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Thursday, November 28, 2013

Blessed Assurance

Psalm 100

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.


Blessed Assurance ~

On this day of Thanksgiving we have much to be thankful for.  One is the blessed assurance that we have because Jesus is our Savior.  I heard that old hymn this morning and I was truly blessed!  It's not the singers....it's not the story behind the song....it's not the music....and no....it's not really even the words of the song.  It's that when you worship the Lord He moves within you and touches that place that is deep within each of us....our very souls!  It's when we allow ourselves to fall into His presence and worship....fall into His presence and tell Him we love Him....fall into His presence and totally lose ourselves in Him....that's when Jesus takes over....reaches out and takes us in His arms....pours His spirit into us....and heals the broken places within that have left us scared and bruised.  Sometimes we just need to abandon every thought and feeling that we hold inside....let go and let God take control....and be with Him.  Jesus will heal you and give you His blessed assurance. 

Today as you are with your family and friends remember that they may not all know Him as you do.  Or maybe they do but deep within they have hurts and scars that still need His healing touch.  Be aware and be open to those around you.  Say a silent prayer for each one that walks through your door that they may feel His love today....and let Him touch them.

Here are the words of that old song....

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood!

chorus:
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long!

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight,
Angels descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior in happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Keep watching and waiting today and be ready. Jesus is coming soon!

until we see Jesus....face to face









Sunday, November 24, 2013

Prayer

Father God here we are again asking one more time for Your strength....comfort....and peace.
There are many that need healing for many different things.  Some have hurt or tired souls that need to feel your touch....others have broken spirits for You to mend....some have lost family or friends and need to feel your comfort surround them....and still others need a touch of healing in their bodies.  Father God if You could just let all of Your children know tonight how much You love them and that You are holding them right now....and You are in control of whatever circumstance they find themselves in.  Let them all feel the warmth of Your love and and know that You are holding them in Your arms as they drift off to sleep.  Begin the healing that is needed in all that cry out to You tonight. 

And Father, for all of those that we love that aren't living for You right now....speak to their hearts.  Let them know that You are the One they need to turn to.  That You are the One that can make their life worth living.  Let Your Spirit speak into their thoughts as they sleep so they wake up thinking about You.

Thank You for loving us and being with us. Thank You for giving us restful sleep tonight. We love You and ask all of this in Jesus name....Amen


John 14:27  “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

Philippians 4:7  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.


Today I continue to find myself in a place that is hard for me and yet....

No matter how hard it is I know....God is here....in this place....with me.  I have been reminded this morning that regardless of where I am today....because of the Lord....I can have peace.  Sometimes we find ourselves in places that are just plain hard!  But look at the place Jesus found Himself in....

Tied to a post and beaten.  Dragged through the streets being whipped.  Carrying our very lives....the cross....on His back.  And then....being nailed on that cross....suffering more than we will ever know....until He breathed His last breath.  

Jesus....He can speak peace and calm the raging storms causing everything to be still and quiet.  If He can do that I know He can calm the storms within us when life just doesn't seem to calm down on its own.  Jesus is the Peace Speaker, and yes....I know Him by name! 

I am reminded again this morning that all you need to do is just call out to Him.  Raise your hands in worship and ask Him to fill you with His peace.  Ask Him to come and help you....then surrender your every thought....your entire being....to Him.  He will come and help you.  He will come and fill you with all that you need for the time you find yourself in...He will impart His peace to you.

If you find yourself in need of His peace today....call out to Him.  He is the Peace Speaker and He knows you by name too.

Peace
Peace
Wonderful peace
Coming down from the Father above
Sweep over my spirit forever I pray
In fathomless billows of Love

Let Him cover you in His peace as you go through your day today.

until we see Jesus....face to face





Friday, November 22, 2013

Transfusion Of Love


Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Trust.  Do we truly trust the Lord in/with everything or is it just something we tell others that we are doing?  Does the Lord let us have wilderness experiences to teach us to trust Him more?  That may be one of the reasons or it may be a by product of what our wilderness is.  Either way....learning to trust in the Lord through....and for....all things is good! 

