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Christmas is Around the Corner

Hard to believe

It is hard to believe it is already Christmas again.  When I was a kid, it seemed like Christmas took forever to get here.  The year just seemed to drag by.   Do you remember that feeling?  I have noticed something that has happened over the years; time flies fast for everyone, young and old alike.  It is because everybody’s life is so busy with many things.  When those of us that are older were young, we had many downtimes, and we would get bored.  Many do not get bored today.

The trap

This is the trap the devil has wanted us all to be in.   There are so many distractions with all the social media and everything so readily at our fingertips.  Young people today are so busy with so many activities, and when they aren’t doing something constructive, they are pulled into social media, playing video games, or watching movies.  There is no family time like there once was.  Everything is so fast that everyone is tired at the end of the day.
I remember the kinds of things we did when I was growing up.  Sometimes we just sat around the living room and talked. When does that happen anymore?  We read books, played board games, and took walks.  We had time to slow down and reflect.  These days, we don’t reflect anymore; we are just thinking about the next thing we need to get done.

Christmas

And then we add Christmas to the mix of things.  Everyone is in a hurry, trying to get the last-minute shopping done, which in one sense, has gotten easier because a lot of us do it online.  But on the other hand, we don’t rub shoulders with others.  In the past, people have been kinder and more generous this time of year.  You get this natural, cozy feeling.  What little I have been out and about this Christmas season, I have not felt that quite as much.  There are still ones that are kind and in that beautiful Christmas spirit, but so many are in too big of a hurry.  I, unfortunately, might be one of them.
My husband and I went to the mall, and there was no friendliness; it was just rushing people who wouldn’t even look you in the eye.  The only friendly person was a Santa waiting for kids to come and get their pictures done.  There were no kids lined up, so he was waving and saying a friendly greeting to those who passed by.  I find this so sad.  So many unhappy people are just trying to make it through the day.

Forgetting

The big problem is that everyone has forgotten what Christmas is about.  Many have become so self-absorbed that the real reason we celebrate Christmas has been lost.  It has become all about agendas and making money, not love and giving.  We have forgotten the most incredible gift this season should remind us about.  And that has taken away the love and giving spirit.
During this time of the year, we should be reminded of the greatest Gift given, and that is Jesus.  God was willing to give up His only Son to come as a lowly baby.  Jesus, the majesty of heaven, came down to be born in a stable with beasts of the field.  He was laid in a manger of straw.  Jesus was not born in a palace showered with money and fame.  He was born to poor parents; He was visited by shepherds from the field and eventually wise men from the east at a stable and humble home.  Jesus sacrificed everything to come here to this ungrateful world and die so that we may choose to live with Him for eternity.  Now that is a fantastic gift.

Our best gift

The best gift that we can give this season is our hearts.  Let’s give our hearts to the most amazing God, Jesus Christ.  This is the gift that He is longing for.  You may think, “But I already gave my heart to Jesus years ago.”  And that is wonderful; we also need to renew our daily commitment to Him.  It is a moment-by-moment experience.  Here is the most astounding revelation, as we commit our lives to Jesus each day, surrendering totally to Him, the gift goes on.  We start to give to others, not out of obligation or gain but out of love.  This is the most precious gift that keeps on going.  The kind of gift I want to give this year is surrendering my heart to Jesus so that the best Gift of all can keep on giving, love.  How about you?
Dear Father,
Thank You for giving Your only begotten Son as a Gift to each of us.  I want to recommit my heart to You so that I can have the Gift of love that keeps on giving.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
Give your heart entirely to Jesus today and receive the Gift that keeps giving.
I love you all!  Have a Merry Christmas!
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I Will Arise

Knocked down!

My cousin told me a story I want to share with you.  A tree she walks by each day got knocked down while it was small from a storm or the weight of the heavy snow.  It was laid over on its side, mostly flat on the ground.  It is incredible how resilient a tree can be after going through the storms of life.  Each time my cousin walked by this little tree, she began to see a fantastic phenomenon.  This tree began reaching toward the heavens with beautiful green leaves.  The tree did not allow the storms around it to define its life but kept striving for the sun.  It is not a perfect tree; it is crooked and deformed.  But the tree has not let the storms of life get him down.
Have you ever seen a tree like this or something similar?  I know I have.  We go on many hikes in the mountains and through the woods.  So many times, I stop and am amazed at the strangeness of some of the trees.  And I am so curious about the story of the tree.  Suppose the tree could only talk and tell us what happened to bring about such a deformity.  I have seen some trees bent to one side and dead.  But bent going the other direction is a living tree.  A different type of tree that amazes me is when it forms a half circle.  Incredibly, it can be a perfect half-circle without evidence of what caused it to divert to that form.

What about

The trees made me start to think about our lives.  I know that many times in life, storms have come to me.  Some of those storms have been small, but some have been very large.  Sometimes I have wondered if I would live or die; some have been physical and some emotional.  I am sure each one of you can relate.  We all go through incredible trials.  The “wind” blows so hard that we feel it is impossible to continue standing.  And then there is the weight of the “snow” or maybe even the weight of a “rock.”  The weight is so heavy we can’t possibly make it.
I think we can learn a lesson from the trees.  When the storms of life are blowing, and life seems so overwhelming, we need to keep our eyes on the Son.  Our experience will probably reshape us, but we know that as we keep our eyes on the Son, the reshaping will make our lives more beautiful.  It may seem that we are deformed, but to those looking on, as long as we keep our eyes focused on the Son, they will see the beauty.  And it will draw them closer to God.  Once we have been reshaped, we can encourage others as they go through the reshaping process.

How

You may ask, “How can I keep looking up?”  It is not always easy when you get knocked down; the pain is real.  But I do know that it starts with a choice.  The tree has to choose to keep striving toward the sun no matter how much pain it is enduring if it wants to survive.  It grows through, around, and from the ground when completely knockdown.  It has such a desire to live that the tree does whatever is necessary to make it happen.  And there is only one thing that it has to do, choose to keep looking toward the sun.
We often get bogged down to the ground by our circumstances and trials.  But we will stay down if we don’t start looking up.  We have to choose, just like the tree, to keep our eyes fixed on the Son.  And God will do a work in us that will transform and shape us into His image.  Part of choosing and looking is spending time in God’s Word, claiming the promises that He has given us.  We need to spend much time in prayer, keeping all our cares, sorrows, and needs before Him.  “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time:  Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:  Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.  But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you” 1 Peter 5: 6-10.
Like the trees become more robust as they weather the storms, we get stronger as we keep our eyes focused on the Son.  Every storm that comes our way that we survive through makes us stronger for the next and the next.  And our characters get more and more refined, preparing us for the goal, which is heaven.  In the Bible, Paul talks about his thorn in the flesh.  And I love God’s response to him; it is a promise for us to claim.  “And He said unto me, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee:  for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’  Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.  We have the promises that even in our weakness, we can be strong because of Christ.  He is our strength.

