Revelation 19:7 "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."
What will I see
When I walk down the aisle
Will I see excitement in Your eyes
Will I see that beautiful smile?
The smile I have so longed to see
For so long only in my dreams
Is now a reality
Despite the enemy's schemes.
The music is playing
So beautiful the sound
The angels singing Hosanna
As the children dance around.
I see Him now, my Heavenly Father
Waiting to pronounce us bride and groom
The long awaited marriage feast
Will begin very soon.
Never to part, forever as one
Eternity has been planned for such a time as this
I can hardly breath
As I close my eyes for my Bridegrooms' kiss.
On my finger you have placed
A symbol of your love, a solid gold ring
Strong, secure, unbreakable, unending
The joining together of the bride and her King.
In the throne room of our God
The King and His bride will spend their days
The King forever worshiped and adored
By the bride singing her songs of love and praise.
03-07-12
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
MIRROR, MIRROR
1 Corinthians 13:12 "For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known."
I have learned, slowly, but still learned to accept the will of the Lord for my life. I would like to say I never question anymore, and it is rare, but on occasion I do ask of the Father, "what does it all mean?" As I look back over my life, mirrors have had so many meanings.
When I was a teenager, mirrors held a reflection of how I thought others perceived me. What I saw is what I thought they saw. This is so very foolish, I came to realize in later years, as we seldom see what others even think, much less see. We are so critical of ourselves. We can be stick thin and see fatness. We can have one blemish on our face and see a mountain when a little bump is. I can remember school pictures one day and as I passed by the mirror I saw this huge red spot on my face and did not want to go to school. It was probably the size of a pin head but I saw what I saw.
As I got older, and the path I walked was not one I am proud of, mirrors became almost an enemy to me. As my life took turns that are difficult to even think about, mirrors beheld an image that was hard for me to look at. Disgusted with what I saw, I could hardly look at my reflection. But grace....the beautiful grace of my God. Being raised in church, this was a difficult time for me. For a while it did not bother me as I was wallowing in self righteous, indignation of the things that had been done to me and self pity for what seemed I could not control. But God, through the Holy Spirit gave me a garment and told me to put it on. It was a Belt of Truth. I had to put it on and become truthful with myself and most of all with the Lord. Truthful in who I had become with the help of the enemy who was so good to point out the treatment I had been exposed of and help me to feel sorry for myself; to make me feel like I was helpless in this situation and that I had no choice in the matter. But the truth shall set you free. The Lord told me a first truth....before I had to face myself....He told me that He loved me and that nothing I had done, or would ever do, would change that. He would always love me. Then He wanted me to face all the facts of who I thought I was and who I really was. I was not this failure that had no choice, I was His child and He could and would help me in all things.
In the worse of times, there is grace, there is Light. I remember once flying from New Orleans back home to Lake Charles (this is going way back) and the weather was terrible. Our flight was delayed leaving for over two hours and we had to land in Baton Rouge and stay there for awhile. When we finally flew out the storm raged over us until the pilot got us above the clouds, above the storm. I was so surprised, the sun was shining up there and there was no storm. We had risen above our circumstances, above the storm.
As the Lord was giving me this today, He brought that back to my memory. He wanted me to know that there is nothing in the mirrors of my life that reflects a storm that our Lord cannot bring light to, that He cannot clear the dimness with His oil of forgiveness and His balm of healing to your heart. His grace and mercy can clear the darkness that we see in any reflection we may see in the mirror and make it a clear, Son-lite reflection of His love. We do not have to remain behind a darkened image of ourselves when Jesus has come to redeem us from all darkness, to bring us into His light. Those things reflected by the mirror that are disturbing to us, hindering us from breaking free of the past, are only what we see. We need to look closer and see the reflection that our Lord God is showing us. Righteous, sanctified, beautiful in Him. We are the children of God and our reflection shows His likeness.
The gratitude in my heart for the mercy and grace, for the love of my Lord overwhelms me at times. He has been so good to me. Can you see now.....the knowledge of what our Lord wants to show us, wants us to remember....what was once the reflection, so dim, so dark, so heartbreaking for me, for you, now is the beautiful image of me....of you.....in Him. Lovely, precious in His sight, so worthy of His love and affection. My God, who I was is gone. Who I am in You will never leave me, as You will always be holding my hand, always whispering Your love to me, always calling me to "Come away, my beloved, come away with Me".
