CHOSEN

The Beginning for us!!!!

2010-07-29T05:00:00.000-04:00

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.

The Beginning for us!!!!

2010-07-28T06:00:00.001-04:00

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.

The first of the beginning...

2010-07-28T05:00:00.001-04:00

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.

Trials Will Come - Part 2

2010-07-27T05:00:00.001-04:00

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

Trials Will Come - Part 1

2010-07-26T05:00:00.001-04:00

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

Take Goliath Down by Max Lucado

2010-05-09T09:00:00.000-04:00

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

Vanilla Lies

2010-04-29T05:00:00.007-04:00

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.

New Name

2010-04-28T06:52:00.004-04:00

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.

God Over Me

2010-04-27T06:32:00.000-04:00

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

Poor and Needy

2010-04-26T05:00:00.002-04:00

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.

Hear, Answer - Action

2010-04-22T04:47:00.014-04:00

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.

New Grounds for Believing, Part 2

2010-04-21T05:00:00.007-04:00

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

New Grounds for Believing

2010-04-20T05:51:00.002-04:00

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!

Be Jesus!

2010-04-19T05:00:00.001-04:00

...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.

Relaxation

2010-04-15T05:00:00.000-04:00

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 Dusting

2010-04-14T05:00:00.001-04:00

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.

You Have Everything You Need

2010-04-13T05:33:00.003-04:00

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!

Speak the Truth in Love

2010-04-12T07:03:00.007-04:00

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? :)

Hearing and Doing

2010-04-07T07:00:00.000-04:00

“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!

The Going

2010-04-06T05:00:00.005-04:00

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.

Your Face, Your Name

2010-04-05T07:01:00.004-04:00

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.

Come and See

2010-04-01T06:45:00.000-04:00

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.

Lean

2010-03-31T07:04:00.004-04:00

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.

That's What Jesus Did!

2010-03-30T05:00:00.002-04:00

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!!!!!

Mad

2010-03-29T05:00:00.000-04:00

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.

That's...

2010-03-25T07:05:00.003-04:00

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!

Good Day Mate!

2010-03-24T05:28:00.003-04:00

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:

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!

Though...

2010-03-23T06:17:00.000-04:00

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.

Make God Famous

2010-03-22T05:19:00.000-04:00

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.

Benefits

2010-03-18T04:47:00.001-04:00

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.

Still Sinners

2010-03-16T07:05:00.003-04:00

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.

Being Held

2010-03-11T06:45:00.005-05:00

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.

Fear Not

2010-03-11T06:10:00.004-05:00

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.

A Joy Result

2010-03-10T07:16:00.004-05:00

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.

Confident

2010-03-09T07:38:00.004-05:00

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!!!!!

The Coolest!!!

2010-03-08T08:11:00.002-05:00

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!!

It's My Birthday!!!

2010-03-05T05:31:00.002-05:00

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.

You're Invited - Part 4

2010-03-04T05:50:00.003-05:00

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.

You're Invited - Part 3

2010-03-03T06:13:00.002-05:00

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20

So, how did you answer the 2 questions which basically ask you the same thing?

How do you know that you are going to heaven? Or in your personal opinion what do you understand it takes for a person to go to heaven?

I have ask many people the personal opinion question, sometimes I get a faith answer: you must know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, trusting His death on the cross, the shedding of His blood as the payment for your sins. And when that happens we celebrate being brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. But at others times I get a variety of answers, for example, you have to be a good person and do good things, or you have to be baptised, go to church, don't lie and many more work related answers. Then I will reply, those are all good things but may I tell you what the Bible has to say about this. Usually I will use "The Romans Road" using the following verses:
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
If I feel the need to explain I will simply say that we are all sinners and God cannot allow sin in His presence.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We should all get death for our sins but God loves us so much that He wants to give us a gift - life through His Son.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 10:9-10 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Romans 10:13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Usually at this point I will ask them if they would like to have the life that only God can give, the life His word talks about. If they say yes then I ask them to pray with me and we go over Romans 10:9-10. We will pray something like this: Lord Jesus, I ask you to come into my heart and forgive me of all my sins, I am confessing with my mouth and believing in my heart that God raised You from the dead. I am trusting your word - I am calling on Your name and I am saved. Thank you so much.

If they say no then I accept that and will in the coming hours and days pray for their salvation. Am I ever nervous? Every single time. But here is the thing, it is worth it every time. Some times I am so nervous that I will stutter and sound like Elmer Fudd so afraid that I am wubbing them the wong way :) This I know, it is not about me and what I do or don't do, it is about Jesus and what He does through me. I encourage you, be a vessel God can use, be available and ready, carry a tract that you can read and share with others. Copy the Romans Road above and put in your purse or wallet and be ready to share it. Now get excited and be an inviter, you'll never be the same.

Tomorrow we will look at our own personal testimony and other ideas for sharing, see ya then.

You're Invited - Part 2

2010-03-02T08:28:00.003-05:00

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20

These verses are called the Great Commission, and for those who personally know Jesus are commissioned to "go".

What does this "going" look like? I think first you have to have the want to and the want to comes from what we know. We cannot invite others to heaven without first knowing that we are going there, the way to get there. You cannot tell others what you have never experienced.

So before we go any further answer this question: How do you know that you are going to heaven? Or in your personal opinion what do you understand it takes for a person to go to heaven?

Think it through and answer honestly. These questions are 2 fold: first, there is security in knowing for sure and certain - no hope so's but know so's. Second, you'll be able to tell others confidently and that is going, inviting.

Tomorrow we will look more closely at all this; I am not the bossiest person out there, but I'm asking you to please look at how you know because that will be the stepping stone to your testimony. This is not a hard thing, it's your story, your history and in thinking it through it becomes His story in your life. See ya tomorrow!!!

You're Invited - Part 1

2010-03-01T21:30:00.001-05:00

Precious (important and no light matter) in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints (His loving ones). Psalm 116:15 Amplified Version

A few weeks ago my husbands uncle Henry died. We attended the funeral that Tuesday morning and my dear friend, Evelyn was there. She and I decided to sit together since my husband had to sit with the guys who would be carrying the coffin. I am not a big fan of an open coffin, I just don't like seeing dead people. So when Evelyn ask me where I wanted to sit I replied, "far away from the dead body". Evelyn commented that I was just like her daughter, Judy. Then Evelyn preceded to tell me that she had taken care of all the details for her funeral so that her family would not have to go through that; make those decisions while they grieve. I told her she was very sweet; saving her family that heartache. She replied, "it's the least I could do, now all they have to do is call the mortuary and tell them to come and get the 'old bat'". I giggled and hugged her neck because she is so much fun to be around. Then she said the cutest thing, she looked at me and said "and you're invited". I thought I would lose it, I wanted to giggle out loud, which would not be appropriate at a funeral.

I have thought of Evelyn inviting me to her funeral off and on since that Sweet Thing invited me. What things do you invite others to? Birthday parties, movies, dinner, breakfast, church, ballgames, concerts, and as you invite them are you excited about the event you are inviting them to?

I'm going to heaven one day and I'm inviting you to come. How much fun it will be, we will get to see Jesus' sweet face everyday!!!!!

We will look at this more closely in the coming days and you're invited to come back and participate:)

How About You

2010-02-25T06:22:00.003-05:00

(One day) the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" Acts 19:15

Every time I read this verse I say, “Wow”. If Satan and his cohorts had a meeting and your name is called out would they say “who?”, or “never heard of her/him”. Or would they start sounding the bell and call out a red alert putting in effect the highest security available, because they know that you are a threat to their kingdom?

Some days I think yes I am a threat to Satan’s kingdom and his tactics will not work in my life and then other days I cower and hope attacks will not come because I’m just too tired. Some days I am Mr. T, "I pity the fool” and then other days I am Mr. Bill, “oh nooooo".

