Psalm 51:11 "Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me."
I am reading a new book on my Kindle about Jesus. There are a lot of books about Jesus out there, and some I can just not seem to get into, but then there are the books that are written by folks that have a heart of worship, a heart so like mine.....well, these are the books that I can just fall into, almost as though I am writing the book myself. I see myself in every other line.....so it was this morning early, as I took a few moments to spend time learning more about my Savior. I say all this, and yet, it was not Jesus to whom my attention was drawn but to my God instead. As I was reading in the book, about the walk Jesus had on earth, about His life, and then about His death.....I was drawn into another realm where I seemed to sit in the presence of God as He told me what He had gone through while Jesus was on earth.
My Father told me His most agonizing moments when Jesus was being beaten, spit upon, cursed.....all those horrific things that my precious Savior suffered BEFORE He was hung on the cross.....this paled in comparison to the moment.....that heartbreaking moment as Jesus took on the sins of the world, those minutes as He hung there, sin draped over Him like a second skin.....and He was alone....totally alone..... nothing compared to those moments, because He could not look upon sin, because sin caused a breach between His Beloved Son and Himself, and God turned away.....those moments were heartbreaking to our God. But it was necessary, for the final sacrifice to be made, so death could be defeated, sickness and pain could be conquered.....and so sin would no longer be an unbreachible bridge between our God and ourselves. Jesus paid the price to restore man's relationship with God. But our God paid a price too..... Can you imagine giving up part of yourself, and that is what a child is....part of you....but giving this child, perfect in all aspects, no sin......no defilement.....completely without sin.....for a world of Christians that just decided that living in sin was easier, decidedly safer......no rules......no commitment.....no responsibility..... and you were going to give your child to die for these people......I am not sure I know a human that would, much less could, do this. But God did, and He suffered such agony when He was forced to turn from His precious Son.
Every blow was felt by God, every accusation cut deep as His Son, the Innocent One was making the way, doing what He was sent to do. It was necessary, sad to say, but necessary for the Christian to know what victory over sin is, what victory over death, over sickness, over heartache, over disappointment.....to know victory today, it took the suffering of our Lord Jesus then.....and our Father....our God.
As we are walking the path the Lord has set before us....the way that God, our Father, has made for us, His plan for our lives.....every hurt, every accusation, every disappointment and heartbreak.....they are felt by the Father's heart. He grieves when we cry....I believe He knows every tear I have shed in my life time....just think on this.....if the Lord knows every hair on your head by number, how many there are, how many there use to be, what has been lost.....then don't you think He would know, so very well, how many tears you have shed.....don't you think He would know every time that you wanted to just quit....give up.....but your love for Him, your passion for His presence, for His touch on your life......made you get back up and keep going, refusing to quit because the One who called you had never quit on you.
We will suffer agony in this life......our Lord Jesus suffered great agony......and our God, perhaps the greatest agony of all. Victory requires sacrifice.....sacrifice of our thoughts for His, sacrifice of our plans for His....and the ultimate giving up of our will, for His will for us. It truly is the agony of victory....but in victory agony turns sweet.....turns precious.......turns into eternal life.
Pats Pennings
11-12-13
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Sunday, August 4, 2013
DANCE LIKE DAVID
2 Samuel 6:14 "Then
David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen
ephod”; v16: “Now as the ark of the Lord
came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window
and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him
in her heart”.
I always go to church expecting, I always expect the Lord to
show up, and to give me something, a new word.
Sometimes a word from the Lord is personal, but I find most times, it is
a word He means to be shared with others, to give them the same clarity, the
same new wisdom that He gives you.
Understand me please, I do not take credit at any time for any of this….I
only know that if I am prepared, if I am expectant, if I do my part, the Lord ALWAYS does
His. So before I went into church, I
made sure I tore some pages from my little notebook, tucked them inside my
Bible and had my pen within easy reach.