03-06-12
I have learned, slowly, but still learned to accept the will of the Lord for my life. I would like to say I never question anymore, and it is rare, but on occasion I do ask of the Father, "what does it all mean?" As I look back over my life, mirrors have had so many meanings.
When I was a teenager, mirrors held a reflection of how I thought others perceived me. What I saw is what I thought they saw. This is so very foolish, I came to realize in later years, as we seldom see what others even think, much less see. We are so critical of ourselves. We can be stick thin and see fatness. We can have one blemish on our face and see a mountain when a little bump is. I can remember school pictures one day and as I passed by the mirror I saw this huge red spot on my face and did not want to go to school. It was probably the size of a pin head but I saw what I saw.
As I got older, and the path I walked was not one I am proud of, mirrors became almost an enemy to me. As my life took turns that are difficult to even think about, mirrors beheld an image that was hard for me to look at. Disgusted with what I saw, I could hardly look at my reflection. But grace....the beautiful grace of my God. Being raised in church, this was a difficult time for me. For a while it did not bother me as I was wallowing in self righteous, indignation of the things that had been done to me and self pity for what seemed I could not control. But God, through the Holy Spirit gave me a garment and told me to put it on. It was a Belt of Truth. I had to put it on and become truthful with myself and most of all with the Lord. Truthful in who I had become with the help of the enemy who was so good to point out the treatment I had been exposed of and help me to feel sorry for myself; to make me feel like I was helpless in this situation and that I had no choice in the matter. But the truth shall set you free. The Lord told me a first truth....before I had to face myself....He told me that He loved me and that nothing I had done, or would ever do, would change that. He would always love me. Then He wanted me to face all the facts of who I thought I was and who I really was. I was not this failure that had no choice, I was His child and He could and would help me in all things.
In the worse of times, there is grace, there is Light. I remember once flying from New Orleans back home to Lake Charles (this is going way back) and the weather was terrible. Our flight was delayed leaving for over two hours and we had to land in Baton Rouge and stay there for awhile. When we finally flew out the storm raged over us until the pilot got us above the clouds, above the storm. I was so surprised, the sun was shining up there and there was no storm. We had risen above our circumstances, above the storm.
As the Lord was giving me this today, He brought that back to my memory. He wanted me to know that there is nothing in the mirrors of my life that reflects a storm that our Lord cannot bring light to, that He cannot clear the dimness with His oil of forgiveness and His balm of healing to your heart. His grace and mercy can clear the darkness that we see in any reflection we may see in the mirror and make it a clear, Son-lite reflection of His love. We do not have to remain behind a darkened image of ourselves when Jesus has come to redeem us from all darkness, to bring us into His light. Those things reflected by the mirror that are disturbing to us, hindering us from breaking free of the past, are only what we see. We need to look closer and see the reflection that our Lord God is showing us. Righteous, sanctified, beautiful in Him. We are the children of God and our reflection shows His likeness.
The gratitude in my heart for the mercy and grace, for the love of my Lord overwhelms me at times. He has been so good to me. Can you see now.....the knowledge of what our Lord wants to show us, wants us to remember....what was once the reflection, so dim, so dark, so heartbreaking for me, for you, now is the beautiful image of me....of you.....in Him. Lovely, precious in His sight, so worthy of His love and affection. My God, who I was is gone. Who I am in You will never leave me, as You will always be holding my hand, always whispering Your love to me, always calling me to "Come away, my beloved, come away with Me".
03-06-12
Monday, March 5, 2012
THOUGHTS......Past, Present, Future
Hebrews 4:16 "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
Do you have a battle of the mind? Do thoughts hit your mind and you wonder where they could have come from? I can be just driving along, or even walking through the house.....how about leaving church, when a thought will jump into my mind that will simply floor me and I wonder what is this? I mean thoughts that cause me to reduce to tears almost as they are not a thought I want in my mind.
Just when you think you are pass the past the enemy will bring it all flooding back in one big wave of a thought. Those things that just to keep me chained up, bound in sin, coming back in my mind. Whereas in the past I may have sinned through them, no longer will I allow those thoughts to enslave me. I immediately cry out to my Lord, asking the Holy Spirit to put a hedge of protection around my mind and I ask forgiveness for having this thought in my mind. I was horrified that these thoughts may be in my heart....but I don't believe this is true for I ask the Lord daily to search me, see if there is anything in me that is not of Him, anything that would keep me from the beautiful relationship I have with the Father, my Lord God.