Dear Father,

I am so grateful for the strength. You provide.  It is hard many times because we can’t feel it.  At times You feel so far away from us when we are struggling.  Thank You for the promises You give us.  Help us share all our wants, joys, sorrows, cares, and fears with You.  Thank You that we cannot burden or weary You.  I am so grateful that you are not indifferent to our wants.  Your heart of love is touched by our sorrows and our willingness to share them with You.  I am so grateful that we can bring anything that perplexes us and that there is nothing too great or too small for You to bear.  You rule the affairs of this universe, holding the world in Your hands.  I am grateful that anything affecting our peace, You take notice.  There is nothing too dark for You to read or too complex to untangle.  You observe and care about every aspect of our lives; what love.  I am grateful for Your all-consuming love and for always being there for us!
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
What are you struggling with today?  Make a commitment to keep your eyes on the One that can bring you through.
Love you all!
What struggle have you gone through where you have seen the hand of God beside you and maybe even carrying you?  I would love to hear your story.  Comment below.
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God’s Grace is Sufficient

Creation

I don’t know about you, but when I read the story of God creating this world, I start to imagine.  No matter how vivid our imagination, it is a feeble attempt.  Just think of the perfect temperature, the beauty of the flowers and trees, the transparency of the rivers, lakes,  and streams of water, and how the animals, with their majestic beauty down to the creepy-crawly, presented no fear.
For those who love to plant a garden, can you imagine how easy it could be to grow anything?  It would be a gardener’s paradise.  We wouldn’t have to worry about the soil being too hard or rocky; there would be perfect nutrition in the ground, no need to weed, and an automatic watering system that took no work to set up.  It sounds like heaven to me.
And what about the animal lovers?  I would be in that category.  There are so many animals I wish I could enjoy.  I have always loved horses and the thought of having one and being able to ride.  Having a monkey as a pet has been a dream of mine.  Throughout my life, mostly, I have stuck to cats and dogs, which I love dearly.  The pain and suffering when one passes away are heart-wrenching.  But in the new creation, there was no death or fear, only life, love, and peace.  It is hard to imagine a life absent of fear and full of love and peace in our world today.  God created Adam and Eve to enjoy the beauty of His creation.  They had no fear or sadness; peace, joy, and love were all.

Then came sin

I think all of us have probably questioned at one time or another why Eve would make a choice that would destroy her peace and happiness.  Eve had everything that she could have possibly wanted.  But the devil caused her to believe that she was missing out on something great!  And Eve believed him.  The reality is that we are no different.  If we trust God and the Word He gave us, why do we go in another direction all the time?  The bottom line is that we think we might be missing out on something.  And we are not trusting that God has our best interest in mind.  We are not any different from Eve.  Many times in our lives, we allow the convincing words of others or circumstances to convince us that something is okay.  And after the fact, we realize this was not in God’s plan.
On the other hand, Adam decided to eat it when he was presented with the fruit, knowing it would be wrong.  He knew it would be wrong to eat the fruit; even though he may not have understood the consequences, he knew it was wrong.  How could you know what death is if you have never seen it?  But he should have trusted God’s Word that it was not a good thing.
Imagine what must have been going through his mind.  He had to be concerned about what would happen if he didn’t eat the fruit when his wife had already eaten it.  If he chose not to eat it, he could lose her forever.  He was not choosing to love God above anything else.  But again, we are not any different.  How many times do we put other things before God?  God has to be number one in our lives at all times.  We can not let people, things, circumstances, any rabbit trail, whether of a religious sort or not, or even ourselves get in the way of making God number one in every area of our lives.

Then comes…

If we didn’t know the end of the story of Adam and Eve, it would appear hopeless.  But then came grace.  Their choice had significant consequences, but God’s love and grace gave them a second chance.  Their choice to sin should have brought instant death.  The grace of God, willing to give His only Son as a substitute, and Jesus willing to accept the consequences of sin, gave Adam and Eve and each of us another chance.
Imagine what it must have been like for them.  Adam and Eve had never experienced death.  They had never seen anything die.  God, in His mercy, sacrificed a lamb in their stead.  The lamb would have been their friend.  All the animals would have been like pets to them.  And to see two of these precious lambs dying because of their sin must have been excruciating.
The only way we can even come close to getting a glimpse is to think about one of our pets.  I relate primarily to our dogs.  It would be excruciating if one of our dogs had to be put to death for my sin.  We love our pets so much.  But they also had to realize that this sacrifice pointed to the One that would ultimately take the consequences of sin.  What joy they must have had that Jesus was willing to do this for them while simultaneously being sad that they had caused so much pain and suffering.
It pains my heart as I write, thinking about myself and how easy it can be to bring hurt and pain to the One that has done so much for me.  God loved the world and gave His Son so that I may live.  Why is it so difficult to remember what He has done for me?  I don’t think I am the only one with this problem.  We get so caught up in daily life that we forget to contemplate what He has done for us.  Yes, we may go through the motions of daily Bible study and prayer, but we fail to connect with God fully.  Spending time with God, going to church, or any religious thing we may be involved in can become just a ritual and lose all meaning.

God’s Grace

I love God’s promise: “My grace is sufficient for thee:  for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).  Our weaknesses are His strengths.  This is the most exciting news!  No matter how weak we think we are, He is even stronger.  We can’t create; we can only submit to God creating in us.  As David, we can say, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalms 51:10).  We can’t clean our hearts!  No one can empty themselves of self.  The only thing that we can do is consent for Jesus to accomplish the work in us.
It is easy to look around at others and be like the Pharisee, thanking God that I am not like “those” people.  But I want to be as the publican, “standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner” (Read Luke 18:10-14).  We are all sinners in need of God’s grace and mercy.  And “He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him (Jesus), seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).  God through His Spirit is the One that draws, convicts, forgives, cleanses, makes the changes, recreates, He does it all.  Our job is to consent, and we will find rest when we consent!
Dear Father,
Please, take my heart; I can’t give it to You.  You created me; my heart is Your property.  I need You to keep it pure.  I am so weak, selfish, and unchristlike; please save me despite me always getting in the way.  You are the potter, and I am the clay; mold and fashion me, so I love Your pure and holy presence so that I can feel the rich current of Your love flow through me.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
Surrender fully to God today and let Him do the work within You.
I love you all!
When have you felt the closest to God?  I would love to hear your story!  Comment below or private message me.
Note:  This platform for my blog will be going away soon, so if you would like to continue to get my blogs, message me.
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Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps

Work, Work, Work

I am sure we have all heard about just pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and getting it done.  We all seem to get caught up in this trap.  No matter what is happening, we are going to do this ourselves.  It doesn’t matter whether we are going to school; we are a salesperson, construction workers, healthcare providers, mothers or fathers, homeschooling moms, and many others; it is all the same.  We try to make the sale, get the building built, take care of people, be a good mom or dad, and get our kids educated, whether homeschooling or helping them through traditional schooling.  We are determined to make it happen, but it doesn’t work.  What happens is that we become physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted.  We get discouraged, maybe even depressed, and the worst part is that many give up even trying.
I remember so well as a homeschooling mom wanting to stay on schedule.  And then one of my boys would do something crazy, get hurt,  and I was off to the doctor.  I would be under so much stress because I had to throw my schedule out the door, and how would I make everything happen.  And then there is running your business.  My husband and I have done so for 33 years at the time of this writing.  We now have three companies that we run, and the stress can be crazy at times.  How do you keep the work coming in but not get too much so you can’t accomplish it all?  Me, I also have a part-time job working away from home.  And when I get to work, I plan out what is before me, and it seems that things will go great, and then a wrench is thrown in.  I feel this tension starting to rise within me.  I am trying to pull myself up by my bootstraps to make everything happen.   But I am failing and getting exhausted in the meantime.  Can you relate?