Satan sees what you could become and he fears it. So stay the course your Lord has set, be kingdom minded, fight the good fight. Let the words of Paul in Phil. 3:12-14 be yours too. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

So Loved, So Forgiven - Part 2

2010-02-24T06:59:00.000-05:00

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Matt 18:21-22
28"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. 29"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' 30"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

Yesterday we looked at God’s great forgiveness toward us and today we will look at His Word toward our forgiving others.

The guy, who owed a debt so large he could not repay it, goes out and finds one who owes him a hundred denarii. A reasonable amount, 100 days worth of work, and in that day it would have equaled to about 20 dollars.

The one who owed so much and was forgiven so much had no compassion, no mercy, and no forgiveness.

After I came back to the Lord at the age of 24 the Lord kept putting a particular person on my heart, I was new at this so it took me a little while to realize that God was trying to get my attention for a particular purpose. This person wasn’t coming to my mind just to give me a bad day or aggravate me but for the Lord’s purpose. So I finally began to pray and ask God why this person kept coming to mind, and the Lord told me that He wanted me to forgive this person and pray for them. That made me so mad. I remember fussing with the Lord about it and then finally saying, “He doesn’t deserve my forgiveness”, and I clearly remember the Lord saying to me, “Like you deserve Mine.” I broke down and cried, I knew how much I had been forgiven, more than I could ever repay, but what God was asking was hard, this person had really hurt me. So I began to pray like this, “Lord, I want to be obedient, and right now I don’t feel like being forgiving toward _______ but because You want me to, I forgive him.”

After praying like this for about 3 months I felt led to began to pray for this ones salvation and about 3 years later this person who had harmed me for years, caused me so much pain, came to know Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. Our relationship was restored, different, based on Christ, and so much sweeter.

Hanging on to bitterness, anger, and unforgiveness is never worth it. Go back and look at verses 32-35 the same analogy could happen to you if you refuse to forgive.

Who wants to be tortured, which is what happens when we don’t follow God’s Word. And here’s the thing, those around us will be miserable because of our refusal to obey. Forgive from your heart and see God do amazing things in your life and others.

So Loved, So Forgiven

2010-02-23T08:07:00.000-05:00

Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. Matthew 18:23-27

Let’s look at the different people or roles represented in this parable:
In verse 23 the King represents God,
In verse 24 the one brought to him represents you and I.

Now we will look at the hugeness of the debt:
10,000 talents are owed
1 talent = 6000 denari
1 denari = 1 days work
This man could work 6 days a week for 1000 years and he could earn 1 talent. To pay 10,000 talents he’d have to work 190,000 years. An impossible thing to do.

This man pleads for mercy, the only thing he could do since he couldn’t pay back the money. The master is moved with compassion and releases him and forgives the debt. God is the same toward us – we come to Him, full of sin, we ask for forgiveness and Col. 2:13 is applied to us; And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.

What joy, hope, peace, and rejoicing is ours! The first time I read these verses along with the facts above I wept because of the hugeness of God’s great love and mercy toward me.

As I’m writing this I thought of this verse from “It Is Well with My Soul”;
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

We are so loved, so forgiven and He is worthy of all our praise.

I Know

2010-02-22T06:05:00.003-05:00

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” John 4:24-26

What a moment that must have been! This woman tells Jesus what she knows, “I know Messiah is coming”, “when He comes, He will tell us all things.” And then the moment that should send our hearts to soaring: “I who speak to you am He”; have you had that moment in your life? A personal encounter with Messiah? If you have then your life has never been the same and your life reflects the difference. It will be obvious. How do I know? Check out this woman’s response to a personal encounter with Jesus.

John 4:28-30 The woman then left her water pot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” Then they went out of the city and came to Him.

And the result of your excitement and not being able to keep it to yourself – John 4:39-42 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word.
Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”

Live a life for Jesus, so that the result is others seeing Him operating in your life and they are drawn to Him. You’ll hear those people say, “I know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”

Screaming

2010-02-18T08:35:00.004-05:00

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Romans 8:14-16

Our dog, Charlie Barkley Burrell, absolutely loves his “person” Rick. I mean Charlie is crazy about my husband. One day Rick decided do be sweet to me and take my dog, Roscoe “P Coletrain” Burrell, for a walk. Roscoe weighs 105 lbs and jerked my shoulder the day before thus the reason for my husband’s sweetness. But Rick decided not to take Charlie on this walk so as Charlie is standing at the doors looking at his “person” put the leash on Roscoe he began to scream and I mean scream like a woman as Roscoe and Rick walk away from the house. Charlie even ran into our bedroom to look out the window and got a glimpse of them as they went around the side of the house and Charlie started screaming even louder. It took a lot of “stop that’s” to get Charlie to stop screaming (I kind of put my fingers around his neck and squeezed just a little to bring the point home :) )

Through out the rest of the day I thought of Charlie screaming, and screaming loud and long to get his feelings out toward his dislike of not being with his “person”. If I may presume to know what was going through Charlie’s mind; it was this: that is not right, that is my person, and my best dogfriend, I have to do something, I know - I’ll scream, loud and long, - I’ll cry out.

When was the last time you saw something happening and knew it was wrong? Perhaps you see your teenager heading in the wrong direction with the wrong people, or maybe your adult child (that looks like an oxy moron but our children can be adults and act like children, I’m just saying!!) you see your adult child headed in the wrong direction. Maybe it’s your husband or wife, parent, sibling, and what if it is you. Examine your life and see it through your Savior’s eyes. What will you do? I’ll tell you what I will do – I’M GOING TO SCREAM OUT. Like Charlie, I see something happening that does not even look right, I’m screaming, here’s the thing, no one will hear but my Lord and by the time I get in His presence instead of screaming I’ll be crying out; why? Because in the presence of Jehovah there is peace, there is dependence, because I know that what ever is over my head is under His feet. Romans 8:14-16 tells me that I am God’s child, led by His spirit, I do not have to be in bondage, or fear, and neither does my husband or my children, I can cry out “Papa, Father” and because I am His child He hears and He goes into action on my behalf and on behalf of the one I cry out to Him about.

The next time you see something that bothers you to no end, start running toward the Throne room and before you even open your mouth to start screaming your Abba is there arms open wide, because He loves His child.

Keep Company

2010-02-17T05:09:00.001-05:00

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." Matthew 11:28-30 The Message

Jesus beckons us in Matthew 11:30 to keep company with Him, I love that and the result of keeping company with Him is indescribable. So many people have ask me how to grow in the Lord. I always say the same thing: be in God’s Word everyday, pour your heart out to Him with total honesty, spend time with Him and fall in love with Him. Its relationship and you are God’s favorite. (I know God’s Word says that God has no favorites but if you have children then you love them and each of them is your favorite, same thing with God)

I have proof that God wants to spend time alone with you!!

In March of 1987, my husband and I moved into our dream home in Greer, South Carolina. My favorite part about the house was the three-acre pond in the backyard with a creek off to the side. I had been having my daily quiet times for about three years. I would take my Bible outside on the deck and just enjoy God’s Word and his creation. There were times I would see a bird fly down and try to take a fish out of the water. This was my place and my view, and I grew so much in the Word and knowing my Lord.

Because of a job situation, my husband started looking for his own transmission business and found one in Sheffield, Alabama. So in March 1991, Rick moved to Sheffield, and in July after school was out and all the Little League baseball games were over, the kids and I took off for Alabama. We lived in a small two-bedroom apartment near a park on the Tennessee River. That park became our playground. The kids and I were brown as gingerbread that summer, and we met some very interesting people. In that apartment, I had my quiet times with my pillow against the window, listening to the traffic on Jackson Highway, a far cry from my view. We began looking for a house to rent while ours was on the market for sale and found one in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. I couldn’t stand that house. It was not my dream house, not even close to my dream house, and I could not find a place to have my quiet time. I tried every room in the house, excluding the bathrooms. I even tried the front porch.

