Oh, Glorious – THIRD - Day!

It is the FIRST day of 2015 – a NEW year – a new BEGINNING – a FRESH start! I am so thankful my Lord’s mercies are new EVERY morning; not just New Year’s – yet still, a new year holds optimism, expectations, and excitement.

Hubby and I started reading Genesis today – how fitting since the title itself means, “Beginnings” - my prayer is to learn something new of God every day and to not take lightly that Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe, my Redeeming Savior wants to reveal Himself…..to me…..to you….every day…...of every year.

As we were reading the creation story, my husband mentioned the band “Third Day” and how he figured they chose their name referring to Christ rising from the dead on the third day and not necessarily the third day recorded in Genesis 1:9-10.

I began to wonder if there was a correlation between these two ‘third days’…….

Genesis 1:2 says ‘the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.’ – Darkness may have been on the face of the deep; but the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters; true to the saying ‘whatever is over my head, is under His feet’ Amen! This verse reminded me of Jesus quoting Isaiah 61:1-2a in Luke 4:18-19, saying ‘The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound’……sounds like a whole lot of darkness going on, but just as the light was revealed on day 1 of creation, the true Light came to dwell among us (John 1:1-14) and ‘to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’.

I wrote about the fall of Satan in a previous blog post, “Cast Down…..”, and how day 2 is the only day not recorded as ‘good’ in the creation process. I will save going thru the creation of day 2 recorded in Genesis 1:6-8, how Satan is referred to as the ‘prince of the power of the air’ in Ephesians 2:2, and the references to the ‘rulers of darkness’ in Ephesians 6:12 since they are all referenced there….. Darkness – first mentioned in Genesis 1:2 - looms again – over all the earth - after Jesus yields His spirit upon the cross and dies (Luke 23:44).

Satan was ‘cast down’ and Jesus came down….willingly….‘no one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.’ (John 10:18) All hope may have seemed lost……but then…….on the Third Day…..

Land, bodies of water, grass, herb, fruit…..LIFE…..begins on day 3……and it was GOOD (Genesis 1:9-13)…...JESUS…...the Way, the Truth, and the LIFE…..the firstborn from the dead…..was buried, raised from the dead on the THIRD day, and it PLEASED the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell……IT IS VERY GOOD! 

As In The Day of Midian......Part 2

 

“…the yoke of his burden, the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor - You have broken as in the day of Midian.” Isaiah 9:4

We met Gideon the end of Part 1 in this blog series. He is the “mighty man of valor” God is going to use to deliver the Israelites from the oppression of the Midianites.

As we continue our journey thru Judges 6, we learn in vs. 25 that Gideon’s own father was an idol worshipper. The same night God appears to Gideon, He tells him to throw down Baal’s altar, that his father has, and cut down the grove by it.

In this passage, I see God’s grace - no matter what your family situation, you do not have to go down the same road - you can be a repairer of the breach (Isaiah 58:12). God raised up Gideon in the midst of his own family worshipping a false god - Israelites, God’s covenant people, breaking the first commandment (Exodus 20:3).

vs. 6:26 - God tells Gideon to build an altar to Him in the same place - beauty from the ashes (Isaiah 61:3). Another thing to note, Gideon obeyed immediately. Whatever altar you have been bowing down to - it is time to tear it down and Break Free - ‘now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation’ (2 Corinthians 6:2)

vs. 6:27 - Wow - there is a lot that could be said here - ten men went with Gideon to destroy the pagan altar. Remember 6:1, “the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord” - but here we have ten men going with Gideon - can we believe at least these ten men had not bowed the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:18) since they were loyal to Gideon and willing to assist him in the destruction? A good friend reminded me this week of when Abraham prayed for the righteous in Sodom & Gomorrah; in Genesis 18:32, Abraham asked the Lord if only ten were found, would He not destroy it for ten’s sake and the Lord answered He would not. We are right smack in the middle of another election year and it seems the plumbline is becoming more and more evident as each one passes. Read Mark 13:12 about brother betraying brother, fathers their sons, and children rising up against their parents; in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, we are told there will be a “falling away”. I think we read these passages without realizing what this is going to look like or how it is going to hurt; I think we also assume it is going to “just happen”, but I believe it is going to be gradual and before we realize it we are here. We have read and acknowledged 2 Chronicles 7:14 but have we really grabbed hold and settled it deep within our hearts the responsibility of God’s people humbling themselves - it is not about prosperity, economy, jobs, our agendas, or even what we think is best, - it is a call to PRAY, to SEEK our God, and REPENT from whatever does not line up with God and His word.

I think Judges 6:27 also shows the importance of having people in our lives of the same faith in whom we can confide in and walk with so they may encourage and minister to us - do not forsake gathering together (Hebrews 10:25). Keep reading and you will see because they “feared his father’s household and the men of the city…they did it by night”.

In 6:12, God called Gideon a “mighty man of valor” yet here we see him scared, hiding once again, as he goes about doing what God has called him to. I take comfort in this verse - God knows I am scared to death sometimes, trembling and full of fear - we will see God’s grace again in the midst of fear when we get to 7:10.

vs. 6:28 - the men of the city rose EARLY in the morning and realized what had happened to the altar of Baal and the grove by it; they also noticed the sacrifice on the altar built in its place. Can we assume here that these men set out to start their day with their false god? Oh, I pray, I will have the same strong conviction and desire to start my day with the one and only true and living God.

vs. 6:29 - the men start enquiring who has done this atrocity and it is reported Gideon. Had word gotten out? Did one of his 10 friends say something? Were they seen? Or could it be, that Gideon was known to be different - peculiar - others knew he served God because of his character, his speech, his heart. People saw this in Peter and John also, Acts 4:13 says, ‘now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.’ We have heard it said, we may be the only Bible some people read - may they see Jesus in us.

vs. 6:30-32 - the men of the city go to Gideon’s father and demand him to hand Gideon over to be killed because of what he has done. Joash spares his son’s life by posing a question to his persecutors, “Will you plead for Baal? Will you save him? If he be a god, let him plead for himself, for it is his altar that has been cast down”. Love this! I love that God says they make idols with their own hands, idols that can not see, nor hear, they can not speak, nor move (Psalm 115:4-8) - our God DOES see, DOES hear, DOES speak, and DOES move. Amen! He also tells us the battle is His (2 Chronicles 20:15) - when the enemy comes against us and proclaims lies about our God - it is our God he is blaspheming and we are His redeemed being oppressed. Read Isaiah 37, an evil king was devising a plan to destroy God’s people and was telling them their God was no different than any of the other nations’ gods he had set out to destroy - there was no one to save those people and there would be no one to save them now either. Psalm 71:10-11 tells us it is the enemy that says God has forsaken us and there is no one to deliver. In Acts 5, a wise teacher of the law spoke regarding Peter and the other apostles, saying ‘if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.’

vs. 33 - “THEN all the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel”. This reminds me of the Israelites as slaves in Egypt crying out for deliverance - Moses comes on the scene and then the Egyptians make the situation worse for the Israelites causing them to beg for Moses to let them be. How many times do we also see our circumstances as getting worse so we pray against the very thing God is going to use in our deliverance? God had heard the cry of His people (vs. 6:7-8) and came to Gideon with His plan (vs. 6:14). Gideon was quickly obedient in doing what the Lord commanded as we just read, but now the enemy has gathered together, come over, and pitched right next to them. Doesn’t it seem like the same thing happens to us? We do something good for God and things seem to immediately get worse - so what is the point? What is going on? Why does it have to be so hard all the time? Press on! PERSEVERE! Beth just addressed this in our last video session - she spoke of it being ‘hard’- ‘hardest’ - ‘easier’ - ‘under my feet’. DO NOT grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we DO NOT give up. (Galatians 6:9)

vs. 34a - ‘the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon’ - one of the commentaries I read spoke of this ‘coming upon’ like being ‘clothed’ and gave an example of putting on the full armor of God mentioned in Ephesians 6. Our pastor has recently been preaching on this in a series titled, ‘This Means War’.

vs. 34b-35 - ‘and Abiezer was gathered after him’. I may be wrong, but I think Abiezer is speaking of a ‘people’ and not necessarily an individual; I get this in part from 6:11 and the names of the tribes mentioned in vs. 35. I also believe these are the same people who sought to kill Gideon for tearing down their idolatrous altar (see 6:24), but now they are gathering after him, supporting him in his cause.

vs. 36-40 - the miracle of the fleece - I could not find a whole lot regarding the significance of this, at least that made sense to me. One commentary mentioned it being in line with Mark 9:24, ‘Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief’. Another talked about this going against the laws of nature that God has set in place; therefore, proving He is truly Lord of all and NOTHING is impossible for Him…..

