God comforts us not to make us comfortable but to make us comforters. ~John Henry Jowett

“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God. Isaiah 40:1

As God comforts us through our difficulties and trials, He expects us to use that comfort to comfort others who are going through hardships. God uses us as His hands and feet. He doesn’t need us, but He chooses to use us.

He gives us words of comfort through His holy Word. The Word of God stands forever. So we can pass it on to others because it never loses its meaning.

Are you going through a time of difficulty today? Let me comfort you with a word from our Lord:

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary. (Isaiah 40:28-31 NASB)

Dear brothers and sisters be encouraged today and draw your strength from the Lord! He will see you through whatever your hardship is! Keep your eyes fixed on Him and know that He is God! May The Holy Spirit over flow from your heart today and may you find rest in His arms. Lean back and breathe Him in deeply and know that He is God. God has got this! NOTHING is too big for Him!

I have been reading a book called “Intimacy Ignited” by Dr. Joseph & Linda Dillow and Dr. Peter & Lorraine Pintus. God is teaching me through this book that:

As believers, our bodies are a temple for the Holy Spirit! This is HUGE! This means our bodies are a sacred place. It is critical that we are confident and have a desire to nurture this dwelling place that was created and loaned to us by our Heavenly Papa! As a wife, I can help boost this confidence and desire in my husband by affirming him. The same is true for a husband to his wife. This can be difficult for some who have been married awhile and time/stress have taken a toll on our bodies & minds. In the book, a beautiful example in the Song of Solomon is given where Solomon affirms his bride.

Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. (‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭11-12‬ NASB)

Let’s remember as we start this new year…2015…that as brothers and sisters in Christ this is how we are to live! Let us lay aside our encumbrances and forgive one another. We are like-minded for Christ! God takes us each on different God journeys! Let us lift one another up and encourage one another. We are not called to tear one another down. Nor are we called to gossip and slander. The world does that enough. We are brothers and sisters in and through Christ! Let us tear down the walls that we choose to build around our own hearts and allow the God of love and peace to do a mighty work through each of us.

I look forward to continuing walking with you this new year…drawing closer to Christ and encouraging you in your walks. God has called each of us on a different journey…let us rally alongside one another as we each seek to fulfill the calling in our lives through Christ Jesus!

May the God of creation bless you this new year as He continues to establish each step that you take as you move forward. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus as He authors this new year of our lives. May we be filled to overflowing with the presence of the Holy Spirit and allow our ears to become more attuned to hearing His voice. May the God of mercy and grace overflow from your heart.

Blessings my dear brothers and sisters! Let this new year begin….

As Christmas is only one week away, I keep thinking about how this entire holiday is completely about Jesus; my Savior, my Beloved. We did the tradition of Santa with our boys when they were very small. One year when they were still young, I heard of a family who decided to take Santa out of the picture completely and the focus was placed 100% on Christ during the Christmas season. The family gave each child three gifts just as Jesus received three gifts on His birthday. I became very excited about this new tradition and my husband and I decided to implement this immediately in our family. Just like I was excited to tell my husband, we couldn’t wait to tell our families about this new idea. However, we quickly found out that this tradition was not going to be accepted with open arms amongst our family and friends. In the Christmases that followed we found ourselves having to defend our new tradition. It became so disheartening and even angered me at times. As I have looked back and reflected on this change that we made for our family, God placed verses from Deuteronomy 11 on my heart and in my mind:

“Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, lest the Lord’s anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you. Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your houses when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth. For if you carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do—to love the Lord you God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him—then the Lord will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will dispossess greater and mightier nations than yourselves.” Deuteronomy 11:16-23

The resistance I meet now doesn’t bother me. I know it is our job as parents to train our children in the ways of the Lord in everything we do and for us that includes Christmas; especially Christmas. If you, too, use this tradition in your family, I heard on the radio a way you can take this tradition a step further. We are going to add this to our tradition this year! The children will still receive the three gifts as they have in the past but they will now represent the three gifts that Jesus received; gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold-was a precious gem fit for a King, so the children receive something they really would like to have; something precious to them. Frankincense-was used in worship, so the children receive something that will bring them closer to Christ. Myrrh-was used in burial rituals, so the children receive something they can wear. If it weren’t for Christ we wouldn’t even have this holiday to begin with. I would like to encourage you to examine your family traditions. Is Christ really the focus for you during the Christmas season? Does He receive all of the honor, praise, and glory. Do you constantly talk about Him with your children or does Jesus Christ have something or someone to compete with in your home?

~Merry Christmas, Chelsey

Jesus was preparing His disciples to go and preach throughout the kingdom of God. He gave specific instructions about what they should do and what they should take…and what they SHOULDN”T take. He told them, “Take nothing for the journey–no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic.” (Luke 9:3) God essentially took these things from them so they would have nothing from this earth, and they would be focused on Him and the work He wanted them to do…He was preparing them for something bigger, something better!!!! How is God preparing you? More importantly, WHAT is He preparing you for? Pray today that you will be obedient to His call.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 2 Corinthians 2:14

The Roman ceremony called the Triumph was a ceremony used to honor a victorious general.  It would be done by having a festive, ceremonial parade through the Roman streets.

God celebrates with us in the same way.  Christ is our victor!  Because of Christ, we are victorious, and the sweet aroma of Christ is evident in our lives.  Wherever we go, whatever we do, the aroma of Christ should penetrated the air just as the fragrance from the Triumph parade made as the assembly would pas by and the horses hooves would crush the fragrant flowers that were placed in the road.  A powerful aroma would fill the air that was a strong, sweet smell.  God wants us to have that same sweet aroma of the knowledge of God in our lives.

For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are suffering. 2Corinthians 2:15

When we are in God’s will and sharing Christ with those around us and those that God crosses our paths, we become that pleasing fragrance to God.  We become the hands and feet of Christ.  To some who receive this message it will be an “aroma from death to death, to others an aroma from life to life”(verse 16).  Some will turn away from the teachings of Christ which will lead to death and for others it will be a message that will bring eternal life.

I never want the circumstances of my life to get in the way of the sweet aroma of Christ that I am suppose to wear.  There may be struggles that I am experiencing, but I must look at these struggles as a way that I am drawn closer to my Lord. I may shed tears at times because the journey can be excruciatingly painful.  But even through the difficulties, I have my hope set in Christ.  That is how I manage to keep pressing forward.  And by pressing forward, the joy of the Lord becomes my strength.

When I am struggling, I have to ask myself if I am being a fragrance of Christ to God.  Christ suffered much for me.  There is not any suffering that I could ever go through that could ever compare to what He did for me.  My suffering is small.

I often think of Pastor Saeed who is the American Pastor who has been imprisoned for his Christian faith.  He has suffered so much, but still, even in a small, dark, cold prison cell, can let off the fragrance of Christ to God in his life.  I would like to share his Christmas letter with you today as a reminder of what the fragrance of Christ looks like:

Rajai Shahr Prison 2014

Merry Christmas!

