2nd week 2016

 Last week I reposted exactly as the original was, and am doing so this week, so you can see the evolution of my form and layout. Next week I will begin to update the look to what I have been doing. 

November 24, 2016

Knee Time

We have all heard it, many of us have said it...."I need some ME time!"  Usually it is said when we have reached the end of our serving, nurturing, mothering, fathering, loving, catering, caring rope.

We just want a little recharge, rejuvenate time....R and R!

What I have learned in my relationship with my Dear Friend is that regardless of ME time....is the need for KNEE TIME!
The need for me to be on my KNEES with my Dear Friend!
Jesus Himself had Knee Time with His Father...our Father, so should we do any less?

Luke 22:⁴¹ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ⁴² “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

It was a moment of totally surrendering to the will of the Father.  I believe that on our knees we are humble, surrendered to our Maker.
Our time in prayer needs to stem from our humility before God.  One of my favorite sections of scripture comes from Philippians 2

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

To me this says it all!  We MUST be humble in our relationships, before our God.  And it says that "at the name of JESUS every knee shall bow"!  not just here, but in heaven...even the heavenly beings will take a knee before Christ! 

The more humble we are, the more things will be as God would have them be.

Now I don't think that every time we pray we must be on our knees because we are called to pray with out ceasing;

1 Thessalonians 5:¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

But I do believe that at some point our prayer life requires us to humble ourselves before the Throne of our God.  It has an affect on our hearts, on our spirits.  It changes our perspective.

** a side note.....for those of you saying "well that is all well and fine, but my knees, (back, hips etc) don't work the way they used to."  I understand physical limitations.  But if you can sit in a chair maybe you can put your head down, lay it right on the table.  IF you are confined to bed ...maybe you can be face down for a time, on your stomach.  If not, remember that this is more about the attitude of your heart than the location of your body.

Your spirit must be humble before your God.  Putting away all selfish desires, all things that clutter our mind and soul. 

Ephesians 4:³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

If you aren't sure if anything is in your way of humbling yourself before God, ASK!

Psalm 139

²³ Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting

James 4:"¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."   (I would encourage you to read all of  James 4 )

In the old testament there were times when people would fall prostrate on the ground before the awesome power of God. 
1 Kings 18:
³⁸ Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
³⁹ When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

Oh that we would be so humbled and overcome by God's awesomeness and power and authority that we fall on our faces before Him!

Paul's prayer for the people of Ephesus, is my prayer for you today!
 Ephesians 3
¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
and AMEN!

Take A Stroll With Me

I realized today that November 8, 2026 will mark the tenth year of CoffeeTime With A Dear Friend.!

So I thought each month I would recycle, resurrect, reuse, repeat...posts from each of the last ten years. So that by November I will be at 2026!

Hopefully the reminiscing will be encouraging, uplifting and speak to your heart.

So for this year, will you please, take a stroll down memory lane with me!

 Today is a repost of my first devotional post.

November 14, 2016.

Look On the Bright Side

Aren't we always told that?  When we have a problem or something goes wrong...."oh look at the bright side".   Usually at a time when that isn't very helpful, every thing looks pretty grim. The cars low fuel light is on, the tire needs air and you are already running 10 minutes late. 

The kids are crying, breakfast is still on the table, you haven't gotten your shower yet and your mother-in-law calls to say she has something for the kids and will be there in 15.

You haven't felt yourself in months, everything around you is piling up and the doctor tells you your report isn't good, you need more tests to be conclusive.

You can fill in your own scenario, but our answers might all be the same....

"Nope, no bright side here....dark, dark, dark!

Isaiah 59  ⁹ So justice is far from us,    and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;
    for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.

I believe the bright side of a situation comes first in lifting our head, our eyes and looking UP↑
John 1:4 In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.....
...⁹ The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.

