Psalm 107:19 "Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress."
So use to never feeling ill, the sickness came upon me in an instant. My own fault, of course, for eating something so rich and sweet. My body is not use to so much sugar and richness and I did not think of it. And to think I only ate half the dessert, I do not want to think what would have happened had I eaten it all. But I got so sick, and am still not good as I write this. I have an assignment from the Lord to write each and every night and I will not let anything keep me from the Lord's will; from what He gives me to do.
I put my worship music on, playing on my computer, and How Great is Our God began to play, a version by Keith Duncan, filled with pure worship, love and devotion, worshiping in the Spirit, so annointed. Well, I listened to it twice before I began and now it plays again. The first two times I could not type and now I have to stop for a minute or so at a time as the Spirit of the Lord flows over me, knowing in my spirit that He is healing me, touching me with His precious oil of mercy and love. How great is my God, my precious Lord, that no matter what I did that made me ill, He is faithful to me, He knows I did not do something to harm myself intentionally, I just have not adjusted totally to what He has done in me, in my body.
Did I ever mention that through the Power of the Lord, Him alone, as I have done nothing but what He has led me to do, I have lost 90 pounds in the last year. No diet, other than the changes that the Lord has made, adjusting my likes, showing me healthier ways to live. No sodas, very little sugar, sweet things too sweet for me. How amazing this has been, to see what the Lord can and will do when you make yourself open for Him to work. He began with filling me so full of His love, my body was transformed as every part of me felt that warmth of His love. The next day I realized I was only hungry for Him, for His presence and could not eat. After a couple of days of not eating, I knew it was not healthy and would eat, but found a quarter of a sandwich filled me up. One piece of pizza did the trick, all I could hold. It was almost like having my stomach sewn up and it could only hold so much. And sweets, that I would eat so much of before, they were too sweet and I could not stand them in my mouth. I could not drink cokes any longer, and did not have the desire for them or any thing sweet. Food became something I ate to live, and no longer living to eat. My Lord did this.
So now having made myself sick by eating dinner and then some dessert, even half of it, I became ill. But as I write this, worshiping my Lord for His goodness and faithfulness to me, I am beginning to feel better. How great is my God? He is the Great I Am, He is so wonderful to me, I cannot fully express how great He is; but then if you are walking in His love, then you know how great He is. He never leaves us when we are foolish, when we just run full speed ahead without waiting for Him, He just comes to us when we call out, "Father, help me. Lord, I need Your help." He is there immediately, all the time.
Father, You are so wonderful to me. I thank You for Your healing touch on me. Your promises to me concerning my health are steady, so constant. I made myself ill tonight and still Your touch is on me, healing, restoring. I know tomorrow morning all will be well and this night will have passed. I love You so much my Lord. How can I express my love for You; what can I say that could ring the true passion I feel for You through the heavenlies? How can I ever thank You for the life You have given me; other than to cry Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord; I cry Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord. You are worthy, so worthy, my Lord to receive all my love and praise forever. I will lift up my voice and sing the songs of my heart to You, lifting You up with my worship, with the new songs that the beautiful Holy Spirit draws from my soul, the songs of my spirit expressing my love for You.
How Great is my God; the words of the song sinking so deeply into me, the richness of the presence of the Lord flowing around me, His healing touch restoring my body, His love satisfying my soul. This 5th day of September, in sickness and in health, my Lord God is always with me, always pouring out His love and mercy upon me, being always Everything to me, my Holy God.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
KINGDOM MENTALITY
1 Corinthians 4:20 "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power."
I know I speak of our church services a lot, but each one is more wonderful and blessed than the one before. When you have a service totally dedicated to the presence of the Lord and the worship and praise to God alone, you have to know that there will be a flowing of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of my precious Lord flowed throughout the sanctuaray that was created by His children there, seeking His face, glorifying His Holy Name. I joined the ladies in the Intercessory Prayer room before services and, well, you would have to join with them to know the Glory Cloud that penetrated that room as prayer was lifted up for the Glory Cloud of God to surround that church and fall upon the worshipers inside.
As I was worshiping the Lord, His presence was so heavy. The children of God in that building making up the church of God were crying out to their Lord with their hearts, worshiping and loving the Lord. I was lifted up into the arms of the Holy Spirit and He momentarily took me outside of the building where he showed me the outside of the building, relating my mind to that of a Jiffy Pop popcorn skillet, and as the heat inside rose, and the kernals began to pop the sides of the little skillet began to swell and get bigger and bigger until the top bursts open letting out all that fragrance. The Lord showed me how the building was swelling at the seams and then as the worship and praise rose higher and higher the roof exploded open letting that beautiful fragrance of love and worship rise up to the throne room of our God, giving Him such pleasure and happiness hearing the love and adoration of His children that He began to pour back into the children His joy and peace, health and contentment, satisfying their heart's desires.
Another rabbit trail, Father, but it was so beautiful, so wonderful, Your presence, Your joy that I felt in my heart; my joy at hearing such worship and praise rising up to You. I love to worship You, my God and I love to hear Your children worship You with such love, such devotion.
