Heb. 12:1-3
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls
What are we to do?
Verse 2, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, we will keep our eyes on Jesus and we will be confident in our Savior and know without a doubt that He is and will be faithful to us. Look at Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
Continuing with verse 2… who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Not long ago I was having my quiet time and meditating on these verses and God whispered over me that I was His joy. You and I are the Joy that was set before Jesus. In essence Jesus is saying, “You are worth what I endured on the cross, you are worth the shame I endured.” Girls, that thought should set our hearts on fire for Jesus, to realize how much we are wanted and loved by our Lord. Don’t believe me? Look at Eph. 1:3-6 from the Message translation; “How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.
Let’s continue with verse 2… and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God and according to Hebrews 7:25 He is praying for us. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Know that right now no matter what you are going through, be it pain, joy, anticipation, expectancy, heartbreak, unsureness, no matter what, Jesus sees, He knows, and He is interceding for you.
Imagine Jesus turning to the Father and saying, “My joy is hurting today. My joy needs direction today…”
Never forget that you are the joy that was set before Jesus, when He went to the cross your face and your name were there in His thoughts because He loves you dearly.
No matter how you get tripped up with the weight or sin that comes up to make you fail – look to Jesus – He’s praying for you, He is rooting for you because He wants you to succeed.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The Beginning for us!!!!
Heb. 12:1-3
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls
Verse 1:
Remember when you see the word “therefore” ask yourself, “what is that ‘therefore’ there for?” It prompts you to go back and review what was said before (Hebrews 10:15-11:40).
Take these verses to heart and let yourself be immersed by them, surrounded, so that at every turn you say and will realize by experience: that I am constantly and presently in the presence of the living God and that I will walk by faith just as Moses did, trusting God, believing He knows what is best and will supply. I will keep right on going because God IS right here with me. And it was because he trusted God that he left the land of Egypt and wasn’t afraid of the king’s anger. Moses kept right on going it seems as tho’ he could see God right there with him. Heb. 11:27 the Living Bible.
Continuing with Heb. 12:1 since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. This refers to those in chapter 11, each one of these people give witness to the value and blessing of living by faith. These who are considered the “great cloud of witnesses” should encourage us to live the same life of faith.
…let us lay aside every weight… Let’s have fun girls! What is the every weight that you need to lay aside? Think about it and pray about it. Ask God to lead you to resources that will help you accomplish His goals for you. Just for example: what if God says change your way of doing things, like; no more pop tarts in the car on your way to work instead you’ll have a glass of juice, an apple and yogurt. (This is just a suggestion for the too busy to sit down to eat breakfast) Maybe we need to be planning our meals, snacks, and exercising so that we are prepared.
“It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret”
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
… And the sin which so easily ensnares us… We must pray about anything that hinders our relationship with the Lord. Why? Well for one, I want my prayers answered; I want to know that God hears me. Psalm 66:18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. (NIV) Stay in the Word and stay in prayer, God will make evident anything that needs to be confessed and repented of so that we live in freedom.
What if God calls you to healthy choices and healthy living and in the process you lose weight. I believe God always goes for the better for you – 1st and as we are obedient to get alone with Him and listen and obey the benefit very well may be the desire of your heart.
For example He leads you to start toning with weights 3 times a week for 12 minutes each time and walking or some type of aerobic exercise for 30 minutes 3 times a week. And He emphasizes a healthy diet; 5 fruits and vegetables etc., for me the Lord has told me to increase my fiber and watch saturated fats and cut out sugar – make that 90% of sugar:)
This is just an example. I am not going to tell you what to do, every one is different and what works for one may not work for the other. There is so much info out there, look up what interests you then share so that we can build one another up. Also think of things we could do together – we could meet one or two nights during the month and walk around the church, praying for the church, our pastor, the spread of the Gospel. It’s just a thought. Whatever you think of share it either in class or on this blog.
Pray about the weight that you need to lay aside and the sin that so easily ensnares you. Things should be popping into your head. Lay them aside; they are only slowing you down, tripping you up. Maybe it’s your thought life, unforgiveness, too much to do, too much worrying, lack of commitment, planning, motivation, I could on and on. Make a commitment to exercise and making right food choices.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls
Verse 1:
Remember when you see the word “therefore” ask yourself, “what is that ‘therefore’ there for?” It prompts you to go back and review what was said before (Hebrews 10:15-11:40).
Take these verses to heart and let yourself be immersed by them, surrounded, so that at every turn you say and will realize by experience: that I am constantly and presently in the presence of the living God and that I will walk by faith just as Moses did, trusting God, believing He knows what is best and will supply. I will keep right on going because God IS right here with me. And it was because he trusted God that he left the land of Egypt and wasn’t afraid of the king’s anger. Moses kept right on going it seems as tho’ he could see God right there with him. Heb. 11:27 the Living Bible.
Continuing with Heb. 12:1 since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. This refers to those in chapter 11, each one of these people give witness to the value and blessing of living by faith. These who are considered the “great cloud of witnesses” should encourage us to live the same life of faith.
…let us lay aside every weight… Let’s have fun girls! What is the every weight that you need to lay aside? Think about it and pray about it. Ask God to lead you to resources that will help you accomplish His goals for you. Just for example: what if God says change your way of doing things, like; no more pop tarts in the car on your way to work instead you’ll have a glass of juice, an apple and yogurt. (This is just a suggestion for the too busy to sit down to eat breakfast) Maybe we need to be planning our meals, snacks, and exercising so that we are prepared.
“It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret”
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
… And the sin which so easily ensnares us… We must pray about anything that hinders our relationship with the Lord. Why? Well for one, I want my prayers answered; I want to know that God hears me. Psalm 66:18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. (NIV) Stay in the Word and stay in prayer, God will make evident anything that needs to be confessed and repented of so that we live in freedom.
What if God calls you to healthy choices and healthy living and in the process you lose weight. I believe God always goes for the better for you – 1st and as we are obedient to get alone with Him and listen and obey the benefit very well may be the desire of your heart.
For example He leads you to start toning with weights 3 times a week for 12 minutes each time and walking or some type of aerobic exercise for 30 minutes 3 times a week. And He emphasizes a healthy diet; 5 fruits and vegetables etc., for me the Lord has told me to increase my fiber and watch saturated fats and cut out sugar – make that 90% of sugar:)
This is just an example. I am not going to tell you what to do, every one is different and what works for one may not work for the other. There is so much info out there, look up what interests you then share so that we can build one another up. Also think of things we could do together – we could meet one or two nights during the month and walk around the church, praying for the church, our pastor, the spread of the Gospel. It’s just a thought. Whatever you think of share it either in class or on this blog.
Pray about the weight that you need to lay aside and the sin that so easily ensnares you. Things should be popping into your head. Lay them aside; they are only slowing you down, tripping you up. Maybe it’s your thought life, unforgiveness, too much to do, too much worrying, lack of commitment, planning, motivation, I could on and on. Make a commitment to exercise and making right food choices.
The first of the beginning...
The following devotions are taken from the Sunday School lessons I am doing with my class. They are designed to help us think before we eat, we are calling them "weight devotions" but they are more than that...as always the goal is to grow closer to Jesus through the study of His word and in the process the physical will line up with the Spiritual.
These devotions and what goes along with it is not necessarily about losing weight but about being healthy first. What I pray for us is this: Lord, fill us with a love for You and Your word, thrill us with Your presence, Oh Holy God, to want you more than anything or anyone else.”
That said we will focus on God’s word first and foremost. Why?
You feed on the Word of God, seeking His presence, wanting His wisdom, and then you will know His voice and clearly know His direction.
Feed on magazines, TV, the internet, face book etc, and you’ll know the world’s way which in turn keeps you focused on you, your problems and not your source of life – Jesus!
Feed on the Word of God and you’ll be spiritually healthy – feed on healthy food and you’ll be physically healthy.
Feed on the world’s stuff and junk food you will not be healthy long.
These devotions and what goes along with it is not necessarily about losing weight but about being healthy first. What I pray for us is this: Lord, fill us with a love for You and Your word, thrill us with Your presence, Oh Holy God, to want you more than anything or anyone else.”
That said we will focus on God’s word first and foremost. Why?
You feed on the Word of God, seeking His presence, wanting His wisdom, and then you will know His voice and clearly know His direction.
Feed on magazines, TV, the internet, face book etc, and you’ll know the world’s way which in turn keeps you focused on you, your problems and not your source of life – Jesus!
Feed on the Word of God and you’ll be spiritually healthy – feed on healthy food and you’ll be physically healthy.
Feed on the world’s stuff and junk food you will not be healthy long.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Trials Will Come - Part 2
Let’s go a step further:
Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
God will not keep us, His children immune from adversity and trouble. Look at the whole of verse 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Yet He goes on to say in verse 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. He calls us “more than conquerors”; we are super-victors in the midst of our troubles. NOT because of our own ingenuity, or because of our courage but because not one of them effects our essential relationship with God in Jesus Christ.
Read verses 38-39 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So far:
WE WILL WAIT – and get God’s best
WE WILL STAY FOCUSED – and grow spiritually
WE WILL BE VICTORIOUS – because nothing can separate us from Jesus
How will we be victorious? Look at Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Being Christ’s disciple we must make our relationship with God the dominating focus of our life. Oswald Chambers said: be cautiously carefree about everything else in comparison with that.
How do we wait? How do we stay focused? How do we remain victorious? By making the greatest concern of our life Jesus Christ. We place our relationship with God first and everything else second. That is why the Word of God will be first with these devotions. And living a devoted life to and for God means that His Word is first. Nothing can be done in our own power (well, it can but is it best?) our own self-reliance must be put to death by the power of God. We have to get over things like, “well this is the way I’ve always done it”; or what’s wrong with it type thinking. Look at Phil. 1:10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ. When engaging in any activity ask yourself, “what is excellent about it?” rather than, “what’s wrong with it?”
The moment we recognize our own complete weakness and our total dependence on Him that will be the very moment that the Spirit of God exhibits His power.
WE WILL
WAIT
FOCUS
WIN
VIA SEEING AND TOTAL DEPENDENCE
Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
God will not keep us, His children immune from adversity and trouble. Look at the whole of verse 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Yet He goes on to say in verse 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. He calls us “more than conquerors”; we are super-victors in the midst of our troubles. NOT because of our own ingenuity, or because of our courage but because not one of them effects our essential relationship with God in Jesus Christ.
Read verses 38-39 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So far:
WE WILL WAIT – and get God’s best
WE WILL STAY FOCUSED – and grow spiritually
WE WILL BE VICTORIOUS – because nothing can separate us from Jesus
How will we be victorious? Look at Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Being Christ’s disciple we must make our relationship with God the dominating focus of our life. Oswald Chambers said: be cautiously carefree about everything else in comparison with that.
How do we wait? How do we stay focused? How do we remain victorious? By making the greatest concern of our life Jesus Christ. We place our relationship with God first and everything else second. That is why the Word of God will be first with these devotions. And living a devoted life to and for God means that His Word is first. Nothing can be done in our own power (well, it can but is it best?) our own self-reliance must be put to death by the power of God. We have to get over things like, “well this is the way I’ve always done it”; or what’s wrong with it type thinking. Look at Phil. 1:10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ. When engaging in any activity ask yourself, “what is excellent about it?” rather than, “what’s wrong with it?”
The moment we recognize our own complete weakness and our total dependence on Him that will be the very moment that the Spirit of God exhibits His power.
WE WILL
WAIT
FOCUS
WIN
VIA SEEING AND TOTAL DEPENDENCE
Monday, July 26, 2010
Trials Will Come - Part 1
Trials will come but how we respond to them – that is paramount.
Are we going to trust God even though it looks as if He is unconcerned? Or are we going to move ahead with what we think is best even though we have little peace. We can muster up some peace so that we can justify our decision to go ahead of God.
Matt 6:26-28
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin
Look at the birds of the air…
Consider the lilies of the field…
God knows your circumstances. I know what you are thinking; really? Really? He knows? Yes, He does. You are verse 26 of more value than they. Here is our problem; we “see” nothing. It feels like God is doing nothing. Either way, we must stay focused on Him and not our circumstances. How aware are you of the Lord’s presence? Are you worrying less because you are thinking more about His sovereignty? Are your fears receding as you consciously believe in His protection and all-sufficiency?
Here’s the thing – you will grow spiritually, just as the lily of the fields grow. We can look at different scenarios of the lily from our point of view: we pick up our green leaves, we pull and pull till the roots come up from the ground and we go on our own. What happens as a result? We will turn brown and wither; we must stay grounded in the Word and presence of God so that we are clothed with His splendor. Sometimes we feel like we are constantly being crushed by huge feet.
So what are we going to do?
WE WILL WAIT – and get God’s best
WE WILL STAY FOCUSED – and grow spiritually
Are we going to trust God even though it looks as if He is unconcerned? Or are we going to move ahead with what we think is best even though we have little peace. We can muster up some peace so that we can justify our decision to go ahead of God.
Matt 6:26-28
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin
Look at the birds of the air…
Consider the lilies of the field…
God knows your circumstances. I know what you are thinking; really? Really? He knows? Yes, He does. You are verse 26 of more value than they. Here is our problem; we “see” nothing. It feels like God is doing nothing. Either way, we must stay focused on Him and not our circumstances. How aware are you of the Lord’s presence? Are you worrying less because you are thinking more about His sovereignty? Are your fears receding as you consciously believe in His protection and all-sufficiency?