This morning when a thought as this popped into my mind, I was praising the Lord when it came. Instantly I called out to my God, asking forgiveness for such a thought. He told me "You have not sinned, it was a thought not of your making, but of the enemy." My spirit was instantly at peace. It was not my thought but one planted by the enemy. I know I am not the only child of God that suffers these attacks. The closer that we come to the Lord, the deeper we seek Him, I believe we will be hit with every evil thing that satan can come up with to try and separate us from our Lord. The enemy will use those things that truly had us captive in sin to try and bring us down again. But we do not have to go there. We are born again in Christ Jesus and all those sins have been forgiven and tossed far beyond the sky where they are no longer a part of who we are. We are not what we were, we do not ever have to go there again. Just because satan can toss a thought into our minds does not mean he can plant it into our hearts, into our spirit.
Just as quickly as they come to mind, rebuke those thoughts. I do this, it seems like several times a day I get hit. I imagine if I was not seeking my Lord with all my heart and soul, I would not be attack like this, neither would you. But my relationship with the Lord is worth everything to me, so I will let the attacks come. See, I know that my Redeemer lives and He is so close to me that the moment I cry out "Jesus", He comes like a roaring lion to protect me. His Holy Spirit instantly washes my mind, cleansing me with the blood of Jesus, and takes those thoughts away.
When the past comes invading my present, I thank my Lord as I know my future. My future is in Him. I have a Father who loves me with a passion that far exceeds any love known to mankind. He created me to be His worshiper, He has planted His desire for me in my heart and I cannot let go of my Beloved Lord. Never. I love Him with all my heart. So as He prepares me for each day to come, I study His Word. I listen for His voice as His Holy Spirit instructs me, guides and directs me. I will pray continually, talking with my Lord all the day. Nearer my Lord to thee, is my heart's desire.
One day the mind games the enemy plays with me will be over. That will be the day that my King returns to reign forever. That will be the day, I physically stand at His side as His Bride and the enemy.....he will be cast down forever.....and my King and I will be One.
03-05-12
Do you have a battle of the mind? Do thoughts hit your mind and you wonder where they could have come from? I can be just driving along, or even walking through the house.....how about leaving church, when a thought will jump into my mind that will simply floor me and I wonder what is this? I mean thoughts that cause me to reduce to tears almost as they are not a thought I want in my mind.
Just when you think you are pass the past the enemy will bring it all flooding back in one big wave of a thought. Those things that just to keep me chained up, bound in sin, coming back in my mind. Whereas in the past I may have sinned through them, no longer will I allow those thoughts to enslave me. I immediately cry out to my Lord, asking the Holy Spirit to put a hedge of protection around my mind and I ask forgiveness for having this thought in my mind. I was horrified that these thoughts may be in my heart....but I don't believe this is true for I ask the Lord daily to search me, see if there is anything in me that is not of Him, anything that would keep me from the beautiful relationship I have with the Father, my Lord God.
This morning when a thought as this popped into my mind, I was praising the Lord when it came. Instantly I called out to my God, asking forgiveness for such a thought. He told me "You have not sinned, it was a thought not of your making, but of the enemy." My spirit was instantly at peace. It was not my thought but one planted by the enemy. I know I am not the only child of God that suffers these attacks. The closer that we come to the Lord, the deeper we seek Him, I believe we will be hit with every evil thing that satan can come up with to try and separate us from our Lord. The enemy will use those things that truly had us captive in sin to try and bring us down again. But we do not have to go there. We are born again in Christ Jesus and all those sins have been forgiven and tossed far beyond the sky where they are no longer a part of who we are. We are not what we were, we do not ever have to go there again. Just because satan can toss a thought into our minds does not mean he can plant it into our hearts, into our spirit.
Just as quickly as they come to mind, rebuke those thoughts. I do this, it seems like several times a day I get hit. I imagine if I was not seeking my Lord with all my heart and soul, I would not be attack like this, neither would you. But my relationship with the Lord is worth everything to me, so I will let the attacks come. See, I know that my Redeemer lives and He is so close to me that the moment I cry out "Jesus", He comes like a roaring lion to protect me. His Holy Spirit instantly washes my mind, cleansing me with the blood of Jesus, and takes those thoughts away.
