Jeremiah 15:19-20 "If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them. I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you."
I saw something this morning that deeply saddened me. The statement of one who knew of a past that was complete with wonder and excitement in the Lord but also sin and destruction of the enemy. Yes, this reflects my past as I am certain it does a good number of those who read this. The implication that this past had failure in it, sin, disappointment, destruction, hardships and deep hurts, whether self or otherwise injected; so they implied that because they had been a sinner, they would always be a sinner.
There is some truth to this statement, as we will all sin everyday. As long as we are in this world, there will be sin that will enter in. But we do not have to remain in that state.....we have been redeemed by the blood of our precious Savior. The Lord did not say He would save us from past sin, He came to redeem us, forgive us, of ALL SIN, past, present and future. This is just a side note for those who may not realize the unconditional love of our God.
To say that because we were a great sinner (all sin is great in the eyes of our Lord, there is no degrees of sin, little or big, SIN IS SIN), that we cannot change (all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God) is a myth, a lie straight from the lips of satan. It is not from our Lord. Jesus came so that we might be redeemed and made free from our sin. Yes, even the sin that will be committed tomorrow, or next week, next year. Free to live in Him, free to hold our heads up, relieved from the burden of the sinful nature that we were born into. Do you ever feel, as I did this morning, that righteous anger that people can be so judgmental, so self righteous, to think that because of your past, you have no future in our Lord, in His Kingdom, in His Glory? It just rose up in me this morning as the grief I felt the Lord feeling that still, His children want to hold everyone that He restores back because of their past. Where would I be without the wonderful mercy and grace of my God? Where would you be. I cannot tell you how often the enemy comes at me with scenes of my past, with the horror of what I was, and so much of it only my Lord and I know....but that sometimes is worse than having your past plastered across the papers, the things that no one knows but the most important One in your life, the Lord of your life, Jesus. He sees my past that He went to the cross for; He knows where I have slipped and fell for He was there with His hand reaching out to me; He knows how the enemy comes against me, how shame fills my heart; and yet above all this He knows how much He loves me and He continues to hold me and assure me that He has forgiven me, He has redeemed me, and yes, when I sin again, He will still love me more than life itself and redeem me when I repent and call upon His Name. You see, the Lord knows the hearts of man, He sees when we are repentant. His mercy, His grace for us does not go by what others see or think, it is a reflection of His love and our repentant heart that He sees.
To each of us grace is measured out each day, mercy will always triumph over sin, and the death of the old man has brought life to the new in Jesus Christ. So once a sinner, always a sinner......no, this is not true......actually it is only true to those that continue to judge each other, for you see, that is sin. Judging belongs to the Lord, and if we continue to fall into that trap, we will become sinners far worse than anything we can do. Judge not that you sin not. Forgive me, forgive others, forgive yourself when you fall, for as repentance comes from our lips to our Lord, redemption and love comes from His heart.
My Lord, all I can do is thank You for redeeming me, for forgiving me each day, each time I fail You, thank You for Your unconditional love that lifts me back to You as I seek to walk in Your Light with my head held high, for You are my Glory and the Lifter of my head. I love You, Lord.
07-30-12
Monday, July 30, 2012
Sunday, July 29, 2012
LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST
John 10:10b "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
Have you thought at times, be honest now, for I know I have....but have you thought as you watched other people you know, how interesting their life is? They always have an exciting story to tell, either from what happened at the store, or on a plane flight, a road trip; miracles that they were blessed to see. I know at times, I have felt how very dull an existence I live; only to have a time out with the Holy Spirit at night. The Holy Spirit will not leave me thinking in this frame of mind for very long for it is detrimental to the work the Lord has for each of us to do.
If my life, if your life seems dull, boring, a life no one would dream of having, then we are not living our life to the fullest that the Lord has given us, not living up to the potential that He has put in us; the purpose that He has placed in our hearts, in our spirits, for us to attain in Him. Friends, I am certainly talking to myself here. I realize my life seems so busy at times, but still the enemy comes in to steal anything that is not weighed down by the Spirit, anything that is not settled on the Rock of our salvation can be taken in a moment.