Here’s the thing – you will grow spiritually, just as the lily of the fields grow. We can look at different scenarios of the lily from our point of view: we pick up our green leaves, we pull and pull till the roots come up from the ground and we go on our own. What happens as a result? We will turn brown and wither; we must stay grounded in the Word and presence of God so that we are clothed with His splendor. Sometimes we feel like we are constantly being crushed by huge feet.
So what are we going to do?
WE WILL WAIT – and get God’s best
WE WILL STAY FOCUSED – and grow spiritually
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Take Goliath Down by Max Lucado
Goliaths still roam our world. Debt. Disaster. Dialysis. Danger. Deceit. Disease. Depression. Super-size challenges still swagger and strut, still pilfer sleep and embezzle peace and liposuction joy. But they can’t dominate you. You know how to deal with them. You face giants by facing God first.
Focus on giants—you stumble.
Focus on God—your giants tumble.
You know what David knew, and you do what David did. You pick up five stones, and you make five decisions. Ever wonder why David took five stones into battle? Why not two or twenty? Rereading his story reveals five answers. Use your five fingers to remind you of the five stones you need to face down your Goliath. Let your thumb remind you of …
1. THE STONE OF THE PASTGoliath jogged David’s memory. Elah was a déjà vu. While everyone else quivered, David remembered. God had given him strength to wrestle a lion and strong-arm a bear. Wouldn’t he do the same with the giant? A good memory makes heroes.
“Remember His marvelous works which He has done” (1 Chron. 16:12). Catalog God’s successes. Keep a list of his world records. Has he not walked you through high waters? Proven to be faithful? Have you not known his provision? How many nights have you gone to bed hungry? Mornings awakened in the cold? He has made roadkill out of your enemies. Write today’s worries in sand. Chisel yesterday’s victories in stone. Pick up the stone of the past. Then select …
2. THE STONE OF PRAYERNote the valley between your thumb and finger. To pass from one to the next you must go through it. Let it remind you of David’s descent. Before going high, David went low; before ascending to fight, David descended to prepare. Don’t face your giant without first doing the same. Dedicate time to prayer. Paul, the apostle, wrote, “Prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long” (Eph. 6:18 MSG).
Prayer spawned David’s successes. His Brook Besor wisdom grew out of the moment he “strengthened himself in the Lord his God” (1 Sam. 30:6). When Saul’s soldiers tried to capture him, David turned toward God: “You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble” (Ps. 59:16).
Invite God’s help. Pick up the stone of prayer. And don’t neglect …
3. THE STONE OF PRIORITYLet your tallest finger remind you of your highest priority: God’s reputation. David jealously guarded it. No one was going to defame his Lord. David fought so that “all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s” (1 Sam. 17:46–47).
David saw Goliath as a chance for God to show off! Did David know he would exit the battle alive? No. But he was willing to give his life for the reputation of God.
What if you saw your giant in the same manner? Rather than begrudge him, welcome him. Your cancer is God’s chance to flex his healing muscles. Your sin is God’s opportunity to showcase grace. Your struggling marriage can billboard God’s power. See your struggle as God’s canvas. On it he will paint his multicolored supremacy. Announce God’s name and then reach for …
4. THE STONE OF PASSION David ran, not away from, but toward his giant. On one side of the battlefield, Saul and his cowardly army gulped. On the other, Goliath and his skull-splitters scoffed. In the middle, the shepherd boy ran on his spindly legs. Who bet on David? Who put money on the kid from Bethlehem? Not the Philistines. Not the Hebrews. Not David’s siblings or David’s king. But God did.
And since God did, and since David knew God did, the skinny runt became a blur of pumping knees and a swirling sling. He ran toward his giant.
Do the same!
Let your ring finger remind you to take up the stone of passion.
One more stone, and finger, remains:
5. THE STONE OF PERSISTENCEDavid didn’t think one rock would do. He knew Goliath had four behemoth relatives. For all David knew, they’d come running over the hill to defend their kin. David was ready to empty the chamber if that’s what it took.
Imitate him. Never give up. One prayer might not be enough. One apology might not do it. One day or month of resolve might not suffice. You may get knocked down a time or two … but don’t quit. Keep loading the rocks. Keep swinging the sling.
David took five stones. He made five decisions. Do likewise. Past. Prayer. Priority. Passion. And persistence.
Next time Goliath wakes you up, reach for a stone. Odds are, he’ll be out of the room before you can load your sling.
From Facing Your GiantsCopyright (Thomas Nelson, 2005) Max Lucado
Focus on giants—you stumble.
Focus on God—your giants tumble.
You know what David knew, and you do what David did. You pick up five stones, and you make five decisions. Ever wonder why David took five stones into battle? Why not two or twenty? Rereading his story reveals five answers. Use your five fingers to remind you of the five stones you need to face down your Goliath. Let your thumb remind you of …
1. THE STONE OF THE PASTGoliath jogged David’s memory. Elah was a déjà vu. While everyone else quivered, David remembered. God had given him strength to wrestle a lion and strong-arm a bear. Wouldn’t he do the same with the giant? A good memory makes heroes.
“Remember His marvelous works which He has done” (1 Chron. 16:12). Catalog God’s successes. Keep a list of his world records. Has he not walked you through high waters? Proven to be faithful? Have you not known his provision? How many nights have you gone to bed hungry? Mornings awakened in the cold? He has made roadkill out of your enemies. Write today’s worries in sand. Chisel yesterday’s victories in stone. Pick up the stone of the past. Then select …
2. THE STONE OF PRAYERNote the valley between your thumb and finger. To pass from one to the next you must go through it. Let it remind you of David’s descent. Before going high, David went low; before ascending to fight, David descended to prepare. Don’t face your giant without first doing the same. Dedicate time to prayer. Paul, the apostle, wrote, “Prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long” (Eph. 6:18 MSG).
Prayer spawned David’s successes. His Brook Besor wisdom grew out of the moment he “strengthened himself in the Lord his God” (1 Sam. 30:6). When Saul’s soldiers tried to capture him, David turned toward God: “You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble” (Ps. 59:16).
Invite God’s help. Pick up the stone of prayer. And don’t neglect …
3. THE STONE OF PRIORITYLet your tallest finger remind you of your highest priority: God’s reputation. David jealously guarded it. No one was going to defame his Lord. David fought so that “all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s” (1 Sam. 17:46–47).
David saw Goliath as a chance for God to show off! Did David know he would exit the battle alive? No. But he was willing to give his life for the reputation of God.
What if you saw your giant in the same manner? Rather than begrudge him, welcome him. Your cancer is God’s chance to flex his healing muscles. Your sin is God’s opportunity to showcase grace. Your struggling marriage can billboard God’s power. See your struggle as God’s canvas. On it he will paint his multicolored supremacy. Announce God’s name and then reach for …
4. THE STONE OF PASSION David ran, not away from, but toward his giant. On one side of the battlefield, Saul and his cowardly army gulped. On the other, Goliath and his skull-splitters scoffed. In the middle, the shepherd boy ran on his spindly legs. Who bet on David? Who put money on the kid from Bethlehem? Not the Philistines. Not the Hebrews. Not David’s siblings or David’s king. But God did.
And since God did, and since David knew God did, the skinny runt became a blur of pumping knees and a swirling sling. He ran toward his giant.
Do the same!
Let your ring finger remind you to take up the stone of passion.
One more stone, and finger, remains:
5. THE STONE OF PERSISTENCEDavid didn’t think one rock would do. He knew Goliath had four behemoth relatives. For all David knew, they’d come running over the hill to defend their kin. David was ready to empty the chamber if that’s what it took.
Imitate him. Never give up. One prayer might not be enough. One apology might not do it. One day or month of resolve might not suffice. You may get knocked down a time or two … but don’t quit. Keep loading the rocks. Keep swinging the sling.
David took five stones. He made five decisions. Do likewise. Past. Prayer. Priority. Passion. And persistence.
Next time Goliath wakes you up, reach for a stone. Odds are, he’ll be out of the room before you can load your sling.
From Facing Your GiantsCopyright (Thomas Nelson, 2005) Max Lucado
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Vanilla Lies
You didn't think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he's such a nice God, he'd let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he's not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change. Romans 2:3-4 (the Message)
I challenge you to go back and read Romans 1 to get a view of chapter 2. The people in the church that Paul is writing to think that they are better off than the people Paul refers to in chapter one. But Paul makes it clear God sees all sin and no sin has a degree of worstness - sin is sin - period.
I was with a friend working out and she was telling me about a conversation she had with her mom and then she said, "I didn't want my mom to know the whole truth so I told her a vanilla lie." I said, "what is a vanilla lie?" She said a vanilla lie is the truth told in a different way. Like how I wanted to know, I mean I might need this information for future vanillas I might need to tell, I mean to tell someone the truth but a little different could work for my benefit. So I told my friend to explain it to me. She just looked at me (if I can presume to know what she was thinking it would be; really Jackie, you really need me to explain vanilla and lie to you) so I began to prompt her with questions:
So a vanilla lie is really the truth? She answered, "not really."
So it's a lie? She said "well, no."
If it is not the truth then it has to be a lie. My friend got mad at me because somewhere along the way she had started to believe that a little lie was ok as long as you justified it as vanilla. I guess vanilla means not murder, not getting drunk or doing drugs, not....
Sin is sin, Jesus' blood covers it all. If you are desiring to know God and wanting a closer walk with Him, and you feel like He is dealing with something that does not seem all that important to you, yet He keeps bringing it up, deal with it; He has a purpose and He will not let you live in sin or any lifestyle that will harm you. He sees the future, you do not, that is just another reason to trust Him. Let God lead you into a radical life-change.
My brother-in-law had a heart attack about a week ago and he's been told if it tastes good, spit it out. Hear God say to you, "Child, if it has the word vanilla attached to lie, it is not a sweet tasting lie, it's a lie, spit it out, don't' continue in sin, walk in purity."
God loves us too much to let us live lives that hinder us from walking in the freedom that He so richly purchased for us through the blood of His Son.
I challenge you to go back and read Romans 1 to get a view of chapter 2. The people in the church that Paul is writing to think that they are better off than the people Paul refers to in chapter one. But Paul makes it clear God sees all sin and no sin has a degree of worstness - sin is sin - period.
I was with a friend working out and she was telling me about a conversation she had with her mom and then she said, "I didn't want my mom to know the whole truth so I told her a vanilla lie." I said, "what is a vanilla lie?" She said a vanilla lie is the truth told in a different way. Like how I wanted to know, I mean I might need this information for future vanillas I might need to tell, I mean to tell someone the truth but a little different could work for my benefit. So I told my friend to explain it to me. She just looked at me (if I can presume to know what she was thinking it would be; really Jackie, you really need me to explain vanilla and lie to you) so I began to prompt her with questions:
So a vanilla lie is really the truth? She answered, "not really."
So it's a lie? She said "well, no."
If it is not the truth then it has to be a lie. My friend got mad at me because somewhere along the way she had started to believe that a little lie was ok as long as you justified it as vanilla. I guess vanilla means not murder, not getting drunk or doing drugs, not....
Sin is sin, Jesus' blood covers it all. If you are desiring to know God and wanting a closer walk with Him, and you feel like He is dealing with something that does not seem all that important to you, yet He keeps bringing it up, deal with it; He has a purpose and He will not let you live in sin or any lifestyle that will harm you. He sees the future, you do not, that is just another reason to trust Him. Let God lead you into a radical life-change.
My brother-in-law had a heart attack about a week ago and he's been told if it tastes good, spit it out. Hear God say to you, "Child, if it has the word vanilla attached to lie, it is not a sweet tasting lie, it's a lie, spit it out, don't' continue in sin, walk in purity."
God loves us too much to let us live lives that hinder us from walking in the freedom that He so richly purchased for us through the blood of His Son.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
New Name
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”’ Rev. 2:17
Years ago we were living in Alabama and I knew that God had told me that He would sell our business and move us back to South Carolina. I remember the day God confirmed the "yes, I will do this" and that just filled me with great anticipation. A year and a half goes by and nothing happens, and I began to really talk to the Lord about it and sometimes I would whine and complain.
One particular day I just couldn't sit down to have my quiet time early, there were just too many interruptions and things that had to be done; like taking customers home because we had their car, picking up parts for the business, doing what my husband wanted because he thinks he is the boss of me :) As I go about the day I am talking to the Lord about how I "see" Him doing nothing and even questioning Him about the thing He has promised to do. I would remind God that it was He who had planted the idea in my heart about the business selling and that He would have to do it or it wouldn't be done. I'm telling you on this day that was my main conversation with the Lord, so much so that I began to say after each part of the conversation, "Lord, I know I'm bugging You about this but I just really need to be reaffirmed in this." Over and over I'd state my case and then say, "I'm sorry for bugging You about this Father."
