Not Finished

 "GOD ISN'T FINISHED WITH YOU"

That's the sign that I saw as I pulled into Walmart one day last week.  In fact there were two people standing there with those signs.  

What a week I was having.  There was nothing particularly bad going on in the natural realm.  But my emotions and spirit were worn and raw.  I felt useless, defeated and alone.  God seemed distant.  My allergies were causing physical exhaustion and discomfort, and emotionally I vacillated between on edge and hopelessly discouraged.  There was nothing unusual going on.  I just felt under a dark oppression.  UGH!!

All I could think about to say to the Lord was, "Father, if I can't change and if this is what it is, please just take me home."  That's where my mind was at when I pulled into the parking lot at Walmart.  

And then God!!  Two people, one on each side of the entrance, holding up a message of encouragement.  I felt like it was God's invitation to keep going and keep my eyes on Him.  

Our Father is so good.  So kind and loving.  It's just these tender touches at the right time, that make us the most blessed people in the world.  Why do we so often forget how loved we are!  

I was in Walmart for less than ten minutes and when I left the parking lot, the people with the signs were gone.  No where to be seen.  Hmmm.  Humans that just left to go about their day?  Or angels sent by God to give a heartsore Christian a message from Him?  I don't know, but the result was the same.  Joy.  Peace.  And the feeling of being loved.  And these signs are for you too reader!  'GOD ISN'T FINISHED WITH YOU."  He still has plans and purposes and blessings to fulfill in your life and mine. 

Lord, You know my heart and the gratitude that filled it that day.  The gratitiude that still fills it.  I pray each of us will grab hold of this message and know that You still have work for us, plans for us and blessings to come.  You are the lifter of our heads and our hearts.  Thank You for not fogetting us in our valleys.  Your hand steadies us and Your Presence consoles our hearts.  Thank You my Savior.  Let everyone reading this know that You are with them and have not forsaken them.  You're not done with us!  

Undeserved

A question came up in our Ladies Bible Study, "Grace is God's undeserved favor toward us, in which He withholds what we deserve and gives us what we do not deserve.  How can you demonstrate this same attitude toward others?"  I came up with the usual answers, kindness, forgiveness, patience, mercy, overlook failures and shortcomings.  But God had a different answer in mind, one that includes all those but shines the light on Him and not on me trying to do better. 

The words spoken by John the Baptist rose up in my heart. "He must increase, but I must decrease."    John 3:30

Demonstrating the attitude God has toward me to others is not about a check list of dos and donts.  It's about allowing God to manifest Himself so much in us that He increases and our selfish, self-righteous tendencies decrease.  

I want my way.  I want such and such done my way.  I am right, you are wrong.  You failed me.  You hurt me.  Do all these sound familiar?  They do to me.  And these are the things that need to fade from our hearts, minds, behaviors and life.  These can be special sticking points in families.  Me and my husband have very different ways of doing things, seeing things and understanding things.  So often that gets my temper flaring.  Instead of allowing for grace, I complain that something is not being done the way I would do it.  That is me "increasing" and God "decreasing."

This is eye-opening for me.  When in obedience and submission to the Lord, we lay down our need for being right and having our own way, God increases in us.  He is manifested in us and will be seen clearly by those around us.  If Jesus could humble Himself to die on the Cross for us, we can humble ourselves (through the power of the Holy Spirit, staying connected to our Lord) to share with others the love and grace God has shared with us.  

There's a verse I read last night that has always been one of my favorites. John 14:23 3 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.   Equally a favorite is John 14:21 hose who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

Both these show the Lord increasing in our lives, revealing Himself in us and through us.  I believe staying connected to Him is the key.  John 15:5 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

My thought is if we can memorize one verse and repeat it to ourselves multiple times a day (I'm thinking of myself here now. lol), we will see God increase in our lives.  The Lord's Presence will shine from us like the light of a new day, increasing and increasing til it shines like the noon day sun.   That verse is James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  It's the perfect verse for just about anything we encounter, and it's short enough to be easily memorized.  A lot of us know it already.  Lord, shine though us!!  

Lord, increase in us.  My prayer is that people see You and not me in everything I do. Lord help me to remember this and put it into practice every moment.   It's in Jesus Name I pray.  Amen 

Proverbs 4:18 The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.

Where the Heart Is

In church on Sunday night we had a teaching on Luke 19:1-9  It's one of my favorite Gospel stories.  Here we see a man named Zacchaeus who was desperate to see Jesus.   He was so eager to see Jesus, he even climbed a tree.  It was the only way this short man could see over the crowds that had gathered to meet Jesus.  Being 5'2" ( about 157 centimeters)  I can completely relate!  Now, Zacchaeus was not a popular man by any means.  He was not only a tax collector, but a chief tax collector.  These men were notorious cheats and thieves.  They oppressed their people with excessive financial burdens by collecting over and above the amount determined by Rome.  This would have made him hated and mistrusted.  