This is why, I believe, a lot of times we attend services and are so elated at the revelation we receive from the Lord during the service only to find that the next day, we cannot even remember what we heard in that place. What happens? Our eyes.....our view of the world outside of the Spirit happens. We do not keep our eyes on the Lord as the enemy comes in to place doubt and unbelief on what we heard. We listen and take the Word deep inside us and then the enemy comes and throws questions at us....."Well, if you are so blessed, then why does so and so seem to be more joyful than you?" or he might say "well, looky here, all alone and everyone else is busing doing God's work, but you are here writing, or you are just reading the Word, worshiping alone....something wrong with you, that is for sure." Heard those words before. I have. Takes a lot of deep conviction to ignore those words that keep coming and coming.
I spend a lot of time alone. But I am finding that it is so blessed if I take the time to look inside of myself and ask the Lord what He wants to do with this time, with the time that has been evidently set aside by Him to give me the opportunity, IF I choose, to be with Him. To choose to be with Him. The Lord is constructing a time frame for each of His children where they will have that alone time, where He desires them to choose to spend that time with Him. Not all do. I am guilty of at times not recognizing that this time has been set aside by the Lord for OUR time. Sometimes so wrapped up in what I did the day before.....why do we even spend time rehashing yesterday, good or bad? It is gone, let's move into today and see what the Lord has planned. I ask You, dear Spirit, to draw me at these times that my Lord has set for just the two of us, draw me into His presence, let nothing else, nothing else blind me to the fact that this alone time is not alone time.....it is my time with my God. Set in this day to give me time to sit on my Father's lap and tell Him how much I love Him....to thank Him for my yesterdays, my today, and tell Him how I look forward to my tomorrows with Him.
I want to live my life to the fullest and the only way for me to do that is to walk into those set aside times with my God. To live my life looking for time to spend with Him alone. To hold Him in my mind, my heart and my spirit as I am never away from Him, so I can draw into Him at any time of day or night. Any attack of the enemy can go only so far.....ha.ha.ha. As I write this, this causes me to laugh as he thinks I am retreating, running from him, but no.....I am only drawing in to the spirit, into the arms of my God, I am running from no one, I am running to my Strong Tower whose arms are always open to me. Here lies my most valuable weapon against the enemy.....the strength, the grace and the love of my Father. Here life reaches it's full capacity. Life inside the Father as He dwells inside each of us through His Spirit, our safe place inside His Dwelling Place, our hearts.
Life cannot possibly be any fuller, than a life lived totally within His presence.
07-29-12
Have you thought at times, be honest now, for I know I have....but have you thought as you watched other people you know, how interesting their life is? They always have an exciting story to tell, either from what happened at the store, or on a plane flight, a road trip; miracles that they were blessed to see. I know at times, I have felt how very dull an existence I live; only to have a time out with the Holy Spirit at night. The Holy Spirit will not leave me thinking in this frame of mind for very long for it is detrimental to the work the Lord has for each of us to do.
If my life, if your life seems dull, boring, a life no one would dream of having, then we are not living our life to the fullest that the Lord has given us, not living up to the potential that He has put in us; the purpose that He has placed in our hearts, in our spirits, for us to attain in Him. Friends, I am certainly talking to myself here. I realize my life seems so busy at times, but still the enemy comes in to steal anything that is not weighed down by the Spirit, anything that is not settled on the Rock of our salvation can be taken in a moment.
This is why, I believe, a lot of times we attend services and are so elated at the revelation we receive from the Lord during the service only to find that the next day, we cannot even remember what we heard in that place. What happens? Our eyes.....our view of the world outside of the Spirit happens. We do not keep our eyes on the Lord as the enemy comes in to place doubt and unbelief on what we heard. We listen and take the Word deep inside us and then the enemy comes and throws questions at us....."Well, if you are so blessed, then why does so and so seem to be more joyful than you?" or he might say "well, looky here, all alone and everyone else is busing doing God's work, but you are here writing, or you are just reading the Word, worshiping alone....something wrong with you, that is for sure." Heard those words before. I have. Takes a lot of deep conviction to ignore those words that keep coming and coming.