When pastor mentioned Kingdom mentality, You began to speak to me about it. It was so difficult, Lord, wanting to sit and write down what you were telling me, but not wanting to stop worshiping You; praying that You would give me the grace to remember all You were saying. You began to pour into me, as the words Kingdom mentality were said, that so many of Your children wish to live in the Kingdom realm but they continue to have a earthly mentality. They want the blessings that come in living in You, but they are being overshadowed by their earthly mentality. They read, they study the Word, they know the Word, it is in their hearts; but still, allow the things of the earth to over take what they know in their hearts; letting their minds rule what their hearts can do. Faith comes from your heart, from your most inner being, your soul, your spirit. Faith is not a head or mind thing as the mind usually functions by what it hears and what it sees. Faith, real faith is the knowledge of God's love and promise to us that He will take care of all our needs as we give ourselves over to Him and simply trust Him to do what He has said He would do. This is Kingdom mentality. Kingdom mentality also takes what you know in your heart from the Word of God and puts it into action, You will lay hands on the sick, pray for them in Jesus Name and they will recover. Earthly mentality tells you you will lay hands on the sick and if it is God's will they will recover. That is not what the Word tells us. It is God's will for His children to not be sick, not to suffer. Jesus died that we would be well, the stripes on His back were for our sicknesses, all kinds. We need to take the Kingdom mentality that we have and turn it into Kingdom authority that our Lord has placed in us. We need to let the Kingdom mentality over rule the earthly mentality of our minds and step up and begin to do the things that the Lord has put on us to do. We are His hands, His love and His mercy to those we meet. We have the ability to pray and change circumstances; we have the faith to move mountains if we just use the right mentality, the Kingdom one and not the one that abides in our minds.
I thank You my Lord God for this beautiful day. I thank You that You have given me, and Your other children the Kingdom mentality to do the things You have given us to do. I thank You for Your faithfulness that causes faith to rise up in me daily, building more each day. I have no doubt that if You tell me to lay hands on someone and pray for their healing, that they will indeed recover. Thank You, Father.
This 4th day of September, 2011, I am still basking in Your presence that has never left from this mornings service. I pray each person there this morning also has felt Your Holy Presence with them all this day. I love You my Lord, I give You all the glory and all the honor for every word I write this night and all nights for I know it is not of me that this comes but from You. I thank You my Savior for Your Holiness that brings me such joy and peace.
I know I speak of our church services a lot, but each one is more wonderful and blessed than the one before. When you have a service totally dedicated to the presence of the Lord and the worship and praise to God alone, you have to know that there will be a flowing of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of my precious Lord flowed throughout the sanctuaray that was created by His children there, seeking His face, glorifying His Holy Name. I joined the ladies in the Intercessory Prayer room before services and, well, you would have to join with them to know the Glory Cloud that penetrated that room as prayer was lifted up for the Glory Cloud of God to surround that church and fall upon the worshipers inside.
As I was worshiping the Lord, His presence was so heavy. The children of God in that building making up the church of God were crying out to their Lord with their hearts, worshiping and loving the Lord. I was lifted up into the arms of the Holy Spirit and He momentarily took me outside of the building where he showed me the outside of the building, relating my mind to that of a Jiffy Pop popcorn skillet, and as the heat inside rose, and the kernals began to pop the sides of the little skillet began to swell and get bigger and bigger until the top bursts open letting out all that fragrance. The Lord showed me how the building was swelling at the seams and then as the worship and praise rose higher and higher the roof exploded open letting that beautiful fragrance of love and worship rise up to the throne room of our God, giving Him such pleasure and happiness hearing the love and adoration of His children that He began to pour back into the children His joy and peace, health and contentment, satisfying their heart's desires.
Another rabbit trail, Father, but it was so beautiful, so wonderful, Your presence, Your joy that I felt in my heart; my joy at hearing such worship and praise rising up to You. I love to worship You, my God and I love to hear Your children worship You with such love, such devotion.
When pastor mentioned Kingdom mentality, You began to speak to me about it. It was so difficult, Lord, wanting to sit and write down what you were telling me, but not wanting to stop worshiping You; praying that You would give me the grace to remember all You were saying. You began to pour into me, as the words Kingdom mentality were said, that so many of Your children wish to live in the Kingdom realm but they continue to have a earthly mentality. They want the blessings that come in living in You, but they are being overshadowed by their earthly mentality. They read, they study the Word, they know the Word, it is in their hearts; but still, allow the things of the earth to over take what they know in their hearts; letting their minds rule what their hearts can do. Faith comes from your heart, from your most inner being, your soul, your spirit. Faith is not a head or mind thing as the mind usually functions by what it hears and what it sees. Faith, real faith is the knowledge of God's love and promise to us that He will take care of all our needs as we give ourselves over to Him and simply trust Him to do what He has said He would do. This is Kingdom mentality. Kingdom mentality also takes what you know in your heart from the Word of God and puts it into action, You will lay hands on the sick, pray for them in Jesus Name and they will recover. Earthly mentality tells you you will lay hands on the sick and if it is God's will they will recover. That is not what the Word tells us. It is God's will for His children to not be sick, not to suffer. Jesus died that we would be well, the stripes on His back were for our sicknesses, all kinds. We need to take the Kingdom mentality that we have and turn it into Kingdom authority that our Lord has placed in us. We need to let the Kingdom mentality over rule the earthly mentality of our minds and step up and begin to do the things that the Lord has put on us to do. We are His hands, His love and His mercy to those we meet. We have the ability to pray and change circumstances; we have the faith to move mountains if we just use the right mentality, the Kingdom one and not the one that abides in our minds.
I thank You my Lord God for this beautiful day. I thank You that You have given me, and Your other children the Kingdom mentality to do the things You have given us to do. I thank You for Your faithfulness that causes faith to rise up in me daily, building more each day. I have no doubt that if You tell me to lay hands on someone and pray for their healing, that they will indeed recover. Thank You, Father.
This 4th day of September, 2011, I am still basking in Your presence that has never left from this mornings service. I pray each person there this morning also has felt Your Holy Presence with them all this day. I love You my Lord, I give You all the glory and all the honor for every word I write this night and all nights for I know it is not of me that this comes but from You. I thank You my Savior for Your Holiness that brings me such joy and peace.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
I WIELDED THE HAMMER
Acts 2:23 "This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross."
