Hebrews 12:14-15 "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord, looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble and by this many become defiled...."
I am so uncertain as to this scripture....but as I looked to see what the Lord said about what He had spoken to me just a couple of hours ago, this is the one He led me to. I am sure, though, as I write, it will become plain to me....and I pray to you also.
I struggled since yesterday about where to attend church this morning....I still have not found where I feel the Lord would have me go......as I am looking for a church locally, one nearby where I can become more of a part of than just Sunday morning worship when I drive 30 or 40 miles to get to.......so I struggled.....did I want to go where beginning of the service is not set in stone (I am so on- time oriented.....well, I just feel others should feel that way also....you can see what the Lord puts up with me....He is dealing with me on so many things, breaking the chains of my thoughts.....showing me His thoughts), but here the people are loving, and it is a church the size I am seeking; or was I going to attend a much larger church, actually a satellite church but the worship leaves my heart aching and needing more. Well, I piddled around too long to attend the first and so I went to the second option.
As worship began, rather I would consider this praise as it was a upbeat, many worded, quick paced song.....I found myself thinking, "O Lord, I just want to worship You with these people, just worship You...." but I tried to enter into the song. Well then I saw the lights flickering on the walls, the music beginning to attack me like noise and I began to notice the way the people on the platform were dressed.....real trendy, men with that kind of actor type of unshaven look....new male wardrobe styles you see on NY runways.... Well, you get the picture....I was sinking fast.
I then heard the words "Sight and Sound" flood my spirit. And I knew what would follow. I knew the Lord was beginning to download into my spirit something I was to write. My first thought, forgive me Lord, was "Not now Lord, I can't sit and begin to write at this time". But, as I have found, the Lord gives when He is ready....NOT when we are ready. And so He began to speak to me. I found by the time He was finished why He was giving this to me at that moment....at that precise moment. Like lots of folks, we have a mind that has learned how to block out what we don't think is meant for ourselves.....You know some of those scriptures that we tend to feel, well that surely doesn't pertain to me.....those times. The Lord wanted to show and tell me these things right then, because that is when I was allowing the enemy......the enemy of my own mind to distract me from Him, from seeking His face, His presence. This, when I think on it, is exactly what I pray and ask the Lord to do for me.....not to let me fall into a sinful place with my mind....my heart.....any part of me that is not of Him. Here I was beginning to fall into the very trap I ask Him to keep me from and I wanted to argue His timing on it. Well, you can imagine how I felt when He was done. All I could think then and now is "Forgive me Lord, forgive me".
I was allowing what I saw.....which there was nothing wrong with, but the enemy knows which of my buttons are still being dealt with by the Holy Spirit, he knew just what to show me.....just what to let me hear, twisting and turning so that I would begin to find fault, displeasure, dislike with and to....to distract me from the very reason I went to church. I went to join in with the others there in a corporate time of worship to my Lord, to my God. I went to join with the body of Christ.....to become united with them to pray and worship the King of kings, the Lord of my life. Not all music will be the kind of worship music that I find draws me instantly into the presence of the Lord, the worship music that I cannot hear without drawing me right into worship from my spirit, from my heart.....I don't understand all this, and I am not saying this to make it seem that my preferences are right and others wrong....that is not what I am saying. I am just saying that I, we, should never let anything distract us when we are "with the body of believers" to keep us from the object of our being there....to corporately worship, corporately pray, corporately seek the Lord.
When our hearts, when our spirits are seeking the Lord.....truly seeking the Lord, we must be so careful not to let what differences in our worship preferences, our dress preferences, any of our personal preferences to interfere or take our minds off of the importance of joining together in church. Keep our hearts, keep our minds on the Lord. Ignore what is around you in worldly form and concentrate on the spirits that are reaching out to the Lord.....that is what the Lord was showing me. It is the spirits of those around me that is important, not what they look like.......it is the spirit of the music.....the words being sung......praises to the Lord, our God......that is what is important.
Now that I believe I have put down all the Lord wants me to.....I looked back up at the scripture He gave me.....bitterness.....like unrest so easily can spring up within you when differences.....sights and sounds.....abound. Keeping my eyes on Him, dear friends, keeping your eyes on Him....our only sure way to keep our hearts pure, our spirits undefiled....the only way.
