Those common and seemingly insignificant words, at one time in my life, brought waves of terror with them as they slowly, but surely, took control of my life. If that sounds overly dramatic, let me recount for you the sleepless nights that often brought with them debilitating fears. Let me invite you to hear the sounds of the ambulance as I was driven off to the ER ... where they assured me that I wasn't having a heart attack. Or let me allow you to see the love of a sister who sat by my bedside, holding my hand deep into the quiet hours of the night, as she desperately tried to assure me that my children would be safe and secure from the evils of the world around us.
But THANK GOD, times have changed ... grace has been poured out ... and the terror associated with the 'What if" monster has turned into blessings of unspeakable joy. If THAT sounds overly dramatic to you, let me take you on a journey that may allow you the same blessing ...
What if ... as you woke up this morning you saw an image of the living Christ at the foot of your bed? And what if ... you heard Christ saying to you "Come, my beloved, spend the day with me. Come, and I will provide you with everything for your enjoyment" (1Tim 617)
And what if ... every sense within you was heightened to ecstasy in anticipation of what you were about to experience on this day that you set aside to be with the Lord ...
Oh, to see beauty beyond your ability to fathom
... to hear sounds of tenderness that softly demands your undivided attention
... to smell aromas that peak every ounce of your curiosity
... to taste in excess of your ultimate pleasure
... to experience a touch of perfection as waves of true love envelop you
... to laugh endlessly, praise joyfully and sing masterfully with a choir of angels as you spend the day with the love of your life ... Jesus!!!
Where would you spend your day? And once there, would you openly worship Him in the hope that your appreciation was understood? Or would you sit quietly, allowing your spirit to enjoy the pleasures that saturate you with images of heaven?
This is what 'Living in the spirit' is all about. Seeking His pureness. Resting inthe peace of His promises. Relating intimately - one heart to another - with our God who IS love.
Initially, my attempts to go there seem futile as tears of unworthiness form a pool around me ... and yet I want nothing more in this moment than to be alone with him. I am overwhelmed by His eagerness to draw me close to Himself and to lavish His love on me. Thankfully, I am not strong enough to resist the lure of His presence ... and now that I am here, I sense an all consuming desire to remain here forever.
What if ... what if ... what if ... ! Years ago, long before I knew the Lord's heart, my cry of relief was nonetheless heard and as a result of His unfathomable love, my bannor of freedom read 'SO, what if'! Now, realizing that all of this and more is waiting for those whose heart is pure, I praise God for the Words given to us in Matthew 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."
Father God, I pray that Your will can be done in each of us as we realize the joy of living out the 'what if's' of our lives, arm in arm with Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2). Consume us, Father, with your tender loving mercies, in Jesus' name I pray.
Amen and amen.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
The Desire of Your Heart
Not long after giving my heart to the Lord I learned of a verse in Psalms (37:4) that soon became one of my favorite verses in the Bible. In it we are told ... "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." Believing that with God ALL things ARE possible, I bent my knees, poured my heart out to the Lord and spoke boldly about the deepest yearning that was within me ... to be a wife again some day.
My personal testimony is, of course, a tribute to God's faithfulness for He did, in His timing, fulfill the desire of my heart ... but recently the Lord has shed a new light on this treasured verse that I feel compelled now to share with you. This revelation exposes the fact that our list of desires most commonly relate to things that will bring 'instant' gratification to whatever situation we are currently in. Things that affect the here and now ... things that make our fleshly, human side more comfortable, happy and satisfied. But further consideration of this verse brings a question or two to mind ... what if God is telling us in that Psalm that we have so much more at our disposal? What if He's telling us that He will give us not only the desires of our 'fleshly' hearts but also the deepest desires of our spiritual hearts? Let me explain the journey the Lord took me on as He opened my eyes to this awesome revelation in my life ...
As humans we are basically made up of three parts (so to speak) ...
