Lost

Usually by this time of the year I have the outline of what area the Lord wants to work on in me during the new year.  That is not so this year.  It's leaving me feeling a little adrift.  I imagine all the changes in our lives these past few months is a factor.  Newly retired status, new state, new church, new house.  In New York  I had a set life.  I had a set ministry.  I knew what I was supposed to be doing with my time outside of work and chores. This year I'm, not so much floundering...it doesn't feel like that, it's more like I'm waiting for orders.  Like I'm in a holding pattern and awaiting landing instructions. 

I don't think this is a bad place to be.  After so many years of being a "human doing" I needed some rest.  A rest from an over-scheduled, completely committed life.  And I believe that is part of this season for me.  But I also know that the Lord is preparing a place for me to work.  I'm not sure what or where that is.  Will I go back to working with animals?  My heart is always with that.  And I believe that God put that in me for His service.  But is there more?  What if I get it wrong?  What if I fail?  What if I let people down?  

One phrase that sticks in my mind is "Be intentional."  Whether it's in overcoming sin, adding good habits, or seeking ministry, God wants me to be intentional.  I intentionally seek Him and seek to know His heart and will.  For me, this will include prayer and fasting.  I want to know where to go next.  I want to be a blessing and be on fire for the Lord.  I want to bring glory to God and be fruitful in the kingdom.  

The verses the Lord gave me on my birthday apply here.  Matthew 7:7-11 7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.  9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.  Being serious about Kingdom work is not giving up.  

My Father has a plan.  My job is to keep seeking to know that plan, actively through pray and fasting and looking at the opportunities that are around me.  (This may involve some research, it may involve asking questions, talking to my Pastor.....).  Ultimately is keeping a soft, listening heart, trusting and knowing the Lord will make clear my steps, even if it's only one step at a time.  

Lord, You have a plan for each of us.  You have a place for each of us.  Sometimes we can't see the way to go, but we trust You to show us and lead us.  Give us listening and willing hearts.  Let Your church be about Your business this coming new year.  Convict our hearts, turn them fully to You and let our lives reflect Christ to those around us.  The times are growing darker and no matter what our specific ministry is, pointing people to You is our first responsibility and Your command to us.  Lead us in the way to go.  Thank You that You desire to use us, to work through us.  Lord, let our lives be fruitful this year.  Let us see growth in the kingdom, let Your church return to holiness.  Lord, help us to shake off the ties of the world, to unentangle ourselves from anything the dilutes Your love, holiness, and light  shining in our lives.  We are the salt of the earth.  Help us to flavor the world around us with the Gospel.  Set my heart on fire, set all our hearts of fire.  We need to not hang onto our comfort, but instead pick up our crosses and follow You...not looking back.  Help us to shake off complacency and lukewarm-edness.  Your church has spent entirely too much time making friends with the world instead of making disciples as You command.  Lord, let this be the year of repentance for us and a renewal of commitment to You.  Show us Father.  We commit ourselves to You.  Be glorified.  We are Your children.  In Jesus' most holy and loving and powerful Name.  Amen.

Repent, renew, listen, and go forward!  

For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.  God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but the save the world through Him.  John 3:16-17

Luke 2:1-20  2 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.  6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.  8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”  13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,    and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”  15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”  16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

Four hundred years of silence.  The Jewish nation had lost it's deep relationship with God.  They no longer were a nation under their Creator, but were under worldly rulers who had no regard for their traditions or the Lord of the Universe.  Their relationship with God became influenced by the everyday life around them.  Persecution came under tyrants.  The darkness of the world had clouded this once thriving nation.  And then suddenly!

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them.   Once again there was hope in Israel.  

But not just for Israel.  For all peoples, everywhere, in every time.  Matthew 4:15-16 15 “In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali, beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River, in Galilee where so many Gentiles live, 16 the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.  And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined.”