Thank You, Lord, for Your words to me........I know You, with loving grace, have forgiven me for what wanted to rise up in me......You touched me with Your immediate word, as I have asked You to do.....and took me eyes off the world and drew them back to You, where I always want them to be. I love You so much. Thank You, Lord.
patspennings
07-14-13
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Saturday, June 15, 2013
MY FATHER.....THOUGHTS OF THE PAST AND THE PRESENT
Ephesians 6:2-3 "Honor your father and mother (this is the first commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land."
Because of tomorrow being Father's Day, I find myself thinking deeply about my father, my daddy. So many thoughts passing through my mind.....daddy teaching me to ride my first bike, how he went round and round the house holding me on the bike....I have to laugh as it was forever before I could ride that bike, in fact, truth be told.....my sis rode it before I did. But daddy tried so hard to help me. I remember one Valentine's Day, daddy came home from work with chocolate hearts with our names on them. A Christmas when he and mama had just finished putting the gifts under the tree at 3:00 in the morning and we woke up.....daddy told us to go back to bed....but a minute later he was up, lighting the fires so it would be warm while we opened our gifts....I can remember he had a hard time saying no.
I also remember being punished because of bad grades and not getting to go to the dance.....I was in my room and I can remember daddy staying up late, long after the dance would be over....not able to sleep because he knew I was so upset and it hurt him so, ....but he had told me, if my report card was bad, I would be punished.....and daddy was so loving, but he was consistent. He was not one to just let us have our way when he knew what was better for us.
Strange, though, my memories are so different in some ways from that of my brother and sister. I believe all children grow up with different memories, having seen their fathers, their daddies in a different light from each other. I know families where one child will remember a very happy childhood and the other will think it was horrid. I believe it has a lot to do with love....and with forgiveness....and with forgetting, a choice to choose the good memories and let bad ones go, especially when your dad is no longer with you. The Lord gives us the good memories for comfort, at least He has me.
Our Heavenly Father has children that often fall into the same categories. I have a loving Father that I know, no matter what I do, will love me, because I am His child. And yet, some of God's children see Him as a harsh, punishing God.....He gets blamed for all the bad things in the world...and by some of His own children. Can you imagine how that hurts Him. I can hear Him feeling "My children do not know me, not at all". And the sad thing is, so many do not try to know Him personally, get close to Him.....would not dream of spiritually crawling up on His lap to talk to Him. My Father is loving, He is a protecting, gentle Father. But He means what He says in His Word. To be able to respect my daddy.....I learned to respect and fear my Lord. Not fear as to be afraid of Him....how many misinterpret that fear.... it is a study in itself that everyone should do. Get on the right path in your thoughts of our Father in heaven....I believe it will make a difference in your thoughts of your earthly fathers also.
Seems to me I am beginning to ramble here....but so many thoughts going through my head, my heart....my spirit longs to express to you the respect that is due.....even if some do not have fathers that have stayed around, that you feel earned respect from you....the Lord did not say in His Word, to respect your father and mother "IF they deserve it"......He said to respect them so things would go good for you. This is a commandment.....not a choice....and it is the first commandment given with a promise at the end....."that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land". For those that have a hard time doing such....remember all things are possible with God. Let the Holy Spirit lead and show you how to make this possible.
Well, daddy, you always knew I was a loving child and have grown into a loving woman. I love because you taught me love, and because you taught me God is love. How could I not love, unconditionally love, because that is the way you loved me and that is the way my Lord loves me. Love should not depend on what others do for you, or to you.....it is not their heart that controls your love.....it is your heart........ Daddy, it's Father's Day tomorrow.....you are always in my heart.... and tomorrow, more so.....our birthdays are coming up in a few weeks.....remember the parties for both of us with family....they being two days apart.....there I go, memories again. I love you daddy. I love You Father, thank You Father, for these moments in time.
Because of tomorrow being Father's Day, I find myself thinking deeply about my father, my daddy. So many thoughts passing through my mind.....daddy teaching me to ride my first bike, how he went round and round the house holding me on the bike....I have to laugh as it was forever before I could ride that bike, in fact, truth be told.....my sis rode it before I did. But daddy tried so hard to help me. I remember one Valentine's Day, daddy came home from work with chocolate hearts with our names on them. A Christmas when he and mama had just finished putting the gifts under the tree at 3:00 in the morning and we woke up.....daddy told us to go back to bed....but a minute later he was up, lighting the fires so it would be warm while we opened our gifts....I can remember he had a hard time saying no.