These days are very cold here. My small space beside the window is without glass making most nights unbearable to sleep. The treatment by fellow prisoners is also quite cold and at times hostile. Some of my fellow prisoners don’t like me because I am a convert and a pastor. They look at me with shame as someone who has betrayed his former religion. The guards can’t even stand the paper cross that I have made and hung next to me as a sign of my faith and in anticipation of celebrating my Savior’s birth. They have threatened me and forced me to remove it. This is the first Christmas that I am completely without my family; all of my family is presently outside of the country. These conditions have made this upcoming Christmas season very hard, cold and shattering for me. It appears that I am alone with no one left beside me.

These cold and brittle conditions have made me wonder why God chose the hardest time of the year to become flesh and why He came to the earth in the weakest human condition (as a baby). Why did God choose the hardest place to be born in the cold weather? Why did God choose to be born in a manger in a stable, which is very cold, filthy and unsanitary with an unpleasant smell? Why did the birth have to be in such a way that it was not only hard physically, but also socially? It must have brought such shame for Mary and her fiancé that she was pregnant before marriage in the religious society of that time.

Dear sisters and brothers, the fact of the Gospel is that it is not only the story of Jesus, but it is the key of how we are to live and serve like Jesus. Today we like Him should come out of our safe comfort zone in order to proclaim the Word of Life and Salvation though faith in Jesus Christ and the penalty of sin that He paid on the cross and to proclaim His resurrection. We should be able to tolerate the cold, the difficulties and the shame in order to serve God. We should be able to enter into the pain of the cold dark world. Then we are able to give the fiery love of Christ to the cold wintery manger of those who are spiritually dead. It might be necessary to come out of the comfort of our lives and leave the loving embrace of our family to enter the manger of the lives of others, such as it has been for me for the third consecutive Christmas. It may be that we will be called fools and traitors and face many difficulties, but we should crucify our will and wishes even more until the world hears and tastes the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas means that God came so that He would enter your hearts today and transform your lives and to replace your pain with indescribable joy.

Christmas is the manifestation of the radiant brightness of the Glory of God in the birth of a child named Emmanuel, which means God is with us.

Christmas is the day that the heat of the life-giving fire of God’s love shone in the dark cold wintry frozen hearts and burst forth in this deadly wicked world.

The same way that the heat from the earth’s core melts the hard stones in itself and produces lava, the fiery love of God, Jesus Christ, through the virgin Mary’s womb came to earth on Christmas to melt the hard heart of sin and wickedness of the world and removes them from our life. In the same process, the work of the Holy Spirit is a fiery rain of God’s Holiness and Mercy that flows into our body, soul and spirit and brings the light of Christ into us and through us making this dark, cold, wintry world into radiant burning brightness. He is turning our world into a world full of peace, joy, and love that is so different than the dark, cold, and wintry world that we used to live in. Hallelujah!

So this Christmas let the lava-like love of Christ enter into the depth of your heart and make you fiery, ready to pay any cost in order to bring the same lava love to the cold world around you, transforming them with the true message of Christmas.

Pastor Saeed Abedini
Soaking in the lava love of Christ

Filed under: God, Healing, Hope Tagged: fragrance of Christ, God, Hope, Pastor Saeed

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. James 1:17

 

The past two Christmas’ have been extremely difficult on our family. The Lord had blessed us with plenty for ten years.  During those ten years we were able to adopt families for Christmas, give to organizations and to individuals.  There were some friends that had little and I could take them out for special treats.  We were good stewards of the money that God had given us.  My husband loves to give his children gifts.  That is his love language to them.  It is how he rolls.  So having nothing has been hard for him.  It was also during those ten years that our family grew from three to fifteen.  God always provided.

Selfishly I could sit and say that I miss just being able to go out and get the things that I want or need.  My towels…are full of holes.  I miss fluffy new towels.  My hair…let’s just say there are a few more silvery white strands shining through.  I miss my beautician!  Pillows…they look like pancakes.  I miss fluffy pillows.  My sneakers…same ones for two years.  I miss new sneakers on my feet.  Jeans…same three pairs (threw the fourth pair away because they finally got holes that were in places I couldn’t sew up.  I miss new jeans.

But seriously.  All of that is just things.  It’s really quite pitiful if I think about the needs of some of my beautiful friends internationally.  I have a friend that goes hungry most days.  Because he became Christian, his dad won’t let him come home anymore.  He is but a youth and does not have the money to go back to school.  He has had to try to find a job to earn a little bit of money.  But yet his belief in God is so great that he always tells me not to worry because God has this.  His only request was to get a Bible.  He wanted his own personal Bible.  So he and I prayed.  I prayed day after day for him to get a Bible.  I dreamed up ways in my head in how I envisioned it happening.  I shared my prayer with a good friend.  Her response…”I am going to get him a Bible.”  She shipped the Bible to me…we found a friend who was traveling…through friends on that side of the world the Bible was delivered.  It really wasn’t how I had imagined it.  But God orchestrated the entire thing.  My heart rejoiced and overflowed with joy!  That was my grown up Christmas wish.

I have another friend who was abandoned as a baby.  He is a young man. A young man with a HUGE heart for the Lord.  He was never adopted.  Never had his “own” family.  Crazy thing is…God brought us together. Twenty-two years old.  He has become a part of our family even though he is thousands of miles away.  God knit us together.  Christmas has always been hard for him.  All of his friends have family to go celebrate with.  He…he retreats.  This year I wanted to do something special.  I really hoped he could have a gift for Christmas.  I have prayed.  We don’t have enough money for our children for Christmas, how in the world would I find money for my “son” overseas.  But we serve a God of wonders.  He is the God of impossibilities.  I shared my story with another dear friend.  God laid on her heart to give for his Christmas.  Yet again my heart rejoiced and overflowed with joy!  That was my grown  up Christmas wish.

I won’t lie.  It has been difficult being stripped down.  But God has a purpose in all of it.  He is preparing us for the next part of our God journey through this stripping down.  The crazy thing is that I am still filled with the joy of the Lord.  I have seen God do some crazy, awesome things in this journey.  God has always provided.  We have never gone hungry or without a roof over our heads.  He surprises me with the most fragrant wonderful God kisses through His people.  He has filled our vehicles with the overflow of food from His people.  He has doted on us with special little gifts that have caused my heart to  flow over the brim of my heart with feeling God’s love.  We have been stripped of what we thought were the blessings of our lives to only realize that by losing so much we have gained so much.

I see differently.  I see God’s hand in motion in ways I haven’t seen before.  God has transformed my heart.  He has shown me passions that He planted in me many years ago.  Seeds that were sown that are just now beginning to germinate.  Seeds that had to die before they could begin that germination process.  The things that God is birthing in my heart seem so out of world crazy and impossible that I KNOW it must be God.  God sized dreams that I know only He could have birthed.  I don’t want the American dream and all of its stuff.  I want more than that.  I want to be a Kingdom Builder!

