Overflowing gratefulness

“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19 NIV

A year ago I had such a sorry grasp of what love is.  I am learning. And thank God, for God! He is teaching me sweet tender things. He has handled me mercifully and poured out his grace. Love causes such gratefulness.

“Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.” Psalm 136:26 NIV

God’s love – never changing, never failing, always rescuing and providing, comforting, correcting, guiding – LOVE! God is LOVE. And my heart swells with such thanks giving!

I set out to study thankfulness – as I grow and change I just thank Him so much and praise Him for all that He has done, all that He will do and all that He has said “no” to (I trust His ways).  And as I read verse like this next one, I get so excited and full of gratitude, even though it is not a verse about being thankful:
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV
First of all I always get excited when GRACE is involved, and quite frankly, when is it NOT involved?!? Hallelujah!  Second His GREAT LOVE FOR US and RICH IN MERCY!!! How can these words be read without your heart feeling all sorts of gratitude?

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” 1 Chronicles 16:34 NIV

Thank you God!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!!! Are you feeling it?!  I know we don’t walk by feelings but by faith – but it’s such a great feeling to be loved and such a great feeling to thank Him who loves us!!! Let’s just enjoy thanking Him and praising him.

“I will extol [praise, exalt, admire, worship, appreciate] the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. Psalm 34:1 NIV

Oh how I love you, Father God, Abba, Daddy, and thank you for all that you have done for me!!!

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” 1 John 3:1 NIV

Who cares who knows me – My Daddy knows me, and I know my Daddy!!! Thank you for loving me!!

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV
Wait, what??? All circumstances??? You mean even with the pandemic going on? Even with the struggles we face? Even when things are not going my way? Even when I am under attack?

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. Psalm 28:7 NIV

Yes – even in the rough times, praise Him!!! He wants to be our everything – strength, shield, protector, provider, everything! We just need to surrender to Him, let God be our God and praise Him for it!

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 100:4 NIV

Entering gates and courts? This refers to the gates and court of the temple – it is the derivative of the structure of kings’ palaces, and kings holding court. When we come before Him we should have a spirit of thankfulness and praise. Come before him? Yes, like when we go to Him in prayer – a prayer time set apart for him, even though we pray, praise and give thanks without ceasing. Trust me, it makes sense and it does work! I am a living testament to that!

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Colossians 4:2 NIV

“Watchful” there is that word again – see those posts on watch and pray (look in my previous posts).  If it’s not in those posts, let me add – watch and pray with a thankful heart.
But how could we not be overflowing with appreciation and thankfulness when HE, the creator, the all-powerful, the most influential, King of kings and Lord of lords loves us??

“The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3 NIV

Oh Jeremiah – He may have appeared in the past but He is alive and present today with the same message: everlasting Love and unfailing kindness.  This is what I signed up for! Praise the Lord!!

“Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Psalm 106:1NIV

I wonder how many times and how many ways it is written in the Bible – His love and our thanks giving and praise.  It’s all mixed in together, like how grace keeps showing itself mixed in with every study I do.

“But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” Psalm 86:15 NIV

And there it is again – grace! “Gracious” means full of grace! Praise the Lord!

“All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.” 2 Corinthians 1:15 NIV
Right here folks!!! This is it!!! All for our benefit – grace – reaching people – overflowing gratitude!  GLORY!!!

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39 NIV
And let finish with a thought provoking verse (or two).  He loves us and He makes you and me into MORE than conquerors. More. This thought is so much bigger than I think I can wrap my small mind around. Nothing can separate us from the Love of God – “nor anything in all creation”. Everything is created – therefore there is nothing that can stop the love of God! This is so much to think about. How great his love is! I stand in awe or as the kids these days say: mind blown. Think about it for a little while and see how much gratitude bubbles up inside you!!!  

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe” Hebrews 12:28 NIV

Glory to God in the highest!!! Amen!

Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

~Grace be with you ~
~Thank you for reading ~ Be healthy and blessed ~
~ Pray for our nation ~ Pray Psalm 91 ~

Conversations with my friend

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 NIV

Imagine meeting one of the greatest artist in history, you can ask him/her about any of their creations – what would you ask them about?
Imagine if you will you could meet the most powerful person on earth and could talk to them about anything – what would you talk to them about?

Would you be confident; approach them confidently?  Would you have anything interesting to say?
And what if the most influential and wealthy person in the world came to you and asked about your life and problems and asked how could they help you – what would you ask for?

“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always .” 1 Chronicles 16:11 NIV

Imagine your best friend calls you – what would you talk about? What if it was your spouse or sweetheart? Could you find words? Would you be able to have interesting conversations?

“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” Matthew 6:7 NIV

With my Asperger’s Syndrome, I frequently fixate on ideas and topics or things that are happening in my life – so, if I am to keep the conversation going I must find new ways to talk about these matters.

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Ephesians 6:18 NIV

“Alert” this is the same word as ‘watch’ – see also my 2 previous posts about “Watch and Pray”. Anyway…

Sometimes I talk with my friends on the phone, sometimes in person, sometimes via text message/email/and messenger, recently (most often) via video chat, maybe by Skype, sometimes via Zoom…
Sometime our conversations are silly full of laughter, sometimes sad and full of tears, sometimes worried, sometimes very matter of fact, and sometimes very tired and full of yawns…

I am very blessed with the best friends in the world. I enjoy talking with them.

“May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.” Psalm 141:2 NIV

Sometimes I have a little brain-fart and cannot remember a word and groan or sputter and they know what I mean.

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” Romans 8:26 NIV

BUT then imagine if your friend did all the talking. What if your friend said the same thing word for word every time? What if they were bored and not engaged? What if they acting like speaking with you was an obligation they needed to fulfill? What if they turned speaking to you into a nursery rhyme?

Prayer.

It’s a two way conversation.

Since the first sin separated mankind from Him, God has been trying to restore his relationship with each of us.  And we now have the ability to speak with, having a two-way conversation with, the most famous artist/creator ever.  We have the most powerful being’s attention. We can share our woes and concerns with the most wealthy and influential person in the universe (and beyond) and have the full knowledge that He loves us and wants to help us.

Yet – do we pray like we fully understand this?  Do we have conversations and know what he is saying back? Is our prayer effectual?

Today I have questions – I heard someone say they were bored in their prayer life. I wonder, were they talking to the wall??? Do they know who He is that we pray to?  I often start my day a little star struck that He would want to spend the day with me. But he does want to. 

I enjoy my alone time, and it is fun getting used to spending this time with someone else.  As I read he explains and sometimes sends me off in a different direction. Sometimes he stops me when I write and won’t let me write again until it is his way.
Sometime while having issues at work – I can talk it over with Him and he has advice and shares His wisdom.

“pray without ceasing” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV

Well, sometimes I am worshiping him. Sometimes I am singing. Sometimes I get into my own head and wander around until he clears his throat so to speak and I am reminded to get back on track.  What a friend we have in Jesus!!!

So, how is your prayer life? Do you pray – I mean really pray? Do you have that relationship?  The kind that God longs for?  Do you long for it too?

I have been repetitive about my requested for my unsaved loved ones – Like the persistent widow.  But Jesus said we can pray persistently. But do not neglect the rest of the day and the conversations.
In these prayers for my love ones I often pray that the mountain be moved – the one that is in the way of them having the transforming revelation of Christ. And yesterday, I said it out loud over and over and worshiped my God the mountain mover!

“He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20 NIV

Today, God responded with a glorious verse!

“The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth.” Psalm 97:5 NIV

Dear Lord, as you leave the 99 to chase down the 1 lost sheep – and you come to the mountains that stand between you and that – as I say mountain be moved, melt it like wax before you!!!! Manifest your completed work in the hearts of my love ones! Your word says it – I believe it. Do this or exceedingly abundantly above all I could ask or think – that the Son, Jesus Christ shall be glorified. Amen

Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

~Grace be with you ~
~Thank you for reading ~ Be healthy and blessed ~
~ Pray for our nation ~ Pray Psalm 91 ~

Power of Spoken Words

“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” Mark 11:23 NKJV

As I say firmly – Mountain, be thou removed! Today is the day of salvation! Amen!

