Where To Begin

Hopefully the title didn't scare you into thinking ...."OH NO a long story is about to start!"

I read some verses a few days ago that brought me back a few years and started me thinking about the start of each day and my devotion time, quiet time, what ever you call that special, precious time you set aside to spend with God.  OR as we now call it...Coffee Time With A Dear Friend!

There was a season of time when I would start my quiet time with a couple of verses in particular....

Search me, God, and know my heart;    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.    Psalm 139:23-24

I wanted God to show me what in my heart might keep me from focusing on Him, I wanted nothing to be offensive to Him!

Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.  And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesian 4:31-32...NKJV
When my emotions were all in a tangle they would distract me, and they would become the focus of my time with God.  I wanted all that GONE!  I would ask for Him to get rid of all that garbage!
and then ask.....
 Create in me a pure heart, O God,    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.     Psalm 51:10-12

That is where I would start my time with Him.....emptying of myself so that He could fill me.

No matter what scripture you use....what time of the day you do it....the process needs to include empting ....if we don't start with an empty vessel then God has no room to fill you with Himself!

And that is what we want to be FULL of HIM!

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. Colossians 1:9-12

AMEN!

He's Alive!

I put this together quite a few years ago....actually 2008! 
The song "He's Alive" by Don Francisco as performed by Dolly Parton so moved me that I had to do something with it and then searched Google for pictures that moved me as well and here is the result.
BUT it says all I need to for today's Coffee Time.
                               





"He's alive and I'm forgiven, heaven's gates are opened wide!
HE'S ALIVE!  HALLELUJAH!  HE'S ALIVE!"

Uncertain Journey

In a devotion I read by Charles Stanley he wrote about how Abraham (from the old testament) had a great impact on Dr Stanley’s  spiritual walk.  He saw the necessity of living by faith.

Many of us have gone through the toils and angst of moving at some point in your life...  IN my life….and I know I am getting old…51 last week…..I have moved 15 times….which doesn’t include going to 2 colleges! 

Here is some of what Dr Stanley said

“God told Abraham he was going on a journey (Genesis 12:1-3) that would require leaving his country, his people, his father’s household.  Being obedient meant saying good bye to relationships and things dear to him.  The only family members who traveled with him were his wife and nephew; the life he knew in his homeland was left behind.  But this godly man did not hesitate.  His strong fait enabled him to say yes to what the Lord commanded.”

“Moving ahead in the midst of uncertainty can be another aspect of following the Lord.  Abraham was told to travel without knowing his destination.  Imagine trying to explain to friends and family that you are moving but have no idea where you are going. This lack of detail didn’t stop Abraham.  Unwavering  trust in his heavelny Father enabled him to answer the divine call wholeheartedly – even though specific details were lacking.  Abraham was spiritually ready to answer affirmatively when God called.”

“Following God requires faith, even when we don’t see how all the pieces fit together, but believing that God always works for our good and His glory and desiring to please our Father.”   [In Touch Daily Readings for Devoted Living, March 2017 Page 13]

(You can read Abrahams story in Genesis 12:1-9)

And while reading this it brought to mind someone else who completely trusted His Father even when He didn’t know how the pieces were going to fit….how it was all going to work out.

Jesus had gone into Jerusalem to cheers and shouts and hailing Him as King! 

When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!” Mark 11:7-10

He had had his last Passover meal with his closest followers and encouraged them to remember Him and what He was about to do, but I wonder if He knew details. He must have known enough…that his body would be broken and blood spilled. While they were eating,

"Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”

Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
 “This is my blood of the^[c] covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” Mark 14:22-24

Jesus is God, but He was also man when He was here on earth. So I feel maybe He didn’t know all the details of His end journey. I know that if I had known all the details of what the plan was I would have done more than sweat blood, as He did!

 Maybe He knew He must die for all of our sins, but not sure if He knew the exact way, the suffering that would be before death, the nailing to the cross.  BUT He knew He must walk it and I believe He knew alone.

They had walked into the garden of Gethsemane, but at one point He told his disciples to “remain here and stay awake with Me" and then going on a little further he fell facedown in prayer. He had to go on alone and He HAD to talk to His Father.   And He said “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.  But not as I will, but as You will.” Mark 14:36

He may not have known how all the pieces would fit together, but I can say with certainty that He knew what the outcome would be….His Father’s plan would come to pass.  God the father would be glorified!

Jesus knew that following the plan God had was what was going to be best for Him in the end, and best for us all in the end….right!?  because the plan did NOT include death…..but VICTORY over death!  

When Christ rose 3 days later…..and then after living among His disciples for 40 days …He was raised up to heaven to sit at the right hand of His Father!  What a glorious end story!

BUT THE BEST part of the story is….even if we don’t know how all the pieces of our lives are going to fit,  even if we are living in uncertainty …..we can KNOW we can trust God the Father with our end story…IF we have trusted Christ as our savior….then we know our end story is HEAVEN and eternal life with Christ and God the Father! AND it isn't really an end story....it is just the beginning!