My grown up Christmas list is a bit crazy by the world’s standards.  But by God’s standards…it is amazingly awesome!  I am ready to go where God shows me to go.  I am ready to be way outside my comfort zone.  I am so done with life in comfort.  God strips away so He can show us His ultimate plan.  It is still in the making. But through it I have learned to let go and let God.  Not easy.  There are days I struggle.  Days tears overflow as I can’t see the final destination.  But I walk by faith and not by sight.  Learning to TRUST God in areas of my life where I thought I had control!  HA!  I have no control!

Every good and perfect gift comes from my Heavenly Daddy.  Some may not think that being stripped down is a gift, but I do.  Because of this gift I am now seeing with more clarity the purposes that God has for me.  It has changed my grown up Christmas list.  What about you?  Do you have a grown up Christmas list?  Does it line up with God’s?  Is it deeper then just the wants and needs of this world?  Does your list reflect God?  Take a little time this morning to evaluate where God has you.  What are your passions?  Are they God passions or flesh passions?  Are you using your passions for Kingdom building?

Let’s keep our eyes fixed on Jesus!

HE WHO CALLS YOU IS FAITHFUL; HE WILL SURELY DO IT.  1 Thessalonians 5:24

If I desire to know the true depth of my friend’s love, I must see how he responds during the winter seasons of my life.  And it is the same with divine love. ~Streams in the Desert

I can praise God during the summer season when the Sonshine seems so bright, and much fruit is bearing.  I also need to praise God during those long winter months, when the fruit tree appears to be dead to the world.  But yet there is still hope of spring when those tiny buds open up wide to the rays of the Sonshine as new life shoots forth in rapid color.

This too must be me.  The cold, dark winter can seem so long and harsh at times.  But yet during those months and when the pruning can seem so heavy, God is still present.  He is preparing things that we cannot see, but in the process is pushing us forward in our faith as we continue to press through.  Little green shoots of hope emerge through.

God uses His people to be the hands and feet of Christ.  To be our cheerleaders along the way.  To encourage us.  To bear with us during our suffering and to rejoice with us in our times of celebration.

I do not have to be strong for anyone.  Although for years I have felt like I have had to be.  God has given me the gift of encouragement through teaching and sharing with people.  In that position I felt like I had to be strong…I couldn’t show weakness. But it was not my place.  I am not strong.  In all actuality I am quite weak.  I am not meant to carry mine or anyone else’s load.

 God tells me that He captures everyone of my tears.  That tells me that I am not to hold them in.  Over the past two years I have worked so hard at staying “strong” in my home.  Not wanting to fall a part in front of my husband.  I didn’t want him to have the burden of a crying wife added onto all of the weight he has been trying to press through.  But last night I busted wide open as if a new fountain had sprung up and out of me.  But it wasn’t in front of my husband, it was amongst my sisters and brothers in Christ after our prayer meeting.  God showed me that tears are ok.  Weakness…it is really all that I am.  It is only through Christ Jesus and His promises that I am made strong.

Last night I saw the hands and feet of Jesus through sisters and brothers in Christ.  I saw Mary and Martha as one busily filled my car to overflowing and then some with food.  And the other stood and embraced me and smiled and the joy of the Lord poured through her.  Both of these women were the hands of feet of Jesus and showed me Christ’s love.  They showed me hope in the middle of the winter.  They demonstrated the start of spring and showed me life in something that I thought was dead.  My new favorite color is green.  Green hope.  Hope that is life.  God is moving.  GOD IS MOVING. I do believe the floodgates of heaven will open soon.

God humbled me last night.  I was never called to be strong for others and I was never called to be strong for myself.  Only to love.  To show the Father’s love in deed and in action.  And to also let others show me that same kind of love.  I AM WEAK.  Yep.  I am.  And it feels good to be able to say that.  My faith is deep.  But only because I am learning to become more dependent on God in every aspect of life.  My courage and strength have never come from me.  It is only because of God that I can have these things.

So even though I have been in the winter season of life for two long years, and even though it feels like I am trapped in Narnia, where it is always winter and never Christmas, God is giving me glimpses of the Christmas that is coming.  He is moving us into a new season.  A new season of green hope.  My hope is in God.  Just as Lucy stands next to the lamp post in the midst of winter, the lamp is lit as a sign and beacon of the hope that we have in Christ Jesus. God is faithful.  He will do all that He has set out to do in our lives.  In that I find much hope.

Let’s keep our eyes fixed on Jesus!

Filed under: God, Hope Tagged: God, Hope, seasons of life, strength, weakness

The Clay says:

I’ve been slammed onto a hard, spinning wheel.  I’m flying around out of control.  Under pressure, I am being squashed and squeezed and I know a fire lies ahead.

The Potter says:

Carefully I threw you onto just the right spot.  Your imperfections are being smoothed as you spin by the loving pressure of my hands.  I am holding you and moulding you.  Proud and pleased with my creation.  And the fire that lies ahead will only enhance your beauty.

~Author Unknown

This life is full of trials and challenges.  How often do we feel like the lump of clay?  Feeling like we are just being tossed around, spinning out of control, squashed to the ground, knowing that the fire is coming?  But yet those of us who know the Father, know the other side of the story.

But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8

We are in the Potter’s hands and are the work of His hands.  He is lovingly molding us and shaping us…transforming us into whom God has called us to be. Does that make it less painful?  No.  But I do think it brings comfort to the heart to know that God’s got this.  As long as I choose to stay in the Potter’s hands, He will shape and reshape me to His liking.  He will keep me moist with the Holy Spirit so that I don’t dry up and become unusable.  God will put gentle pressure on me, sometimes trimming away the excess that is pulling me in the wrong direction.  There are times in this life where God just has to totally start over with me…reshaping, restructuring, gently redirecting.

“Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the Lord came to me: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. Jeremiah 18:2-6

I am in the Potter’s hands.  There are times when He reworks me for His purposes and His Kingdom.  God lovingly reshapes me as I go throughout this life.  Right now it feels as if I am that spoiled lump of clay that God is totally reworking.  But yet through the reshaping, God has given me a sense of peace.  Peace in the midst of the storm.  For me it has been two very long years.  God has trimmed so much back that I wonder how much more will have to go before He begins to reshape me…my husband…my children.

You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”? Isaiah 20:16

I cannot question God.  He is my Creator.  He is the one who leads me on this God journey.  I find comfort in His Word as I allow Him to reshape me.  It is not in my hands and I do not have control.  My dependency is on Him completely.  He is all I have to cling to.

But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.  For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Isaiah 43:1-3

God calls me by name.  I am known by Him.  He has not forgotten me.  The waters will not drown me and the fire will not burn me.  It is all part of the process of becoming more like who Christ wants me to be and not who I want me to be.