The word. It creates life, and it has the power to heal, save and transform people.  Faith comes by hearing therefore it is important to speak it – speak so you can hear it! Build your faith! Speak so the enemy can hear it. Speak because God is always with you and hears you. Speak – use the word.

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 NIV

Yes, speak the word and sing your spiritual sword!  Yesterday I fell silent in reverence and love – quietly enjoying my Father. But today I am noisy! Today I speak! Today is the day of salvation and now is the time! I am renewed in spirit and strength. So today – let’s look at the power of the spoken word of the Lord our God!
Above we see it moves mountains – spiritual obstacles, cold stubborn hearts of man, and evil, although I have no doubt it can also move physical mountains if ever there was a need.  
Because this Word is a sharp sword with unknown size reaching physical locations as well as spiritual locations – transcending laws of physics as God has many times. Yet it is careful and precise – separating joints and marrow is an exact job. It is merciful and compassionate as is the task of dividing soul and spirit. It is a holy and just job of a ruler and Judge, a Magistrate, piercing and cutting into the heart bringing conviction with repentance and revelation that the punishment has already been paid.

Today I speak that verse out –   Lord, send that sword into the hearts and thoughts of my loved ones who desperately need to be transformed by your spirit! Bring Life! Life more abundantly! – Amen

“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 18:21 NIV

Head to this warning and do not speak evil or death – speak only life as we must give an account of our words. And the reason we must account is because words hold such great power!

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4 NIV

The Bible is the inspired WORD of God and as we see from the beginning in Genesis it is the spoken word. Much of the New Testament was written letters – meant to be read out loud and to be heard! The word is meant to be spoken and there is power in the act of speaking it.

“So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 NIV

Hallelujah and Amen! The word of the lord completes it task.  I think about all the verses and the word of my testimony which I have spoken (and Pastors and others have spoken) and how it is out there stirring in the hearts of those who heard. It may have been robbed, oppressed, pushed down, and/or put aside – but it is in there stirring. It will achieve the purpose for which God sent it.  The purpose??? That none should perish but all will have eternal life!  The purpose??? So all of the people will come to know and love their creator. Amen?

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:24 NIV

So we speak in Spirit and in Truth – bringing God to physical ear and spiritual ones – speech can move into hearts and should and assist the Holy Spirit with His ministry.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 NIV

Let start at the beginning –
“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” Psalms 33:6 NIV
The Lord spoke and spoken word has the power of creation –
“And God said” Genesis 1 verses 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 29 and all things were created.

Then let’s move to “the word was God” and consider verse 14:
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 NIV

Speaking – Flesh – OH the grace!!!!! I hope you can make this connection!!! And yes, it always comes back to GRACE!!! Praise the Lord. It is this grace that we might use the power to further the Kingdom of Heaven!!! Hallelujah

His Word – us speaking HIM, literally – us speaking Him in Prayer – HAS the power to move mountains, save souls, manifest the completed work of the cross, cast out demons and heal the sick. This, this is also grace – so much is the GRACE OF GOD!

“Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” Proverbs 16:24 NIV

Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!
Save our loved ones and come for your children!

~Grace be with you ~
~Thank you for reading ~ Be healthy and blessed ~
~ Pray for our nation ~ Pray Psalm 91 ~

Be still and know

“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” Psalm 46:10 NLT

So many people love this verse as it seems so very calming.  The words “be still” actual mean stop wars. I suppose we could say, we should stop the war over our mind and surrender to thoughts of him. Ah, but we discussed the battle over the mind and it’s required action on our part to change our focus from one way to focusing on the true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and virtuous praise worthy things (Philippians 4:8).