Finally about two o'clock I sat down in the recliner, with my Bible, my journal, and a listening heart and told the Lord I really wanted to hear from Him and I reminded Him that we only had about 30 minutes before I had to pick up Claudia from school. I opened my Bible and began to read Revelation 2 and when I got to verse 17 I stopped so intrigued. I began to talk to the Lord about my new name, "What is my new name going to be, I know I can't know now but could you just give me a hint?" I got quiet, listening, and then I heard the Holy Spirit say, "Pest." My eyes got huge and I said "what!" And I knew God was laughing, having fun with me, because of the way my day had gone and my constant talking to Him about the same thing - bugging Him.
God is so huge and you can trust Him with every aspect of your life. Be determined to know Him through consistent times alone with Him, in the Word, pouring out your heart to Him. You will begin to have a camaraderie with Him and live in anticipation of being with Him and that is the best part of your life.
Years ago we were living in Alabama and I knew that God had told me that He would sell our business and move us back to South Carolina. I remember the day God confirmed the "yes, I will do this" and that just filled me with great anticipation. A year and a half goes by and nothing happens, and I began to really talk to the Lord about it and sometimes I would whine and complain.
One particular day I just couldn't sit down to have my quiet time early, there were just too many interruptions and things that had to be done; like taking customers home because we had their car, picking up parts for the business, doing what my husband wanted because he thinks he is the boss of me :) As I go about the day I am talking to the Lord about how I "see" Him doing nothing and even questioning Him about the thing He has promised to do. I would remind God that it was He who had planted the idea in my heart about the business selling and that He would have to do it or it wouldn't be done. I'm telling you on this day that was my main conversation with the Lord, so much so that I began to say after each part of the conversation, "Lord, I know I'm bugging You about this but I just really need to be reaffirmed in this." Over and over I'd state my case and then say, "I'm sorry for bugging You about this Father."
Finally about two o'clock I sat down in the recliner, with my Bible, my journal, and a listening heart and told the Lord I really wanted to hear from Him and I reminded Him that we only had about 30 minutes before I had to pick up Claudia from school. I opened my Bible and began to read Revelation 2 and when I got to verse 17 I stopped so intrigued. I began to talk to the Lord about my new name, "What is my new name going to be, I know I can't know now but could you just give me a hint?" I got quiet, listening, and then I heard the Holy Spirit say, "Pest." My eyes got huge and I said "what!" And I knew God was laughing, having fun with me, because of the way my day had gone and my constant talking to Him about the same thing - bugging Him.
God is so huge and you can trust Him with every aspect of your life. Be determined to know Him through consistent times alone with Him, in the Word, pouring out your heart to Him. You will begin to have a camaraderie with Him and live in anticipation of being with Him and that is the best part of your life.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
God Over Me
Then the prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. Ezra 5:1
Do you desire for God to be over you? What would that look like? I think it would be a life of obedience, of desiring to walk in the Spirit, and not fulfilling the lust of the flesh. (Gal. 5:16)
Tell the Lord your desires, as I read Ezra 5:1 I began to tell the Lord my desire; this is what I wrote in my prayer journal Jan 8, "How I pray LORD that Your word would speak to me, through Your Holy Spirit, so that verse 1c is me - ...in the name of the God of Jackie, Who is over her. God, I do want you to be the God over me, directing me, building me up, holding me close, protecting me, using me to advance your Kingdom. YOU ARE THE GOD OVER ME!"
What does the "God over me life" look like? I think it is us living in constant thought of Him. You may be thinking "isn't that obsessive?" No, not really, think of David as he stood before Goliath. ( 1 Sam 17) Do you think that giants are taken down with a hope and a wish? Of course not. David had a past with God and that past of constant communication, constant thinking of, singing praises to, led to great confidence in a God so big that David knew as soon as the rock left the sling God would do the rest.
Here is what I think; I think we need to get obsessive and get up every morning with our hearts shouting, "God, be the God over me today!"
And now I'll get even bossier; take the words of Romans 12:1-2 from the Message translation and put them on an index card or whatever you prefer (you could easily copy and paste) and make them real, say them everyday, memorize them, let them become a part of your life. I pray that as you read these verses that you will see these verses only become possible when He is the God over you.
So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:1-2
Do you desire for God to be over you? What would that look like? I think it would be a life of obedience, of desiring to walk in the Spirit, and not fulfilling the lust of the flesh. (Gal. 5:16)
Tell the Lord your desires, as I read Ezra 5:1 I began to tell the Lord my desire; this is what I wrote in my prayer journal Jan 8, "How I pray LORD that Your word would speak to me, through Your Holy Spirit, so that verse 1c is me - ...in the name of the God of Jackie, Who is over her. God, I do want you to be the God over me, directing me, building me up, holding me close, protecting me, using me to advance your Kingdom. YOU ARE THE GOD OVER ME!"
What does the "God over me life" look like? I think it is us living in constant thought of Him. You may be thinking "isn't that obsessive?" No, not really, think of David as he stood before Goliath. ( 1 Sam 17) Do you think that giants are taken down with a hope and a wish? Of course not. David had a past with God and that past of constant communication, constant thinking of, singing praises to, led to great confidence in a God so big that David knew as soon as the rock left the sling God would do the rest.
Here is what I think; I think we need to get obsessive and get up every morning with our hearts shouting, "God, be the God over me today!"
And now I'll get even bossier; take the words of Romans 12:1-2 from the Message translation and put them on an index card or whatever you prefer (you could easily copy and paste) and make them real, say them everyday, memorize them, let them become a part of your life. I pray that as you read these verses that you will see these verses only become possible when He is the God over you.
So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:1-2
Monday, April 26, 2010
Poor and Needy
Bow down Your ear, O LORD, hear me; For I am poor and needy. Psalm 86:1
On Thursday we took a close look at the first part of verse one of Psalm 86 and today we will look at the last part of verse 1.
Do you "feel" poor and needy or do you know for a fact that you are poor and needy?
Let me tell you something that I talk to the Lord about frequently. "I'll say, Lord, I need Your direction for this day, may I accomplish much." And then my day does not go as planned. I'm trying so hard, I'm on a dead line and I don't want all I have to do done half way because that does not show excellence. What a struggle, so I talk to the Lord some more, even asking Him why I can't accomplish more. I pray that as we look at the Hebrew word for poor, we will see all of verse one flow into power and trust in your life for your God. Let's get started.
The Hebrew word for poor is anly and has these meanings; poor, afflicted, humble, wretched, weak. Now the root word for anly is anah and has these meaning; 1) to be occupied, be busied with. 2) to be depressed, be downcast.
The Gensenius's lexicon stated these meanings; 1) to bestow labor upon anything, to exercise oneself in any thing.
Now let's put all of verse one together - What happens first? We call out, "Bow down Your ear, O LORD". What do you picture when you say those words? I picture God bending down, getting near to hear me, His face near my face; He is interested in what I have to say, my cries for help, everything. He hears and He goes into action speaking His perfect Word over me, answering me. I continue to cry out, hear me; for I am poor -
I am anly - poor, afflicted, weak, I am so occupied and busied with so many things that have to be done.
And I am needy; in want, needing help, needing you to deliver me.
Maybe I am the only one who has the problem of too much to do and not enough time to do it. Maybe I am the only one who has days where the interruptions leave me frustrated and maybe I am the only one who has days where motivation is a problem. God used Psalm 86:1 to mightily let me see that He is trustworthy and all I have to do is call out, ask Him to bend down and hear me, answer me, to speak His power packed, action always Word over me and my situation and my day will never be the same.
The same is true for you, start calling out, it's the first thing to do in a day that is packed with too much to do.
On Thursday we took a close look at the first part of verse one of Psalm 86 and today we will look at the last part of verse 1.
Do you "feel" poor and needy or do you know for a fact that you are poor and needy?
Let me tell you something that I talk to the Lord about frequently. "I'll say, Lord, I need Your direction for this day, may I accomplish much." And then my day does not go as planned. I'm trying so hard, I'm on a dead line and I don't want all I have to do done half way because that does not show excellence. What a struggle, so I talk to the Lord some more, even asking Him why I can't accomplish more. I pray that as we look at the Hebrew word for poor, we will see all of verse one flow into power and trust in your life for your God. Let's get started.
The Hebrew word for poor is anly and has these meanings; poor, afflicted, humble, wretched, weak. Now the root word for anly is anah and has these meaning; 1) to be occupied, be busied with. 2) to be depressed, be downcast.
The Gensenius's lexicon stated these meanings; 1) to bestow labor upon anything, to exercise oneself in any thing.
Now let's put all of verse one together - What happens first? We call out, "Bow down Your ear, O LORD". What do you picture when you say those words? I picture God bending down, getting near to hear me, His face near my face; He is interested in what I have to say, my cries for help, everything. He hears and He goes into action speaking His perfect Word over me, answering me. I continue to cry out, hear me; for I am poor -
I am anly - poor, afflicted, weak, I am so occupied and busied with so many things that have to be done.
And I am needy; in want, needing help, needing you to deliver me.
Maybe I am the only one who has the problem of too much to do and not enough time to do it. Maybe I am the only one who has days where the interruptions leave me frustrated and maybe I am the only one who has days where motivation is a problem. God used Psalm 86:1 to mightily let me see that He is trustworthy and all I have to do is call out, ask Him to bend down and hear me, answer me, to speak His power packed, action always Word over me and my situation and my day will never be the same.
The same is true for you, start calling out, it's the first thing to do in a day that is packed with too much to do.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Hear, Answer - Action
Bow down Your ear, O LORD, hear me; For I am poor and needy. Psalm 86:1
For the last week or so I have been meditating on Psalm 86. It has been like water that quenches my thirst. I have chewed on it, been amazed by it, wake up thinking about it, and want to know it personally, by experience. So yesterday during my quiet time I knew Psalm 86 was where God wanted me and as I read the first 2 verses I couldn't get past them and I knew God had something for me, excitement rose up within me and I began to dig for the treasure in His word.
The first thing I did was look at verses 1-2 in different translations at http://www.biblegateway.com/. Please bear with me as I describe what I wrote in my prayer journal.
verse 1, line 1:
Hear, O LORD, and answer me (NIV)
LORD, listen to me and answer me (NCV)
Bend an ear God; answer me (MSG)
Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me (AMP)
Bow down your ear, O LORD, hear me (NKJV)
Bend down thine ear, O LORD, and hear me (KJV)
I began to tell the Lord the "stats" - 4 out of 6 say "answer me" while the other 2 say "hear me". Why the difference? To me, in my mind, they say 2 different things. Answering involves hearing and responding. Hearing only means hearing.
I continued to a resource I use frequently when I want in-depth study. So at http://www.blueletterbible.org/ I looked up the Hebrew word, and each meaning for that word to get better understanding. The Hebrew word for the word "hear" is anah and has these meanings: to answer, respond, testify, speak, shout.
I giggled a little as I wrote the word "shout" because I can just see the Lord shouting at me when I'm not really listening yet I have prayed, "speak to me, Father", "I want to hear you" :)
I told the Lord that I want to be more obedient, I don't want God to say of me, "that is one hard-headed youngin", I want Him to say of me as Paul said of Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:2 Jackie, a true daughter of the faith."
I continued to talk to the Lord and said, "God, just as David said in Ps. 86:1 "Hear me, O LORD, and answer"; I ask the same thing - "God, hear me; the cries of my heart and answer."
I wrote in huge letters "THANK YOU" because God revealed a truth to me that can never be taken away from me, and I so much needed the truth He revealed.
I continued in the other Scripture references where the word hear is used as anah (the same word used in Ps 86) and I saw that each one involved someone answering and then saying something, for example: And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord ... (Gen. 18:27)
I was thinking that I wanted God to hear and answer me, not just with words but with action - action for my benefit. And here is when this girl received what God had for me and I pray it excites you too. God took me back to Gen. 18:27 And Abraham answered and said... - please hear me on this; God never listens passively to His child, He always hears us.
When God answers you it will be Him saying His word over you! Hallelujah! Why am I excited? Because God's word is ACTION, it is POWER, it is JESUS, THE WORD MADE FLESH!
And God answered Jackie and said___________. Now you make it personal, put your name in that Scripture sentence and hear God speak His holy word over you. Why should this excite you? When I don't know what to pray for someone I will pray this: "Holy God, speak your word over ________ today, over what they are going through; just as in Gen 1 You hovered over the face of the waters and You spoke "let there be" and light happened, that is Your word in action, so I ask Lord, hover over their life, then speak Your word, powerfully producing what they need."
We can boldly pray as David did in Ps. 86:1 and know with confidence that God hears us and He is answering. You can trust Him.
For the last week or so I have been meditating on Psalm 86. It has been like water that quenches my thirst. I have chewed on it, been amazed by it, wake up thinking about it, and want to know it personally, by experience. So yesterday during my quiet time I knew Psalm 86 was where God wanted me and as I read the first 2 verses I couldn't get past them and I knew God had something for me, excitement rose up within me and I began to dig for the treasure in His word.
The first thing I did was look at verses 1-2 in different translations at http://www.biblegateway.com/. Please bear with me as I describe what I wrote in my prayer journal.
verse 1, line 1:
Hear, O LORD, and answer me (NIV)
LORD, listen to me and answer me (NCV)
Bend an ear God; answer me (MSG)
Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me (AMP)
Bow down your ear, O LORD, hear me (NKJV)
Bend down thine ear, O LORD, and hear me (KJV)
I began to tell the Lord the "stats" - 4 out of 6 say "answer me" while the other 2 say "hear me". Why the difference? To me, in my mind, they say 2 different things. Answering involves hearing and responding. Hearing only means hearing.