When the past comes invading my present, I thank my Lord as I know my future. My future is in Him. I have a Father who loves me with a passion that far exceeds any love known to mankind. He created me to be His worshiper, He has planted His desire for me in my heart and I cannot let go of my Beloved Lord. Never. I love Him with all my heart. So as He prepares me for each day to come, I study His Word. I listen for His voice as His Holy Spirit instructs me, guides and directs me. I will pray continually, talking with my Lord all the day. Nearer my Lord to thee, is my heart's desire.
One day the mind games the enemy plays with me will be over. That will be the day that my King returns to reign forever. That will be the day, I physically stand at His side as His Bride and the enemy.....he will be cast down forever.....and my King and I will be One.
03-05-12
Sunday, March 4, 2012
REFLECTIONS OF THE CROSS, The Shadow of the Cross
Romans 6:6 "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin..."
Darkness was all over the sky, fear mounted in the hearts of the people there, not knowing what to expect. I believe that today, so many people look at the cross of our Savior, where He in one last sentence, set the souls of all those that would believe on Him, love and serve Him would be set free, and still feel fear. "It is finished." No longer would blood be needed to spill forth as a sacrifice for sin, He had completely set us free from sin....we no longer have to do those things, live the way of the world, we are free from all bonds of slavery that once decreed the way we lived. We are free in Jesus to be One with our Lord. We need not ever fear the cross. The cross of love.
The shadow that fell from the cross on that day, it still falls from the cross today. The shadow covers us, covers all those who are in the Lord. No longer is darkness prevailing, but Light comes from the cross, drawing us to the place where we are in the shadow of our Lord. Jesus is the cross. Jesus is the cross that makes our transformation from the sinful man to the redeemed. He is the cross that brings us to the bath of sanctification in Him, cleansing us from all our sin, our old ways, and placing on us the robe of righteousness in which we can come before our Father in heaven. Jesus is the cross that made strife and bitterness, loneliness and heartache turn into peace and joy, love and grace. We are covered by the shadow of the cross, Jesus, our Savior.
When we come to the cross, we come to Jesus. We do not go before a wooden cross, we go before a living cross, our living Savior, Jesus. He is here with us. He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in us so we would never be without Him for a moment. His Spirit, living inside each born again believer. For those of you who do not realize that, trust me, if you are living in the Lord, you are filled with His Spirit. Do not let the enemy rob you of the knowledge that our Lord lives within each of us. We are the temple of His Spirit. Sanctified, holy, righteous. How wonderful for us, the children of God, to know that the cross that was long ago a reality, is still a reality. The cross, our Savior, always with us. We are kept in His shadow, protected as we stay there close to the Lord.
The shadow of the cross, our Savior, holding us as we need comfort, laughing with us when we discover His joy, and flowing through us with His peace. Thank You, my Savior, for the finished work of the cross. Thank You, my Lord Jesus, as You are the cross that bridges all to the Father, and thank You, Jesus, for the shadow that covers me and all Your loved ones here, with the blessings that come from the Father's throne. You are so beautiful to me, my King, so beautiful. My heart is totally yours.
03-04-12
Darkness was all over the sky, fear mounted in the hearts of the people there, not knowing what to expect. I believe that today, so many people look at the cross of our Savior, where He in one last sentence, set the souls of all those that would believe on Him, love and serve Him would be set free, and still feel fear. "It is finished." No longer would blood be needed to spill forth as a sacrifice for sin, He had completely set us free from sin....we no longer have to do those things, live the way of the world, we are free from all bonds of slavery that once decreed the way we lived. We are free in Jesus to be One with our Lord. We need not ever fear the cross. The cross of love.
The shadow that fell from the cross on that day, it still falls from the cross today. The shadow covers us, covers all those who are in the Lord. No longer is darkness prevailing, but Light comes from the cross, drawing us to the place where we are in the shadow of our Lord. Jesus is the cross. Jesus is the cross that makes our transformation from the sinful man to the redeemed. He is the cross that brings us to the bath of sanctification in Him, cleansing us from all our sin, our old ways, and placing on us the robe of righteousness in which we can come before our Father in heaven. Jesus is the cross that made strife and bitterness, loneliness and heartache turn into peace and joy, love and grace. We are covered by the shadow of the cross, Jesus, our Savior.