Christ came to this world to be  A Light... OUR Light.  
It stands to reason that IF we needed a light then there is going to be some darkness.  
First we will be born into darkness, into sin, because we are born on this earth.  And when we come to a  time in our life when we choose Christ, we choose His light to guide us, to fill us!  He came to be our salvation!
Romans 1:¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes:

But in our walk with Him there are also dark times; times we struggle, times we never thought we would see....illness, death, betrayal, cruelness, hate, bitterness, tragedy and many others, and more specific.  It is in those times, IF we look to Him, He will shine His brightest.
The darker our moment, the brighter He will be!
Isaiah 58: ⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
⁹ Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

Did you just read that!!  "HERE AM I!"  How remarkably awesome is that!!

It is dark, so dark you can't see which way is up or out, and you cry out for help.....
"LORD" .. "DEAR GOD"  or just cry...
and from out of that darkness,  moving over you slowly a feeling of warmth
"Here am I"
 You hush your crying just a little......"Lord" 
and you begin to see shadows as if a light is slowly seeping into the darkness...
"HERE am I"
You breath deep, almost a sigh from somewhere in your soul....."Dear Lord" 
"HERE AM I"
and you are surrounded by Light that warms you, from the inside out and  you begin to cry again, but this time it is tears of joy mingled with the sweetness of restoration.

Now that is just a poetical picture of how it might be.  Sometimes it can take a moment.  Sometimes it can take a season, and sometimes, friend, it can be what seems a lifetime.

But I know that my Dear Friend, (I hope He is yours too) will be there if you call on Him,
John 8  ¹² When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

So if our coffee time finds you in a dark place I pray that you can look up, look out and
LOOK AT THE BRIGHT SIDE

Psalm 104
¹ Praise the Lord, my soul.

Lord my God, you are very great;
    you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

² The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment;
    he stretches out the heavens like a tent
³     and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.

And if you can read this and say "been there and I am filled with His light!"
PRAISE GOD!  give Him the Glory!
Don't hide it but let His light shine!

Matthew 5 ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Thank you for joining me and our Dear Friend for coffee time today.

Until next time  

Keep Looking on the Bright Side!

Turn and Run Back

 How can we run from Someone who knows us, inside out? Who has known us before time began?

No matter where we think we can run or hide or stubbornly try and stay.

📖 You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise, you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence. If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn,  if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you;  the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you.  Psalm 139:1-18

He knows and is waiting.

We try though...

But God is always calling us back.

📖  Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.  Zachariah 1:3

Jesus gave us an example in the form of a story, of how the Father is always waiting for us to turn back to Him.

📖  Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!  I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. Luke 15:11-24

There will be celebration, forgiveness and healing when we run to Him.

📖  if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.  2 Chronicles 7:14

🙏🏼Lord, I pray that whenever I try and go my own way, I run back to You and Your waiting arms!♥️

🎵 Running Back To You-Seph Schlueter

Remind Me Again, What's the Plan?!?

 This was published exactly one year ago...something I needed to be reminded of...maybe you too!? 

What does tomorrow hold?

How to plan for tomorrow? 

We can not know what tomorrow holds. 

We CAN know that God knows.

📖 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.  If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. James 4:13-17

We can also know that God holds the plans. 

📖  For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

We know that God’s plan is far better than our own.

📖“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, ther are your ways my ways,” declares theLord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth,    so are my ways higher than your ways  and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

 So how should we plan for our tomorrow?

God has placed us in the time and place that we are. Our "plan" should be to love God with all our heart mind soul and strength. 

📖  Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ Matthew 22:37

Plan to worship God through our actions, reactions and service

📖 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1

Our only plan should be in what ever we are doing, what ever circumstances we are in we plan to love and praise God in all we do

📖 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:23

IF we give over all we do to the Lord, our plans will be His plans!

📖 Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
    and he will establish your plans. Proverbs 16:3

🙏🏼Lord, I pray that all I do today is Yours and Yours alone! Amen♥️