I spend a lot of time alone. But I am finding that it is so blessed if I take the time to look inside of myself and ask the Lord what He wants to do with this time, with the time that has been evidently set aside by Him to give me the opportunity, IF I choose, to be with Him. To choose to be with Him. The Lord is constructing a time frame for each of His children where they will have that alone time, where He desires them to choose to spend that time with Him. Not all do. I am guilty of at times not recognizing that this time has been set aside by the Lord for OUR time. Sometimes so wrapped up in what I did the day before.....why do we even spend time rehashing yesterday, good or bad? It is gone, let's move into today and see what the Lord has planned. I ask You, dear Spirit, to draw me at these times that my Lord has set for just the two of us, draw me into His presence, let nothing else, nothing else blind me to the fact that this alone time is not alone time.....it is my time with my God. Set in this day to give me time to sit on my Father's lap and tell Him how much I love Him....to thank Him for my yesterdays, my today, and tell Him how I look forward to my tomorrows with Him.
I want to live my life to the fullest and the only way for me to do that is to walk into those set aside times with my God. To live my life looking for time to spend with Him alone. To hold Him in my mind, my heart and my spirit as I am never away from Him, so I can draw into Him at any time of day or night. Any attack of the enemy can go only so far.....ha.ha.ha. As I write this, this causes me to laugh as he thinks I am retreating, running from him, but no.....I am only drawing in to the spirit, into the arms of my God, I am running from no one, I am running to my Strong Tower whose arms are always open to me. Here lies my most valuable weapon against the enemy.....the strength, the grace and the love of my Father. Here life reaches it's full capacity. Life inside the Father as He dwells inside each of us through His Spirit, our safe place inside His Dwelling Place, our hearts.
Life cannot possibly be any fuller, than a life lived totally within His presence.
07-29-12
Friday, July 20, 2012
TRUE ALTAR SACRIFICE
Genesis 22:2b "Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
When Abraham took Isaac up on the mountain to give him as a sacrifice to the Lord, what faith he had. As I was reading these words again, studying them, looking past what I have read so many times the Lord spoke to me.
What is the altar we make? What have we to sacrifice that we hold so dear to us? Look beyond your family, your children, and look inside yourself. What do you personally hold so dear that you want to sacrifice to the Lord but just cannot place on that altar. You put it all there and then before the fire can consume it you grab it back. Is it your money? This is so hard for so many people….so often they consider how it might be spent, who will use it in a way that perhaps we don’t think as what God intends……yes, we do try to think as God, or shall I say, believe that God thinks as we do? But this is not our business is it, how the sacrifice of money to the Lord is spent…..it is God’s business alone, and He always takes care of any problems arising with it. But I rabbit trail here…..
Is it our time, our time so precious, so little of it we believe; is it fear, our hurts, our disappointments, our unbelief at times….yes, we can and do make shrines of these things and believe we must keep them inside ourselves and show the world and our God that we carry these things as a sacrifice for Him……Phooey, our God says….the only sacrifice that He desires of these hurts, disappointments, fears, is that we lay them down in faith, in love and in trust to Him and leave them to burn on the altar, never again picking them up.
The altar the Lord wants us to be before is a constant altar of praise, a sacrifice of pure worship to Him, a sacrifice of thanksgiving for His goodness, His mercy and sweet grace upon our lives. His hand on us guiding us, leading us in the paths of righteousness for His sake, not our own. We walk the path He places us on because of Him, for His glory, and we should always remember that “but for the grace of God” we would not stand, we would not walk, we would not live the life He has given us. God has given us a life to be fulfilled each day in His blessings. How often do we fail to realize the blessings of God because we are living our sacrificial life of pain, heartache, hurts and disappointments. Let go of all the past, it weighs too much to carry with us on the journey to Heaven. You will definitely not be able to carry it to the throne room to worship when you arrive there, so why are you carrying it now? Place it on the altar of the Lord and watch it burn, burn, burn. I promise you will begin to feel those empty places in your heart and spirit fill up with love, peace and joy and the never ending presence of our Lord God.