When we come to the cross, we come to Jesus. We do not go before a wooden cross, we go before a living cross, our living Savior, Jesus. He is here with us. He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in us so we would never be without Him for a moment. His Spirit, living inside each born again believer. For those of you who do not realize that, trust me, if you are living in the Lord, you are filled with His Spirit. Do not let the enemy rob you of the knowledge that our Lord lives within each of us. We are the temple of His Spirit. Sanctified, holy, righteous. How wonderful for us, the children of God, to know that the cross that was long ago a reality, is still a reality. The cross, our Savior, always with us. We are kept in His shadow, protected as we stay there close to the Lord.
The shadow of the cross, our Savior, holding us as we need comfort, laughing with us when we discover His joy, and flowing through us with His peace. Thank You, my Savior, for the finished work of the cross. Thank You, my Lord Jesus, as You are the cross that bridges all to the Father, and thank You, Jesus, for the shadow that covers me and all Your loved ones here, with the blessings that come from the Father's throne. You are so beautiful to me, my King, so beautiful. My heart is totally yours.
03-04-12
Saturday, March 3, 2012
REFLECTIONS OF THE CROSS, Was It For Naught?
Luke 15:7 "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety nine just persons who need no repentance."
My Lord and Savior, how can it be that You came to earth, and You died for me? As I look back over my life, seeing so many times that I have not been faithful to You, that I have not always behaved as You would have had me behave, the times I took the low road and not the high....but still You held out Your hand for me, You cast Your Light for me to follow, You forgave me again....and again.
When I think of the cross and all you endured, the beatings, the verbal abuse, the final act of taking my sin upon Your beautiful heart, the Father turning from You when it should have been me He turned from; when I think on these things the Holy Spirit brings to mind what I should be thinking on. You never once want me to think that Your death was for naught. You never once want me to think that I was not deserving of Your sacrifice. So many times I have told myself that I was so unworthy of Your sacrifice, so unworthy of the price paid for my life....but You, time and again, have told me You love me. You have told me that I am so worth the price, the cost, the extravagant cost of my salvation.
I believe we forget to look at ourselves through Your eyes, through Your heart, as I have when I look at the cross. When I think of the cross, I only think of how I see myself, of my worth, but You, O Lord, look at me through Your eyes of love and compassion, of forgiveness and mercy. When You look at me, You do not see those things that sometimes come back to my mind courtesy of the enemy. When You look at me, You see me as You present me to the Father, spotless, righteous, sanctified in You. You see me as I am now, so in love with You, so adoring You, so needing You every minute. You no longer see any sin attached to me, for You paid that price at Calvary, You took all those sins and destroyed that act in me, leaving only Your likeness where they once resided. You have brought me with a cost that I can never pay, and You have marked the bill "PAID IN FULL". You have paid that bill and then blessed me with an open account of love, peace and joy. Blessing after blessing You bestow on me, mercy comes new to me each morning and Your love and presence surround me as I walk in You.
It was for me You died. I was that lost one that You searched for and found, that You put on Your shoulder and carried to safety. If I had been the only reason for the cross, You would have still walked that hill, suffered, and died. You would have gone into hell to take the keys to my freedom, had I been the only one. You would have rose victorious for just my soul, You love me so much. I love You so much my Savior, my Lord Jesus, so much.
My friends, read this putting yourself as the I that was me. Read it outloud to yourself. Let the message of how much Jesus loved me, loved you, get into your spirit. He died for me; He died for you. And had we been the only one, He would have done everything the same. The cross of Jesus, where we should have been instead of Him, stands to show each of us this message; a message that should be written on our hearts....the Lord Jesus Christ died because He loved us. He went to the cross because the Father sent Him for us. The Father sent Him. Our God sent His only Son, His Beloved Son, so we could be His beloved children forever. So we could call upon His Name, upon the Name of Jesus, and enter into the throne room of God, our Father. So we could stand before Him, loving Him, worshiping Him, and calling out to Him, "Abba Father", we love You. "Abba Father, my Beloved Father", I love You.
03-03-12
My Lord and Savior, how can it be that You came to earth, and You died for me? As I look back over my life, seeing so many times that I have not been faithful to You, that I have not always behaved as You would have had me behave, the times I took the low road and not the high....but still You held out Your hand for me, You cast Your Light for me to follow, You forgave me again....and again.