…..INCLUDING OUR DELIVERANCE!

As In The Day of Midian......Part 1

 

 



Our Sunday School class has just started Beth Moore’s Breaking Free. “Free”…what in THIS world could that possibly look like?

Read Isaiah 61:1-3 and Luke 4:16-21. Notice Jesus quoted this same passage from Isaiah, but stopped short in the middle of 61:2. We are in the day of grace, "the acceptable year of the Lord". I know we are supposed to be "kingdom" minded and "seek first His kingdom" so sometimes I think He is not as concerned about what I am dealing with down here and all the promises He has for me are only meant for when we get to Heaven. But, He came HERE - if freedom were only for there (Heaven) - then why did He come HERE? He came to free us HERE!

I love what Beth says, "NO bondage can withstand His word!" - NO bondage - His arm has not been shortened that He can not reach you! (Numbers 11:23)

Ok, now look at Isaiah 9:4 - the yoke of his burden, the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor - You have broken as on the day of Midian.

Remember - His yoke is easy (Matthew 11:30) - His rod and staff comforts us (Psalm 23:4) - not the same connotations from Isaiah 9:4.

If you were praying this verse back to the Lord - crying out for deliverance; for freedom......"Lord, my yoke - my burden - it is so heavy, weighing me down. My staff for my shoulders? It is crippling me - pressing down - I think I'm about to fall and I don't know if I can get back up again. The rod of my oppressor - it's hard, it's brutal, it's tiring, but Lord, Your word says You can break all of this - as in the day of Midian".

If that's your prayer, you might want to know what He is talking about when referring to the day of Midian. You want to be set free and He is saying you can be - whatever is binding you and holding you back, causing you to live in defeat - can be broken as in the day of Midian.

Midian means "strife" and Beth shared he is first mentioned in Genesis 25 as being Abraham's son from his 2nd wife after Sarah died. In Exodus 2, Moses fled to the land of Midian (descendants) after fleeing from Egypt for killing an Egyptian - and in Numbers 25, it is the Midianites that try to seduce the Israelites into idolatry.

We also read about the Midianites in Judges 6-8; I hope you will follow along in your Bible as I share some notes from this lesson and some others I found.

vs 6:1 - 'the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord' - ok, this is Chapter 6 of Judges - look at 2:11, 3:7, 3:12, 4:1 - they REPEATEDLY did evil in the sight of the Lord. But our God is so good, look at 2:16, 3:9, 3:15, 4:23-24. They sinned again and again and again, and our Lord? He saved them again and again and again. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever - He has not stopped being your Saviour! Your eternal salvation is secure if you have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, but He is our personal Saviour day in, day out - saving us from ourselves, our enemies, our choices.

vs 6:1 - ‘the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years’ - seven represents completion - however long it takes to complete the process. (Philippians 1:6)

vs 6:2 - the Israelites rebelled AGAIN in verse 1 which opened the door to oppression in vs 2, so ‘they made shelters’ - which is fine when you are hiding in the right place. Jesus is our habitation - where we are to continually live (Psalms 71:3), He is our hiding place (Psalm 32:7), our shelter (Psalms 61:3), our refuge and fortress (Psalms 91:2).

vs 6:4 - the enemy ‘destroyed the increase…and left no sustenance’; he makes us unproductive and wants to destroy our fruit. He seeks to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10) - no wonder we have it rough sometimes - we have a very real enemy that WANTS TO UTTERLY DESTROY US! But God said we are to bear MUCH fruit (John 15:8).

vs 6:5 - the enemy ‘was without number…and entered to destroy’. We are weak on our own, the enemy is too much for us in our own strength, but the battle is His (2 Chronicles 20:15) and in our weakness, He is strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).

vs 6:6 - ‘Israel was greatly impoverished….and cried unto the Lord’. When will we be so impoverished that we will cry out to God? Look back over the notes for verse 1, they sinned again, they cried out again, and He saved again. A broken and contrite heart He will not despise (Psalms 51:17). He will never kick out of the way a prayer laid at His feet by one of His children - NEVER!

vs 6:8 - ‘the Lord sent’ - He acted on behalf of their crying out.

vs 6:8-10 - like any good parent, the Lord wants you to know why you are where you are; He wants you to learn from it and to know ‘I am the LORD your God’.

vs 6:11 - The Lord is going to call the sixth Judge, Gideon - and where do we find him? Threshing wheat in a winepress - he is hiding. Satan loves secrets and strongholds lead to isolation. The Israelites were hiding in the land the Lord had GIVEN them - from an enemy, He would have gladly defeated.

vs 6:12 - God calls Gideon a "mighty man of valor". Jump ahead to vs 15 and we see what Gideon thinks of himself and how scared he was in vs 27. God sees our potential and appoints the experiences necessary. God knows you can be faithful because you are His. He has plans for you - no matter how you feel. (Jeremiah 9:11)

vs 6:13 - ‘if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all His miracles which our fathers told us of’. How many times do we allow our circumstances to determine how much God loves us?

vs 6:14 - the Lord asked, "have I not sent thee?" - Who? I AM! I am, who? - I AM everything my word says I AM (Hebrews 11:6) - BELIEVE IT! BELIEVE HIM!

vs 6:17 - ‘If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign’. How many times do we want a sign from the Lord? You have to be careful here - we walk by faith and not by sight and without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6). Jesus said in Matthew 12:39, a wicked and perverse generation asks for a sign - it was because of their unbelief that they were asking this in Matthew - they were making a mockery. In Judges 6:19-22, asking in faith becomes an act of worship - an altar of remembrance reminding us where we have been with our God.

vs 6:18 - ‘I will tarry until thou come again’ - the Lord waits for us!! Until we come again.....

vs 6:22 - You will see God (Job 42:5). We cry out for deliverance - for God to deliver us "from" - when His purpose is to deliver us "to" - to Himself. Just like the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, we cry out for the promised land and miss the journey - the here and now - with our God. Don't miss Him in the process, this is where you see Him work and get to know His heart and His ways.

vs 6:24 - "fear not - you are not going to die". You may feel like whatever you are going thru is going to kill you but our God is for us - if He leads you to it, He will lead you thru it - but you know what, even if He didn't lead you there, and you wandered off on your own - He will bring you back. He is the Way (the only way in - the only way out), He is the Truth (His word is powerful and will set you free), He is the Life (and He came to give it to you - ABUNDANTLY).

I have more to follow regarding the rest of Judges 6 and chapters 7-8........Victory is COMING!

Pray, Pray, Pray.........Delay, Delay, Delay

I was recently asked to give a devotion for one of our Ladies' Nights. I don't take these things lightly and really began to seek God on what He would want me to speak about. Trying to help Him along, I figured it would be from an area He had me in. I have a passion for prayer so I thought it may go along that line. I am co-facilitating a Bible study in our Sunday School class, Duty or Delight, so I figured He may pull something from there. I have been in my own pit for the last couple of years and thought He may even use my time here and the truths I have learned to convey to someone else.