The principle, though, stands that there is a time and place to be silent before God. And the second part of that verse is reiterated in many ways throughout the Bible:

“⁹ Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: ¹⁰ That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth; ¹¹ And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11 KJV

Imagine the glorious throne room in heaven.  God sitting there, the light, the rainbow, the lamps, the elders, Jesus on the right hand of the father, and the angels singing.  I love to silence myself and try to picture myself there – full of fear of the Lord and wonder.  I imagine I worship in silence as to not disturb the scene (especially since I am a terrible singer).

God lead David to quiet peaceful places to ponder on Him.

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.” Psalm 23:2 KJV

So why wouldn’t he want us to quiet ourselves occasionally and mediate on the Goodness of God.

“Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.” Psalm 4:4 NIV

The psalmist understand us – all this laying around and in bed – or at least he knows me. It’s where I do most of my praying. Most of my silent, restful, sit in His presence kind of praying.

Listen, I know we are persistent widows – I know we are praying for impossible mountains to move and a mighty revival. I know we have lots to bang on the gates of heaven for. There are so many promises to pin to the gate begging, Father, remember your words!

” The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14 NIV

Sometimes, we must still be reverent enough to be silent and give his ear a break – sit in his presence, he still sees you and your heart of worship. But give his ear a moment. He is fighting for us. He has gone before us and the work is finished.

“And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8 KJV

Shhhhhh – let that completed work be made manifest within you and those situations you are praying for.

They are done – He is victorious and worthy of our praise – and we should also know how to be quieted. Think on these things. Watch and pray.

Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

~Grace be with you ~
~Thank you for reading ~ Be healthy and blessed ~
~ Pray for our nation ~ Pray Psalm 91 ~

First Seek God

“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Matthew 11:27 ASV

I have done many studies about who God is. If we are to seek him – we should try to get to know him. If we are in a personal relationship with Jesus, what does this mean for our relationship with our Father and getting to know Him?
Dear Jesus, please help us, reveal to us the Father, our Abba. I ask in your name ~ amen.

God had a relationship directly with Adam and Eve. Then sin separate us from God. He had to develop a system to be able to have some sort of relationship with us because he missed us and loves us. So Priests, the Temple, and sacrifices were required.  It wasn’t enough, so God started telling his children it would not always be this way, he was preparing a lamb who could take all our sin and sickness upon himself and be our great sacrifice. When the time was right he sent Jesus to be this lamb.  Now we are able to have a relationship with God through the Son.  But the goal is a relationship with the Father.  And when we get to heaven Father God will wipe away every tear – he himself, like the Good Good Father that He is.  The entire Bible is the story of God wanting a relationship with us. How much He loves us that all these years He is still chasing us down.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 NIV

Literally since the beginning of time – God.  He is the beginning and the end (Revelations 1:8).

So, this time, I wanted to find verses about who God is – in and of himself and not in relationship to a promise he made to us.  I have not been able to find a verse about who he is without us.  All that seems to be revealed about God is that he is 100% focused on us and striving for a relationship with us.   His love for us is so much that we are all that is on his mind.

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 NIV

He wants us all.  Thank you, Father, for your love for us! I worship you! You are a way-maker, light in the darkness!

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5 NIV

Oh Lord God, shine that light – even in the dark places!!! Light our way! Bring our loved ones out of darkness with that light – glorious indescribable light!

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 NIV

My God is not dead! He is alive and working! Even when we do not see it – God is working!  God is working on the inside – He is working in the spirit.

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:24 NIV

Therefore pray in the spirit, often. Pray for spiritual works – the soil of hearts to be prepared by God and for God to compel in spirit his workers out into the harvest. Is there a spiritual element to the promises you are waiting on God for? Pray for that because that is where God moves.  We are transformed from the inside out, so why wouldn’t we expect the same from our promises? 