When I think of the cross and all you endured, the beatings, the verbal abuse, the final act of taking my sin upon Your beautiful heart, the Father turning from You when it should have been me He turned from; when I think on these things the Holy Spirit brings to mind what I should be thinking on. You never once want me to think that Your death was for naught. You never once want me to think that I was not deserving of Your sacrifice. So many times I have told myself that I was so unworthy of Your sacrifice, so unworthy of the price paid for my life....but You, time and again, have told me You love me. You have told me that I am so worth the price, the cost, the extravagant cost of my salvation.
I believe we forget to look at ourselves through Your eyes, through Your heart, as I have when I look at the cross. When I think of the cross, I only think of how I see myself, of my worth, but You, O Lord, look at me through Your eyes of love and compassion, of forgiveness and mercy. When You look at me, You do not see those things that sometimes come back to my mind courtesy of the enemy. When You look at me, You see me as You present me to the Father, spotless, righteous, sanctified in You. You see me as I am now, so in love with You, so adoring You, so needing You every minute. You no longer see any sin attached to me, for You paid that price at Calvary, You took all those sins and destroyed that act in me, leaving only Your likeness where they once resided. You have brought me with a cost that I can never pay, and You have marked the bill "PAID IN FULL". You have paid that bill and then blessed me with an open account of love, peace and joy. Blessing after blessing You bestow on me, mercy comes new to me each morning and Your love and presence surround me as I walk in You.
It was for me You died. I was that lost one that You searched for and found, that You put on Your shoulder and carried to safety. If I had been the only reason for the cross, You would have still walked that hill, suffered, and died. You would have gone into hell to take the keys to my freedom, had I been the only one. You would have rose victorious for just my soul, You love me so much. I love You so much my Savior, my Lord Jesus, so much.
My friends, read this putting yourself as the I that was me. Read it outloud to yourself. Let the message of how much Jesus loved me, loved you, get into your spirit. He died for me; He died for you. And had we been the only one, He would have done everything the same. The cross of Jesus, where we should have been instead of Him, stands to show each of us this message; a message that should be written on our hearts....the Lord Jesus Christ died because He loved us. He went to the cross because the Father sent Him for us. The Father sent Him. Our God sent His only Son, His Beloved Son, so we could be His beloved children forever. So we could call upon His Name, upon the Name of Jesus, and enter into the throne room of God, our Father. So we could stand before Him, loving Him, worshiping Him, and calling out to Him, "Abba Father", we love You. "Abba Father, my Beloved Father", I love You.
03-03-12
Friday, March 2, 2012
REFLECTIONS OF THE CROSS
Matthew 27:26 "Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified."
Scourged Jesus.....He was stripped and tied to a whipping post. Then He was beaten with a whip consisting of several leather thongs, each coated with jagged pieces of metal or bone and weighted at the end with lead, tearing into His body with each whip.
This time of year, no matter how I approach the Easter season, spring approaching, my heart begins to grieve knowing it was this time of year that my precious Lord became the sacrifice for my sins, for your sins and for all the sins of the world.....past sin, present sin, and all the sin that will come.
The Lord put this on my heart this morning, I believe that this will be another type of series of writings. I believe He is bringing it to me to help me get through this time, this season, and perhaps there are those like me who also need the Lord's touch in this.
It has been 29 years, so long ago but sometimes seeming like yesterday, that my parents were taken from me. One night they were here, the next morning they were with the Lord. It was very difficult to get through this and it took years but the Father held me and comforted me. The Lord gave me a vision of Mama in Heaven to still my nightmares. He showed me how beautiful and happy she was there. He gave me healing.
The Lord has given me healing after losing my husband three years ago and losing my stepson later the same year. He has brought me through all the pain and heartache. He has never left me alone.
But nothing has been able to stop the deep grief I feel, more so these last few years, of my Savior's suffering on the cross. The deeper I go into the Lord, the more I love Him, the closer I come to Him, the more I feel His heart, that beautiful heart of my God, the deeper the agony, the ache. Sometimes I thnk that I should not feel that way, that perhaps I should only feel the joy of His sacrifice, the thanksgiving that I do feel for what He did to save my soul, to bring me into a wonderful relationship with the Father....my head knows these things, and I am so thankful for my Lord's sacrifice, my heart still aches. It touches me to the core of my soul when I envision the beating my Lord Jesus took. The suffering and shame that was hurled upon Him, my shame...my suffering....He accepted it all so I would be free.