It is early Lord, for me to write, but as I read and saw the question, "who nailed Jesus to the cross?", it stuck through my spirit and grieved me so badly as I knew in my heart the answer. It has brought me to tears and drawn me to the foot of the cross, not to ask for forgiveness as I know that has been given long ago when I asked, but to offer my heart felt thanksgiving to my Lord, Jesus Christ, my Savior. Nothing I can ever do could take away my hands on the hammer, striking those nails, each sin another blow, driving the nails in deeper and deeper.
My Lord, my Lord, I love You so much. You went to that cross knowing that the nails that originally were drove into You would be the saving grace for me, that without Your sacrifice, I would be condemned to eternal hell, with no hope of rescue. Knowing what awaited You, You came down from heaven and showed a life that could be lived without sin, showed how love could be given regardless of the receipt of any for Yourself and You showed grace and mercy to those that would spitfully use You and abuse You. You showed me that it was possible to walk this earth and give as it was given to You, and shift all the weight of burdens to the Father above, and to walk in peace and harmony with Your fellow man.
It has taken me a long time, many years to get to the point where I am in You now; knowing each time I sinned I drove the nails deeper; each time I rejected the calling You had on my life, the precious atoning blood flowed over me. The nails hammered, the blood flowing, the sin forgiven; each and every time, the sin forgiven, covered by the blood. My Lord, thank You for loving me so much that You never gave me for loss, but continued to wait, continued to call me, continued to forgive me and cover me with Your blood, Your mercy.
I know now, sitting here, typing my heart to You, Lord, that there will be sin again. It hurts my heart so deeply to know that the hammer will be in my hand again, I don't want it to be, not ever, but I know as long as I am on this earth it can happen as You are the only perfect One. But I can see to it that I do not willfully sin, that I do not intentionally cause You pain, that I do not knowingly cause You grief. My Lord and King, I love You so much. There is nothing I can ever do to pay the price for Your sacrifice, for Your giving all to save me. I can only love You with all my heart and soul, I can only worship You with everything within me and I can only live my life to glorify You alone. I worship You, my Jesus, You alone are Holy.
No, I was not alone on that hill, as I saw many with hammers in their hands, but I can only speak for myself, Lord. I can only give You my dedication and love, others witll have to speak to You themselves. I can though give them words of encouragement and show them grace, tell them of Your forgiveness and mercy and that You love them so much. I can show them the way to the foot of the cross, and show them how to put down the hammer. Study the Word to learn the truth of the message the Father wanted to share with us, the compassionate love He had for us, and why He sent You, His only Son to earth to be the sacrifice for our sins, so we could have a special place in His Kingdom with You.
I knew that I had to come here, in worship and thanksgiving to You, my Lord Jesus, to have this burden of realization lifted from me. Only at the foot of the cross can we know the true blessing of Your sacrifice for us; know the pure love poured out with each drop of blood shed from Your precious body, given for us, given for me.
You, have given me life in You, dearest Jesus, and my life will remain in You. This 3rd day of September, 2011, I am at the foot of the cross, trying to bury this hammer, wanting to put myself as far from the sinful nature of the old man, and let that old man not have a place in the new creation that has been made in me. Your love my Lord, Your love sustains me, and I know I am forgiven and cleansed, made righteous in You. I love You with all my being, my King, my Lord Jesus.
It is early Lord, for me to write, but as I read and saw the question, "who nailed Jesus to the cross?", it stuck through my spirit and grieved me so badly as I knew in my heart the answer. It has brought me to tears and drawn me to the foot of the cross, not to ask for forgiveness as I know that has been given long ago when I asked, but to offer my heart felt thanksgiving to my Lord, Jesus Christ, my Savior. Nothing I can ever do could take away my hands on the hammer, striking those nails, each sin another blow, driving the nails in deeper and deeper.
My Lord, my Lord, I love You so much. You went to that cross knowing that the nails that originally were drove into You would be the saving grace for me, that without Your sacrifice, I would be condemned to eternal hell, with no hope of rescue. Knowing what awaited You, You came down from heaven and showed a life that could be lived without sin, showed how love could be given regardless of the receipt of any for Yourself and You showed grace and mercy to those that would spitfully use You and abuse You. You showed me that it was possible to walk this earth and give as it was given to You, and shift all the weight of burdens to the Father above, and to walk in peace and harmony with Your fellow man.
It has taken me a long time, many years to get to the point where I am in You now; knowing each time I sinned I drove the nails deeper; each time I rejected the calling You had on my life, the precious atoning blood flowed over me. The nails hammered, the blood flowing, the sin forgiven; each and every time, the sin forgiven, covered by the blood. My Lord, thank You for loving me so much that You never gave me for loss, but continued to wait, continued to call me, continued to forgive me and cover me with Your blood, Your mercy.
I know now, sitting here, typing my heart to You, Lord, that there will be sin again. It hurts my heart so deeply to know that the hammer will be in my hand again, I don't want it to be, not ever, but I know as long as I am on this earth it can happen as You are the only perfect One. But I can see to it that I do not willfully sin, that I do not intentionally cause You pain, that I do not knowingly cause You grief. My Lord and King, I love You so much. There is nothing I can ever do to pay the price for Your sacrifice, for Your giving all to save me. I can only love You with all my heart and soul, I can only worship You with everything within me and I can only live my life to glorify You alone. I worship You, my Jesus, You alone are Holy.
No, I was not alone on that hill, as I saw many with hammers in their hands, but I can only speak for myself, Lord. I can only give You my dedication and love, others witll have to speak to You themselves. I can though give them words of encouragement and show them grace, tell them of Your forgiveness and mercy and that You love them so much. I can show them the way to the foot of the cross, and show them how to put down the hammer. Study the Word to learn the truth of the message the Father wanted to share with us, the compassionate love He had for us, and why He sent You, His only Son to earth to be the sacrifice for our sins, so we could have a special place in His Kingdom with You.