We live under the shadow of a pandemic.  The world seems more and more determined to push God out of existence (at least in their hearts and minds).  Violence and hatred appear to be on the rise, darkness envelopes the hearts of so many on this planet...and yet there is hope, there is light.  Like the star leading the wise men to worship a young child destined to become King of kings, God's love still shines in the hearts of His children.  We are now to become that light that leads to Him.  We have the promise of Heaven.  We have the promise of eternal joy.  Our job is to share that with the world.  To be light in the darkness.  As the world grows colder and darker, may the warmth of God's love and the light of Jesus Christ shine through us more and more.  

Lord, thank You for the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ.  On that long ago Christmas night as a baby laid in a manager, the Cross loomed.  But in the Cross lay the path to the salvation of the world...the redemption of all who would come to accept Your gift.  When I think of Christmas day, I remember the gift of Jesus, and that gift comes to fullness on Easter morn.  Nothing is ever separate for You.  You are the great I AM.  Let our hearts rejoice this Christmas, even though we may have sadness in this world.  Our joy is in You.  Our peace is in Your.  Your promises are "yea and amen."   Lord, help us to be light.  Give us boldness.  Forgive us for timidity in sharing the Gospel.  Let us give Your gift to others.  Strip away the things that keep us from being on fire for You.  Turn Your church away from the things of the world that capture and blind.  Let us not be afraid of the uncomfortable.  Now more than ever, this world needs Your salvation.  Lord, let us light the way.  Lord help us.  Thank You.  In Jesus redeeming Name, amen.  

Celebrate!  Shine!  

M E R R Y

C H R I S T M A S

Changing Persective

Lamentations 3.  Part of this chapter came up in the Joyce Meyer teaching I was listening to on my run yesterday.  While I have read this passage before, I can't say I've been in the book of Lamentations regularly.  Joyce had focused in on verses 19-24, but the whole chapter is worth the good look.  

Lamentations 3:19-24  Remember [O Lord] my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and the gall (bitterness).  20 My soul continually remembers them and is bowed down within me.  21 But this I call to mind, therefore I have hope.  22 It is because of the Lord’s lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions never fail.  23 They are new every morning; great and beyond measure is Your faithfulness.  24 “The Lord is my portion and my inheritance,” says my soul; “therefore I have hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.”  The Amplified Bible.

I love when someone shows me a passage in a new way.  Joyce pointed out that when we look at our circumstances, when we look how bad things are, we become discouraged and miserable.  Our soul bows down within us.  We become weighed down and depressed.  We become hopeless and our hearts feel desolate.  

But when we look around at our circumstances, and instead turn our focus on Jesus, we are comforted and encouraged.  We remember that He is ours and we are His and He will work ALL things our for our good, even the troubles and trials we go through.  Look at all that is ours: His lovingkindness, His compassion, His faithfulness.  He, Himself is our portion and our inheritance.  We have hope!

I guess what struck me most about this passage was that when we focus on all that is wrong, it causes us to sink lower and lower, bowing under the pressures and problems of this life.  Changing our perspective and seeing with eyes of faith may not change our circumstances, at least not right away, but it will lift our hearts and put us in alignment with Jesus.  Jesus told us in Matthew 11:28-30 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”  

We find rest, hope and help when we "do life with Jesus."  When our focus is not on the problems but on the problem solver.  His comfort and strength will carry us through even the darkest times (and if you read the whole chapter 3 of Lamentations you'll see the Jeremiah was in a very dark time indeed).  

We will always have difficulties while we live on this earth.  But we get to choose how we go through them.  And if they are always going to be with us, wouldn't it be easier and better to keep an attitude of trust and faith rather than worry and woe?  Would not the burdens be easier to bear if we stayed focused on God rather than counting our troubles?  We can walk with our soul bowed down or with our heart lifted up.  2 Corinthians 5:7 7 For we live by believing and not by seeing.

I know this is hard to do.  I struggle with it myself on a daily basis.  But that doesn't mean we give up.  And the more we practice, the better we get!  

