Test Your Pronouns

You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.  ~Isaiah 26:3

Commits himself to You…

Leans on You…

Hopes confidently in You…

The verbs are important, but the pronoun is of upmost importance!

We can commit ourselves, lean and hope confidently.  But, if we do these things in anyone, or anything, other than our God, we will not be kept in perfect and constant peace.

Have you committed yourself to Him? 

Do you lean on Him?

Do you hope confidently in Him?

Do you know Him?

I must admit, I do not do this 24/7 and therefore, I do not have perfect and constant peace.  But, . . . I do remember times when I’ve tested this scripture, and let me tell you . . . it works! 

He is our strength.  Our God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly beyond anything we could ever ask or think.

Trust Him.

He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

And test your pronouns.  Do you use more I’s or me’s, instead of Him or He?

It’s all about Him, it’s not about me . . . it’s living by faith in Him, abundantly . . .

A Taste of Heaven

Flying home from Darla’s gave me time alone with the Lord after three days of meeting old friends.  (Old friends, but new “in the flesh.”)

It was an amazing time of seeing people I’ve had a heart connection with for quite a while, but haven’t had a chance to meet face to face.  It reminded me of the verse about seeing in a mirror darkly (indirectly), but someday we’ll see clearly and be known as we are known.  The meaning of that came alive for me as I spent time with Darla and Debs.

These two lovely ladies are bringing glory to God in all aspects of their lives.  They’re great witnesses of God’s redeeming love and the grace He extends to His children.  Getting to know them face to face, after knowing them indirectly, has made them more a part of me, more real, somehow. 

Which takes me back to that scripture reference:

Love never ends. But if there are prophecies, they will be set aside; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be set aside. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when what is perfect comes, the partial will be set aside. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. But when I became an adult, I set aside childish ways.  For now we see in a mirror indirectly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known.  And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. ~1 Corinthians 13:8-13

Knowing these ladies through their blog posts, and our times IMing, has made me aware of their minds and hearts…of the way they think and the things they love.  But seeing them face to face, holding them in my arms, looking into their eyes, experiencing the love they have for me, praying with them and having them pray for me…

Well…it was better than good.  Better than great!

Actually, I think it was a taste of heaven.  A glimpse of what it will be like to see Jesus face to face. 

I know He loves me.  I’ve read His word.  I know He prays for me and desires only what is good for my life.  I know He is real.  We communicate all day long…but…

He hasn’t literally held me in His arms.  Yes, I’ve felt His love in my spirit.  But one day I will see, touch, and experience His love face to face.

“What a day that will be, when my Jesus I will see!”

And He gave me a taste of this heavenly experience this past week. 

If you don’t already know the body of Christ is real and the love of the brethren is abounding . . . well, I am sorry about that. 

I’ve felt it. 

I’ve lived it.

The flight across America back to my home state, soaring through the clouds, seeing His majesty in the heavens, remembering our time together face to face . . . made my heart sing:

“When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be.
When we all see Jesus, we’ll sing and shout the victory!!”

Only You

The One True God of the Universe pursues man. 

The One. There is no other. 
The True. All else is false. 
The God of the Universe.

No corner is unexplored by Him.  
He created it all. Every infinitesimal molecule. 
And yet, the expansion is in His hands.
Under His control.

This God pursues me?!

Why? I have nothing to give. I have nothing He needs.

Yet, His desire is for me.

My desires run the gamut.
I want little things…stuff that doesn’t amount to much.
I want big things…stuff that I could never afford.
Just stuff.

I pursue stuff.

God pursues me.

Oh Father, make me pursue You.
Take the stuff away I think is important.
Let me know You are the only One worthy.

You are all that matters.
Without You, life is just stuff.

Make me cling to You.  Only You.

This is real love.
It is not that we loved God, but that He loved us
And sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
~1 John 4:10

For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure,
The lust for everything we see, and pride in our possessions.
These are not from the Father. They are from this evil world.
~1 John 2:16

Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.
~Jesus

My King!

Oh, Birgit!!!

Thank you!

I heard this years ago and wondered who in the world it was. I wasn’t well and was lying on the couch listening to the radio. This was the “message” for the day on the local station. WOW. I just wept. Uncontrollable weeping in praise of My King!!!

