12.5.13

1 John 5:21 Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts.

My Thoughts

I imagine that this would be different for each of us, or maybe much the same. I am trying to think of what it might be for me.  If I  am truthful and spend time recognizing this, I keep myself safe.  Or maybe I don't need to figure it out at all, so I won't be tempted in the least.  Maybe I need to pray to God each day to keep me safe from anything that could take God's place in my heart.   I am learning that when I keep God first that He lines other things up in my life in such perfect order.  It is when I depend on myself that I tend to get all tangled up in things that distract me way too much! I do need to keep my eye out for things that get in the way of my prayer life, or my Bible reading.  Sometime I feel that life just gets in the way...but that is when I am just too busy, too busy for my own good! 

12.3.13

1 John 2:27 But you have received the Holy Spirit and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true.  For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true--it is not a lie.  So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.

My Thoughts

Forever I just didn't understand the Holy Spirit living inside of me, guiding me part of being a Christian.  And when I did it took me a while to know when He was guiding me...I had to learn to listen and know it was Him speaking.  Even now I have to remember to shut out everything else and listen.  Sometimes the more the Holy Spirit tries to guide me, the more Satan crowds my mind with things that sound okay to think of feel.  Sometimes the two are so close that either choice seems like it is okay.  Sometimes I choose wrong!  

What I am learning is that knowing the difference is where reading and learning my Bible comes in.  The Holy Spirit will not tell me to do something that goes against God's word.  I am learning to that sometimes I have to stop and call down God's grace to help me listen and to help me choose right from what I am feeling. I am also learning that Satan loves to use my emotions against me... telling me things like if I am hurt it is okay to pull away from those who hurt me.  Which sounds okay ... God doesn't want us hurt... but God's word tells me that I am to love those who hate me...I am to pray for them.  It tells me that it is easy to love those who love me! That is not walking away.  Even tho it feels like the right thing at the moment.  I am learning that the Holy Spirit lives deep withing my gut and that Satan wants to live deep within my head...and when I stop to listen I can even feel the difference of where that voice inside me is coming.  I am learning that Satan likes to produce anxiety and worry because anxiety and worry settle in your gut muffling the voice of the Holy Spirit.

But most importantly I am learning that God has my best interest in mind always and that the Holy Spirit inside of me can always hear God, the Holy Spirit is a part of God living in me...so I can't make a wrong decision when I listen to the Holy Spirit.  I am learning that my life is so much better when I hear the Holy Spirit on day one of a situation instead of day 3.  But I am also learning that I am learning and that I do eventually hear the Holy Spirit... so day 3 is better than day 30 or not hearing Him at all...I just have to keep moving forward...and hearing Him on day 2 will be progress!!  I am learning, and am very thankful that God sees my progress and knows that He is growing me. He forgives me when I mess up and celebrates my victories.  

I can look back and be sad for the "me" that didn't understand the Holy Spirit... but I would rather look forward to the "me" who knows the Holy Spirit even better than the "me" today.   

12.2.13

1 John 2:16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.



My Thoughts
I can read this and just say, "so true," but what I need to do is stop and think of how it really applies to my life. It is one of those times where I can grow if I stop and be totally honest with myself... and put it in my spirit how to deal with this in all my days to come.

I thought to myself, "How do I know the difference in having things that God has blessed me with?" The answer we really pretty simple... When I get something new that belongs in my life I feel at peace with it...it brings me a calm. It is always a more simple feeling of peaceful joy. It is never a "rush" when it belongs in my life. Then there are times when I buy something that feels like a rush...then when I get it home it is a bit of a let down. Sometime even more than a bit of a let down.

So I thought about the different things in my life that had come about in those different ways. And I could, when I stopped to look, see how the purchase felt different from the very beginning of the thought..and how if felt when I got it home ... and then again how if felt when I showed it to my friends and family. The purchase of a craving or desire came with an immediate, "I shouldn't buy this, but I want it feeling." Then it was followed by a bit of a let down when I got it home...and when I showed it off it was more of a na na na naaaa na feeling when I shared it with people. Even if I didn't want to or mean to feel that way, I could have that feeling. Then there was the long term feeling of the purchase where it never brings yous as much joy of happiness as it felt like it would. It just never looks quite right or fits quite right... it may not fit in the spot like you thought it would... but you notice it too late to take it back.. it is just never comfortable somehow.. if it is a piece of clothing or a pretty thing to sit around the house... it is never "just right" somehow.

