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Thursday, April 28, 2011

Abandonment!

I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.  Jeremiah 45:5
http://utmost.org/    As I read this verse and devotion, I wish I knew the old testament with its history and stories a little better. Since I do not I will trust what Chambers says and I think with the Lord's help I will practice this today. 

Chamber's asks a good question, Are you prepared to let God take you into total oneness with Him?  Are you prepared to totally surrender and let go.  Life gets in my way of total oneness with God.  I allow the temporal things to press in on me throughout the day.  I allow the busyness of job, house, and family to squeeze out my oneness with God.  And my eyes are definitely open to how my reasoning and questioning God, shows my unbelief and distrust.  Proverbs 3:5-10 has been on my heart lately.
                     
 Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
      And lean not on your own understanding;
        In all your ways acknowledge Him,
      And He shall direct your paths.
        Do not be wise in your own eyes;
      Fear the LORD and depart from evil.
       It will be health to your flesh      
And strength to your bones.
        Honor the LORD with your possessions,
      And with the firstfruits of all your increase;
        So your barns will be filled with plenty,
      And your vats will overflow with new wine.
      

Abandonment!  Surrender to Him a fresh today.




Monday, April 25, 2011

A Broken Jar of Jelly

I woke this morning, feeling a little like the the weather outside.  I am sure you can relate to the feeling of a  dark, gloomy outlook, with an occasional down pour of opinion, random lightening strikes, and the thundering voice of whine.  I really dislike waking to these feelings and emotions, because it is such a battle to overcome. Colossians 3:12, comes to my mind to put on the tender mercies of God- kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;  By faith I am dressing in these mercies but my heart is still stormy.  By faith I am going through my morning routine but the storm is brewing in my heart. By faith I listen to a short video asking the question-"Do I desire God"? You can listen to that here. http://adisciplesguidetocommonsense.blogspot.com/2011/04/do-you-desire-god.html
A jolt, a little Son beam into my stormy heart but it was not until I went into the kitchen to make breakfast that reality hit.  You see I dropped a jar of jelly on the tile floor.  The glass shattered and the jelly was a blob on my newly mopped floor.  My first response was Thank You that this was not my favorite homemade Jelly from the Tate's. (Funny first thought?) As I looked at the shattered glass and the blob of jelly I was quickly reminded of my life and what God desires from all of us-Humility.

God desires a life of humility.  A life of brokenness before Him.  The shattered glass reminded me to humble myself before Him.  As I swept up the brokenness, as I wiped up the stickiness, as I trashed the pieces, I was reminded of how God makes all things new.  He takes our broken shattered hearts and exchanges them for His soft tender compassionate heart. We have the resurrected power of Christ living in our lives and we not longer have to live with the storm raging in our hearts.  Scriptures teaches if we draw near to God He will draw near to us.  This drawing near is only possible if we humble ourselves before Him. 

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,  casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.Be sober, be vigilant; because  your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.  But may the God of all grace, who called us[c] to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.  To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 5:6-11

I hope none of you reading this blog, ever wakes to these feelings but if you do remember my broken jar of jelly and humble yourself before the LORD.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Oswald Chambers Devotion

I desired  for this Oswald Chambers devotion to be typed out for you, but I was unable to copy and paste.  Please click the link below to read "The Light That Never Fails"

http://www.myutmost.org/04/0422.html

I pray as we walk each day, we will not look to people but look upon the very face of our Savior-God Himself.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Summit Church-North Little Rock Arkansas

A church in Little Rock Arkansas is experiencing a moving of God's Spirit.  This has been exciting to follow for the last week.  Click the following link to read what God is doing there.  Pray and ask God to manifest His Spirit among your local body of believers.

http://thesummitchurch.org/blogs/summit

Surrender and the Paint Brush

Organization and clarity are two great things.  When they are teamed together, many goals are obtained.  Don't go through life living in a state of uncertainy and choas.  Surrender yourself to the Lord and ask Him to give you life goals, a life verse, and a ministry verse.  Stop long enough to find the theme of your life and write that out before the Lord. 

We all have a theme of life.  We all have a story-A God story. Our very life is His canvas.  He is painting a glorious picture of who He is upon our life.  Our sin, our hurt, and our pain is woven into the very fibers of the canvas.  They are evident.  You are not able to pull out the fibers for then the canvas would be no longer, for our  lives depict this canvas. God in His mercy and grace picks up His paintbrush to begin a work, to begin telling His story upon our lives.  Each stroke of the paintbrush reveals His love and goodness.  Each paint drop reveals His mercy and grace.  God covers that canvas with a beautiful picture of His shed blood upon the cross. 