And through it all I cling to the Word of God and His promises.  The enemy would love to fill my head with lies.  He would love for me to believe that I am not good enough and that God doesn’t care or love me any more.  But that is NOT truth.  Through this journey God is deepening my faith in Him.  The oil of gladness will be upon me.  He will clothe me with a garland instead of ashes.  I will lift God on high and praise His name.  God has not left me or forsaken me.  He is with me always.  As I wait on Him to show me the way, I know that He acts on my behalf.  There are new mercies each and every morning.

He is in the process of making my life His masterpiece.  And He is doing the same for you as well.  You are God’s ultimate masterpiece.  He loves you enough to not leave you as you are.  Keep looking up to Him through these times of difficulties.  He is moulding you and shaping you into a beautiful work of His hands!

“Jesus wants to give you more of Himself.  He wants you to be immersed in His love so you can love others recklessly, completely, full of God’s outrageous grace.” Heidi Baker, Reckless Devotion

What does it mean to be immersed in God’s love?  According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, immersed means :

:to make (yourself) fully involved in some activity or interest

:engross, absorb

:to plunge into something that surrounds or covers

I love how Corrie ten Boom describes it:

We need to plunge, into the ocean of God’s love. We must take a running jump, a deep dive, into that ocean, throwing ourselves into the lake of His love. Have you taken a running jump today?

I can just picture myself plunging into the ocean of God’s love.  Swimming in it. Surrounded by it.  Just immersed in it.  Being completely filled to overflowing.  This love that God gives us…freely…is an everlasting love! Jeremiah 31:3 describes it in this way:

“…I have loved you with an everlasting love.  Therefore I have drawn you with loving kindness.”

This isn’t just any kind of love.  This is an intimate love.  The kind of love that truly knows you.  It is an eternal love…a love that goes from the past…to the present…to the future.  God takes us captive in His love so that we can be set free.  His love is constant.  I love the way The Message Bible interprets this same passage:

“God told them, “I’ve never quit loving you and never will.  Expect love, love, and more love.”

Despite Israel’s past sins, they returned to their God, and their mourning was turned into joy.  Just as any good father would discipline their child, the discipline was brought in love and with love.  God never stopped loving His people.  He has never stopped loving you and me.  His love is eternal.  The everlasting love…its something that we should expect from our God.  EXPECT LOVE, LOVE, AND MORE LOVE.  And in that expectation, we begin to swim in that ocean of God’s love!

That love should begin to fill us to overflow!  That overflow is meant to be poured out on those around us.  Wherever our feet may wonder…God’s love would flow freely from us because we are called to be imitators of Christ.

God wants us to take that same overflow and love those around us with the same kind of love that He has immersed us in.  We are to immerse others in God’s love.  The hardest of hearts can be transformed when they see the Father’s love!

“Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents.  Mostly what God does is love you.  Keep company with him and learn a life of love.  Observe how Christ loved us.  His love was not cautious but extravagant.  He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us.  Love like that.” Ephesians 5:1,2 The Message

WOW!  Can you even imagine loving like this?  This is that reckless love that Heidi Baker is talking about! To love and not expect to get anything from it.  To love extravagantly! The kind of love that exceeds the limits of reason.  A love that is lacking in moderation, balance, and restraint.  Loving with no expectations from the person that you are loving!  That is really quite freeing.  It sets the captive free.  It allows all the walls to tumble down.  It allows us to love like the Father loves us.  When we learn to love in such a way,  we begin to see people differently and interpret their actions differently.

But first we have to be immersed in God’s love.  We have to be willing to dive deep into the ocean of God’s love.  Are you ready to jump in?

Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus!

This is a song by a dear friend in Uganda.  Its about being lost in the ocean of God’s love.  I hope you enjoy!

Filed under: God, Healing Tagged: faith, God, immersed in God's love, love

“…knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies.” 1Corinthians 8:1

Love edifies.  I love this.  It shows me that love is not an emotion but an action verb.  Love does something…it edifies.  Love builds up a person in truth and wisdom.  Knowledge, on the other hand, makes arrogant.  It brings about an insulting attitude of people who believe that they are better, smarter, or more important than other people ( Merriam-Webster Dictionary).

Knowledge can become like the flesh pattern where love becomes like the Spirit pattern.

We are such a knowledge based society because we think we know so much based on theories, research, the internet (because we all know if we read it on the internet it’s true), gossip, the next best-selling author…the list could go on and on.  But these things are all based on human knowledge.

“If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know…” 1Corinthians 8:2

The knowledge that God wants us to obtain is not that of human knowledge.  He wants to take us to that next level of knowing what we ought to know.  I think of this as being past our own human understanding, but moving towards spiritual understanding which can only come from the Lord.

“but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.” 1Corinthians 8:3

Here again we are taken back to love.  If I love God, then I am KNOWN by Him.  To be known by God means that God recognizes me.  Paul goes on to say that we EXIST FOR Him (God) and we EXIST THROUGH Him (Jesus Christ) (verse 6).

God love us so much that He sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins (John 3:16).  So it was through Jesus Christ that we could gain our relationship with God the Father.  God loved us…love edifies…He builds us up in truth and wisdom through His ultimate love…His Son.

We are called to do the same.  LOVE.  We are commanded to love.  And there are times when love can be so hard to put into action because of our “knowledge.”  It can be difficult to pour out love onto someone who may hurt you, lie to you, manipulate you, gossip about you, emotionally and physically abuse you.  But we have to remember that love is not an emotion or feeling – it is an action verb.  Love is about sacrifice.  Love is not about me…I must die to self.  Love edifies – builds others up in truth and wisdom of God.

“7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1John 4:7-11

God’s Word is full of truths about what love is and what it is not.  I pray for each of us that we can move past the emotion of love and into the action of what love truly is.  I write this for myself mostly as there are days when I can get tied up into the emotion instead of the action  Dying to self is a moment by moment process.  It helps to know God’s truths…that His love is an eternal, everlasting, discriminating love!  And with that my soul can dance before the God of grace and my heart can leap with great joy knowing that I am known by my Lord and I am loved which overflows from my heart to those around me.

GOD IS LOVE!

Let’s keep our eyes fixed on Jesus!

As adoptive parents we need to understand that our kids are going to have lots of questions.  Whether spoken, or unspoken, they feel a need deep within them to know about their life before “us.”   “Where was I born? Who are my birth parents?  Why did they give me up for adoption?  Did they love me?  Do they still think about me?”

These are all questions that my daughter has been asking me.  Unfortunately I don’t know how to respond to some of these questions.  We just don’t know!  As a parent of adopted children it breaks my heart when I can’t answer a question that they desperately need/want to have the answer to.  My heart breaks when I have to tell them that I am not sure why their birth parents gave them up, or who they even are for that matter.

The only thing that I can do when these hard questions are asked of me is answer them honestly, and pray that the Lord gives me the words to say.  I tell my children that we are a forever family, and I am not going to leave them.