Things that I have bought or acquired that were what I considered a gift from God felt different from the onset. When I made the purchase, I was more careful to consider how much money I was spending, if it was a good time to spend it, was it something I needed or would it really, really make me feel good in an every day way? Then there was the getting it home... that felt more like an, "Oh you belong here!" moment, a comfortable, ungreedy, it fits perfect moment. Then there is the show it to friends and family moment...which is more of a, "Oh look what I got!! I feel so blessed! I am so lucky to have this and I just had to share it with YOU." feeling. Those things that we get/purchase because they are a blessing stick with our hearts somehow. They can make you smile years and years later... you never want to get rid of them. It could be an old shirt that you have had for years that needs to be thrown away but feels so comforting... or a chair that sits "just right."

Have you ever tried to duplicate that "just right" shirt? You never can!! Why? I have become to believe after thinking on this verse and my life, that that just right shirt or that perfect quilt or best chair ever came with such peace that we feel it still each time we wrap ourselves in them. It something that we received as a gift from God without realizing it. It came into our lives in its perfect time. Not a must have craving...but it came with a warm peaceful joy! Because we waited on God's timing!

Those things we get that promise happiness in the store, then disappoint us even before we get home sometimes.. or maybe a week later...they were Satan's lie. They came with a promise at the beginning that couldn't be fulfilled at the end.

The things we get in God's timing come in gentle, and they feel right completely right! And the joy from them last and last and last...sometimes long after the item is worn out and gone.

Imagine how much our lives would change if we stop and take time to recognize everything we buy or do as a gift from God or a lie from Satan. We can tell the difference because it starts at the very beginning of the action... we just have to pause and reflect at the start! The thought makes me smile! I think of my closet being filled with things that God blessed me with...and each thing feeling like that perfect shirt... each room feeling like a safe haven from the world outside... each item feeling peaceful. When I think of it this way I think, "Why would I ever not wait on God?!?!"



12.1.13

1 John 1:5-7 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

My Thoughts

Do you know how we live in spiritual darkness? We don't take time to learn the truth, we don't take time to really get to know God by knowing everything there is to know about Him. For years I would go to church and listen and try to learn....but I would leave saying, "I don't get it?" I didn't always think this...but way too much of the time I did. Then I would go about trying to be good and failing horribly and missing out on that peace that passes all understanding that I would hear some people talk about. I would know that something was missing, but I was going to church!! I was trying the best that I knew at the time. What I didn't know was that I needed to pick up my Bible and start learning, letting God's word tell me exactly who God is. And that made all the difference! Do I still mess up? All the time...but now I know how to try to do better, now I know how to call down God's grace to help me do better next time. Now when God throws my sins into the Sea of Forgetfulness, because Jesus died for me...I can better leave them there and not be tormented by Satan because I messed up. And this allows me to be able to grow and move forward. Now I don't have to try so hard to live better, I just have to love God and He teaches me exactly how to live better.

The worst lies that we tell are the ones that we tell ourselves. And when we tell ourselves that we know God "enough" we can find ourselves in real trouble. For years I knew God "enough" but all along I knew something was still missing... I felt it deep in my being. It was that relationship with God that I was missing. I knew who God was but I didn't know God for myself. That makes all the difference.
We can't go about trusting what others tell us about who God is... we must pick up our Bibles and find out for ourselves. I use to say, I tired but I don't understand! But let me tell you God tells us that if we seek wisdom, wisdom will find us. What I have learned is that if I seek after God, He will give me understanding. But I must show myself faithful by doing the seeking.

The wonderful thing about God's amazing light is that it cast no shadows for us to hide in, or for us to get lost in. Sometimes that light reveals things we need to be rid of. But in a loving way that says, If you quit doing this, if you ask for forgiveness and do better, I will be able to bless you with this!" If we are hearing you are worthless, you are useless, you will never recover from what you have done! That is Satan taking what he told us was okay and using it against us. God does not do that, God says, "I love you... lets get rid of this sin... cast it out and forget about it... don't do it again so that life will be good... so that I can shower you with My blessings... and hey I will even give you My grace to help you do better!" And God so often does this with His word.

If you want that life changing experience with God.... read, read, read His word! I promise you if you seek Him and don't give up your life will change in amazing ways!!

12.5.12

1 John 5:13-15 I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. And we are confident that He hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him.  And since we know He hears us when we make our request, we also know that He will give us what we ask for. 

 

My Thoughts

I have an uncle that doesn't believe in God because God didn't answer this one prayer that he prayed over and over.  If you knew my uncle and knew his prayer you would know that he would have never survived if this prayer had been answered. If God had answered this prayer just so that my uncle would have believed... my uncle would still not have believed... at least now he thinks on God and God not answering that prayer. Maybe one day he will make the connection... I pray that he does.