Anyway, one night this past week, I headed off to bed with Bible in hand, thinking I would get some reading in before falling asleep. I found myself in Isaiah 63 - my Bible has chapter headings and this one is titled, "The Day of Vengeance". Wow, that is something you want to fall asleep to; however, I read it but didn't get much out of it. I felt the nudge to read it again; I put up a little fight but did so anyway - again, nothing. The next morning though, I still could not get this passage of Scripture out of my mind. I started realizing this may be what my devotion is to be from - but, Lord, devotions are to be encouraging and uplifting. I don't want to give a devotion about "vengeance" to a group of women looking forward to a night on the town. Also, this passage was not "speaking" to me - that's when He said, maybe it's not about you.

So I started diving in, pulling fom different commentaries and reading in various translations, trying to find something to build on. One piece of material I found, headed this chapter with "A prayer for help and the lamentation over its absence". Now that caught my attention; I can relate to praying for God's help and it seeming like He is nowhere to be found. Can't you? Well, our Lord is trully a keeper of His word and just like He says at the end of Hebrews 11:6, He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. I approached these verses not expecting anything to come out of it for me, but God in His goodness, took what I saw titled as vengeance and tied it all together with everything I was first anticipating - it is about prayer, deliverance, and delighting in our amazing God.

I am no theologian, but in this chapter I see 5 points to remember while you are waiting on God to answer your prayer for help.

1. Remember who your God is. Who are you praying to in the first place? In verse 1, God's chosen people are asking, "Who is this?". Our Messiah answers, "It is I, speaking in righteousness, MIGHTY TO SAVE." He is the Mighty One, nothing is impossible for your God. In Numbers 11:23, God asks Moses if the Lord's arm has been shortened - meaning, in my own paraphrase, have you gone off somewhere that I can no longer reach you? Hallelujah, the answer is "NO".

2. Remember what He has done. God begins to tell them where He has been and what He has done to their enemy - even though they can't see it yet. Towards the end of the chapter, God's people begin to remind Him also of what He has done on their behalf. This tells me we need to be in His word, reading of what He has done in situations past for His people and we also need to be remembering what He has done before in our own lives - He was faithful before, He will be faithful again. Remember when David came up against Goliath, he was sure of God's protection because of past experience - God had helped him to kill the lion and the bear while shepherding the sheep (I Samuel 17:34-37). Fast forward a little bit, David was quick to remember God's help with the lion and the bear when he came before the giant Philistine, but how quickly he forgot that victory when running for his life from Saul. God gave him a little reminder in I Samuel 21:9 when the priest gave David the sword of Goliath and reminded David he had killed him in the valley of Elah. If you can't recall any past victories, ask the Lord to refresh your memory.

3. Remember who your friends/support are. In verse 5, when God was trampling the enemy, He looked but there was no one to help, He was appalled that no one gave support. I am not sure what this means - some of what I read found it similar to the opening of the scroll in Revelation 5 when a search went out to find one worthy to open the scroll - which of course is Jesus. I don't think He was looking around for help - or disappointed that there was no one else to help - for one, I don't think He needs it and two, He is the One True God and I think He is very secure in that. I do wonder if this means He was looking around to see who else cared for His people and their situation as much as He did. I think this shows the importance of prayer - prayer warriors are called just that because it is a battle - we are at war. In the story of Job, with all that was allowed to come his way, he was restored after he prayed for his friends (Job 42:10). In Philippians 1:19, Paul says he was sure his situation would work towards his deliverance because of the prayers of the saints and the supply of the Holy Spirit. We need to be praying for others with the same urgency and intensity we want them praying for us and we need to be boldy asking others to pray for us also - don't hesitate to remind your friends, or your church, that you need prayer. God's looking around to see if there is any support.

4. Remember He feels what you are going thru. Verse 9 says that in all their distress, He too, was distressed. When you are waiting on God - remember He knows what you are going thru and He feels it also - He has not forgotten you.

5. Remember who you are. At the end of the chapter, the people are reminding God that He is their Father, He is their Redeemer, they are His inheritance, they are called by His name - they are His. As a child of God, you will never lay a prayer at your Father's feet and Him kick it out of the way. You are a child of the King and very precious in His sight!

As I was wrapping this up, something else kind of struck me - the original title in my Bible now does not make sense to me at all for this passage - except maybe His vengeance on the enemy, but it made me think how I can so start thinking like this - if I am in need and crying out to God, but He is not responding how I want or as quickly as I want , then He must be mad at me - this is Him turning His back on me and setting me up to fail. He is your deliverer - not your destroyer. We are not called to wrath (I Thessalonians 5:9).

If you are in a "delay", praise Him - that just gives you more time to sit at His feet in prayer. He is good and He is faithful and He answers EVERY prayer. 　

Relief......

Wow, just say the word “relief”. I say it and my whole body relaxes - my shoulders drop back, I exhale a little longer - just the sound of “relief” feels good. I have been living with so much stress and anxiety, I have honestly forgotten what “relief” could feel like.

Yesterday, I was spending time with Jesus in prayer and in His word - specifically Psalm 94:1-23. Verse 13 caught my attention…..“You grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked.”.

Actually the latter part of that verse is what I really liked - I feel like I am in a pit myself, so imagining the enemy in a deep pit after he has so preyed on my weaknesses is very rewarding to me. Anyway, I didn’t allow myself to linger there long and went on with my day.

Later, I was reading an online devotional from David Jeremiah and LOVED this excerpt: “Have mercy” occurs 46 times in Scripture, 12 times in Psalms alone - the book in which authors are often found imploring God for relief or help. Jesus was called upon to “have mercy” on several occasions by those in need. And He responded by granting healing or deliverance as required. What is mercy? It is when we don’t get what we deserve. Being sinners, we deserve all manner of judgment. So when we feel we’re in the middle of a judgment of circumstances, we call out to God to “have mercy” and take the bad situation away. By grace, God often does - grace being giving us something (relief) we don’t deserve. Grace and mercy are the opposite sides of God’s coin called love.

Have you ever found yourself there? Crying out, asking God to have mercy and take the bad situation away? I have! Reading, “God often does”, really blessed my heart and filled me with hope, so I found myself going back to this devotion and meditating on it all day.

This morning, I was reading another devotion thru

Proverbs 31 Ministries , titled “Tight Places”. The contributor, Marybeth Whalen, uses the focus verse, Psalm 4:1.…. “Answer me when I call to You, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.”

She talks about a time in her own life when she was “stressed, anxious, worried and overwhelmed” - huh, that sounds familiar. She goes on to say, “When I read our verse for today, I was struck by the explanation in my Bible for the word “relief”. It literally means, ‘make room for me in tight places.’” (Sounds like a pit.)

She then closes with this reminder, “…there is Someone who can come and offer relief.”. Amen!!

Usually, at the end of every Proverbs 31 devotional, you are given “Power Verses” to go along with the insight the author is trying to convey. One of the “Power Verses” given, was Psalm 94:13.…. “You grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked.” (NIV)

It was the last part of that verse that reminded me I had just read that the day before - so I looked it up again in my Bible, but this time the Lord allowed me to see the common thread throughout my devotional times - RELIEF. (Yes, I can be a little slow.)

This spoke volumes to me - HE spoke volumes to me - He offers RELIEF! Thank You, Jesus!

Cast Down.......



    I am helping facilitate a Beth Moore study on Revelation in Sunday School class. She recently provided insight into Revelation 12:4,10 regarding the timing of when Satan and 1/3 of the stars were hurled to earth. Based on vs. 10, she mentions the possibility of this taking place at the time of Christ's death on the cross. I am not refuting this - I am nowhere near knowledgable enough to do so - but her insight sparked some questions and thoughts, and since ALL Scripture is for teaching, reproof, correction, & training - let's chase some spiritual rabbits.

    It was known before the foundatins of the world that Jesus would be crucified (1 Peter 1:20) - so if Satan was "hurled" to earth at the cross - couldn't he have actually been cast down before the creative activity recorded in Genesis 1?