Burn all at the altar, a real sacrifice, give it all up, once and for all. A sacrifice of worship to our God, a sacrifice showing Him our love, honor, faith and trust.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
IN HIS IMAGE
2 Corinthians 3:18 "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the lord, who is the Spirit."
As I closed my eyes to listen to the beautiful worship song, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord"; "can you hear the sound of heaven...", I saw angels all around the throne. As I looked further, I saw so many people, saints who had gone before, and as I looked close at them, they all looked like my Savior, my Jesus. I was confused for a moment. But then the Lord began to speak to me as I humbly wept before Him.
"These you see, these saints, as you were, were made in My image. Now that their journey is over, you see them here as I and My Father have seen them, as we see you, always, in My image. Their hearts reflect My heart, they are one with Me. As you, My child and my children on earth one day will be truly heart and soul and spirit in My image....you will take on My holiness, My righteousness that is upon you and you will become once and for always, One with Me."
When we are seen, reflecting the heart, the spirit of our Lord, then people will not see me, or you, they will only see Jesus.
"In Your image, Lord, let me be
Wholly consecrated Lord to Thee.
Let me be Your hands extended
Your love and mercy shared.
Let only Your image be seen
When people look at me."
07-14-12
As I closed my eyes to listen to the beautiful worship song, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord"; "can you hear the sound of heaven...", I saw angels all around the throne. As I looked further, I saw so many people, saints who had gone before, and as I looked close at them, they all looked like my Savior, my Jesus. I was confused for a moment. But then the Lord began to speak to me as I humbly wept before Him.
"These you see, these saints, as you were, were made in My image. Now that their journey is over, you see them here as I and My Father have seen them, as we see you, always, in My image. Their hearts reflect My heart, they are one with Me. As you, My child and my children on earth one day will be truly heart and soul and spirit in My image....you will take on My holiness, My righteousness that is upon you and you will become once and for always, One with Me."
When we are seen, reflecting the heart, the spirit of our Lord, then people will not see me, or you, they will only see Jesus.
"In Your image, Lord, let me be
Wholly consecrated Lord to Thee.
Let me be Your hands extended
Your love and mercy shared.
Let only Your image be seen
When people look at me."
07-14-12
Saturday, July 7, 2012
AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 "As it is written, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him, but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit."
What blessings are mine. I have but to look behind me and see the path of blessings that my Lord had poured out for me; blessings that followed me, laid before me.....and all I did, was follow my God where He led me. All I did was say "Yes, Lord", and He took my hand and led me to this place where He continues to bless me.
He has a plan for me; He has a plan for each of us, but not all say yes. I can remember a time when I was afraid, fearful of the unknown, but then the Lord, my God, held me so close that I knew He would never leave me, He would always take care of me; if I would only completely trust, step out in faith and follow Him.....and when I did, peace like a river flowed over my soul and it has never left me.
As I look ahead of me, I don't see far beyond what the Lord wants me to see. But as far as my eyes can see, all I see are the blessings the Lord has prepared and are waiting for me. I know there may be trials, even some pain perhaps.....I do live on a sinful earth; but my God is able, and He is willing.... and He wants to lead me through all the things this world may throw at me. I don't look for those things for I trust my God enough to know that no matter what happens, He will always be by my side, in my heart and His Spirit reigns in me supreme. He will never let me down, He will ever let me go, He will always love me.
As far as my eye can see, I see only the beauty of my God, His face radiant with glory, and His eyes... His eyes are on me.