Friend stop and ponder the paint drops upon your life.  Ask God to paint a picture giving you a life goal, a life verse, and a ministry verse to live by.    Live each day in the power of the Holy Spirit in light of these goals.  I can look back over the canvas of my 47 years and see God's hand, His mercy, His conviction of sin, His grace of forgiveness.  I can see Him and His glorious picture on my canvas.  What about you?  All it takes is surrender to His paintbrush!

Monday, April 18, 2011

BEBO NORMAN God Of My Everything

Stinkin Thinkin

When I seem out of sorts in my spiritual life, when my thinkin becomes quite stinkin and I need a reality check, I place myself under some tough sovereignty preaching.  I say tough because our flesh does not normally like to hear the truth.  We are so wrapped up in "self" and questioning God as to why tragedy is happening to us that we forget who the God of the Bible truly is.  I need to be reminded of His sovereignty and my humanity.  I need to be reminded that I am not entitled to anything.  I need to be reminded that all I have is on loan from God. "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" Job 1:21.  It is difficult for us to wrap our small mind around this great God and understand His ways.  That is just it..do we really want to serve a God we can explain away?  Do we really want a God who fits into our explanations?  I don't. 

That is why I listen to men like Sam Storms, John Piper, Charles Spurgeon and the likes.  They paint a picture of God being great, holy, and righteousness.  I can serve this great God who is so much bigger than me.

I want to share a  link from Sam Storms.  His message titled, "Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and the mystery of suffering and sovereignty of God", has spoken to my heart and brought me back to reality of who this God is of whom I serve.  Dr. Storms teaches out of the book of Job. Listed are some thoughts from his podcast.

"Is God worthy of our worship and devotion even when He remains silent in our suffering?"
"Would we trust/commit our lives to Him even if there were no benefits?"

Great questions and the purpose of his message is to prepare our hearts for the time of tragedy.  We live in a fallen world.  Pain tragedy and heartache will come.  But how will you respond to this God when your world is turned upside down?  I pray his message encourages your heart as it has mine.

http://bridgewaychurch.com/podcast/category/bridgeway-messages/page/2

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Abandon All

After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”
They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately[a] got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. 4 But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?”
They answered Him, “No.”
6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.
7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish. 9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.”
11 Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”—knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.
14 This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.

John 21:1-14

This passage brings several questions to my mind. 
1) Why as Peter and the disciples were fishing did they answer a stranger (who called them children) and obey him? Vs. 4-6
2) Why was Jesus' identity hid from them?
3) Why was it John who first recognized Jesus and not Peter? Vs.7
4) Why did John not plunge himself into the water as He shared who the stranger was? Vs.7
5) Why did Peter put on his outer garment and jump into the sea? Or better yet why was this detail mentioned in this passage?

I believe one important part of this passage is Peter's abandonment of himself to come to Jesus.  We know from Scripture, Peter was impulsive with his mouth and actions.  Acting on impulse is not always the most wisest thing to do.  But I believe in the passage listed above it was quite wise, for it shows complete abandonment to Christ.  Peter did not reason his actions out.  He grab his clothes and jumped into the water.

I wonder about us.  When God reveals Himself to us-What is our response? Do we reason it out or do we leave it all to follow/worship Him?

I am a reasoner - I can be and have been impulsive which has gotten me in trouble many many times. Life experience has taught me to slow down, be cautious, be safe and reason.  But when it comes to Christ-His ways-His calling upon my life, I must throw all safety aside as Peter did and plunge myself into the water. For waiting on the shoreline is the intimate personal relationship my heart is longing for!

How about You?

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

God's Ways

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways. and My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

Every person reading this blog has preconceived ideas of who God is.  Our life experiences have formed a view of God in our thoughts and minds which may not be all true.  If you have an absent father, you may view God as uncaring and distant, an abusive father as a dictator, a passive father as a grandfather you can control with your whine.  As a child I attended church with friends but was never accompanied there with my parents.  I was taught bits and pieces of the Bible from my grandmother and attending Sunday school.  It seemed I took these truths and my life experiences and formed my moral compass, which could change depending on my feeling for the day.  The sad thing is many of us are living this way today. 

It is time to lay aside all preconceived ideas and search God's word for the truth.  Our moral compass must be based on the truth of the Word.  Our peace must be based on who God of the Bible is.  I remember a time I took a Christmas Story quiz.  I had heard the Christmas story every year at my grandmother's home.  I could share the story myself.  The problem was I  had a perceived idea of the story...an idea that was far from the truth.  This opened my eyes to begin questioning other area I was holding true in my life.

The Bible says in Romans 12:2 "and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

Friend lay aside all preconceived ideas.  Pray and ask God to be your teacher.  Read, study, and mediate upon His Word.  Struggle with him if necessary until you know and understand His ways.  Don't make Him like you, He died to make you like Him.