    Genesis Chapter 1 - "In the beginning" - God is eternal; has no beginning - so was there a "beginning" to time? Was a divine decision made to create "time" as we know it? And why? (More on that in a bit...) In Genesis 1:2, we are told that "the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep..."; keep reading and you see that "the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.". So God is there and so is darkness, but God is light (Revelation 21:23, John 8:12). So where did the darkness come from? In the 6 days of creation, each day records that "God saw that it was good",  except for Day 2. Notes I found on Day 2 describe the "firmament" or "expanse" as the levels of our atmosphere - which I think makes sense if you look at Day 4, recorded in Genesis 1:14-19, when God created the sun, moon, and stars to "be lights in the firmament of the heavens.". But why doesn't it say that "God saw that it was good"? Ephesians 2:2, says there is a prince of the power of the air that works in the children of disobedience and those that walk according to the course of this world. So was this prince at work here? Already? In the creative activity of Day 2? Hmmmm.........

    We know Satan was on earth as early as Genesis 3 when he entered the serpent in the garden to tempt Eve with the forbidden fruit. He was also present in Jesus' time on earth when he entered Judas (John 13:27) and the temptation of Christ in the wilderness (Matthew 4).

    A 1/3 of the stars that were hurled to the earth at the time of Satan are belieed to be fallen angels, demons, or evil spirits (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6, 1 Corinthians 6:3, John 5:22, Matthew 7:22, 25:41, Revelation 12:9, 20:10). There are many instances of demonic activity and possessions recorded in the New Testament at the time Jesus was on earth before the cross.

    So what happened before "in the beginning"? If my thought process above were to be right, what caused Satan and 1/3 of the angels in heaven to be hurled to earth? We read in Isaiah 14 about Lucifer (Satan), which means "Day Star" or "Light-Bearer", and how he fell from heaven - we see the pride in his heart with the repeated "I will". Read also Ezekiel 28 that speaks of Satan's beauty and wisdom before the fall; he was an "anointed cherub".....what in heaven happened?

    I don't know........I don't know if anyone can answer that this side of heaven, but I was thinking..........

    I find it strange, again if my theory is correct (I am not at all saying it is - I am just thinking and trying to learn and understand.), that Satan was cast to earth prior to man ever being created, that God would still create us (Pretty quickly in the creative process - Day 6) and place us here with him - Satan, the prince of this world (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11). And knowing full well, He is going to crucify His Son on our behalf - to snatch us from the clutches of the evil one, into the palm of His hand, in which we can NEVER be plucked out (John 10:28).

    Could it be, with what we have just read about Satan, that possibly some insight was given by God to His angelic beings that He wanted to create man in His image and dwell among them? Could the "Light-Bearer" then have had his first competitive thought? Did he see us as a threat to his covetous position in the presence of God? Again, I don't at all know, but I think of Job Chapter 1, where we read Satan came before the Lord and pretty much tells the Lord that Job only serves the Living God because of the blessings he has received and the hedge of protection God has placed around him and everything he has. In Job 1:12 and 2:6, we read God allows Satan to pretty much do whatever he wants to Job except kill him. Could it be a similar dialogue took place regarding mankind? Before creation? I believe God had a "perfect" will for us - no death, no disease, no sin, no sorrow, no pain - the Garden of Eden forever, where God walked with us in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8). Satan may have approached Him and suggested what we just saw in Job; therefore, the Tree of Good and Evil was planted with a commandment....and a consequence (Genesis 2:12).    

    Satan was hurled to earth - cast down - to rule as prince of this world.......man was created and became the object of his fury (Revelation 12:12).

"If I Had Two Hands....Doing The Same Thing....Lifted High"

A few posts back, I mentioned we have a “new” pastor and that our church family has changed over the past few years. God has convicted me on this and really made me think….he is not my “new” pastor, he is MY pastor and the people I gather with in worship, grow with in Bible study, serve with in our church community, and fellowship with in and outside of our church building - they are MY church family. I do miss the family and fellowship I once had, but believe with all my heart that God places the members in the body as He pleases (1 Cor. 12:18). God has really been putting a love for the family I have now on my heart. There are several within my church that I have a longing to get to know better but it is getting out of my comfort zone and initiating that contact.



God is definitely working and moving within our church - I see it in this blog and the direction He has been leading our prayers, the direction He has given our pastor, and comments I have heard from others within our church - we are of one accord with His Spirit (Acts 1:14) - and it is VERY exciting to anticipate Him and what He is going to do in and thru us.

This last week, God has really spoken to me about how He is worthy.

1. He is worthy to be prayed to because He listens and acts on behalf of His people crying out to Him.
2. He is worthy of our repentance and living a life according to His Word.
3. He is worthy of us living and knowing His redemptive plan - if angels desire to look into this (1 Peter 1:12) - how much more should we.
4. He is worthy of us getting to know Him intimately - in prayer, His Word, by experience.
5. He is worthy of us encouraging others - coming along side those weaker in the faith and lifting them up (Romans 15:1, 1 Thess. 5:14)
6. He is worthy of us living the victorious, abundant life He calls us to (John 10:10) - He does not want us shackled to our past, to our failures, to our sins - He is the Victorious God and He lives in and thru us.
7. He is worthy of our praise, our worship - it is ALL about Him.
8. He is worthy of our joy - live like there is a distinction between those that are His and those that are not. (Malachi 3:18)
9. He is worthy of our expectation - He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) - He searches to and fro looking for a heart He can show Himself mighty (2 Chronicles 16:9). Expect Him - He shows up!

*** This is a recap of the previous post on PERSEVERE ***

For the past several years, I have tried to make a point to circle the word “all” in my Bible when it is talking about groups of people responding to God. The thought that “all” could actually be on the same page when it comes to Christ, who He is, or what He has called us to, blew my mind. Sometimes it seems overwhelming that we could get EVERYONE to do ANYTHING for ANYBODY. But yet, we are One Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17, Eph. 2:18, Eph. 4:4, 1 Cor. 12:13), Christ prayed in John 17 that WE would be ONE - as He and the Father are one. WOW!

Last Sunday, God put a song on my heart that I have not been able to get out of my head. It is by Jars of Clay and is called “Two Hands”. They sing, “I use one hand to pull You closer, the other to push You away….but what if I had two hands, doing the same thing, lifted high”.

Grasp the thought of that for a brief moment. What if ALL of us were doing the same thing for the glory of God. I’m not talking about literally lifting both hands high in worship - I’m talking about our hearts - in it’s current state; whatever that is - agreeing we NEED God, we want to SEE God, being OPEN to God - OPEN to God only; not expecting WHAT He might do - but just expecting HIM.

PERSEVERE



Beth Moore recently said we all want to be OVERCOMERS, but we want nothing we have to overcome. How very true!

I have been thinking about those that give up and walk away from God when the going gets tough - I don’t understand that mentality - is the situation going to be better because you gave up on God? I FEEL like giving up sometimes but then I wonder, on what? My circumstance is still the same, I’m not despairing of life - I FEEL like giving up - but on what? If I say, ‘I am done with God’ - what does that do for me? I’m still in the same mess.

There have been a few instances in my life, where God used a particular area of what I was going thru to mirror what was happening on a larger scale - like within my church or others God was bringing into my path. I’ve been praying about this season I am in and how I so want OUT, but not without taking everything with me God wants me to have. I try to come before the Lord with all honesty and sincerity, seeking Him, and knowing there could be so much more to this than just little ole me. So some of the same feelings and struggles that I have been dealing with in trying to remain faithful and full of hope - trusting God and believing Him; I have been praying for my church.

I asked the Lord to give me an acronym - for one, I thought it would be fun, and two, I thought it would make it easier to remember and pray thru. You know what? He did - pretty much in order with where I have been on this journey…….PERSEVERE!