I also remember being punished because of bad grades and not getting to go to the dance.....I was in my room and I can remember daddy staying up late, long after the dance would be over....not able to sleep because he knew I was so upset and it hurt him so, ....but he had told me, if my report card was bad, I would be punished.....and daddy was so loving, but he was consistent. He was not one to just let us have our way when he knew what was better for us.
Strange, though, my memories are so different in some ways from that of my brother and sister. I believe all children grow up with different memories, having seen their fathers, their daddies in a different light from each other. I know families where one child will remember a very happy childhood and the other will think it was horrid. I believe it has a lot to do with love....and with forgiveness....and with forgetting, a choice to choose the good memories and let bad ones go, especially when your dad is no longer with you. The Lord gives us the good memories for comfort, at least He has me.
Our Heavenly Father has children that often fall into the same categories. I have a loving Father that I know, no matter what I do, will love me, because I am His child. And yet, some of God's children see Him as a harsh, punishing God.....He gets blamed for all the bad things in the world...and by some of His own children. Can you imagine how that hurts Him. I can hear Him feeling "My children do not know me, not at all". And the sad thing is, so many do not try to know Him personally, get close to Him.....would not dream of spiritually crawling up on His lap to talk to Him. My Father is loving, He is a protecting, gentle Father. But He means what He says in His Word. To be able to respect my daddy.....I learned to respect and fear my Lord. Not fear as to be afraid of Him....how many misinterpret that fear.... it is a study in itself that everyone should do. Get on the right path in your thoughts of our Father in heaven....I believe it will make a difference in your thoughts of your earthly fathers also.
Seems to me I am beginning to ramble here....but so many thoughts going through my head, my heart....my spirit longs to express to you the respect that is due.....even if some do not have fathers that have stayed around, that you feel earned respect from you....the Lord did not say in His Word, to respect your father and mother "IF they deserve it"......He said to respect them so things would go good for you. This is a commandment.....not a choice....and it is the first commandment given with a promise at the end....."that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land". For those that have a hard time doing such....remember all things are possible with God. Let the Holy Spirit lead and show you how to make this possible.
Well, daddy, you always knew I was a loving child and have grown into a loving woman. I love because you taught me love, and because you taught me God is love. How could I not love, unconditionally love, because that is the way you loved me and that is the way my Lord loves me. Love should not depend on what others do for you, or to you.....it is not their heart that controls your love.....it is your heart........ Daddy, it's Father's Day tomorrow.....you are always in my heart.... and tomorrow, more so.....our birthdays are coming up in a few weeks.....remember the parties for both of us with family....they being two days apart.....there I go, memories again. I love you daddy. I love You Father, thank You Father, for these moments in time.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
THE SIN OF SILENCE
Genesis 3:6 "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for good, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate."
Once again, as I was reading the
Word, I find that my reading of the scripture has been in error. I have
read this passage so many times and only today, my eyes were opened to the
words "she also gave some to her husband WHO WAS WITH HER, and he ate”.
Adam was right there. I, like so many people, would place the blame of
the sin on Eve, who gave to her husband the forbidden fruit....and the blame is
her’s, it is the serpent’s, and it is Adam’s. But as I view this sin,
this direct disobedience of what the Lord commanded them, I see another
sin. I see the sin of silence. Adam was with her.....have you, as
I, always thought that perhaps Adam was off tending the garden somewhere else,
or resting, or doing what sport might have been done in that day...but no, the
Word of God reports that Adam was right there, with Eve, as the serpent talked
to her, he must have heard every word said.
And what did Adam do? It appears
he did nothing. He did not at any time
question what Eve was doing….he did rebuke the serpent and send him away,
telling him to leave them alone….he did not stand with the Lord and uphold what
the Lord had told them as true….he did not one time say, “I respect my Father
and I will not disobey Him”. And then
when the Lord confronted them, he blamed Eve.
And yet, I feel his sin was as great….his sin of silence.