More importantly I rejoice with them that they have a Heavenly Father who loves them even more than I can love them!!!  Their Heavenly Father loved them so much that he died for them on a cross taking away all of their sins.  Although I cannot answer all of their questions, He can, and will someday either here on earth, or when they see Him in heaven.

My daughter asked me if she would ever get to meet her birth mother.  I told her that I don’t think that it would be possible to do that here on earth.  Her big brown eyes looked up at me, “Will I see her in heaven?”  I reassured her, “If your true mama believed in Jesus I know that she will be waiting for you in heaven.  She will run to you and hold you in her arms.  You will know her as soon as you see her.  Oh what an awesome day that will be!”  Again, she looked at me, “That will be a great day!”  We dream about that day and talk about what it will be like…I honestly, deep in my soul believe that this will happen someday…brings tears to my eyes just imagining it!!!

God has a purpose in the known, and the unknown.  I believe that someday my daughter, and son, will know their life stories…from beginning to end. But for right now we don’t, and God has a reason for it.  God is protecting us, comforting us and loving us in a way that we might not be able to understand, and even though it is hard to work through these “unknowns” with my children…I know that God has a plan in this.  I TRUST Him with everything…I know He has my back when I am talking about these difficult things…or while comforting my daughter because of her grief or talking about how we became a family.   God knit us together for a purpose…we are family…designed by Him and for Him.

I thank God for my family everyday and how He pulled us from different ends of the earth to become one.  How awesome is that when you think of it?!?!?    3 different continents, brought together by God, to be a family….God is so Good!!  Words cannot even describe Him…….

Praise be to God!!!

Listen, dear friends, to God’s truth, bend your ears to what I tell you. I’m chewing on the morsel of a proverb; I’ll let you in on the sweet old truths, Stories we heard from our fathers, counsel we learned at our mother’s knee. We’re not keeping this to ourselves, we’re passing it along to the next generation— GOD ’s fame and fortune, the marvelous things he has done. (Psalm 78:1-4 MSG)

We have so much that we need to pass down to our children and the generations to come of all that God has done in our lives! Let us not forget to be thankful for the works God has done in our hearts and homes. Keep pointing your family back to God! Despite being of the flesh, like a wind that passes and does not return (vs 39), God is faithful and forgiving. Let us remember this day and share with the generations all that God has done, all that He is doing and all that He will do! Praise His Holy name!

I’m thanking you, GOD, from a full heart, I’m writing the book on your wonders. I’m whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy; I’m singing your song, High God. (Psalm 9:1-2 MSG)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

To him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory. ~Ephesians 3:20-21

How important it is for us to learn to pray through our circumstances and to fully examine our hearts with God’s message to us!  Otherwise we will never claim all the fullness of His promise or all the possibilities that believing prayer offers. ~Streams in the Desert

Do you ever pray through your circumstances or do you stop one prayer short of seeing what God can do?  I have learned over the years to keep praying through.  We live in such a fast food, instant gratification society, that I think that often we think of our prayers as if they a magic genie.  Down on our knees, we rub our hands tighter and BAM!  Instant prayer and we expect an instant answer.  And if it is not answered immediately, then we think the answer is “no” and move on with life.  For others it amy be just to pray only during desperate times.  We have tried everything in our own way and since that did not work, now all I can do is turn to God as “my last resort.”

Both of these ways are missing the point.  God builds His relationship with us through time spent with Him.  He desires a relationship with YOU.  He wants YOU to be totally dependent upon Him!

What prevents us from trusting God completely with our prayers and waiting and being still before Him?  I think the real question we have to ask ourselves is this: “DO I TRUST GOD?”  Really…Do you trust God?  Because without trusting God, you nor I aren’t going to be able to read His Word and believe in it.  Our prayers will go up half heartedly, thinking in our minds that there is a 50/50 chance of them being answered.

I think this is really a good place just to stop.  Write this question down at the top of a piece of paper or in your journal:  DO I TRUST GOD?  And then break it down even further, DO I TRUST GOD IN EVERY AREA OF MY LIFE?  Without trust, it would be difficult to believe and to have faith and to have hope.  Journal through this over the next few days.  Ask God to reveal to you areas of your life that you need to give completely over to Him.  I think that in doing this process, you will see  changes in your prayer life and how you view prayer and God.  A prayer life that will go even deeper.  Seek Him first!

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  ~Matthew 6:33

I don’t know that I have ever really read Luke 1:46-55.  I know that I have probably read through it a few times, but…well I never really got anything out of it.  By this I am shocked.  If you haven’t read this part of scripture please put down your laptop, iPhone, iPad or dare I say step away from your desktop.    (Does anyone have those anymore?!?)  I urge you to instead pick up your bible and read this part of scripture…then come back to me and we will chat…

Some call this part of scripture The Magnificat.  This is the name of the beautiful song that Mary sings while she is at Elizabeth’s house.  This is after she tells Elizabeth about baby Jesus, or rather Elizabeth tells Mary because as soon as Mary walks in the door, John leaps in Elizabeth’s womb.  This is a beautiful song, much like the song that Hannah sings about Samuel.  Mary praises God for what He is going to do for the whole world through her! This would make an awesome Praise and Worship song on Sunday morning!!!

I can’t even begin to imagine how she is feeling…Mary is carrying Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, Comforter, Abba, the King of Kings (I could go on and on) in her stomach.  She is going to keep him safe, and warm, and give Him a home for 9 months.  She is going to nurture Him, and cuddle Him, and do all of the things that we have done with our children, but here is the thing…HE IS THE SAVIOR…THE ONE WHO IS GOING TO DIE FOR ALL OF US…TO SAVE US FROM OUR SINS!  Whew!  No pressure, Mary!

There is no pride in this song, there is only humility and praise.  When I look at this passage, I wonder…Are we living day by day, missing the chance to praise God for what He is going to do through us?  No I didn’t say FOR us, I said THROUGH us.  We have so many opportunities to do God’s work, if we can just be still for a moment and listen to Him.

A lot of mornings I have a hard time…I am NOT a morning person. On the other hand, I know that the way I act towards my family in the morning can help determine what kind of day they have.  If I am crabby in the morning, I can almost guarantee you that we are going to struggle throughout the day.  So a lot of times when I feel crabby, I know this probably doesn’t happen to you, but yes I can be cranky…I will turn on praise and worship music and dance around the kitchen.  Well, the kids come downstairs and they think I am crazy (and they want no part of the singing and dancing I might add), but I keep right on going.  This is my time for praising God and thanking Him for what He is going to do that day…even help me get out of my cranky morning mood…and I will tell you, that is a tall order.  We need to praise God for not only what He has done, but what He is going to do!

Now, I know that we are all on our own journey, and we all have our own trials that we are going through.  Sometimes it is hard to see the blessings through the storm.  But, God is Good!!!  And He is working in all of this pain and suffering.

So even though it may feel like we can’t see Him at work, or that He has forgotten you, I would urge you to praise Him for what He is GOING to do through you!  He is not done with you yet my friend…His plans are much bigger and better than we can ever imagine!  Get up in the morning, sing and dance…what does God have planned for you today???