I knew that I had to come here, in worship and thanksgiving to You, my Lord Jesus, to have this burden of realization lifted from me. Only at the foot of the cross can we know the true blessing of Your sacrifice for us; know the pure love poured out with each drop of blood shed from Your precious body, given for us, given for me.
You, have given me life in You, dearest Jesus, and my life will remain in You. This 3rd day of September, 2011, I am at the foot of the cross, trying to bury this hammer, wanting to put myself as far from the sinful nature of the old man, and let that old man not have a place in the new creation that has been made in me. Your love my Lord, Your love sustains me, and I know I am forgiven and cleansed, made righteous in You. I love You with all my being, my King, my Lord Jesus.
Friday, September 2, 2011
THE LIVING WORD
John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
The Word was in the beginning with God, the Word was God. Always the Word was there, always with God. Never was a time that the Word was not present, always from the beginning. But when God sent His Son, His only Son to earth, the Word became alive, as the Word was God and the Son was The Word. God is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Our God, three in One, becoming what is needed to draw His children to Himself. Now, I know there will be a lot of people that will think this is farfetched, but truly I am sitting here asking the Lord, "are you sure". And He is not letting me erase this. Our God is determined to have His children draw close to Him and He has, through the ages, become what is needed to achieve this relationship.
In the Old Testament we read how many times the Lord punished His children, banished them away from Himself, as He could not tolerate the sin, the worshiping of idols and other gods. Can you understand the hurt and rejection that our God felt? Our beautiful Lord, being rejected by the very children that He gave so much for, that He did so much for, but again and again, forgiving them and restoring the relationship between them. And still....
There was nothing to do, nothing else that could be done, so the Father sent the Son, the Word, to be born as a child, to experience what we deal with each day on earth. Perhaps there was reasons that the children could not be able to walk a holy life; perhaps life was too difficult, keeping the children from a godly walk. So Jesus was born, and the Word became alive. The Word walked the earth as a human, facing all the trials, hurts, rejections, everything that we would ever face, Jesus faced them. And yet, He did not sin. He showed it possible to live a life without sin. He drew upon the strength of the Father, He knew that the love and grace flowed from Heaven's throne to Himself, and to each of us that call on the Father, needing, asking and receiving love and grace each day. I believe sin appears because pride gets in the way of asking the Father for help, of becoming like little children knowing we do not know everything and need our Fathers help. In the garden, the Word, knowing that death was upon Him, and knowing that it had to be to fulfill the Father's will, prayed that if possible, this cup would be taken from Him; but still submitting all to the Father, "Your will, not mine, be done". And we know what happened in the days that followed. What would happen if we submitted all to the Father, His will, not ours, be done. Would this strengthen us from sin, freeing us from that bondage?
The Word walked the earth, submitted to authority of God, and died for our sins. The Word, Jesus, the Living Word submitted to authority, the authority of the Creator of all things. When Jesus left us, He sent the Holy Spirit, the Living Word, to remain with us, to dwell within us and be our Comforter, our Shield, our Shelter, our Guide, our Teacher, our Friend. The Word still lives within those that have died to the works of the old man and have given their hearts and lifes to Jesus, our Savior. The Word lives within us to lead us continually to the throne of the Father, drawing us to Jesus, showing us the Way of the Lord, helping to keep us intimately one with the Father.
The Word lives within us. The Word gives us authority to speak the Name of Jesus with power, with strength, with authority. The Word gives us the authority to pray for the sick and to command demons to flee. The Word gives us healing in our hands, through the power of the Lord flowing through us. The Living Word through us will lead the ungodly to become a child of God; He will flow His love through us to reach the unlovable, He will give grace and mercy through us to draw others to Jesus. We can do nothing without the Living Word. The Living Word is life to the children of God, sustaining us through each day, giving us the power to reject sin, giving us the forgiveness should we fall into sin, restoring us back to the Father when repentive.
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Sometimes I think it can be confusing if one does not know the Creator. Knowing the creation does nothing to further your relationship with the Lord; you must know the Creator Himself. You must see that our God has done everything for us, has always loved us and has given of Himself over and over to have us love Him. We are never without Him, never without the Word. The Word was God and God was the Word.
My Lord, I pray this is understood, I wrote as You directed, as You desired I write. I love You so much, dear Lord. You have become my every Thought, my every Desire and my true Love. I will worship You in truth and spirit, I will seek You in the moments when I need Your touch of strength, and power; and I will seek You to worship and thank You for Your goodness, for Your love. This 2nd day of September, You have captivated my heart and I am desiring that the Living Word, my God, be one with me.
The Word was in the beginning with God, the Word was God. Always the Word was there, always with God. Never was a time that the Word was not present, always from the beginning. But when God sent His Son, His only Son to earth, the Word became alive, as the Word was God and the Son was The Word. God is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Our God, three in One, becoming what is needed to draw His children to Himself. Now, I know there will be a lot of people that will think this is farfetched, but truly I am sitting here asking the Lord, "are you sure". And He is not letting me erase this. Our God is determined to have His children draw close to Him and He has, through the ages, become what is needed to achieve this relationship.
In the Old Testament we read how many times the Lord punished His children, banished them away from Himself, as He could not tolerate the sin, the worshiping of idols and other gods. Can you understand the hurt and rejection that our God felt? Our beautiful Lord, being rejected by the very children that He gave so much for, that He did so much for, but again and again, forgiving them and restoring the relationship between them. And still....
