Week 3 August 2023

I Would Rather

August 16, 2023

 There is a statement "I would rather be anywhere but here...."

"anywhere but here"....wishing we were in another circumstance. 

but sometimes the circumstances we are in can be one of learning, leaning, longevity. 

Learning patience as we wait upon the Lord

📖 Wait for the Lord;

    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14

📖But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, Galatians 5:22 (ESV)

wait for direction, or we wait and be still 

📖He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;

    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 47:10

Just spending time with Him, learning all we can.

Leaning. It may be a time that we practice relying on Him, growing our faith and trust in His plan and power. 

📖  Trust in the Lord with all your heart

in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Drawing from Him all we need

📖And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Leaning on His everlasting arms.

Longevity....perseverance 

📖 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 5:3-5

Coming to that deep understanding that God has the whole picture, He holds our future.

📖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 have the perseverance to stick it out, stick with it, see it through, trusting God is with us through it...and He is at the end!

📖 So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

 📖 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

📖 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

I want to be anywhere God places me...because I know He is with me everywhere. 

📖 “I am a God who is everywhere and not in one place only. No one can hide where I cannot see them. Do you not know that I am everywhere in heaven and on earth? Jeremiah 23:23-24 (GNT)

Always 

📖Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26:4

🙏Lord today I pray we all are IN  the place You want us to be. That we can learn to lean on You for the duration. That You will see us through the circumstances we are in. Amen❤️

Week 2 August 2023

 Spiritual Workout

August 9, 2023

Our society seems obsessed with "working out".

The commercials and infomercials are numerous; cardio, low impact, high impact, workout in your chair, use equipment, use bands, use the wall....and on and on it goes!

Not that being physically healthy isn't important,  it is...my doctor says so every time I go.  

But does anyone ask you about your spiritual health?  Is your spiritual condition lacking a workout regimen?

A daily practice of scripture reading, bible study and prayer (which can be a physical workout if you get to your knees daily!)

But one thing that is part of our spiritual 

workout is to wait, which seems the opposite of a "workout".

However, we can gain strength and spiritual muscle while we wait for His direction. 

It doesn't mean that we aren't serving in the meantime. But sometimes, there are seasons or times in our lives when we are called to wait.

And as I have blogged in the past, that doesn't mean an inactive state, but one where we actively wait in our spiritual journey...reading, praying, praising, listening, serving, living.

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord.

🎵 Strength Will Rise Chris Tomlin

📖 But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)

Our strength comes from the Lord, so we need to be training with Him every day.

📖My flesh and my heart may fail,

    but God is the strength of my heart
    and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26

The less we rely on Him, spend time in His word; listening, worshipping...the weaker we will become and the more susceptible to the devils attacks

📖 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 1 Peter 5:8-9

Even when we may feel or even be physically weak, we can be a spiritual strongman!

📖 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

So today start a new exercise routine, before or after you have your physical workout,  get your spiritual workout in!

You can also carry your spiritual workout into the physical by listening to praise and worship music while you do your physical workout (there are several Christian workout programs on YouTube e.g. PS1493 Fitness) or listen or watch inspirational programming while you walk or peddle.

Today my prayer;

🙏Lord, help us to feel challenged,  motivated to include our spiritual workout into our daily routine. That it becomes something we can't get through our day without. I pray that we become spiritually and physically fit (Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.1 Corinthians 6:19-20) with the purpose to better serve you. Amen❤️

Here is something I created for those who like the challenge sheets (let me know if you want a printable version)

Week 1 August 2023

 Worship Too!

August 1, 2023

 I said I would blog some more about our Kingdom Bound Experience. 

We shared on Sunday at church...so I thought maybe it was to best way to share here.

There are two links to the service that are posted on Facebook;

Kingdom Bound Experience 1

Kingdom Bound Experience 2

Here is the transcript of what I said...it doesn't have what the girls or kids shared or the music, but if you would like it to read.

July 30   Kingdom Bound Experience

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.  Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs. Psalm 100:1-2 (NIV)

 Welcome to a bit different service today.  The Theme of the day if there were one;   WORSHIP…

the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity. (

worship meaning - Google Search)

Our expression of adoration for our God and His Son Jesus Christ!

As I said last week we, my 2 girls and Rachel’s children were headed to Darien Lake and Kingdom Bound Festival to worship…and worship we did! ·

· Newsboys - He Reigns clip

To worship with so many people praising God was amazing

 

Kingdom Bound is an annual Christian music festival held at Darien Lake Theme Park Resort near Buffalo, New York. The festival takes place over a span of three days and has hosted a variety of Christian speakers and artists since the late 1980s.

