For hundreds of years ancient Israel awaited her Messiah. Some of our Christmas songs echo that longing for a deliverer. As the church, we know our Messiah has come. He came long ago that Christmas day as a tiny baby with big plans. Now, listening to these songs puts me in the mind to look forward, as Israel did....awaiting not the coming, but the return of our Messiah. Our deliverer, our conquering King of kings. Enjoy and look forward, with expectancy....our Redeemer lives and our Redeemer will return!
Isaiah 9:6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
It's been a tough year for the world. COVID19 has brought sickness, sadness, frustration, financial difficulties, loneliness, isolation, fear, and death. Our world, in many ways has been turned upside down. New norms, new ways of doing things....we are separated from loved ones, isolated in our homes. Those who are working may be nervous and fearful. As we try to maintain or go back to normalcy, a second wave is said to be coming.
We've seen some good things too. Families reconnecting, neighbors helping neighbors, providing for the needs of the elderly and those unable to go out for themselves. We've had time to slow down and appreciate the little things more, maybe even appreciate each other more too! And we realize that even in all the fear, and the hardships, we have reason to be thankful.
This week being Thanksgiving, I, like most find gratitude a little more in the forefront of my thoughts. We've had a rough go of it, and it seems to be continuing....but God has never left the side of His children. And each day is filled with a thousand small gifts to be thankful for. It's so easy to lose sight of that when we suffer. It's so easy to let fear and despair overwhelm our hearts. I've done it many times. But we are not called to this! We have a Savior, a Redeemer who loves us, our eternity is secure! I am so grateful for this truth.
Last night I lay down on soft sheets, and this morning woke to a hot cup of coffee. I sit here typing, able to connect with others around the globe. The sun is shining brightly this morning, it makes the world I pass through sparkle. My heart feels at peace and my mind is at rest. I have warm socks! All these things I am grateful for. Little things. Things that fly by unnoticed way too often. Oh Lord, that I would just open my eyes to the thousand little things each day!
Lord, thank You for all things....good and bad. Your Word tells us that You cause "everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." (Romans 8:28) Lord, open our hearts to see Your hand on each moment of our lives. The joyful and the sorrowful. Lord, help our hearts to follow Your Word and "Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18) We are truly the most blessed people on earth to be called your children. Times have been hard and are still hard Father. You know and see our suffering...carry us through. This world is not an easy place. Give us hearts to see through the eyes of thankfulness. Lord, I pray for each of us, that You will strengthen us in all tribulations, provide in all circumstances, and comfort in all sadness. Thank You that You never leave nor forsake us. Thank You that we have the hope of heaven. Thank You for being our God! In Jesus, our wonderful Savior's Name. Amen.
Have a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving! And let's make everyday a thankful one!
On Tuesday I talked about how God loves and affirms of us even when we feel like absolute failures, even when we make messes, even when we can't seem to get anything right. That's most days for me. LOL
Yesterday, I got two separate affirmations of this truth. I believe our loving Father is truly trying to hammer this home into our hearts. He wants this truth as a firm foundation to our faith....the truth of His love and approval, even when we make mistakes, act like jerks (like I did last night)....His love never fails and He never looks at us with hate or malice.
Listening to a Joyce Meyer podcast as I ran on Tuesday after writing the previous post, everything I put in that post that I had felt the Lord speaking to me, he confirmed. Just hitting the highlights of what Joyce said: He sees your heart, knows and approves of your desire to please Him. She used the example of anger...which is a huge issue for me, so I really felt like this was especially for me to hear. The right word at the right time...only God makes that happen! Time spent in prayer, study, worship...all of this is how God works in us...we can do nothing without Jesus. She also went on to say we are not to be in a hurry, but to enjoy where we are with the Lord. He is working, in His time.
2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit. (from the Amplified Bible). We are to be patient with ourselves, God likes us!