I continued to a resource I use frequently when I want in-depth study. So at http://www.blueletterbible.org/ I looked up the Hebrew word, and each meaning for that word to get better understanding. The Hebrew word for the word "hear" is anah and has these meanings: to answer, respond, testify, speak, shout.
I giggled a little as I wrote the word "shout" because I can just see the Lord shouting at me when I'm not really listening yet I have prayed, "speak to me, Father", "I want to hear you" :)
I told the Lord that I want to be more obedient, I don't want God to say of me, "that is one hard-headed youngin", I want Him to say of me as Paul said of Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:2 Jackie, a true daughter of the faith."
I continued to talk to the Lord and said, "God, just as David said in Ps. 86:1 "Hear me, O LORD, and answer"; I ask the same thing - "God, hear me; the cries of my heart and answer."
I wrote in huge letters "THANK YOU" because God revealed a truth to me that can never be taken away from me, and I so much needed the truth He revealed.
I continued in the other Scripture references where the word hear is used as anah (the same word used in Ps 86) and I saw that each one involved someone answering and then saying something, for example: And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord ... (Gen. 18:27)
I was thinking that I wanted God to hear and answer me, not just with words but with action - action for my benefit. And here is when this girl received what God had for me and I pray it excites you too. God took me back to Gen. 18:27 And Abraham answered and said... - please hear me on this; God never listens passively to His child, He always hears us.
When God answers you it will be Him saying His word over you! Hallelujah! Why am I excited? Because God's word is ACTION, it is POWER, it is JESUS, THE WORD MADE FLESH!
And God answered Jackie and said___________. Now you make it personal, put your name in that Scripture sentence and hear God speak His holy word over you. Why should this excite you? When I don't know what to pray for someone I will pray this: "Holy God, speak your word over ________ today, over what they are going through; just as in Gen 1 You hovered over the face of the waters and You spoke "let there be" and light happened, that is Your word in action, so I ask Lord, hover over their life, then speak Your word, powerfully producing what they need."
We can boldly pray as David did in Ps. 86:1 and know with confidence that God hears us and He is answering. You can trust Him.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
New Grounds for Believing, Part 2
Then Jesus became explicit: "Lazarus died. And I am glad for your sakes that I wasn't there. You're about to be given new grounds for believing. Now let's go to him." John 11:14-15
Yesterday I shared how God had reminded me of these verses as I walked, confessed, and then listened for His voice.
And now for the rest of the story:)
I go to choir practice and the second song we are singing God speaks to my heart and says, "You wanted new grounds for believing." I began to cry because I remembered the first time I had ever heard this song and the situation I was in then and how God used it to take care of me, lift me up and give me peace, hope, and assurance, I would make it through. On February 24, 1998 my mom called and told me that my dad had terminal lung cancer and they had given him 8 weeks to live. When I am upset I can't sit still for long and I will clean anything in sight, I probably had the cleanest bathrooms in the state of Alabama. I have a dear friend who had given me Kirk Franklin's CD "Stomp"; so as I cleaned I listened to "Stomp" and had hit the repeat button but I guess it only repeats so many times before it moves on to the next song. I am on my knees with rubber gloves on my hands when the next song starts and the words would have made me go to my knees if I weren't already on them; my gloved hands go up in the air while the tears stream down my face and I knew - I knew - that I would make it, I knew I would stand, that no matter what came my way, my life is in His hands. That song carried me through, along with God's holy word and on April 12, 1998, Easter Sunday morning as the sun came up my Dad went home to be with his Lord and saw his risen Savior face to face. Hallelujah!
That Wednesday night through that song God said, "I brought you through before, you can trust Me to take you through again."
Wait, I'm not done! I got home from church that night and something that I have been praying about for years, a desire of my heart, God made a reality. New grounds for believing!
Don't' quit - trust Him - He's able - Keep on, keep on - He is worth it - help is on the way!
click here to enjoy the song!
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kirkfranklin/mylifeisinyourhands.html
Yesterday I shared how God had reminded me of these verses as I walked, confessed, and then listened for His voice.
And now for the rest of the story:)
I go to choir practice and the second song we are singing God speaks to my heart and says, "You wanted new grounds for believing." I began to cry because I remembered the first time I had ever heard this song and the situation I was in then and how God used it to take care of me, lift me up and give me peace, hope, and assurance, I would make it through. On February 24, 1998 my mom called and told me that my dad had terminal lung cancer and they had given him 8 weeks to live. When I am upset I can't sit still for long and I will clean anything in sight, I probably had the cleanest bathrooms in the state of Alabama. I have a dear friend who had given me Kirk Franklin's CD "Stomp"; so as I cleaned I listened to "Stomp" and had hit the repeat button but I guess it only repeats so many times before it moves on to the next song. I am on my knees with rubber gloves on my hands when the next song starts and the words would have made me go to my knees if I weren't already on them; my gloved hands go up in the air while the tears stream down my face and I knew - I knew - that I would make it, I knew I would stand, that no matter what came my way, my life is in His hands. That song carried me through, along with God's holy word and on April 12, 1998, Easter Sunday morning as the sun came up my Dad went home to be with his Lord and saw his risen Savior face to face. Hallelujah!
That Wednesday night through that song God said, "I brought you through before, you can trust Me to take you through again."
Wait, I'm not done! I got home from church that night and something that I have been praying about for years, a desire of my heart, God made a reality. New grounds for believing!
Don't' quit - trust Him - He's able - Keep on, keep on - He is worth it - help is on the way!
click here to enjoy the song!
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kirkfranklin/mylifeisinyourhands.html
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
New Grounds for Believing
Then Jesus became explicit: "Lazarus died. And I am glad for your sakes that I wasn't there. You're about to be given new grounds for believing. Now let's go to him." John 11:14-15
I was walking Roscoe last Wednesday and as is my habit while I walk, I talk to the Lord. My heart was so burdened, there were and are so many trials that are weighing me down. I confessed my lack of faith and any known sin, attitudes, that would hinder me from hearing from my Lord. I was desperate to hear from Him and to see Him move in my life. After confessing immediately these words came to my heart and mind; "You're about to be given new grounds for believing." I remembered the first time I saw them in the Scripture years ago and yes I was going through a difficult time then and I heard the Holy Spirit whisper to me, "the same is true for you", I remember jumping up and down and shouting, because the Lord had just promised to bring back to life what I thought was dead, a desire that I had prayed for years and I had just told the Lord, "You know Lord, even though this is a deep desire and because I "see" nothing and haven't for a year or more, I relinquish it to You, I just don't think I'm suppose to pray about it anymore, I still desire it to happen, I just don't think You want it for me." And then in His word came the promise from John 11:14-15
What are you going through right now, the thing or things that have you so burdened? Talk to the Lord about it, He knows your need in each situation, and He is more than willing to speak His word over you to bring comfort, hope, and anticipation.
I want you to see the these verses in the New King James Version: Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”
Even though things may look neglected by God in your life or even your dreams and desires look dead, you can trust God. Sometimes His delays are for this purpose "that you may believe". His timing is perfect and when He moves in your situation it will be like dreams come true and others will benefit. John 11:45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. Let Jesus be glorified in your life and all your situations and the result will be greater trust in a living, loving God and the result of that will be a testimony and others will see and hear it and put their trust in Jesus!
I'll see you tomorrow with the rest of that Wednesday night. Be believing!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Be Jesus!
...I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 1 Tim. 3:15
When I am reading God's word I have a prayerful heart that says, "Father, give me understanding, let Your word come off the page and into my heart." Understanding will not come by osmosis, I can't just carry my Bible around or stare at it while sits on the table and get what God has for me, It has to be picked up, opened, and read. I am so grateful that God put the desire for His word in my heart and I pray He is doing the same for you.
As I was reading 1 Tim. 3:14-16 I became intrigued, and I began to talk to the Lord about what I was reading, "Lord, so every church struggles, every church needs to know how to act, conduct ourselves. Lord, thank you for making this so clear."
How are we to conduct ourselves in the house of God? How are we to live in the family of God?
1 Tim 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory.
BE JESUS! Act like Jesus; that's it. He is verse 16. Ask yourself questions before you respond to situations: could I see Jesus doing this, saying that, would He be concerned about this to the point He would get more people involved or am I just being nit picky, maybe I should keep my mouth shut. If you don't know how Jesus would respond then read the Gospels and investigate how Jesus responded in those Scriptures to different situations then emulate His responses.
Jesus' number one goal is for all to know Him. The lost to be saved and the saved to grow in the truth and knowledge of Him. Is that your goal? To see the lost saved, others growing, if it is then stay the course and be Jesus.
When I am reading God's word I have a prayerful heart that says, "Father, give me understanding, let Your word come off the page and into my heart." Understanding will not come by osmosis, I can't just carry my Bible around or stare at it while sits on the table and get what God has for me, It has to be picked up, opened, and read. I am so grateful that God put the desire for His word in my heart and I pray He is doing the same for you.
As I was reading 1 Tim. 3:14-16 I became intrigued, and I began to talk to the Lord about what I was reading, "Lord, so every church struggles, every church needs to know how to act, conduct ourselves. Lord, thank you for making this so clear."
How are we to conduct ourselves in the house of God? How are we to live in the family of God?
1 Tim 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory.
BE JESUS! Act like Jesus; that's it. He is verse 16. Ask yourself questions before you respond to situations: could I see Jesus doing this, saying that, would He be concerned about this to the point He would get more people involved or am I just being nit picky, maybe I should keep my mouth shut. If you don't know how Jesus would respond then read the Gospels and investigate how Jesus responded in those Scriptures to different situations then emulate His responses.
Jesus' number one goal is for all to know Him. The lost to be saved and the saved to grow in the truth and knowledge of Him. Is that your goal? To see the lost saved, others growing, if it is then stay the course and be Jesus.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Relaxation
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7
I was in the health food store yesterday and as I browsed the aisles for what I needed I ran across a bottle of Hyssop and immediately I thought of the Scripture in Psalm 51.
I would encourage you to look this Psalm up and meditate on each word. King David wrote this Psalm after being confronted by the prophet Nathan about his sin with Bathsheba, you may also want to go and read 2 Samuel 11-12 to get a full view of the situation.
David knew the picture the hyssop paints. Look at Exodus 12:24 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.
King David knew the verses from Exodus 12, and as he confessed his sin he could picture the hyssop being dipped into the blood and spread across his heart. Jesus Christ is the Passover Lamb and when we know Him as our Lord and Savior then we are covered with His blood, cleansed from our sin. Hallelujah to His name!
What happens next? God hides His face from your sins and blots out all your iniquity (Psalm 51:9), so that you cry out as David did in Psalm 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
As I looked at the bottle of Hyssop I read underneath the word Hyssop; "promotes relaxation", and I smiled because I thought how true. When we know that our sins are forgiven, we can have great peace and rest in a loving, kind, wonderful Lord, who looks at us with nothing but pure love. That should promote relaxation in us.
I was in the health food store yesterday and as I browsed the aisles for what I needed I ran across a bottle of Hyssop and immediately I thought of the Scripture in Psalm 51.
I would encourage you to look this Psalm up and meditate on each word. King David wrote this Psalm after being confronted by the prophet Nathan about his sin with Bathsheba, you may also want to go and read 2 Samuel 11-12 to get a full view of the situation.
David knew the picture the hyssop paints. Look at Exodus 12:24 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.
King David knew the verses from Exodus 12, and as he confessed his sin he could picture the hyssop being dipped into the blood and spread across his heart. Jesus Christ is the Passover Lamb and when we know Him as our Lord and Savior then we are covered with His blood, cleansed from our sin. Hallelujah to His name!
What happens next? God hides His face from your sins and blots out all your iniquity (Psalm 51:9), so that you cry out as David did in Psalm 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
As I looked at the bottle of Hyssop I read underneath the word Hyssop; "promotes relaxation", and I smiled because I thought how true. When we know that our sins are forgiven, we can have great peace and rest in a loving, kind, wonderful Lord, who looks at us with nothing but pure love. That should promote relaxation in us.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
I Was Dusting
Love is...Love does...Love never...1 Cor 13:4,6,8
I was dusting the other Friday morning and dusting is not one of my favorite things to do. As I was dusting I was praying, which makes dusting easier, I turned and looked at a framed cross stitch I had done years ago of 1 Cor. 13:4-8, 13. As I am reading the verses I thought of the word "love" and I said, "God, You are love." Then I read the verses this way: God is patient, God is kind. God does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. He is not rude, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs. God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. God always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. God never fails. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Now when I read God always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres; I knew that God was getting my attention for a particular purpose and that attention getting God wanted a response from me. There is a part of my life, that God has been speaking to my heart about. I knew that God was saying, "Jackie, I am always protecting you, have no fear of being unprotected, THE I AM IS HERE, I am your very present help." Then the thing that the Lord and I had been talking about He responded through these words, even now the tears come; "Child, I am trusting you and I will always trust you with this, and my sweet child, I have great hope for you, always." Then I said, "Lord, what if I mess up, make the wrong decision?" And His response, "My love for you always perseveres."