Psalm 9:10
Those who know Your name trust in You,
for You, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for You.

There may be another reason we go through wilderness experiences in our life....to learn to worship and be thankful!


1 Thessalonians 5:18
In everything give thanks,
For this is the will of God.

This week the Lord has brought this verse to my remembrance more than once.  He has also been talking to me about worship.  You can worship anywhere....not just at church during "worship time"!  In fact the best times of worship can be when you are all alone....with just you and the LORD!  He wants us to worship Him....love Him....be with Him! 

I was reading in Exodus this week about the children of Israel.  Think about your life and your wilderness experiences for a minute....then think about theirs.  Can you relate to some of the things they went through?  Sometimes our lives seem to be stuck, going through one hard time after another.  We can call them wilderness experiences. And if we are truthful it can feel like we are out there walking in circles in a desert....round and round a mountain....getting no relief....with no foreseeable way out of our current situation.  A true wilderness experience.  Why does God let you be in these situations?  He can stop them anytime. God is God and He can change everything whenever He wants too.  He doesn't have to let you stay where you are.  He can change your reality with a word....a wave of His hand....just a breath!  So why does He let us go on and on in the wilderness?!  Maybe....

He wants us to learn to worship Him in everything.  Give.HIM.Thanks.Through.It.All!!
Worship and give thanks. He longs for us to do that. It isn't only that He wants this for Himself He also wants us to worship Him for us....it is beneficial for us! The more we worship Him and give Him praise and thanks....the more He ministers to us!  The closer we get to Him.  He becomes more and more a part of us and we become less and less dependent on ourselves and on the world.

John 3:30
He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

God wants us to trust Him regardless of our current life situation.  And, while we are trusting He wants us to worship Him. He desires the praises of His people and we are His people.

Psalm 100:2
Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before Him singing with joy.
 
When God led the Children of Israel into the desert He was creating a people for Himself.  He wanted them to learn to trust Him and to Worship Him!  That's one of the things He was teaching them....but it seems they weren't very fast learners!  Many times we aren't either.  Just like He knew their future....He knows ours.  God knows when we are about to enter into the wilderness before we do.  He also knows that in learning to worship Him through it that the trip will be much easier for us.  He wants us to learn to love and worship Him with every part of our being.

Deuteronomy 6:5
And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.

We need to learn to fall into Him with our whole being.  Ignoring everyone around us and becoming one with Him....experiencing His complete and full love for us!  We may still be in our wilderness but the journey won't be as bad because we will feel the presence of the Lord....His love....so much greater with us.

For me I like to think that when we worship the Lord He gives us a transfusion of Love....

Ephesians 3:19
[That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!


until we see Jesus....face to face



Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Give Thanks

November....the month of Thankfulness. 

This has been a rough month for me and at times I haven't always been sure I could keep on going.  But because of the Lord I have.  The one thing that I always try to remember is that just because I'm a believer in Christ....life will still happen to me just as it does to non believers.  That's the bad part.  The good part is....the Lord is walking beside me through all of life's happenings.  Good and bad.  For the biggest part of my life that is not how it was.  When things went wrong I had no One to turn to....and that didn't work too well.  Now I ask the Lord for help all the time.  The best part of that is....He helps me.  As some of you know I'm having some major back issues going on.  Because of this sometimes I can hardly walk.  So when I'm having a hard time I have started saying....Jesus please help me and please help it not to hurt so bad.  You know....it works....He works!  I am still walking and believing that I will continue to do so.  I am so thankful that Jesus has been helping me.  And as long as I keep asking Him I believe He will continue to do that.  He may not heal me but He will be with me through everything. 

