enemy. When we allow sin to come into our lives, we literally shut the door on our Lord. I can see that door, as I look back, shut tightly as I fought the memories of what caused the door to shut; feeling so abandoned; so lonely, couldn't talk to anyone....wasn't my way. I just know the door was shut between myself and my Lord. I remember so many times standing at the door reaching out but not touching it as I heard the enemy tell me "He won't open the door...not for you".
How foolish I was! The quiet, sweet voice inside of me kept telling me to open the door. When I stopped to truly listen, I realized I was the only one that could open the door. My Lord never shut that door, I had. It was my sin that shut the door. The Lord was waiting for me to return to Him because I loved Him. He had long forgiven me, He was waiting for my heart to seek Him alone, to return to Him, to give Him my all.
Have you stood in front of the closed door of your heart? Open that door. Do not fear Who is waiting on the other side. Our Lord with His mercy and forgiveness is waiting with open arms for His child to return; for His child to come with a repetitive heart full of love for Him alone.
God never closes doors. The doors are closed by our sin, by our actions and kept shut by our shame. We are the only ones that can open those doors. The moment we call out to God, His mercy flows right down to us and that door swings open. His beautiful eyes filled with tears of joy will welcome you into His presence; once again into His wonderful presence.
05-03-12
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
EARTHQUAKE OF LIFE
Psalm 112:6 "Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever."
How will you be remembered in this life? I was reading this scripture and as I read, I thought, this is how I would like to be remembered. As righteous, a woman who could not be shaken by the things of earth; a woman who stood steadfast in her God. I think that would be such a blessed epitaph..."a woman who stood steadfast in her God". What a blessed way to be remembered by those who loved you, family, friends.
Yes, I realize that is a sad thing to think, but we all, thank You Father, will one day be called by our God to come home. "What a glorious day that will be, when my Jesus I will see, when He takes me by the hand, and leads me to the promised land." But I will back up here now to this day......
How do people see me today? How do they see you? When people see me, do they think of me as one who cannot be shaken by this world and the things going on? I would like to think they do. I know I do not let the things of this earth trouble me......well, it troubles me; rather, let me say, it grieves my heart. It does not scare me, nor should it you, for we have had ample time to prepare for it if we have been reading the Word of God. He prepares us for trouble, for trials and temptations. There is nothing that He has left undone, unsaid. If we have prepared ourselves by reading the Word of God, we know of the things to come.....but we also know that He has given His peace to us, poured out onto us with His grace and mercy. We know we have a place, a beautiful hiding place in Him; we can call out the precious Name of Jesus and He is right with us. He has given us His Holy Spirit who abides with us constantly, always speaking the Word into us, always drawing us into the Light, always reminding us of God's great love for us. We have had all the training of the most attuned soldiers in the world. We are in the greatest army ever known to mankind, the Army of God, the Soldiers of the Cross, the King's Men and Women.
I will not be shaken. I am holding on to my Lord's hand so tightly, no one can separate me from Him. I love my Lord so much, His Name is on my lips all the day, and His song in my heart all night. Friends, when the shaking begins, and it will come, will you be able to stand firm? Will you know the Name above all Names to call upon? Will you feel the presence of our Holy God when terrors of the night come? Will you stand.....or will you be shaken? This is the moment, right now, to lift up your heart to the Lord and declare your trust in Him alone; plant yourself in His hands and let our Lord God deliver you from all fear of tomorrow, the unknown, and the enemy's lies. Our God reigns on high and He loves us so dearly. What an awesome God we serve; so faithful, so kind. And He loves us passionately.
I love You my God. You see my heart. You are my Rock, my Strong Tower in the midst of any earthquaking. I am not afraid. I am my Father's child, His beloved child.
05-02-12
How will you be remembered in this life? I was reading this scripture and as I read, I thought, this is how I would like to be remembered. As righteous, a woman who could not be shaken by the things of earth; a woman who stood steadfast in her God. I think that would be such a blessed epitaph..."a woman who stood steadfast in her God". What a blessed way to be remembered by those who loved you, family, friends.
Yes, I realize that is a sad thing to think, but we all, thank You Father, will one day be called by our God to come home. "What a glorious day that will be, when my Jesus I will see, when He takes me by the hand, and leads me to the promised land." But I will back up here now to this day......
How do people see me today? How do they see you? When people see me, do they think of me as one who cannot be shaken by this world and the things going on? I would like to think they do. I know I do not let the things of this earth trouble me......well, it troubles me; rather, let me say, it grieves my heart. It does not scare me, nor should it you, for we have had ample time to prepare for it if we have been reading the Word of God. He prepares us for trouble, for trials and temptations. There is nothing that He has left undone, unsaid. If we have prepared ourselves by reading the Word of God, we know of the things to come.....but we also know that He has given His peace to us, poured out onto us with His grace and mercy. We know we have a place, a beautiful hiding place in Him; we can call out the precious Name of Jesus and He is right with us. He has given us His Holy Spirit who abides with us constantly, always speaking the Word into us, always drawing us into the Light, always reminding us of God's great love for us. We have had all the training of the most attuned soldiers in the world. We are in the greatest army ever known to mankind, the Army of God, the Soldiers of the Cross, the King's Men and Women.