1. the body, which is constantly decaying and will, in time, return to dust
2. the soul, which is made up of our mind, our will and our emotions and
3. the spirit, which is made up of our conscience, our intuition and our communion with God
In the here and now we think first of the things that will bring pleasure and fulfillment to our bodies as well as to our mind, our will and our emotions. Everything within us is centered on 'self' ... our physical well being, our opinions, our attitudes and our emotions. Satisfaction is our utmost desire ... but once we've turned our lives over to the saving grace of Jesus, the new birth within us fosters a desire to live 'in the spirit'. To live with a conscience that leads us to the things of righteousness. To live with the intuition that leads to the truth of God's promises. And to live daily in a one on one relationship with the God of the Universe. It is from this point forward that a fight ensures within us. We, like all of our ancestors before us, have to fight the 'flesh' on a constant basis so that our spirit will rule victoriously over our very existence.
So let us now consider the desires of our spiritual hearts ... what does your spirit want more than anything else? Do you yearn for absolute integrity? Do you seek to know, with utmost clarity, who this God is that you are worshipping? Do you yearn for faith that is unmovable? Or are you moved to crave the ultimate pleasure ... the living manisfestation of Jesus in your life?
Yes, Yes, and Yes! All these things ... and more ... with all eagerness ... I seek this! I declare this to be the desire of my spiritual heart. I want more of Jesus in my life. Life in the here and now is hard ... so I want to live in the spirit. I want to put my head down on the pillow at night with hopeful anticipation that He will come to me as I sleep and whisk me away to a world that I can't even begin to fathom. I call upon Him to help me ... moment by moment ... to leave the 'fleshly' man behind, and without hesitation, I cry out in a loud voice ... "Come Lord Jesus"! In doing so He would be made completely 'real' to every sense that He created within me ... and to me that would be heaven on earth.
In James 4:7 we are told to "submit to God".
In James 4:8 we are told to "draw near to Him".
In Jeremiah 33:3 He tells us "Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know."
Living in 'the spiritual' requires an unmovable faith.
An unmovable faith requires a never ending union with the God of the Universe. A never ending union with the God of the Universe is the ultimate fulfillment of every Christian's heart's desire.
I pray, in Jesus' name, for the fulfillment of YOUR spiritual heart's desire.
Amen and amen.
My personal testimony is, of course, a tribute to God's faithfulness for He did, in His timing, fulfill the desire of my heart ... but recently the Lord has shed a new light on this treasured verse that I feel compelled now to share with you. This revelation exposes the fact that our list of desires most commonly relate to things that will bring 'instant' gratification to whatever situation we are currently in. Things that affect the here and now ... things that make our fleshly, human side more comfortable, happy and satisfied. But further consideration of this verse brings a question or two to mind ... what if God is telling us in that Psalm that we have so much more at our disposal? What if He's telling us that He will give us not only the desires of our 'fleshly' hearts but also the deepest desires of our spiritual hearts? Let me explain the journey the Lord took me on as He opened my eyes to this awesome revelation in my life ...
As humans we are basically made up of three parts (so to speak) ...
1. the body, which is constantly decaying and will, in time, return to dust
2. the soul, which is made up of our mind, our will and our emotions and
3. the spirit, which is made up of our conscience, our intuition and our communion with God
In the here and now we think first of the things that will bring pleasure and fulfillment to our bodies as well as to our mind, our will and our emotions. Everything within us is centered on 'self' ... our physical well being, our opinions, our attitudes and our emotions. Satisfaction is our utmost desire ... but once we've turned our lives over to the saving grace of Jesus, the new birth within us fosters a desire to live 'in the spirit'. To live with a conscience that leads us to the things of righteousness. To live with the intuition that leads to the truth of God's promises. And to live daily in a one on one relationship with the God of the Universe. It is from this point forward that a fight ensures within us. We, like all of our ancestors before us, have to fight the 'flesh' on a constant basis so that our spirit will rule victoriously over our very existence.
So let us now consider the desires of our spiritual hearts ... what does your spirit want more than anything else? Do you yearn for absolute integrity? Do you seek to know, with utmost clarity, who this God is that you are worshipping? Do you yearn for faith that is unmovable? Or are you moved to crave the ultimate pleasure ... the living manisfestation of Jesus in your life?