 

From the outside looking in that is easy to see, if you knew my uncle.  So often we only see what we think our need is... sometimes that need or that want feels so great that we can't see beyond it...not only can we not see beyond it we are standing so close to it we can't see it clearly.  It would be much like standing with your nose glued to the base of a bridge... you could see only the spot in front of your nose... you could not see the height or width of that bridge or where it really came from or reaches to.  So often our prayer come from the place our nose is glued to.  God sees the whole picture... God sees where the need/want originated from and where it is going.  We see only the spot. 

 

And then there is this part of the verse... God hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him. The prayer my uncle prayed was not a want that started with God, or that had God in the middle... and if my uncle had reached what he wanted the prayer would not have ended with even a thank you to God.  The only part that included God in this prayer was getting my uncle just what he wanted more than anything... more than He wanted the presence of God.  There was no thought to what pleases God in his prayer.

 

Mind you I am not trying to pick on my dear uncle at all... he is this odd but sweet man that is hard to love but you can't help loving, all rolled up into one. I have discussed God with him almost pleading with him to believe.. pointing out that he must believe in God, he prayed!!  I pray that God puts somebody in his path that he hears. His prayer is just a prayer that I can see clearly.

 

I know that I have prayed prayers that were not answered. I know too that those prayers were such selfish prayers.. prayers where my nose was attached to only my wants...and the limited knowledge of the phrase "God answers prayers." James 5:16 tells us that the prayers of a person right with God have great power and wonderful results.   Here in 1 John it tells us that God hears us when we ask for anything that pleases Him.  We also have to keep in mind that God sees the whole picture... God knew us before we were born and He knows what our lives hold. God knows what is best for us!!  So often when I have prayed I did not take the time to get right with God... so often when I prayed I prayed only selfish prayers. For so, so long when I prayed I did not know God enough to even begin to pray a prayer that might please Him.  And sometimes when I pray for others, I often forget that God gives each of us free will to choose Him.. it is not that God is not answering my prayers for others.. it is that they are not open to the gifts that God has waiting to poor down on them. 

 

What I am learning is that God is always there for me and if I don't think my prayer has been answered then  I need to first examine my life and see if I am right with God and with man.  I have to know God's word so that I know if my prayers will be pleasing to God. And when my prayers are for others I do my best to remember that God has heard my prayers when I have my life in order and when  my prayers are in agreement with His word. I believe that He is storing up those prayers to be answered for the people I know and love. And when they are ready to receive all that God has planned for them God will answer those prayers too. 

God always, always has my best interest at heart, always!!!  The only thing that gets in the way of me and God is me!!  And I have the power to fix that! God has the power to make everything else in my life good.  When I know His word... it can change my life. But I can't just hear the bits and pieces from others... I have to learn God word for me so that I will not leave anything out that is important ...where I won't put anything in that is wrong... so that I can be completely connected to God and His amazing love!!

 

My unanswered prayers were never about God...they were because I didn't step back and look up to God... by looking into His word. 

1 John 3:7-9 Dear children, don't let anyone deceive you about this: when people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous.  But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning.  But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.  Those who have been born into God's family do not make a practice of sinning, because God's life is in them.  So they can't keep on sinning because they are children of God. 

 

My Thoughts

I use to skip right over the Dear children, don't let anyone deceive you about this part...and see only the warning... the warning seemed harsh and scary... it could make me feel like I could never win which in turn could just make me give up completely. 

 

Now when I read this I feel like that through John, God is taking my face in His hands and lovingly saying, "Jeannie, sweet dear Jeannie... I love you and I need you to hear this!!!  People are going to tell you that sin is OK, I will forgive it... they will say it doesn't matter what you do as long as  you "love" God you can ask forgiveness. Don't let them get you all mixed up and confused!!!  Don't let the Devil himself convince you that all is OK as long as  you go about your business then ask forgiveness.  Will you mess up? Yes you will!!  You live in that human body on earth where Satin is trying to trip you up at every turn.  Will I forgive you when you mess up? Yes I will if you are my child I will forgive you!!!  If you have chosen me, if you believe in my Son I will forgive you!!!  I will forgive you and I will give you my grace to do better.  But I need you to be very aware that you make choices all the time.  And in those choices you choose me or you choose Satin.  You can not chose me by work and Satin by your actions.  Your actions show who you love.  Your actions don't get you into heaven your love does... but your love for me, changes your actions.  You actions show your heart!! I love you and I want you to be very aware of this.... because I want you to live your life out in Heaven with Me. I want to shower you with My love, but I can't do that if what is in your heart separates you from Me!! When you mess up in your efforts I can forgive you!!  But when you are always choosing Satin over me you are not forgiven because you are not my child.  If you are doing that, be aware that you are and become my child so I can forgive you, so that I can pour my grace out on your life and help you grow." 