One day my oldest son, Tommy, was home sick from school, and even sick, he talked my ears off, so I headed outside to the backyard to have my time alone with the Lord. I don’t even remember what Scripture I read that day, but I clearly remember the conversation I had with the Lord. I began to tell him how I couldn’t find a place to have my quiet time in that house. I told him how much I missed my view. I asked for forgiveness for complaining about the home I lived in. I disliked it so much that I hadn’t even put a picture on the wall. My prayer went something like this: “Lord, I miss my view, the place you and I had those incredible moments together. I have complained about this house, and I want you to forgive me. I’m so sorry. It has been a year and a half since we put the house in South Carolina on the market, and it still hasn’t sold; and I know that your ways are so much better and higher than mine, and I don’t know, a year and a half to you could be a minute, but if you want me to spend the rest of my days in this house, I will, and I will complain no more. I just want you to know I miss my view.”

I got quiet, and that is when I heard the Holy Spirit say, “Just wait a minute.” I screamed, “No, I cannot wait a minute. I just told you that a minute could be a year and a half to you, and I cannot live in this house another minute.” I burst out laughing and felt God laughing with me because I realized that I was going back on everything I had just said.
So I went inside and put a picture of us on the wall and cleaned out my closet. That night while I was cooking dinner, my husband walked through the door, and I knew something was wrong. I asked him, and he said they had sold this house today. So that night we set out to looking in the paper and phone book for apartments and houses. The next day The Courier Journal came out, and I found an ad for a four-bedroom home with a dishwasher. I hadn’t had a dishwasher in a year and a half.

Rick called the number, and the guy couldn’t take us to see the house, but we were the first caller, and he gave us directions. The house was twenty minutes from our business, and I was so interested in following the directions that I paid little attention to my surroundings. The house was cute, but we couldn’t see much from the front, so we went around to the back and were looking in the sliding glass doors and just admiring this cute place. Then I turned around, and when I did, I saw a bird fly down and try to take a fish out of the water. I began to weep. My husband asked what was wrong, and I told him about the quiet time from the day before, and he said, “We are getting this house!” And we did. That house was located right on the Tennessee River. God had given me an even larger view!

Cool story, right? That’s not even the best part. A few months later, it was cold out, and I had pulled up a chair and was having my quiet time, looking out the sliding glass door. Again I don’t remember what I read in the Word, but I do remember what happened next and will never forget it. I was just thanking Jesus for giving me my view back and how I found it almost hard to believe. I was just praising him and thanking him, and when I got silent, I heard my Jesus say, “I did this for you because I long to spend time with you.”

Even now the tears come. I find it unbelievable that the one who created everything—who hung the stars in the sky; who calmed the sea, wind, and waves; raised the dead; the one who has so much power that the grave and death couldn’t hold him—would want to spend time with me. I couldn’t believe that he would give me the place that my heart longed for to spend time alone with him.

My friend, you are just as important to him, and he longs for your company. It’s like a marriage. Yes, you have responsibilities, but at the end of the day, you long for the company of the one you love, to talk and share your lives together. You think of that person most and put their desires and passions first. It’s the same with Jesus. He thinks of you first and longs for you.

Make a commitment today to spend time alone with him in his Word, pouring out your heart to him, no holding back, and he will pour out his heart to you.

Reach Out and Touch

2010-02-16T05:43:00.002-05:00

Matthew 9:20-22. And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.

Notice how this woman approached Jesus, look at what she touched, now hear Jesus’ words of encouragement.

Your faith has made you well. I love the word faith. I cannot disassociate faith from Jesus; the two go hand in hand. This woman in Matthew 9 had heard of Jesus, she had probably been around to see His miraculous touch and healing of others. But here is her problem; in those days women were considered unclean when they had their periods, anything they touched, sat on, or lay on was unclean and anyone who touched what they lay on or sat on was considered unclean, the same was true for any bleeding other than their monthly period. (See Leviticus 15:19-23, 25-27) So we see her dilemma. I can just picture her standing at the window of her house thinking of all she has heard about Jesus, in her mind going over every scene, seeing Jesus reach out and touch others and heal them. Then her mind would think of others, I don’t think she wanted others “unclean” yet she also wanted to be healed. Hers was a lonely life. When was the last time she was hugged? Twelve years ago. No one invited her to their home, anything she touched was unclean, and therefore others would be unclean. She was probably avoided at every turn; people just didn’t get close for fear of accidentally touching her, better to avoid her altogether. Don’t you know that she missed her family? I lived in Alabama for sixteen years and there were times that I missed my mom and sister so much that I cried, only four hundred fifty miles separated us but it might as well have been ten thousand miles. Can you imagine going to see your mom and she doesn’t even invite you in, “talk to me through this window child and don’t touch a thing, I love you but I gotta be clean.” I can just see this woman begin to pace back and forth, thinking, if only I can touch his garment, oh, I know He can heal me, I know it! And clap, her hands come together, she begins to breathe more quickly because a plan is forming; “I know, I’ll go right through that crowd while his back is turned and I’ll reach down and touch His robe and I will be healed, I know it.”

This woman’s focus was on Jesus and her life was never the same.

Sweet one, I don’t know what you are going through at this moment but be assured God knows. Would you be willing to reach out and touch the hem of his garment? There have been many times in my life when I have grabbed on to the hem of his robe and yelled, “I will not let go” and Jesus has dragged me all over the place and through the faithful clinging has taught me more than I deserve to know. Right now reach out, touch the hem of his robe and let him fill you just as he filled the temple in Isaiah’s day. (see Isaiah 6:1)

Taken from “The King” by Jackie Burrell

Living Stones

2010-02-15T06:38:00.004-05:00

He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the LORD your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.” Joshua 4:5-7 NLT

Those 12 stones would prompt the children born in the land of promise to ask, “What do these stones mean?” God knew how curious children were. And the prompting of the children’s question would cause the adults they were asking to remember the goodness of God. They would remember the Lord’s great kindness to them and the victories He had won for them.

What in your life would prompt your children, grandchildren, spouse, nieces, nephews, co-workers, and neighbors, others in general to ask you – what does this mean in your life?

What stands out in your life? Especially in view of the Lord’s goodness and deliverance in your life.

Let’s look at 1 Peter 2:1-3 so get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

Crave pure spiritual milk, that’s craving the Word of God. Why? So you’ll grow! Cry out for it. You will grow into the full experience of salvation; you’ll be mature and whole in God. So live for The Living Stone, The Source of Life, the One others reject you rejoice in and live your life for.

Look at 1 Peter 2:4-5 you are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.

You are living stones God has placed here on this earth, in this time on earth, to represent Him!

Love You!

2010-02-11T06:47:00.001-05:00

Long ago the LORD said to Israel:
“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.
With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. Jeremiah 31:3 NLT

God told them, "I've never quit loving you and never will.
Expect love, love, and more love! Jeremiah 31:3 The Msg.

Do you see the love God is expressing to you in these verses? He longs for your company because He loves you and loves spending time with you. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6 not to worry about food or clothing that our Father knows that we need these things. So why talk to Him about something He says not to worry about and He says He already knows all about? It’s called relationship. You and I are the same, we love spending time with the ones we love. Who do you think put that desire within you?

Let me give you a down to earth illustration of our spending time with our Lord knowing that He already knows.