Yes, Yes, and Yes! All these things ... and more ... with all eagerness ... I seek this! I declare this to be the desire of my spiritual heart. I want more of Jesus in my life. Life in the here and now is hard ... so I want to live in the spirit. I want to put my head down on the pillow at night with hopeful anticipation that He will come to me as I sleep and whisk me away to a world that I can't even begin to fathom. I call upon Him to help me ... moment by moment ... to leave the 'fleshly' man behind, and without hesitation, I cry out in a loud voice ... "Come Lord Jesus"! In doing so He would be made completely 'real' to every sense that He created within me ... and to me that would be heaven on earth.
In James 4:7 we are told to "submit to God".
In James 4:8 we are told to "draw near to Him".
In Jeremiah 33:3 He tells us "Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know."
Living in 'the spiritual' requires an unmovable faith.
An unmovable faith requires a never ending union with the God of the Universe. A never ending union with the God of the Universe is the ultimate fulfillment of every Christian's heart's desire.
I pray, in Jesus' name, for the fulfillment of YOUR spiritual heart's desire.
Amen and amen.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
A Walk With Jesus
How do you love someone ... not as you have a mind to ... but as Jesus loves them?
Recently, when I prayed for the Lord to allow 'Jesus Love' to rule my life, I immediately wondered if I was capable of such love. Am I alone in thinking that this degree of purity would be impossible for anyone other than Jesus? Such unconditional devotion. Such complete selflessness.
Then, and maybe even more to the point, I began to wonder if I would even be willing to allow myself the luxury of loving someone in such a way. Doing so would mean, of course, that I would have to lay down the 'baggage' that I've carried around for so very long. And let us not be blind to the risks that must now be considered. In order to love as Christ loves, you must be willing to risk many things ... the most frightening of which is vulnerability ... and equal in gravity is the ever hanting factor of trust. YIKES!
Considering what it would take for me to love that deeply, that honestly, that unconditionally, I must confess that I momentarily allowed a spirit of doubt to darken my doorstep. but it was then that I was lead to pour my heart out to the Lord ... reminding him (as if!) of the pain inflicted through selfishness, of injustices that often come without warning and of the loneliness that has a tendency to linger without invitation. All these things and more now lay buried in Pandora's Box and shamefully, my heartfelt desire is to utterly avoid them all.
It was then that the Lord invited me to take a walk with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. As He and I recalled the moments just before His arrest, we spoke of the events that lead Him and His friends to enter this Garden so very long ago. He pointed out to me the injustice of His sleeping friends ... of the depths of the loneliness that He endured ... the sorrow that burdened His soul ... and of course ... the heart wrenching pain that came as a result of the betrayer's kiss .............. and yet ............
As we came to a clearing, He showed me that in order to love unconditionally, even HE had a first pour His heart out to the Father in prayer. Not once ... not twice ... but three times that night He turned to His source of strength. In His humanness He felt the pain of ALL injustice - ALL disease - ALL sin but with the burden of overwhelming rejection upon Him, He realized emphatically that He was willing to risk it all for the opportunity to be God's instrument of unconditional love.
THANK YOU, JESUS!
As I sit in awe of His insight ... His courage ... and His willingness, my heart continues to yearn for the ability to love as He loves. As I return from our walk I realize, without question, that victory IS possible but only with the power of the Holy Spirit within me. One good slap of injustice and I'm instantly angered or offended ... scrambling once again for a reminder of the example He has set for me ... searching for the nearness of Jesus.
His Word tells us that just before He was taken up to be with the Father He declared that "anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these..." (John 14:12) My fervent prayer is to live as a victor ... not a victim ... so I look to the Father and ask that He continue to guide my every attempt to love as Jesus loves. I pray that you too will seek nothing more in your lives than the unconditional love that comes only in and through the Son, for I ask this in His name.
Amen and amen.
Recently, when I prayed for the Lord to allow 'Jesus Love' to rule my life, I immediately wondered if I was capable of such love. Am I alone in thinking that this degree of purity would be impossible for anyone other than Jesus? Such unconditional devotion. Such complete selflessness.