Persevere in:

Prayer - pray, pray, pray - our youth pastor preached on prayer this past Sunday - very good and encouraging message. He had his own acronym: PUSH - Pray Until Something Happens. Keep praying - don’t give up. Over and over again in the Word, God tells us to pray, to cry out, to cast our cares on Him - it is not so He can hear about it and walk away doing nothing. I HAVE to believe He is doing something whether I see it right now or not.

Evil (acknowledging) - “Lord, search my heart and see if there is any wickedness in me” (Psalm 139)- I wrote a blog entry on this November 9, 2010 - you can search it in the blog archive to the right.

Redemption (understanding) - after the Lord allowed me to see the evil within; I was despairing - I needed mercy and I was pleading for it. I have always viewed God as a judge and out to get me when I mess up, but I knew this was wrong, so I started asking the Lord to show me who He was in my sin. He lovingly said, ‘You want to know who I am in your sin…I paid for it, I died for it, I took it, it’s now mine…and I’m going to make it beautiful.’ He can bring beauty from our ashes - He is our Redeemer!

Seeking God- my views of the Lord have been so messed up for so long; I want to KNOW Him - the REAL Him on the pages of Scripture. We need to KNOW God and you do that by reading His Word - faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

Encouraging others - I have a small group of girlfriends I text/email periodically with scripture, devotions, or to let them know I am thinking about them and praying for them. Honestly, this is very therapeutic, it helps keep my focus off me and gets me praying for others - our friends have needs to and they are also longing for God to answer their prayers - encourage them and lift them up.

Victorious living - recently, I started dealing with thoughts that I needed to step out of the church scene. It was kind of a self-preservation motive (so I thought). I’m part of a prayer group, I lead a small group and a Sunday School class, I sit/stand up close in the sanctuary praising my God - I already mentioned my girlfriends that I try to encourage in their own walks with the Lord. Please understand, I’m not saying this to be “Well, look at her” and be all pious - I started thinking about what everyone would think if they knew what I was dealing with - what a hypocrite I am! I started getting sorrowful in thinking these thoughts and pulling away - I love serving - I love encouraging - I love my girls! I need this - I want this! Then I started thinking, since when did sin dictate God’s call on my life? I read He is the Victor - I have victory in Him - greater is He that is in me - in my weakness, He is strong - Remember Redemption!

Exalt Him - when you start feeling Him move you in prayer, Him showing you His plan of redemption - and how even the angels try to look into and understand this - when you realize you are forgiven and He reveals Himself to you in a greater way you never knew before so you begin sharing with others and encouraging them that victory is ours - all you can do is praise Him - exalt Him - lift His name on high - He is our God!

Rejoice - even now while in this storm - rejoice! You are going to come thru with so much more than you asked for - He has begun a good work in you - your faith is more precious than silver or gold - He is sovereign and in control!

Expect Him - how many times in Scripture; especially the Psalms - does the Psalmist begin with crying out but then turns to praise because they know God is going to show up! If we truly expected God to move on behalf of our prayers and because of who we are in Him and His faithfulness and love for us, our prayer meetings would be packed out. We pray and pray - walk away - and never receive our answer. Do we not believe He will answer? I don’t know what it is - but I believe we need to persevere in EXPECTING God!

Sorry this was so long; but I hope it spoke a word to someone! PERSEVERE! He is with you - He sees - He knows - and He is worth it!

Advance....

I have been reflecting on the past couple of years and what God has shown me in this valley - there has been so much and I am learning to be thankful and rejoice in this trial (James 1:2; 1 Peter 1:6). I have been reflecting on God’s goodness and faithfulness - how I have been praying for deliverance (Psalm 71 specifically plus NUMEROUS others) but He has been answering in a different way - He has truly done above and beyond what I have been asking or imagining (Ephesians 3:20) - revealing so much about Himself that I had not experienced before.

One of my favorite verses is Hebrews 11:6 - But without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that HE IS, and that He is a REWARDER of them that diligently seek Him.

I have asked the Lord to strengthen my faith and told Him my desire to know Him - really KNOW Him. How can I believe that HE IS if I don’t know WHO He is. I shared more about this in a much previous post. God has been faithful to this prayer but I didn’t expect Him to answer the way He did. In 1 Peter 1:7 we are told that our faith is more precious than gold or silver that perishes and our faith will often times be refined, as these precious metals are, in a fiery furnace - I didn’t want that; just the result of that. I wanted to know God as He is talked ABOUT in the Bible - such as My Deliverer, My Hiding Place, My Refuge, My Ever Present Help, My Redeemer, My Saviour, My Strength, My Rock - but I didn’t want to go through ANYTHING that would MAKE me really search Him out as such or depend with every ounce of my being that this was true - HE IS EVERYTHING HE SAYS HE IS and I HAVE to believe it - I HAVE TO KNOW IT! (See Job 42:5)

This reflection time has been going on the past several weeks and I have been amazed looking back on 2010 - even back into 2009 - and seeing my God right there with me. He is faithful - even when we are not (2 Timothy 2:13).

I started thinking about the order of events - or insights - He has given me along the way. I have believed for quite a while that the Lord wants me to declare His marvelous works and what He is done for and thru me during this time (Psalm 71:17) - that is part of the reason for this blog, Facebook updates, encouraging texts/emails to friends, etc. - it’s His story in my life and I want others to know He is there - REALLY THERE - but He is not doing NOTHING - He is doing marvelous works - I just want others to take notice - we are encountering the Living God, the Creator of the Universe, the Lover of our Souls, the Father that sent His Son to die on our behalf so we can be with Him FOREVER.

Satan wants us to feel like we are the only one’s going thru life with struggles, heartache, or pain - that there is no God to save us (Psalm 71:11) - he wants us to think we are hopeless - He comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10); but it’s not necessarily quick - he sets us up and is very patient (1 Peter 5:8), looking for an opportune time to accomplish his destruction in our lives (Luke 4:13). WE ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS - I’m not just talking about God being with us; strengthening us - but 1 Peter 5:9 says our brethren are experiencing the same afflictions in the world.

Don’t you want to know how they got thru it - or are getting thru it?

Don’t you want to hear them say God showed up - and what He did?

I DO!

I keep hearing people want Christians to BE REAL - AUTHENTIC - quit acting like we have it all together. I do believe there is truth to that, but is it maybe, because they are drowning in life - they see Christians drowning also but we won’t admit it - I think they want to know there is a God - I think WE WANT TO KNOW IT, TOO - but we are too scared and shocked to say it. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people perish for lack of knowledge.” WE DON’T KNOW HIM - DON’T HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM and WE are perishing because of it - HIS PEOPLE - and we are letting a lost world down - we are letting ourselves down - we are letting our Saviour down; who came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10) and told us to seek first His kingdom (Matthew 6:33).

This post was supposed to be about PERSEVERANCE - we need to press on - ADVANCE. That is the theme our church has taken for this coming year. That is exactly what I am praying for - to advance in my walk with God, to advance in my knowledge of Him, to advance in growing my faith, to advance in seeking His Kingdom.

I will have to share more soon!

He Is Doing A NEW Thing....NOW It Shall Spring Forth

Happy New Year, Everyone! This afternoon I was reading the first couple chapters of Genesis and something jumped out at me that so blessed me, I couldn’t wait to share it.

Genesis 1:11-12 is the 3^rd day of creation - God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

When I read this passage, I automatically visualize tall trees, shrubs, flowers in bloom, all kinds of various vegetation fully grown and flourishing on the land - but then I read Genesis 2:4-5.……

When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens - and no shrub of the field HAD YET APPEARED on the earth and no plant of the field HAD YET SPRUNG UP, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground.

So God spoke it and IT WAS DONE - it was there - but it was still underground - IT HADN’T APPEARED YET - but the promise was good!