Thank you for posting it.

And now I’m going to be shameless and post it again on my blog. As many as can be lifted up by this sermon need to be.

Now, for those who may have never heard Dr. S.M. Lockridge’s sermon, “That’s My King,” I hope you have a worshipful time praising Him as I have once again.

And, I do pray He’s Your King too!

Nothing is Certain

Notice the way God does things; then fall into line.
Don’t fight the ways of God,
For who can straighten out what He has made crooked?
Enjoy prosperity while you can.
But when hard times strike, realize that both come from God.
That way you will realize that nothing is certain in this life.
~Ecclesiastes 7:13-14

I’ve been thinking about this for quite some time now.  It challenges my world view.  It causes me to wonder about the “gospel” I’ve heard for so long: If we do what God desires, all will be well in this life.

That’s not what this says.  It’s telling me I might do all that is right and still hard times will strike.  That both, prosperous and hard times, are from Him.  It’s saying that life isn’t fair and nothing is certain. 

Why hasn’t this been taught???  Why was I told if I do my best, life will work out as it should?  God is not about karma, yet we’ve taken that philosophy and have taught it in the church. 

God tells us to rejoice in Him even when the times are hard.  Keep our eyes fixed on Him.  He will bring deliverance.

This is how to deal with God.  Praise Him before you are delivered.  Praise Him for what is coming.  Adore Him for what He is going to do.  I do not think there is a sweeter song in God’s ear than the song of one who blesses Him for grace that has not yet been tasted, who blesses Him for answers that have not been received but are sure to come.  The praise of past gratitude is sweet, but even sweeter is the praise of full confidence that all will be well. 

Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor the fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls –
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The Lord is my strength;
He will make my feet like hind’s feet,
And He will make me to walk upon my high places.
~Habakkuk 3:17-19

Though you have no income to meet your needs and are brought to poverty’s door, nonetheless, bless the Lord.  His mighty providence cannot fail so long as one of His children needs to be provided for.  Your song, while you are in distress, will be sweet music to God’s ear.

Go in the name of God.  Meet your difficulties calmly and fairly.  Do not have any plans or tricks, just commit yourself to God.  This is the way you may confidently find deliverance.  If you can only trust and praise God, you will see marvelous things that will utterly astonish you.  ~Charles Haddon Spurgeon:

I will trust and praise the Lord God of the Universe.
I will see marvelous things.
I will be utterly atonished…in Him.

No More Striving

For the one who enters God’s rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from His own works…Therefore since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help.  ~Hebrews 4:10, 14-16

By His will we have been made holy
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ
once for all.
~Hebrews 10:10

Thanks, Nor, for reminding me of this song.

No Shadow of Shame

I will praise the LORD at all times.
I will constantly speak His praises.

I will boast only in the LORD;
Let all who are discouraged take heart.

Come, let us tell of the LORD’s greatness;
Let us exalt His name together.

I prayed to the LORD, and He answered me,
Freeing me from all my fears.

Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with joy;
No shadow of shame will darken their faces.

I cried out to the LORD in my suffering, and He heard me.
He set me free from all my fears.

For the angel of the LORD guards all who fear Him,
And He rescues them.

Taste and see that the LORD is good.
Oh, the joys of those who trust in Him!

~Psalm 34:1-8

A Focus to Life

I spend much of my time in prayer asking the Lord what He would have me do.  I’ll pour out my heart to Him of all the desires I’ve had to “work” for Him.  In my mind it’s as though I have not accomplished His will if what I am doing appears mundane.  Greatness has always been in the back of my mind. 

As a young woman I imagined I would be a missionary.  I knew I wanted to live my life for God in a way that would be of service to the lost.  I wanted to speak boldly for Him and bring many people into the kingdom from a “foreign” field.  I concluded all that was worthy was somewhere else.

I read this today from Max Lucado:

When do we get our first clue that [Jesus] knows He is the Son of God?  In the temple of Jerusalem.  He is twelve years old.  His parents are three days into the return trip to Nazareth, before they notice He is missing.  They find Him in the  temple studying with the leaders. . . .

As a young boy, Jesus already senses the call of God.  But what does He do next?  Recruit apostles and preach sermons and perform miracles?  No, He goes home to His folks and learns the family business.