And then

And then there is my Christian walk with the Lord thrown into the mix of everything.  I need to make sure I am doing all the right things.  Somewhere in the mix, I need to be making sure I spend time with the Lord in Bible study and prayer.  I need to be going to church and make sure I am helping out.  And I should be doing all the right things, like eating right, dressing right, forgiving, no hatred toward others, etc.
The other thing we need to focus on is taking care of our health.  Often our health gets laid aside because we are too busy trying to put in all the other things in life.  I mean, where do I have time to exercise.  And I walk at work, so isn’t that enough?  And what about just having time for myself, doing something relaxing.  Is it selfish to do something that helps me?  These questions have run through my mind many times.  And to even think about it can be overwhelming.  I can quickly get discouraged if I dwell too much on these things.  What about you?  Do you feel what I am feeling?  And the even bigger question is, are there answers?
It is the trap of Satan to keep us running so hard that we don’t have time to think.  He also doesn’t care how he keeps us busy as long as our focus is in the wrong place.  He can keep us engaged, even doing good things by helping out our church, helping out people who need it, and many other things while neglecting the people closest to us.  We can ignore our family or even ourselves.  We can’t help others if we are not physically, emotionally, and spiritually stable.

God has the answer

I know the answer to all of this, but it is hard to do.  Somehow we as humans think we have to be in control of everything.  But what God is trying to teach us through every experience of our lives is to trust Him.  He has a plan for our lives beyond our wildest dreams, but it may not look like we have dreamed it out.  So does that mean I keep trying?  Why make a schedule if God already has a plan for my day.  Planning is a part of life, and without planning, nothing gets done, and life is chaos.  But when something happens that is not expected, we need to trust and rest in God.
What I like to do each morning is lay all my plans at God’s throne of grace.  And then I ask Him to use me today in His service, asking Him to abide with me.  I need Him to direct my path for the day, so I ask Him to lead my way.  As I do this, I know that if anything comes unexpectedly, He has everything under control if I give it to Him and let Him lead.
Let’s break this down a little more.  Right now, I am focusing on the material things in our lives.  Although, what is happening in our spiritual lives affects everyday life.  But let’s look at our jobs, for instance.  As a construction worker, you need a plan for the day.  Now it depends on whether you are the boss or the worker.  But both have to have a plan.  The boss has to lay out the day to keep his employees busy and understand each job.  As an employee, we have a job to do, and we often plan out how we will accomplish what is in front of us.  Now for each, it can suddenly change for whatever reason.  It can be unclear if our boss changes things, but sometimes we can see why changes happen.  It throws a wrench in our day and smooth plan.  The moment comes when we can choose to get angry and frustrated or trust God.  All of this does not blindside God.  So are we going to trust Him?  We can’t see everything that could happen, but He sure can.

What about

There are so many other jobs out there; I can’t address every one of them, but what about those trying to sell something.  Selling covers many jobs, you might be trading cars, houses, products, insurance, dental care, printing (I work at a print shop), and the list could go on and on.
Selling is a struggle for me.  I desire to be of service and be a blessing to others, but I sometimes feel this pressure to sell because I have to make money, too, right?  We all need to make a living, and there is nothing wrong with doing it.  But there can be this guilty feeling at times.  How can I be of service to others and still sell?  Through His Word, the Lord has shown me that I have to take myself out of the equation.  It is not about me and what I can do for others.  I need to think about what God can do.
It doesn’t seem easy to know how to put this into words.  But I have found that God works out all the details as I give my day to Him.  Does that mean I don’t make a plan?  No, but my goals I give to Him.  I have a schedule planned out each day, laying it before God and asking Him to use me in His service and abide with me so that all my work will be for His glory.  And I am always willing to take up or lay down any plan.  If I do this, I don’t have to get frustrated, angry, anxious, or any other negative emotion because I have given my day to God.  Now, do I always give Him my day without taking it back?  No, of course not; I am human and often get in the way.  If my heart is open to service, can God bring me those I can be of service?  Absolutely!  And if I share with someone what I believe can be a blessing to them and they say no, I don’t need to feel frustrated because I have given this all to God.  So no matter what you might be selling, remember that God can lead, guide, and bring the right people to you.  As I try to force things to happen, not only is it exhausting, but it is discouraging and doesn’t help anyone.

Let’s look further

Now I want to switch gears a little, and let’s look further at our spiritual lives.  Do the same principles apply to our spiritual lives?  Let’s start by looking at what it was like growing up.  The authority over us was our parents or a guardian.  We were to do and follow whatever the house rules were without question, and if we didn’t, there were consequences.  And as we became parents, we have done the same to our children.  So we have all grown up and been taught to obey authority.  We pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, grit our teeth (make sure no one sees us), and obey.
Many of us obeyed the rules out of fear of the consequences than out of love, and we even started our relationship with God this way.  We do all the spiritual “rituals” in obedience to our parents, but we often don’t understand them.  We learn about all the do’s and don’t’s and follow them as obligations rather than a relationship.  So we go into adult life doing the routine but don’t have a genuine connection with God.  Some give up on God, and others continue the “rituals,” study the Bible, go to church, pray, and the list goes on.  But there is no real peace.

How can we

So how can we have peace?  I believe we can have peace in our everyday work whether we are working for someone else, self-employed, or whatever work line God has given us, like a stay-at-home mom, which is a powerful job.  Is there work we have to do?  Do we have to plan and schedule?  The answer is yes.  You know how the saying goes, what gets scheduled gets done.  If we don’t make plans for our day, we won’t get our exercise, time with God, prayer time, work, school, or anything done.  But how we go about it makes a difference.  We might get fired if we get to work late, but who will fire us if we don’t spend time with God or exercise.  It is easy to allow things to slide in our physical and spiritual lives.  We have to have a plan.
I can’t even explain the peace when I give my day and life to God each day.  It is the most amazing peace.  But I don’t know about you; I keep taking it back.  I keep trying to make my day go well.  And then I try to be a good little Christian, what a disaster.  Does it mean that every day I give everything to God, there will be no disasters?  no, there is a devil!  He wants to discourage us and get us to take back our day.  But I have found that God works out the details if I don’t take it back into my own hands.  You might be saying, “You make it sound so easy.”  It isn’t easy because the fight with self is hard if we do it independently.  And how many of us start doing it on our own as soon as something goes wrong?  Remember our “heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jerimiah 12:9.  We don’t even know our hearts.  But God knows our hearts, and He can even change the desires of our hearts if we ask Him.