My prayer this coming year is that we do not lose heart in the promise of what God has spoken to us - He spoke it - IT IS DONE! I pray this is the year it SPRINGS FORTH in our lives. The Lord God had not sent rain yet - He is our Living Water and we are to be cleansed by the washing of His Word - faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God; and His Word is alive, active, sharper than any double-edged sword. I pray we stay in His Word - watering the seeds of promise.

We also read that there was no man to work the ground - we have a part in bringing about His promise - persevere, be diligent, DON‘T GIVE UP. I also believe we have a part in helping others reap those promises - we should encourage each other, speak truth to one another, pray for each other, and love each other - we can help till the ground of our friends’ hearts to help cultivate the seed God has placed within them, bringing forth abundant fruit for His glory!

We should be EXPECTANT and EXCITED - it is a NEW year, His mercies are NEW every morning (Lamentations 3:23) - behold, He is doing a NEW thing; NOW it shall SPRING FORTH; shall ye not know it? (Isaiah 43:19) - hath He said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good? (Numbers 23:19).

Happy New Year!

My Paperclips....An Altar of Remembrance



Hanging from the rearview mirror of my vehicle is a chain of paperclips - I am not sure how many I have collected but it now loops around my mirror several times over. I love my paperclips…..they remind me that God is with me - He has oftentimes shown me a paperclip to remind me He is here, actively paying attention.

A little over a year ago, I was dropping a contract off to another realty office in town and did not have a paperclip to clasp the pages together. I was going thru a tough time - money was (and still is) an issue and I had really been seeking God and wanting to know Him as my Provider. (Maybe you have heard a little about the housing market on the news?) I decided that when I got to my destination that I would just simply ask the receptionist for one - no big deal. I am walking along the sidewalk, headed to the front entrance, and on the ground is a paperclip - ‘that’s pretty cool’, I thought, but there were other people around and I didn’t want to bend over to pick it up. I went in, got my paperclip, submitted my contract, and headed back to my vehicle - again passing the paperclip on the sidewalk. I felt a twinge within…..but, oh well, and I went on.

I had to now meet another client at her office so I headed straight to her. I am walking along the interior corridor to her office and there is another paperclip on the floor - only now I don’t need one - so I pass it by. The twinge really gets strong now - was this God showing me something? I came home and told my husband the story and about the conviction I felt for not picking up the silly paperclips. He gets a kick out of my musings sometimes and jokingly said, “Yep, that was it - you missed God.” I then prayed that God would give me another chance and this time I would pick up the paperclip. I do believe it was the very next day, I was walking into my own office building headed to my office and there on the floor……yep, a paperclip. I picked it up and remember feeling Him - I quickly text my kids and husband and told them, ‘I did it, I picked up the paperclip.’ They were not quite as thrilled as I was, but for me, that was God telling me He not only cared about the little trivial needs that I have - like a paperclip - but He really does care about the bigger issues in my life, and He is providing for those also.

Since that time, I have some great stories about my God and His paperclips…..so many. Once I was in a vacant house waiting to show it; I was praying and felt God tell me there was a paperclip there for me in the kitchen. I quickly went into the empty kitchen and started searching the cleaned out cabinets. I opened a top drawer - but not all the way - didn’t see anything and closed it back, but felt God say I needed to look all the way to the back; so I opened the next drawer, pulling it all the way out, and sure enough there was a paperclip in the very back tucked under the contact paper. That was a WOW moment with God!

Another time I was headed into Wal-Mart after work - it had been a pretty stressful day - and I asked God to please show me a paperclip; I so needed to know He was with me. I did my shopping and headed to the check-out and was getting a little discouraged because I had not found one yet. As I was waiting to check out, I was praying and started feeling again like there was a paperclip for me very close. Believe me I was searching all around that little lane but couldn’t see it - I felt like I needed to bend down and look under the counter and there it was….a yellow paperclip on the floor next to the base of the counter.

These are just a couple of stories…..but they are mine and I cherish them for they are my Altar of Remembrance that my God is a real and active God - He loves to delight me with His presence and I am so glad because I am often times a wreck and couldn’t make it without Him - I need the assurance that He is with me.

I know I can get hung up on the paperclips - searching for “them” and not HIM - I never want them to become an idol; I try to keep that thought in mind with my motives in check. For right now, I can be driving and look at my chain of paperclips hanging from my rearview mirror and remember my God and where we have been together……and that He is still with me.

Sweet friends, remember Him……where you have been with Him…..what He has done for you in the past……He has been faithful before……He will be faithful again……let God help you make your own Altar of Remembrance and Remember HIM.

Pray For Your Church

One Sunday night, several years ago, at what was probably then the peak of our church, I was sitting alone in a pew before services and delighting in watching my church family fellowship. I remember such an incredible peace and really loving my church. People were coming in, the musicians were setting up, there was hugging, and laughing - I was just taking it all in and felt so tremendously blessed to be a part of this family. As I was sitting there pondering these things and relishing the love, the friendship, the worship - my thoughts went to the church I had attended as a child and young teen. At the time, it seemed like a vibrant church, too - I don’t know numbers, it was a small church, but I remember having several friends in my Sunday School class and when the sanctuary doors opened, it seemed like people poured out. I had a good time there - even though saying I was a Christian infant gives me too much credit. For whatever reason, my parents quit going there and have only graced the doors of another church since then a hand full of times. I am not sure what happened but by this time, the church looked run down, the pastor’s house next to it was in desperate need, the yard wasn’t being kept up - I wasn’t even sure services were taking place there anymore. I became sad and started wondering what happened to that church - how could it had seemed so full of life and now look so dead. I wondered what was happening to the pastor there and where did all the people go.

Well, church service was now getting ready to start so everyone was finding their place and a couple sat down in front of me. This is a great couple, to this day they are still a part of our church and actively involved - I say that because of what happened next. They were having a conversation and I honestly was not trying to eavesdrop, but couldn’t help it - they were right in front of me. They were talking about another member of our church - in a not so pleasant light - I know they never would have wanted me to hear; or anyone else for that matter - I also believe they never would have wanted to hurt the person they were talking about; they were just conversing between themselves, and right or wrong, I think we have all done this at one time. I am not judging, but IMMEDIATELY my perception of my church crashed around me and I felt God tell me to start praying for the love of my church.

Since that time, A LOT has changed within our church. Our senior pastor and youth pastor were both called away, we have had a change in staff, our numbers decreased, but God has continued His work. We have a new pastor and youth pastor, new staff, and new faces within our family. I’m just now reminded of a verse I read in my devotions today, Isaiah 43:19, “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”. I honestly just remembered that - He is so good!
In Revelation 1, Jesus tells us He is in the midst of our churches, He is the head of the church (Colossians 1:18) and in Philippians 1:6, we are told that He who has begun a good work will continue it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Please commit to praying for your church, your pastor, the existing ministries, and new ones God wants to use you for. I’m setting this up for where I think God is leading our church right now - I mentioned in the previous post about recently praying for our church and God showing us how He uses our personal situations to mirror what is taking place on a much larger scale within our churches, or His people. The story above is one of many times since that God has used me or my prayer partners to overhear or witness something within our church that we needed to address in prayer. We are the watchmen on the wall….I will speak more again in a later post, but for now….Pray!

The ONE Who Seals, Heals, and Fills....



Lately I have been thinking about where I am in my walk with God - He has shown me so much during these last several months while going thru this trial - to the point where I actually thanked Him for what I am going thru. I would never have clung to Him as Redeemer the way I do now, or how much He really loves me, if I wasn’t so desperately pressed into Him right now. He really has “showed up” full of mercy and grace - I am still holding out to see Him as my Deliverer and holding onto His promise in Psalm 71 that “He has already given the command to save me”.

The Lord has brought many others into my life during this time that I have been able to relate to - the things they share with me have helped strengthen me on this journey, and for others, I have seen God use me to provide them with hope in their circumstance. That is why I chose the particular title for this post today….I am just one cracked pot telling another cracked pot about the One who seals, heals, and fills. He is so good!