That is exactly what you should do.  Want to bring focus to your life?  Do what Jesus did.  Go home, love your family, and take care of business.  But Max, I want to be a missionary.  Your first mission field is under your roof.  What makes you think they’ll believe you overseas if they don’t believe you across the hall?

Go home. Love your family. And take care of business.

You know, that just might mean playing that game tonight after dinner instead of “working” to reach others in the blogosphere.

I have a mission. 
I’m getting some focus back to my life.

Work as if you were doing it for the Lord, not for people. ~Colossians 3:23

Repentance

It’s really quite a difficult thing to do, to admit failure.  We’d rather make excuses, or blame someone else, for the things we’ve done.

“But you don’t know how hard it’s been!  I’m going through hell here.”

“Well, if they’d just get their act together I wouldn’t have so many worries!” 

Yet, when it comes right down to it, we are not to look at others, but ourselves.  And really, there’s quite enough for one person to think about than to worry about those all around.

Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. ~Lamentations 3:40

To examine our ways…to scrutinize our paths…to look deep inside ourselves…

To test our ways…check out what we’ve been doing…ask the question, “What’s up with that?”…

To realize our own shortcomings…our sins…without blame or excuse…

And return to the Lord.

It’s the first step out of denial. 

It’s the first step toward restoration. 

It’s the first step to a right relationship with the God of the Universe.

Are you ready to take that step? 

I’ve decided it may be time to ask God for help:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Test my thoughts.
Point out anything You find in me that makes You sad,
And lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Psalm 139:23-24 (TLB)

Always Full of Courage

I’m not feeling too courageous these days.  I’m feeling weak and vulnerable.  But I suppose that’s not news to those who have been reading for a while.  I was reading in 2 Corinthians and came across this passage concerning courage:

For we know that if our earthly house, the tent we live in, is dismantled, we have a building from God, a house not built by human hands, that is eternal in the heavens.  For in this earthly house we groan, because we desire to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed, after we have put on our heavenly house, we will not be found naked.  For we groan while we are in this tent, since we are weighed down, because we do not want to be unclothed, but clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose (to be clothed in heaven…life after death) is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.

Therefore we are always full of courage, and we know that as long as we are alive here on earth we are absent from the Lord – for we live by faith, not by sight. Thus we are full of courage and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. (This is why we groan, we long to put on our heavenly clothing.) 

So then whether we are alive or away, we make it our ambition to please Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil. ~2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Somehow this reminded me of the fear Adam and Eve felt after they had eaten of the forbidden fruit:

As a result of eating the fruit in the garden…the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the orchard.  ~Genesis 3:7-8

Sinning…feeling exposed…covering up…hiding.  Sound familiar? 

If you’ve ever sinned, and we ALL have, you know what it is to search for a safe place, a place to hide, a place that will not expose your choices, a place you hope will not leave you feeling so vulnerable. 

The man and the woman knew they were naked.   Did they know they had lost their immortality?  Did they know they were going to die?  We don’t know for sure what their fear was, we only know they were afraid. 

Before they were naked and not ashamed.  Now they tried to cover themselves and hide from their Creator who had created them for Him. 

I think their heavenly clothing was gone.  The life-giving Spirit within, possibly, had left them.  They were, now, spiritually dead.  Death reigned in their mortal bodies. 

This is true of us all, you know.  Death is still the only way out of this world.  We’ll all experience it at the end of our time here on earth.  But the truth of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection is that now…on this side of the cross…death has no power for those who are in Christ.  The sting of death is gone.  We can know we will be with Jesus once our life in this tent is over.

This was the very reason for Jesus’ coming…to cancel the death sentence for us all.  And, as a result, to send the Helper, God’s Holy Spirit, to walk this earthly path with us.  We will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, but we will not all be condemned.  We can please God in this life.  We please Him when we live by faith in His Son.  We can also live a life He is pleased to observe.  And then, we’ll hopefully hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

When I’m feeling vulnerable, due to my sin or this sinful world we live in, I groan.  And yet, I’m told I’m to be full of courage.  I have been given the Spirit of God as a pledge of the inheritance I will receive…life eternal in the presence of God!

This stuff is only temporary…HE is eternal!

I will be encouraged today.