The two most sensitive parts of my body are my hands and my feet. I just this moment realized that it may be for the sole purpose of my never forgeting those precious hands of my Savior as spikes were driven into His hands, into His feet. Look into the center of your hand, at the palm of your hand....I am crying as I look at my hands....it is impossible to look at my hands and not see my Lord's hands. His hands...His hands that have held mine as I was walking through a dark valley in my life; His hands that hold mine as I reach up to worship Him to praise Him for His sacrifice of love to me; those beautiful nail scarred hands that one day will take mine as I dance with my Bridegroom at the wedding feast of the Lamb of God.
The cross, the emblem of the enduring love of the Father, so loving us, so desiring to be One with us, wanting our love to return to Him, to hear us worship Him alone, to see our heart's desire for His presence. I truly believe the ache in my heart is a reflection of the ache in the Father's heart for the fellowship and companionship of His children. The ache knowing that the sacrifice He gave, His only Son so we could be cleansed by the blood sacrifice, the blood of Jesus, making us righteous and acceptable in His sight, so we could be in His presence.
The ache, the deep agony of the cross. So painful yet the result being the joy of my salvation, the peace of my Lord and the intimacy of the Father's presence. The love that will never fail, never cease, never end. The surrounding of His arms around me, the satisfying of my soul....my spirit rejoices.
03-02-12
Scourged Jesus.....He was stripped and tied to a whipping post. Then He was beaten with a whip consisting of several leather thongs, each coated with jagged pieces of metal or bone and weighted at the end with lead, tearing into His body with each whip.
This time of year, no matter how I approach the Easter season, spring approaching, my heart begins to grieve knowing it was this time of year that my precious Lord became the sacrifice for my sins, for your sins and for all the sins of the world.....past sin, present sin, and all the sin that will come.
The Lord put this on my heart this morning, I believe that this will be another type of series of writings. I believe He is bringing it to me to help me get through this time, this season, and perhaps there are those like me who also need the Lord's touch in this.
It has been 29 years, so long ago but sometimes seeming like yesterday, that my parents were taken from me. One night they were here, the next morning they were with the Lord. It was very difficult to get through this and it took years but the Father held me and comforted me. The Lord gave me a vision of Mama in Heaven to still my nightmares. He showed me how beautiful and happy she was there. He gave me healing.
The Lord has given me healing after losing my husband three years ago and losing my stepson later the same year. He has brought me through all the pain and heartache. He has never left me alone.
But nothing has been able to stop the deep grief I feel, more so these last few years, of my Savior's suffering on the cross. The deeper I go into the Lord, the more I love Him, the closer I come to Him, the more I feel His heart, that beautiful heart of my God, the deeper the agony, the ache. Sometimes I thnk that I should not feel that way, that perhaps I should only feel the joy of His sacrifice, the thanksgiving that I do feel for what He did to save my soul, to bring me into a wonderful relationship with the Father....my head knows these things, and I am so thankful for my Lord's sacrifice, my heart still aches. It touches me to the core of my soul when I envision the beating my Lord Jesus took. The suffering and shame that was hurled upon Him, my shame...my suffering....He accepted it all so I would be free.
The two most sensitive parts of my body are my hands and my feet. I just this moment realized that it may be for the sole purpose of my never forgeting those precious hands of my Savior as spikes were driven into His hands, into His feet. Look into the center of your hand, at the palm of your hand....I am crying as I look at my hands....it is impossible to look at my hands and not see my Lord's hands. His hands...His hands that have held mine as I was walking through a dark valley in my life; His hands that hold mine as I reach up to worship Him to praise Him for His sacrifice of love to me; those beautiful nail scarred hands that one day will take mine as I dance with my Bridegroom at the wedding feast of the Lamb of God.
The cross, the emblem of the enduring love of the Father, so loving us, so desiring to be One with us, wanting our love to return to Him, to hear us worship Him alone, to see our heart's desire for His presence. I truly believe the ache in my heart is a reflection of the ache in the Father's heart for the fellowship and companionship of His children. The ache knowing that the sacrifice He gave, His only Son so we could be cleansed by the blood sacrifice, the blood of Jesus, making us righteous and acceptable in His sight, so we could be in His presence.