 

God is not pointing His finger in our face and calling us awful and evil... God is taking our face in His hands and saying .. don't be fooled child, Satin is the master deciptor ... hear my words!! I love you and want you with me!!!  God loves us so much!!  God loves us so much and He wants to make sure that we know that we are a child of His...and He is telling us to watch our actions because our actions will tell us if we really love God.  Our words can deceive us...but our actions tell us the truth.  God is saying, "Child look at your actions ...don't listen to your words!! I want  you to be mine, are you really mine? If you aren't lets fix that!!  So I can shower you with love!!"

12.1.12

1 John 2:15-17 Do not love this world or the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.  For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions.  Those are not from the Father, but are from this world.  And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave.  but anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

 

My Thoughts

For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions.  Wow!  If this was the only line we read in the Bible we would think that it was written today!!  We are so full of "I want, I want, I want"... and  so full of "Look what I have!" or "Look what I can do!!" How often do we really stop and say, "God you have given me this ability, what do you want me to do with it?" "God you have given me this money what do you want me to do with it?"  Instead we tend to say, "It's payday what can I get?"  "I want, I want, I want!"  We can have a closet full of clothes and see wanting a new outfit as a "need." We see having what our neighbor has as a need.  So many of us are so far removed from really needing anything that we don't know the difference between a need and a want. God has given us so much and we just keep wanting more.  It is heartbreaking of you think about it!!  How sad it must make God.  We just keep wanting bigger, better and more so, so often without stopping to say, "Thank you God for all that you have given me." 

 

What do we really "NEED?" All we really need besides God is a room that provides a roof over our head that has a fireplace... food in out tummy...and a warm outfit for our body and people to love and to love us back.  Yet we get way to busy for the people because we want so much more that a room, food and set of warm clothes.  We get way too busy getting and having more that we don't even take a minute in our day for God. 

 

It makes me think... what if we simplified our lives down to just a little more than what we need?   What if every time we bought something new, we gave up something to have it.  What if our houses were the size just to hold necessities?   How much more time would we have for God... how much more time would we have for people... how much more time would we have for love?? 

 

 

11.30.12

1 John 1:5-7 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is on darkness in him at all.  So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth.  But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 

 

My Thoughts

I was pondering this trying to find a way to put it into my mind in a way that I could understand it.

 

Let me put my ending at the front...then I will tell you how I got to my ending.   But the ending that is what we have to understand. 

 

God is not saying show me you love me!!!! Prove it!!!! He is saying please don't be fooled ... if you actions don't show that you love me there is something missing. Find out what is missing ... I don't want to loose you to the darkness. God is not saying prove it to me!! God is saying look at yourself and if your actions don't show that you love me ... you are in trouble... I want you to recognize that!! I love you!! I want you to be safe. Please take time and get to know Me so you can love me!! When you love Me I can save you!!!

 

Here is how I got there... here is my beginning.....

 

 

When we fall in love, really fall in love with someone we want to be with them all the time!!  All the time. If we have to stay up late to just  hear their voice on the phone after they get off work, we say up late!  If we have to get up before sunrise because they want to take us to see the sunrise with them we do!!  We hang on their every word.  We ask them questions.  If we don't like to read but they want us to read their favorite book...we at least try!  If we find out that they love how we look in blue all of the sudden everything we buy new to ware has blue in it.  If we could find a book written about their life we would read it to feel close to them in their absence.  If they write us a love letter we read it over and over and over.  We can't get enough of someone when we fall in love.  We want to be in their presence!! If we ran into them in the mall we would not hide from them we would run to them, excited to see them! We do all we can to love them and please them.

 

When we walk in light we are walking with God.  When we choose to do wrong we are hidden from God, we are in darkness.   We have a book about God that tells us all we need to know.. it even has love letters in it to us about how much God loves us.  It tells us what we can do to be more beautiful to God.  It tells us what pleases God and what displeases God.  It tells us just how much God loves us.  When we love God we should want to pick up His book and know everything we can about Him. God is always with us. When we love God we are aware of His presence and we use that opportunity to talk to Him and to listen when He talks to us.  When we truly love God we want to please Him..and we learn how to do that by learning all we can about His wonderful light, about His wonderful love for us. 