There was nothing to do, nothing else that could be done, so the Father sent the Son, the Word, to be born as a child, to experience what we deal with each day on earth. Perhaps there was reasons that the children could not be able to walk a holy life; perhaps life was too difficult, keeping the children from a godly walk. So Jesus was born, and the Word became alive. The Word walked the earth as a human, facing all the trials, hurts, rejections, everything that we would ever face, Jesus faced them. And yet, He did not sin. He showed it possible to live a life without sin. He drew upon the strength of the Father, He knew that the love and grace flowed from Heaven's throne to Himself, and to each of us that call on the Father, needing, asking and receiving love and grace each day. I believe sin appears because pride gets in the way of asking the Father for help, of becoming like little children knowing we do not know everything and need our Fathers help. In the garden, the Word, knowing that death was upon Him, and knowing that it had to be to fulfill the Father's will, prayed that if possible, this cup would be taken from Him; but still submitting all to the Father, "Your will, not mine, be done". And we know what happened in the days that followed. What would happen if we submitted all to the Father, His will, not ours, be done. Would this strengthen us from sin, freeing us from that bondage?
The Word walked the earth, submitted to authority of God, and died for our sins. The Word, Jesus, the Living Word submitted to authority, the authority of the Creator of all things. When Jesus left us, He sent the Holy Spirit, the Living Word, to remain with us, to dwell within us and be our Comforter, our Shield, our Shelter, our Guide, our Teacher, our Friend. The Word still lives within those that have died to the works of the old man and have given their hearts and lifes to Jesus, our Savior. The Word lives within us to lead us continually to the throne of the Father, drawing us to Jesus, showing us the Way of the Lord, helping to keep us intimately one with the Father.
The Word lives within us. The Word gives us authority to speak the Name of Jesus with power, with strength, with authority. The Word gives us the authority to pray for the sick and to command demons to flee. The Word gives us healing in our hands, through the power of the Lord flowing through us. The Living Word through us will lead the ungodly to become a child of God; He will flow His love through us to reach the unlovable, He will give grace and mercy through us to draw others to Jesus. We can do nothing without the Living Word. The Living Word is life to the children of God, sustaining us through each day, giving us the power to reject sin, giving us the forgiveness should we fall into sin, restoring us back to the Father when repentive.
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Sometimes I think it can be confusing if one does not know the Creator. Knowing the creation does nothing to further your relationship with the Lord; you must know the Creator Himself. You must see that our God has done everything for us, has always loved us and has given of Himself over and over to have us love Him. We are never without Him, never without the Word. The Word was God and God was the Word.
My Lord, I pray this is understood, I wrote as You directed, as You desired I write. I love You so much, dear Lord. You have become my every Thought, my every Desire and my true Love. I will worship You in truth and spirit, I will seek You in the moments when I need Your touch of strength, and power; and I will seek You to worship and thank You for Your goodness, for Your love. This 2nd day of September, You have captivated my heart and I am desiring that the Living Word, my God, be one with me.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
PARADISE FOUND
Luke 23:43 "Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise"."
Some days it seems like if the enemy can carve holes in it he will, just to let you know he has not forgotten where you are, who you think you are, or the fact that he can't get to you, not really, but he has to give it a good try, just to let you know he will. I truly feel like it is not his will that gets him involved in your day, but the will of the Lord, releasing enough of him just to let him know that you are indeed His child and that He will not let anything he does come between you and your God. So it was today, and once again, he tried and tried but he could not get me to break trust with my Lord.
As the period of time got more intense, more frustrating, I just sat down in my chair, took a deep breath, closed my eyes and listened. As I sat there, I could hear my I-Pod playing in the back of the office, and the music began to filter up to me, softly, "Holy, holy, holy are You, Lord"; and as I listened with my eyes closed, I could hear my Lord speak into my spirit, "Lean on me, rest in me". I just sat there, my spirit going into that realm where the Lord abides, that peaceful, sweet place where your spirit meets with that of the Lord's spirit. As I felt myself being drawn into His presence I felt the weight of the oppression of the enemy begin to lift off me; the frustration I was feeling turn into joy and when I reopened my eyes, things looked different to me. No longer did things appear dark but the Light was glowing around me. I want to stop here and tell you that there were five people in the room with me and I was the only one that knew the atmosphere had changed at that moment. They had to wait until I spoke to know things were different. I spoke, assuring the customer that things were going to be okay, thanked them for their patience and knew just what to do. Took care of the customer and when he left continued with my work.
Not to make you think that the enemy fled for long for he had a few other tricks up his sleeve, but now it did not faze me. Everything he tried was rebuked and did not shake me. I just patiently redid and redid everything he messed up. Fax machine did not want to work properly, had to refax 15 pages 6 times. Computer did not want to accept an account number, with the Lord's help, that was resolved also. And so many sweet things brightened up the end of the day. The boss called needed my temporary assistant to work at another center tomorrow even thought I have a lot of customers coming, I said not a problem, this is doable. And then the Lord showed me rewards in being obedient, serving others and being graceful in the face of what could be hard to do tomorrow. I know that no matter what happens tomorrow, He will be right there with me, and as long as my Lord is there, anything is doable.
Paradise can be found in a crowded room as well as on a deserted island. Just close your eyes, lean into the Lord and listen for that quiet, still voice, that tells you He loves you, to trust Him, all will be well, nothing is impossible if your trust in in Him. Paradise is the knowledge of knowing that God is not far from you no matter where you are. Paradise is the sweetness of His presence in a room full of people and only you know that you are no longer with them but in that secret place of beauty with the Lord.
My paradise, my Lord, is wherever You take me to be with You, any time day or night, alone or when I have people all around me. My paradise is knowing You love me extravagantly, richly, and completely. I can get lost in You, in Your beauty for a few moments and that short amount of time is all it takes for You to pour Your strength and love into me and refresh my soul, restore my joy.