I think about my redemption and my transformation since, and how much I hunger and long for God, for His Word, and for His love.  If God could reach me in that terrible sinful place, God can reach the worst sinners of your loved ones – and if God can transform me this way, he can do the same for our loved ones. A sudden, total transformation with an insatiable hunger for more of God and the Kingdom of Heaven!
Oh Heavenly Father – I am what you can do. I am your miracle work.  If you can do this to me, you can do this or better for our loved ones! You are great and greatly to be praised! Your will is that none should perish – so come for them Lord! Be loosed in Heaven and Earth! Thank you God!

I stand on the promises.  To know my Abba is to know his promises and will.

“God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” Numbers 23:19 NIV

He doesn’t lie! He IS DOING IT! He is!

“As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.” Psalm 18:30 NIV

He is doing it in his perfect way! Hallelujah!!

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:4-5 NIV

As I better understand his love for me, I love him more and more – I long to love him with ALL. He is worthy of ALL.  You can even ask your pet, who can testify of the amazing worthiness of God!

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” Job 12:7-10 NIV

All of creation knows, including our enemy who is also created; God is life – he gave us life. God is the only thing that has always existed. It’s all too much for my little mind.

Maranatha – Come Lord Jesus!               

~Grace be with you~
~Thank you for reading ~ be healthy and blessed ~
~Pray for our nation ~ pray Psalm 91 ~

Transforming Prayer

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2 KJV

Transformed by the renewing of your mind and will of God.
I feel like I have not been making much sense. My mind has been different and I cannot explain it – but it’s almost like I am relearning how to use it.  I have had many a revelation of the scriptures – for example when you first heard “Jesus loves you” to when you experience that love and then when you hear “Jesus loves you” it is different. It’s the amazing difference between knowing it (and I mean really knowing and understanding) to knowing it just because it is. It isn’t really the difference of experience like in my example – maybe it is a poor example. The difference is revelation. And I fail to find the right words to explain.

I suppose the mind must go through a process of transformation when you tell God: not my will, but thy will be done. Old things are passed way and behold – made new.

So, verses I have used a million times. Are new but not at all new. And the emphasis on pray is more dire – urgent – and necessary like oxygen to our bodies.

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Romans 8:26 ESV

One night, I found myself unable to stop praying. I tried, but I kept praying as I got ready for bed. I laid my head down, my mind kept praying and groaning and praying in the Spirit. It did not stop and eventually I fell asleep and was woke up again – and kept praying.  This has now happened a number of times. I recall as a teen staying up praying – but never so compelled by the Spirit.

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:16 KJV

Pray availeth much – it accomplishes what it sets out to accomplish when you pray it through. It also builds your relationship with God. It also transforms you especial when praying in the spirit and praying with the spirit.

“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jeremiah 33:3 ESV

These things, they are hidden – but available if you seek God and ask.  I asked (when I sincerely said I would submit to God’s will) to have these things revealed. You can ask more directly, if you want.  

“Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance” Ephesians 6:18 ESV

Praying at all times.

Praying in the Spirit.

Praying with all prayer and supplication. Or in NIV: “with all kinds of prayers and requests”. The dictionary says: “the action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly” 

Keep alert.

And Pray with all perseverance – dedication, determination, endurance, persistence, steadfastness, tenacity, constancy, continuance, doggedness, drive, immovability, purposefulness, resolution, and stick-to-itiveness.  I’m storming the gates of heaven like the Persistent Widow.

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. ² He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. ³ And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ ⁴ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” ⁶ And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. ⁷ And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? ⁸ I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Luke 18:1-8 ESV

Do not focus on your request more than you focus on the Lord.  Remember to seek Him first, then all these things can be added (Matthew 6:33).

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Colossians 3:1-2

Then storm heaven, with a mind transformed and in wisdom of God’s will.

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24 ESV

Maranatha – Come Lord Jesus!               

~Grace be with you ~Thank you for reading ~ be healthy and blessed ~ Pray for our nation ~ pray Psalm 91 ~

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ² By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ³ Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,that we should no longer be slaves to sin – ⁷ because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

¹¹ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³ Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

Romans 6:1-14 NIV

I say I am going deeper. I feel like I am going under. I recognize myself less and less. A friend said it might be time to be baptized. I have been baptized as an adult. But the feeling is similar.