My prayer is that you find hope in that…even if you live in uncertainty.  One step at a time, one day at time.

	When writing this it brought to mind a hymn.... Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, Just to take Him at His word; Just to rest upon His promise; Just to know, Thus saith the Lord.
	Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him, How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er, Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus!   O for grace to trust Him more.
2	O how sweet to trust in Jesus, Just to trust His cleansing blood; Just in simple faith to plunge me, ’Neath the healing, cleansing flood.
3	Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus, Just from sin and self to cease; Just from Jesus simply taking Life, and rest, and joy, and peace.
4	I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee, Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend; And I know that Thou art with me, Wilt be with me to the end.

Trust Him with all your pieces today!!

Beware of the No Carb/Low Carb Diet

No, I am not going to give dieting advice!  NOT what I do here!
Stay with me and my line of thinking (again you are going to see how my brain works!)

but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” John 6:32-33

Ah, now you see where I might be going!

We are so very diet conscious in our Western culture today...it permeates everything....our advertisements, our menus give calories...even the drive-thru menus!  It is on a majority of the magazine covers as you stand in line at most stores!  

IF only our spiritual diet got as much attention! 

Imagine headlines reading "Did you get your daily dose of "Bread" today!"

or commercials talking about all the benefits of consistent  and frequent spiritual workouts!

John Chapter 6 is all about the bread!  It starts out with the feeding of the five thousand with BREAD and fish. John 6

The next day Jesus was talking to the crowds that had followed Him.

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” John 6:26-27

He admonished them/us to not work for those things that are unsatisfying and have no lasting value.

 

So our spiritual diet really should be an all bread diet!

 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die.  I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” John 6:50-52
Weren't they missing the point?!  They were focused on the wrong thing....and taking Jesus literally instead of figuratively. 
 They were angered that someone could claim they could give life forever....only God could do that.  What they were missing was that Jesus WAS God!
We don't want to miss that!

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away."  John 6:35-37

Don't be hungry or thirsty again! Come to Him and He will not send you away!

Let's start our BREAD and WATER diet today! 

2x4 Moment

First of all let me apologize....I did not get this up yesterday!  Incase there was someone just WAITING to read yesterday morning! 

I thought I would share again another bit of my testimony from the women's conference.  Several women seemed to be able to relate to my account of my "2x4 moment"!

The God I know gives answers when God knows we need them. We have to recognize them as answers, though they may not be what we want or anticipated, or when we wanted.  I remember another time I talked out loud to God ….

I was about 13 weeks pregnant, when I began to have some spotting and after conversations with my doctor. I headed to the hospital for an ultrasound to confirm what I was pretty sure was true….a miscarriage.  I had to drive myself…my husband’s job at the time was on the road so he was going to meet me there.  But it gave me that alone time in the car to talk with my Friend. So in my conversation with God  I pleaded for an answer, knowing logically that there may never be a reason.  But in my grief and tears I was desperate for an answer as to WHY?  So desperate I even gave Him a deadline!  (I knew then that I was pushing it)  My due date was June 18^th (1996) so that was what I told the God that was my friend….”by my due date You are going to give me an answer as to why this is happening.”  So every day I poured over my bible in my devotion time, and though some days the scripture was pertinent and spoke to me, it was NOT my answer as to why I lost our 4^th child. On June 18^th as I did my devotion the scripture that day nearly knocked me over….I call it one of my 2x4 moments…you know, that moment when it seems like God has smacked you up side the head with a 2x4!  Some people call them their wake up moment, their Ah Ha moment…..God cant be that subtle with me!J

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Psalm 37:7

It might not seem clear to you, but to me on that day, the day that was supposed to be my due date, the day I gave God as a deadline; It was that 2x4 BAM!

It was not the answer I had been pouring over scripture for….I am not sure what I thought I was going to get as an answer as to why…but I got all I needed in that verse….Be STILL and wait patiently and in Gods time. And since, I have had peace with the loss, and have tried to minister to those who suffer similar loss…and years later we discovered a genetic anomaly that has affected one of our 3 children, and we wonder if it hadn’t affected our 4^th, far more severely, so that it wasn’t possible for it to survive.  BUT what ever the reason, I need to…

He says, “Be still, and know that HE IS God;
    I will exalted [HIM] among the nations,
    I will exalted  HIM  in the earth.”  Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

 But I will look to the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation.
My God will hear me.   Micah 7:7 (HCSB)

I need to rest in Him and Trust and that was a lesson need many times in my life.

Hopefully you spend time with your Dear Friend...enough time that you may have experienced a moment when God got your attention!  And I am sure there are some who don't need to get the "smack" to get their attention!  But my prayer is this, when God shows you something.....that you allow it to make an impact.  You allow it to change you, change the direction you or your thoughts were going.  I am grateful God loves us enough to want to get our attention and He will do it, sometime subtle  and sometimes not so subtle.
Praying for your 2x4 moment!

oh you gotta know ..oh the God I know!