Claudia, my daughter, was 4 years old when she walked up to me and said, “Mama, I want to tie like the boys”. Claudia is very independent and having two older brothers helped her want to achieve faster. She would get so aggravated when in a rush to get out the door I would see her shoes untied and ask Tommy to tie them in the car on the way to wherever. So on this morning she hopped up on a chair and put her foot on my knee and watched and listened. After a little while I had her tying on her own. I hugged her little neck and sent her on her way. About twenty minutes later she said, “Mama, come look!” I looked in her room and if there were two strings together, two ribbons, everything was tied into a bow. I began to praise her and tell her how smart she is and then I got down on my knees and listened to her tell me how to tie.

I was the one who taught her how to tie, I was there, and I knew the details. But as she spoke and told me what tying was all about I looked at her with love and pride. Why? Because I love her sweet face, the sound of her voice, the way her curls bounced off her shoulders, and the way she bobbed her head back and forth as she talked, I listened to what I already knew because I’m crazy about her and love her dearly.

It’s the same with our heavenly Father, anytime we talk with Him, no matter what the situation, what the need is, no matter the pain, or joy, He knows it all already and He attentively looks at you and listens to you because He loves you so much and He is absolutely crazy about you.

Roots

2010-02-10T05:51:00.002-05:00

Psalm 1:1-3
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not
follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the LORD,
meditating on it day and night.
3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.

I love the picture Psalm 1:1-3 paints for us. Picture a tree right at the riverbanks, its roots going down deep into the soil, being nourished day in and day out. That is what you will be like when you get into God’s Word every day, letting His Word take root in your life and His Word will become your very way of thinking and living.

Now picture a tree that is perhaps 20 feet away from the riverbank. How deep do think its roots go? And that tree has to wait for the rain to fall to get nourishment. It’s the same for us, we only get the Word on Sunday then we are 6 days away from nourishment, we have a short root system. Let’s be a planting of the Lord, bearing fruit, our leaves not withering and prospering in all we do.
Ask yourself these questions and answer honestly.
Do I have Joy? Or is my joy dependent on my circumstances, or my mood?
What is my delight? Do I delight in God’s word?
Do I drink from the Living Water every day? Am I planted by the riverbank or planted far away?
God has given us the formula for success – success His way. (See Joshua 1:6-9)

Here is the argument: I don’t have time, if you knew what my day is like…
Everyone has the same 24 hours in each day, the same 7 days in a week. What’s the difference in the one who’ll make the priority of putting God first – His word first and having a rich prayer life? Dedication, hunger, persistence!

Be like Mary – get what can never be taken away. See blog titled “Balanced”

Here is another challenge – evaluate how you spend your time. How much time do you spend:
Talking on the phone
Watching TV
Checking email
Surfing the internet
Playing Farmville
Reading magazines
Worrying
Take action; be determined, look at your life and your schedule and make God’s Word a priority each day.

I will teach this till the day I die, it is that important.

Here are a few suggestions:
Don’t look at any forwarded emails; most of them are a waste of time anyway.
Set your timer for internet surfing so instead of spending hours you spend only a set amount of time.
Be determined not to watch any TV or read magazines, books, whatever, until you have been alone with your Lord.
Lay the phone off the hook and go get alone with your heavenly Father.
Every time you start to worry – stop and pray.

One more verse!
Ephesians 3:16-18 (New Living Translation) I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.

Be a Psalm one tree with your roots going down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. Stay immersed in the Living Water, Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.

Jars of Clay

2010-02-09T06:35:00.000-05:00

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Cor. 4:7

You and I are jars of clay with treasure packed inside, and that treasure is Jesus Christ. The image here is of the unimaginable power of God being poured into a fragile, cracked container – you and me.
God’s glory (who He is) is not revealed in spite of our brokenness but rather through our brokenness.

Just as a cracked jar will seep water so will the power of God “leak out” from our fractured life. Don’t be ashamed of the cracks, don’t wish the cracks weren’t there, rather examine yourself to discover how God may be more fully revealed to you and to others through your hardships.

Read the following “clay pot” story.
Day in and day out the servant picked up the two clay pots and walked to the river to fill them with water to bring back to the kings palace. The two clay pots looked totally different, although the same size. One was beautiful, no chipped paint, no cracks, proud, and totally knowing it looked good. The other clay pot had cracks in it and its paint was chipped and coming off. One day the cracked clay pot began to complain to the servant about its condition, “look at me”, it said, “you should throw me out and get another beautiful pot to use – I am good for nothing, I can’t even hold water.” But the servant replied, “Oh, my dear friend, you have no idea of your usefulness. Do you ever wander why I always carry you on my right side as we return to the palace? You see because of your cracks you leak water – you water the flowers on the side of the road and those flowers go inside the palace and decorate the King’s table, those flowers go into vases and those flowers make the king very happy because they make the palace beautiful.”

What kind of clay pot do you want to be? One that looks good sitting around or one that may not look that great but knows the cracks that have come into your life seep out Jesus and you make your King smile and He looks at you and says “Beautiful”.

Braggin'

2010-02-08T06:56:00.001-05:00

God's Message: "Don't let the wise brag of their wisdom. Don't let heroes brag of their exploits.Don't let the rich brag of their riches. If you brag, brag of this and this only:That you understand and know me. I'm God, and I act in loyal love.I do what's right and set things right and fair, and delight in those who do the same things.These are my trademarks." God's Decree. Jeremiah 9:23-24

Go back and look at God’s “don’t let” words and ask yourself: am I wise yet brag of my wisdom, do I shout my hero status with all my accomplishments, do I brag about my more than plenty? Now look at what kind of braggart God wants you to be: brag about this – that you understand and know me.

What would that bragging look like? How would you brag? Perhaps it would look like this: my God is God and He is so very good to me, anything He allows to happen in my life is for my very best and is a direct result of His loyal love for me. My God always does what is right and He always sets things right and fair. And He delights in me because I want His heart in all these things. And through doing it God’s way we gently hear Him say, “you child are My trademark”.
So start bragging right, boast like the apostle Paul proclaimed in 2 Cor. 10:17 but, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

Abide

2010-02-04T06:47:00.000-05:00

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. John 15:5-8

Not long ago I had the privilege of counseling at Judgment House at Cudd Memorial Baptist Church. Judgment House is an outreach tool, using drama to lead others to Christ. My favorite scene is the heaven scene where Jesus (the person who plays Jesus) walks up to you and speaks a welcome and tells you how glad he is to have you with him forever.

This year the majority of women I talked with would sit down with tears streaming down their face, I would ask them if they knew Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior and almost all would say “yes”. Here is the response from these women, “I know that I know Jesus, I know He died on the cross for all my sins, there is just something missing, like a barrier between us.”

I would ask them if they had a Bible and if they read their Bible. And then I had the privilege of doing my life ministry – showing others the importance of falling in love with God’s Word. When we fall in love with the Word of God, we are falling in love with the Son of God. (See John 1:1 &14 and see Who the Word of God is) I got to tell them the importance of letting the Word rule in their lives. We even talked about making the Word a priority and their schedules so that they could put Him and His Word first and grow closer.

The word abide in John 15:5-8 has these meanings: to dwell in His love, remain in it, tarry in it, soak it up – live in it!