I love You so much, my Lord God. There is no place I would rather be than in Your presence. This 1st day of September, 2011, I have found my paradise, I have found my paradise in You, my Lord God. In Your love, in Your grace, in Your beautiful presence.
Some days it seems like if the enemy can carve holes in it he will, just to let you know he has not forgotten where you are, who you think you are, or the fact that he can't get to you, not really, but he has to give it a good try, just to let you know he will. I truly feel like it is not his will that gets him involved in your day, but the will of the Lord, releasing enough of him just to let him know that you are indeed His child and that He will not let anything he does come between you and your God. So it was today, and once again, he tried and tried but he could not get me to break trust with my Lord.
As the period of time got more intense, more frustrating, I just sat down in my chair, took a deep breath, closed my eyes and listened. As I sat there, I could hear my I-Pod playing in the back of the office, and the music began to filter up to me, softly, "Holy, holy, holy are You, Lord"; and as I listened with my eyes closed, I could hear my Lord speak into my spirit, "Lean on me, rest in me". I just sat there, my spirit going into that realm where the Lord abides, that peaceful, sweet place where your spirit meets with that of the Lord's spirit. As I felt myself being drawn into His presence I felt the weight of the oppression of the enemy begin to lift off me; the frustration I was feeling turn into joy and when I reopened my eyes, things looked different to me. No longer did things appear dark but the Light was glowing around me. I want to stop here and tell you that there were five people in the room with me and I was the only one that knew the atmosphere had changed at that moment. They had to wait until I spoke to know things were different. I spoke, assuring the customer that things were going to be okay, thanked them for their patience and knew just what to do. Took care of the customer and when he left continued with my work.
Not to make you think that the enemy fled for long for he had a few other tricks up his sleeve, but now it did not faze me. Everything he tried was rebuked and did not shake me. I just patiently redid and redid everything he messed up. Fax machine did not want to work properly, had to refax 15 pages 6 times. Computer did not want to accept an account number, with the Lord's help, that was resolved also. And so many sweet things brightened up the end of the day. The boss called needed my temporary assistant to work at another center tomorrow even thought I have a lot of customers coming, I said not a problem, this is doable. And then the Lord showed me rewards in being obedient, serving others and being graceful in the face of what could be hard to do tomorrow. I know that no matter what happens tomorrow, He will be right there with me, and as long as my Lord is there, anything is doable.
Paradise can be found in a crowded room as well as on a deserted island. Just close your eyes, lean into the Lord and listen for that quiet, still voice, that tells you He loves you, to trust Him, all will be well, nothing is impossible if your trust in in Him. Paradise is the knowledge of knowing that God is not far from you no matter where you are. Paradise is the sweetness of His presence in a room full of people and only you know that you are no longer with them but in that secret place of beauty with the Lord.
My paradise, my Lord, is wherever You take me to be with You, any time day or night, alone or when I have people all around me. My paradise is knowing You love me extravagantly, richly, and completely. I can get lost in You, in Your beauty for a few moments and that short amount of time is all it takes for You to pour Your strength and love into me and refresh my soul, restore my joy.
I love You so much, my Lord God. There is no place I would rather be than in Your presence. This 1st day of September, 2011, I have found my paradise, I have found my paradise in You, my Lord God. In Your love, in Your grace, in Your beautiful presence.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
COME YE OUT
John 12:26 "Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me."
Can you remember what you were doing, who your friends were, the places you went when the Lord called you, put His touch on you and told you to come to Him? I remember, and it is not a place I care to return to. I can remember all the friends I had at the time, when they were told that I no longer cared to go to the places I had been frequenting or do the same things, most of them just seemed to disappear. Only a couple remained friends but as we no longer had anything in common, did not come around much. I can remember it was lonely for a while as the Lord dealt with me one on one. But then He began to lead me to services at different churches until He found the place He wanted me to fit.
The Lord has a place for each of us in His church. And I am not speaking of the building, I am speaking of the group of people that make up the church. Father, I can see this is not going where I thought. Once again, I yield to Your will, Lord, as You know better than I what is needed. I had thought this was about being with people of your old man, and needing to come out of that group into one of the Lord's leading, His children, but that is not what the Father wants me to talk about. Perhaps some other time.
As the Lord had me saying, He has a place for each of us in His body, in the church of His children. Sometimes we will visit a church and thiink that is just the place, everyone is so nice and friendly, the programs are just what you enjoy, and you join that church only to not feel quite right there. It will seem like before, you will love going, but there will be something missing. I know that feeling. I went to a church for years only to find that no matter how much I loved the pastor, loved the people of the church, was so loved in return, there was something missing, a lack in myself when I would leave service, not quite knowing what, just knowing something was missing.
Everyone knows the Lord moved me two hundred and fifty miles away. Away from family, away from friends, away from my office where all my peers and all my customers cared so much about me. Moved me to a place where I only had a couple of friends. Now these are very close friends, thank You Lord, for this, friends that love me deeply, like sisters, so I am not alone. But new office where no one knows me, fish in a new pond, customers having to learn about me as I learn about them. And church, well my Lord brings me to a church where I basically know no one, although He had me meet a few people before hand. But basically, He took me to a church, sat me on the second row and told me on two different occasions that I was home. And now, I am home there. Don't know many people, seems strange not to know the ins and outs of the church like I was use to, but this is God's will for me. But you know what, I leave after service, and there is nothing missing. Nothing lacks in my soul when I drive home from services. I drive 30 miles to church one way and on the way home, the smile, the contentment and joy never leave my face. I go meet my friends for lunch and they don't need to ask how services were, they can see it on my face.