“We’ll never see God part the Jordan River if our feet are firmly planted on dry ground. But if we step into the river, God will part it.” ~Draw the Circle, Mark Batterson.

God gives us direction but so often we are afraid to take that first step…the first step of faith…the first step to show God that YES! I TRUST YOU WITH ALL MY HEART, SOUL, MIND, AND STRENGTH.

I recently made a new friend who told me God had given her a vision. She said she wasn’t one to have visions so it was a new experience for her. It stayed in her heart and burned there. So she took a step of faith and got her feet wet. And then God did the rest. He opened up the doors to allow this woman to have an amazing ministry opportunity in a foreign land and the vision is now being birthed.

I love this. It is an act of faith. An act of obedience. And an act of trust. Taking that first step can be so difficult. Have you ever watched a child when they first start to walk? They cling to a piece of furniture. Taking wobbly little steps. Then one day they take that first step away from the furniture…they lose their balance and fall. But the thing is, they don’t give up. They persevere and keep trying. Then one day it happens….they walk on their own…one foot in front of the other.

Could you imagine where we all would be if we didn’t ever try to walk again after that first failed attempt? To take your first step of faith is like that. We have to let go of what we are clinging to in the world and focus on the calling God has for us in our lives. We have to step forward and get our feet wet. God is waiting for us to take that step of faith. We may stumble along the way, but God is right there with us! He won’t leave us down. He extends His right hand and says, “Do you trust Me?”

For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11 NASB)

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1 NASB)

It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in man. (Psalms 118:8 NASB)

In this life you have the option to encourage someone with God’s story through your own life OR you can speak from the flesh and really discourage a person.

We must ALWAYS think before we speak. Guard our tongues and ask God if this is something that should be said. Just because we think it, doesn’t mean it is supposed to be said.

Tonight I was encouraged by two different people. Two different people that had heard me speak at two different events, told me how my words and life had guided them on a certain path in their own lives. It reminded me of the power of words. I know that there have been plenty of times that I have failed. But tonight God gave me two kisses to remind me of times I was using my words as God’s story in our lives. It is very humbling to think about.

I look at all my beautiful children and think about so many tears I have wiped away because of someone else’s words. Words to tear down and discourage. Judgements made upon them without knowing the full story. Even times when my own tongue has slipped. It is a slippery slope.

YOUR WORDS MATTER! So how will you choose to use them?

So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh. (James 3:5-12 NASB)

So often we want to do it in our own accord. We want to figure it out by ourselves and in our own strength. But that only sets us further behind. God wants us to put our complete faith and trust in Him alone. Nothing by our own attempts. Not depending on the ways of the world. But complete faith and trust in God. 

Take a deep breath and release it slowly. Step back for a moment from all the chaos. He calls you by name. He is reaching out His gentle hand to you and asking, “Will you trust Me? Will you stop and wait upon Me? Just be still long enough to let Me work in your life!”

It’s hard. Anxiety can fill us up. We want to act because we are used to this fast paced society and ways of the world. But that is not God’s way. I have found that as I continue to build my relationship with God and I learn to wait on Him and not run ahead of Him, my anxieties have decreased significantly.

It’s about training ourselves. It is not about running the rat race of this world…thinking that we have to run ahead of God because we may miss an “opportunity” if we don’t put it in our own hands. It’s a long distance race. If I run ahead of God, I WILL miss the opportunity that He has placed before me.

“Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.” ~Psalm 27:14

What if?  What if you decided to trust God enough to give Him all of your fears, anxieties, and uncertainties in your life?

Fear not, For I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. ~Isaiah 41:10

A dear, sweet friend sent me a text message the other morning:

Please pray for meeting today…I have a feeling it isn’t going to go well.

My heart sank for my friend.  She was already defeated so early in the morning and hadn’t even left her house yet.  Anxiety and fear consumed her.  A flesh response.  We all do it.  I do it.  It is so easy to do when we forget our foundation and WHO walks before us.  Sometimes it is a quick reminder to refocus where our eyes are fixed.

Praying now!  Be positive in thought and through it all lift God up and glorify Him.  Then everything will be in His honor.  Can’t go wrong with that.

When life happens we so often respond first in the flesh.  It is a natural response.  How do we move past this natural response?  I have suffered with anxiety for years.  Responding first with that fight or flight , anxiety filled life style.  It drained me.  It took me far away from the peace that passes all understanding.  It robbed me of my relationship with God.

Yes.  I will do that!  Thank you friend.  Love you.

How did I overcome?  I began to daily devout my life to giving God “my first” hours of each day.  When I began giving God “my firsts” and became devoted to building “our” relationship, God began to open my eyes!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything be in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  ~ Philippians 4:6-7

So basically as my relationship built with God, I began to trust Him more and more until He basically grabbed a hold of my whole heart!  As I allowed Him into my life, His peace began to take over.  It would be that peace that would guard my heart.

Guard.  Its like I have the military “guards of peace” surrounding my heart and mind in Jesus Christ.  Its something I can proclaim as truth because it is a promise to me.

If anyone steps on your toes, remember that is the joy of the Lord that is your strength!  Joy will flow through you and peace as you fix your eyes on Him.  Love you.

There are times when we just fall short and forget about our foundation.  And God in all His sweetness gives us friends to speak truth in us.  I need daily reminders as there are days when I allow anxiety to creep in just as my dear friend did.

Thank you so much! I feel anxious about this morning and I am praying for God’s peace, wisdom and words as I go there.  Thanks so much for your words!!!  The joy of The Lord is my strength and no one can take that away!!!

When we allow anxiety to creep in, it robs us of the peace that God wants to give to us.

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. ~2 Timothy 1:7

Do not be anxious over anything but in everything take it to the Lord in petition and prayer.  Do not let anxiety rob you of the joy that God wants you to experience today!

So our messages ended with an AMEN.  And for my friend, her heart and mind moved from a place of anxiety to being overwhelmed by God’s Presence and a peace that took over because she turned it all to prayer.  And not only that, she TRUSTED that God would lead the way.

What if?  What if you decided to TRUST God enough to give Him ALL of your fears, anxieties, and uncertainties in your life?  You have nothing to lose!  Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus?  His peace will cover your heart and mind!

People forget that adoption starts with brokenness. So much brokenness. Finding the heart of the child is like peeling the layers back of an onion. So many layers built up around the heart. And so many tears that flow with each layer as more of the heart is revealed. Showing my child the Father’s love is all I know to cling to. Once the child has grasped a hold of the Father’s love then He will bind up her wounds and heal her broken heart. My battle is NOT against flesh and blood but the dark forces that have whispered so many lies into this child’s heart. It truly breaks my heart, however my God is bigger then all of this and that is where my hope lies…in His TRUTH! Tears of hope are what I cling to knowing that my Daddy is the great healer and redeemer. I can rest in that. ❤️

Mark 10:14-16 Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.  Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.