Simple faith

We need to become as little children; they have a trusting faith.  They have no fear that we will drop them or let them down.  A little child has complete faith and trust in the person who takes care of them.  We need to have the same faith and trust in God as little children.  Nothing we do outwardly can take the place of simple faith and the entire giving up of self.  And we can’t even empty ourselves of self.  We can only consent for Christ to do the work in us.  We can pray, “Lord, take my heart; for I cannot give it.  It belongs to You.  Keep it pure because I cannot keep it for You.  Save me despite my weak, unchristlike self.  Mold me, fashion me, raise me into a pure and holy atmosphere, where the rich current of Your love can flow through me.”  God is the only One who can change our hearts, but we have to allow Him to have peace.  “Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”  Philippians 4:6,7.

My experience

My experience trusting God with my time is fantastic if I keep trusting Him.  And where it has started for me is making a plan.  My plan begins in the morning, spending time with God in prayer and the study of His Word.  It makes me tear up as I write this, thinking about how powerful God is, and I wonder why I often fail to trust Him.  He is more powerful than I can ever imagine.  God spoke, and things came into existence, and His power continues to sustain everything.
When I start my time with God, I think I lack time, so I will have a quick prayer this morning and then move on to read or study what I have before me.  But God keeps convicting me of how important it is to pray.  I need to pray for my children, family, friends, enemies, our country, and the list can go on.
How can I have time to pray?  I don’t know about you, but I can spend much time praying.  And in my humanness, I can’t imagine how I can have time for all of it.  But here is where the miracle happens if I trust Him.  Every time I trust Him with my time and start with prayer, it always works out.  I get so caught up in worship that time goes by me.  As I come to the end of my prayer, I realize I am probably out of time and won’t be able to spend time studying.  No matter how many times this happens to me, I am always blown away.  As I look at my watch, I am shocked to see how little time has passed and how much I still have left to spend in the Word.  How does God do it?  I don’t know!  But every time, it shows me the power of God.  He is all-powerful.  Why do we fret and worry?  He has our back.  If God is so powerful that He can multiply bread (Matthew 15:32-39), He can multiply time, money, or whatever we need.  We can trust Him!
Dear Father,
Thank You for being so patient with me as I struggle to trust You.  Continue to give me Your promptings to trust You fully.  As I trust You and give all to You, I know I have the most incredible peace.  Please help me and guide me because without You, I am nothing.  I have no strength without You.  Continue to strengthen me as I fumble my way through this life with the hope of the coming life that is soon to come.  Thank You for Your continued love for me.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
I encourage you to trust the One who loved you so incredibly much that He gave His life for you.  He will help you and strengthen you on the journey.
I love you all!
Do you struggle with trusting God?  Do you have an experience that showed you the amazing miracles when you trust Him?  I would love to hear your story.  Please share below in the comments.
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I Was Devastated

Life goes on

You know how life goes on each day without much thought.  We have our routine that we go through and often we don’t allow much to change those routines.

A good example is our dogs, they love to receive love from us.  They want our attention daily.  I know for me when I sit down there come one or two of the dogs to sit beside me on my chair.  It often doesn’t require a whole lot of time but I don’t have the time.

One dog, in particular, is a struggle.  Prince sheds a lot and if you don’t want to go off to work with your clothes full of hair you best keep your distance.  It has been difficult over time because I just love it when he comes up and sits on the back of my neck when I am sitting on the couch.  He keeps my neck warm and lays his chin on my shoulder with such love.

We eventually started to train him to not get on the furniture due to his shedding.  But he would often sneak, when no one was looking, to curl up on a chair or the couch.  And he loves it most if there is a piece of clothing he can lay on that belongs to one of us.  But if we see him we chase him off, wiping off the furniture or shaking a piece of clothing.

I remember that morning

There was one particular morning I found him laying on my coat.  I quickly chased him off and shook out my coat.  But I wish I would have picked him up and just hugged him.  We often chased him away due to his shedding hair.  And we do it without much of a thought.  Because we think today is not going to be any different than any other day.  And this day was no exception.

Every day when I come home from work all 4 of our dogs start barking.  I don’t even really think about it much anymore because it always happens.  So I did notice that only 2 dogs were barking.  When I came into the house there to the left of me, in the entrance to one of our bathrooms sat Cuddles, one of our other dogs.  He appeared to be leaning over like he was choking on something.  But as I came nearer to him I realized he was soaked.  He was trying to walk with his head laying on the floor.  At that point, I realized he was wounded and in major pain.  I didn’t know if his neck was broken or what exactly was wrong.

But then it hit me, where is Prince.  I frantically went to his little bed as I called his name but no Prince.  Then I rushed into the living room where he has another little bed but still no Prince.  I headed for my bedroom where I could look out the window and see the area where we have a fenced-in dog yard.

I was devastated

There lying on his side just before the steps, was Prince, his body had been torn open beyond repair, he was dead.  I was devastated, to say the least.  Grabbing my phone I called my husband crying and hysterical.  I was not sure what to do.

I knew I needed to deal with our dog Cuddles but was not sure how to approach the situation.  He was in such pain I couldn’t pick him up.  I was afraid to make whatever was wrong with him worse, especially if his neck or back was broken.  I am so amazed at how dogs are so intelligent.  Cuddles knew I was trying to help him.  So when I got a box that had low sides and told him I needed him to get into the box, he jumped right in.  I was able to carry him to the car so I could take him to the vet.

Thankful

I was grateful to find out that Cuddles did not have a broken neck or back.  He had several puncture wounds but they didn’t want to stitch them but allow them to drain.  The doctor gave him a muscle relaxer painkiller and an antibiotic for him to take.

Cuddles was in major pain and didn’t do a whole lot for a couple of days but he has recovered.  It did change him and he will never be the same but that is what life experience does to all of us.  Just like us, when injuries happen they change our lives.  Cuddles also lost a friend and you could see the pain in his eyes and the depression that came over him.

It made me think

It started me thinking about the verse that says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” 1 Peter 5:8.  He is seeking to destroy each one of us.  Satan has a goal in mind and it is not in your best interest.

How vigilant are we?  I know I can say for myself I am not as vigilant as I should be.  He can be so subtle.  I am sure that Prince wasn’t suspecting that he would die that day.  And when we start our day we don’t often don’t suspect that our spiritual walk will suffer that day when we feel too busy to take time with the Lord.  But without even seeing it coming our spiritual life is dead.