Examine your days, what priority does the Word have in your life? In verse 7 Jesus starts with the word “if” meaning the choice is yours, but once you choose to abide in His word barriers will be gone, understanding will come, greater love and confidence will be the result and you’ll cry out, “Jesus apart from You I can do nothing, but with You I can do all things!” (John 15:5c and Phil 4:13)

Be a Gift

2010-02-03T06:13:00.001-05:00

Learn to appreciate and give dignity to your body, not abusing it
1 Thess. 4:4a the Message

This past Sunday we celebrated my son Tommy’s 29th birthday. I ate too many yeast rolls, too much caramel cake, and too much period. By the time we got home my heart rate was up and I was miserable. I just kept thinking; I shouldn’t have eaten the yeast rolls, and especially that cake. I even ask the Lord to help me feel better after I had made the decision to eat the wrong things. Today the Lord reminded me of 1 Thess. 4:4, I knew better than to eat the culprits that would make me feel bad and make my heart fly, which makes me uncomfortable. Then I was reminded of verse 8b, “who is making you a gift of His Holy Spirit.” I want to be a gift to my God everyday and to present my body as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is my reasonable service. Romans 12:1

Today I have eaten so much better, honored my Lord with the choices given me today. Here’s the thing about being a living sacrifice, they can easily crawl off the alter. Tomorrow I may crawl off the alter and not honor my Lord and eat things that bring about tiredness or even crankiness. But that is not my hearts desire. I want to be a gift to my Lord because that is what He desires for me.

How about you? Are you appreciating your body, not abusing it? Look at how you treat the vessel God gave you, and then get busy being a gift to Him, a living sacrifice.

To get the most out of these verses go to www.Biblegateway.com and read 1 Thess 4:1-8 and select the Message translation.

Celebrate!

2010-02-02T05:59:00.001-05:00

Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!
Philippians 4:4 the Message

What if we prayed Philippians 4:4 first thing each morning and all through out our day? It’s more than possible. Just pray, “Lord, I celebrate You, I revel in You, You are my heart’s cry, my satisfaction. Jesus, I want a wholehearted trust and reliance on You that brings about great confidence. Work this in me Lord; show Yourself strong on my behalf.”
The result of praying this celebrating, confident prayer would be evident to all those you work with, live with, play with – simply put – do life with. All the little things that get on your last nerve would not be important, arguments would be worked out, and being considerate would be a priority, no putting self first because you are putting Christ first. And the result would be verse 5 of Philippians 4; “Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!”
And that is “Kingdom attitude” and with that attitude you are doing God’s Word: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33

Go on - Celebrate!

Notice

2010-02-01T08:43:00.002-05:00

1 One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. 2 They noticed that some of his disciples failed to follow the Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating. 3 (The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands, as required by their ancient traditions. 4 Similarly, they don’t eat anything from the market until they immerse their hands in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to—such as their ceremonial washing of cups, pitchers, and kettles.) 5 So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, “Why don’t your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony.” Mark 7:1-5 NLT

What do you notice? Read verses 2-5 and notice what these men were looking at and what they made comment about. Now take a look at your life. Do you, in any setting, notice only what is wrong or what doesn’t match up with what you think is right. And not only do you notice and think it but you say out loud what you think. What if we started living the way of Jesus – we say only words that will build up and not tear down, we love others, regardless of their skin color, how hairy they are, the tattoos they have, their piercings, anything that we think is wrong with them.

What about the places you visit? You go to someone’s home and it is a total mess or totally neat but either way you have something to say. You visit a friend’s church and the first thing out of your mouth is, “my, that carpet is ugly.” Everything I just mentioned is a surface thing, it is what we notice, see with our eyes, but it doesn’t even come close to the heart of the one we are looking at and making unnecessary comments about.

The next time you are tempted to speak words that will not build someone up but tear them down and cause pain- think first: will this matter for eternity? Hair can be shaved, tattoos covered up, houses cleaned, carpet replaced, but the hurts we inflict are hard to heal and forget. See people through the eyes of Jesus, it just might cause you to be quiet and pray instead.
One more thing to look at; verse one states that the Pharisees and teachers of religious law came to see Jesus but His disciples followed Him and in this there is a distinct difference.

Hypocrite?

2010-01-28T07:05:00.002-05:00

Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.” Mark 7:6-8

In verses 1-5 the Pharisees and religious leaders are asking Jesus why the disciples didn’t wash properly before meals. And in the verses that follow Jesus will tell them like it is and He starts by calling them hypocrites. Jesus quotes from Isaiah 29:13. I have this written in my Bible; “Lord, I don’t ever want this said about me.” See Jesus is after my heart and He can see if the actions, motives, and thoughts I have reflect my true heart. I have been reading my prayer journal from 2006 and on January 31 I wrote, “Father, I want You to say of me: she always wants to say the right thing from the heart and have Jesus glorified. She truly worships me and she means, purposes, to worship me and it shows. She only wants to teach and live by My Word, she purposes to follow and obey My Word and not go the way of the world. Lord, give me a heart that pleases You – seeks after You. Lord, I never want You to look at me and say, “Jackie, you’re acting like a Pharisee.”
Do a heart search, look at these verses and let them examine you.
Do I honor Jesus with my lips, but my heart is far from Him?
Is my worship a farce?
Do I teach man-made ideas and then say God said it?
Do I ignore God’s law yet live like my way is right?
Get alone with Jesus and talk these verses and questions over with Him, let Him lead you and change you and the result will be greater love for Him, greater peace and joy. Go now, put the laptop down, turn off your computer screen – go :)

Toilet Paper Rolls

2010-01-27T05:47:00.002-05:00

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Phil 2:3-4

As you read this you will probably start thinking, girl, you have lost your mind, or you are so weird, and I am ok with that. I know I am weird and my lost mind is up for debate, it is not lost – it just functions differently. So enjoy this weird riddled devotion.

A couple of weeks ago every time I would go to the bathroom to take a leak there would be only like two squares of toilet paper left on the roll. We have two bathrooms and I mean this was happening every time I went or maybe it just seemed that way. But I do go A LOT; I have a bladder the size of an English pea (just letting you know the reason for the frequency.) Rick, my husband, takes Friday’s off and usually he is home early on Thursday so he is here plenty enough to use up toilet paper. But after I had changed the toilet paper roll it seemed like six times in one day I started getting aggravated. I mean it’s only the two of us living in this house, no other people live here. So after the sixth time of me having to change the toilet paper roll I decided that I was going to hit him over the head with the first thing I could get my hands on which at the time was the roll, not much pain involved with being hit by that but MY point would be made. I talk to the Lord all the time, and yes, you can talk to Him while in the bathroom and whatever you may be doing in there. So here is the conversation I had with the Lord.

Lord this is it! I have had it with this two sheets of toilet paper left on the roll, who can use two sheets of toilet paper, you can’t even blow your nose with two sheets, you can squash a bug with two sheets and that is what I am going to do squash him like a bug and when people see his bumped up forehead and ask what happened he can wisely say, “don’t ever leave just two sheets of toilet paper on the roll!”

And the Lord replied, “Jackie, will that matter for all eternity?”
“No, Lord, it won’t but it will matter for his forehead.” But the Holy Spirit would not let me get by with that, and because I had been studying Philippians 2:3-4, He began to ask me question after question.
Jackie, are you being selfish?
Yes, but he was selfish before I was.
Jackie, are you thinking only of yourself?
Well, obviously, You think I am.
Jackie, are you looking out for his interest?
But what about him, Lord? If he were Philippians 2:3-4ing me I would have toilet paper!!!
Right now child we are dealing with you and your attitude. You are not responsible for how he behaves but you are responsible for how you behave and how you respond. Are you going to be like Me?
Lord, forgive me, toilet paper is not important compared to the cross, compared to eternity, Your will be done in my life.

Now what if every person who loves Jesus acted like Him, and when they read Philippians 2:3-4 they prayed, “Jesus, enable me to not be selfish or conceited. Enable me to esteem others as better than myself so that their interest, their health, their problems, are more important than my own.

Now what if everyone in the church did this; we’d have to build more buildings, and have more services because Jesus’ life and love would reign instead of people and their pettiness.

Did I ever tell my husband about the toilet paper? Nope! After talking to Jesus about it - it just wasn’t that important any more.