I believe something in Zacchaeus' heart was stirring for him to be so desirous to see Jesus.  By his reaction to our Lord, I think his heart was heavy with guilt and a knowing he needed salvation. In John 6:44 we are told by Jesus: "For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up."  It seems that the Father was plowing up the hardened heart of Zacchaeus to draw him to the Son.  And this corrupt tax collector listened to the whispers of the Holy Spirit.  

Luke 19:1-10 Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.  5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”  6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.  8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”  9 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

As you read this account of a lost man being found notice how much he promises to pay back.  Half his wealth to the poor.  Then 4 times as much as he cheated people out of.  I got to wondering if this left him with anything.  I imagine it may have left him with very little.  But look at his reaction.  When Jesus summoned Zacchaeus down from the tree, Zacchaeus gladly gave away his riches.  His focus was no longer on worldly weath, but on heavenly gain.  

As I pondered some more, I got to thinking about the rich, young rule in Matthew 19:16-22.  Here we see a totally different reaction to Jesus and worldly riches.  

16 Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”17 “Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.”  18 “Which ones?” the man asked.  And Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. 19 Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’" 20 “I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?”  21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  22 But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

This man would rather hold onto the world than reach for Heaven.  His heart was behind bars of worldly wealth, blocked from the touch of the Holy Spirit that would have drawn him to freedom. What a difference between him and Zacchaeus.  This man walked away from Jesus, saddened and lost.  Zacchaeus danced with glee (ok, so maybe that's just my imaginings lol), as he humbly came before our Lord and Savior and brought Him into his heart and home.  

Matthew 6:18-20 19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.

Luke 12:21 21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

Luke 12:33-34 33 “Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it. 34 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Where are our hearts today?  Are we holding on tightly to the things we own, our status, job, any other earthly thing that is keeping our hands and hearts closed to the one true treasure?  Lord, let it not be so!! 

Please Lord, let us store up treasures in heaven.  Let no earthly thing stand between You and I.  Let us joyfully give whatever You ask, and let us not lose our soul to gain the world.  Rather, let us be willing to lose the world to gain You, our greatest treasure.  It's in Your precious Name we pray Jesus.  Amen. 

Matthew 16:25-26  If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? 

Trust, from Mom

Trust.  Only five letters, but a huge word.  We trust when we sit down the chair will hold us.  We trust that the sun will rise in the morning.  Those are easy.  Trusting God for salvation, truly trusting takes it a giant step farther.  Especially when you're like me and lean towards living on a performance based scale.  We just talked about this in our Ladies  Bible study yesterday.  How we "know" that we are saved by grace, and loved by God, yet feel further from Him when we fail.  Or think somehow when we don't live up to a certain standard He will just toss us away.  Neither of these is true.  His love never changes.  His salvation never fails.  Then there's trusting God to get us through life--the good, the bad and the ugly.  Easier said than done.  Especially, when we don't want to let God be God and we want to tell Him how to fix us, fix our circumstances or fix the people in our lives.  LOL  I'm really good at this one.  Let's see where my Mom went with this. 

Zephaniah 3:12 Those who are left will be the lowly and humble, for it is they who trust in the name of the Lord.

To trust; to hope; to make someone a refuge.

Psalm 118:8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people.

Isaiah 26:3-4  You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!    4  Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Psalm 23:1-6 The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.  2 He lets me rest in green meadows;  He leads me beside peaceful streams.  3 He renews my strength.  He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to His name.  4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me.  Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.  5 You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.  You honor me by anointing my head with oil.  My cup overflows with blessings.  6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

The very area where we are most tempted to distrust  God is the very place He has chosen to help you.  

From me. 

It's clear that Mom knew where to go and Who to rely on.  She went to Scripture and she relied on God.  And I'm thinking with me as her daughter she probably needed to quite often.  LOL.  I was reading a light novel this week and the main character spoke about how she let the words of Scripture wash over her, how she "absorbed them" into her heart as she prayed them and over them to the Lord.  I think that doing this, meditating for a few moments and praying over what we've read is a great way to develop more trust.  It becomes more about what's in our hearts than in our heads.  Also, as I listened to a radio teacher yesterday, he said that instead of just reading our Scripture or devotions in the morning, to take a few extra minutes and mull over them when we are done and sit quietly with them.  This doesn't have to take a lot of extra time, just enough to let the Holy Spirit stir things into our hearts.  

This is where I think I've failed in practice and as a result have shorted myself in growing in Christ.  I'm a very task oriented person and love the little check list in my head to get it's little check marks.  But those few extra minutes of breathing in the Lord's Words, letting them settle into us through prayer and focus will have huge impact.  Taking the time to let the Lord do His work in us will let these Scriptures grow our trust and faith.  I believe that it will help make us alert to God' working in our day, and our circumstances.  It will also develop our trust as more of Him is revealed to us.  

Find your Scriptures to stand on.  The ones that will build your trust and make our Lord and Savior more real to your heart, bring you closer to Him.  