The ache, the deep agony of the cross. So painful yet the result being the joy of my salvation, the peace of my Lord and the intimacy of the Father's presence. The love that will never fail, never cease, never end. The surrounding of His arms around me, the satisfying of my soul....my spirit rejoices.
03-02-12
Thursday, March 1, 2012
THE PEACE OF PRAYER
Matthew 21:22 "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."
Prayer strengthens the believer. Prayer builds your faith as you know the Lord is listening, waiting to bless you. There are so many that pray because it is what they have been told this is the thing to do, or because they want to impress someone, or because they think this is the way to receive something (get something) from God. So often, there is no response from heaven. The Lord is looking for those that pray believing. Why else would you pray? If you do not believe the Lord will answer prayer, you may as well be reciting the alphabet. I know this sounds a little harsh, but think about it.
If you do not believe God will answer your prayer, then you can be assured of that thing. I believe that there may be times He will answer the prayer of someone that is a nonbeliever, to draw him to Himself, to show His mercy and grace, to show He Is that He Is. But to those, the ones that believe in God, I think it is different. I do believe that there are so many people that believe in God but do not believe that the Lord will answer their prayers. They pray, but without believing that the Lord will answer the prayer, so the prayer just hits the floor of heaven and bounces right back to earth.
But those that pray believing that the Lord is listening to their heart's cry, oh, yes, friends, He will answer the prayer, And when you get a number of believers, those that trust the Lord and know He is faithful to answer their prayers, I believe heaven moves with the sound of these requests and touches earth with the answer. When you pray, and you believe the Lord's Word, a peace comes to you and you know, without any question, that things are going to be okay....that loved one will be healed, safe travel will secure the one bound for a distant destination, those needs are being met....Complete peace that surpasses all your understanding fills your heart, your soul and you don't need anyone to tell you that the Lord is working in your behalf, answering your prayers. Sweet, sweet peace fills your spirit with joy, with a lifting that lightens the load you felt before you prayed. God is so faithful to His believing, praying children. He loves to give to His children who have such faith in Him.
Father, You have given me such peace in my prayers. You have taken the impossible situations and shown me that nothing is impossible with You. You have restored what was considered unrestorable. You are ever making a way where there was no way. I thank You with all that is in me, I praise Your Holy Name. You are my Father, to whom I know I can always come in prayer, and leave in peace. I love You so.
03-01-12
Prayer strengthens the believer. Prayer builds your faith as you know the Lord is listening, waiting to bless you. There are so many that pray because it is what they have been told this is the thing to do, or because they want to impress someone, or because they think this is the way to receive something (get something) from God. So often, there is no response from heaven. The Lord is looking for those that pray believing. Why else would you pray? If you do not believe the Lord will answer prayer, you may as well be reciting the alphabet. I know this sounds a little harsh, but think about it.
If you do not believe God will answer your prayer, then you can be assured of that thing. I believe that there may be times He will answer the prayer of someone that is a nonbeliever, to draw him to Himself, to show His mercy and grace, to show He Is that He Is. But to those, the ones that believe in God, I think it is different. I do believe that there are so many people that believe in God but do not believe that the Lord will answer their prayers. They pray, but without believing that the Lord will answer the prayer, so the prayer just hits the floor of heaven and bounces right back to earth.
But those that pray believing that the Lord is listening to their heart's cry, oh, yes, friends, He will answer the prayer, And when you get a number of believers, those that trust the Lord and know He is faithful to answer their prayers, I believe heaven moves with the sound of these requests and touches earth with the answer. When you pray, and you believe the Lord's Word, a peace comes to you and you know, without any question, that things are going to be okay....that loved one will be healed, safe travel will secure the one bound for a distant destination, those needs are being met....Complete peace that surpasses all your understanding fills your heart, your soul and you don't need anyone to tell you that the Lord is working in your behalf, answering your prayers. Sweet, sweet peace fills your spirit with joy, with a lifting that lightens the load you felt before you prayed. God is so faithful to His believing, praying children. He loves to give to His children who have such faith in Him.
Father, You have given me such peace in my prayers. You have taken the impossible situations and shown me that nothing is impossible with You. You have restored what was considered unrestorable. You are ever making a way where there was no way. I thank You with all that is in me, I praise Your Holy Name. You are my Father, to whom I know I can always come in prayer, and leave in peace. I love You so.
03-01-12
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