Note to reader – if you think this is silly you are right, but I think being silly is fun. Who wants to be around boring people? And if I offended anyone – forgive me.

Trust Him

2010-01-26T06:50:00.001-05:00

Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry." Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. Luke 7:11-15

In the midst of this crowd Jesus saw this widow and He had compassion on her. Jesus saw the cry of her heart. She didn’t run up to Jesus begging Him to do something. She was weeping in the moment, missing her son. Her heart is breaking and then she hears these words, “don’t cry.” She cannot take her eyes off the One who spoke those words and as she continues to follow Jesus with her eyes she sees Him do an amazing thing. He commands her dead son to get up and he did! Now her heart is rejoicing. What all did this mother and son talk about on their way home? Just think of all the conversations they had because of this one moment in their life. Isn’t Jesus amazing?
I don’t know what you are going through, but be assured, Jesus knows. He sees your situation, maybe it’s a dream or desire you’re about to abandon because all looks dead, see Jesus come and speak over your situation. Listen to what He desires for you to do, you can trust Him.

He Sees

2010-01-25T06:08:00.003-05:00

Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry." Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. Luke 7:11-15

A large crowd is with Jesus and a large crowd is with this woman; no matter the size of a crowd, Jesus always sees the need and meets it. You are not lost in the crowd; you are noticed by your Savior. Our Lord had compassion on this woman, He went right up to her and said, “Don’t cry”, and then He did something in those days that would make Him ceremonially unclean – He touched a coffin. In no way did this make Jesus unclean or defile Him, instead, His power went out and immediately dispelled all defilement. What did those carrying the coffin think when they saw Jesus coming toward them? Were they thinking to themselves, “don’t come any closer, you’ll be unclean and have to go through the steps of being purified”. (See Numbers 19) Jesus is thinking none of that, He knows that He is the one who purifies. He touches and He speaks and amazing things happen. What are your needs right now? Look to Jesus, know that in the midst of everything He sees, ask Him to touch and to speak over your situation and bring forth life. He is more than willing.

Know

2010-01-22T08:14:00.001-05:00

Ephesians 2:12-13 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

I do not know what you are going through at this moment but these verses should cause you to think differently, and feel differently.
Let the following facts from these two verses wash over you, repeat them, say them out loud till it resonates in your heart. At any point in your day where you start to feel excluded, insignificant, discouraged, then repeat these 6 facts. Go to the cross and know you are loved then grab Jesus’ hand and walk down the road to the empty tomb and know victory is yours!

1. I am no longer separate
2. I am no longer excluded
3. I have citizenship – daughtership, sonship
4. I am a partaker of the covenant
5. I have hope – I have God!
6. I am brought near because of my Jesus – His Blood.

The Zao Life

2010-01-21T07:08:00.000-05:00

And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” So he answered and said, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” Luke 10:25-28

Look again at verse 28. Jesus said, “Do this and you will live.” Jesus didn’t say you’ll have eternal life, He said, “live.” I looked up the word live in the Greek (Strongs). The word is zao and has these meanings: to enjoy real life, active, blessed; to be full of vigor, to be fresh, strong, efficient, and powerful.

I want that kind of life, I want to zao, really live. So how do we do this? Look again at verse 27, which said, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

So do you want to enjoy real life, be active, be blessed, be full of vigor, fresh, strong, efficient and powerful? Then look at your life, ask yourself questions, “do I love Jesus with all my heart, soul, and strength and others as myself?” and wherever the answer is in the negative be determined to seek your Saviors face and the heart changes He wants to make in you so that you can and do live the zao life.

Be Irresistible

2010-01-20T06:25:00.002-05:00

Love talked about is easily ignored, but love demonstrated is irresistible.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

Years ago when my children were teenagers and began to drive or had friends who could drive they were gone quite often. But the desire to use their new found freedom via keys and wheels had a profound effect on their hearing. I’d ask them to do the things they knew they were suppose to do anyway, things like taking out the trash, feeding the dogs, putting up the dishes, chores that had to be done and chores they had been doing since they were single digit ages. But here is what I would hear as they were on their way out the door, “love ya, ma”, “have a great day, ma”; “see ya, ma”. Till one day I could take it no more and all three of those beloved faces were in front of me and I began with these words; “love talked about is easily ignored, but love demonstrated is irresistible”. I also told them that they could have their keys back when they became irresistible. Many words were exchanged but the point was do not tell me that you love me as you walk out the door but ignore me and the responsibilities you know you have.

How is your relationship with the Lord? Are you so busy that time with Him is the last thing you think of? You may be thinking, “But I went to church Sunday”, and I am glad you did. But how’s the rest of your week, are you running out the door telling God, “love ya, Lord”. Stop, take the time to reevaluate and become irresistible to Jesus. Let me give you an illustration: what if you only had 10 minutes because maybe you slept late, or you have a child that will not cooperate and woke up at the same time you did and getting fed is that child’s priority and your responsibility. But you promise your heart that if all I have is 10 minutes it will be 10 minutes spent with Jesus. Then consider getting on your knees, open His Word to Psalm 71 and began to pray that Psalm back to Him. Verse 1 In You, O LORD, I put my trust; Let me never be put to shame. Just pray “Lord, right now I intentionally trust you, all through out this day show up in my life and give me clear, concise direction, your perfect guidance and wisdom and because my trust is in You I will never be put to shame.”

Now, you keep going with that Psalm, your Lord will be irresistible to you. How do I know? Because those first 3 verses were part of my quiet time yesterday and I even prayed those verses over my husband and children and when I was done I was clapping my hands in delight because of my Lord, His Word and His promises.

Go After

2010-01-19T07:52:00.001-05:00

Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. So it was, after three days, that the officers went through the camp; and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.

Joshua and the children of Israel are on the verge of entering the Promise Land; they will have to cross the Jordan River to get there. The Ark of the Covenant represented the presence of the LORD and the children of Israel were to get up and go after it. The same is true for us; we cannot stay where we are and go after the presence of the Living God. So get up, get your Bible and get after His presence, it will change your day and your life. I want to see God’s presence in my life and last week He showed me tangible proofs of His presence through relationship. I had to go to the doctor for some pain I have been experiencing (we will not talk about how long this has been going on or what a chicken I am when it comes to doctors) and my daughter, Claudia, was there to be with me. See here’s the thing, I am so used to doing everything by myself, and the fact that she showed up was God saying, “Hey Jackie, I am here with you”. He even had my husband call that morning and ask if I needed him to come with me, I hate to be a bother to anyone, so I told Rick that I would be ok by myself. And I really didn’t expect Claudia to be there because it was an early appointment and she is not an early riser another tangible proof of God’s love for me, He gave me a husband who would rearrange his day to be with me and a daughter who would get up early to be there for me.

Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?

2010-01-15T07:33:00.001-05:00

Gen 18:9-14
Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” So he said, “Here, in the tent.” And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

Nothing is too hard for our Lord and age does not matter to Him and He asks in verse 14 “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” I find it important that He ask Abraham that question. See, God knew that nothing is too hard for Him, He ask because He wants us to believe it. Have you been holding on to the Lord’s promises? Keep believing, nothing is too hard for Him. Have you looked at your life and said, “It’s too late”; stop saying that and start saying, “nothing is too hard for my Lord”. If you have been doubting your Lord, then ask for forgiveness and start believing anew. At the appointed time God will move on your behalf, the plans, the future, the hope, He has for you and it will be the perfect time of life. (verse14)
Your Lord knows every fear you have, every question, He knew you would be reading this and He wanted to encourage you, to spur you on in your walk with Him, He wanted to speak to you and comfort you.
Spend a few minutes telling Him how much you love Him, trust Him and that you are counting on His hand moving in your life. Place your life in His hands and be amazed at your Redeemer. To God be the glory!

