Tag: #GODisincontrol

Ask not…

Probably one of the most recognized phrases of the Baby Boomer generation was said by our former President, John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” I respect this, because we owe our comfortable, free lives to this country that we live in. In many countries, you don’t have the freedoms to choose that we do, and we owe it to our country and citizenry to do what we can to support it. If we owe allegiance and respect for our nation, and we are working to that end, what about God? Don’t we owe Him allegiance for our souls, our free will, and especially for the Salvation He offers?

To paraphrase Kennedy, “Ask not what God can do for you, ask what you can do for Him!”

“And you must love the LORD your GOD with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” – Deuteronomy 6:5 NLT

“For the Angel of the LORD is a guard; He surrounds and defends all who fear Him. Taste and see that the LORD is Good. Oh, the joys of those who take Refuge in Him! Fear the LORD, you His godly people, for those who fear Him will have all they need. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who Trust in the LORD will lack no good thing.” – Psalms 34:7‭-‬10 NLT

“For the WORD of GOD is Alive and Powerful. It is Sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” – Hebrews 4:12 NLT

What are you asking today?

Even At The Beginning

From the beginning of the history of mankind, from the time of Adam and Eve, we have opposed God. Do we really believe that the Supreme Being, the God of Creation (and everything in it!), the Designer of humanity, is too small to be hear and obeyed? He designed us down to tiniest parts – look at Lamimin, a basal protein that literally holds our bodies together. (Louie Giglio gives a great speech about it. Look it up!) If God can make something as intricate as the human body, why shouldn’t He be recognized as the genius, the incredibly talented, and completely incomprehensible LORD of the Universe, the God of Existence? But no, we humans, and many of the angels, had to take our free will and twist God’s Words to our own desires.

“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “GOD knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both Good and Evil.”
Genesis 3:4‭-‬5 NLT

Adam and Eve chose to hear what they wanted to hear. They decided their wants outweighed anything their God asked of them. How often to we do that in our own lives? It’s just what Paul wrote to the church in Rome, warning other believers to guard their minds against the popular and worldly ideas that were so prevalent then…. and still prevalent today. We know the difference in good and evil, and we know the consequences of choosing each, and we still still turn away from the good.

“Yes, they knew GOD, but they wouldn’t worship Him as GOD or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what GOD was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the GLORIOUS, EVER-LIVING GOD, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.” – Romans 1:21‭-‬23 NLT

We really aren’t that different from Adam and Eve, even though there are 7,000-8,000 years between us. Satan still lures and entices us with beautiful promises, and we still twist God’s Words to suit our own desires. Thank God for sending Jesus to cover our sins with His Blood, cleansing us and forgiving us, in order that we might spend eternity fellowshipping and worshipping with Him and with other believers!

Even before He created us, God created the thing that would bind our physical bodies, and He made it in the shape of the cross. Purpose is in everything GOD does…..

Are You Puzzled By My Thanksgiving?

“Give Thanks to the LORD and proclaim His Greatness. Let the whole world know what He has done. Sing to Him; yes, sing His Praises. Tell everyone about His Wonderful Deeds. Exult in His Holy Name; Rejoice, you who worship the LORD. Search for the LORD and for His Strength; continually seek Him. Remember the Wonders He has performed, His Miracles, and the Rulings He has given …. ” – Psalms 105:1‭-‬5 NLT

Does it puzzle and perplex you, that people in the midst of great trials can Praise our LORD; can give Thanks to GOD for the situation? Let’s see if we can make it a little less puzzling. For followers of JESUS, we have the perfect example of thankfulness during extreme trials. After all, our trials are a poor imitation of the torture that our LORD endured, or the persecution of the early disciples and believers.