Now I am not trying here to begin
a discussion on who is truly to blame, or what should have happened….we all
know who is to blame and what should have happened. But before we begin to cast judgment, let’s
look at this in the now-time. How many
times have we seen a friend, brother or sister…..begin to do something, say
something….that we knew was wrong, that we knew was not God’s way…..and yet, we
held our voice, we held our voice from telling them, from advising them of God’s
way, of even perhaps, something we had done similar and how we suffered from
the guilt of disobeying the Lord. As
young people, did you stand by and watch a friend cheat on a test…..perhaps
take a pack of gum or candy from the store…..and said nothing. No mention to that friend that it wasn’t
right….that it was against what was true, what was just, what was Godly. So afraid of their disapproval…their opinion….of
losing that friendship…. So we said
nothing. Sin of silence.
So who has the greater sin? In God’s eyes, all sin is the same…sin is
sin, no degree in His eyes, no sin worse than the other, or least than the
other. Sin is sin. Do you think that when we keep silent about
wrong doings, about sin….we are innocent of the sin? When you see someone mistreating another, do
you say something or do you just turn and pretend not to notice. When someone tells an off color joke…..do you
laugh, or even sit silent but say nothing.
When another wants to tell you “juicy” somethings, commonly known as “gossip”,
do you listen or do you tell them that it is not a Christian thing to do? We all know church folks that “in the guise
of wanting to tell you something about another….for prayer sake”. We all know the difference…. and if you think
you don’t, then get in your prayer closet and pray…the Holy Spirit will teach
you.
Silence is golden, it has been
said. But it is golden when it is you….when
it is you that refuses to repeat that “I heard” you were told. Silence is golden when you refuse to take
part in a group telling off color jokes…..silence is golden when instead of
worrying about friends approval, you silently begin to pray….to ask the Holy
Spirit to lead you, to give you the words to say to your friend, in love, about
what they are doing, the wrong of it.
You can see, dear friends, that as
I was reading these words this morning, the Holy Spirit began to speak very
strongly to me. To show me the error of
my ways and how to walk in the truth. In
the truth of the Lord there is no fear…..”what can man do to me”. To stand for the ways of the Lord, to be a
child of the King who loves others enough to be honest with them about what
they are going to do, are wanting to do….or something they have done….when
asked what you think…. Silence is not golden.
Love others enough to speak God’s Word to them….to help them deny the
enemy (the serpent) and obey our God.
Don’t stand by, as Adam did, and let them sin, then help them indulge in
their sin by doing nothing……and when God comes calling…..you will see who has
done the greater sin….If you’ll remember, not only Eve was punished.
Thank You, Lord, for Your words to
me….for Your forgiveness and mercy given me….let me keep Your ways, Lord, and be
an example, a friend to my friends and family.
Pat’s Pennings
05-26-13
Sunday, May 19, 2013
FOUNDATION OF GRACE
1 Corinthians 13:13 "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love."
My Father and I, through His Holy Spirit, had a conversation today. I love it when my Father takes the time to explain things to me, to show me a word, or a part of scripture that perhaps was being missed. The reference scripture above was not the Word that He was focusing me on, but it is the reason for all the things that He has done for me and for you. His love.
The base, the foundation of all grace is love. The Lord loves us all, even though I like to think of myself, and you also, if being truthful......we like to think of ourselves as God's favorite child. You know, the one that if He looked over a group of us, we would be the first chosen to climb up on His lap to talk to Him. I see that as me.....you see that one as you. It's okay, I think as He loves us all the same, He doesn't mind one bit that we know we are special to Him...we are!
But as love is the foundation for grace, then the grace differs. Each of us has needs that are different from one another. The Lord treats us individually. What I need in my life will be so different from your needs. Grace, I believe, is applied daily according to the need we have for that day. Where I may rise in the morning, after a bad nights rest, I may need grace for strength of body, clarity of mind.....and you may have slept a full eight hours and wake up refreshed but are going to have a long day at work....you may need grace for extra body strength and stamina. We have individual needs and God's grace is applied to each of us accordingly.
I have been studying the Holy Spirit, reading and seeing that grace applied to me through the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2:3, the Word tells us "Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat on each of them." Again, we are treated individually......we, when we are born again, when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are given our own spiritual tongue. No one's is alike. I have seen folks mimic the tongue of another, but it is not theirs, their true spiritual tongue is unlike another. I like knowing that when I am praying in my prayer language, my own prayer language, instantly the Lord knows it is me, just as He knows your voice, He knows your spiritual language voice. How special we are to the Lord, that He takes the time to treat us special, individual.