The spirit of the Lord that flowed in the services is still glowing all over me. The deep touch that was realized during services still is radiating my soul, causing my spirit to rejoice, over and over again. It should never be about the people at a church, it should never be about the acceptance of the people, the programs, the location; it should always be about God. It should always be about the manner in which the Lord is welcomed into the services, sought after and the importance put on His presence. If you find a church, like I have, where the presence, the embodying presence of the Holy Spirit being given the freedom to turn the service into whatever He wants, being glorified and worshiped by everyone; and if you leave that service with a deep satisfaction knowing that you were joined together with the Lord in that service, then there won't any question of what and where.
The Lord did not move me right away after He told me I was to be at this church. He sent me back to my home church and had me share the worship teachings He had given me. It was not easy and I can not say it was altogether successful, but with the Lord's leading, I did this for nine months, thinking it would be a few more months that I would be there, a year perhaps, but then the Lord spoke to me. "Come ye out of there, it is time." And He moved me.
Where the Lord is, is where I want to be. I cannot be where He is not welcome to flow as long as He wants, or to change things about if it pleases Him. I can only be where the welcoming of the Holy Spirit is the most important objective in the service. Where calling down the Spirit of the Lord is the desire of the people there, from the pastor to the worship team to the congregation. It is truly the only thing that matters, the Presence of God, our precious Lord. If the Presence of God is there, you don't need a lot of words, the Lord can move, He will heal, He will satisfy all with just His Presence.
This 31st day of August, 2011, my Lord, You have blessed me greatly. You have blessed me with Your Presence, Your drawing me unto You. I have followed You, I have yielded unto You alone and I delight in each day with You. I love and adore You, my Lord, and I know You love me, I know I am Your beloved child.
Can you remember what you were doing, who your friends were, the places you went when the Lord called you, put His touch on you and told you to come to Him? I remember, and it is not a place I care to return to. I can remember all the friends I had at the time, when they were told that I no longer cared to go to the places I had been frequenting or do the same things, most of them just seemed to disappear. Only a couple remained friends but as we no longer had anything in common, did not come around much. I can remember it was lonely for a while as the Lord dealt with me one on one. But then He began to lead me to services at different churches until He found the place He wanted me to fit.
The Lord has a place for each of us in His church. And I am not speaking of the building, I am speaking of the group of people that make up the church. Father, I can see this is not going where I thought. Once again, I yield to Your will, Lord, as You know better than I what is needed. I had thought this was about being with people of your old man, and needing to come out of that group into one of the Lord's leading, His children, but that is not what the Father wants me to talk about. Perhaps some other time.
As the Lord had me saying, He has a place for each of us in His body, in the church of His children. Sometimes we will visit a church and thiink that is just the place, everyone is so nice and friendly, the programs are just what you enjoy, and you join that church only to not feel quite right there. It will seem like before, you will love going, but there will be something missing. I know that feeling. I went to a church for years only to find that no matter how much I loved the pastor, loved the people of the church, was so loved in return, there was something missing, a lack in myself when I would leave service, not quite knowing what, just knowing something was missing.
Everyone knows the Lord moved me two hundred and fifty miles away. Away from family, away from friends, away from my office where all my peers and all my customers cared so much about me. Moved me to a place where I only had a couple of friends. Now these are very close friends, thank You Lord, for this, friends that love me deeply, like sisters, so I am not alone. But new office where no one knows me, fish in a new pond, customers having to learn about me as I learn about them. And church, well my Lord brings me to a church where I basically know no one, although He had me meet a few people before hand. But basically, He took me to a church, sat me on the second row and told me on two different occasions that I was home. And now, I am home there. Don't know many people, seems strange not to know the ins and outs of the church like I was use to, but this is God's will for me. But you know what, I leave after service, and there is nothing missing. Nothing lacks in my soul when I drive home from services. I drive 30 miles to church one way and on the way home, the smile, the contentment and joy never leave my face. I go meet my friends for lunch and they don't need to ask how services were, they can see it on my face.
The spirit of the Lord that flowed in the services is still glowing all over me. The deep touch that was realized during services still is radiating my soul, causing my spirit to rejoice, over and over again. It should never be about the people at a church, it should never be about the acceptance of the people, the programs, the location; it should always be about God. It should always be about the manner in which the Lord is welcomed into the services, sought after and the importance put on His presence. If you find a church, like I have, where the presence, the embodying presence of the Holy Spirit being given the freedom to turn the service into whatever He wants, being glorified and worshiped by everyone; and if you leave that service with a deep satisfaction knowing that you were joined together with the Lord in that service, then there won't any question of what and where.
The Lord did not move me right away after He told me I was to be at this church. He sent me back to my home church and had me share the worship teachings He had given me. It was not easy and I can not say it was altogether successful, but with the Lord's leading, I did this for nine months, thinking it would be a few more months that I would be there, a year perhaps, but then the Lord spoke to me. "Come ye out of there, it is time." And He moved me.
Where the Lord is, is where I want to be. I cannot be where He is not welcome to flow as long as He wants, or to change things about if it pleases Him. I can only be where the welcoming of the Holy Spirit is the most important objective in the service. Where calling down the Spirit of the Lord is the desire of the people there, from the pastor to the worship team to the congregation. It is truly the only thing that matters, the Presence of God, our precious Lord. If the Presence of God is there, you don't need a lot of words, the Lord can move, He will heal, He will satisfy all with just His Presence.