I am focusing on God. On Jesus. On obedience to Him. On things not of the world.

I have lost my self and have become irrelevant.  I mean “self” – flesh – my will – the identity I created through sin and a difficult life. <– that is irrelevant. I am still a daughter of the King and fearfully and wonderfully made – please follow what I am saying and do not get caught up on the wording. My will and sin nature is depleting – I used to identify so worldly.

All that matters now is God’s will and direction.  I’m going deep, going under and I know I will not be the same on the other side.  I am tempted on all sides.  Honestly, keeping my cool when disrespected is the most difficult thing for me to reign in.  Otherwise is it almost a feeling of looking in at myself from the outside as I die to self and die to sin. I know I have a long way to go. 

These verses above, I have memorized in King James Version. I have posted them here to chew on.  And it is a lot to think about. There is a ton of very good stuff in there, feel free to take some time and think about it.

When I say, “Thy will be done” – I hadn’t given much thought to how much of MY will still stands, unmoved. “Mountain be removed!” 

Isn’t what God wants for me better than what I want for me ?– don’t look at what it will cost me – the kingdom of heaven is at hand! Most assuredly.  God’s will shall lead me on the best path to heaven.   And though we do not focus on the cost, verse 8 says to die with Christ – this implies a brutal and painful death.  This process will probably hurt me, not physically, but sacrifices – mentally, emotionally and otherwise will have to be made.  Focus on God. 

Its like walking on the top of a cliff or other high place – look at where you are heading and don’t look down.

When it is over, I can “offer [myself] to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of [myself] to him as an instrument of righteousness”. Amen!!

And finally – grace! The above passage is grace – dyeing and resurrection – death to life – the story of the expanse of grace and salvation.  It is still the Easter season here! Hallelujah!

We are under grace! So what shall we said then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid!

Maranatha – Come Lord Jesus!

~Grace be with you ~Thank you for reading ~ be healthy and blessed ~ Pray for our nation ~ pray Psalm 91 ~

Deeper to The Rock

“The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” Matthew 13:32 NLT

Digging in deeper, I have the GOOD soil – the God given good! I am praying for you and my love ones to have the GOOD soil.  Let God water it, turn it, pull out the rocks and add in the fertilizer. Its spring and planting time! As the snow melted back and the spring rains came and softened our physical soil, let it be so in your heart and pray for the soil of our unsaved love ones hearts. It’s a good time to stretch our roots in deeper.  Deeper than the top soil – reach down to the bedrock – to the rock. To have a firm foundation. 

As my branches get trimmed, I shall act like a plant and make sure my roots are deep enough to start the stretching and growing like a plant does. So I am reaching deeper for that life water spring under the bedrock and that Rock.

“and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:4 NIV

“There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” 1 Samuel 2:2 NIV

God and Jesus Christ are both described as the Rock – The Old Testament may have been referring to Jesus all along as it spend most of its time pointing to the Messiah.
So as I stretch my roots deeper I am just reaching for more of Christ. Constantly wanting and reaching for more. 

In such a time as this –
and right now isn’t so bad for me. I stay focused on God. I stay busy with work. I reach out to people to encourage and lift them up. I spend time praying and reading. And the Bible says harder times will come, are coming.
So, in such a time as this it is critical to take a moment and dig in deep. Reach that rock!

“he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.” Luke 6:48 ESV

Hallelujah!  He is the firm foundation!

Like returning home.

“Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn” Isaiah 51:1 KJV

And as we dig deeper and build up stronger – the trials and floods come (cause the Bible says they will come, we must be prepared).  And the Lord our God and Christ Jesus our salvation will be our refuge.

“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:2 NIV

Our stronghold!  Are you feeling this?! Do your eyes see and ears hear – is your heart understanding? Think on these thing a while.  This Rock – Our Father and Christ Jesus and how solid, how deep, how good, how immovable, how steady and consistent, how constant, how faithful….