What a horrible thing it would be, I feel, if we were lumped into one big group and dealt with as such. I shudder to think of any of you, my dear friends, being judged for my sin. I would not have wanted that for any of you. Nor do I believe you would want someone else paying for your sin in the past. But the Lord treats us separately, He deals with us individually, and He keeps those things to Himself, and after the sin was purged from us by the blood of our Savior, Jesus, the Lord, our God, threw those things as far from Him, never to be reminded of them again. We do not treat our eyes as we would our hand, but they are all parts of our body. The Lord treats us all special, individual, and yet we are all a special, important part of the body of Christ, the Bride of our Lord.
The foundation of grace is love. Love is the foundation for all that transpires between the Lord and us. Thank You, Lord, for treating us in love, with divine mercy that comes anew each morning, Your grace is flowing down to us from a never ending river of love and that love that is shown gives us a glimpse into what is waiting for us in You.....eternal life. What grace is mine, given from Your love divine.
Friends, when you think of how the Lord treats us, all different, individually, but with the same love behind His affections, His gifts, His blessings, His mercy and His wondrous grace. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, my Father.
05-19-13
My Father and I, through His Holy Spirit, had a conversation today. I love it when my Father takes the time to explain things to me, to show me a word, or a part of scripture that perhaps was being missed. The reference scripture above was not the Word that He was focusing me on, but it is the reason for all the things that He has done for me and for you. His love.
The base, the foundation of all grace is love. The Lord loves us all, even though I like to think of myself, and you also, if being truthful......we like to think of ourselves as God's favorite child. You know, the one that if He looked over a group of us, we would be the first chosen to climb up on His lap to talk to Him. I see that as me.....you see that one as you. It's okay, I think as He loves us all the same, He doesn't mind one bit that we know we are special to Him...we are!
But as love is the foundation for grace, then the grace differs. Each of us has needs that are different from one another. The Lord treats us individually. What I need in my life will be so different from your needs. Grace, I believe, is applied daily according to the need we have for that day. Where I may rise in the morning, after a bad nights rest, I may need grace for strength of body, clarity of mind.....and you may have slept a full eight hours and wake up refreshed but are going to have a long day at work....you may need grace for extra body strength and stamina. We have individual needs and God's grace is applied to each of us accordingly.
I have been studying the Holy Spirit, reading and seeing that grace applied to me through the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2:3, the Word tells us "Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat on each of them." Again, we are treated individually......we, when we are born again, when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are given our own spiritual tongue. No one's is alike. I have seen folks mimic the tongue of another, but it is not theirs, their true spiritual tongue is unlike another. I like knowing that when I am praying in my prayer language, my own prayer language, instantly the Lord knows it is me, just as He knows your voice, He knows your spiritual language voice. How special we are to the Lord, that He takes the time to treat us special, individual.
What a horrible thing it would be, I feel, if we were lumped into one big group and dealt with as such. I shudder to think of any of you, my dear friends, being judged for my sin. I would not have wanted that for any of you. Nor do I believe you would want someone else paying for your sin in the past. But the Lord treats us separately, He deals with us individually, and He keeps those things to Himself, and after the sin was purged from us by the blood of our Savior, Jesus, the Lord, our God, threw those things as far from Him, never to be reminded of them again. We do not treat our eyes as we would our hand, but they are all parts of our body. The Lord treats us all special, individual, and yet we are all a special, important part of the body of Christ, the Bride of our Lord.
The foundation of grace is love. Love is the foundation for all that transpires between the Lord and us. Thank You, Lord, for treating us in love, with divine mercy that comes anew each morning, Your grace is flowing down to us from a never ending river of love and that love that is shown gives us a glimpse into what is waiting for us in You.....eternal life. What grace is mine, given from Your love divine.
Friends, when you think of how the Lord treats us, all different, individually, but with the same love behind His affections, His gifts, His blessings, His mercy and His wondrous grace. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, my Father.
05-19-13
Monday, April 29, 2013
COMPLACENCY AND ACCEPTANCE - GREVIOUS TO OUR GOD
2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, who are called by my name,
will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked
ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal
their land.”
The Lord has been pouring into me for the last few days,
just keeps having me look at the things I see on television, the things I read
on Facebook, and the way this world is headed.