I woke up this morning thinking about hindering. Yes, these are the things I ponder in the wee hours of the morning.  Well, no not really…usually it is what to make for breakfast, what to teach my children that day, or do I even have school that day!  For some reason though, this morning it was hindering.

The student’s dictionary says that hindering means, “To make it more difficult for someone to do something, to obstruct.”

My heart is a little heavy as I read this passage in Mark.  I feel like I should be rejoicing at this awesome example Jesus gives, yet I am not.

How many times have I hindered my children? How many times have my actions/words been a roadblock in their journey to know Christ? Now this is not in an outright, or purposeful way but in small ways.  Yelling, being impatient, putting my needs first, a look I give them, etc. (Trust me I could go on and one here!)  These are all things that are making it harder for my children to see Christ at work in their lives.

My family and I joke about this story all of the time, but as I look back and really analyze it, it makes me feel a deep sadness.  It is a short story, but one that I feel shows my selfishness.  My son was about 3 or 4 years old, and being the only child we read several books to him before bed…ummm now it’s hard to even read them one book…sometimes it is a struggle just to pull the covers up on them and tuck them in…when did I get so old!!!…anywho…my son, this sweet, chubby, happy little boy loved to be read to and would squeal with delight when I said it was story time!  (Kind of like when I hear that Rend Collective is coming to concert, but I digress.)  So my son ran over to the bookshelf to make his choice.  He came running to me carrying this book that was heavy for him to carry, but with an enormous smile on his face he brought this treasure in front of me and sat it down.  Now it was late and I was tired, but I regret this statement to this day.  “Not the Bible!”  Yes, I said this, these words came out of my mouth, and with the smile draining from his face he took it back and chose another book from the shelf.

Folks, I missed an opportunity to show Christ’s love here…It wasn’t because it was the Bible that I didn’t want to read it.  It was because of the size of the book and I was exhausted.  I wasn’t thinking that I could read him even a little bit of God’s Word and he would be thrilled, I dismissed the whole thing!!!  God gives us everything and my son loved to read his Bible, but that night in my selfishness I chose not to share the life giving Word with him.

Ok, here is the beautiful part.  Jesus gives us the answer of how to stop doing this.  He knows we are going to struggle, going to get frustrated, going to well…blow it.  He says, “Truly I say to you”—AKA.. Listen up people this is important! Jesus then goes on to say  that we need to receive the kingdom of God like a child.  Ok Jesus, how do we do that?  Well mama, observe your child for just a little while.  See the joy they have while building something out of Legos. Watch their eyes light up when they learn to read. Listen to their screams for joy as they see their best friend. Listen to them Speak to others about their Heavenly Father, in only a way a child can. Children are bold, carefree, enthusiastic and faithful to things that they have never even seen.

This is how we stop getting in the way, hindering, our children from seeing Christ in us.  Take your child’s lead.  See, watch, listen, speak and READ like a child.

Do you remember a time when you felt like you have blown it?

Really look at your child today.  See what brings them joy.  See how they receive God’s gifts for them.  How can you relate or apply this to your life?

Does your faith remove mountains and conquer impossibilities?  

Untested faith may be true faith, but it is sure to be small faith, and it is likely to remain little as long as it is without trials.  Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her. ~Charles Spurgeon

Faith:  belief and trust in and loyalty to God…complete trust

I don’t know about you, but for me, I want a BIG FAITH.  But with BIG FAITH comes BIG TRIALS.  You see, you can’t have one without the other.  Our faith can’t grow unless it is tested.  Think about it this way:  In order for an athlete to become stronger, he needs to train.  He needs to consistently participate in an exercise program that will increase in intensity so that his body will build up endurance and strength.

It is the same with our faith:

Faith increases in quality, assurance, and intensity the more it is exercised with tribulations. ~Charles Spurgeon

God allows trials in our life so that we will be more drawn to Him.  In other words, God wants us to be dependent upon Him.  He is asking that we put COMPLETE TRUST in Him because He is God.  He is asking for complete loyalty on our parts.  God wants more of us.  Why?  Because He is our Creator and is jealous for us to return to Him.  We are to run into His arms.

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” ~Psalm 91:1-2

TRUST.  That is really what it comes down to.  DO YOU TRUST GOD? If you can’t trust God, then how can you have faith?  They are interconnected.

All through life, and at its close, we shall be upheld by the “everlasting arms” – arms that neither flag nor lose their strength, for “the everlasting God…does not faint or grow weary,” (Isaiah 40:28). ~Charles Spurgeon

HOPE is the next component of faith.  Despite all that Job went through and all the pain and wishing for death, He still clung to the hope of life after death.  Hope of the resurrection.  Hope of being in the heavenly places with God. Job moved in and out of hope to hopelessness.  He moves back and forth from eyes fixed on God to eyes fixed on his circumstance.

How often do we get caught up in this hopeless mood?

Though He slay me,

I will hope in Him. ~Job 13:15

God is the everlasting God.  He does not grow faint or weary.  This is why Job could still hope in Him.  This is why we can hope in Him.  Our trials are meant to increase our faith as He shows us how our faith can increase, endure and persevere.  Is your faith genuine?

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ~1Peter 1:6-7

So let’s go back to the original question:  DOES YOUR FAITH REMOVE MOUNTAINS AND CONQUER IMPOSSIBILITIES? Do you collapse under the weight of the trial or do you cling to Jesus?  God is waiting with arms wide open for you to fall into them.  He is not the light at the end of the tunnel, He is the light in the tunnel.  Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.  He gives you the strength you need to handle the trial that is front of you.

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether living in plenty or want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength. ~Philippians 4:12-13 (NIV)

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”  James 1:19-20

Righteous- (adj) morally good (without guilt or sin), following religious or moral laws

Morally- (adv) right or good conduct, applies to personal character or behavior

(Note: these definitions are more for the blog writer and not necessarily for the readers of this blog…the blogger needed a little clarification while reading the Word :)

Being righteous is something that I have never really thought about.  Sometimes being righteous is thought of with a negative connotation.  “Oh look at her, she thinks she is so righteous!”  But isn’t being, or having, “the righteousness of God,” a good thing?  If you are of this world maybe not!  But if you are a believer in Christ, being righteous in the eyes of God is a behavior we should all strive for.  It is something that the Lord wants for us.  So what is one of the ways we can try to become more righteous?

James says, “…let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger…”  Woah!!! So, so, so (I could keep adding so’s here) many times I am quite the opposite.  So many times my tongue starts before my ears have even finished hearing something.  So many times I am trying to get 15 things done around the house and I lose my temper because my kids want me to pay attention to them.  It is easy for us to see the list of things we need to get done and not listen to our husband, and kids, when they need us to speak some of the Word into their hearts.