 

When we love others it shows in what we do.  When we love God it shows in what we do. 

 

Has there ever been somebody in your family that you loved because you were suppose to?  But if you had a choice you would never choose that person to spend time with?  Do you really love them... or do you say you love them because that is what others expect of you?  Do you even know them enough to really love them??  Or are they just there and  you speak to them on Holidays?

 

I did that for so long...I loved God because I was suppose to.  I didn't know God enough to love God.  I didn't know God enough to truly know how much He loves me.  I had a book about Him in my house and never really picked it up to find out all that I could about God.  I loved God because I didn't want to go to Hell.  I didn't know God enough to truly love God.  I look back now and it scares me! It saddens my heart to think that I treated God that way!!  I ignored somebody that loves me so much until I needed Him... then I expected Him to really love me back.  I expected God to really love me, to love me with His actions when I only loved Him with my words.  When I did that I was hiding away in such darkness. 

 

I learned to really love God when I took time to really know God.  And each day as I read, and each day as I read more I love God more and more.  The more I love God the more I want to know and the better I want to be.  God met me where I was and took my hand and fed me little bits here...and little bits there and watched me grow.  God is so gracious that way.. He knows it takes a while to take it all in ... in fact He tells us in His word that he will be working on what he started in  us until the day of Jesus' return. He helps us grow... we just have to show Him that we want to... we have to make the effort to get to know God ... when we do He will step in and help us know Him more and more and more. When we fall in love with God... we just can't get enough of Him!! 

 

For so long I had myself fooled!  I thought I loved God. Now I can see His changes in me.. now I want to know more and more and more. My actions show that my love for God is real. My actions are not for the world they are for me to see... for me to know. 

 

God is not saying show me you love me!!!! Prove it!!!!  He is saying please don't be fooled ... if you actions don't show that you love me there is something missing.  Find out what is missing ... I don't want to loose you  to the darkness.   God is not saying prove it to me!!  God is saying look at yourself and if your actions don't show that you love me ... you are in trouble... I want you to recognize that!!  I love you!!  I want you to be safe. Please take time and get to know Me so you can love me!!  When you love Me I can save you!!! 

 

 

10.8.12

Matthew 12:34 The mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.

My Thoughts

1 John 4:8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7  Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵ or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. ⁶ It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷ Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

 

When we find ourselves speaking outside the realms of love, we need to check our thoughts and our heart.  Our mouths are a gauge for where our heart is at the moment.  When love is in our hearts, love comes out of our mouths.  When God is in our hearts  love comes our of our mouth.  Our words are more important than we can even think to imagine. 

7.7.12

1 John 5:14-15 (Amplified Bible)

¹⁴ And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us.

¹⁵ And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.

My Thoughts

We can ask God anything, according to His will and He will hear us and answer us. This is important to know.. so often we hear that we can ask God for anything and get it...then people ask for things that are not in line with what God wants for our lives or for the lives of the people around us. We need to know God's word so that we can know what to ask for.  God is all about making our lives better... but God does it His way, not our way... which is really what is best for us!  We have such power over our lives when we know God's word...there are so many promises written in the Bible... things that God wants to give us and do for us...all we have to do is ask!  But if we don't know what those promises are we miss out on so much.  The more of God's promises I know...the more I ask for... the better my life gets.  Our part, and we always have a part, is to get to know God's word. When we now God's word the possibilities in our lives are limitless!!

2.9.12

John 16:33 "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

My Thoughts

I love this!... Jesus is saying I am bigger than any troubles...any sorrow that you may come across. In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 Paul said "We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed." For now we live here in this world full of troubles where we get so confused...and sometimes life seems so hard. When life gets that hard we need to always remember John 16:33... Jesus has overcome the world. We are told in 1 John 4:4 that He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world. Jesus left the Holy Spirit to live inside of us to direct us... Jesus overcame the world for us by dieing for our sins. We have God on our side... and God is so much bigger, so much stronger than anything we have to face and God is by our side always, there for us always. Bigger and stronger than anything this world has to dish out.  The world may be able to knock us down... but God picks us back up and finishes our battles for us and when He does, He turns what was meant for our bad into something amazing!

Next time the devil sends out the "big guns" against our lives...we can say "Go ahead Satin, send what you want... because my God is bigger and the prize at the end is going to be wonderful!"