Calling me to write, to put His heart in words as He gives to me. As I kept putting it off, then the Lord began
to bring Jonah to mind. When He wants me
to write something, He works on me with one thought after another until He
shows me where I am headed. And so
tonight, ……
As I read the Word of God, as I look at this scripture in
particular, God is speaking to His people, who are called by His Name…..us,
Christians….He is not even speaking to those who have rejected Him, who do not
worship Him, who do not call Him Lord.
It is grievous to me when I see the sin of this earth, as I
know it grieves the Lord. But what is
even more grievous to the Lord is the complacency and the acceptance of the
sins of the world. The more it is put
before us, the more things become ingrained in our subconscious, and the more
it sinks in, the less it is thought about.
It becomes a part of everyday life….but it is sin. Complacency, acceptance toward things that
are contrary to the Word of God becomes as sin in us.
It is God’s people, those of us who call Him Lord that He
speaks to. It is for us to come out from
the crowd, to step out and make a stand for the things of God, not the things
of the world. He calls to us to pray,
not to judge others for their sin, not to criticize, but to pray for the
opening of their eyes, their hearing to be awakened to the things of God, not
the world, to step away from their sinful ways and to repent of their sin. And IF we are walking as we should before
God, IF we are praying for these lost in sin, then WE WILL be able to lead them
to the foot of the cross, where in repentance….they too, will receive
forgiveness and eternal life in Jesus Christ.
Father, I pray this is as You would have me write, that Your
thoughts will be seen here, not mine, and that Your Word will be instilled upon
the hearts of those who call upon You as their Father. I pray that our sins of complacency and
acceptance will be repented of, as we seek Your forgiveness and thank You for
Your mercy and grace on our lives. Let
us then Lord, be as One with You, to show Your love, to show Your mercy and be
a roadmap that others can see to find their way to You.
Patspennings 04-29-13
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
THE HEARTBREAK OF THE VINEYARD
Isaiah :1-4 "I will sing for the One I love, a song about His vineyard: My loved One had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then He looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between Me and My vineyard. What more could have been done for My vineyard than I have done for it?
Dear friends, this passage in the Word is entitled The Song of the Vineyard in one of my Bibles, but I was touched by the Lord's heart this morning and realized it was rather "The Heartbreak of the Vineyard". Go with me for a moment and picture this in your spirit. The Lord clearing out all the debris of our lives, from every crooked path we had walked, the sin in our life, and yes...what some of you might consider big sin....little sin...but dear friends, sin is sin....so consider all the sin in your life; the Lord cleaning us up, washing us gently.....I see Him using the finest, softest cloth as you might use on a baby's face to dry their tears......He dried our tears of shame, heartbreak, disappointment with His soft, gentle hand, and made us into the finest vineyard imaginable. Have you been to a vineyard, have you noticed so many have those beautiful rose bushes, trained up into small trees at the ends of the rows, it's fragrance enhancing the sweet smell of the ripening grapes? That is what I see. His fragrance lingering over the vineyard of our hearts, of our souls, of our spirits. The watchtower.....in the vineyard, here is the Holy Spirit, placed in us to guide, to minister, and to administer His presence with us. The winepress, used I feel by the Holy Spirit to squeeze and press us into the perfected, one day, saint of the Lord. How beautiful this view from our spirits, don't you agree? What plans the Lord had, all the preparation, all the pricks and cuts in His hands as he trimmed away the thorns, as He cleared the brambles each day, pruning and caring for us, each so special to Him......I tell you, friends, right here, my heart just cries out to my Living God thanks and gratitude for His caring for me, for His gentleness in His handling of me each day.....and....my heart cries as I feel His disappointment, His hurt as He looks down at His vineyard today......as He looks for that harvest of good grapes.....I see this as the worship of His children, to whom He has given so much care....as He looks for that harvest of how we show His love and mercy to others......See how many look upon the vineyard of the Lord and criticize us, thus criticizing Him....looking at so many in the church....backbiters, judgers, those too busy about their plans to allow Him to work through them.....judging what the Lord has done....proclaiming to have a better way that His way....
What more could He have done than He has not done? How could He do more, He certainly could not have loved more....He gave everything of Himself to us and asked so little.