Second affirmation came again from the Thanksgiving devotional I am reading at night. Joyce entitled it "Respect and Value Yourself." It went onto say we are to be at peace with ourselves, celebrating our strengths and giving our weaknesses over to God. He will be glorified when He works through or removes them, as we allow His Presence and Power to lead our hearts and lives. Again, we don't live sloppy, selfish, sin filled lives, but we don't hate ourselves for not being perfect or living up to some standard that is impossible for us, in our humanness to attain. Even Paul said in Ephesians 3:12-14 12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
The Thanksgiving devotional by Joyce Meyer was copyrighted in 2014. The podcast was from October of this year. Now only God can put those type of "coincidences" together! LOL
Lord, we come to You as fallen and falling human beings and we thank You for the love You shower on us, even as we falter and fail. Thank You so much that Your love is forever, and Your mercy is new every morning. Let us love ourselves and be at peace with ourselves even as we lean into You to help us grow and change. Lord, let us not condemn ourselves, but accept Your conviction and forgiveness as we look forward to the next level You are bringing us to. Thank You for affirming You love and approval of us, even when we get it wrong...No, we know You may not like with we do, but You always see us through eyes of love. And You see us as the complete person we are becoming in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Lord, I don't know who (besides me) really needed to hear this today, but I pray they will believe and stand firm on this truth, this foundation of Your love. I pray this in our Savior's Name. Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen
Trust God's love.
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
I just listened to Hillsong United's "So Will I (A Hundred Billion X)." And I'm going to leave that statement there for a few minutes.
Rewind to the past weekend. I had a few minutes of meltdown alone in my garage. Nothing overwhelming, just had gotten sick of listening the the litany of complaints in my head and feeling the anger of my heart simmering more often than not these days. Seems everything and everyone is causing me to feel things I don't want to feel. It's like I'm angry at the world and all I hear in my head is harshness. I cry out to God for deliverance. I don't want to feel this way. I want to love as He loves. I desire this with all my heart. So why can't I get past myself?
I cried out to God that I was unworthy of His love, His attention....I asked Him to just leave me be and give up on me. I would never get this right. My heart breaks over this. So then His answers started showing up. And in truth I found them hard to believe. Still do if I I'm being honest.
First was a Facebook meme. All it said was "God is proud of you." Ok, now there is no way that could be for me. LOL That's impossible. So I went on my way that day....living in my struggle and wretchedness. (But as always, still trying!) Later that night I read my bedtime daily devotional for the day. "The Power of Being Thankful" by Joyce Meyer. The title: God Thinks You Are Amazing. As I read through the page, my mind was again saying, "nope, not me." Okay agree with the sentiment of Psalm 139:14 that says "Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it." I know that the making of a human is an amazing and wonderful feat. The care and precision and knowledge that went into making us is beyond anything we could imagine. It's what I've done with this creation of the Lord that I have a problem with.
Joyce went on to talk about how our change doesn't come over night, and our struggles wouldn't instantly disappear, but that it was a process and God sees the beginning from the end. Ok, I have an answer for that too. LOL I've been actively working this since 1994. That's 26 years. How long do I have to wait to see definitive change! I must be the one impossible case (or one of the few LOL)
But last night at work, the Lord really started hammering it home. I'm starting to think I can't ignore that He doesn't see me the way I do. That He really does seem past the wretchedness, to the heart that desires with everything in it to obey Him, yet struggles to find the path of that obedience. He sees my want even as it wars with my ability. And that is what He rejoices over. And that is the part, the seed He has put in me.
As I was driving my rider jack at work, I looked down and saw in front of me an index card. It was tattered, and dirty from people and equipment trampling over it. It looked like it had been there for days, but I don't think it had. I think somehow, someway that night it had fallen out of my pocketbook amid all the other index cards I had in there that I forget to look at. It was God's timing, a God visit that I needed so badly.
Deuteronomy 28:1-9,13 If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all HIs commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God. Your towns and your fields will be blessed. Your children and your crops will be blessed. The offspring of your herds and flocks will be blessed. Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed. Wherever you go and whatever you do, will be blessed. The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven! The Lord your God will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill you storehouses with grain. The Lord you God will bless you in the land He is giving you. If you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in His ways, the Lord will establish you as His holy people as He swore He would do...If you listen to the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail and you will always be on top and never at the bottom.
And later that night while I was on break, I came to these verses as I was doing my reading for Sunday's Bible study.
Leviticus 26:3-13 “If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you the seasonal rains. The land will then yield its crops, and the trees of the field will produce their fruit. Your threshing season will overlap with the grape harvest, and your grape harvest will overlap with the season of planting grain. You will eat your fill and live securely in your own land. “I will give you peace in the land, and you will be able to sleep with no cause for fear. I will rid the land of wild animals and keep your enemies out of your land. In fact, you will chase down your enemies and slaughter them with your swords. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand! All your enemies will fall beneath your sword. “I will look favorably upon you, making you fertile and multiplying your people. And I will fulfill my covenant with you. You will have such a surplus of crops that you will need to clear out the old grain to make room for the new harvest! I will live among you, and I will not despise you. I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk with your heads held high.