As we were praising the Lord, the song began “When the
Spirit of the Lord comes upon my heart, I will dance like David danced”. As we sang, the Lord began to speak to
me. David was stripped down to just his
linen ephod, it was a short garment that was worn over their clothing, but it
gave freedom for dancing; nothing fine or kingly about the one he wore. The Lord showed me that as David wore this
unrefined garment, he was setting aside all there was about himself, about his
worldly status, and worshiping the Lord in sheer abandonment, and that this is
the same attitude that the Lord wants us to come before him to worship
Him. Yes, you say, well we have no royal
attire so we are already stripped down to commonness. That is not what the Lord was telling
me. He wants us to abandon ourselves,
abandon those self-righteous attitudes, fear NOT what others think about us as
we give ourselves into complete glorification of our God, into total surrender
of self unto Him. Just let go of all our
inhibitions and religious chains of propriety, of the “proper” behavior in
church we have been taught since childhood, but to just relax and rejoice in
His presence and dance, dance, dance like David did.
Just as Michal did……rise herself up in religious attitude,
in her “position”, her “status” in life….
There are some folks in churches that have this “status” and think they have to
be on guard of how they behave at all times.
Behavior that is expected of a Christian is not the same thing as
behavior of a child of God dancing before Him, praising, worshiping Him with
all their heart. No one should ever feel
they are above the call of sheer abandonment to worship God. What a disappointment they will feel, and
truth be told, I have a feeling there was a part of Michal that wanted to be
that free….although nothing was ever said like this….and I am sure at that time
if you had asked her, she would deny it….if you met her today….it might be a
total different story. The reason I can
say this openly is that I know that feeling.
There was a day when I thought I could not abandon myself to worship,
what would people think, how would it look.
Yes, foolish I was….but no longer.
However, the people that will seem to despise you for this behavior are
mostly the people that wish, they too, could be free to worship in complete and
total abandonment to the Lord.
We are meant to be free in the Lord…..we are meant to be
free from fear of what other’s think of our worshiping the Lord with all our
hearts….we are to be free to show the love we have for our Lord and to be a
testimony of that love, that freedom of worship….an example for others to see,
to desire, and to join in.
When the Spirit of the Lord comes upon my heart, and He does
very often, I will dance like David dances, I will shout like David shouts and
I will worship like David worships. I
use the word in the present tense, because…..if this is how David, or I, or you
worship on earth, it will only intensify when we get to Heaven. I know David is leading throngs of people,
dressed in righteousness, in complete abandonment, worshiping our Lord, giving
Him all the honor, all the glory, for He alone is worthy of all our worship,
all the time….true worship in complete giving of ourselves, complete and
unashamed abandonment…….it is all about HIM!
Patspennings 8-04-13
Sunday, July 28, 2013
THE OBSESSION WITH HORROR
Galatians 5:17 "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish."
You cannot look around you.....at what is on television, what is at the movies, on the news...it seems like everything now is beginning to have a common theme.....horror. I can remember as a child, movies that were considered horror movies were designed to frighten, scare you....but momentarily, the horror faded as soon as you walked out of the movie as you knew it was not real, not conceivable. But not today....for a long time now, I have noticed the building up of movies, shows that played off what was happening in the world....and if it was not happening, then after watching some of these movies, shows, it was enacted in fact. And people literally ate it up.....people are fascinated by evil, wrong doing, horror.
Yes, I can feel some of you will disagree with me, but think about this. What is it about things that are so horrible, devastating to people, hurtful.....sinful....that draws people to watch, again and again? If folks did not watch these things, trust me, eventually movie makers, television producers would begin to see, and to do more of what was desired. They only produce what sells.....and it sells, because?
What we see, what we watch, these things are what begin to abide inside of us. As I have never enjoyed horror movies.....why would I intentionally want to cause myself to be frightened, fearful? But these things begin to take root inside. I can remember when video games were about frogs, silly men in hats wanting to climb to higher levels....but then they became about shooting robots....and then the robots took on the form of humans. And kids, and adults all over the world began to shoot humans on video games, the horror of it. Just could not get enough of it. The more you killed, the better you were. And they wonder why kids, grownups can just shoot people in mass and be unaffected by it. Total obsession with horror till it no longer bothers you....it just feeds that lustful spirit.