I will worship my Lord each moment of my life....I will dedicate my life to glorifying my Lord at all times. There is not a place I know to go but to Him. I want Him to look down on the vineyard He has planted in me and see a good harvest. Yes, I will fail at times, but His watchtower is within me to press me back into that place where I love to be, in the arms of my Lord. Friends, let the vineyard the Lord has planted in you become the fragrant, overwhelming production of good grapes, of resounding sounds of thanksgiving and worship to the One who has kept us and longs to keep us close always. Let the heartbreak of the vineyard become what it was intended "The Song of the vineyard" a rising, beautiful, song of worship to our God.
Patspennings
04-17-13
Dear friends, this passage in the Word is entitled The Song of the Vineyard in one of my Bibles, but I was touched by the Lord's heart this morning and realized it was rather "The Heartbreak of the Vineyard". Go with me for a moment and picture this in your spirit. The Lord clearing out all the debris of our lives, from every crooked path we had walked, the sin in our life, and yes...what some of you might consider big sin....little sin...but dear friends, sin is sin....so consider all the sin in your life; the Lord cleaning us up, washing us gently.....I see Him using the finest, softest cloth as you might use on a baby's face to dry their tears......He dried our tears of shame, heartbreak, disappointment with His soft, gentle hand, and made us into the finest vineyard imaginable. Have you been to a vineyard, have you noticed so many have those beautiful rose bushes, trained up into small trees at the ends of the rows, it's fragrance enhancing the sweet smell of the ripening grapes? That is what I see. His fragrance lingering over the vineyard of our hearts, of our souls, of our spirits. The watchtower.....in the vineyard, here is the Holy Spirit, placed in us to guide, to minister, and to administer His presence with us. The winepress, used I feel by the Holy Spirit to squeeze and press us into the perfected, one day, saint of the Lord. How beautiful this view from our spirits, don't you agree? What plans the Lord had, all the preparation, all the pricks and cuts in His hands as he trimmed away the thorns, as He cleared the brambles each day, pruning and caring for us, each so special to Him......I tell you, friends, right here, my heart just cries out to my Living God thanks and gratitude for His caring for me, for His gentleness in His handling of me each day.....and....my heart cries as I feel His disappointment, His hurt as He looks down at His vineyard today......as He looks for that harvest of good grapes.....I see this as the worship of His children, to whom He has given so much care....as He looks for that harvest of how we show His love and mercy to others......See how many look upon the vineyard of the Lord and criticize us, thus criticizing Him....looking at so many in the church....backbiters, judgers, those too busy about their plans to allow Him to work through them.....judging what the Lord has done....proclaiming to have a better way that His way....
What more could He have done than He has not done? How could He do more, He certainly could not have loved more....He gave everything of Himself to us and asked so little.
I will worship my Lord each moment of my life....I will dedicate my life to glorifying my Lord at all times. There is not a place I know to go but to Him. I want Him to look down on the vineyard He has planted in me and see a good harvest. Yes, I will fail at times, but His watchtower is within me to press me back into that place where I love to be, in the arms of my Lord. Friends, let the vineyard the Lord has planted in you become the fragrant, overwhelming production of good grapes, of resounding sounds of thanksgiving and worship to the One who has kept us and longs to keep us close always. Let the heartbreak of the vineyard become what it was intended "The Song of the vineyard" a rising, beautiful, song of worship to our God.
Patspennings
04-17-13
Sunday, April 7, 2013
THE KEYHOLE
Revelation 3:7 "These things says he who is holy, He who is true, "He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens".
Thank You, Lord God, that You remain Who You are at all times. Nothing changes in the heavenlies, nothing goes amiss in Your Throne Room. You remain Holy, You remain True.
As I was worshiping in service this morning, my eyes closed, giving my heart to the Lord through the song of my spirit, I saw in my spirit a "keyhole". As I waited to see what the Lord was showing me, I saw people looking through the keyhole, seeing the glory of the Lord in ALL His beauty inside. Then they would stand up and begin to question "where is the key? I want to go inside, please show me the key". And they were so distressed. As I wondered why I was seeing this, the Lord, bless You, Lord, He began to speak to me. What He told me seems so clear, and yet, so many do not see.
The Lord told me that these people are looking for a key, the way into the door. How foolish, He said, these people are, as the key to the door to His throne room has been given to all who call Him Father; to all who call Him Lord. The key was given when we gave our life to Him, when upon repentance's floor, as we lay before Him, asking His forgiveness of our sin, thanking Him for the love that took our precious Savior to the cross, we received the Key. The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the Friend that would never leave us, our Guide, our Teacher, the Key.