Kingdom Bound started out as an idea by two locals from Buffalo, New York, Fred Caserta, a booking agent and concert promoter, and Mike Caputy, a local musician.^[2]

In 1986, Caserta and Caputy presented a concert featuring Christian artists Sheila Walsh, Russ Taff, and Mylon LeFevre. Following this concert, Caserta and Caputy were approached by Kevin Ketcham, who, at the time, was the Special Events Coordinator for Darien Lake Theme Park, located halfway between Buffalo and Rochester, New York. Ketcham presented them with an idea of holding a Christian music day at the theme park, and in October 1987, the Kingdom Bound festival made its debut. Despite chilly, 39 degree atmosphere, approximately 6,000 people showed up to hear the variety of Christian artists and speakers that Caserta and Caputy had put together. The following year, in 1988, the festival was moved from October to the end of August, where it would remain for the next twelve years. (Kingdom Bound - Wikipedia)

Kingdom Bound Ministries’ mission to present the Gospel through a variety of art forms resonates with our 140-year mission at Houghton of equipping scholar servants to be champions for Christ, equipped to go into the world and fulfill the Great Commission through careers in ministry, business, the sciences and the arts. We look forward to this opportunity to join in bringing people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through this annual performing arts festival.

Wayne D. Lewis Jr., president of Houghton University

·Clip of CAIN: The Commission

The first artists we got to see was a family group called CAIN.  If you haven’t heard of them, or don’t know their songs, we will get to know more about them on the next Spotlight Sunday!

That was a clip of their song….The Commission

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20

 That is what we are to do, to go and tell others our story.

Each artist seemed talk about “their story”, thanking us for being a part of their story and letting them be a part of our stories.

They shared how some of their songs were birthed out of tragedy, sadness or trauma in their lives, and God’s working presence in those times.

We all have a story, and God is the author of our story, and the purpose of that story is to show others who He is. To live for Him…..that is our Worship to tell what God has done for us, by loving us so much He gave His only Son to die for us.

·Katy Nichole – God is In this Story clip

We also heard a full circle story….Izabella came out with a shoe box and really preached it!  I wish I had her Kingdom Bound presentation, but here is her story

· OCC

Our story begins with what God did in His love for us

Marah  - We the Kingdom – God so Loved

 Newsboys Lead singer Michael Tate said the definition of a freak is: a person who is obsessed with or unusually enthusiastic about a specified interest.  We should want to be considered Jesus Freaks

And worship with abandon, how ever the Spirit moves.

 

 We were FREAKS with Newsboys

Lydia  - Newsboys - God’s Not Dead

 

Reggie Dabbs  Silent Saturday – “Just because God seems silent doesn’t mean He isn’t there and working.” Referring to the Saturday between Good Friday and resurrection Sunday.  To the disciples it seemed all was silent, Jesus, God….BUT there was so much going on that could not be seen.

Noah-  - Turn to your neighbor and say;  ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT

One group we heard was We Are Messengers….they live out their name in the songs that proclaim gospel, and encouraged us to go and share our message.

Noah - We Are Messengers – POWER

 Hannah also chose We are Messengers – Wholehearted

 Rachel chose Katy Nichole – Hold On

 Candle clip The Light In You (we the Kingdom)

We are to go and take the light in us and spread it to the world……we are to tell them about our Jesus

Anne Wilson clip Let me tell you about my Jesus

It was more than just singing and jumping around with a crowd…worshipping was going on.  And as you could see people sitting, standing (I did the whole time) swaying, Jumping (noah most of the time!) arms raised, arms crossed.  We were all loving Jesus and singing His praises how ever the Spirit moved us…..·

I can’t help but believe that is a glimpse of Heaven and eternity.·

Week 4 July 2022

 The Inner Circle

July 27,2022

A visual thought I had: Concentric rings of hedge, 

📖 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. Job 1:10 

Satan speaking to God about Job. 

Who doesn't want a hedge of protection?!

📖 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:1-2

They are called a labyrinth, made from hedges!

There is an opening in the wall of shrubbery to enter and follow the path as we find the way to the center.

In my mind it represents our lives; we have a pathway before us with many twists and turns and there is an entrance to that path, an easy access, but how many of us bull straight through the hard way...getting snagged and scratched and poked along as we go, slugging it out in the brush rather than finding the path.

📖He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. John 15:2

Jesus was speaking about pruning away the stuff that has grown up around us and in us that gets in the way of our relationship with Him...but sometimes it may be what we have gotten ourselves into that gets in the way and needs pruning away.

We want that inner place....the peace that we can find in it...that close relationship with Him.

How can we get inside that hedge an easier way?

By making sure our focus is on Him....He gives us clear direction in His word.

📖 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40

📖  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

📖 He has shown you, O man, what is good;

And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

If God is before us...then we will know the direction to that opening in the hedge.