Do I want the Lord to heal me?  More than you know!  But there's something else I want.  That Jesus be glorified through all of this.  I want my family and friends that don't know Him to come to know Him.  I want to have a testimony to share that makes people say....WOW!!!  Jesus did that for you??!!!!  Not to make me look good in anyway.  But only so JESUS out shines everything and everyone!  That's what I want to happen because of all of this.

I was talking to someone tonight that doesn't know Jesus as their Savior.  They think that because their basically good that all is well.  I want her to really know that all is well.  To be able to say with confidence....

It.Is.Well.With.My.Soul!!! 

This person knows all I have had go wrong over the last couple of years.  I just keep telling her that GOD is going to take care of it all.  That I am trusting Him to get me through this just as He did all of the other things He brought me through.  I'm also believing....and trusting....that GOD isn't going to let me down! 

For all of this tonight....For all my family and all of my friends that I love so much....

I am so....so....Thankful!!!

1 Thessalonians 5:18
In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.


until we see Jesus....face to face

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Prayer for Strength

Father God with a humble heart
we bow our heads to pray
Asking You to help us now
give us strength for one more day
Sometimes the load we carry
seems more than we can bear
But Lord we know that with You
we should never fall to despair
Please wrap Your arms around us
and hold us up tonight
Give us peace filled rest and keep us safe
throughout the stormy night
When we wake to the new day dawning
fill our hearts abundantly
With all Your fresh new mercies
that You give so willingly








Monday, November 11, 2013

He Makes Things Possible

When you're not sure you can keep going....talk to GOD.  Tell Him how you feel and exactly what you're afraid of.  He will answer you.  Sometimes He answers you through others and sometimes through a still small voice within....which I really like.  Yet at other times He uses His word....and with one of my favorite verses....

Joshua 1:9

Be strong and courageous!
Do Not be afraid or discouraged.
For the Lord your God will be with you
wherever you go.

Faith....it makes things possible, not easy.

Where is your faith level at today?  God uses trials to build our faith.  We don't always understand and most times we don't like it.  But....just keep holding on to His hand.  He will walk through your trial with you if you let Him.

until we see Jesus....face to face

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Life Lessons

Tonight I just want to share a little bit of something I have become increasingly thankful for lately. I've been having some back problems and there have been many times when I can hardly take a step. One of my legs just tightens up, and has so much pain, that I can't seem to move it.  But....there is something positive that I am learning through all of this....

A couple of days ago I was talking to God about it all.  You know....telling Him how I really didn't think I could take much more of the pain.  Really, I'm not normally wimpy but at times you just simply have had enough....I was there!  Then I remembered something....

Just whisper the name JESUS....JESUS....JESUS....

Jesus will come to you.  He will help you.  He will walk right beside you.  In fact....when you are to tired....to weak....in too much pain to take that next step....Jesus will carry you when you can't get up and go one more step on your own.  So that's what I did....

I literally said....JESUS every time I took a step.  You know what....with each step there was a little less pain.  The sharpness left and I was able to get dressed and get to work.  I'm not healed but I am learning that He is there with us all the time.  All we need to do is call on Him and He will make things a little easier for us.

You can read in the Bible where Jesus walked on the water....calmed the raging seas....He called out "Peace, be still"....and there was peace!  Whenever we call on Him He hears us.  He listens for us to talk to Him....call to Him....whisper to Him.  Jesus wants to calm our storms....give us that same peace. 

Sometimes it's hard.  We are in the midst of a storm and we don't know how to handle it.  We don't know if anything will ever be normal again.  But you know what....even if nothing is ever what it use to be....it will be okay.  Jesus will still be there with us.  Carrying us when we need Him to....walking beside us if that's what we need....calming the waters if the storm gets too rough.  Whatever we need....as long as we put our faith and trust in Him....Jesus will be there to supply it. 

Read about Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4:35-41.

Thankful today that Jesus hears us when we call.

until we see Jesus....face to face