And we have the privilege to wrap our roots around him in embrace!  We can build our lives on this solid unshaking ground.

Oh Heavenly father make some room on this rock! We are planting seeds up here and sending down more roots to you! Thank you for being our strength, especially when we are weak. Thank you for your providence and protection.  Help us to grow deep roots, down into the glorious things of you!

“The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!” Psalm 18:46 NIV

Thank you Jesus!

~Grace be with you ~Thank you for reading ~ be healthy and blessed ~ Pray for our nation ~ pray Psalm 91 ~

The Vine and the branch

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunesso that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

John 15:1-8 NIV

When God asked if I was ready for his will – and I said yes, and I forgot that meant things would change – I am being pruned.  I am seeing unfruitful areas of my life fall away. Or as described in Isaiah ‘the spreading branches’.  He is focusing me, pulling me in. Less of me and more of him. 

In reference to my sweetman – I did pray that God would remove anything standing in His way of doing His work in him.  I should not be surprised that God told me to back out.  I still pray. The Holy Spirit is still present on this earth doing a MIGHTY work. And today is still the day of Salvation!  So I pray for others to go in and lead my sweetman. I pray for the workers to get to him, while we are in a social distancing pandemic – because only God can make that happen!
I do understand that I have probably lost him. There is a cost to saying yes to God – but have faith, because the heavenly rewards are greater than you can imagine. I cry for my loss – but if I was honest it was already lost to me. And his soul is all that truly matters. And my sorrow shows us that my branches spread in directions that were not God’s.

While he is safe in the hands of God, I am still being pruned and disciplined in love.  I want to be known as faithful to God bearing good fruit in season. Lord help me be who you want me to be.

My past and difficult life has made me strong willed, insensitive, determined and a little bid edgy.  But God has made me sensitive and soft. God has made me for his glory and I want to be clothed in glory!

I know that if I keep my mind on God, then he keeps me in perfect peace.
”You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You” Isaiah 26:3 NKJV
I assume if I keep my mind on him I might not even notice the wayward parts of me being pruned, or at least it might be easier?

Either way, when God calls, I want to be ready and prepared.  I say yes Lord, prune me and I thank him because this pruning is validation of me being attached to the vine! Hallelujah!

And then let us look closely at verses 7 & 8 of John chapter 5:
“⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

Ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you! 
Well, Lord, I wish for my needs to be met and you are faithful and always meet my needs.
So I wish for my unsaved loved ones and my sweet man to be transformed – old things passed away and made new in Christ. I wish for extra grace and love upon them with your Holy Spirit anointing their heads with oil so that their minds are protected.  I wish for more warrior angels to come in and aid in the fight as described in Daniel when the word of the Lord was delayed because of a spiritual battle that required more angels to assist. I wish “today is the day of salvation”.  I wish I really could hold you, Lord, captive by your own word! I wish for a miracle!  I wish to see the verses I have prayed be fulfilled or exceeding abundantly above all that I have asked or thought. I wish to see the mountains moved. I wish to see the miracles happen! I wish to see and show others the MIGHTY God I serve.

So prune me, that I might have my wishes. Not my will, but thy will, oh Lord! Here I am send me. Bring salvation to my land – bring revival to the church as well.

Renew a right spirit in me and let’s get to work! In the name of Jesus.

~Grace be with you ~Thank you for reading ~ be healthy and blessed ~ Pray for our nation ~ pray Psalm 91 ~

Growing pains

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18 NIV

When I think about growth, I think about planting seeds inside on a windowsill. I remember when my son was a toddler. And every day we would draw back the curtains so the dirt could have light and we would mist them with a spray bottle.  I think about the warms, the excitement on my son’s face as little graceful sprouts reached up out of the soil towards the light. Growth was such a beautiful, peaceful, graceful thing.  So easy to forget that there is a thing called growing pains.