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in GOD, and trust also in Me {JESUS}.” – John 14:1 NLT

“….. through Him {JESUS CHRIST} God reconciled everything to Himself. He made Peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s Blood on the cross. I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church.” – Colossians 1:20‭, ‬24 NLT

“Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.” – Luke 23:34 NLT

By giving thanks, and by forgiving those who hurt us, we take away their power over us; we take away the enemy’s power. On my own, it is impossible to be thankful for my situation. In my own mind, forgiving others is absolutely impossible, but here’s the thing. By NOT being thankful and by not offering forgiveness, I’m keeping the wounds in my heart and my mind open. By not letting myself heal, I am allowing in hate and disgust and anger, and these all work to infect and fester. This creates a toxic atmosphere within me, so that I become locked into the prison of my own making. It doesn’t hurt the other people at all!

My thanksgiving doesn’t come because of my goodness, and forgivess is not possible by myself. It is only when we give it all over to our LORD JESUS that we can begin the healing process. It’s a process, a journey to get there. If – no, when – we have an open wound on the outside of our body, or a disease within our physical body, most of us don’t just ignore it and hope for the best. No, we go to a medical practitioner for help in healing, and even though the remedy is often painful, we thank the medical person for getting us onto a healing track. Our inner healing can be the same. It may require painful “surgery” to get rid of the ugliness, but Jesus is known as the Great Physician for a reason! He knows we have to eliminate the bad, and to do that, we have to use the medicine of forgiveness and thanksgiving that we receive through Him and through prayer to the Father. It is absolutely amazing how completely freeing it can be to enlist His help, because when it is humanly impossible to do something (like forgive, or to be thankful), that’s exactly when Jesus can step in and do His best work! I am living proof of the possibilities ….. and I am still healing. Thank You, Jesus, for working miracles in my heart!

Be Still!

How many times did you hear that while growing up? I heard it quite often….. and at times, I still hear my Mother’s voice in my head, telling me to be still. Before ADD or ADHD or any of the Autism spectrum were recognized, my siblings and I squirmed and whispered and doodled our way through childhood; I was a ‘wiggle worm.’ ( …. laughter …. ) Today, many of my nieces and nephews have been diagnosed with some variation of the above, not to tne extreme, but still? It’s good to have validation that we weren’t doing those things simply to be irritating. It is still a frustration with me. We learn different coping mechanisms as we mature, but it never truly goes away. I want to “be still!” Can you make my mind obey?

“Be still, and know that I AM GOD! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” – Psalms 46:10 NLT

Perhaps something similar to these were what Paul was dealing with when he begged God to take away his affliction. I don’t know, but I think I’d like to ask him when we meet in eternity. For people who haven’t experienced these things it is very difficult to understand why I can’t just decide to sit still, or concentrate on a single issue. They don’t understand that it isn’t a conscious choice to want – no, need, to get to the point. I know the struggle of trying to give my full attention to a rambling (to my mind) story, or sales pitch, or meeting. Get to the point, people! (Says me, as I ramble on…..) The important thing, the most important thing, is to listen for God. His voice is in the scriptures I read, it is in the Christian music I have playing on the radio, and it is in the interaction I have with fellow believers.

“Though the LORD gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, He will still be with you to teach you. You will see your Teacher with your own eyes. Your own ears will hear Him. Right behind you a Voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.” – Isaiah 30:20‭-‬21 NLT

His assurance to us is that He does speak to us. The voice can be GOD, or it can be the enemy, Satan. Use discernment and know GOD’S Words and Voice to keep from being distracted and deceived. Read the scriptures, study them, and keep your mind open to the LORD. Father God, my prayer today is for my own discernment; to hear YOUR Voice, and drown out the voices of the world. My prayer is that You will still my heart and my mind. I praise You for Your Son and for the Forgiveness and Grace You show me every day. Let me show others Your Love and Supremacy through my life. Amen.