Today I pray Lord, that You will send Your Holy Spirit to help us to walk by faith and not by sight.  Help us to remember that when we are weak You are strong.  Help us to remember that everything in this life is temporary, only You are eternal and You will never leave us nor forsake us.  It's hard for us to focus on the eternal when life is often so filled with troubles.  And we know You could take them all away...but when that is not in Your plan, help us to trust.  Remind us often to look up and not around.  We need not bow down to our difficulties, no matter how great.  Lord, I know I cannot do this on my own, I cannot keep faith front and center when problems, big or small, visit and stay.  But I know that You can help me and all of us to grow in this area.  And Lord, please help those who have suffered so much loss in the wake of these devastating tornados a few days ago.  Please supply their needs, comfort their hearts, give our leaders wisdom to get the necessities in place for living and rebuilding.  Please comfort and strengthen those who have lost loved ones.  Lord, our hearts breaks with them.  And yet we know You are there.  Let Your Presence be felt and seen.  In Your mighty Name.  Amen.  

Practice makes perfect.  Practice remembering all you have in the Lord, even when the world around you is dark.  

Persistence

A few days ago was my birthday.  And as always, God has a verse or passage for me to keep in my heart throughout the year.  I love this little thing that He does each year because I know that it is His present to me.  His gift always makes me smile and fills my heart with joy.  

So this years verses are about persistence.  Persistence in and of itself has been a gift, a trait, that the Lord blessed me with as part of my personality.  So the Father's reminder of this inner trait that I have was such an encouragement because it reminds me to keep the faith, keep going forward and keep believing I will see His work in me and my life come to full fruition.  What a beautiful Lord we have.  

So on Sunday our Pastor made mention of these verses in his sermon.  I then read them as part of my reading yesterday.  That's one and two.  The third reinforcement to God's idea for my yearly focus came in the form of a rock.  LOL  Yup, a rock.  As I go out for some exercise around my neighborhood, there is one house that has all these colorful painted rocks in front of their property.  They have different uplifting words painted on them and they always make me smile.  But today those rocks were pointed directly at my heart, specifically one rock that had the word "SEEK" on it.   The third confirmation was in place for God's gift.  

Many of us pray and pray and pray for a specific request.  Whether it's for a loved one, ourselves...we pray for months, years and still don't see an answer or solution.  I feel that way when it comes to God changing me.  I pray and pray and pray and still struggle with some of the same issues.  I've seen progress in some areas, but certain personality traits, certain sinful attitudes seem to have a stranglehold.  I struggle with motives, "Lord, maybe You're not changing me because I want it for the wrong reasons."   And then there's the condemnation.  "Lord, I guess I'm not obedient enough."  (Probably true to some degree.)  And then there's the unbelief.  "Lord, I guess You just don't want to change me.  You don't care."   Yup.  I go through all the cycles until we cycle around again to faith and persistence.  And we pray some more.  We submit some more.  We trust some more.  (Definitely progress!😊)

So this passage from the sermon on the mount was a special encouragement to me this new year of my life.  I really needed to hear it and be reminded that when I seek God's will, seek His grace and mercy, seek His ways and seek His glory I will be answered, and I will see God's work and word done in my life.  I will remember and rely on His truth.  Philippians 1:6  And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Now the verses to bury as seed in my heart during this 59th year of my life.  Matthew 7:7-11  Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.  Keep on seeking, and you will find.  Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks, receives.  Everyone who seeks, finds.  And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.  You parents--if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?  Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake?  Of course not!  So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him.  

Don't give up.  Nowhere in this passage is a "maybe" or a "might."   The word repeated over and over is "WILL."  This is a definite.  Don't lose heart.  Keep praying, keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking on the doors of heaven.  God is listening and God has the perfect plan (we have to let Him decide what is good) and perfect time for your answer.  The first day we pray the wheels start turning when we seek God's plan.  Daniel 10:12   Then he said, "Don't be afraid, Daniel."  Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven.  I have come in answer to your prayer."  When we humble ourselves before God and seek His will first...our answers are already in the making.  The timing is best left to God.  He is never in a hurry nor is He ever late.  