This 31st day of August, 2011, my Lord, You have blessed me greatly. You have blessed me with Your Presence, Your drawing me unto You. I have followed You, I have yielded unto You alone and I delight in each day with You. I love and adore You, my Lord, and I know You love me, I know I am Your beloved child.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
MY SPRING TIME HAS COME
Ecclesiastes 3:1 "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven;"
Winter is past....the cold...the drab gloom of my life, the distance of self, it all has been lifted away. The weight of the past, the sadness, the emptiness has disappeared. Just taken away, like it was never there, but I know it was as there are still faint scars of where the pain imbedded itself into me. But my Lord is so good, His promises are true, and He has never forsaken me. Winter had to have its season, so I could rejoice in the days that were coming.
Spring time is here. The new life, the refreshing, the restoration has begun my new season that the Lord has been preparing for me. That time is now, and the Lord has begun to open the windows of my heart, pull back the shutters of my soul and let the sunshine in. The radiance of His own Son is shining in my soul, penetrating my heart and causing my spirit to cry out in jubilation to my God, cry songs of praise and extreme worship, beautiful heartfelt new songs of worship to glorify His Name alone.
The new fresh growth of life within me has begun. The birth of a new season of my life is transforming what was, into what His Will is to be in me. New songs springing forth from my lips in honor and praise to my Lord, new understanding coming to me as I read His Holy Word, as my God reveals more and more of Himself, as I spend time in His presence, He is showing me more of His Glory, more of His desire, more of His love for me. Nothing seems to be able to disturb that time now, so precious is that time when I am in the presence of my Lord. He has taught me how to shut out the world and just step back into Him, into His presence whenever He calls me. As I have yielded all to Him, you see, He is the only One that matters to me, everything here on earth is nothing compared to my King, my Lord and God. Nothing compares to Him. So, I am ready whenever He calls, I am waiting for His voice to call me, to spend time with Him, I am waiting and go right away. I do not want to ever keep my Lord waiting. My precious Lord has spent enough time waiting on me; I am determined to get it right this time. I will be ready anytime He calls.
My spring time has come. It has been a long time, it seems, in coming, but I can see the Lord's plan for the long spell of winter. He was busy during that cold season, showing me how I could trust His Word, sowing fresh seed into me, planting me into His plans, healing the wounds of the past so there would be nothing festering in me, no bitterness, no envy, no strife. Just love, peace and joy, the beautiful seeds He was cultivating in me. And He, my beautiful Lord, was teaching me the value of what I had in Him, teaching me that all the earthly things I thought were so important were just stuff, and yes, it is all stuff. Of no real value to a lover of the Lord. And now, He has found me ready to come out of that time and approach the new season with such joy and peace. I have found great strength that the Lord has given me, great courage to face all my tomorrows as I know He is with me, and He is going no where from me.
This 30th day of August, 2011, almost the beginning of earthly fall season, but spiritually, for me, it is spring. New growth in my God, new beginnings for me through the plans that the Lord has made for me, new mercies to help me through each day, and love, love of my Lord, and that presence, His very presence with me that is worth more than all the silver and gold in the world; nothing can take the place of the presence of my Lord. I love You, my God.
Winter is past....the cold...the drab gloom of my life, the distance of self, it all has been lifted away. The weight of the past, the sadness, the emptiness has disappeared. Just taken away, like it was never there, but I know it was as there are still faint scars of where the pain imbedded itself into me. But my Lord is so good, His promises are true, and He has never forsaken me. Winter had to have its season, so I could rejoice in the days that were coming.
Spring time is here. The new life, the refreshing, the restoration has begun my new season that the Lord has been preparing for me. That time is now, and the Lord has begun to open the windows of my heart, pull back the shutters of my soul and let the sunshine in. The radiance of His own Son is shining in my soul, penetrating my heart and causing my spirit to cry out in jubilation to my God, cry songs of praise and extreme worship, beautiful heartfelt new songs of worship to glorify His Name alone.
The new fresh growth of life within me has begun. The birth of a new season of my life is transforming what was, into what His Will is to be in me. New songs springing forth from my lips in honor and praise to my Lord, new understanding coming to me as I read His Holy Word, as my God reveals more and more of Himself, as I spend time in His presence, He is showing me more of His Glory, more of His desire, more of His love for me. Nothing seems to be able to disturb that time now, so precious is that time when I am in the presence of my Lord. He has taught me how to shut out the world and just step back into Him, into His presence whenever He calls me. As I have yielded all to Him, you see, He is the only One that matters to me, everything here on earth is nothing compared to my King, my Lord and God. Nothing compares to Him. So, I am ready whenever He calls, I am waiting for His voice to call me, to spend time with Him, I am waiting and go right away. I do not want to ever keep my Lord waiting. My precious Lord has spent enough time waiting on me; I am determined to get it right this time. I will be ready anytime He calls.
My spring time has come. It has been a long time, it seems, in coming, but I can see the Lord's plan for the long spell of winter. He was busy during that cold season, showing me how I could trust His Word, sowing fresh seed into me, planting me into His plans, healing the wounds of the past so there would be nothing festering in me, no bitterness, no envy, no strife. Just love, peace and joy, the beautiful seeds He was cultivating in me. And He, my beautiful Lord, was teaching me the value of what I had in Him, teaching me that all the earthly things I thought were so important were just stuff, and yes, it is all stuff. Of no real value to a lover of the Lord. And now, He has found me ready to come out of that time and approach the new season with such joy and peace. I have found great strength that the Lord has given me, great courage to face all my tomorrows as I know He is with me, and He is going no where from me.
This 30th day of August, 2011, almost the beginning of earthly fall season, but spiritually, for me, it is spring. New growth in my God, new beginnings for me through the plans that the Lord has made for me, new mercies to help me through each day, and love, love of my Lord, and that presence, His very presence with me that is worth more than all the silver and gold in the world; nothing can take the place of the presence of my Lord. I love You, my God.
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