I’m Not Religious

“That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what GOD has prepared for those who love Him.” …. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.” – 1 Corinthians 2:9‭, ‬14 NLT

I don’t really care for people calling me “religious.” To me, religion is something people do to show to the rest of the world how “good” they are. I’m not “good”, and there is no way that anything I can do is going to get me to heaven. There aren’t enough Hail Mary’s, and there aren’t enough sacrifices or prayers to wash me clean enough. No, I have enough sin in my past to keep me as far away from God as there is distance. Blessed be His Holy Name, this is exactly where Jesus Messiah meets us! I can’t do enough, but He can do EVERYTHING. My mind can’t comprehend any love that big, and that’s exactly what verse 9 is telling us. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what GOD has prepared for those who love Him.” I can’t see it, I can’t hear it, I can’t even imagine what God has for me. It’s difficult to even think that He loves me; that Jesus LOVED me, enough to leave heaven and come here to cover me with His saving Grace.

Think about this. If Christians have a hard time understanding how deep and how wide our Saviour’s Love goes; how all-encompassing His Love is, how can the unbeliever, the spiritually parched, believe it? LORD, don’t let me be perceived as religious by the world. I pray that the unbeliever will see a difference in me, and that they will want to know how to achieve that peace for themselves. Especially through this time of trial, help me to remain faithful to You and Your commandment. Help me to maintain my faith in You, and my belief in Your faithfulness to me. As I stumble through this time, I know I am not alone and I pray that I recognize Your Strength as You carry me. Show me how to be spiritual, and not religious. Help me remember this: “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” – Psalms 103:12 NLT AMEN.

Curses On You

Ever had anyone curse you? I don’t just mean foul language, but for someone to say (and mean) for you to go to hell? There are curses when the individual is truly cursing you, like in voodoo, and there are instances where it is done in jest…. although I don’t understand how you can jokingly refer someone to being cursed. I have been cursed at and had curses directed at me, but never have I had someone for years profess to love me, and then to do a 180 and curse me to hell. Disconcerting, at the least. Alarming, to think that someone close to me, to you, would hold that much hate. Instead of focusing on the injury, we need to focus on Jesus’ words:

“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you. ….Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.” – Luke 6:27‭-‬31‭, ‬35‭-‬36 NLT

As many of you know, I have harbored grudges and anger and thoughts of revenge against those who have hurt me. All that negative in my life only served as a wedge between me and my God, and it also kept me away from people who genuinely cared for me. Letting the anger fester can kill us, spiritually and physically. The enemy rejoices when we hold on to all that. In my past, I became embroiled in a life of satanic influence, and I tell you the truth, I was within days of dying when I was rescued from it. The curses from that time trailed after me for years, and it is only the intervention of my Lord JESUS that I am alive today. I will forever bear the emotional and physical scars of that time, so that they can be a reminder that Jesus alone will sustain me. Even now, as I have been told to go to hell, I know that Jesus has determined that I need to bless and forgive that person. I cannot do it alone; my compassion fails me. Oh God, how I need you to guide my thoughts and words and actions! My one defense, my righteousness, depends on You, LORD. Blessings on each and everyone who despise me….

A Story of Faith

What is faith? One definition says “Complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” Whenever I think I about faith, this scripture from Mark comes to mind – “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24 NLT) This seems to be my state of mind much of the time. I want to believe without question; I know that God is stronger than the enemy and that He is in control. Why is it so difficult?

“When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum. At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer was sick and near death. When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.” So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” And when the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed.” – Luke 7:1‭-‬10 NLT

Here is a man, a Roman officer, enemy to the Jews, and he believes. He has a truly remarkable faith to believe that a man despised by both Jews and Romans, this man Jesus, can heal his servant with just a word…. from a distance! Could I do this? I can tell you that no, I couldn’t. When faced with life-threatening illness and injury, I need a hands-on, physical touch to reassure me. What does that say about someone who grew up in a Christian home, with the teachings of Christ instilled in me from the time I comprehend, and even before that, as an infant? A Roman soldier had more faith than I do? Seems almost inconceivable, doesn’t it? I struggle to rest in the Lord; to believe that He sees the end of this quagmire I find myself in.