Laura Story - Blessings

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Continue On

I am reflecting tonight on God's goodness. The past couple of months have been spiritually challenging for me.  But I can say as I look back, "thank YOU Lord" for every one of the challenges.  Not only do I feel my faith has been tested (1 Peter 1:6) but also feel His call upon my life.  My love for Him and His people has intensified to the place of great sorrow over sin and ecstatic joy over victories.  Amazing is this God we serve!

In the middle of all these changing and challenging emotions is the stability of God and His word.  When things are out of control around you, know He never changes. 

Of old You laid the foundation of the earth.  And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
 They will perish, but You will endure.  Yes, they will all grow old like a garment;
         Like a cloak You will change them, And they will be changed.
  But You are the same, And Your years will have no end.
Psalm 102:25-27

God is the only stability we have in this life.  Read in Psalm 119:28, "My soul melts from heaviness, strengthen me according to Your word."  When you find yourself in the midst of a battle remember God's sovereignty and His faithfulness. 

Remember Jehovah-Nissi-"The LORD is my banner""The LORD who is my victory"  Now I know the LORD saves His anointed; He answers him from His holy heaven with the saving power of His right hand. Psalm 20:6

Remember Jehovah-Sabaoth-"The LORD of hosts" The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and He delivers them.

Remember Jehovah-Shalom-"The LORD our peace"  You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trust in You. Isaiah 26:3

Remember - A man's heart plans his ways, But the LORD directs his steps.  Proverbs 16:9

I can say I am amazed at God's working in my life.  I am amazed at the people He has placed around me.  A special thanks to those of you who continue to encourage me...Todd, Kolby, Pam, Catherine, Rebecca and Aaron. I am humbled and honored to serve Him as I serve you.  I pray everything I say and do leads others to the throne room.  For Jesus alone is your peace, hope, and strength. 

Keep serving!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Dodging Bullets!

At times I feel I am caught in other's battles.  Last night we were called to a time of prayer for the Ivory Coast.  We listened to a native person speak of his home country.  We listened to his experiences of supporting, encouraging, and praying for his parents and siblings safely as they live in the midst of a civil war raging in the Ivory Coast.  Bakary parents are Christian's living in the country.  People like you and I, living out their lives, walking in faith, serving their God.  Other's have decided to begin fighting, this fighting is effecting this family, for the bullets are falling around their home. This family is in the cross-fire and to survive must crawl around on the floor and stay as prisoners in their own home. 

As I thought about this, I thought about my spiritual life...I see a picture of a spiritual battle raging before me.  Raging in other's lives with hurt, divorce, abuse, poverty, sickness, disrespectful children, etc.  At times I feel I am caught in the crossfire.  This battle raging is not about me.  The battle raging is not even my problem.  But I do believe God has called me to speak an encouraging word to the hurting.  To direct them,as they are shooting bullets and/or dodging bullets,to the Lord.  To pray for them and lift them up before the Father.  For He alone is their hope and help. 

I have discovered lately, many of these bullets are hitting me. I feel beat up in other people's battles.  The focus of our great God and Savior, the message of the cross is being lost as I listen.   God is merciful and I find I am slow in learning.  In 1 Corinthians 10:13, God tells us, He is faithful and will make a way of escape when we are tempted. 

He has done just that.  Having a high view-exalted view of God has been the theme of my life for the past two weeks.  I believe God was making a way of dodging the bullets that were being shot at those around me.  He was making a way of escape from the cross-fire. Was I listening?  I thought I was until I started noticing the bruises and wounds on my soul.  This morning I took God seriously. First repenting for not taking Him seriously and then searching His word for His glorious name, the names who reveal who He is, who reveal His amazing character.  Two hours later, I made it through two names.  I hope these Scriptures encourage you today.  That is always my purpose.  God comforts me so I can comfort you. 2 Corth. 1:4

Elohim -Strong Creator
The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky proclaim the work of His hands. Ps. 19:1

Ah Lord God You made the heavens and earth by Your great power and outstretched arm.  There is NOTHING to hard for You.  Jeremiah 32:17

Thus says the LORD my Redeemer and He who formed me from the womb.  I am the LORD who makes all things.  Who stretches out the heaven all alone.  Who spread abroad the earth by Myself. Is 44:24

Jehovah Yahweh - I Am, Self-existent One, Unchanging One
God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. Acts 17:24-25

Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.They will perish, but You will endure. Yes, they will all grow old like a garment;  Like a cloak You will change them, And they will be changed.  But You are the same, And Your years will have no end. Psalm 102:25-27

Mediate upon these passages and exalt God.  He will be your shield if you are ever caught in the cross-fire.