It seems I have been bombarded about my testimony to others. In several of the Psalms I have been praying, it talks about telling of His marvelous works - so therefore, He must DO marvelous works and He wants us to tell people about what He has done. In Sunday School, we are going thru Revelation and at the end of every letter to the churches in Chapters 3-4, He says “let those who have an ear, hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”. How can we hear if we don’t tell? We must share what God has put on our hearts, what He has told us, in order to edify and affirm the work He is doing.

I have been thinking a lot about prayer also - when you are in a desperate situation, prayer becomes very sweet. I can just look at the place where I kneel down in my living room and feel a longing to be there before Him right now. I have tears now thinking about it - He is amazing! So many places in Scripture He tells us to turn to Him, to cry out to Him, to seek Him, to call to Him - He then follows up with so many promises that He will turn to us, He will hear, He will be found, He will act. Ahhh, I do delight in His word!
For several months, I was praying faithfully for some of my friends and the situations I knew they were dealing with. I was doing this, for one, because I love them and knew they also needed to see God in their lives, two, because I knew I was too consumed with my own problem and I knew God didn’t want that. I found it very beneficial to pray earnestly for others, and I honestly tried to pray for them just as desperately as I was for myself because I knew their situation was just as stressing on them as mine was on me. I would also keep in touch with them with insight from my devotions and would send them little text messages throughout the day to let them know I was thinking about them and praying for them - I selfishly admit, I did this also, because even though I did want to be an encouragement to them, I wanted to stay at the forefront of their minds because I needed their prayers, too.

For whatever reason, I have slacked on this - I’m not sure why - my situation is just as desperate, but I do have a greater peace; things have also been very busy, but that is no excuse when you have a friend in need. I want to apologize and ask forgiveness of my friends and commit to pray for them more diligently as I know they are also still in their circumstance. The last few days have been a little rough again and I was thinking about what has changed - this came to mind - I was not encouraging my friends and taking my focus off of myself as I had been; I also was not seeking them to pray for me as I had done before. PRAYER WORKS and the words of Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 are true, “Two are better than one…for if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift Him up!”. I would love to know that time meant a lot to you also - that you needed and felt the encouragement and prayers going up on your behalf.

Yesterday, I met with Linda for prayer and I have a lot more to share on that in a later post regarding how God uses our personal struggles - as individuals - to mirror what is going on in His church as a whole. It was powerful! One of the verses, she shared with me was Job 42:10, “And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends…”. Wow! I know I need your prayers and covet them - I will pray for you, too!

After This.....

I don't know if I can articulate the awe that I am feeling within my soul. I am amazed at my God, how deeply He loves, and how tenacious He is for me to know Him. This has been a great Thanksgiving weekend - I took a much needed break from work and had a great time with family. More importantly, I had a great time celebrating my Lord and remembering who He is and what He has done for me.

On Friday, I spent some time watching Beth Moore's Revelation video - SO MUCH of this session spoke to me - from the very first words of the first verse in our study, "After this...",  (Rev. 4:1) - praise God there is an "after this" and I am not stuck in my circumstances. This particular session is teaching on Revelation 4 & 5; John's vision of the Throne Room of God. As the study progressed, she elaborated on 5:6 that says John turned and saw "a lamb as though it had been slain". This is so rich I can not even put it to words and do it any sort of justice, but because our Jesus was slain, is the only way I am even able to approach this throne - His throne. The throne of Almighty, All Powerful God - this was never even an option until He became sin (2 Cor. 5:21) and paid the penalty for ALL of my sins.

She also talked about a suitable helper for Adam and how he was first allowed to feel and know the loss, the absence, the depravity of not having a suitable counterpart for himself (Gen. 2:18-20). On Saturday (11-27-10), I read a devotional from Ransomed Heart (John Eldredge) about Eve being a "help meet" for Adam - the Greek/Hebrew is Ezer Kenegdo - Ezer is used only 20 more times in the Old Testament and then only refers to God Himself, when we need Him to come through for us DESPERATELY - when He is our ONLY hope - it means HELP - real, active HELP. WOW! I feel like I am so there - I am in desperate need; He is my only hope; but I find myself wondering if He is going to come thru for me; if He is going to help me - I keep reminding Him He is my Ezer. Thank You, Lord.

In Sunday School this morning, I watched the Beth Moore DVD again with my class, so the message I had already received about being able to approach the Throne of Grace boldly (Heb. 4:16) because of what our Jesus has done on our behalf was fresh and taking root into my heart. I then went on to our worship service. As soon as I walked thru the sanctuary doors, I saw the Lord's Supper prepared, and my insides SUNK. Is that horrible? I don't know how you may feel during the Lord's Supper, but I feel shame, wretchedness, seperation - my sin comes to the forefront of my thoughts and I feel absolutely unworthy to partake in something so holy - He has done so much for me and I have done nothing but mess things up. The songs we sang so spoke of God's redemption - it blessed my soul. Our pastor preached on 2 Corinthians 5:15-21 and talked about how 'On the cross, God treated Jesus as if He had lived my life, and in return, I get treated as if I lived His' - WOW! Beth discussed how my sin has been hurled into the sea that is before the Throne (Rev. 4: 6 & Micah 7:19 ), my Jesus paid my sin debt so I can come before His throne....BOLDLY.....asking Him to change my circumstances; I have access to Him so I can ask for help - I can trust He is my Ezer - my True HELPER, because He has reconciled me to Himself. He is my God and I am His daughter. This is something to definitely be thankful for!!

Abide In Me

Earlier today, I was watching a DVD in the Esther Bible Study by Beth Moore. I noticed she referred to verses, or passages of scripture, as "addresses". I believe she did this twice without making any reference to her wording; however, it caught my attention and I started thinking.

I have a tendency to "live" in the pit (as Beth might say). I have lived in various places of the same neighborhood - on the streets of despair, doubt, selfishness, unbelief, insecurity, discontentment - sad to say, but the list could go on and on.

God's Word has definitely been water to my thirsty soul, light to my darkness, hope in my despair - my peace, my life, my joy, my salvation. He is my God and I am ever so thankful for His Word. I have truly needed - more than food - to take in His precious words and roll them continually around my heart and mind - wanting ever so desperately for them to permeate every aspect of my being.

He tells us in John 1 that He is the Word made flesh and in John 15, He tells us repeatedly to "abide" in Him. Abide, or live, in Him, or His Word. Take these "addresses" and MOVE THERE - ABIDE - off the dark, harmful streets of destruction - ABIDE in the Truth, the promises, and in who God says we are, not what the world says about us or what the enemy says, or even what we falsely tell ourselves.

This has just stuck with me all day and I wanted to share it - I hope you don't mind.

I honestly hope her term "addressess" catches on - I absolutely love it! God is in the "moving" business. I can't wait to open my "Address Book" and see where He is moving me to next.

In The Way Everlasting



Have you ever wondered why God didn't spare you from making some huge mistakes? I'm talking sinful mistakes here. In my depression several years ago, God lead me to Psalm 139 - now one of my favorites. I really focused on the last 2 vs, asking God to search and know my anxious thoughts (I had ALOT of anxiety during this time), see if there is any wickedness in me (I didn't necessarily feel wicked, but I definitely felt wickedness pressing in all around me), and lead me in the way everlasting (I so desired everlasting peace & joy - just to be happy again).

During that time, I framed those verses to serve as a constant reminder and hope in my God to deliver me from this dreadful pit - it's still on my bathroom counter today and I pray it often. My thoughts, however, are to see if there is any wickedness in me and spare me from it - You deal with it, God - get rid of it so it won't cause me any form of suffering.


This past year has been me dealing with some consequences of sin and I often wonder how I even got here. I had prayed in times past for "immediate" conviction - yet here I am. Why didn't God answer my heart's prayer?