07-07-12
What blessings are mine. I have but to look behind me and see the path of blessings that my Lord had poured out for me; blessings that followed me, laid before me.....and all I did, was follow my God where He led me. All I did was say "Yes, Lord", and He took my hand and led me to this place where He continues to bless me.
He has a plan for me; He has a plan for each of us, but not all say yes. I can remember a time when I was afraid, fearful of the unknown, but then the Lord, my God, held me so close that I knew He would never leave me, He would always take care of me; if I would only completely trust, step out in faith and follow Him.....and when I did, peace like a river flowed over my soul and it has never left me.
As I look ahead of me, I don't see far beyond what the Lord wants me to see. But as far as my eyes can see, all I see are the blessings the Lord has prepared and are waiting for me. I know there may be trials, even some pain perhaps.....I do live on a sinful earth; but my God is able, and He is willing.... and He wants to lead me through all the things this world may throw at me. I don't look for those things for I trust my God enough to know that no matter what happens, He will always be by my side, in my heart and His Spirit reigns in me supreme. He will never let me down, He will ever let me go, He will always love me.
As far as my eye can see, I see only the beauty of my God, His face radiant with glory, and His eyes... His eyes are on me.
07-07-12
Friday, July 6, 2012
WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT
Revelation 22:17a "The Spirit and the Bride say "Come!"
Do you hear what the Spirit of the Lord is saying? Can you still all the noise around you, inside of you, and listen to what the Spirit is saying, telling you....listen...."He is coming, Jesus, the Bridegroom is coming." It is a distant sound, but you can hear each word....louder....closer than before. The excitement that is building in the heavenlies....the anticipation of God's children on earth; getting ready to meet in a burst of joyous celebration as our Lord makes His way from Heaven to earth to claim what is His....His Bride; those who have let the shackles of this world fall off, lifting their hands and hearts up to the King of kings, giving Him glory and honor; true worshipers of the Lord, waiting to receive their King.
I have been hearing the distant call of those preparing His way; those ministering to Him with their worship, their praise, leading God's children into worship, forming that tabernacle of praise that the Lord inhabits, drawing Him closer and closer, showing Him, our God, that He is desired, He is longed for, He is so loved. Praises calling out, "Come, Lord, come". The saints gone before us, calling out to their loved ones on earth, "get ready, He is coming, get ready. The hosts of angels singing, ringing out praises, lifting up the Name of Jesus, so excited as they rush about, preparing, readying for the day. Get ready, be prepared, make your preparations for the feasts of all feasts, the Marriage of the Lamb to His Bride.
Each time I read the Word, those words of promise, of love, of sacrifice made by my Savior; those words that He would never leave me or forsake me, my heart expands with love for Him; and His Spirit tells me once again, encouraging me..."Lift up your head, forgiven one, beloved one of Christ, He comes.....He comes soon".
My spirit has been so touched this week, more so than before, by the urgency, the sound of His return. Our Lord is so ready, but He waits to see, waits to hear the call of the Bride, all the Bride, as they come in unity to wait for Him.....as one.....one voice of worship....one heart of love.....one.
I am waiting my Lord, as my spirit resounds with praise and worship; as Your Spirit bears witness to my spirit's call.....You are coming.....You are coming soon.
O thank You, Lord....thank You.
07-06-12
Do you hear what the Spirit of the Lord is saying? Can you still all the noise around you, inside of you, and listen to what the Spirit is saying, telling you....listen...."He is coming, Jesus, the Bridegroom is coming." It is a distant sound, but you can hear each word....louder....closer than before. The excitement that is building in the heavenlies....the anticipation of God's children on earth; getting ready to meet in a burst of joyous celebration as our Lord makes His way from Heaven to earth to claim what is His....His Bride; those who have let the shackles of this world fall off, lifting their hands and hearts up to the King of kings, giving Him glory and honor; true worshipers of the Lord, waiting to receive their King.