I know You have my prayer in Your heart.  I know You are working Your will in me in Your timing.  Lord, keep us all persistent.  Help us not to give up and walk away.  Teach us to keep seeking Your face.  I know You never get tired of hearing from us.  I am so blessed by Your gift this year Lord. I find it such an encouragement that my prayers are not in vain.  Thank You over and over and over.  Lord, please use these Words of Yours and the words that I have put down here to bring encouragement to someone else who needs to hear them.  I know how hard it is to not see the results and answers we want when we want them.  Keep us faithful, because You are faithful.  In Jesus strong and mighty Name.  Amen.

Be persistent.  

 

 

Getting Personal

We all have the areas in our life that are frustrating, enduring....seemingly beyond our abilities to overcome.  I have them.  Repentance or turning from them, well....I am deeply sorry for the persistent sin,, bat attitudes and the not so nice way I react sometimes, but the turning away part seem beyond my reach.  Emotions overtake, excuses come, forgetfulness plagues....all of the above and then some.  So impossible!!  I take solace in the fact that even the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 7:14-25:  14 So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. 15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.  18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.  21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.  Oh, how I can relate to this.  How I can mirror Paul's words in my own life and heart.  Save me from myself Lord!!

So as I cried out once again in sadness and frustration to my Savior for saving, He flooded me with verses to claim as my own.  To personalize and internalize and carry with me as I go through my journey each day.  It is so important to be in the Word, studying...even memorizing.  I am a firm believer that you don't have to have it memorized perfectly either.  Getting the gist and most of the words right so that it makes sense for you and serves as a reminder is enough to bring God's Word into your heart when it's needed most.  I don't always have things memorized perfectly, and a lot of time I can't remember exactly the "address" where the verse comes from...but I can know and remember enough to get the Father's concept into my heart and into the situation and into the moment that I am struggling.  He sees our hearts and He sees our desire to be renewed according to His desire, His Word and His Spirit that He will use even our most feeble efforts at remembering be fruitful.  And my efforts at memorizing are quite feeble!  LOL

So I want to share with you the verses He gave me.  I have them personalized so you can easily read them for yourself, in the first person.  To me that makes it more my own and therefore better able to become real in my life.  

1 John 4:4  But  I belong to God (I am His dear child).  I have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in me is greater than the spirit that lives in the world. 

Ephesians 6:17  I put on salvation as my helmet and take up the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.  

Revelation 12:11  I have defeated him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by my testimony.

Isaiah 49:23b  I trust the Lord and will never be put to shame.

Isaiah 49:25  But the Lord says the captives (that's me) will be released and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved.  For the Lord (who's my loving Father) will fight those who fight me and He will save my children.

Psalm 108:13  With God's help I will do mighty things for He will trample down my foes. 

Psalm 108:1  My heart is confident in You, O God; no wonder I can sing Your praises.  

Ephesians 2:6  For He raised me from the dead along with Christ and seated me with Him in the heavenly realms because I am in Christ Jesus. 

There are so many verses to encourage us to victory.   These are just a few, just the ones the Lord gave me to work with when I was feeling so low a few days back.  He's so tender and caring with us, never leaving us in our mess, but willingly, lovingly, continually working with us and making us into the beautiful believer we are meant to be.  

Take these verse and read them everyday until they become so familiar, until they become "habit."  Get with the Lord and see if He has some other Scripture that is personal to you...He knows exactly what will touch your heart, what is needed to "fix" you.  Print out verses, and carry them with you to meditate on frequently throughout the day, especially if you are like me and have trouble remember.  Or take breaks during the day to reread the ones God puts on your heart.  He is so good.  And as always I am in awe of His unbelievable and inexhaustible care.  

Thank You again Lord, a million times, thank You again.  Your patience and tenderhearted love is so amazing and blows my heart away.  I am beyond words to describe how blessed and in awe I am.  Lord, let us make Your Word our own, bring it to our minds moment by moment, renew us and change us and make us into Your reflection so that we may be a blessing and a glory to You.  I love You Lord.  

Make God's Word personal every day.