Then, and maybe even more to the point, I began to wonder if I would even be willing to allow myself the luxury of loving someone in such a way. Doing so would mean, of course, that I would have to lay down the 'baggage' that I've carried around for so very long. And let us not be blind to the risks that must now be considered. In order to love as Christ loves, you must be willing to risk many things ... the most frightening of which is vulnerability ... and equal in gravity is the ever hanting factor of trust. YIKES!
Considering what it would take for me to love that deeply, that honestly, that unconditionally, I must confess that I momentarily allowed a spirit of doubt to darken my doorstep. but it was then that I was lead to pour my heart out to the Lord ... reminding him (as if!) of the pain inflicted through selfishness, of injustices that often come without warning and of the loneliness that has a tendency to linger without invitation. All these things and more now lay buried in Pandora's Box and shamefully, my heartfelt desire is to utterly avoid them all.
It was then that the Lord invited me to take a walk with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. As He and I recalled the moments just before His arrest, we spoke of the events that lead Him and His friends to enter this Garden so very long ago. He pointed out to me the injustice of His sleeping friends ... of the depths of the loneliness that He endured ... the sorrow that burdened His soul ... and of course ... the heart wrenching pain that came as a result of the betrayer's kiss .............. and yet ............
As we came to a clearing, He showed me that in order to love unconditionally, even HE had a first pour His heart out to the Father in prayer. Not once ... not twice ... but three times that night He turned to His source of strength. In His humanness He felt the pain of ALL injustice - ALL disease - ALL sin but with the burden of overwhelming rejection upon Him, He realized emphatically that He was willing to risk it all for the opportunity to be God's instrument of unconditional love.
THANK YOU, JESUS!
As I sit in awe of His insight ... His courage ... and His willingness, my heart continues to yearn for the ability to love as He loves. As I return from our walk I realize, without question, that victory IS possible but only with the power of the Holy Spirit within me. One good slap of injustice and I'm instantly angered or offended ... scrambling once again for a reminder of the example He has set for me ... searching for the nearness of Jesus.
His Word tells us that just before He was taken up to be with the Father He declared that "anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these..." (John 14:12) My fervent prayer is to live as a victor ... not a victim ... so I look to the Father and ask that He continue to guide my every attempt to love as Jesus loves. I pray that you too will seek nothing more in your lives than the unconditional love that comes only in and through the Son, for I ask this in His name.
Amen and amen.
Morning Renewal
Yesterday, with its human challenges, is now but a memory. The morning is upon us and without the need of encouragement it brings with it the assurance of never ending hope.
A moment of stillness. A moment of simplicity. A moment of peace. Color bursts onto the scene ... the greens of spring. The yellows. The blues. The pinks. You linger in amazement at the glistening dew ... every drop placed in just the perfect order.
Suddenly you notice the shadows brought about by the warm rays of sunlight ... and the dancing of tender leaves as they ever so gently begin to move about in the breeze.
Morning renewal ... nourishing ... indescribable ... priceless!
Listen ... did you hear that? Did you hear the voice of God saying "Good morning, my child. Welcome to this new day. You are my beloved for whom I have made all of these things. Behold the beauty ... drink it in. Experience the richness of the gifts that I've created just for you. Be still and know that I am the God who loves you beyond your understanding."
Solutions to yesterday's calamities have yet to unfold but somehow, in the shadow of His wing, hope springs eternal. God, in all his splendor, appears in the beauty of an unfolding rose - in the artful sounds of a songbird - in the smile and laughter of a child. Jesus told us that each day would hold its own challenge and I'm convinced more than ever that that's why He created morning renewal.
As we reluctantly turn to begin our day, we feel the assurance that He will be near us until our day is done. We know without fail that we are free to return to him throughout our day and spend a restful moment with Him beside the still waters ... Thank You, Jesus!
Father, in thanksgiving, I ask that you richly bless each of your beloved children with morning renewal ... for I pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen and amen.
A moment of stillness. A moment of simplicity. A moment of peace. Color bursts onto the scene ... the greens of spring. The yellows. The blues. The pinks. You linger in amazement at the glistening dew ... every drop placed in just the perfect order.