Wow. God had a lot to say. Now, I know this says obedience....but God knew neither the Israelites nor us would ever be perfect. He instituted a systems of sacrifice for them, and gave the ultimate sacrifice for all of us....Jesus Christ. But I think God is saying if you obey me...meaning if your heart is seeking to do it's absolute best to be obedient....if you seek forgiveness when you fail, following my instruction for redemption (relying on Jesus), then I will be with You, I will bless You. God loves our hearts desire to be obedient. I'm not saying we live a flippant life, not, "oops, I screwed up but I wanted to do right" lazy attitude. But when I give up, I fall out of His will. And I think we can apply these physical blessings to spiritual blessing as well. God is not mad at me. And He's not mad at you. He sees our hearts desire to obey and is pleased.
I am not perfect....far from it. But I serve a perfect God, am saved by a perfect Savior and I need to trust His timing to remove my shortcomings, while working hard with the Holy Spirit to be all He wants me to be.
Lord, my imperfections and anger and sinfulness cause me so much sorrow. I know You see that. But I am trusting Your love over my behavior. Your mercy and compassion over my inabilities. Thank You for sending Your love to me on four separate occasions. Thank You for reassuring me, and whoever is reading this that we are never out of Your love and mercy. Help us to grow, to see the changes that we want so much to see so that we may glorify You. In Jesus name, amen.
God loves you and is proud of you!
Really focus on the last verse of this song. It says so much. The God who orchestrated the vast universes down to the tiniest detail is so enamored of you and me....He will never leave us behind.
Sometimes a song says it all....well more like a lot of times. Songs lift us up in praise and worship, comfort us with God's promises set to melody, give word to our hurting hearts and remind us Who we are connected to. I heard this song a couple of days ago and knew I had to share it. Worship is a great way to start the day and sometimes a song is the perfect way to express that love and awe we have in our hearts to the amazing God we serve. Many times my words fall so short, but music has a way of bridging that gap between my heart's desire to worship and the inability of my mind to find the words. This song does a beautiful job of reminding us who our God is and what He is capable of. Enjoy this song today and let it lift you into God's Presence. He is worthy!
I am so grateful that the Lord gave us songwriters and performers who can express the urgings of our hearts so eloquently and with so much anointing.
Thank You for the gift of song Lord. We worship You this morning, our Savior, Sustainer and Deliverer. Nothing is impossible for You. We are so grateful to be in Your care. You are worthy of all our praise. Beauty, awe, creativity, intelligence, deepest love, kindness, wisdom, justice, holiness, generosity....on and on the list goes. It's who You are. What an amazing God we serve!
We are studying the book of Exodus in our Sunday morning Bible study. We were discussing the Israelites seesaw attitude, one minute rejoicing, the next complaining, and we all had trouble understanding how while they could physically see the cloud and pillar of fire in front of them, they could lose their faith so easily. And yet, don't we sometimes act the same way. I know I do.
Perhaps the cloud and fire eventually become commonplace to them. Perhaps they let their troubles, or what they saw as lack get bigger than the God in front of them. Those wants took up more space in their hearts than the One who led them out of slavery with signs and wonders.
Fast forward to my own heart. The one where the Holy Spirit lives. Follow that path to the dozen Bibles I have around the house, in my car, and if one adds in the Scripture available on the internet......Do we not have the same God that was in the cloud and the fire with us all the time? If we truly believe that the Bible is "The Word" and the Word is Christ Jesus, we have Him at our fingertips! 1 John 1:1 We proclaim to you the One who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw Him with our own eyes and touched Him with our own hands. HE IS THE WORD OF LIFE. And the Holy Spirit lives within us, ready to lead, guide, comfort, strengthen, yet we let the cares of this world drown out is Presence and His voice. Have we let these facts become commonplace?
I saw great conviction in the conversation we were having last Sunday. I saw myself in the complaining, faithless Israelites.
His very Spirit lives within us. But like Peter when he was called to walk upon the water to Jesus, we lose sight of His Presence when we let our eyes drift from Him and focus on the waves around us.
Lord, You are with us every bit as much as the wilderness wandering Israelites. We too, wander a wilderness of trials, difficulties and enemies. But You have told us Your Spirit lives within us, never to leave nor abandon us. Keep our hearts focused on Your Presence as we walk through this life, giving us Your strength, Your leading and Your purpose. Help us to not lose heart at what we see happening around us. Your Word and Your Spirit go before us, surround us, and keep us. Thank You. In Jesus Name, amen.
God is bigger and God is in and with you!
John 14:26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
1 Corinthians 6:19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,
Ephesians 1:13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.