I am sorry if any one read the post “Thy will be done” and thought or even prayed that they could grow in the will of God.  Older Christians always say not to pray for patience because patience has to grow, so your patience will be tested in order to grow – I think they say it half joking and half out of “been there, done that”.  Apparently, when you tell God: “Not my will, but Thy will be done” a similar thing happens. 

First you lose control over things, be pushed outside your comfort zone. Then you have to submit to rules you disagree with. Then one by one things around you and in your life begin to change and you start to realize you had more selfish strong will than you had realized.

I had a rough week.  While other are struggling with the social distancing, I am feeling growing pains of submitting to God. It caused some upset in my normal schedule and I changed the way I studied my Bible and therefore could not post. I am sorry again.

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” Colossians 1:9-10 NIV

So how do I summarize this past week? Busy and spiritually eventful.  The biggest time consumer was having to make fabric face masks to comply with the newest rule in New York State – we cannot leave our houses without them (pretty much).

[Inserting note – my computer has lost this document and restored to a past save point and I have lose a number of words – let me regroup]

So making masks took up most of my time. Being the go to person for all hand sewn things, I had orders for masks before I even knew if I had the materials needed. Also, while doing this, I was unable to study the Bible the same way, but a recent sermon my Pastor preached on Daniel came to mind and I chewed on the word of the Lord. It made me think about how God is ultimately in control of who our leaders are, and we must obey them. Daniel drew the line at prayer – he would not stop praying. So I faithful made the masks and now obediently wear them.  Miraculously I had just enough supplies for my loved ones and my best friend’s family needed them, I had no more elastic but she said she had some. So I made her family’s masks without elastic.

During this time other things dipped into my time.  I don’t believe I made mention before here, but my son’s grandfather passed away a week ago and comforting conversations with my son and his family have also been necessary. 

“5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:5-8 NIV

And I added goodness to my faith, knowledge to my goodness, then came along self-control and temptation to lose control. Actual the temptations have been coming and most have been easy to see and turn from.  But, I ran into a little issue with my sweet man.  I felt that again he had exploited my love for him and acted selfishly and did things he knew would hurt my feelings. But it is also true that he is NOT mine. We are not in a relationship – He need God, not me. He could not understand why I was hurt, since I said no to him. We aren’t dating and he can do whatever he wants. What a wakeup call!!! I had developed my own plans, my own thoughts, and my own will in relation to this situation. I need self-control and to further submit to the will of God. I needed to step back. 
I apologized to my sweet man and told him I prayed about it and I was wrong.  I love him and I cannot be with him at this time because he needs his relationship with Jesus restored. It’s the bottom line. I tried to love him as God does, but I cannot at this time.  God has the grace to love him in sin.  I told him it time to choose God and that I was backing up and still praying for him.
And look at that – I grow self-control while submitting to God’s will. After that perseverance… and I continue to Grow.

I have still prayed fervently for my dear friend. I still sent him the daily devotional as I have for the past 6 months or so. But I have backed off and given him over to God (a few times) and he is in God’s hands.  Oh Lord, you love him more than I love him – work your will in his life as you give him the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that he may know you better. I pray that the eyes of his heart may be enlightened in order that he may know the hope to which you have called him. I ask in the Name of Jesus please do this or exceedingly abundantly above all I could ask or think! ~ Amen

I am growing. I am submitting to who God wants me to be and into the roll God wants me to be in. It has its growing pains. I trust what the Lord has planned.

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7 NIV

Today – I was reminded to be grateful and thankful for even these growing pains. So thankful for growth that is measured. I still want more. I still pray for the situations in my life holding God captive to his own word and promises waiting for the blessings to flow. But I am thankful to even have the promises to begin with and thankful that the victory has been won. And I cannot wait for the day I can type: “my sweet man has been transformed into something new old things are passed away!”  Or to declare how God has resolved my other needs and battles in my life.  In the meanwhile I will grow adding to my self-control, perseverance and so on.

~Grace be with you ~Thank you for reading ~ be healthy and blessed ~ Pray for our nation ~ pray Psalm 91 ~