I ask the Lord to keep me on track, lead me to resources that will help me, and most of all through His Word He would show me Himself. And even days later He is doing just that!
Take a heart check, what has the Lord been talking to you about? Not sure? Ask Him. Just say, "Lord, I'm not sure if this is You or me, but I want to know. Please make it clear." Then start looking, listening, and then responding. When you have a searching heart and you tell HIm you want to know His will for you in any situation, I believe God will pull out all the stops to get you what need, point you in the right direction, lead the right people into your life.
The greatest of all - IS GOD.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
I was dusting the other Friday morning and dusting is not one of my favorite things to do. As I was dusting I was praying, which makes dusting easier, I turned and looked at a framed cross stitch I had done years ago of 1 Cor. 13:4-8, 13. As I am reading the verses I thought of the word "love" and I said, "God, You are love." Then I read the verses this way: God is patient, God is kind. God does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. He is not rude, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs. God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. God always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. God never fails. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Now when I read God always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres; I knew that God was getting my attention for a particular purpose and that attention getting God wanted a response from me. There is a part of my life, that God has been speaking to my heart about. I knew that God was saying, "Jackie, I am always protecting you, have no fear of being unprotected, THE I AM IS HERE, I am your very present help." Then the thing that the Lord and I had been talking about He responded through these words, even now the tears come; "Child, I am trusting you and I will always trust you with this, and my sweet child, I have great hope for you, always." Then I said, "Lord, what if I mess up, make the wrong decision?" And His response, "My love for you always perseveres."
I ask the Lord to keep me on track, lead me to resources that will help me, and most of all through His Word He would show me Himself. And even days later He is doing just that!
Take a heart check, what has the Lord been talking to you about? Not sure? Ask Him. Just say, "Lord, I'm not sure if this is You or me, but I want to know. Please make it clear." Then start looking, listening, and then responding. When you have a searching heart and you tell HIm you want to know His will for you in any situation, I believe God will pull out all the stops to get you what need, point you in the right direction, lead the right people into your life.
The greatest of all - IS GOD.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
You Have Everything You Need
Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?” And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.” So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover. Mark 14:12-16
This is the Scripture I read on April 2 for my quiet time. The timing couldn't have been better and I believe that God planned it that way because of the struggles I was and am going through, He wanted to encourage me and give me clear direction and that is exactly what He did.
I will share what I wrote in my prayer journal and comment at the end.
Jesus, in Mark 14:12 the disciples ask You where You wanted to eat the Passover. I find that interesting. Then in vs. 13-16 you tell them where to go, what they will see and encounter. Then in v15 - Jesus, show me how to apply what You bring to my attention - please. I need to know Your thoughts so I live for You - effectively.
V15 Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared, there make ready for us.
V 16 They found it just as You said.
**Jesus, You've already prepared the way for me - furnished everything necessary:
1. I must go
2. If I have questions, I should ask. (v12)
3. You will give clear directions
4. I must trust You
Jesus, as I wrote I thought of my struggles; I have everything necessary for being a success. You've given me the ideas, I must implement them. You've prepared the way, furnished everything, I need to do my part. (v16)
God desires intimacy with you and He wants you to be a great success, as I stated above He has furnished everything necessary for you to succeed, so it's time for self-evaluation. Where do you not succeed, where are your struggles? Get alone with God, ask Him questions, seek His counsel and then what He says do - you do. Here is our problem the majority of the time: we think we are smarter than God and we don't really want our way of doing things altered. It's time you got over yourself and then take God to your heart and never ever get over Him.
What is it God has been or is telling you to do? Write it down! You keep thinking about it, it's in your head, now put it down on paper (or your computer). Why? Because in your head it is just an idea, but on paper it becomes a plan, a plan that gets looked at, prayed over, and God whispers, "Do it this way, it'll be the best way." And that is success.
One last point. In the evening He came with the twelve. Now as they sat and ate. Mark 14:17-18a The result of your obedience (verses 12-16) will be sweet fellowship and nothing compares!
This is the Scripture I read on April 2 for my quiet time. The timing couldn't have been better and I believe that God planned it that way because of the struggles I was and am going through, He wanted to encourage me and give me clear direction and that is exactly what He did.
I will share what I wrote in my prayer journal and comment at the end.
Jesus, in Mark 14:12 the disciples ask You where You wanted to eat the Passover. I find that interesting. Then in vs. 13-16 you tell them where to go, what they will see and encounter. Then in v15 - Jesus, show me how to apply what You bring to my attention - please. I need to know Your thoughts so I live for You - effectively.
V15 Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared, there make ready for us.
V 16 They found it just as You said.
**Jesus, You've already prepared the way for me - furnished everything necessary:
1. I must go
2. If I have questions, I should ask. (v12)
3. You will give clear directions
4. I must trust You
Jesus, as I wrote I thought of my struggles; I have everything necessary for being a success. You've given me the ideas, I must implement them. You've prepared the way, furnished everything, I need to do my part. (v16)
God desires intimacy with you and He wants you to be a great success, as I stated above He has furnished everything necessary for you to succeed, so it's time for self-evaluation. Where do you not succeed, where are your struggles? Get alone with God, ask Him questions, seek His counsel and then what He says do - you do. Here is our problem the majority of the time: we think we are smarter than God and we don't really want our way of doing things altered. It's time you got over yourself and then take God to your heart and never ever get over Him.
What is it God has been or is telling you to do? Write it down! You keep thinking about it, it's in your head, now put it down on paper (or your computer). Why? Because in your head it is just an idea, but on paper it becomes a plan, a plan that gets looked at, prayed over, and God whispers, "Do it this way, it'll be the best way." And that is success.
One last point. In the evening He came with the twelve. Now as they sat and ate. Mark 14:17-18a The result of your obedience (verses 12-16) will be sweet fellowship and nothing compares!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Speak the Truth in Love
Instead, speaking the truth in love. Eph. 4:15a
I need to tell you that I would much rather have people tell me anything with love, it just sounds better and makes me feel better, and it doesn't put me in a bad mood or a guarded attitude around that person.
I'll give you an example; but first I have to tell you what we do for a living, it'll make more sense. We are self-employed, the name of our business is R & J Distributing, Inc. (my honey liked R&J, it stands for Rick and Jackie, he's so original (but I'll keep him) I wanted something a little different, like I'm Sweet, Inc. or whatever the greek word for sweet cakes is, something different that would make people go "hum" or they might have said, "huh?"). We deliver Little Debbie Cakes and so does our son, Tommy. They are up very early in the morning and when I work with Ricky, I am up very early. I am not a morning person at all, I do not like to talk or be talked to. So, one morning around 3:30am I am up and Ricky is getting ready to walk out the door takes one look at me and says very sweetly, "I love what you do to your hair while you sleep", he smiled, kissed me and left. About 3 minutes later Tommy walks in the door to pick up his hand-held computer takes one look at me and says, "mama, your hair is jacked". I pointed my finger at the door and said, "get out", he did his wicked laugh and left. I was on my way to take a shower, and turned to look in the mirror, and said to myself, "Jackie, you got jacked hair". Now I can make fun of myself, say things to myself like, "girl, you need to exercise more, your butt is getting bigger". But I don't want others saying what they may be thinking about my butt or anything else.
When we open our mouths and say things to others intentionally or unintentionally we just may hurt them or put them on the defensive and cause a broken relationship with them. So all through out this day practice speaking only words that will edify and build others up and not hurt.
Let's look at Eph 4:15-16, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
I believe that when we are speaking the truth in love we are being Christ in action, every word that came from Jesus' mouth was filled with love. And when we don't speak the truth in love I believe Jesus looks at us and says, "Grow up". He intends for His children to mature, grow up, in Him, to let Him rule in our lives, be the Head. (v15)
So go forth today speaking only words that will build others up, you will not lie or embellish the truth but speak it in love - you will be Jesus to others and in so doing you will be building others up. Another cool part of this is you may run into people who do not know Jesus but the way you respond to them totally throws them off guard and you just might get to tell them about Jesus and that will be a woo hoo moment in your day.
Back to the example; Ricky's comment to me about my hair got him a smile and a kiss, Tommy's comment got him a scowl and a growl. See the difference? :)
I need to tell you that I would much rather have people tell me anything with love, it just sounds better and makes me feel better, and it doesn't put me in a bad mood or a guarded attitude around that person.
I'll give you an example; but first I have to tell you what we do for a living, it'll make more sense. We are self-employed, the name of our business is R & J Distributing, Inc. (my honey liked R&J, it stands for Rick and Jackie, he's so original (but I'll keep him) I wanted something a little different, like I'm Sweet, Inc. or whatever the greek word for sweet cakes is, something different that would make people go "hum" or they might have said, "huh?"). We deliver Little Debbie Cakes and so does our son, Tommy. They are up very early in the morning and when I work with Ricky, I am up very early. I am not a morning person at all, I do not like to talk or be talked to. So, one morning around 3:30am I am up and Ricky is getting ready to walk out the door takes one look at me and says very sweetly, "I love what you do to your hair while you sleep", he smiled, kissed me and left. About 3 minutes later Tommy walks in the door to pick up his hand-held computer takes one look at me and says, "mama, your hair is jacked". I pointed my finger at the door and said, "get out", he did his wicked laugh and left. I was on my way to take a shower, and turned to look in the mirror, and said to myself, "Jackie, you got jacked hair". Now I can make fun of myself, say things to myself like, "girl, you need to exercise more, your butt is getting bigger". But I don't want others saying what they may be thinking about my butt or anything else.
When we open our mouths and say things to others intentionally or unintentionally we just may hurt them or put them on the defensive and cause a broken relationship with them. So all through out this day practice speaking only words that will edify and build others up and not hurt.
Let's look at Eph 4:15-16, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
I believe that when we are speaking the truth in love we are being Christ in action, every word that came from Jesus' mouth was filled with love. And when we don't speak the truth in love I believe Jesus looks at us and says, "Grow up". He intends for His children to mature, grow up, in Him, to let Him rule in our lives, be the Head. (v15)
So go forth today speaking only words that will build others up, you will not lie or embellish the truth but speak it in love - you will be Jesus to others and in so doing you will be building others up. Another cool part of this is you may run into people who do not know Jesus but the way you respond to them totally throws them off guard and you just might get to tell them about Jesus and that will be a woo hoo moment in your day.
Back to the example; Ricky's comment to me about my hair got him a smile and a kiss, Tommy's comment got him a scowl and a growl. See the difference? :)
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Hearing and Doing
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Matt 7:24-27
Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them. The NIV states it this way - and puts them into practice. Jesus is saying to us through these verses; do My word, put it into practice in your life. I will call you wise and your life will be built on Me, your Rock, and no matter what happens, rain coming down, streams rising, winds blowing, and trying to beat you down, you will not fall because I, the Lord Jesus, am your Rock, your Sure Foundation.
God's word always calls for a response from us, from all who read and meditate on it. What is going to be your response to Matthew 7:24-27? Are you going to cry out these words, "Jesus, I am depending on You, Your life flowing through me right now and not just my life but the lives of those I love, and Jesus, not just for this moment but every day of our lives. Be our Rock, remind us of these verses over and over, and we will build our lives on You. Jesus, be big in our lives!
Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them. The NIV states it this way - and puts them into practice. Jesus is saying to us through these verses; do My word, put it into practice in your life. I will call you wise and your life will be built on Me, your Rock, and no matter what happens, rain coming down, streams rising, winds blowing, and trying to beat you down, you will not fall because I, the Lord Jesus, am your Rock, your Sure Foundation.
God's word always calls for a response from us, from all who read and meditate on it. What is going to be your response to Matthew 7:24-27? Are you going to cry out these words, "Jesus, I am depending on You, Your life flowing through me right now and not just my life but the lives of those I love, and Jesus, not just for this moment but every day of our lives. Be our Rock, remind us of these verses over and over, and we will build our lives on You. Jesus, be big in our lives!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
The Going
I say then: Walk in the Spirit...But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Galatians 5:16a, 22-23a
I'm going to share with you what I wrote in my prayer journal March 14, 2010, the more personal (none of your business) stuff is left out. There are times that I go back and read the entries and say, "yes, that is exactly what I want" and there are other times that the conviction comes back as clear as the day the Lord revealed it to me and I am reminded to examine myself.
I pray you are encouraged.
Holy One - You are so very good to me!!!! I'm reading Galatians 5:16-26 and as I go - well let me tell You the going - I know You don't mind:)
I prayed, "Lord, I want to walk in the Spirit, verse 16, to be led by the Spirit, verse 18, not to be occupied with me, my flesh, verse 19, but occupied by the Spirit, verse 22. Jesus I want to be Yours - my flesh crucified with it's passions and desires, verse 24.
Romans 6:6 no longer a slave to sin. To choose life, Dt. 30:15-20, being transformed from glory to glory, 2 Cor. 3:18, and me walking in newness of life everyday, Romans 6:4c!
Isn't God's word wonderful? God knew what I was struggling with that March 14th, He also knows my heart and the desires of my heart. The stuff I left out, that is too personal to share, came after I had written the above Scriptures and my desire to walk according to His word, and the Lord encouraged me tremendously. I ask Him, "Lord, how many times will You have to encourage me in this?" And I heard Him say, "As many times as you need."