This week contained some sweet little lessons from my Father. I love those bits of illumination, correction or insight that He gives while we walk through the every day.
The first was when I was out jogging. I was listening to a Joyce Meyers podcast and she talked about how Jesus is the vine and when you see fruit on the vine it's just hanging down. This is how we are to be with Jesus, just hanging off of Him, connected and receiving the downflow of His power and love.
I thought, what a fantastic picture of rest. Is there anything more restful than just hanging there? The fruit on a vine doesn't detach itself and go running off in a million different directions. It just hangs from it's vine, expecting the be fed and nourished. And that's how we should be with Jesus. Attached at the hip as it were! I got such a picture of rest and peace in my heart from this example. And of course Matthew 11:28 came to mind. "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." How beautifully the Lord paints pictures in His Word, making it easier for us to see His heart.
Second little lesson from the Lord. There is a gentleman that comes to our job place who apparently gives everyone a hard time. My boss said he refuses to be signed in and is not very nice to the people who have to deal with him and she was going to have to come up with a solution to the problem. Our job is to get mail delivered and we want to do that so the problem has been ignored for a while, but really can't continue to go on.
My first thought was to just refuse to let this guy in. I mean, who does he think he is anyway...you know the kind of thoughts we have when someone is being mean spirited or jerky. And wow did conviction come fast. I felt the Holy Spirit say in my heart, "Pray for him." Immediately compassion rose up, and I wondered why this man was so unhappy as to lash out and be so difficult to those around him. I have to mention that on the way to work yesterday, I prayed for the Lord to help me see others through His eyes. To have His heart for them. Talk about answered prayer! LOL
I love the Lord's touches on my day. They are so precious to me. And again I am glad to have seen them. I want to see more!!
Lord, open our hearts to Yours. Let us see Your hand, see with Your heart and stay connected to You. In Jesus' precious Name, amen.
In the USA we are voting today to elect our governing officials. From the president down to congress, down to small town officials, elections are taking place across our country. I don't believe I've seen a more adversarial, controversial presidential race in my lifetime. My prayer is that we, as a country will act with grace no matter who wins and peace will ultimately prevail. The one thing I am sure of though, no matter what happens God is in charge. His plan is in place and it doesn't just center around any one nation, any one individual. His plan is for the world as a whole and we His church are to be the light for that world.
I hear doomsday predictions from both sides of the fence. If this one wins, it'll be a disaster. If that one wins, life as we know it will cease. All the talk, all the fear, all the anger....it's symptomatic of a life without Jesus. I'm pretty sure that life is going to be difficult, and at some point even dangerous as the world marches forward to the end. The book of Revelation reveals to us disaster upon disaster upon disaster is to come. There will be a great falling away from the church (I'm of the mind we are in that phase now). Right is called wrong and wrong is called right.
But we as Christians have the hope and secure calling of heaven. The verse that sustains me through all the crazy, all the fearmongering is Hebrews 13:14 For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come. Will things on this earth be difficult, maybe even more difficult than we can imagine....YES. But our Lord has promised us in Isaiah 43:2 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. He has also told us in 1 Peter 5:10 In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. And then on to Heaven we go where Jesus is preparing a place for us. He told us in John 14:1-4 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” In case you missed the last two entries, Jesus is that way!
We have such a security. Such a hope. Life on earth will come to a close. Look at what He tells us in Revelation 21:1-7 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” 5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.
What an amazing time we are living in. We come closer every day to His return and victory. When will that be, no one but the Father knows. It could be next year or 100 years from now. But whenever it happens, for now we live close to our Lord, drawing our strength and peace from Him. He has promised to never leave nor forsake us. He has promised to sustain us through life's hardships and bring us home to Himself. I find such comfort in these facts as we face the unknowns and uncertainties of this world. Our job is to be salt and light in a decaying and dark world. Matthew 5:13-16 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. 14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Lets share the Gospel loudly and fervently and prayerfully with urgency.
Keep the faith. Keep the hope. This is not our home!
Lord, just reading those words in Revelation 21 fills me with excitement. Lord, You alone know the ultimate plan You have, we only need to remember You are good and will always work our all things for our good. Help us to stay strong in our faith and dependence on You. Give us hearts to share the Gospel boldly so that those around us have an opportunity to come to You. Lord, help Your people shine brighter and brighter as the world gets darker and darker. Be glorified. Thank You for Your good promises. You will not fail us. Amen.
Pray for boldness. Pray for a steadfast spirit. Pray for open hearts. PRAY!