The faith of a mustard seed is all we need, according to Jesus. With that minuscule amount of faith, literally about the size of the period at the end of this sentence, we can move mountains. Not a figurative mountain; Jesus was speaking of a literal mountain. Hear him: “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” – Matthew 17:20 NLT

Where is my mustard seed, LORD?

Safe….?

“(10) The Name of the LORD is a strong fortress; the godly run to Him and are safe. (14) The human spirit can endure a sick body, but who can bear a crushed spirit? (19) An offended friend is harder to win back than a fortified city. Arguments separate friends like a gate locked with bars. (24) There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.” – Proverbs 18:19‭, ‬24 NLT

A crushed spirit. That’s what happens in a relationship and a marriage when one leaves, physically or emotionally. I’ve had plenty of opportunities to study on this; too many opportunities. Currently, I find myself again feeling betrayed by a friend, a person I took at his word that he would not abandon me. A crushed spirit. Knowing a person for almost 20 years, being friends and going through good and bad times, helping each other through emotional times, doesn’t guarantee anything. I wanted to believe the best, but everyone lets down their friends at times. Why do we do this? Why make promises we know we won’t keep? Why do we lead others on, letting them believe something in error? Safe? No, there isn’t anyone on earth who is safe, who won’t disappoint you.

No matter how long or how much effort we put into the study of human behaviour, I believe we will always be disappointed, simply because we are human and full of flaws. Knowing that, studying that, doesn’t make it any easier to get past the hurt. The only way to really get past it, to find forgiveness for those who hurt us – and that includes forgiving myself for the hurt I have caused myself and others – and that way, the only way, is through Jesus Christ. Can I still forgive while being treated with disrespect and disdain? Do I want to? I study the scriptures for guidance, because I cannot find forgiveness in my heart. Instead I find sarcasm and anger flooding me, along with the hurt and the disappointment. All of those feelings come straight from the enemy, and they don’t help me at all. In fact, if I let them go, these negative thoughts and feelings can overcome and actually, physically, cause me to be ill.

With Jesus, and through the healing of the Holy Spirit, I can get through this. Study the words of Jesus for forgiveness. He taught us this: “But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” – Matthew 6:15 NLT

Jesus was betrayed by a friend, a close friend who He loved, one who gave Him over to be tortured and killed in the most horrific ways know to man…. and before He died, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” – Luke 23:34 NLT

Even while dying; beaten, bruised, and humiliated, Jesus forgave us. Are we beater than the Son of God, that we can hold judgement and unforgiveness over another person? Let the chains of hatred, unforgiveness, anger, and hurt go. Let God have it. He can handle it.

He Ain’t Heavy…..

If you were in the pop culture of 1969, you’ll remember a song that hit the charts in September by the British group the Hollies, and again in 1970 by Neil Diamond, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.” Part of it goes like this:

So on we go
His welfare is of my concern
No burden is he to bear
We’ll get there

For I know
He would not encumber me
He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother

This is just what Christ taught His followers, and they in turn taught others. It’s a message that is easy to ignore as we go about our lives, wrapped up in the drama of everyday living.

“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.” – Galatians 6:2‭-‬3 NLT

I don’t mind helping those who need help when I can, even though I find it really difficult accepting help for myself. The needs aren’t always financial. Many times, the best way we can help is through prayer for that person. It doesn’t seem like much, and I’ve said, along with countless others, that “All we can do is pray.” ALL we can do? It is absolutely the BEST thing we can do! God knows everything, including our deepest hurts and desires. Nothing is hidden from Him…. so why do we need to pray?

“Who is the Almighty, and why should we obey him? What good will it do us to pray?” – Job 21:15 NLT
Jesus said: “I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” – Mark 11:24‭-‬25 NLT

We need to have conversations with God. The person on this earth who knows us best still wants to have conversations, so why do we think God our Creator wouldn’t want to hear from us? Sometimes we just don’t make (or have!) any sense……