You too can count on God to meet every need and encourage you in every circumstance of life.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Your Face, Your Name
They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. Mark 15:22-23
In verse 23 we see that they offered Jesus wine mixed with myrrh. Myrrh is a narcotic and would have deadened the pain but it would also dull His senses, making Jesus not as alert and able to think clearly. Why did Jesus refuse to take the wine mixed with myrrh? Because Jesus wanted to be clear-headed, He didn't want anything to distract Him from your face, He wanted to clearly be able to picture your face and say your name.
When you think that "no one loves me, no one cares for me" - Jesus never stops! He craves your presence. He wants fellowship with you.
Run to the One who loves you best and most, your day will never be the same.
In verse 23 we see that they offered Jesus wine mixed with myrrh. Myrrh is a narcotic and would have deadened the pain but it would also dull His senses, making Jesus not as alert and able to think clearly. Why did Jesus refuse to take the wine mixed with myrrh? Because Jesus wanted to be clear-headed, He didn't want anything to distract Him from your face, He wanted to clearly be able to picture your face and say your name.
When you think that "no one loves me, no one cares for me" - Jesus never stops! He craves your presence. He wants fellowship with you.
Run to the One who loves you best and most, your day will never be the same.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Come and See
But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.” So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.
The Women Worship the Risen Lord And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
The two Mary's arrive at Jesus' tomb, it's early, the day is just dawning; they are there to put spices on Jesus' body. As they arrive a great earthquake shook the earth because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven. The angel goes over and rolls the stone away from the tomb revealing that Jesus is not there. Then the angel sits on the stone and answers the the two Mary's.
Let me tell you that my heart is getting so excited!! Verse 6 "HE IS NOT HERE; HE IS RISEN, AS HE SAID" - Yes!!! We serve, love, and worship a risen Savior!
Next the angel says, "Come, see". I want you to hear Jesus saying those words to you everyday of your life. Every day is an invitation to come into the presence of Messiah and hear Jesus say to you "rejoice" verse 9, "and don't be afraid", verse 10.
COME AND SEE, THERE IS AN EMPTY TOMB, A RISEN SAVIOR. THERE IS HOPE.
What has you troubled, in pain, worried, cast down, Jesus longs for you, give your burden to Him, your day will not be the same.
The Women Worship the Risen Lord And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
The two Mary's arrive at Jesus' tomb, it's early, the day is just dawning; they are there to put spices on Jesus' body. As they arrive a great earthquake shook the earth because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven. The angel goes over and rolls the stone away from the tomb revealing that Jesus is not there. Then the angel sits on the stone and answers the the two Mary's.
Let me tell you that my heart is getting so excited!! Verse 6 "HE IS NOT HERE; HE IS RISEN, AS HE SAID" - Yes!!! We serve, love, and worship a risen Savior!
Next the angel says, "Come, see". I want you to hear Jesus saying those words to you everyday of your life. Every day is an invitation to come into the presence of Messiah and hear Jesus say to you "rejoice" verse 9, "and don't be afraid", verse 10.
COME AND SEE, THERE IS AN EMPTY TOMB, A RISEN SAVIOR. THERE IS HOPE.
What has you troubled, in pain, worried, cast down, Jesus longs for you, give your burden to Him, your day will not be the same.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Lean
When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom He spoke. Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke. Then, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” John 13:21-25
Jesus has just washed the disciples' feet and gave a beautiful picture of service that we are to follow. Jesus knew that the cross was near (see verses 1,3, and 11). Jesus knew what He was about to encounter and endure so He sits down at the table and the one, whom Jesus loved, is leaning on Jesus' chest.
As best as I understand it in those days when they celebrated Passover there would be one who would tell the story of God's deliverance of His people out of Egypt and the youngest would lean on the chest of the one telling the story and prompt him with questions. Here is Jesus, the Deliverer, the Passover Lamb, telling the story and John the youngest, leaning on His chest asking the questions.
Where in your life do you need deliverance? What has you troubled? Sit down at the table of fellowship, lean back on Jesus' chest and trust Him with your most intimate questions, your hurts, your addictions, your very life.
Jesus was on His way to the cross and yet John was leaning on Him and so can you because you are the one whom Jesus loves.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Jesus has just washed the disciples' feet and gave a beautiful picture of service that we are to follow. Jesus knew that the cross was near (see verses 1,3, and 11). Jesus knew what He was about to encounter and endure so He sits down at the table and the one, whom Jesus loved, is leaning on Jesus' chest.
As best as I understand it in those days when they celebrated Passover there would be one who would tell the story of God's deliverance of His people out of Egypt and the youngest would lean on the chest of the one telling the story and prompt him with questions. Here is Jesus, the Deliverer, the Passover Lamb, telling the story and John the youngest, leaning on His chest asking the questions.
Where in your life do you need deliverance? What has you troubled? Sit down at the table of fellowship, lean back on Jesus' chest and trust Him with your most intimate questions, your hurts, your addictions, your very life.
Jesus was on His way to the cross and yet John was leaning on Him and so can you because you are the one whom Jesus loves.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
That's What Jesus Did!
You are dead to sin and alive to God. That's what Jesus did. Romans 6:11
Yesterday I told you about my step dad. Paul died last Thursday after having open heart surgery. But the real heart surgery took place 11 years ago, at the age of 64, and in child like faith, Paul gave his heart to Jesus Christ. Paul died that day, died to himself and became a new creation.
How about you? Have you allowed God to perform heart surgery on you and give you a new heart, His heart? If so, then read and meditate on Romans 6:6-11 from the Message, I have changed it to be more personal: Could it be any clearer? My old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin's every beck and call! What I believe is this: If I get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, I also get included in his life-saving resurrection. I know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to me. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to me; God speaks my mother tongue, and I hang on every word. I am dead to sin and alive to God. That's what Jesus did.
Yes, that makes me want to shout!!! THAT'S WHAT JESUS DID!!!!!
Yesterday I told you about my step dad. Paul died last Thursday after having open heart surgery. But the real heart surgery took place 11 years ago, at the age of 64, and in child like faith, Paul gave his heart to Jesus Christ. Paul died that day, died to himself and became a new creation.
How about you? Have you allowed God to perform heart surgery on you and give you a new heart, His heart? If so, then read and meditate on Romans 6:6-11 from the Message, I have changed it to be more personal: Could it be any clearer? My old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin's every beck and call! What I believe is this: If I get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, I also get included in his life-saving resurrection. I know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to me. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to me; God speaks my mother tongue, and I hang on every word. I am dead to sin and alive to God. That's what Jesus did.
Yes, that makes me want to shout!!! THAT'S WHAT JESUS DID!!!!!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Mad
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “ Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!” Revelation 5:12-13
My step dad, Paul, died this past Thursday morning. He had open heart surgery and his heart never paced on it's own, 7 days later they put in a pace maker and 3 days later Paul was in the presence of His Lord. I was visiting Paul a few days after the open heart surgery and he told me that he was mad, mad at everything they were doing to him. It was understandable, I mean he's just had his chest cracked open, his heart operated on, tubes coming out of him, so I guess a little mad is okay. Then Paul said to me, "but I don't want to be mad when I get to heaven." I told Paul that I think that once we get to heaven we won't be mad about anything. And he replied, "but I don't want to be mad when I get there." I giggled at him because of the image that went through my mind; I pictured Paul arriving in heaven with this big scowl on his face and growling out these words, "I'm just so mad." I think Paul's heart was in the right place, he just wanted to have a pure, clean heart when he got to heaven, no bad attitudes or barriers. Here's the thing, the blood of Jesus has already taken care of every sin we ever commit. Paul knew that and when he got to heaven I'm sure he was smiling, not scowling or growling, I believe he began to praise Jesus as all of heaven does and the words of Rev. 5:12-13 poured forth from un-mad lips.
We can pray the words of Rev. 5:12-13 every day of our lives and I believe with all my heart that when we start praying those words and praising our Lord that we will live in delight, and it will be hard for us to be mad about anything.
My step dad, Paul, died this past Thursday morning. He had open heart surgery and his heart never paced on it's own, 7 days later they put in a pace maker and 3 days later Paul was in the presence of His Lord. I was visiting Paul a few days after the open heart surgery and he told me that he was mad, mad at everything they were doing to him. It was understandable, I mean he's just had his chest cracked open, his heart operated on, tubes coming out of him, so I guess a little mad is okay. Then Paul said to me, "but I don't want to be mad when I get to heaven." I told Paul that I think that once we get to heaven we won't be mad about anything. And he replied, "but I don't want to be mad when I get there." I giggled at him because of the image that went through my mind; I pictured Paul arriving in heaven with this big scowl on his face and growling out these words, "I'm just so mad." I think Paul's heart was in the right place, he just wanted to have a pure, clean heart when he got to heaven, no bad attitudes or barriers. Here's the thing, the blood of Jesus has already taken care of every sin we ever commit. Paul knew that and when he got to heaven I'm sure he was smiling, not scowling or growling, I believe he began to praise Jesus as all of heaven does and the words of Rev. 5:12-13 poured forth from un-mad lips.
We can pray the words of Rev. 5:12-13 every day of our lives and I believe with all my heart that when we start praying those words and praising our Lord that we will live in delight, and it will be hard for us to be mad about anything.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
That's...
The LORD is my shepherd - that's relationship.
I shall not want - that's supply
He makes me to lie down in green pastures - that's rest
He leads me beside the still waters - that's refreshment.
He restores my soul - that's healing.
He leads me in the paths of righteousness - that's guidance
For His name’s sake - that's purpose
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death - that's testing
I will fear no evil - that's protection
For You are with me - that's faithfulness
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me - that's discipline
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies - that's hope
You anoint my head with oil - that's consecration
My cup runs over - that's abundance
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life - that's blessing
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD - that's security
Forever - that's eternity!
I shall not want - that's supply
He makes me to lie down in green pastures - that's rest
He leads me beside the still waters - that's refreshment.
He restores my soul - that's healing.
He leads me in the paths of righteousness - that's guidance
For His name’s sake - that's purpose
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death - that's testing
I will fear no evil - that's protection
For You are with me - that's faithfulness
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me - that's discipline
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies - that's hope
You anoint my head with oil - that's consecration
My cup runs over - that's abundance
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life - that's blessing
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD - that's security
Forever - that's eternity!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Good Day Mate!
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:2-4
A few weeks ago my friend Cindy taught our Sunday School lesson and these verses were used; particularly verse 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Cindy explained that it was like a kangaroo pouch - you get to hide - in Christ. I like that idea and I have not been able to get the image of myself hidden, barely poking my head out of the pouch, because life is tough.
If I go with how these verses tell me to live and hope then I have to ask myself questions and get a different view of my situation:
A few weeks ago my friend Cindy taught our Sunday School lesson and these verses were used; particularly verse 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Cindy explained that it was like a kangaroo pouch - you get to hide - in Christ. I like that idea and I have not been able to get the image of myself hidden, barely poking my head out of the pouch, because life is tough.
If I go with how these verses tell me to live and hope then I have to ask myself questions and get a different view of my situation:
Where am I to set my mind? On things above. What happened when I died? My life became Christ's life, I am hidden in Him. And He is my life.
Think about the truths of these verses, meditate on them. I need to know that Jesus says, "Come to me (Matthew 11:28), be hidden in Me, I am your life, set your mind on Me not your circumstances."
When life gets too tough, instead of worrying and fretting, run to your Lord, He'll safely tuck you into the "hidden life", just like the kangaroo pouch, and there you can talk it out, get your sights right and know that earthly things are just not that important because Jesus is your life!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Though...
Though the cherry trees don't blossom and the strawberries don't ripen,though the apples are worm-eaten and the wheat fields stunted, though the sheep pens are sheepless and the cattle barns empty, I'm singing joyful praise to God. I'm turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God. Counting on God's Rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength.I run like a deer. I feel like I'm king of the mountain! Habakkuk 3:17-19 the Message
Go back and look at the "thoughs" in these verses and look at your life. If you were writing this verse what would your "thoughs" look like? Seems to me that the writer of these verses had thought it through and had experience some difficult times and God's rule had prevailed and now Habakkuk trusted God to supply again but here is the thing; Habakkuk's joy and longing desire was for God and God alone. When everything that is predictable and normal collapsed this guy trusted his Lord.
You can trust the Lord too, He knows your needs, He knows what you are going through right now. Run to Him, spend time with Him, relax in His presence and find the rest that trusting Him brings. Have faith in God," Jesus answered. (Mark 11:22) God will never accidentally allow circumstances in your life for which He doesn't give you enough faith. Cling to the Lord God Almighty, you just might find yourself living out Col. 2:6-7 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
So start singing joyful praise to God, turn cartwheels of joy, count on God's rule to prevail, take heart and gain strength, your Lord is for you and is with you.
Go back and look at the "thoughs" in these verses and look at your life. If you were writing this verse what would your "thoughs" look like? Seems to me that the writer of these verses had thought it through and had experience some difficult times and God's rule had prevailed and now Habakkuk trusted God to supply again but here is the thing; Habakkuk's joy and longing desire was for God and God alone. When everything that is predictable and normal collapsed this guy trusted his Lord.
