I find that when I try to do God's job, I work myself in to a frenzy. There's nothing more exhausting than several sleepless nights, several worrisome days, and a nagging feeling that you're not making any progress. Well...why do I do it then?
I read a quote from Joyce Meyer one time that went something like this: Worry is like rocking in a rocking chair. It keeps you busy, but you don't get anywhere. That seems to be the theme of my week so far. But....
Just when I started to believe that God was not listening to my heart's cry, He comes through with a word that is loud and clear. I guess, if I had been looking in the right places, I may have found his voice several days ago, and saved myself a lot and time and turmoil. But...
Just when I needed to hear it most...God said "Let go". What a relief! He CAN handle the things that I can't. He CAN take care of those I love. He makes a way where there seems to be none, He parts the sea just when the enemy appears to be closing in.
Thank you Lord...for all those things you do...that are just what I need.
Luke 12:29-31 (New Living Translation)
“And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Love is....
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
When I think of all the things that love is...I realize I've been a lot more of what love ISN'T, than what love IS. In fact, as I look over the list, I think the only one that I can truly say that I don't have a problem with is the rejoicing over an injustice. Sadly, the rest of them have been a challenge for me. Sometimes I am challenged by them daily. Galatians 5:6 tells us that faith works by love. Oh boy, I need both!!
Today happens to be my birthday, and birthday's are usually a time for looking back and of course, looking forward. I have a lot to look forward to this year and I believe that God is preparing me for more wonderful things to come. I seem to hear Him whisper in my ear, "love me more, love people more, and watch what great and awesome things I will do". My birthday prayer this evening has been the same prayer I heard my Grandpa Burns pray a couple of years ago. "Help me Lord, to love you more and to love people the way you love them". I'm ready to be changed from the inside out...to love Him more...from the inside out. I'm ready to be more like Him, to love like Him, to walk and talk like Him.
1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
When I think of all the things that love is...I realize I've been a lot more of what love ISN'T, than what love IS. In fact, as I look over the list, I think the only one that I can truly say that I don't have a problem with is the rejoicing over an injustice. Sadly, the rest of them have been a challenge for me. Sometimes I am challenged by them daily. Galatians 5:6 tells us that faith works by love. Oh boy, I need both!!
Today happens to be my birthday, and birthday's are usually a time for looking back and of course, looking forward. I have a lot to look forward to this year and I believe that God is preparing me for more wonderful things to come. I seem to hear Him whisper in my ear, "love me more, love people more, and watch what great and awesome things I will do". My birthday prayer this evening has been the same prayer I heard my Grandpa Burns pray a couple of years ago. "Help me Lord, to love you more and to love people the way you love them". I'm ready to be changed from the inside out...to love Him more...from the inside out. I'm ready to be more like Him, to love like Him, to walk and talk like Him.
1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Same Name
For unto us a child is born....and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them....let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole....for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4: 8-12
There's a new show on TV called "Same Name". The concept is that an ordinary person switches lives for a couple of days, with a celebrity of the same name. It was pretty entertaining to watch Mike Tyson, a white, middle-classed nurse, from Michigan, switch lives with the boxer, Mike Tyson. Not one person in Michigan mistook the real Mike Tyson for the nurse that worked in their clinic. I've heard people say "it doesn't matter which god you choose, as long as you're a good person, you will go to heaven. I'm sorry...but that is incorrect. I know in whom I have believed...no other name can save me...no other name can heal me...no other name can make me whole....only Jesus.
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them....let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole....for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4: 8-12
There's a new show on TV called "Same Name". The concept is that an ordinary person switches lives for a couple of days, with a celebrity of the same name. It was pretty entertaining to watch Mike Tyson, a white, middle-classed nurse, from Michigan, switch lives with the boxer, Mike Tyson. Not one person in Michigan mistook the real Mike Tyson for the nurse that worked in their clinic. I've heard people say "it doesn't matter which god you choose, as long as you're a good person, you will go to heaven. I'm sorry...but that is incorrect. I know in whom I have believed...no other name can save me...no other name can heal me...no other name can make me whole....only Jesus.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Made new...made whole.
Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. Acts 4:10
Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me,“Write, for these words are true and faithful.” Revelation 21:5
Transformation is an amazing thing. I've watched plenty of those shows on television where a decorator takes an ugly room in someone's house and completely changes it. I've watched the shows about people who loose hundreds of pounds and houses that get extreme makeovers, but a transformation of the heart is truly the most amazing of all transformations. Jesus can create in us a new heart; a heart full of love and a life filled with purpose. He repairs brokenness and trades our sorrows for his joy. How? We simply need to ask, and then surrender....so my prayer today is for Jesus to transform me...to make me new...to make me whole.
Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me,“Write, for these words are true and faithful.” Revelation 21:5
Transformation is an amazing thing. I've watched plenty of those shows on television where a decorator takes an ugly room in someone's house and completely changes it. I've watched the shows about people who loose hundreds of pounds and houses that get extreme makeovers, but a transformation of the heart is truly the most amazing of all transformations. Jesus can create in us a new heart; a heart full of love and a life filled with purpose. He repairs brokenness and trades our sorrows for his joy. How? We simply need to ask, and then surrender....so my prayer today is for Jesus to transform me...to make me new...to make me whole.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Flooded with light
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. Ephesians 1:18
The neat thing about light, is that even a tiny bit of light can shatter the darkness. The neat thing about confidence, is that it chases away insecurity and fear. As my heart is flooded with light, a rush of confidence drives away my fear and doubt. I am swept away in light...and in His love.
The neat thing about light, is that even a tiny bit of light can shatter the darkness. The neat thing about confidence, is that it chases away insecurity and fear. As my heart is flooded with light, a rush of confidence drives away my fear and doubt. I am swept away in light...and in His love.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Rescued!!!
Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen. Galations 1:4 (NLT)
God, our father, devised a plan for my rescue. How could you not feel special when you realize and except the fact that Jesus came with a mission to rescue you! To rescue all mankind....from ourselves (our sins) and from the world in which we live. A world that disappoints, distracts and destroys. But thanks be to God for a way of escape. I've been rescued!
God, our father, devised a plan for my rescue. How could you not feel special when you realize and except the fact that Jesus came with a mission to rescue you! To rescue all mankind....from ourselves (our sins) and from the world in which we live. A world that disappoints, distracts and destroys. But thanks be to God for a way of escape. I've been rescued!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Trouble with WEEDS!
I walked through my back yard a few days ago and thought to myself, as I often have, why are the weeds growing so well when it's hot and dry, but nothing else is? It seems that weeds flourish when the rest of yard is suffering terribly from heat and drought. Since entering the heat wave of 2011, I dread the thought of mowing or tending to the yard, or even being outside for that matter. With the sight of the weeds standing so tall and proud in my back yard, I started think about how, even in my life, it seems that the weeds always grow so much better than the fruit, especially when I let my spirit become dry and thirsty.
It takes some tending to grow spiritual fruit., just like it takes some tending to keep the weeds away. Paul wrote that the things he should do, he didn't do. And the things he didn't want to do were always present with him, even though he hated them. (Romans 7) After Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, one of the curses they now had to endure was...you got it...WEEDS! (Genesis 3: 17-19) And just as the weeds grow so rapidly, with no tending, and no water, we can become overwhelmed by weeds that destroy our joy, peace and even our very walk with God. Jesus spoke about the seeds that were planted among thorns (or weeds) that grew up and choked the tender plants. He told of a farmer who planted seed and an enemy came and sowed weeds among his crop. (Matthew 13)
Our enemy is walking about, seeking whom he may devour. To be sure we aren't devoured, we must tend to our spiritual back yards. I've heard the saying, "not in my back yard"! As Christians, we often have to take a stand and resist the devil, so that the weeds of discouragement, bitterness, doubt and unforgiveness, to name a few, do not overtake us. The best way to destroy the weeds is to be cleansed and renewed with the water of The Word....the Living Water. Oh how refreshing it is when rain finally comes after a long, hot, dry spell and the same is true when we dive in to the Word of God for a time of refreshing and renewal.
Lord, help me to be good ground for your work, your word and a bearer of good fruit!
Matthew 13:22-23 The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
It takes some tending to grow spiritual fruit., just like it takes some tending to keep the weeds away. Paul wrote that the things he should do, he didn't do. And the things he didn't want to do were always present with him, even though he hated them. (Romans 7) After Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, one of the curses they now had to endure was...you got it...WEEDS! (Genesis 3: 17-19) And just as the weeds grow so rapidly, with no tending, and no water, we can become overwhelmed by weeds that destroy our joy, peace and even our very walk with God. Jesus spoke about the seeds that were planted among thorns (or weeds) that grew up and choked the tender plants. He told of a farmer who planted seed and an enemy came and sowed weeds among his crop. (Matthew 13)
Our enemy is walking about, seeking whom he may devour. To be sure we aren't devoured, we must tend to our spiritual back yards. I've heard the saying, "not in my back yard"! As Christians, we often have to take a stand and resist the devil, so that the weeds of discouragement, bitterness, doubt and unforgiveness, to name a few, do not overtake us. The best way to destroy the weeds is to be cleansed and renewed with the water of The Word....the Living Water. Oh how refreshing it is when rain finally comes after a long, hot, dry spell and the same is true when we dive in to the Word of God for a time of refreshing and renewal.
Lord, help me to be good ground for your work, your word and a bearer of good fruit!
Matthew 13:22-23 The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
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