1.25.12

1 John 4:12-13 2 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit

My Thoughts

"When I walk in love, God is present." that is how Joyce Meyer put this verse in her book The Secret Power of Speaking God's Word.  I love this... When we choose love we draw God close to us. How many times a day do we have the chance to choose love? So many times we have that opportunity. So often we can choose to be angry or we can choose to forgive. We can choose to be rude or we can choose to be patient. We can choose to be indifferent or we can choose to be kind. We can choose to ignore someone or we can choose to smile at them. We can choose to ignore or we can choose to speak to someone. We make choices all day long, every day. When we choose the loving choice we draw God near... When we listen to the Holy Spirit inside of us and choose to love, we have chosen to listen to God, to surrender to God and do what God would have us do.

When ask by the disciples Jesus what the greatest commandment was, Jesus told them to love God with all your heart, soul and mind. And to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 24: 36-39). We are called to love... All day long we have choices... we make choices... we should always ask ourselves when deciding what to do  "Which choice is loving?"

1.4.12

Isaiah 10:27 In that day the Lord will end the bondage of his people.  He will break the yoke of slavery and lift it from their shoulders.

My Thoughts

I love that God sent Jesus and that Jesus was willing to die for our sins that we can be free of the bondage of Satin! With God's grace we can always defeat the devil!  1 John 4:4 tells us that He that is in me is greater than he that is in the world... We can call on the Holy Spirit inside us. We are free of bondage.... we are no longer under the slavery of sin.  Each time we find ourselves defeating the urge to sin we have a history to draw from... the more we let the Holy Spirit lead us the more we are aware of his voice inside our souls. What a blessings that we know that we have the Grace of God, the Blood of Jesus and the Holy Spirit inside us.... When we are tempted, when the devil keeps trying to thwart our plans of good... we have the strength every time to do what is right to persevere because Jesus removed our  yoke of slavery... and God provides us his Grace! We are so very blessed!



12.27.11

Psalm 146:8b The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. The Lord loves the godly.

My Thoughts

I love this! God has so lifted me up this past year! So many times... I could not have gotten through the death of my mom had I know grown so close to God. Sure I would have made it when my mom died... but it would have been so much harder...I would have gone into a deep depression, I am sure had I not had the relationship I now have with God. God loved me so much,  that even when I didn't know him like I should, he set it up so I would be close to Him when my mom died. I will always believe that! God knew that I had the desire to love Him, and that I just didn't know how. God put my One Year Bible in my hand through my son so that I would read it. God put Life Church in my path so that I would be surrounded by people that would help me grow. Then when I faced the hardest thing I have ever faced God lifted me up.

I have learned so much in the past two years about giving all my cares to God! It is amazing how much my world is the same but my life is so completely different!! Now when I feel myself going into one of those places that use to put me to bed for days!!  I first tell the devil that God is on my side and that I will not believe his lies. Then I give my day to God. I say, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13)." I talk to God about what is bothering me.  I repeat scripture that builds me up and makes me know that I am not alone, I know that I have God who is bigger than anything in the world (1John 4"4). Before you know it I am going about my business feeling pretty joyful and I have forgotten that I had even started to get upset. Actually completely forgotten that I was even about to be upset! Then later in the day I remember and think I can't even believe that I let that upset me for a minute!!... I am talking about a problem that use to put me to bed from stress!!!  God does lift up those who are weighed down!  I am constantly amazed at the love that God has for me! God loves to take care of us! Our part, and we always have a part, is to give all our cares to God and let God do the rest.

My wish for 2012 is that I can reach somebody, make them understand that reading God's word will change their life...and  that their relationship with God grows as much as mine has. That one day I can hear them say what I feel, that the joy of the Lord is my strength!! God is so good! God loves us so much! God is bigger than anything we face in this world. God wants to take care of us...we just have to learn how to let Him.

12.5.11

1 John 5:14-15 And we are confident that he hears us, whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.  And since we know he hears us when we make our request, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.

My Thoughts

I love this!!!...Love, Love, Love this verse!!!...it is just so exciting!!... God answers our prayers when we ask for things that are good for us or good for others.  How exciting is that!!  I am reminded of verses where God says he will pour out his blessings on us....Malachi 3:10 says and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it....Grace and peace is poured into our lives by our heavenly Father. (Eph. 1:2 Message).  Poured out!!...I love that!!  God did not say I will give you a little grace and peace...he did not say I will trickle down some blessings...he said I will open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessings that you will not have enough room for it!!... God has all kinds of blessings in store for us... and we can even request what we want...if it is a request that pleases God we will get it!  Wow how lucky are we!!