You can trust the Lord too, He knows your needs, He knows what you are going through right now. Run to Him, spend time with Him, relax in His presence and find the rest that trusting Him brings. Have faith in God," Jesus answered. (Mark 11:22) God will never accidentally allow circumstances in your life for which He doesn't give you enough faith. Cling to the Lord God Almighty, you just might find yourself living out Col. 2:6-7 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
So start singing joyful praise to God, turn cartwheels of joy, count on God's rule to prevail, take heart and gain strength, your Lord is for you and is with you.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Make God Famous
LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. Habakkuk 3:2
A few years ago fear was beginning to rule in my life, there was so much unsureness and it was making me a nervous wreck. And that is when I found Habakkuk 3:2, I would pray that verse back to the Lord everyday and sometimes all through out my day. Here is my prayer:
Oh LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Father, Your word is full of all the great things You have done on behalf of Your children, I am Your child, Lord, renew your deeds in my life, and in my time make them known and in Your wrath remember mercy.
I make it a habit to put God's word on index cards and usually I will put the Word in the form of a prayer and this makes me confident when I pray God's word because I know it is something He would say because He did say it! Just yesterday while waiting at the doctors office I wrote out a card: Lord God, the enemy boasted, "I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them." But you can blow with Your breathe and cause the sea to cover my enemy! You can cause my enemy to sink like lead in the mighty waters! (Exodus 15:9-10) Lord, Your power has not diminished since the days when You revealed Your power and glory as You fought for Israel. I am Your child too. FIGHT FOR ME, GOD! Overpower the one who seeks to overpower me! (taken from Praying God's Word)
Praying God's word to Him will change your life, change your day, change your outlook, and who doesn't want that kind of change? So go on, get busy being changed, and in the process God will be made famous in your life.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Benefits
Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- Psalm 103:1-2
All day this past Sunday the word "benefits" kept coming to mind; something that is advantageous or good; an advantage.
Have you forgotten the Lord's benefits? Sometimes I do, I begin to look at my circumstances and trust in an outcome that I think is best instead of trusting my Lord and what He knows is best. And when I forget His benefits and don't praise Him for His benefits then I begin a downward spiral of seeing things in the negative, and discouragement comes, and this cheerful girl becomes uncheerful and people tend to avoid me. I mean who wants to be around negative, grumpy people? I don't, but how do I get away from myself? I can't. And I pray that the Holy Spirit will never let me get away with that kind of attitude because it could easily lead to sin. So what are the Lord's benefits?
Psalm 103:3-10
He forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases
He redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion
He satisfies your desires with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
He works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses, His deeds to the people of Israel.
He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever.
He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
If you have nothing to praise Him for then look to His benefits, apply the benefits to your life. There is no way for you to be grumpy, in a bad mood, mean to others....I could go on and on, if you truly focus on His benefits in this Scripture then your entire day will be changed. Go on look the list over and talk to Him - I'll get you started - Thank you Father, all of my sins are forgiven and You heal all my diseases. Now you keep going, praying this Word back to the Lord.
I have this written in my Bible:
Grace gives what I don't deserve
Mercy withholds what I do.
He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Still Sinners
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
When you read that verse what do you think? I see the words "still sinners" first, which means there is no cleaning up on our part and then God loves us. This verse says to me that even when I was stinky, dirty, filled with sin, God said, "I love that girl so much I'll send my Son to die for her so she will be my daughter and I will be her Father." And you know what? I've accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior and I know that God delights to call me His child. Here's the thing; I still sin, I don't want to, it's not my intention, but I do. That is when I run to God's word and pour out 1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. A friend once told me that 1 John 1:9 is God's bar of soap, I like that idea. And I love giving practical application to the word of God with our daily lives. So what do these Scriptures look like in living form? If you are a mom or dad you will totally relate.
When my children were little and still in diapers they would be busy doing something and as I walk by or want to be near them they would turn their little head see me and smile which just prompted my heart to want to be near them more. I would look at them, smile and say, "give mama a squash" (our word for hug) and as we squashed I would smell them and say, "you stink", and my reward was a slobbery, toothless smile, which I absolutely loved. I would pick them up and head toward the bedroom to change their diaper and as we walked toward their room I would kiss their little face and tell them how much I loved them and how cute they were. The stink was still there, but my love for them was more - there. I loved them despite the stink, wanted to be near them even though they stink. It's the same with God. He wants to be near you, He wants a squash, He smells the stink (your sin) and He picks you up and takes you to be changed and that is 1 John 1:9 in action. You will never ever be able to out sin God's great forgiveness, the blood of Jesus is more powerful than any sin. Don't live in condemnation, love in the freedom of forgiveness.
When you read that verse what do you think? I see the words "still sinners" first, which means there is no cleaning up on our part and then God loves us. This verse says to me that even when I was stinky, dirty, filled with sin, God said, "I love that girl so much I'll send my Son to die for her so she will be my daughter and I will be her Father." And you know what? I've accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior and I know that God delights to call me His child. Here's the thing; I still sin, I don't want to, it's not my intention, but I do. That is when I run to God's word and pour out 1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. A friend once told me that 1 John 1:9 is God's bar of soap, I like that idea. And I love giving practical application to the word of God with our daily lives. So what do these Scriptures look like in living form? If you are a mom or dad you will totally relate.
When my children were little and still in diapers they would be busy doing something and as I walk by or want to be near them they would turn their little head see me and smile which just prompted my heart to want to be near them more. I would look at them, smile and say, "give mama a squash" (our word for hug) and as we squashed I would smell them and say, "you stink", and my reward was a slobbery, toothless smile, which I absolutely loved. I would pick them up and head toward the bedroom to change their diaper and as we walked toward their room I would kiss their little face and tell them how much I loved them and how cute they were. The stink was still there, but my love for them was more - there. I loved them despite the stink, wanted to be near them even though they stink. It's the same with God. He wants to be near you, He wants a squash, He smells the stink (your sin) and He picks you up and takes you to be changed and that is 1 John 1:9 in action. You will never ever be able to out sin God's great forgiveness, the blood of Jesus is more powerful than any sin. Don't live in condemnation, love in the freedom of forgiveness.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Being Held
For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand,
Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’
Isaiah 41:13
Years ago I was going through a particular hard time and the Lord led me to Isaiah 41 to encourage me. As I got to verse 13 I noticed that the Lord said He would hold my right hand and at the end of verse 10 He promised to uphold me with His righteous right hand. I wanted to know what the hand holding looked like so I started praying and asking the Lord about it. My prayer went something like this; "OK Lord, if You and I are sitting side by side You would have to reach over and take my right hand or if You and I are standing facing each other You would still have to reach over to take my right hand and besides I never stand toe to toe with You. You are just too big." I could think of nothing else so I got on my knees and prayed and told the Lord that this is a desire of my heart, I really wanted to know how He would uphold me with His right hand and hold my right hand. And then the LORD took my breathe away and this is what He showed me:
He sees your heartache, all that you are going through, so He comes to you, taking the initiative, and with a heart full of love and focused totally on you He bends down and picks you up with His right hand and cradles all of you in His right arm, He takes His left hand, places it on your head causing you to rest against His chest and He takes your right hand into His. Now hear Him whisper words of love, encouragement, and hope to you; saying to you, "fear not, I will help you."
Are you just too tired and worn out to crawl up into your Father's lap? Then tell Him you want and need an Isaiah 41:10, 13 moment. Cry out, lift up your hands and say, "Father, pick me up", He will because He never ignores His child.
Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’
Isaiah 41:13
Years ago I was going through a particular hard time and the Lord led me to Isaiah 41 to encourage me. As I got to verse 13 I noticed that the Lord said He would hold my right hand and at the end of verse 10 He promised to uphold me with His righteous right hand. I wanted to know what the hand holding looked like so I started praying and asking the Lord about it. My prayer went something like this; "OK Lord, if You and I are sitting side by side You would have to reach over and take my right hand or if You and I are standing facing each other You would still have to reach over to take my right hand and besides I never stand toe to toe with You. You are just too big." I could think of nothing else so I got on my knees and prayed and told the Lord that this is a desire of my heart, I really wanted to know how He would uphold me with His right hand and hold my right hand. And then the LORD took my breathe away and this is what He showed me:
He sees your heartache, all that you are going through, so He comes to you, taking the initiative, and with a heart full of love and focused totally on you He bends down and picks you up with His right hand and cradles all of you in His right arm, He takes His left hand, places it on your head causing you to rest against His chest and He takes your right hand into His. Now hear Him whisper words of love, encouragement, and hope to you; saying to you, "fear not, I will help you."
Are you just too tired and worn out to crawl up into your Father's lap? Then tell Him you want and need an Isaiah 41:10, 13 moment. Cry out, lift up your hands and say, "Father, pick me up", He will because He never ignores His child.
Fear Not
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
Isaiah 41:10
What are you going through right now that has you fearful, dismayed, needing to be rescued? This entire past week I have been singing "Rescue" by Michael Gungor:
I need You, Jesus To come to my rescue
Where else can I go
There's no other name by which I am saved
Capture me with grace
(Chorus)
Life is tough but here is what I know; I can depend on God and His Word and so can you. In Isaiah 41:10 the word dismayed has these meanings; to be filled with fear or dread so that one is not sure what to do. The word uphold has these meanings; to hold up, to keep from falling, to support, to carry the weight or burden of.
So God is saying in this verse Fear not, for I am with you; do not be filled with fear or dread so that you are so unsure that you don't know what to do, I AM YOUR GOD. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will hold you up and keep you from falling, I will support you and carry the weight of all your burdens with My righteous right hand.
God is entirely dependable, He will come to your rescue, trust Him with your life. Pray Jeremiah 32:17 ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
A Joy Result
And the descendants of the captivity kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves; all of them were ritually clean. And they slaughtered the Passover lambs for all the descendants of the captivity, for their brethren the priests, and for themselves. Then the children of Israel who had returned from the captivity ate together with all who had separated themselves from the filth of the nations of the land in order to seek the LORD God of Israel. And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for the LORD made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel. Ezra 6:19-22
The descendants of the captivity kept the Passover. They ate together (verse 21) and all who had separated themselves from the filth of this world, in order to seek You - and that is when the joy came. Verse 22 for You made them joyful and turned the heart of the king of Syria toward them to strengthen them for the building of the Temple.
What if we made everyday a day of celebrating the Passover? We could pray to the Lord:
Lord, may everyday be a day of celebrating the Passover. Your blood shed for me, just as the Israelites put the blood on the doorposts so that death did not come to their home but passed them by, You want me to celebrate and live because the blood of Jesus has atoned for my sins so I might live. Jesus, yes! joy should be the result. Oh, fill me with wonder and joy afresh for each day and God do things on purpose for me. I love you Lord. You are my life. Fill me with You that I might seek You all the days of my life.
The descendants of the captivity kept the Passover. They ate together (verse 21) and all who had separated themselves from the filth of this world, in order to seek You - and that is when the joy came. Verse 22 for You made them joyful and turned the heart of the king of Syria toward them to strengthen them for the building of the Temple.
What if we made everyday a day of celebrating the Passover? We could pray to the Lord:
Lord, may everyday be a day of celebrating the Passover. Your blood shed for me, just as the Israelites put the blood on the doorposts so that death did not come to their home but passed them by, You want me to celebrate and live because the blood of Jesus has atoned for my sins so I might live. Jesus, yes! joy should be the result. Oh, fill me with wonder and joy afresh for each day and God do things on purpose for me. I love you Lord. You are my life. Fill me with You that I might seek You all the days of my life.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Confident
Phil. 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
I had to go back to the doctor yesterday, I have an infection that will not go away and is causing me quite a bit of pain and is affecting my body in ways that do not cause me to be - for lack of a better word - joyful. After I got home from the doctor and getting my medicine I was in my kitchen putting up stuff, and I heard my Lord whisper Phil. 1:6 to me, Jackie, I have begun a good work in you and will complete it, be confident in Me. Even now the tears come because I have been lacking some confidence because the problems started in January and I have let the pain and unsureness take over and not trust that even in this my God loves me and is in control. There is always purpose for any season in our lives whether it be pain, joy, advancement, aggravation, whatever - there is purpose.
Also, yesterday God pointed out to me how much I was loved by others: My sweet Sunday School class gave me a surprise party Sunday and they will never know what it meant to me because I was feeling so bad and aggravated about my circumstances. In the midst of feeling bad God was spurring these women to shop for me, prepare for me, cook for me, and decorate for me. So I challenge you, look back on your week and see all the things God did for you. Did you see anything? If your answer is yes then praise Him and thank Him for acting on your behalf. If your answer is no then pray and ask God to do something special for you. He is more than willing. Or maybe just tell Him you want to be confident in Phil. 1:6
This verse should bring you such peace, confidence, and hope in your Lord, you can trust Him. Paul is speaking from experience. He knew Who had begun the work in him and he knew God would complete it.
Do you have this type of confidence? Yes or no?
In verse 6 Paul uses the words “has begun”; he only uses the Greek translation one other time, in Galatians 3:3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Both times in reference to salvation itself. When God begins a work of salvation in a person, He finishes and perfects that work. The verb translated “will complete” points to the eternal security of the believer.
And that should cause you to jump up and down because you are eternally secure, not one thing and no one can snatch you out of God's hand!!!!!