The Giving of our Desires

2010-01-14T06:45:00.000-05:00

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.

If you are like me you have desires, desires for your children, spouse, marriage, even for your future.
There is a particular desire that I have been praying and talking to the Lord about for 5 years now, at first it was sporadic, and now I talk to the Lord about it all through out my day.

Between the enemy’s attacks and me “seeing” God do nothing, (I knew He was working in the background, I just couldn’t see it) I was extremely frustrated. This leads us to Sunday, November 1, 2009. I was having my quiet time that morning and just pouring my heart out to God. I knew I needed to get off my fanny and get on my knees. I was on my knees praying over this desire and said, “Here Lord, you take it because I can’t keep this up anymore, You know what to do with this far better than I do, so You take it.” At that moment that desire became an offering, an object of sacrifice, and today it has become material for praise.

There are 2 things that I know: God will accept the offering and He will use it for something redemptive.
Now He may give it back to me as He did Isaac to Abraham. But even if He does not this He knows – that I intend to be obedient.

When I got off my knees that morning peace ruled, not frustration, not discouragement but peace. Do you want to know the key to having peace in your life? Authority. You let Jesus Christ rule in your life and peace will be the result.

If we look at Psalm 37:4 as a whole, we’ve looked at the backend of it, now let’s dwell on the frontend, “delight yourself in the LORD.” What does it mean to delight? In the Hebrew it means; to be happy about, take exquisite delight. In our English dictionary it means a high degree of gratification: joy; extreme satisfaction. I could not resist the Wikipedia encyclopedia: delight means happiness and may refer to someone or something that brings such a state, such as good-tasting food.

What if we were to say it this way: delight means happiness and may refer to someone or something that brings such a state, such as a great and loving God.

I have found that when Jesus is my delight, my gratification, joy, extreme satisfaction, and my happiness then HE IS my desire and everything else in life is just a bonus of the overflow of my relationship with Him.

Here is a heart question for you: are you delighting in the Lord?

Trust

2010-01-13T06:07:00.001-05:00

TRUST

Mark 10:15-16 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” 16 And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.

At the end of 2001 I ask God to give me a verse that would take me through the entire upcoming year. He gave me Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
No matter what I was going through I would lean on that verse. I would say “even in this God has plans for me, a purpose for the pain, the suffering, in the joy, in the hard decisions, in the days filled with fun, whatever my situation I knew God saw and God was not neglecting me. God was fulfilling His divine plans, and in the end I would prosper, no harm would happen and through it all I would have hope and count on the future that God has for me. Each year I’d ask God for a new verse and He chose for me to cling to Jeremiah 29:11 until 2008. I clearly remember December 27, 2007 God gave me the above verse, Mark 10:15-16. I have this displayed in my kitchen:
Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
So be child like - faith
The result: And He took Jackie up in His arms, laid His hands on her, and blessed her.
With that verse I purposed to be child like, to step out in faith and trust my heavenly Father. Had I not trusted Him before? Yes, I had and I trust Him now, here’s the thing, He knew what I would be going through in 2008 and 2009 and that I would not understand some of what I would go through. He also answered a prayer I had been praying since 1998, ten years of praying for God to do this one thing and let me tell you when He answered with a big fat yes I acted child like. I danced, I jumped up and down, I sang and I danced some more and I knew my Father was pleased.
Know that God loves you dearly and that He has specific, profound, heart-delighting plans for you. These plans will not harm you but prosper you and you will walk into the future with great hope. So be child like, jump into your Saviors arms and pour out your heart. He will bless you.

The verse that God gave me for 2010 is Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

As we finish today’s devotion let me pray this verse over you.
Holy Father, I ask that You fill Your child with all joy and peace as they trust you more and that Your child would abound, overflow in hope, by the power of Your Holy Spirit who lives within them.

Don't Go There

2010-01-12T07:25:00.000-05:00

Genesis 12:10-20 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.” So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house. He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels. But the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. And Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.” So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.

I love reading about Abraham “the father of our faith”. There were times he was totally obedient and other times he went with his own thoughts and decisions. In today’s Scripture we see Abraham going to Egypt because of a famine, God did not tell him to go there. God told Abraham to go to a land He would show him, Egypt was not that land. And God went to work getting Abraham and Sarah out of Egypt.

Now read F.B. Meyer’s alternative plan:
“how much better would it have been for Abraham to have said, ‘Thou hast brought me here; and Thou must now bear the whole weight of providing for me and mine; here I will stay till I clearly know what Thou will have me to do.’ If any should read these lines who have come into position of extreme difficulties, as we see the sun shorn of splendor through a fog; but let them look at difficulties through God. Let them put God between themselves and the disasters which threaten them. Let them cast the whole responsibility upon Him. Has He not thus brought you into difficulties, that He may have an opportunity of strengthening your faith, by giving some unexampled proof of His power? Wait only on the Lord, trust also in Him. He will provide.”

Read it again, absorb it, and apply it!! Pray to the Father: “Go before me, I want to be obedient I cast my life before You – it is Your responsibility, do not let difficulties prevail, go between me and them so I will see Your splendor and glory.”

God does not want you beaten down or saying, “poor pitiful me”. He wants to bless you! That is why He insists on your obedience. God wants to teach you to seek His will because what He gives you will always prove better. Don’t do things your way – don’t go to Egypt, stay at the alter and believe!

The Immanuel Life

2010-01-11T07:00:00.001-05:00

The Immanuel life

Matt. 1:22-23
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

How would our lives, the actions we take, our thought lives, be different if we lived the Immanuel life? Look at Matt. 1:24-25
Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.

THE RESULT:
There would be no more sleeping, look at the first part of verse 24, Joseph is aroused from sleep. What would that look like in our lives? Years ago my mother-in-law came for a visit; we lived right on the Tennessee River in Sheffield Alabama. We also had the cutest puppy, Lucy, she was an Akita Collie mix, someone else thought she was cute too because when she was 7 months old someone stole her. Lucy would go to the side of the yard where she could go down and be on the sandy part of the river but she could not figure how to get back up to our yard so she would begin to yelp, over and over till I would come and get her. On this day my mother-in-law was taking a nap on the couch when Lucy took her trip to the river. I quietly and quickly went to get Lucy and realized that Ruby had been asleep for well over 2 hours. When I came back into the house I checked on Ruby and she didn’t look asleep she looked - dare I say it – dead. I got concerned and scared. I bent down to see if her chest rose up and down and couldn’t see it happening, fear drove me into the kitchen for a spoon, I bent down and put that spoon under her nose and yes! It fogged up so I knew she was alive. Take a moment and look at yourself from the view of your Savior’s eyes. Would His view of you be totally different from your view of yourself? Would He have to get out His spiritual spoon and stick it under your nose? I’ve heard so many say, “I will die for Jesus.” Yes, but will you live for Him?

Like Joseph when we are aroused from sleep we will do as the Lord commands us. Our lives will be marked by obedience. Joseph did, Joseph took, and Joseph called, all marks of obedience.

Not everything that I do is something that I get excited about doing, for instance, cleaning house or grocery shopping, these are not things that excite me. But living the Immanuel life does excite me so even in the mundane things like cleaning house I can do them while knowing – God is with me. There are times that I’ll finish a task and say out loud, “looks good Jesus, thanks for giving me the energy.”

Through the moments of your day acknowledge that God is with you, it will change your day.