I just spent the weekend part of a woman's conference! A room full of women singing and worshipping together.   As well as learning about this God we know!
I had the humbling privilege to be one of the speakers and I do not know if or how God will use any part of what I said to touch someone's heart or life, BUT guess what.... it got me!
It was a bit before the first part of the conference,  which was Friday night...my night to speak.
I was running through what I was planning on saying...which God had given me months before!
(here is an excerpt)

I knew He was someone who I could talk to at any time…and did! When ever I had the opportunity, where ever I was…at that time we lived on a farm that was on a dirt road about ¼ ..½  mile from town…we could walk to school, church, the library, my grandparents.  So when I had the opportunity to walk without my siblings I would chat away with my Friend! One day I came upon someone crossing the end of our road.  They smiled at me and looked around, for the other person to acknowledge, then walked away quickly! J That didn’t deter me, I have always talked out loud to God any chance I get. Once I had children talking out loud in the car didn’t look so much like talking to “myself”J

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. John 13:15-16(HCSB)

He is our Savior and our Lord but He is our friend and He desires communication with us. 

So now I find myself in the car alone!
Satan was doing his darndest  to suck any joy he could from the conference or any woman who was going to be a part....so at that moment alone in my car....it was ..."hey you are going to tell 150 woman that you talk out loud to ME ... and that hasn't  been happening!"  I cleared my thoat, and .... "You are right,  here I am....I need the JOY, MY joy protected.  This whole conference needs a hedge around it!"  And so on and so on.  My out loud conversation continued.  It felt good to talk and hear the sound of our conversation. It centers me, clears my mind from all the other distractions when I talk out loud to Him. Nothing...NOTHING was going to take HIS joy from me or from this conference!

I think that we were put to the test. ...when there were glitches, incidents, change ups, ungodly thoughts and feelings, .....were we going to be true to the words we were saying and singing?!

"Nothing ever could separate us! No failure, no weakness, no doubt in my mind, no prison around me could keep You outside, no not even death, can pull me from Your arms!" Notihing Ever Could Seperate Us (Citizens Way)

Or
"You can't add a single day by worrying, you'll worry your life away. Oh, don't worry your life away.  You can't change a single thing by freaking out it's just going to close you in. Oh don't let the trouble win.  You may feel alone, but you're not on your own! " Sparrows by Jason Grey

"I've got JOY down in my soul, I'm gonna take it everywhere I go, not going to worry 'bout what I don't know, I'll be alright as long  as I've got JOY here in my heart wavin' like a torch fightin' off the dark, in the jet black night I'm gonna see the stars. I'll be alright as long as I've got
JOY! JOY!  JOY!" Joy by Johnny Diaz

and we threw our "hands up, worries down!"
"What was I waiting for? I came alive when I let go.
All I had was a broken heart then He held me in His arms." The God I Know by Love and the Outcome

My hope (and I do believe) that most women there, including myself, were able to "let go" of all the joy sucking moments that surrounded them and give their brokenness to Him and feel "held in His arms"!
and walk away knowing the GOD I know!!!

and IF you would like to hear Victory Baptist Praise and Worship Team doing a few of theses songs!

Here and Now Women's Conference Worship

I pray today YOU KNOW the GOD I KNOW! 

My Life, My Message

I read a statement a while ago that was something about, "my life is my message".  I am sorry now I didn't write down a reference, but it struck me so strongly at the time I thought I would remember all of it! (RIGHT!)
I DO remember why I jotted the one line down and how God spoke to my heart when I read it!

OUCH! was my first thought.  Is MY life a good message....a message that points others to God?

My life on Sundays? When I go teach Sunday school, do the PowerPoints for our praise team, sing those worship songs LOUD!
On Mondays when I have ladies bible study in my home? The message is probably good.

BUT what about my life, when I get no sleep, I feel lousy.  Or I wake up late and can't squeeze in my quiet time. The money in the bank is all but gone and there are still bills to pay. Someone hurts my feelings.  My to-do list is longer than my to-day.
My spouse isn't being as supportive as I would like.
And some of you can have even tougher what ifs....

What kind of message is my life THEN?!   
As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart. Proverbs 27:19

So I need to make sure that what is in my heart is what should be reflected not just to those around me, but reflected back to God!

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5:25
If Christ's Spirit is in us then we need to act like it!

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. John 15:16

He desires a visible manifestation of the changes He has made in our lives.  Fruit.....and I know I have used his scripture several times.....
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.     Galatians 5:22-23
I pray this verse often, that I can have ALL the "fruits" in one day!

I pray this often as well.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.      Psalm 51:10
because only God can take what is not honoring in my heart and replace it with a pure heart, one that reflects Him!


 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.         Romans 5:1-5

SO no matter what "yuck" we have going on we have HOPE because of God's love in our hearts.
That is what needs to be reflected!  That LOVE and HOPE!

So let what you do and say today reflect Christ in YOU! 
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.     Matthew 5:16

And may my life be a message that pleases my Lord and points others to Him!
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.      Psalm 19:14

AMEN!