Lord, thank You for Your Word.  Thank You for Who You are.  Help us to trust You in every moment of our day.  Let us develop habits that develop the habit of trusting You.  In the name of our faithful Savior, Jesus.  Amen.   

Twofer, from Mom

I havent reached into Mom's journal for a while and just had the feeling it was time.  One entry on the Trinity is short so I decided to do a twofer.  

I look at the first, "Trinity" as almost a doctrinal thing.  But the thought of our three in one God brings comfort and confidence to my heart.  He's complete.  Lacking in nothing.  He is able to reach us in each facet of our being because He is fully, God, Man and Spirit.  Creator, Savior, Counselor. He is inseparable, yet separate beings.  And each part of who He is knows and loves each part of who we are.  

Matthew 28:19  19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus confirmed the three in one God, triune.  He did not pluralize the word "Name."  They co-exist, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as One.

God - The Father

Jesus - The Son, human divine Son of God.

Holy Spirit - the thrid person of the Trinity.  He, the Holy Spirit, exercises the power of the Father and the Son by which believers come to Christ and see with new eyes of faith.  John 3:5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.

From me.

This is such a complex, beautiful, deep, amazing, to some confusing, (you fill in the adjectives!) topic.  There have been probably thousands of books written on it.  But for me, it just is and it makes perfect sense in a way that leaves me with rock solid confidence in our God.  When we say that God is our everything, this is the way that statement gets backed up.  He is our everything because He is completely everything we need.  

Lord, I am in awe and comforted by this truth.  You are amazing and unfathomable.  Our imaginations and thoughts cannot delve the depths nor heights nor width of Who You are.  And that's okay.  Thankfully You are beyond our understanding but not beyond our reach.  Reveal Yourself more and more each day.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen  

The Greatest News

I've had a problem with the computer for the last few weeks.  It finally decided that it would not open any websites even though it claimed to be connected to the internet.  Technology is great until it's not.  LOL  Thankfully a really nice neighbor came and reset everything for me and we are back up and running.  I'm so grateful.  

We are coming to the end of our Bible Study Fellowship season.  It's always sad when I know I won't see my classmates regularly for the next few months.  And these studies have so much treasure in them, from the study book itself, to the lectures and the different viewpoints, but especially from God's Word and the Holy Spirit.  It's amazing how many littl jewels come from spending time with our loving Father and Savior.  I highly recommend joining a Bible Study Fellowship group in your area, even if you can only find the on-line groups.  It is worldwide and so we all get to study the Word together.  Next seaason we will be in the book of Romans.  Classes start in September.

Okay, that's it for my BSF plug.  LOL   

Anyway, this past week we were in the book of Malachi.  And God had His word just reach into my heart and make it grin from ear to ear. 

Malachi 3:16-18 Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said.  In His Presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared Him and always thought about the honor of His Name.  "They will be my people," says the Lord of Heaven's Armies.  "On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure.  I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child.  Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not." 

So many things flooded my mind as I read this verse.  I was in Exodus lately and reading about the plagues the Lord send on Egypt.   Here we repeatedly see the difference between serving God and being His people and resisting Him and serving false gods.  Exodus 8:20-23 20 Then the Lord told Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand in Pharaoh’s way as he goes down to the river. Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. 21 If you refuse, then I will send swarms of flies on you, your officials, your people, and all the houses. The Egyptian homes will be filled with flies, and the ground will be covered with them. 22 But this time I will spare the region of Goshen, where my people live. No flies will be found there. Then you will know that I am the Lord and that I am present even in the heart of your land. 23 I will make a clear distinction between my people and your people. This miraculous sign will happen tomorrow.’”

Revelation 20:11-15 11 And I saw a great white throne and the One sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from His presence, but they found no place to hide. 12 I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. 14 Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. 15 And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Could it be that the scroll mentioned above in Malachi is part of the Book of Life?  I honestly don't know.  But I do know that God has written down the name of each of His children and has promised us eternal life in His Presence and justice from this evil world.  And I celebrate that!  Hallelujah!  What a loving and awesome God we serve!  

So many in this world live for today, live for their flesh and for material possessions, emotional fulfillment, and comfort.  They don't feel God is worth living for.  "Why serve a God we can't see and wants to take away all our fun." they say.  They are blinded by the god of this world, Satan.  Lord, help them.  They will miss out on the richest of rewards by serving themselves and not submitting to the Lord who writes us on His scroll of rememberance.  The One who calls us His own special treasures.  I want this!  I pray for all of us that we recognize the gift He offers and desire to be called His special treasure more than anything else.  Thank Your Lord. 

I hope this verse jumped into your heart as well when you read it.  I pray it brought you the same joy and confidence it filled me with.  

Lord, thank You.  I am so grateful to be treasured by You.  Keep us in the place of knowing there is nothing better than serving You.  It's in the Name of the One who made it possible for us to be Your people, Jesus Christ I ask.  Amen.  

Resurrection Day!

 

HAVE A BLESSED RESURRECTION DAY !!!