Suddenly you notice the shadows brought about by the warm rays of sunlight ... and the dancing of tender leaves as they ever so gently begin to move about in the breeze.
Morning renewal ... nourishing ... indescribable ... priceless!
Listen ... did you hear that? Did you hear the voice of God saying "Good morning, my child. Welcome to this new day. You are my beloved for whom I have made all of these things. Behold the beauty ... drink it in. Experience the richness of the gifts that I've created just for you. Be still and know that I am the God who loves you beyond your understanding."
Solutions to yesterday's calamities have yet to unfold but somehow, in the shadow of His wing, hope springs eternal. God, in all his splendor, appears in the beauty of an unfolding rose - in the artful sounds of a songbird - in the smile and laughter of a child. Jesus told us that each day would hold its own challenge and I'm convinced more than ever that that's why He created morning renewal.
As we reluctantly turn to begin our day, we feel the assurance that He will be near us until our day is done. We know without fail that we are free to return to him throughout our day and spend a restful moment with Him beside the still waters ... Thank You, Jesus!
Father, in thanksgiving, I ask that you richly bless each of your beloved children with morning renewal ... for I pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen and amen.
Monday, May 30, 2011
A Better Plan
You pray ... believing that the Lord is not only able to bring your deepest desires to fruition but also that He's willing to see the fulfillment of your heartfelt prayers. At the end of it all, songs of thanksgiving go up to the Throne Room like incense that engulf Him. It is then that you begin to realize that, indeed, your will mirrored His. And yet, if the truth be told, you must come to a new understanding ... for the journey that brought about these mirrored wills was nothing like YOU had planned. Nevertheless, within you there is a peace in knowing that His ways are not always your ways but without question HIS ways ARE always perfect.
Let me give you a recent example of this revelation in my own life ... last week, as many of you know, we endured a day long threat of tornadoes in our area. As soon as the predictions were announced my husband and I began to pray against them - directing them as the Lord allows, to go off their predicted path. Confident that we had taken the appropriate stand, we went about our normal routine throughout the evening never giving them a second thought ... that was until ... the phone rang.
It was my daughter. She was on the other side of town and every indication was that the storm was bearing down on her ... and that it was headed to our part of town with no less determination! Rain, thunder, lightning, violent winds ... and my 'child' was alone and frightened like never before!
How could this be!?!? - I had prayed that the storm wouldn't engulf us ... that ALL of my family would go unscathed by such violence! Shouts of anger went up and with ever increasing conviction I declared a safety zone around me ... around my property ... around my family ... and around my family's family!
The moments that followed brought torential rains that pelted everything in its path - the night instantly turned into day as the lightning flashed all around us - thunder roared like an attacking lion - and the winds, oh, the tremendous force of the winds ... so much so that some may say that my prayers were never heard - much less answered!
But wait ... as the winds subsided and the thunder rolled on out of our vicinity, we quickly realized that we, indeed, did endure the storm BUT we came through it without a blemish!! Power lines were in tact ... storm windows held ... a towel (without clothes pins) remained on the clothes line ... no injuries ... no damage ... no need to panic for our God WAS in control! Yes! Our prayers WERE answered!
OH, THANK YOU GOD! THANK YOU LORD! THANK YOU JESUS! Songs of thanksgiving now pelted the air with no less ferver than the rain that had come down. Praise God, Praise God, Praise God!
WHAT! ... giving THANKS? Yes, for although MY plan was to totally avoid the entire storm ... the Lord used this time to show me just how much I needed to trust HIM ... how much I needed HIM! And in the end our wills were, indeed, mirrored! The Lord's plan was greater than mine ... for it brought about a much greater result than mine ever could have, leaving behind a richness in faith that I couldn't have foreseen!
As the evening turned into day I felt the the Lord was leading me to consider two words ... victor and victim ... and I was being asked which word I wanted to claim as my own. Which life did I want to live? As I took time to meditate on the reality of both, I soon ran headlong into the third word that the Lord laid on my heart ... and that was TRUST.