And the reality is that we can even be spending “time” with God and still be spiritually dead.  Has it just been a duty to spend that time or a routine that you know you should do?  Or are you having an intimate connection with God during that time?  We need to check ourselves and make sure we are connected and if not take the time to reevaluate our life and make changes.

Why me

Then there is another question.  How many people around us have been torn up spiritually by that roaring lion and need help?  But is that my responsibility?  Why does it have to be me?  How do I do it and what is the priority?

Thinking back on my situations with the dogs maybe there is an answer.  There was a dog torn, bleeding, and dead and there was a dog wounded and in much pain.  There was absolutely nothing I could do for the dog that was dead but bury him.  I couldn’t miraculously bring him back to life, only God can do that work.  As I saw it, the emergency at hand, was to take the one that was wounded to the person that could help him in his time of crisis.

I believe the same is true of those around us.  If there is someone that is wounded but still hanging on to a thread of life, it is a crisis and an emergency.  If you don’t deal with it immediately, spiritual death is imminent.   We need to go into immediate action and bring them to the Great Physician for spiritual healing.  It will take time for recovery just like it did for Cuddles.  We have to realize it will take much care, love, prayer, acceptance, and most importantly time, they can come around.  It may not even be in our lifetime but we know God is able and we trust His healing powers.

I remember

One person that was a real praying person in my life was my grandma.  And I remember how she prayed for her children, particularly one of her sons.  Many years after she had passed away her son, on his deathbed, gave his heart fully to God.  Each person has the power to choose and God can’t force anyone but as we continue to pray He will continue to work.

It brought me comfort to know that she prayed for all of us and how much faith and hope she had in God and His ability to answer her prayers.  And although she is resting in the grave until Jesus comes I believe God is continuing to honor her prayers for her family.  I believe prayer is the key to opening the storehouses of heaven.  In other words, God will pull out all the stops for the salvation of just one person.

But what about…

Now the question is what about Prince, the dead dog?  How can I apply this to someone dead spiritually?  Can they be brought back to life?  Well, for Prince my son made a special box for the burial, dug a hole, then we had a moment of prayer and buried him.

When it comes to death, spiritually speaking, it will take much prayer, love, compassion, acceptance, and time.  It takes the same formula as for the wounded that are hanging on spiritually by a thread.  Often it is the faults of others that have caused a person to be devoured by the roaring lion, Satan.  It is a time for reflection and making sure we are in alignment with God and His love.

What can we bury

Is there something we can bury when it comes to someone dead spiritually?  I believe there is more than one thing that needs to be buried.  Let’s start with self.  It is so easy to look at others and see the problems and we think we have the answers, “if they would just do this or that.”  Or maybe we think they need to change and we have the answers for them.  Let’s bury those thoughts right now.  We need to get back to thinking, “What would Jesus do?”  Yes, we have all heard this saying and it has become a saying without meaning.  But the answer is still there.

If we dig into the Word and study the life of Christ on earth, we will find how He treated people that had serious problems.  The people with serious problems, whether physical or spiritual were drawn to Jesus.  Are people with serious problems drawn to you?  This is a question we need to ask ourselves.  And by the way, the majority of the time the physical problems will go away when the emotional and spiritual issues are addressed.  We can see this process in the life of Christ and His ministry.  It takes much prayer, love, compassion, acceptance, and time.  It is God that does the work, we are just His instruments.  He is the one that knows the timing and what is fully needed for any particular person.

What else…

You may be asking the question, “Great but what else needs to be buried?”  Eventually, the person you’re praying for, loving, showing compassion to, and making them feel accepted through their struggle, will want to bury something.  There is something that has died that they will want to bury so that it doesn’t come back.

They have been torn and they have been bleeding and death has come to their spiritual lives.  But because of your prayers, love, compassion, and your smile of acceptance, they are ready to bury those things that have wounded them.  The things that have drained the last bit of life out of them, they are ready to let go of and let the love and blood of Christ fill their souls.  It is us allowing the power of Christ to work through us.

So many…

There are so many souls that are hurting, ready to end their life forever.  The numbers seem insurmountable but you can start right here.  There is someone within your sphere that is experiencing either just barely hanging on for dear life or is dead spiritually.  And being dead spiritually will eventually bring physical death sooner than we want to have it happen.

Let’s put our time into that soul that is closest to us.  Don’t worry about what others may say or think about your choices.  This can become the most important focus you have and others may not understand.  But there is One that does understand.  Let Him lead and guide you.

Much prayer is needed.  We need to be praying for God’s leading in our lives so that we can see the wounded and dying around us.  It is so easy to just go day to day without thought or notice, oblivious to those around us.  When we are told to “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), there is a reason.  We need to have our thoughts so connected with God that at any moment we will be lifting up a prayer when needed.  And being connected is the only way we will hear God’s voice as He leads us.

Dear Father,

Thank You that You are always there for us and that You see all our hearts. Give us eyes that see people as You see people. As we go through our day, give us Your love to extend to those in need. Continue to prompt our hearts to stay connected with You so that we can reflect Your love.

Be with those that are hanging on by a thread or are dead spiritually. Surround them with Your Angels, protecting them from the devouring lion that seeks to destroy them. Protect us and guard us so that we don’t become a source of their discouragement but only reflect Your love. We know only You can read hearts but we sometimes forget and judge anyway.

Thank You for Your continual grace and mercy toward all.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Keep your eyes on Jesus and stay so connected that you reflect His love. Let’s not let another day go by letting someone slip away.

And if you are just hanging on by a thread or even feel totally “dead” reach out to someone that can help you through this difficult time.

I love you all!

What about you? Have you struggled at times where you have felt like you are hanging on by a thread? What helped you through your situation? Share in the comments. Are you going through hard times right now? Share your story so that we can be praying for you and there may be someone here reading that can relate to your story and be of help to you.

I am working on moving my blog over to another platform where I post blogs that cover every aspect whether spiritual, physical, or emotional health.  If you would like to continue getting these blogs please go and subscribe at Revitalizing Your Health

 

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The Most Amazing Thanksgiving Ever!

Thankful!

I think we all have a lot to be thankful for if we are willing to look. Often we can get so caught up in the struggles of life that we can’t see beyond our negative or discouraging thoughts. But Thanksgiving is a day that can help us to reflect.

Think back for a moment to what the Pilgrims had been through before their first Thanksgiving. They had escaped persecution to come to a country where they lost so many of their loved ones. They were struggling just to survive. Yet God was with them through all the trials and struggles by providing help when they needed it most.

We can often not see the help that is provided through the tough times but if we are willing to look back or even pay attention amid the trials we can see it. But too often we want to hang on to the negative instead of finding the positive. We complain about the trials and hardships and take for granted all the good that comes our way like we deserve it or it is owed to us.

Tradition

Thanksgiving seems to have become more of a tradition. And to be honest it has kind of gotten lost in Christmas. Christmas has become the moneymaker of the century so Thanksgiving, well it is just a day.  It is a day of gluttony and maybe family togetherness. But it is a day we should choose to be thankful.