RPT=God's Will

2010-01-08T08:20:00.002-05:00

RPT = God’s will

1 Thess. 5:16-18
Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I began to look at these verses in a new light not long ago. I just didn’t want to do anything, things like work, cleaning, walking the dog, all the normal, everyday stuff that needed to be done. I talked to the Lord about it as I dragged through the day and He reminded me of these verses. It was literally like the light bulb went off. And it changed my day and the days that followed. It looked like this: I can be rejoicing, praising my Lord, as I walk my big dog, and while I walk I’m praying and I begin to be thankful for the energy to walk the dog. The same actions as I’m working, cleaning the bathrooms, dusting furniture, sweeping and mopping floors, cooking dinner, exercising, vacuuming, all manner of things. And here is what I began to notice; I seemed to be doing all three, rejoicing, praying and giving thanks, in the same timing, almost like a song. It looked like this: Lord, I praise You for the energy to cook this meal, use it to satisfy us and Lord thank you for giving us the money to buy this food.
When the Apostle Paul said to “pray without ceasing” he didn’t mean a constant sitting and praying posture, he meant a “God-consciousness”, where we sense the Lord’s presence, we are in constant contact with Him even in the most ordinary parts of our day.
And here is a guarantee; it is His will for you. I have had so many people say to me, “I wish I knew God’s will for me.” And I am able to tell them these verses. Are you rejoicing always, praying without ceasing, and giving thanks in all things? Start with what you know God’s will is and as you are obedient He will make known to you the other parts of His will.
A little challenge, write these 3 letters everywhere, (or put them on sticky notes) – RPT – on your bathroom mirror, on your computer screen, your remote, fridge, laundry baskets, coffee maker, in your car…
And every time you see RPT ask yourself, “am I rejoicing, praying, being thankful?” it will give you the nudge to start doing God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. And just maybe your days will never be the same!!! I’m so excited. Why? You will know you are doing God’s will and you will have joy in the process and others will see it and you’ll be able to tell them the reason for your joy – Jesus.

Right but not loyal

2010-01-07T06:17:00.001-05:00

Right but not loyal

2 Chronicles 25:1-2 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a loyal heart.

Our focus will be verse 2.
“What was” is in italics meaning those words were not in the original text, the italicized words are put there for the readers benefit, for better comprehension. So let’s look at the verse without the italicized words: And he did right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a loyal heart.

How does that happen, being right in God’s sight but not with a loyal heart? Perhaps it looked like this: he got up each day, he performed his duties, not outwardly sinning but always his heart was looking for more. The “more” that God wanted to fill and the “more” that Satan wanted to own.

And in the end other gods won out. Look at verse 14, Now it was so, after Amaziah came from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the people of Seir, set them up to be his gods, and bowed down before them and burned incense to them.

Amaziah brought home and bowed down to gods that were weaker than he was, these gods couldn’t even save their own people. Look at verse 15, Therefore the anger of the LORD was aroused against Amaziah, and He sent him a prophet who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of the people, which could not rescue their own people from your hand?”

Could verse 2 be said about you? Put your name in the blank. And _______________ did what was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a loyal heart.

Does the LORD look at you and say, “Yes, that’s My child, My blood-bought wonder, but her/his heart is not in life with me.

Life verses love, what is the difference? Perhaps ask yourself, “in all that I do (life) is it obvious to myself and to my Lord that I love Him most of all?”

I have been reading Lori Wick’s book Bamboo and Lace and these words on page 147 took me by surprise and go perfect with today’s devotion:
Jesus the very thought of thee
Bores me I must confess
Putting you first in all my life
Interests me even less

I’ll give you time on Sunday morning –
Then I will sing and praise
But after that my time’s my own –
Mondays through Saturdays

Demand and no more of me, O Lord –
There is so much to do
I have a life I can’t afford
To waste it all on you.
(Sung to the tune “Jesus the very thought of You”)

Live a life knowing that you have the greatest Treasure of all – Jesus Christ living inside of you and all that you do comes from Him, enabling you, supplying the need, and energizing you. (2 Cor. 4:7) When you recognize Christ as first then loyalty and devotion will be a way of life.
2 Corinthians 5:15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

The Willingness of Jesus

2010-01-06T06:11:00.002-05:00

The Willingness of Jesus

Luke 5:12-13 NLT
In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” 13 Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.

When Jesus got up that morning He could have stretched and proclaimed loud and clear for all leprosy to hear – BE GONE!
But He chose to be among us, to spend time with us, and to let us choose to respond to His presence. He never forces us to put our attention on Him. He simply proclaims – I am here and I am willing – and then loves us enough to let us choose His presence and His willingness.

As I thought of this man in Luke 5, eat up with leprosy, how hard his life had to have been, I thought of how desperate he was, and then he sees Jesus, Hope in walking form.
This man bows with his face to the ground; this shows his reverence for Jesus and his desperation. How hard was it for him to bow low? The leprosy had made his skin rot off, if his fingers and some of his toes were gone bending down and getting up would be difficult. And the smell would have been horrendous, he smelt like decaying, dying flesh. This man had no problem begging and Jesus had no problem touching him or the smell. And this is when the Lord spoke to my heart and allowed me to see the cross. My sin, like filthy stinky rags, is atoned for on the cross.
How desperate are you and I for the willingness of Jesus?
To go face down, to beg…
To say Jesus if you are willing you can ____________.
You fill in the blank, know that Jesus is bending down touching you and saying, I am willing. Will you have an “instantly” like this man in Luke 5? I don’t know, that’s up to the Lord. My circumstances have not changed – (yet) – but I am confident in my Savior and the peace and joy is there which gives me the courage to trust.
This man’s leprosy is like our sin; it rots away our lives and makes us stink, literally and figuratively. But here is the great truth of the Cross, when we accept the willingness of Jesus - verse 13 says it all “and the leprosy disappeared” - the same is said of us, and her/his sins have disappeared! Praise His name!
Let everyday be a day that you pursue the willingness of Jesus.

God is Able

2010-01-05T07:54:00.002-05:00

God is able

Jude 24
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy

Say this all through out your day, “my God is able”. This verse was on my mind when I woke up this morning. I have several things that are on my heart and mind that cause me pain, trials that seem endless, so God sweetly reminded me this morning that HE IS ABLE. Nothing in my life happens without His knowing but how I respond to life is up to me. Will I respond with selfishness, hurting others because I am hurt, will I take things into my own hands and make things happen instead of trusting God and His perfect timing?
God is able. I believe those three words, I will cling to those three words, it’s called faith. And in the process I will have joy. The joy that this verse refers to primarily is the joy of Jesus, look at Hebrews 12:2 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. Notice in this Scripture that the word joy comes before the word cross and shame. How could Jesus have joy and endure the cross, despising the shame? Because of you, my friend, you are His treasured possession and right now Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father and He is praying for you. That truth brings tears to my eyes. We are so dearly loved. And that truth should fill our hearts with joy. Our God is able…Praise His Name!
I’ll leave you with one last verse in the form of a prayer.
Psalm 44:4 You are my King, O God, command victories for me today.

2010-01-04T13:43:00.000-05:00

Balanced

Luke 10:38-42
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

It seems that every time I read these passages I always call out, “Lord, please give me balance, to be like Martha, getting lots done, but also to be like Mary, sitting at your feet getting what can never be taken from me.
What causes us to be “out of balance”? Are we like Martha, distracted, upset and worried about many things? Yes, we have many things that have to be done every day and these many things are important but the most important part of our day should be verse 39 sitting at the Savior’s feet.
Take a look at your days this week, how easily are you distracted, what seems to eat up a lot of your time? Can you honestly say that you’ve sat at the feet of Jesus, excited because you have been in the presence of the Living God?
I heard this statement this past weekend, “The internet sucks the very life out of time.” and I thought, yes, that’s so true. There are lots of fun things to do on your computer, but when checking your Face Book page comes before you do anything else then it’s time for reevaluation. I’m not here to make you feel guilty, but to search your heart and hear your Savior say, “Child, come away with me, there is only one thing that is needed, chose that which is better and will never be taken from you.”
Many blessings,
Jackie