I have been hearing the distant call of those preparing His way; those ministering to Him with their worship, their praise, leading God's children into worship, forming that tabernacle of praise that the Lord inhabits, drawing Him closer and closer, showing Him, our God, that He is desired, He is longed for, He is so loved. Praises calling out, "Come, Lord, come". The saints gone before us, calling out to their loved ones on earth, "get ready, He is coming, get ready. The hosts of angels singing, ringing out praises, lifting up the Name of Jesus, so excited as they rush about, preparing, readying for the day. Get ready, be prepared, make your preparations for the feasts of all feasts, the Marriage of the Lamb to His Bride.
Each time I read the Word, those words of promise, of love, of sacrifice made by my Savior; those words that He would never leave me or forsake me, my heart expands with love for Him; and His Spirit tells me once again, encouraging me..."Lift up your head, forgiven one, beloved one of Christ, He comes.....He comes soon".
My spirit has been so touched this week, more so than before, by the urgency, the sound of His return. Our Lord is so ready, but He waits to see, waits to hear the call of the Bride, all the Bride, as they come in unity to wait for Him.....as one.....one voice of worship....one heart of love.....one.
I am waiting my Lord, as my spirit resounds with praise and worship; as Your Spirit bears witness to my spirit's call.....You are coming.....You are coming soon.
O thank You, Lord....thank You.
07-06-12
Monday, July 2, 2012
THE REAL WORTH OF LIFE
Acts 3:6 "Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk".
Gold. What is it's real worth? What value do you place on things such as silver and gold. Yes, I realize the price of gold and silver has sky rocketed; I, myself, am amazed of how it has risen from the price originally paid for it.
I had some broken pieces, some missing earrings, and when the company I work for began to buy gold, I decided I would sell a few of these pieces. At one time, I can remember when, even having an odd earring, I would have hated to part with it. I can tell you, the Lord has done quite a work in me. The Holy Spirit has truly brought me to a place of the real value of things. Silver, gold, tangible things, need to always be kept in their proper perspective by the children of God. They are simply things, actually things that can be taken from you so easily, as their value means a lot to some folks. But to a child of God, their value must be so far below the things of our Lord.
Silver and gold, I find as I read about the kings in the Old Testament, actually became a form of idol for so many of them. It was what their lives became about. As they forgot the God that brought them through the desert, fed them, gave them water, and brought them out of bondage, they quickly turned to false gods and fake idols; building these false gods statues of gold and silver, robbing the poor to squandar this wealth upon these false gods.
Turned their backs upon the God that loved them so much. Tore down the relationship between them and the Lord to acquire riches and fame. To make themselves known throughout the land, in reality, selling their souls to the devil. Nothing has changed.....there are a lot of people that still turn from our Lord for what they call the finer things of life. Just a little at first, shouldn't hurt they rationalize, but then it takes hold of them and they completely get involved with the lust for riches, for fame, and for themselves. They soon forget the value, the real worth of their life.
Life is worth absolutely nothing if God is not the main focus of that life. How many people do you see that seem to have it all, that seems to have everything money can buy and then some; how many do you see that are really happy? Most are more worried about someone taking what they have, or losing their fame..... do they consider what they have already lost? I believe so many people know that our Lord love them so much and know His forgiving heart....they take advantage of that. But one must remember, God knows our heart, He sees our true heart. Life is only of value when the Lord is the Lord of that life.
I know this is rambling, but my heart is so full of love for my God, for my Father, for my Jesus, my Savior, for the precious Holy Spirit that He gave to dwell in me. It grieves me so much to see people actually abusing our Lord by taking advantage of His love, His goodness, without giving back that love, that honor. As I think perhaps I will just erase this when I finish, I know the Lord would be fine with that, for He would forgive that I just not say anything again; but no, this time I will send it on. I will stand with my God and proclaim the real worth of life in Christ. Giving, loving, sacrificing to others as our Lord did for us. Sharing what we have with those in need, being that extended hand of the Lord; remembering Who gives to us, and to Whom the gold and silver really belong.