As believers we want to stand out, not blend in, with the world.  We should want to look different, because we want people to talk about us.  Not because of what we are doing, but because of what Christ did for us. We should want people to look at us and see that we are different and say, “Whatever she has…I want it!!!”   Shouldn’t this be something we are teaching our children from a very young age?  “…quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger…”  I feel a song being created in my head :)

James says that if we get angry we can’t produce the righteousness of God—ouch!  That one hurts a lot!  He tells us to put away our filthiness and wickedness and hide the Word in our hearts and this will save our souls (James 1:21) Wow!  That is powerful!!!  I have started teaching my children to memorize scripture this year during homeschool.  It just so happens that this weeks verse was, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11)  We talked about how powerful it is to know God’s word and if you memorize it, it is not only in your head but hidden in your heart.  Having the Word in your heart helps you to apply it to your life, and make choices that God would want you to make.  This is so that we can do our best not to “sin against” our Heavenly Father.  I had read that scripture many times, but it really never sank in.  But now it is really in my heart…teaching the kids about memorizing scripture, and helping them to do it, has also helped me and I now know more scripture then I ever have in my whole life!!!  If you don’t do this with your kids, I would encourage you to do it…do it today…it is a blessing for the whole family!

I pray that I might be able to learn about producing the righteousness of God in my life and call on God to help me DAILY, sometimes even MINUTELY :)  I pray that I truly can be “quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger” with my husband, children, friends, family, etc., and that they would see this change in me in a BIG way!  I pray that I can teach this to my kids so they can be righteous in God’s eyes, so their souls will be saved and that God would be the One who is the ultimate example, through Jesus Christ!

God Bless

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed. Romans 4:18

Our circumstances can seem so overwhelming that it feels hopeless.  Abraham was promised that his descendants would be “as numerous as the stars in the sky” (Gen 26:4), but because of both his and Sarah’s increasing age, it looked hopeless by human sight.  But yet it was not in his human understanding that that this miracle would happen and the promise be fulfilled.  It would be nothing that he could do himself, even though he tried and it failed.  It would be by the hope that he had in God that this would happen.

Our hope has to remain at a higher level.  It cannot be by our human efforts or human strength.  Our eyes have to remain fixed on Jesus.  He is our only source of hope…He is our living hope.  When we step back and be still and wait on the Lord, it is then that He will do His greatest work.  His timing is always perfect.  And then when we least expect it, He will move!

So we praise Him during the waiting.  Call out to Him.  He wants the glory and honor and praise.  It is during our time of greatest need that He will begin to do His work.  This way we know that it is nothing by our own efforts, but all by God.

George Muller, a powerhouse prayer warrior, says it best:

Remember, the very time for faith to work is when our sight begins to fail.  And the greater the difficulties, the easier it is for faith to work, for as long as we can see certain natural solutions to our problems, we will not have faith.  Faith never works as easily as when our natural prospects fail.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” (Hebrews 11:1).  Trusting God by faith is the only hope that we have.  We have the knowledge of truth through the Word of God. This is what we cling to.  This is where our hope lies.  Do you believe this?  Do you claim it?  It is yours to claim.  God will pull you through, but you have to let go and let God.  Let Him take the wheel!  Trust Him with everything you have.

You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its remotest parts And said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you.  Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.  ~Isaiah 40:9,10

The Lord has pulled me into the book of Job.  Job.  I have to be honest with you, when God showed me that this was where He wanted me to go next in my study time I cringed…I dragged my feet…I procrastinated…I stomped my feet and had my grown up temper tantrum!  I was working my way through the New Testament…deeply drinking it in.  The thought of Job seemed…well…depressing.  God, being the good Father that He is, reminded me that I needed to have my heart wide open to see Job as He saw Job.  God wanted me to find the treasures from within. Out of obedience I began delving into Job searching for the treasures with my treasure map and my shovel in hand so that I could go deep into Job’s life.  I am still in the midst of this treasure hunt and filling my treasure bag with so many golden nuggets of truth.

I will be honest, I am not sure that I would have had the strength that Job did.  I am not sure that I would have been any better of a friend then Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar.  Today, however, I want to focus on the character qualities of Job.  Job lost everything.  It wasn’t over a period of time.  It was within seconds of each other.  He lost all his worldly possessions, then all ten of his children within the snap of a finger.  Gone. And what did Job do?

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshipped.  He said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there.  The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.  Blessed be the name of the LORD.’ Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God. ~Job 1:20-22

Today I just want to focus on this thought, despite the trial that the Lord has you going through at this moment, can you still worship Him?  Can you still trust Him and believe that He is with you?  I want to jump back up to the top of the page and reread the passage from Isaiah.  This is a passage that we should have inscribed on our hearts and in our hearts.  I am God’s servant…you are God’s servant.  He claims you as His and not only that, YOU ARE CHOSEN!  And despite what you are going through YOU ARE NOT REJECTED!  Knowing that…the next question is this…DO YOU BELIEVE IT?  Job did nothing wrong in God’s eyes to “deserve” all that he went through.  God wanted satan to see the strength of Job’s devotion to Him.  He also wanted to grow Job.  Job was chosen.  He was not rejected.  God was still with him, even though it felt like there was a cloud layer between them.

What trial does God have you going through this day?  Has it been one that has been ongoing?  Do you find yourself drawn closer to God or pulling back?  Our family has been going through a financial trial for the past two years.  We have lost much, but not everything.  One of my younger daughters made the comment the other day to her other siblings that she didn’t think God was with us and that He cared because He hadn’t fixed the problem yet.  She is young.  She missed all the “stuff” and extra things that we used to be able to get and do.  After hearing her thoughts, I reminded her of all that she did have and how God was still with us.  He had not rejected us.  She still has a roof over her head, clothes on her back, food in her belly.  I explained to her that God was growing us…He is preparing us for the next God adventure and wanted to move us away from having so much and learning to live on little.

Through this pruning process, God is making us stronger.  Is God pruning you back?  We need to put on our worship just like Job did.  Job wasn’t filled with fear.  Fear comes from the enemy.  God tells us not to fear and not to be anxious about anything.  Why?  Because HE IS YOUR GOD!  And not only that, HE WILL STRENGTHEN YOU AND HELP YOU AND UPHOLD YOU WITH HIS RIGHTEOUS HAND!  No wonder Job could worship God through all of that!  God wants us to cling to Him.  To totally trust Him with every inch of our spirit and soul.  I love what Charles Spurgeon says:

We must keep to Him, cling to Him, never let Him go, but live and have our being in Him. “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him”; persevere in the same way in which you began, and just as at the beginning Christ Jesus was the trust of your faith, the source of your life, the principle of your action, and the joy of your spirit, so let Him be the same until life’s end, the same when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death and enter into the joy and the rest that remain for the people of God.

No matter what the trial that God has you going through today…at this very moment…keep to God, cling to Him, never let Him go, draw into Him, persevere in your relationship with Him, trust Him, believe that He is the source of your life, the principle of your life, and the joy of your life.  Then you can learn to worship Him just as Job did through the trial.  Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus!  He wants to be your shelter in the storm.