I am richer for this experience. I am no longer in the same place that I was before. I am one step closer to Him. Oh, Thank YOU, Lord!
My prayer, Father God, is that others may see the fruition of answered prayers, all the while being able to surrender to the beauty of Your plans. Being thankful seems trite as I come to an understanding of this event in my life but nonetheless I give You all praise and honor and glory as my heart swell with gratefulness. In and through Jesus, I give you my all.
Amen and amen.
Let me give you a recent example of this revelation in my own life ... last week, as many of you know, we endured a day long threat of tornadoes in our area. As soon as the predictions were announced my husband and I began to pray against them - directing them as the Lord allows, to go off their predicted path. Confident that we had taken the appropriate stand, we went about our normal routine throughout the evening never giving them a second thought ... that was until ... the phone rang.
It was my daughter. She was on the other side of town and every indication was that the storm was bearing down on her ... and that it was headed to our part of town with no less determination! Rain, thunder, lightning, violent winds ... and my 'child' was alone and frightened like never before!
How could this be!?!? - I had prayed that the storm wouldn't engulf us ... that ALL of my family would go unscathed by such violence! Shouts of anger went up and with ever increasing conviction I declared a safety zone around me ... around my property ... around my family ... and around my family's family!
The moments that followed brought torential rains that pelted everything in its path - the night instantly turned into day as the lightning flashed all around us - thunder roared like an attacking lion - and the winds, oh, the tremendous force of the winds ... so much so that some may say that my prayers were never heard - much less answered!
But wait ... as the winds subsided and the thunder rolled on out of our vicinity, we quickly realized that we, indeed, did endure the storm BUT we came through it without a blemish!! Power lines were in tact ... storm windows held ... a towel (without clothes pins) remained on the clothes line ... no injuries ... no damage ... no need to panic for our God WAS in control! Yes! Our prayers WERE answered!
OH, THANK YOU GOD! THANK YOU LORD! THANK YOU JESUS! Songs of thanksgiving now pelted the air with no less ferver than the rain that had come down. Praise God, Praise God, Praise God!
WHAT! ... giving THANKS? Yes, for although MY plan was to totally avoid the entire storm ... the Lord used this time to show me just how much I needed to trust HIM ... how much I needed HIM! And in the end our wills were, indeed, mirrored! The Lord's plan was greater than mine ... for it brought about a much greater result than mine ever could have, leaving behind a richness in faith that I couldn't have foreseen!
As the evening turned into day I felt the the Lord was leading me to consider two words ... victor and victim ... and I was being asked which word I wanted to claim as my own. Which life did I want to live? As I took time to meditate on the reality of both, I soon ran headlong into the third word that the Lord laid on my heart ... and that was TRUST.
I am richer for this experience. I am no longer in the same place that I was before. I am one step closer to Him. Oh, Thank YOU, Lord!
My prayer, Father God, is that others may see the fruition of answered prayers, all the while being able to surrender to the beauty of Your plans. Being thankful seems trite as I come to an understanding of this event in my life but nonetheless I give You all praise and honor and glory as my heart swell with gratefulness. In and through Jesus, I give you my all.
Amen and amen.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Driven to Conform ... Lead to Transform
Peace comes to a person for many reasons. None, it seems to me now, impact your life more than the peace that comes when God Himself revels to you what makes you ... you. My journey of peace all started one day, not so long ago, when I asked the Lord for inspiration. Blessed be, it was then that I began to see myself through His eyes. Oh, I'm not referring to my physical attributes or even what purposes have been assigned to my life ... no, I'm referring to the core of who I AM.
The details of what I discovered are pure in nature to me, and although I don't want to bore you, I do wish to bring you a taste of the revelation that I encountered so that by bearing my soul, you too may be blessed and encouraged to seek revelation of your own. Suffice as to say I'm learning the value of living within myself so that I am who He created ME to be.