12.4.11

1 John 4:4 But you belong to God, my dear children.  You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

My Thoughts

We have to deal with the things that the devil puts in the world all the time... the attitudes he plants in peoples heads.... the unkindness he puts in the world...the anger, oh the anger.  What we have to remember that the Spirit that God puts in us is so much greater that the spirit of the devil which abound on this earth!  When faced with dishonesty, unkindness, gossip, hatefulness.... we don't have to act like the world... we can act like God intended for us to act...we can act with love.... Even if another person does not accept that spirit of love that we draw upon, we can at least walk away feeling good about ourselves.  We can feel good because we choose love, we chose to listen to the Holy Spirit inside us... we chose not just to act like children of God, but to react like children of God.  The thing we must remember when we are faced with a situation where we want to lash out is... we do have the Holy Spirit to guide us...and to give us strength to do the right thing, even when it is the hard thing. We are never, ever alone when we stand up to the evil around us... God is always there, with his grace, equipping us with the things we will need to fight the good fight!! The world is not bigger that the Creator of the World...when we have God on our side all things are possible!!

12.3.11

1 John 3:16-17 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us.  So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.  If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but does shows no compassion -- how can God's love be in that person?

My Thoughts

I read once in a Dave Ramsey book that if all Christians tithed their 10% there were be no need for welfare....that Churches would be able to take care of all the poor in America. What an interesting fact!

When I was a little girl, in the 60's mid size houses were much smaller than "mid-size" houses are today. It was not unusual for kids to share bedrooms.  Yet as America grows and prospers and what the middle class has,  becomes more and more... and the divide between the have and the have nots seems to widen. The more electronic communication we have the more we are able to ignore the world around us. The more selfish we are able to become.

Yet we are called to have compassion...we are called to take care of one another... it ask us here how can God be in  a person that shows no compassion for people in need? Luke 12:48 tells us From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.  God gives to us so that we can give to others... God gave to America because America loved God and did what he ask.  If we want to grow we need to have compassion...we need to let go of what God has given us and help others. We need to trust God that when we do what He ask us to do He will always take care of our needs.  Luke 6:18 says Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” The tighter we hold on to, or the more we spend on ourselves to the point to having no money to hold on to... the less we will have in the long run.

Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed over greed.... America can be destroyed over greed. As Christians we need to step up and show compassion... not ask questions deciding if this person or that person deserves our help... we are to reach out and help those in need... God takes care of the rest... God takes care of us if we have compassion in our heart...compassion is evidence that God lives there.

When we stand before God I think one of the questions that God will ask is "Did you have compassion?" I want to be able to answer "yes." The more I know God the more my compassion grows.... but I still have so much to learn...and so much to grow... I want to get to the point where I never say to myself, "but, if I give I can buy me _____________."  After all Jesus gave up his life... his life for me.... surely I can give up "toys" so a family can eat.

 

12.1.11

1 John 2:5 But those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love him.  That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives like Jesus did.

My Thoughts

I remember that campain, we all do "What would Jesus do?"  It was a passing "fad." How sad that it was a passing fad... it was a brilliant idea... if only it had worked.  I remember that it did make me ask myself quite a few times "What would Jesus do?" I just didn't ask myself enough times.  I think it is because even though I knew it was the right, good thing...I did't really know what Jesus would do... I had not taken time to really, truly know. What I am learning, as I take time to read my Bible each day, is that the more I know God the more I want to know God.... the more I read what Jesus taught the more I know how to be more like Jesus... I am learning that growing is a process...  and that God sees that I am trying... I am becoming a little more like Jesus each day... I have forever to go!!!... I am only a tee nincy bit into my journey...but I am making progress!!  The Bible is always talking about planting the seed and it growing.... for that seed to grow it takes lots of tending to!!..Lots... weed pulling, watering, feterlizer... a constant watch for things that attack the garden.... God puts into us the Holy Spirit... the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5: 22-23). All those things are there... ours for the taking.... we just have to make sure to nourish them with God's word, and with prayer. When we see these things begin show in our lives we can know that we are growing... God knows that we need time to grow into the person he intended for us to be.... the plants in the garden start growning soon after they are planted...you may not see it for a while...but the growing is happening deep underground... then you see the sprouts of progress.... the plants in the garden grow until their death... it is an ongoing, lifetime thing... that garden needs tending until the farmer is ready to harvest the plant.  We need to fill our mind and our heart with God's word so that when the Holy Spirit speeks inside us, guiding us we recognize His voice...so that we can show God just how much we do love him... this for us is a lifetime process.... the weeds, the enemy can always get in if we are tending to our garden... The amazing thing is the more we take time to know God the more time we make to know God. When this begins to happen in our lives, we will never be the same again!!