Many of us have to learn along the way...we jump in thinking we have got this...but we are allowing self-centeredness, pride, self righteousness to lure us into thinking we know what we are doing. Or anger, jealousy or bitterness have clouded our hearts and we plunge ahead blindly, and then we are missing the peace we were hoping to find within that hedge 

📖 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27

If we are still and allow our focus to be on Him we can have humility, gentleness,  kindness and love...

📖 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

📖 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

and we find ourselves right at the opening...we can step through, follow Him and find peace with Him.

However...my visual imagery is one of concentric circles!  It is a continuous journey!

🙏I pray you seek Him today, so that you see His path clearly, and you find the way to peace. ❤

🎵 Step By Step. Rich Mullins

Week 3 July 2022

The Road Taken

July 18, 2022

  Sunday I did a bit of traveling....to PA to pick up middle daughter. I have done the trip before....route 11 to 81 ...that is it! But I was getting off at a different exit, so I put the new stop in my Google Maps App ...told me 6.5 hours...seemed about right...calculated when I needed to leave to be there by noon..all good.

Hit the road at 6am...scheduled arrival 12:15. 

Early on it told me to take a turn I wasn't expecting.  "That is ok...maybe it is rerouting me around the summer festival, or road construction". 

I continued on...following every turn it told me,  I began to wonder...it hasn't brought me back around to Route 11??

I pulled over and took a closer look at the whole picture ....it was having me travel all different roads...curious? Maybe because my destination was different than usual? My arrival time was still 12:15...so why not continue on this route?!  An adventure...on my own!  

I appreciated the small towns and villages, gas stations in each one if I needed. Flag lined streets, parade remnants, road side stands, very little traffic and no large trucks.

Never went more than 25 miles or so with out Google voice telling me "in a quarter mile turn..."

Not as monotonous as the interstate. 

When family members called they would ask "Where are you?"  "Not sure,  little town on route?.."

My husband wanted to know "Why I was going that way...out of my way!?"  "This is the way the map sent me... I don't know why"

I had thought of finding the interstate and getting on. But I was still on schedule...so why not stay on this route.

Well, once I got to my destination....I ended up having some wait time.  I decided to check out my map. I knew I was going home the usual route ...straight up 81. When I put it into Google Maps to see how long (since the trip down was just over 6 hours)....something wasn't right...it wasn't showing 81 as a route. 

It was then I realized a filter had been checked..."avoid highways" !!!!!!  Unchecked the box and the route home via 81....just under 5 hours!🤦‍♀️

📖In their hearts humans plan their course,
    but the Lord establishes their steps. Proverbs 16:9

As I drove home the usual route; faster; all kinds of vehicles traveling 70 or better...2 or 3 or even 4 lanes, ducking and diving. I realized how peaceful and enjoyable my drive down was.

Maybe someone (I am sure my husband) would say "Before you set out...take a look at the whole picture!"

But maybe then I would have said no...that way is longer and slower.

Sometimes we need to just follow the directions and trust.

I think about our journey here...as we follow Christ, sometimes the direction doesn't make sense. It isn't the usual way, but if we trust Him and follow, who knows what adventure we might find.  It may take us longer, but there is a reason and a purpose in the direction...Maybe just to see if we will follow.

📖 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.”  John 8:12

And sometimes the road is familiar, what we know, but there is purpose in that too. 

🙏No matter the road  you are traveling today, trust in the One who makes the map. Trust Him to be with you as you travel and when you reach the destination. ❤

📖 The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,  for the Lord upholds him with his hand. Psalm 37:23-24

Week 2 July 2022

  Healing

July 14, 2022

We pray for healing when someone is sick, even with serious, fatal illnesses....we have been praying for healing a lot lately.

But I was thinking on it...we all want healing for someone who is sick and facing illnesses...and we do pray for that,  but there is another healing that is far more important....healing of the soul or spirit.

Jesus healed many people of physical infirmities,  but He was more concerned about their eternal soul.

📖 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” Luke 17:12-19 

Jesus expects to see a change in our heart and behavior when we have been healed.

📖 Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” Then the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man. Matthew 9:2-8

The forgiveness of sins, the healing of the soul is a priority.

📖 The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”  “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.”The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.” Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed. John 4:49-53 

Because of a physical healing, the entire household experienced spiritual healing!

📖 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.  John9:1-7  

Whether physical healing happens or just healing of the soul or both,  it is to point to God. When physical healing does not happen, our responses should point to God as well.

We know, sometimes healing takes place, and other times it feels our requests aren't answered. 

But our first concern should be the soul. If for whatever reason, God only knows,  the physical body fails, we can have assurance that their soul was saved by grace, healed by mercy and we spend eternity with our Savior. 

🙏My prayer for you is healing; that you experience a renewal of your soul, whether you come to understand and believe who Christ is for the first time or you have been broken and need to be bathed in His love. May your soul find healing today❤

🎵 The Healing.   Blanca & Dante Bowe