As my journey began, the heart of a simplistic person emerged. Nice is sufficient ... less is better. On the sinister side, the heart of a people pleaser was revealed and sadly, I can see with clarity that rejection was my driving force. True to my tender side, my heart's desire has always been to make others feel comfortable, worthy and loved. In and of itself that's a wonderful thing but as I have learned, the full measure of accomplishment comes only if your motives are selfless! Spirits of fear drive selfish motives while a Spirit of Love leads us to selfless motives. The truth is that Satan himself DRIVES us to conform to this world ... but God, with all His compassion and gentleness, LEADS us to be transformed into His image!
I've recognized for years ... and years ... that I've conformed my thinking and actions around an 'all or nothing' mentality. It's been my 'identity badge', if you will, giving me reason to declare that "I'm not good at balancing anything in my life" (a grim warning here about guarding your words). And although I've been very aware throughout the years of my obstinate attitude, I, nevertheless, accepted the lie that drove me to live a life that was out of balance. Never before did it occur to me to question whether or not God chose this way of life for me. Never did I consider that God, the One who loved me enough to create me and die for me ... the very same One who wants to spend eternity with me, had something much different planned for my life.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that God's Word offers us guidance even where this challenge is concerned. In his loving kindness He tells us in Romans 12:2"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will."
It's all there ... just waiting for us ... and I acknowledge freely that I've never been more excited than I am now to go on a journey of discovery! It's been a LONG haul but without reservation I can honestly say ... with the utmost of humility ... that 'I'm in' ... WHATEVER His plan ... I'm totally willing to do and be whatever it is that He has planned for me.
Father God, I pray that you will be flooded with seekers who look to You for inspiration ... who seek Your revelation ... and who willingly take Your hand as You lead them to a peace that surpasses all understanding. I pray most earnestly, Lord, that You will help them discover, but more importantly, that they, without reservation, become the person of Your heart's desire. I pray this all, Father, in Jesus' Name.
Amen and amen.
The details of what I discovered are pure in nature to me, and although I don't want to bore you, I do wish to bring you a taste of the revelation that I encountered so that by bearing my soul, you too may be blessed and encouraged to seek revelation of your own. Suffice as to say I'm learning the value of living within myself so that I am who He created ME to be.
As my journey began, the heart of a simplistic person emerged. Nice is sufficient ... less is better. On the sinister side, the heart of a people pleaser was revealed and sadly, I can see with clarity that rejection was my driving force. True to my tender side, my heart's desire has always been to make others feel comfortable, worthy and loved. In and of itself that's a wonderful thing but as I have learned, the full measure of accomplishment comes only if your motives are selfless! Spirits of fear drive selfish motives while a Spirit of Love leads us to selfless motives. The truth is that Satan himself DRIVES us to conform to this world ... but God, with all His compassion and gentleness, LEADS us to be transformed into His image!
I've recognized for years ... and years ... that I've conformed my thinking and actions around an 'all or nothing' mentality. It's been my 'identity badge', if you will, giving me reason to declare that "I'm not good at balancing anything in my life" (a grim warning here about guarding your words). And although I've been very aware throughout the years of my obstinate attitude, I, nevertheless, accepted the lie that drove me to live a life that was out of balance. Never before did it occur to me to question whether or not God chose this way of life for me. Never did I consider that God, the One who loved me enough to create me and die for me ... the very same One who wants to spend eternity with me, had something much different planned for my life.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that God's Word offers us guidance even where this challenge is concerned. In his loving kindness He tells us in Romans 12:2"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will."
It's all there ... just waiting for us ... and I acknowledge freely that I've never been more excited than I am now to go on a journey of discovery! It's been a LONG haul but without reservation I can honestly say ... with the utmost of humility ... that 'I'm in' ... WHATEVER His plan ... I'm totally willing to do and be whatever it is that He has planned for me.
Father God, I pray that you will be flooded with seekers who look to You for inspiration ... who seek Your revelation ... and who willingly take Your hand as You lead them to a peace that surpasses all understanding. I pray most earnestly, Lord, that You will help them discover, but more importantly, that they, without reservation, become the person of Your heart's desire. I pray this all, Father, in Jesus' Name.