Through the Holy Spirit, we have access to the door of the throne room of God. As the Holy Spirit leads us, He instills the desire to worship the Lord with all our being, to lay ourselves before the Lord, pouring out the songs of our heart to Him. As worship leaves our lips, strengthened by our spirits joining the Holy Spirit, the door of the throne room opens. As worshiping children of God give Him the sacrifice of their praise, the true worship of a child that adores their Father, the windows of heaven open and begin to fill us with the Light, begin to fill us with the melodies of heaven that blend with our song, and create a new song unto the Lord. As this new song resounds upward to the ears of our Lord God, He begins to pour out His blessings upon us, causing an echo of praise to rise from earth to the sky, filling every one that will listen with their spirits, knowing that on this day, the Holy One, our God, has been touched with our love, with our song. We are One with Him.
And yet.......so many fail to see what they have, within themselves, waiting to open the door for them, waiting to show them that the door is not locked, it has been unlocked for some time.....and yet....
Let the Holy Spirit rise up in you, friends. He is so willing, He has been waiting, He has been assigned to bring you through the door. You do not have to look through the keyhole, you can walk through the door into the fullness of the Lord, into His grace, receive His joy, know His peace. You have the Key, you need to let the Key take you places you only saw through the keyhole and dreamed of.....let the Lord, let our God, be a reality to your heart, to your mind, in your soul. Let the Spirit of the Living Lord take you through.
I thank You, Lord, for Your words of encouragement, of restoration, of joy. I love You, my God.
Patspennings 04-07-13
Thank You, Lord God, that You remain Who You are at all times. Nothing changes in the heavenlies, nothing goes amiss in Your Throne Room. You remain Holy, You remain True.
As I was worshiping in service this morning, my eyes closed, giving my heart to the Lord through the song of my spirit, I saw in my spirit a "keyhole". As I waited to see what the Lord was showing me, I saw people looking through the keyhole, seeing the glory of the Lord in ALL His beauty inside. Then they would stand up and begin to question "where is the key? I want to go inside, please show me the key". And they were so distressed. As I wondered why I was seeing this, the Lord, bless You, Lord, He began to speak to me. What He told me seems so clear, and yet, so many do not see.
The Lord told me that these people are looking for a key, the way into the door. How foolish, He said, these people are, as the key to the door to His throne room has been given to all who call Him Father; to all who call Him Lord. The key was given when we gave our life to Him, when upon repentance's floor, as we lay before Him, asking His forgiveness of our sin, thanking Him for the love that took our precious Savior to the cross, we received the Key. The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the Friend that would never leave us, our Guide, our Teacher, the Key.
Through the Holy Spirit, we have access to the door of the throne room of God. As the Holy Spirit leads us, He instills the desire to worship the Lord with all our being, to lay ourselves before the Lord, pouring out the songs of our heart to Him. As worship leaves our lips, strengthened by our spirits joining the Holy Spirit, the door of the throne room opens. As worshiping children of God give Him the sacrifice of their praise, the true worship of a child that adores their Father, the windows of heaven open and begin to fill us with the Light, begin to fill us with the melodies of heaven that blend with our song, and create a new song unto the Lord. As this new song resounds upward to the ears of our Lord God, He begins to pour out His blessings upon us, causing an echo of praise to rise from earth to the sky, filling every one that will listen with their spirits, knowing that on this day, the Holy One, our God, has been touched with our love, with our song. We are One with Him.
And yet.......so many fail to see what they have, within themselves, waiting to open the door for them, waiting to show them that the door is not locked, it has been unlocked for some time.....and yet....
Let the Holy Spirit rise up in you, friends. He is so willing, He has been waiting, He has been assigned to bring you through the door. You do not have to look through the keyhole, you can walk through the door into the fullness of the Lord, into His grace, receive His joy, know His peace. You have the Key, you need to let the Key take you places you only saw through the keyhole and dreamed of.....let the Lord, let our God, be a reality to your heart, to your mind, in your soul. Let the Spirit of the Living Lord take you through.
I thank You, Lord, for Your words of encouragement, of restoration, of joy. I love You, my God.
Patspennings 04-07-13
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