Thursday, January 24, 2013

God is in Control/REFUGE

God is in control!!!

Acts 17:26-28a says, "And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:  For in him we live, and move, and have our being."

He is in control, and He is RIGHT HERE, VERY NEAR!!   Psalm 46:1, one of my favorite go-to verses, says, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

I love the "refuge thing."  In the Old Testament (Numbers 35), God commanded the children of Israel to build cities of refuge, fortified cities, to where people who were erroneously accused could run and cry, "REFUGE!!!  REFUGE!!!"  The gates of the city would open to allow them to enter and then close so that those accusing and chasing could NOT enter .

God is our refuge, and satan is our accuser.  When satan accuses us erroneously, or reminds us of our past, forgiven sins, we can run to God and cry, "REFUGE!!!"  He opens His arms to us, and shuts the devil out!!!  We are His children, and we can find Him when we seek Him; when we feel for Him, He is right there, near to us, and we will find Him.  He promised!! 

He will also be refuge for our lost loved ones when they seek Him!!!  They WILL find Him!!! 

Feel and find Him!!!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The LORD is watching for opportunities to show that He is strong in our lives.

The Lord is watching for opportunities to show His strength in our lives.

Jehovah Tsidkenu, The LORD our Righteousness, gives us His righteousness. We cannot make ourselves righteous; we have to ask Him! 

THEN...... ". . . the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him" (2 Chronicles 16:9a). He makes us righteous; then, because we are righteous, He watches to see how He can show Himself strong in our lives!!! Our LORD is amazing!!!

I am inviting Him to show Himself strong in the life of my loved one!!  And He will, and He is already!!!  Thank You, LORD!!!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

I know Him!!

I know Whom I have believed!!!

I am persuaded that He is able!!

I am persauded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.

2 Timothy 1:12b says, “. . . I am not ashamed:  for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”

I am persuaded that He is able to keep WHOM I have committed unto Him against that day!!!!!

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Do the Next Right Thing

I think it was Delilah, the popular radio show host, that said her dad always told her to do the next thing.  When she didn't know what to do, do the next right thing.  Get up, get showered, brush your teeth, go to work, fix food, etc.   Do the next right thing until clear direction comes.

That is what David did in 2 Samuel 5:10, as pointed out by my pastor Sunday in a sermon.  It reads, "And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him."  "David went on."  He did the next right thing.  The next part is FABULOUS:  "the LORD God of hosts was with him."  That is how we continue to live, continue to go on when the burden is great, because the LORD God of hosts, Jehovah Sabaoth, the Commander of the armies of heaven, is with us!!

I recently had a friend, who is has a burden to pray for an unsaved loved one, talk about the waiting.  This is how we wait:  we wait actively!!  We pray, we fast, we hold on to the raindrops sent by God to build our faith, we trust God Who loves them more than we do and desires they be saved (2 Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."), and we do the next right thing.  I think part of trust is not worrying, not letting this burden overcome our lives except for the times when the Holy Spirit is giving us an anxious, urgent unctioning to pray NOW!  I do trust God.  After all, His Word says in 2 Timothy 1:12b, ". . . for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." 

So, today, in addition to your praying, do the next right thing!!  Blessings!!

Monday, January 7, 2013

Leave the Past, Look for the New Thing

Isaiah 43:18-19 keeps "coming across my desk," so perhaps I need to share it with you!

It says, "Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.    Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?  I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert."

The past needs to stay in the past!  If the disciples had stayed on the Mount of Transfiguration and built the three tabernacles they had proposed to build, they would have missed the death, burial and resurrection of the Jesus AND the Day of Pentecost, where they received power to do what God had called them to do.  (Matthew 17:1-4 says, "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,   And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.  And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.  Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here:  if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.")

There are so many examples of our needing to let go of the past and move forward.  (The Israelites' leaving Egypt comes to mind.)  Sometimes the past was good, and we either want to stay there or recreate it.  Sometimes the past was horrible, and we are glad to be rid of it.  Either way, God has a new thing to do in our lives. 

No matter where we are, even in the wilderness or desert, God has promised to provide; AND, He says we will know what He is doing!!  That is so wonderful!!!  

So, it is time to move out of the past and walk into what God has for us!!  I am starting today, striving to break habits that have been distracting me:  fun things, not bad things necessarily, mindless things (TV, games, things that I have been using to fill in the gaps in my life between appointments), and filling that time working on the projects God has given me.  I am such a creature of habit, and this will be hard, but the verse came up yesterday in my Bible study, that ". . . . With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."  (Matthew 19:26)  I know this is taken a little out of context, but I think the meaning still holds!!  =)  I am trusting God to help me "lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset" me so that I can "run with patience the race that is set before" me, doing the work He created me to do.  (Hebrews 12:1)

Pastor McGlamery quoted Zig Ziglar yesterday:  "You are the only person on earth that can use your ability."  Guess I better get busy!!  I can hardly wait to see what God has planned for me this year!!!

Thanks for "listening!!" 

Friday, January 4, 2013

My raindrop (faith-builder, reminder that God's promises are true) yesterday came in the form of answered prayer. 

I know that I am vague sometimes about the things about which I pray, but they most often involve private lives of other people and are not my story to tell.  Suffice it to say that I received a text last night that shows that prayer changes things, and I am so excited for this step!! 

Prayer really does change things!!  Thank You, LORD, for hearing and answering prayers!!

I just had to testify!!!

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Let me tell you a dream I had a few weeks ago. 

I was driving along a narrow curvy road.  I took a curve going too fast and ran off the road.  There were no trees to catch me, no immediate bottom of the chasm, and my car was going down nose first.  I knew I was about to die, and it hit me hard that I was about to meet Jesus, and I got so excited!!  When I awoke, I was actually a little disappointed that I didn't get to meet Jesus.

I was writing about this to my spiritual mentor, and it hit me what Jeff Lawson said about freefall in a class I was teaching a few weeks ago.  I think when we freefall in our faith, we get to meet Jesus.  I am sure you have given your situation to God so many times, but it is time again, I believe, to let God work, to let God be God, to freefall in your faith regarding your situation.  Invite God to work all the time, but make sure you are not telling God how to work through your prayers.  I still do that so very often in my prayers for my lost loved one, and I get a check in my spirit. 

Only when we freefall in our faith will we see Jesus.  He has this.  God has this.  Do you really trust Him?  It is a place of peace for us that have particular needs and hard situations.  I HAVE to rest in that peace. 

It is a fabulous peace, one that passes all earthly, intelligent understanding.  Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."