I had to go back to the doctor yesterday, I have an infection that will not go away and is causing me quite a bit of pain and is affecting my body in ways that do not cause me to be - for lack of a better word - joyful. After I got home from the doctor and getting my medicine I was in my kitchen putting up stuff, and I heard my Lord whisper Phil. 1:6 to me, Jackie, I have begun a good work in you and will complete it, be confident in Me. Even now the tears come because I have been lacking some confidence because the problems started in January and I have let the pain and unsureness take over and not trust that even in this my God loves me and is in control. There is always purpose for any season in our lives whether it be pain, joy, advancement, aggravation, whatever - there is purpose.
Also, yesterday God pointed out to me how much I was loved by others: My sweet Sunday School class gave me a surprise party Sunday and they will never know what it meant to me because I was feeling so bad and aggravated about my circumstances. In the midst of feeling bad God was spurring these women to shop for me, prepare for me, cook for me, and decorate for me. So I challenge you, look back on your week and see all the things God did for you. Did you see anything? If your answer is yes then praise Him and thank Him for acting on your behalf. If your answer is no then pray and ask God to do something special for you. He is more than willing. Or maybe just tell Him you want to be confident in Phil. 1:6
This verse should bring you such peace, confidence, and hope in your Lord, you can trust Him. Paul is speaking from experience. He knew Who had begun the work in him and he knew God would complete it.
Do you have this type of confidence? Yes or no?
In verse 6 Paul uses the words “has begun”; he only uses the Greek translation one other time, in Galatians 3:3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Both times in reference to salvation itself. When God begins a work of salvation in a person, He finishes and perfects that work. The verb translated “will complete” points to the eternal security of the believer.
And that should cause you to jump up and down because you are eternally secure, not one thing and no one can snatch you out of God's hand!!!!!
Monday, March 8, 2010
The Coolest!!!
This was sent to me via email from a friend and I thought "this has got to be shared. Enjoy!! And I pray you are amazed.
A couple of days ago I was running (I use that term very loosely) on my treadmill, watching a DVD sermon by Louie Giglio... And I was BLOWN AWAY! I want to share what I learned... But I fear not being able to convey it as well as I want. I will share anyway.He (Louie) was talking about how inconceivably BIG our God is... How He spoke the universe into being.... Then He went on to speak of how this universe creating God ALSO knitted our human bodies together with amazing detail and wonder. At this point I am LOVING it (fascinating from a medical standpoint, you know.)... And I was remembering how I was constantly amazed during medical school as I learned more and more about God's handiwork. I remember so many times thinking.. 'How can ANYONE deny that a Creator did all of this???'Louie went on to talk about how we can trust that the God who created all this, also has the power to hold it all together when things seem to be falling apart...how our loving Creator is also our sustainer.And then I lost my breath. And it wasn't because I was running my treadmill, either!!!
It was because he started talking about laminin. I knew about laminin. Here is how Wikipedia describes them: 'Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue.' You see... Laminins are what hold us together.. LITERALLY. They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. And I knew all this already. But what I didn't know is what they LOOKED LIKE.But now I do. And I have thought about it a thousand times since (already).. Here is what the structure of laminin looks like... AND THIS IS NOT a 'Christian portrayal' of it... If you look up laminin in any scientific/medical piece of literature, this is what you will see...
(view pic above!!!)
Now tell me that our God is not the coolest!!! Amazing. The glue that holds us together..... ALL of us.... Is in the shape of the cross. Immediately Colossians 1:15-17 comes to mind.'He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible And invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in Him all things HOLD TOGETHER. ' (Colossians 1:15-17)
Call me crazy. I just think that is very, very, very cool. Thousands of years before the world knew anything about laminin, Paul penned those words. And now we see that from a very LITERAL standpoint, we are held together... One cell to another... By the cross. You would never in a quadrillion years convince me that is anything Other than the mark of a Creator who knew EXACTLY what laminin 'glue' would look like long before Adam breathed his first breath!!
A couple of days ago I was running (I use that term very loosely) on my treadmill, watching a DVD sermon by Louie Giglio... And I was BLOWN AWAY! I want to share what I learned... But I fear not being able to convey it as well as I want. I will share anyway.He (Louie) was talking about how inconceivably BIG our God is... How He spoke the universe into being.... Then He went on to speak of how this universe creating God ALSO knitted our human bodies together with amazing detail and wonder. At this point I am LOVING it (fascinating from a medical standpoint, you know.)... And I was remembering how I was constantly amazed during medical school as I learned more and more about God's handiwork. I remember so many times thinking.. 'How can ANYONE deny that a Creator did all of this???'Louie went on to talk about how we can trust that the God who created all this, also has the power to hold it all together when things seem to be falling apart...how our loving Creator is also our sustainer.And then I lost my breath. And it wasn't because I was running my treadmill, either!!!It was because he started talking about laminin. I knew about laminin. Here is how Wikipedia describes them: 'Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue.' You see... Laminins are what hold us together.. LITERALLY. They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. And I knew all this already. But what I didn't know is what they LOOKED LIKE.But now I do. And I have thought about it a thousand times since (already).. Here is what the structure of laminin looks like... AND THIS IS NOT a 'Christian portrayal' of it... If you look up laminin in any scientific/medical piece of literature, this is what you will see...
(view pic above!!!)
Now tell me that our God is not the coolest!!! Amazing. The glue that holds us together..... ALL of us.... Is in the shape of the cross. Immediately Colossians 1:15-17 comes to mind.'He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible And invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in Him all things HOLD TOGETHER. ' (Colossians 1:15-17)
Call me crazy. I just think that is very, very, very cool. Thousands of years before the world knew anything about laminin, Paul penned those words. And now we see that from a very LITERAL standpoint, we are held together... One cell to another... By the cross. You would never in a quadrillion years convince me that is anything Other than the mark of a Creator who knew EXACTLY what laminin 'glue' would look like long before Adam breathed his first breath!!
Friday, March 5, 2010
It's My Birthday!!!
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV)
Yep, on March 6, I will turn one year older. I will be half a century, five decades, if I were to be called middle age I would have to live to be 100, quite frankly I think I am past middle age.
Now did you see the different ways I told you my age without telling the actual number?
Here’s the thing; there is no guess work to God’s love for us. He is intentional in His love for us and He proved it by the death of His Son on the cross.
I will put John 3:16 below from the Amplified version, read it, meditate on the truth, and then all through out your day proclaim over and over again: I am dearly loved.
Put your name in the blanks!
For God so greatly loved and dearly prized ______________ that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that when ____________ believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.
Yep, on March 6, I will turn one year older. I will be half a century, five decades, if I were to be called middle age I would have to live to be 100, quite frankly I think I am past middle age.
Now did you see the different ways I told you my age without telling the actual number?
Here’s the thing; there is no guess work to God’s love for us. He is intentional in His love for us and He proved it by the death of His Son on the cross.
I will put John 3:16 below from the Amplified version, read it, meditate on the truth, and then all through out your day proclaim over and over again: I am dearly loved.
Put your name in the blanks!
For God so greatly loved and dearly prized ______________ that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that when ____________ believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
You're Invited - Part 4
If we take human testimony at face value, how much more should we be reassured when God gives testimony as he does here, testifying concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God inwardly confirms God's testimony. Whoever refuses to believe in effect calls God a liar, refusing to believe God's own testimony regarding his Son.
This is the testimony in essence: God gave us eternal life; the life is in his Son. So, whoever has the Son, has life; whoever rejects the Son, rejects life. 1 John 5:10-12 The Message
These verses are God's testimony. Have you thought about your testimony? Years ago I was challenged to be able to tell my testimony in 3 minutes or less, apparently that is the amount of time we have to hold someones attention. That is really sad to me, 3 whole minutes, when we spend hours being entertained by the Internet and TV and other stuff.
My Testimony:
When I was 8 years old I was in church and just knew I needed and wanted what this man was talking about. I remember I didn't even turn and ask my mom if it was ok I just walked down that aisle and gave my heart to Jesus. I knew I was different even at such a young age. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! I knew I was new, different, although I wasn't that old, the old was gone. At the age of 16 I listened to a lie of the Devil when he said, "if God really loved you He wouldn't allow you to go through what you go through." So I ran from God and committed so many horrible sins of which later I would need deliverance from because of the bondage I would find myself in. But at the age of 24, after running from God for 8 years, I read a poem that literally changed my life, I remember getting on my knees in the middle of my kitchen floor crying out, "I don't want to sin anymore, I don't want to sin anymore, I don't want to sin anymore." I clearly remember God the Father putting His arms around me and saying, "welcome home child, welcome home" and I have never been the same! I have not done all to please my Lord but the desires of my heart have changed and now I want to know Him. Has everything been easy? No, but I have peace and security and those things come only by knowing Jesus.
Think your personal testimony through, ask God for the strength, energy, and time to get it down on paper and committed to your memory and then ask Him for opportunities to share it with others. Let me suggest that if you are really nervous then practice on someone you trust.
Other ways to share: When you go to the bank go through the drive thru that uses the canisters and when you are done with your transaction and they send the canister back put a tract in there. Oh, one quick story, there was a lady in Muscle Shoals, Al. who would write out an encouraging note with a Bible verse and stick it in the canister and I have a friend who was going through a hard time and got this lady's personal note in the canister at the bank and it changed the way she was feeling, it gave her hope. Through that note God ministered to her.
My pastor, Mike Sams, would always put a tract on the handle of the gas hose when he was finished pumping gas.
I have seen tracts on shelves at grocery stores. Get creative, ask God for ideas, and then get busy implementing those ideas. One last thing, do not leave a tract for your waitress if you are not going to leave a really good tip, they might think that God is as cheap as you are. I am not trying to offend anyone but please hear me, servers make 2.10 an hour and depend on their tips and if you received good service then tip really good (15 to 20%) or don't go out to eat where you have to tip. This is the voice of experience talking, I waited tables as a young adult and would get so aggravated when people would act grumpy, leave a little tip (they got great service and if they didn't I didn't expect a good tip) and leave a tract. I would think: Really???
Get busy, think your testimony through, be prepared to share it. Pray and ask God to give you opportunities. Be a seed planter or water bearer and know that God is doing the rest. 1 Cor. 3:6
If you have any ideas you'd like to share then leave a comment.
This is the testimony in essence: God gave us eternal life; the life is in his Son. So, whoever has the Son, has life; whoever rejects the Son, rejects life. 1 John 5:10-12 The Message
These verses are God's testimony. Have you thought about your testimony? Years ago I was challenged to be able to tell my testimony in 3 minutes or less, apparently that is the amount of time we have to hold someones attention. That is really sad to me, 3 whole minutes, when we spend hours being entertained by the Internet and TV and other stuff.
My Testimony:
When I was 8 years old I was in church and just knew I needed and wanted what this man was talking about. I remember I didn't even turn and ask my mom if it was ok I just walked down that aisle and gave my heart to Jesus. I knew I was different even at such a young age. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! I knew I was new, different, although I wasn't that old, the old was gone. At the age of 16 I listened to a lie of the Devil when he said, "if God really loved you He wouldn't allow you to go through what you go through." So I ran from God and committed so many horrible sins of which later I would need deliverance from because of the bondage I would find myself in. But at the age of 24, after running from God for 8 years, I read a poem that literally changed my life, I remember getting on my knees in the middle of my kitchen floor crying out, "I don't want to sin anymore, I don't want to sin anymore, I don't want to sin anymore." I clearly remember God the Father putting His arms around me and saying, "welcome home child, welcome home" and I have never been the same! I have not done all to please my Lord but the desires of my heart have changed and now I want to know Him. Has everything been easy? No, but I have peace and security and those things come only by knowing Jesus.
Think your personal testimony through, ask God for the strength, energy, and time to get it down on paper and committed to your memory and then ask Him for opportunities to share it with others. Let me suggest that if you are really nervous then practice on someone you trust.
Other ways to share: When you go to the bank go through the drive thru that uses the canisters and when you are done with your transaction and they send the canister back put a tract in there. Oh, one quick story, there was a lady in Muscle Shoals, Al. who would write out an encouraging note with a Bible verse and stick it in the canister and I have a friend who was going through a hard time and got this lady's personal note in the canister at the bank and it changed the way she was feeling, it gave her hope. Through that note God ministered to her.
My pastor, Mike Sams, would always put a tract on the handle of the gas hose when he was finished pumping gas.
I have seen tracts on shelves at grocery stores. Get creative, ask God for ideas, and then get busy implementing those ideas. One last thing, do not leave a tract for your waitress if you are not going to leave a really good tip, they might think that God is as cheap as you are. I am not trying to offend anyone but please hear me, servers make 2.10 an hour and depend on their tips and if you received good service then tip really good (15 to 20%) or don't go out to eat where you have to tip. This is the voice of experience talking, I waited tables as a young adult and would get so aggravated when people would act grumpy, leave a little tip (they got great service and if they didn't I didn't expect a good tip) and leave a tract. I would think: Really???
Get busy, think your testimony through, be prepared to share it. Pray and ask God to give you opportunities. Be a seed planter or water bearer and know that God is doing the rest. 1 Cor. 3:6
If you have any ideas you'd like to share then leave a comment.
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