Amen and amen.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Thankful Today ... Fruitful Tomorrow
A friend of mine recently shared with me a challenge that rocked her world. In a nutshell she was asked to consider this ... What would you have available to you today if you were given only that which you gave thanks to the Lord for yesterday?
YIKES - I don't know about you but all of a sudden I'm beginning to feel my own world rock beneath me!
Quickly I rush into a mode of thanksgiving ... Thank You, Lord, for the air that I breathe - and the fact that I'm able to take that air into my lungs. Thank You for a sound mind, for my friends, my coworkers and the waitress at my favorite restaurant. And certainly, Lord, thank You for my family, my job and the absence of fear and violence in my life! Thank You, thank You, thank You, Lord, for the countless things that I openly cherish but even more so, those things that I've taken for granted. Truly I realize that I am NOTHING without You, I have nothing apart from you, and I have every reason to spend my entire day pouring out my thanks to You.
But is it all about what He can ... and does ... do FOR us? Or what things He gives TO us? No! It's about the Holy Spirit that lives within us and the abundance that flows through our lives because of Him. For as it is written in Galatians 5:22-23 "The Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Each of these Fruits flow from us because of the Holy Spirit that lives within us. What more could I ever desire ... what could be greater in my life and more worthy of my eternal gratitude?
Joy is the kiss that seals each unselfish act. Kindness resonates from each of us as we go forth being patient, understanding and considerate. As you give in abundance, surely goodness, gentleness and self-control will be your blessing. An in the end, peace will about as faithfulness adorns our crown of love!
It is only by God's grace that His mercies are new every morning. He prepares us each day for the time in which we will stand before Him. And as we stand in the fullness of who our God truly is, may we see HIM as the God we worshiped throughout our lives and not a mirror that displays a reflection of ourselves as the worshipped god.
It was ... it is ... and it always will be ALL ABOUT HIM but oh, the blessings we have to be thankful for when, through His mercy and grace, He lavishes His Glory upon us.
Thank You, Father, for Your presence in my life through the Holy Spirit. May my heart overflow with thanksgiving each day as I live in wild anticipation of our days of eternity together, for I ask this now, in and through the Name that is above all names, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus my Christ.
Amen and amen.
YIKES - I don't know about you but all of a sudden I'm beginning to feel my own world rock beneath me!
Quickly I rush into a mode of thanksgiving ... Thank You, Lord, for the air that I breathe - and the fact that I'm able to take that air into my lungs. Thank You for a sound mind, for my friends, my coworkers and the waitress at my favorite restaurant. And certainly, Lord, thank You for my family, my job and the absence of fear and violence in my life! Thank You, thank You, thank You, Lord, for the countless things that I openly cherish but even more so, those things that I've taken for granted. Truly I realize that I am NOTHING without You, I have nothing apart from you, and I have every reason to spend my entire day pouring out my thanks to You.
But is it all about what He can ... and does ... do FOR us? Or what things He gives TO us? No! It's about the Holy Spirit that lives within us and the abundance that flows through our lives because of Him. For as it is written in Galatians 5:22-23 "The Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Each of these Fruits flow from us because of the Holy Spirit that lives within us. What more could I ever desire ... what could be greater in my life and more worthy of my eternal gratitude?
Joy is the kiss that seals each unselfish act. Kindness resonates from each of us as we go forth being patient, understanding and considerate. As you give in abundance, surely goodness, gentleness and self-control will be your blessing. An in the end, peace will about as faithfulness adorns our crown of love!
It is only by God's grace that His mercies are new every morning. He prepares us each day for the time in which we will stand before Him. And as we stand in the fullness of who our God truly is, may we see HIM as the God we worshiped throughout our lives and not a mirror that displays a reflection of ourselves as the worshipped god.
It was ... it is ... and it always will be ALL ABOUT HIM but oh, the blessings we have to be thankful for when, through His mercy and grace, He lavishes His Glory upon us.
Thank You, Father, for Your presence in my life through the Holy Spirit. May my heart overflow with thanksgiving each day as I live in wild anticipation of our days of eternity together, for I ask this now, in and through the Name that is above all names, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus my Christ.
Amen and amen.
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