For me, I have often dreaded it because there is so much work involved. But over the years I have realized less time and effort put into preparing is okay. It is really about being together with friends and family and reflecting on what we are grateful for.

Grateful

What am I the most grateful for this year? I am most grateful for the love and mercy of God. Where would we be without it? I see myself often taking His love and care for granted. And when something doesn’t go the way I want it, I question His ways.

The longer I live I realize if I would just stop and reflect I can see His hand in all of it. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Yet He loves us so much, despite our sin, that He keeps coming and wooing us to Himself. He never gives up.

When I am feeling down, discouraged, and realizing I blew it again, I am still His daughter. He is right there beside me, guiding, comforting, prompting, and loving me. Who in this life even does that? Parents are the closest thing to possibly being like God to their children. But as parents, we fail in so many ways. But God’s love never fails.

Hard to Fathom

God’s love is so hard to even fathom. Because no matter what we do He still loves us. We may crucify Him afresh every day but He is still there reaching out His love to us. He wants so bad to have a relationship with us.

Jesus gave up the majesty of Heaven to come down to a place like this. He was born in a stable with beasts of the field. He was ridiculed, bullied, tempted, and was killed but yet He never stopped loving each person. How can we even begin to thank a God with such a magnitude of love?

What God wants is our hearts. He wants to have a connection with us. A connection that is so strong that we will no longer want to do anything that will hurt Him. This is a love that only He can give to us. He provides us with the love to love Him. It is hard for my mind to even wrap around that kind of love. He will do the work in us if we allow Him in. Now that is something to be grateful for!!

Resolution

How many of us make a New Years’ resolution? Probably a lot of us have or still do. Well, this year I am making my resolution on Thanksgiving. My daughter has wanted to have a thankful jar. As we think of things to be thankful for, throughout the year, we write them on a piece of paper and put them in the jar. We did it a little one year but I want to make it more of a habit. So when we come together again next Thanksgiving we can look back over our year and reflect on what we have been grateful for. And we will see how God loves, cares, and provides for our every need.  It isn’t always easy but I am committing to start now.

Dear Father,

Forgive us for not being as thankful as we should be. Prompt our hearts each day, showing us You and what You are doing in our lives. We can be so blind and we need Your help. Thank You for being there for us every step of the way.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

I encourage you to start a thankful tradition.

May you have the most amazing Thanksgiving ever!

Love you all.

Do you have a thankful tradition? If so I would love to hear about it.

 

 

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I Can’t Help Myself!

Help!

Everywhere you turn there is negative.  We can’t seem to stay away from it.  At times, we may immerse ourselves so much into it that we lose sight of true life.  We can lose our happiness and it gets us off the track of where we need to be.

I can’t help myself I have to say something!  Is this the life that God has intended for us, a life of getting distracted by who said what, when, and how?  Does He want us to have a life of trying to discover what is wrong with any particular person, life, entity, church, business, etc.?  For me, the answer is no.  And by the way, to investigate evil people or entities to convince one’s self that there is something wrong with them is not the form of “truth” I want to immerse my life in.

Truth

First, let’s start with the truth.  What is truth?  How can you know what truth is? If you are not present in any given situation how can you know what was said or done? 

Some may say, “I googled it.”  Oh really, so that is our form of truth now.  Some say, “Well, _______ said it so it has to be true.”  So how did you come to trust whatever person you are putting your trust in?  Do you know them or do they just seem to agree with your views? 

The truth I want to immerse my life in is the truth of God’s Word.  I want to spend a thoughtful hour each day studying the life of Jesus, especially those last scenes.  The scenes in Gethsemane, the trial, His death on the cross, and the fact that He rose again, are the themes I want to focus on.  I want to fill my thoughts with understanding the love that He has for me.  And not just for me but for all people. 

Our thoughts

Our thoughts are so very powerful.  Somewhere around nine-tenths of all diseases have their foundation in the mind.  Our thoughts affect our bodies.  And if our thoughts are on negative themes it causes so much havoc to our everyday lives and eventually destroys our health.

It could be unrest in our country or home.  There could be someone we have not forgiven, and it could even be ourselves.  Anything in our life that is eating us like a canker, eating our very souls, weakening the life forces.  Even remorse for sin sometimes undermines our constitutions and unbalances the mind.

Why do we think we are all-powerful?  And you may be saying, “I don’t think I am all-powerful.”  Well, I would beg to differ.  We may not say it or think we think it but our actions say otherwise.  Somehow our human nature wants to learn about all the bad, ugly, wrong, evil, etc. in this world and then try to convince others not to get involved with it, whatever it is.  And we may get discouraged or even angry at times because someone doesn’t believe or agree with what we are trying to convince them to believe or think.  And all these things just destroy our health, whether it is physically, spiritually, or emotionally.

Critics

Oh, I can hear the critics now.  “You can’t live by your emotions.”  The fact is God gave emotions to us and I believe that it is our thoughts and feelings that make up our moral character.  And it starts with our thoughts.  If our thoughts are not in the right place, our emotions are affected, and thus our physical and spiritual health as well.  This is why I believe it is so important to keep our thoughts and our lives focused on what is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy. Philippians 4:8.  Oh, I don’t think I am perfect here at all, I am speaking to myself as well when I write these words.

This brings me back to what is truth?  Pilate asked Jesus this question at His trial.  But Pilate wasn’t willing to wait for an answer from the One that could have shown Him the truth.  He was too busy listening to the people and worried about his political standing.  Pilate was not focused on truth.  He did try to persuade the people of what he thought might be the truth but instead, he was persuaded to go with the most popular opinion and he crucified the Savior.

The solution

I believe the solution is keeping our eyes focused on Jesus.  We need to be keeping our thoughts on His Word.  And spend time in nature, where He can teach us so many spiritual lessons.  God has spiritual lessons all around us through His Word and nature if we would just open our eyes and behold Him. 

God’s Word is our measuring stick to everything.  When we start to point out the bad of this or that thing or this or that person, the question should be is it virtuous and praiseworthy.  Is it going to strengthen and edify my spiritual life and bring me closer to Christ?  We know it isn’t if we can admit it.

I haven’t known anyone yet when trying to prove their political or religious view, that they don’t become a finger pointer.  And their focus is not on the Savior.  I can guarantee that if you are genuinely focused on God and keep your mind on higher themes that you will know when the “counterfeit money” passes by and you will choose not to take part in it. 

I don’t know their method now but it use to be before you could be a bank worker you had to learn to watch for counterfeit money.  They never showed them the counterfeit money so they would know when the counterfeit money would come through.  They would have to memorize the genuine money.  The bankers became so familiar with the true money they recognized when the counterfeit money passed by them.  Remember the counterfeit is always changing.  You have to stay connected and memorize that which never changes, which is God and His Word.

Do something!