Do you want to be obsessed with a horror that I feel was the most horrible scene ever known? Place yourself on that middle cross, the one Jesus hung on.....feel the horror of the sin of every person, past life, present life and the sin of those lives to come....our sin...as they were flung, as they whipped the body, the heart, the Spirit of our Lord Jesus.....and if that horror is not enough, feel past the physical pain and feel the horror of your Beloved Father turning away as you were too "horrible, sinful" to see, to know. Then descend into the true horror of the world, of the universe...and YES IT IS REAL... descend into HELL. Here is true horror, the horror I cannot think of any Christian wanting to experience....descend into hell and see what our Lord saw there.....He saw those there that had not chosen Him, that had turned from the Lord, from our God, and now would live eternally in a horror that never ends. Feed your obsession here.
These types of movies, shows of horror, they satisfy a lustful spirit. I cannot tell you what to do if these are things you enjoy watching....I can only ask that you look at them as our Lord would have you look at them....with His heart, through His eyes, in His Spirit..... One day there will be a line drawn in the sand...... why wait till that day.... Choose your obsession...will it be of our Lord, His Spirit, or will it be of the lust of the world.
Thank You, Lord, for being my All.
Patspennings
07-28-13
You cannot look around you.....at what is on television, what is at the movies, on the news...it seems like everything now is beginning to have a common theme.....horror. I can remember as a child, movies that were considered horror movies were designed to frighten, scare you....but momentarily, the horror faded as soon as you walked out of the movie as you knew it was not real, not conceivable. But not today....for a long time now, I have noticed the building up of movies, shows that played off what was happening in the world....and if it was not happening, then after watching some of these movies, shows, it was enacted in fact. And people literally ate it up.....people are fascinated by evil, wrong doing, horror.
Yes, I can feel some of you will disagree with me, but think about this. What is it about things that are so horrible, devastating to people, hurtful.....sinful....that draws people to watch, again and again? If folks did not watch these things, trust me, eventually movie makers, television producers would begin to see, and to do more of what was desired. They only produce what sells.....and it sells, because?
What we see, what we watch, these things are what begin to abide inside of us. As I have never enjoyed horror movies.....why would I intentionally want to cause myself to be frightened, fearful? But these things begin to take root inside. I can remember when video games were about frogs, silly men in hats wanting to climb to higher levels....but then they became about shooting robots....and then the robots took on the form of humans. And kids, and adults all over the world began to shoot humans on video games, the horror of it. Just could not get enough of it. The more you killed, the better you were. And they wonder why kids, grownups can just shoot people in mass and be unaffected by it. Total obsession with horror till it no longer bothers you....it just feeds that lustful spirit.
Do you want to be obsessed with a horror that I feel was the most horrible scene ever known? Place yourself on that middle cross, the one Jesus hung on.....feel the horror of the sin of every person, past life, present life and the sin of those lives to come....our sin...as they were flung, as they whipped the body, the heart, the Spirit of our Lord Jesus.....and if that horror is not enough, feel past the physical pain and feel the horror of your Beloved Father turning away as you were too "horrible, sinful" to see, to know. Then descend into the true horror of the world, of the universe...and YES IT IS REAL... descend into HELL. Here is true horror, the horror I cannot think of any Christian wanting to experience....descend into hell and see what our Lord saw there.....He saw those there that had not chosen Him, that had turned from the Lord, from our God, and now would live eternally in a horror that never ends. Feed your obsession here.
These types of movies, shows of horror, they satisfy a lustful spirit. I cannot tell you what to do if these are things you enjoy watching....I can only ask that you look at them as our Lord would have you look at them....with His heart, through His eyes, in His Spirit..... One day there will be a line drawn in the sand...... why wait till that day.... Choose your obsession...will it be of our Lord, His Spirit, or will it be of the lust of the world.
Thank You, Lord, for being my All.
Patspennings
07-28-13
Sunday, July 14, 2013
SIGHT AND SOUND
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
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)