I challange you to make a commitment to yourself and to God to take the time to read and to learn and to grow. God's word never returns void (Isaiah 55:11). God has a way of making our time work for us when we make time for him. We all want our lives to be better!  Taking time for God is a sure way to change your world.  It changed my world in amazing ways!!...Amazing ways!!!  I will never be the same. If I could sit across from you right now I would take your face in my hand and say "God loves you, YOU so much! If you never learn anything else from me hear this.... God loves you! He made you, he is proud of you, he thinks you are amazing...he has so much joy and love  to pour out on you... it will be overflowing!" ..then I would put a Bible in your hand and say, "Read this every day, never stop! It will change your life! I promise it will!"

9.29.11

Proverbs 24:10 If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small.

My Thoughts

I have gone through life failing under pressure..... I would have always told you "I don't do stress!" .... Many of my friends, all of my family have heard me say those very words, "I don't do stress!" My strength is too small... when I depend on my strength... I am learning to believe what the Bible tells me about strength...and my world is changing!!..I am growing!  Here are some of the things I have learned...they are no longer things I have heard...they are things I am finally learning so that I can call on them and be strong.

Grace is God's power working within me to help me accomplish those things I could not possibly do on my own!

2 Corinthians 12:9 says Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”  From this I am beginning to understand that when I give it to God, his grace takes over.  But, I have to give it to God.   When I realize that I am not strong enough on my own, and I trust in God... then God's power does work best in my weakness.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! 

From this verse I am learning the importance of the word ALL... this verse says Christ will strengthen me in ALL things.  Now when I face something hard I know to replace the word all with what ever it is I face.... my hardships, big and small... are covered under the word ALL.  If I wake up in pain from Lupus and have something that I must do...I don't feel sorry for me....I say to myself  I can get this done through the pain with Jesus who gives me strength.  I say that enough then I find myself doing what I need to do... and realize often that I have not even noticed that I am not in pain any more.  If I don't let Jesus give me his strength on those days...I lay in bed and hurt all day...thinking only about the pain and it never goes away.  I have to give it to God...My part is giving it to God and moving forward... God does the rest.

Isiah 40:29 says,  He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of him who has no might.

Psalms 138:3 In the day that I called, you answered me. You encouraged me with strength in my soul.


John 5:7 If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.


The list goes on and on ... the list of how God will take care of me and make me strong!!  God's word tells me this... Proverbs 24:10 says If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small. I use to would have read this and thought DUH!!  Now I read this and I know.. when I fail under pressure...my faith that God would take care of me was not stroung...I know if I find myself failing that MY strength is never enough, and that I get my strength from enough faith in God that I give God my task at hand. 

I love how the Amplified Bible says it in 2 Corinthians 12:9 it says, But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and [a]show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may [b]pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!

Now when I find myself saying "I can't do this stress!" I remind myself that God can.... I give it to God...and yes sometime in the middle of great stress it takes me a while to remember to give it to God...but, eventually I do...and the more I read about God and all his grace...the better I get at turning my ALL over to him.  Now when I find myself thinking I can't do this.... I find myself knowing that God can. Oh man, that feels good!

5.24.11

John 13:34-35 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

My Thoughts

Do you want people to see you as a child of God?  Do you want people to know that you are a Christian? The way to do that is by loving one another!  Even loving people that we don't always like.  We might ask how do you love somebody that you don't like?? We do that all the time with family...maybe that is why God gave us families, so we could have a lesson in loving.  So when we became Christians we know how to love even the people that are hard to love.  I have an uncle that is a little on the crazy side, he can't see past himself and he can be rather annoying... but I love my uncle in-spite of himself...I can't help it!  I can actually see him as adorable in the mist of being annoyed by him.  Because he is family and I am suppose to love him I do.  If we would stop and see the world as family, God's family, wouldn't we treat others with love?  Wouldn't we be more tolerant of peoples differences, peoples little annoyances and love them anyway?  I love my uncle anyway... but I admit there are people I have worked with that I didn't love anyway.  I treat my uncle kindly and with great love even when he is annoying... I should treat all people that annoy me with that same kind of love.  My uncle can snap out of himself and be loving back and I love those moments with him... wouldn't I find moments with others in the world if I loved them just because too.  How can we teach the world about Jesus' amazing love by being unloving? We want Jesus to love us in spite of ourselves, in spite of how ugly we can act. In spite of our annoyences. We want Jesus to forgive us in spite of ourselves.  We need to treat the world like family you love anyway and the world will see Jesus in us. There is no better way to be a witness than love.