There are so many people that are hurting right now!  The suicides are happening daily, even more than ever before.  Look at the life of Jesus.  He didn’t spend much time investigating or focusing on those in leadership positions.  He focused on those around Him that needed Him.  Jesus focused on those that were hungry physically and spiritually.   He spent time ministering to others and their needs.  And He didn’t discuss with them the evils of the day.

We get so caught up with what is happening around us, discussing the right and wrongs of the church or political leaders, or whether this or that is wrong, that we are missing what we should be caring about.  People are dying because they lack hope.  We should have a hope that is burning within our hearts that we can share with others as the opportunity presents itself. 

“But wait a minute, don’t I have a responsibility to point out others in their bad behavior?”   No, stop right there!  You are not responsible for others and their bad behavior.  We are seed planters!  Our lives should be a witness to the love of God.  As we live a life of love and service and share loving and kind words as the opportunity presents itself, God does the work.  We can’t change people; only God can make the changes if they cooperate with Him.  Even God doesn’t force anyone or try to convince anyone of the truth.  So why do we try to do something that God doesn’t even do?

We were not placed on this earth to convince people of what is right or wrong.  Christ is our example!  We need to go study the life of Christ and learn from Him about how to minister to those around us.  And quit looking at how other people are ministering to others.  God has called everyone to minister.  But it is not our place to tell people what it is for them. 

Jesus experienced his disciples condemning someone that was witnessing for Him but wasn’t following Jesus and He rebuked them.  His disciples were referring to a man that was casting out devils in Jesus’ name.  But Jesus let them know to leave him alone, those that aren’t against us are for us. (Mark 9:38 or Luke 9:49). 

Oh but…

I am hearing it now.  Someone is saying, Oh, but don’t we have a responsibility to speak or write to a leader, whether a church, political, or whatever leader they may be, and point out the wrongs?  There may be a place where we should stand up and speak or vote for the right issues.  But this should not consume our lives.  Do what you need to do and in a Christ-like manner so that Jesus can reach their hearts.  And then leave it in God’s hands and leave it alone.

I am speaking out of experience and I have been making changes in my life so that these things don’t control me.  The devil doesn’t care how he gets us distracted,  just as long as he can get our minds off of the real goal.  Our real goal in life is to stay close to Jesus so that our lives so reflect Him that it draws all men to Him.

Dear Father,

With all that is happening around us, it is so easy to get distracted.  We need You to surround us and keep bringing us back to the goals You have for us.  Speak to our hearts as we plant Your seeds of love to all of those around us, reflecting only You.  It is so easy to want to fit into one group or another that we lose focus of You.  Prompt our hearts and bring us back to the right focus.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Let’s get back to Christ’s method of love and plant seeds daily.

Love you all!

Have you felt the urge to change your focus?

 

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Are You Ready For What is Coming?

Ready or not

We have all heard the saying, “Ready or not here it comes”.  This is so true when winter is coming.  It is going to come whether you are ready or not and it is up to you to be ready.  This was my experience this winter.

The weather app was predicting snow.  And it wasn’t just like 25, 30, or even 50% chance.  It was predicting a 100% chance of snow and with an accumulation.  We had known this for a few days.  And I even said, “I need to get my studded tires on.”

Now I know for those that don’t live in snow country and mountains you may not even know what I am talking about but for where I live it is necessary.  For me to get home, I have to either have studded tires or put chains on to go up to our mountain home.  I put chains on for a few years but I have no desire to do that anymore.  And I don’t even own chains for my car.

Yep, it happened

You know you always question and wonder if the weatherman is right.  Are you going to trust what he says or just take your chances?  Well, some people keep hoping for another day and don’t follow through with what really needs to be done.

The morning of the prediction I went to work as usual.  No snow and the roads were fine.  But when I came out of work there was a good 5 or 6 inches of snow on my car and I knew that meant even more where I live.  I did have a coat and gloves but I was not equipped with boots (always a good thing to carry with you in case you can’t make it home and you have to walk).

The frustration kicked in as I started to clean my car off, knowing I would have to drive home with tires that were not fit for winter driving.  The roads were one aspect but the worst was being able to drive up our long hill to our house.  But I had no choice at this point.  Thankfully I made it home without a huge amount of trouble.

It made me…

My experience made me start to think.  We knew the snow was coming but made no effort to get prepared.  What about Jesus soon coming?  We know it is coming!  We don’t know exactly when He is coming but we know it will happen.  The same is really true of the snow.  There may be a prediction but a lot of times they are off by hours and sometimes days.  But we know the season and recognize the signs that winter is coming soon.

The reality is that we also know the signs of Jesus coming and it is at hand.  Are we preparing like He is coming or are we too caught up in life to notice?  We might even be ignoring it because we aren’t ready and we don’t want to take the time and effort at this point in our lives.  I think we need to start rethinking our priorities, at least I know I do.

I didn’t get my tires on in time and it was a struggle to get home but I made it.  But if we are not prepared when Jesus lays down His Priestly duties of interceding for us to come and get us to take us home and we are not ready, what a sad day that will be.  I can feel that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when I think about it.  But does it make us seek Him more?  Are we ignoring the signs?

This hit home

For me this illustration God showed me hit home hard.  It is so easy to get caught up in day-to-day life that we miss the signs or just plain ignore them.  And it is so easy to get distracted by the things around us.

So what should we be doing?  Should we be keeping up with all that is going on around us so we can “see the signs”?  What about my job should I quit?  Should I stop doing and living a somewhat normal life?

Although I don’t know whether God would want you to quit your job and do something different, one thing I do know is that we do have to keep living even though things around us may seem to be falling apart.  I still had to go to work even though I knew it was going to snow, but I could have been prepared.  And just like I should have been prepared for the snow I can be prepared each day for Jesus coming.  We never know when our last day will be, we have to be prepared always.

Dear Father,

We know that Your coming is soon.  But it is so easy to get caught up with all the things around us that we don’t even give You the time of day.  Surround us with Your Angels that can keep back the one that wants to distract us.  Prompt our hearts daily with your Spirit, helping us to keep our eyes focused on You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Come to the cross each day and surrender your life to the One who can bring you through.

Love you all!

Share a time when you should have been ready for something because you knew it was coming and you weren’t ready? What did you learn?

 

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Spiritually B A L A N C E D Part 2 of 8

B A L A N C E D

Be open to the Holy Spirit

Acknowledge that you’re a sinner

Lament for your sins

Allow God to work in your life

Nourish yourself with God’s Word

Commune with God

Exercise faith in God

Draw strength from God

Keeping our lives balanced can be a challenge whether it is physically or spiritually.  And the next part in our series for a balanced life is no exception.

Acknowledge that you’re a sinner

It can be difficult to truly acknowledge we are a sinner.  We might be able to say it but to really understand what it means is a totally different story.  So the question would be, what does it mean to acknowledge that we are a sinner?  And how can we know that we are a sinner?