My dearest friends, silver and gold have I none, but what I have, a life in the Kingdom of God, a hope of a future that the Lord has promised me, and redemption, forgiveness, mercy.....the breath giving, life fulfilling things that money cannot buy; I give to you. I share the story of the glory of my God, your God with you. I will show His love and grace to You, I will tell You of His wondrous mercies and love in my life, and I will tell You of His forgiveness of all my sin. The Lord loves you and is waiting, humbly waiting, for you to put aside all things of this earth, to come to Him. He waits.... He waits in a splendor that no gold or silver can outshine, that no time or substance can take away. Our God reigns in majesty, now and forever more.
My God, the love of my life, my soul is filled with the wealth of heaven.
07-02-12
Gold. What is it's real worth? What value do you place on things such as silver and gold. Yes, I realize the price of gold and silver has sky rocketed; I, myself, am amazed of how it has risen from the price originally paid for it.
I had some broken pieces, some missing earrings, and when the company I work for began to buy gold, I decided I would sell a few of these pieces. At one time, I can remember when, even having an odd earring, I would have hated to part with it. I can tell you, the Lord has done quite a work in me. The Holy Spirit has truly brought me to a place of the real value of things. Silver, gold, tangible things, need to always be kept in their proper perspective by the children of God. They are simply things, actually things that can be taken from you so easily, as their value means a lot to some folks. But to a child of God, their value must be so far below the things of our Lord.
Silver and gold, I find as I read about the kings in the Old Testament, actually became a form of idol for so many of them. It was what their lives became about. As they forgot the God that brought them through the desert, fed them, gave them water, and brought them out of bondage, they quickly turned to false gods and fake idols; building these false gods statues of gold and silver, robbing the poor to squandar this wealth upon these false gods.
Turned their backs upon the God that loved them so much. Tore down the relationship between them and the Lord to acquire riches and fame. To make themselves known throughout the land, in reality, selling their souls to the devil. Nothing has changed.....there are a lot of people that still turn from our Lord for what they call the finer things of life. Just a little at first, shouldn't hurt they rationalize, but then it takes hold of them and they completely get involved with the lust for riches, for fame, and for themselves. They soon forget the value, the real worth of their life.
Life is worth absolutely nothing if God is not the main focus of that life. How many people do you see that seem to have it all, that seems to have everything money can buy and then some; how many do you see that are really happy? Most are more worried about someone taking what they have, or losing their fame..... do they consider what they have already lost? I believe so many people know that our Lord love them so much and know His forgiving heart....they take advantage of that. But one must remember, God knows our heart, He sees our true heart. Life is only of value when the Lord is the Lord of that life.
I know this is rambling, but my heart is so full of love for my God, for my Father, for my Jesus, my Savior, for the precious Holy Spirit that He gave to dwell in me. It grieves me so much to see people actually abusing our Lord by taking advantage of His love, His goodness, without giving back that love, that honor. As I think perhaps I will just erase this when I finish, I know the Lord would be fine with that, for He would forgive that I just not say anything again; but no, this time I will send it on. I will stand with my God and proclaim the real worth of life in Christ. Giving, loving, sacrificing to others as our Lord did for us. Sharing what we have with those in need, being that extended hand of the Lord; remembering Who gives to us, and to Whom the gold and silver really belong.
My dearest friends, silver and gold have I none, but what I have, a life in the Kingdom of God, a hope of a future that the Lord has promised me, and redemption, forgiveness, mercy.....the breath giving, life fulfilling things that money cannot buy; I give to you. I share the story of the glory of my God, your God with you. I will show His love and grace to You, I will tell You of His wondrous mercies and love in my life, and I will tell You of His forgiveness of all my sin. The Lord loves you and is waiting, humbly waiting, for you to put aside all things of this earth, to come to Him. He waits.... He waits in a splendor that no gold or silver can outshine, that no time or substance can take away. Our God reigns in majesty, now and forever more.
My God, the love of my life, my soul is filled with the wealth of heaven.
07-02-12
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