I will not be shaken. I am holding on to my Lord's hand so tightly, no one can separate me from Him. I love my Lord so much, His Name is on my lips all the day, and His song in my heart all night. Friends, when the shaking begins, and it will come, will you be able to stand firm? Will you know the Name above all Names to call upon? Will you feel the presence of our Holy God when terrors of the night come? Will you stand.....or will you be shaken? This is the moment, right now, to lift up your heart to the Lord and declare your trust in Him alone; plant yourself in His hands and let our Lord God deliver you from all fear of tomorrow, the unknown, and the enemy's lies. Our God reigns on high and He loves us so dearly. What an awesome God we serve; so faithful, so kind. And He loves us passionately.
I love You my God. You see my heart. You are my Rock, my Strong Tower in the midst of any earthquaking. I am not afraid. I am my Father's child, His beloved child.
05-02-12
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
BECAUSE YOU ARE
Exodus 3:14 ".....I AM WHO I AM...."
Today, Lord, has been a day of wonder. This morning began as I awoke to worship music that the Holy Spirit used to draw me up with praises to Your Holy Name. Not wanting for anything, just worshiping You because You love me so, and because I love You. It was hard not to just stay in that place of beauty, Your presence, so wonderful. But....yes, Father, I know, You knew I had to go to work. It is because of Who You are, my Lord, that I have this thing about not being late, of always being on time, not be be anything but a good steward of the time You give me.
Your peace surrounded me all day, even as busy as I was, I was resting in You. You are my ...... Lord, the words are a stumbling block to me tonight. I am having a difficult time finding the words precious enough to glorify Your Name. Are there words that will come close to explaining Your greatness, because You Are Great. Are there words that describe Your glory; because You Are Glorious.
I just know that today, as so many days, Your very Being, has overwhelmed me, even right now, I find it difficult to think of anything but Your Glorious Presence that is with me. I'll glorify Your Name, my God. With all that is in me, with all that You give me, I will return it to You in praise. I have missed so much, my Lord, the years long past. I have missed so much time of being so close to You, I never want to be away from You. I never knew what true joy and happiness was until I was immersed with Your Presence.
Because You Are my Master, I want to spend each day working, doing what You would have me do, following where You lead me. Because You Are my King, I will bow down and worship You for all my life. Because You Are my Lord, I humbly desire to sit at Your feet and listen to You, always. Because You Are my God, I can walk in Your gardens of beauty in the cool of the evening with You. Because You Are my Savior, I can walk in righteousness and freedom. Because You Are my Jesus, I have Your Holy Spirit to be with me always, guiding me, showing me the ways to please You, keeping me in You always.
Because You Are....because You Are my Everything, I have life abundant, I have life eternal. Always to be with You, because You Are...Your Word is the same today, tomorrow as it was yesterday. Because You Are means You love me as much today as You did before I was born and You Are going to bring me to the plan You designed for my life.
Because You Are....is why my heart is filled with peace and my entire being flowing with joy. Because You Are.
05-01-12
Today, Lord, has been a day of wonder. This morning began as I awoke to worship music that the Holy Spirit used to draw me up with praises to Your Holy Name. Not wanting for anything, just worshiping You because You love me so, and because I love You. It was hard not to just stay in that place of beauty, Your presence, so wonderful. But....yes, Father, I know, You knew I had to go to work. It is because of Who You are, my Lord, that I have this thing about not being late, of always being on time, not be be anything but a good steward of the time You give me.
Your peace surrounded me all day, even as busy as I was, I was resting in You. You are my ...... Lord, the words are a stumbling block to me tonight. I am having a difficult time finding the words precious enough to glorify Your Name. Are there words that will come close to explaining Your greatness, because You Are Great. Are there words that describe Your glory; because You Are Glorious.
I just know that today, as so many days, Your very Being, has overwhelmed me, even right now, I find it difficult to think of anything but Your Glorious Presence that is with me. I'll glorify Your Name, my God. With all that is in me, with all that You give me, I will return it to You in praise. I have missed so much, my Lord, the years long past. I have missed so much time of being so close to You, I never want to be away from You. I never knew what true joy and happiness was until I was immersed with Your Presence.
Because You Are my Master, I want to spend each day working, doing what You would have me do, following where You lead me. Because You Are my King, I will bow down and worship You for all my life. Because You Are my Lord, I humbly desire to sit at Your feet and listen to You, always. Because You Are my God, I can walk in Your gardens of beauty in the cool of the evening with You. Because You Are my Savior, I can walk in righteousness and freedom. Because You Are my Jesus, I have Your Holy Spirit to be with me always, guiding me, showing me the ways to please You, keeping me in You always.
Because You Are....because You Are my Everything, I have life abundant, I have life eternal. Always to be with You, because You Are...Your Word is the same today, tomorrow as it was yesterday. Because You Are means You love me as much today as You did before I was born and You Are going to bring me to the plan You designed for my life.
Because You Are....is why my heart is filled with peace and my entire being flowing with joy. Because You Are.
05-01-12
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