Start with…

The first way to know whether or not we are a sinner is to start by looking at other people,  right?  Wrong!!!  But isn’t that what we do a lot of times?  We look at ourselves as better than those people so we must not be that bad.  So we don’t see ourselves as we truly are.  But we are not any better than the next person.  We can look at the most horrific sin out there and think how horrible but that could be us because we have all been born with sinful flesh.  We are no better than anyone else.  “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:23.

Now you might be saying but I haven’t murdered anyone or committed adultery.  That may be true but in God’s eyes, sin is sin.  Sin separates us from God.  And remember to hate someone in God’s eyes is classified as murder and what you think in your heart can be adultery.  “…Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” Matthew 5:28.  It is about what is in our hearts and minds.

Begin by…

Where we need to begin is at the cross.  We need to keep our eyes focused on Jesus and what He has done for us.  The more we focus on Him we see ourselves as we truly are and that is what brings us to the point of acknowledging that we are a sinner.  We cannot realize our need until we come to the point of seeing ourselves as we truly are.  Jesus said, “…For without Me ye can do nothing” John 15:5.  We can’t even see our wretchedness or our worth without coming to the cross.

When we focus on others we look at ourselves as “rich, and increased with goods, and having need of nothing;” and we don’t recognize the fact that we are “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” Revelation 3:17.  But when we behold Christ we see our need.  And as we behold Him we can recognize our sinfulness and our need for a Savior.  And that all of our righteousness is as filthy rags but His righteousness is complete.  We need to ask Jesus to come into our lives and let His righteousness live out in our lives.

Dear Father,

We need You to even realize our sinfulness.  But I am so grateful to You that as we come to the cross and realize how sinful we are, the cross also shows us how much we are worth.  Thank You for the love and worth that You have shown to us.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Come to the cross today and every day for the rest of your life!  Jesus loves you with unfailing love and is waiting for You.

Love you all!

If you are someone that already comes to the cross each day what blessing has it been for you?

If you have not yet read part 1 in this series check it out here:  Spiritually B A L A N C E D Part 1 of 8

 

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Spiritually B A L A N C E D Part 1 of 8

I talked about having balance in our lives both spiritually and physically.   Now I am starting a series in both areas.  I pray that each one will be a blessing to you as we all grow.

Balanced!

In any of our lives, it can be difficult to have balance but it is crucial that we do what we can to create balance in our lives.  In this series on being balanced in our spiritual lives I will be covering these areas.

Be open to the Holy Spirit

Acknowledge that you’re a sinner

Lament for your sins

Allow God to work in your life

Nourish yourself with God’s Word

Commune with God

Exercise faith in God

Draw strength from God

In part one I will be focusing on Be open to the Holy Spirit.

Be open

After Jesus died for our sins and went back to heaven He sent us the great gift of the Holy Spirit.  And we cannot do anything without the Holy Spirit.  Christ works in our lives through the Holy Spirit and as Jesus said, “…Without me ye can do nothing…” John 15:5.

It is the Holy Spirit that draws our hearts and does the work within our hearts.  We wouldn’t even know anything about God and His love for us if the Spirit didn’t draw us.  He may impress others to share their testimonies, pray with us, or even share some truths from the Bible.  I call this seed planting.  But Jesus makes those seeds grow through the power for he Holy Spirit.

God never forces anyone.  He draws but it is up to us to be open to His drawing.  I believe every one of us, if we are honest with ourselves, can think of a time that we felt the drawing of the Spirit.  And there are times we listen and other times we don’t.  I can think of different times in my life that I didn’t listen to that “…still small voice” 1 Kings 19:13.  He comes to us so gently.  It starts with Him every time.

Think of someone, it may have been you, who grew up not even knowing anything about God and who He is.  God is drawing their hearts through the Holy Spirit.  They don’t know what it is but at times they listen to that still small voice.  I recall my mom telling me about getting the impression that she should or shouldn’t do a particular thing as she was growing up even though she didn’t really know anything about God.  Now that she is a Christian she can look back in her life and see when those times were and what the Lord was trying to save her from.

I have given my heart

Once we have been drawn and learned about Jesus and what He has done for us and we accept Him, He continues to speak to our heart through the Holy Spirit.  Is it an audible voice?  At times it may be but for me mostly it has not been audible.  It is really hard to explain what it is but for those that have experienced it they know what I am talking about.  You might call it an impression.

For me, I always like to invite the Holy Spirit to speak to my heart through God’s Word.  As I read His Word the Spirit impresses me with those things that need to change in my life.  He has also spoken to me through individuals around me.  Sometimes when the Lord uses people we tend to not listen.  It can be a little more difficult but we need to be open to what others share with us.  Go before the Lord in prayer and ask the Lord if He is using the person to show you something.  If we are honest in our hearts we will know if it is from God or not.

What I love

What I really love about God is how caring He is.  He cares about everything in our lives and sends the Spirit to speak to us about the every day mundane things as well.  You would think that He would only care about the big things but not God He is interested in every part of our lives.  He wants to teach us that we can trust Him.  We don’t have to worry about anything that is going on around us.  He has our back.  And everything that happens will work together for our good, even though we can’t see it at the time.

What I realize is how much I really need to write down the things the Lord speaks to me about and whether or not I listened.  It would be good to be able to look back and see those things.

I remember one time when I was grocery shopping.  We all have our particular stores we go to and what we buy at each of those stores.  Well, this particular day I had an item that I wanted to get that I always bought at a particular store because it was less expensive.  I went to two other stores before I was going to the store where I would get that item.  At each of the previous stores I walked passed the very item and a little voice said, “Buy them here”.  But I was determined to get them at the store where it was less expensive.  You have probably figured this out already.  When I got to the store where I wanted to buy it, they were out.  It definitely would have made my life easier if I just would have listened.  But what amazes me about this story the most is that God cares about it.  He wants to help us with everything.  And it starts with listening to that still small voice.

Test the spirits

We do need to realize that there is more than one kind of spirit.  We need to be sure to test the spirits, whether they are of God.  Now obviously it wouldn’t matter to God if I buy a particular item at one store or another He is just trying to make my life easier.  But there are other things that do matter.  We need t always test the spirit by the Word of God.  Because there are evil spirits as well that can speak to us and people do mistaken it of the Holy Spirit.  But if we stay in God’s Word and test everything by His Word we will be safe.

This is why it is so important to spend time each day in God’s Word and in prayer.  We need to have knowledge that will help us discern the spirits throughout the day.  If we have hidden God’s Word within our hearts we will have the discernment that we need.

Dear Father,

We want to have Your Spirit drawing us.  It can be hard at times with our selfish hearts to listen but it is our hearts desire.  You have promised that You will never leave us or forsake us.  We claim that promise and ask for Your Spirit to soften our icebound natures that want to take over.

I pray that the mighty energies of Your Holy Spirit with all quickening, recuperative, and transforming power, may fall like an electric shock on our palsy-stricken souls, causing every nerve to thrill with new life, and restoring us fully from our dead, earthly, sensual state to spiritual soundness.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Be opened to the Holy Spirit starting today!

Love you all!