Recently, during prayertime with my great friend, Linda, as we were focusing our attention on praying for our church and asking God to give us the spirit of wisdom so we can REALLY KNOW Him, He reminded me of what happened in the garden after Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit. God asked Adam where he was - not because God didn't know, but He wanted Adam to realize where He was now - separated from His Creator and Friend. He now needed a Saviour because all hell had broken loose in his life and he felt hopeless, scared, and ashamed.

God did answer my prayer and He did abundantly more than I asked or imagined - He saw the wickedness in me sure enough - but I NEEDED TO SEE IT ALSO. In His grace and mercy, He showed me I need a Saviour - every day - apart from Him I can do nothing - I am nothing.

He is that Saviour!

I hope this blesses your soul today - we are on the way to everlasting. Amen!!

Drawing Near

James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." For some reason, I struggled with this verse today - I have heard it 'who knows how many times' before - I think it bothered me because it seems to put alot of responsibility on 'me' and I'm a mess - I don't always know how to "draw near" and I'm very scared of failing; missing Him.

Jesus tells us in John 12:32 that HE WILL draw all men to Himself when He is lifted up and John 6:44 says, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me DRAWS him."

So we have Jesus telling us that HE WILL draw all men to Himself and NO ONE can come to Him unless He does DRAW them; but then James says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." Hmmmm.....

I received a pretty cool image of being by the water's edge and seeing something out a little way from shore. You want to "draw" it in, so you gently place your hand in the water and start moving the water towards you, in turn, the current begins to move the object closer to where you can reach out and bring it in closer to yourself. That object really has no choice but to go where the current directs, but we on the other hand, we sometimes swim with all our might - we fight against the current with everything in us to try and break away.

I think maybe that is what these verses are saying - God's sovereign hand is the one lovingly stirring those waters and trying to "draw" us to Himself and He is telling us in James to stop fighting - draw near - as we surrender to the current and allow ourselves to move in His direction, He will reach out - draw near to us - so He can grab hold and bring us in safely to Himself.

HE IS doing the drawing....I don't know what current you may be fighting; surrender and DRAW NEAR.

Greater Things Are Yet To Come...Greater Things Are Yet To Be Done!

Well, today was a great day! I know it has been a while since I've updated the blog. The first week back from China I was just trying to get some sleep, the next week was the first of the month, which is always crazy, then our church had a ladies' retreat (Awesome!); now things seem to be calming down and getting back to normal. Today, though, marked our church's 100th Homecoming - it was just an incredible day. We saw a lot of video, heard a lot of testimony; our present pastor gave a great message and then we heard from Congressman Roy Blunt - who was present along with his secret service men (pretty cool). We had lunch and fellowship; I got to visit with a lot of people I just hadn't seen in a while. Our previous pastor was also invited to share in the celebration and he preached a second service - it was great to hear him share God's word for our church again.

I am truly anticipating great and awesome things for my God is a great and awesome God!

I have to admit I have felt a little slack in the spiritual area since the trip - I don't know if it's spiritual warfare, laziness, or what, but I've needed a jolt to get me back on the spiritual horse so to speak. Today's message reminded me of the basics and where my focus - our focus - is to be...it is all about Him! By His grace, our church has experienced what it means to be co-laborers with Christ and to live out the Great Commission; we have seen His faithfulness and His hand of blessing upon us. God has expanded our territory for His glory. What began as a brush arbor out in the middle of nowhere 100 years ago has now sent many across the world to at least 4 continents to share His love and message of hope - not to mention just what has been done in our own backyard (I, myself, am a living testimony of that).

God had already been speaking to me about how the O.T. prophets laid the foundation for the disciples to build upon and how the disciples have laid the stones for us and our faith. Today during the services, it was mentioned that the forefathers of our church led the way for us to be a part of the vision Christ had for them and the church...now we get to be a part, laid down, for those that will come after us. Wow! I read God's word and am thankful for the lives that remained faithful, despite the controversy and the trials that came their way, despite the cultural differences or what the popular vote demanded - their faith is the foundation for my faith and God is still building...greater works than these. Amen!

Oh, Ye Of Little Faith...

As many of you following this probably know, I have a terrible fear of flying - it is actually not so much the flying, as it is the crashing that scares me. When really feeling the Lord calling me on this past trip to China - that was my biggest hurdle. There was no way I was going to go if I did not believe without a shadow of a doubt that He was going with me and was in it all the way. He repeatedly confirmed this and although I was comforted knowing this, I was scared to death. In fact, the last week I really didn't know if I could go through with it. I didn't feel that it was a Jonah and the whale type thing if I didn't go but that God really wanted to bless me and I was going to miss that if I didn't go.

Well, bless me He did - it was an incredible trip, my heart and mind are still trying to sort through all that He allowed us to witness, along with still what our next step is to be. I believe an amazing door has been opened for our church and for us in supporting PHF and these children. I have definitely been taking to heart more of the verses regarding the fatherless in the Bible and don't really see it as an option but as an incredible blessing.

Anyway, many of you may have heard by now that our flight back from Beijing was anything but uneventful. The five of us had gathered in the airport before boarding and prayed for safe travel and I specifically prayed for "no bumps". It was raining slightly when we boarded the plane and shortly after take off we were experiencing alot of turbulance and it seemed to last forever. Needless to say, I'm not proud of losing my composure but I lost it. I don't know if I have ever been more afraid in my life. I remember praying for it to just stop and wondering why He was continually allowing this - why wouldn't He make it stop? I then remember my prayers going up for my wonderful husband and kids and wanting them to be okay and for God to take care of them.

Well, it did stop. The remainder of the flight was good although I was still under alot of stress - it was a long flight and I was fearful we could experience it again - I just wanted to be on the ground and seriously contemplated taking a rental car from Chicago to home; but, all is well, and we arrived safely home.

Since then, I have really been questioning God - He knew my fear, why did He allow this to happen to me? If He had truly called me and He loves me so much, why didn't He allow it to be smooth sailing all the way - no problems, no fears - nothing but perfection, peace, and calm? We had specifically prayed "no bumps" and we got big bumps, alot of bumps, scary, heart-pounding bumps. This has honestly been going thru my head ever since and I have really been questioning my faith and His plan, His motives, His love - the whole bit.

This morning I took my children to See You At The Pole at their school (I'm so proud of them) and was travelling back home alone thinking through all of this again and was reminded of Mark 4:35-41. Jesus and His disciples had boarded a ship and He said, 'Let us pass over unto the other side'. A great storm arose - the disciples thought they were going to die and wondered if Jesus even cared as He slept on a pillow (I believe that means it was an intentional nap - He literally grabbed a pillow, got comfortable, and took a nap - knowing full well this storm was going to come.) The disciples woke Him up and He rebuked the storm (I believe the storm was from Satan, because Jesus wouldn't rebuke Himself or the will of the Father) - the winds ceased and there was a great calm. Jesus then asked them why they were so fearful and how could they have no faith.

Wow, I really thought about that. Jesus had told me to go to the other side of the world - I believe He promised me He would get me there and back safely. A great storm came and rocked our plane all over the place and just like the disciples, I was wondering if He even cared? I remember even wondering if He was listening to me - kind of like, was He asleep and not paying attention? Where was my faith? If Jesus tells you, He wants you to go to the other side - He will see to it that you get there. Amen! He is faithful even when we are not - He was faithful in answering my questions, giving me peace that He was there all the time, in full control. Thank you, Lord, for helping my unbelief.

Sweet Aroma

Our team blog summarizes our day pretty well and has some pictures posted so please check it out. I just wanted to share a little bit of what God has shared with me. Yesterday one of the locals I was standing close to told me I smelled good - I thought that was nice - and shocking - since I was very hot and "glistening"... a lot. Anyway, this morning while thinking about many different things and some of the hindrances/barriers - I was reminded of this gracious compliment and then how in our daily lives we are to be a sweet fragrance...a pleasing aroma...to our Lord - that's possibly the greatest compliment of all.