What's with the Christmas grinches?

Christmas day is drawing near! I find it amazing when walking through the mall or in a store somewhere, I hear carols telling of the birthday of the King like "Silent Night" or "Away in the Manger". There's a part in the song "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" that stood out to me in the store the other day. With all of the people milling around, in the background I hear the sweet sounds of "...remember Christ our Saviour was born on Christmas day, to save us all from Satan's power, when we were gone astray, O tidings of comfort and joy...". Wow! The gospel proclaimed through the carols in the stores! How can a Christian not rejoice at Christmas time? This "grinch" perspective is just wrong or maybe at best ignorance. My husband has been addressing this in his messages for the past few Sundays. (See victory church.us to hear the sermons). Christmas is a holy celebration! Let's make it big!! There are atheists who don't like the declarations of the Christmas story and then there are Christians who want to downplay the celebration. I can't understand this! This stumps (hillbilly vernacular) me! It makes me sad to hear of Christians or anyone for that matter who doesn't want to celebrate this holy day. I want to praise God for sending His only and beloved Son to this earth to die for our sins so that not only do we have hope now, but we who live for and with Him in this life will have the eternal bliss of heaven and be with Him forever! It makes me want to REJOICE! Here is the English and Latin meaning of MERRY CHRISTMAS>it's the joy-filled celebration of the anointed One and His yoke breaking, burden removing power. So...MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!!

THE MYSTERY

Well, I'm back in force!! I've gotten a new lap top and life is so much easier!! You will now be hearing from me more regularly. I enjoy your comments and that you may have gotten something encouraging or challenging from my blogs. As I sat down in my office this morning with my Bible and coffee, I sensed a feeling of what seems to be a slippery snowy slope coming into the Christmas holidays. What about you? Don't get me wrong, I LOVE celebrating Christmas! I LOVE decorating, cooking, friends, and family time. I know that I am extremely blessed in so many ways and I'm truly grateful. The most wonderful thing for me about Christmas is the celebration of Jesus' birth. I was reading out of Ephesians 3 and I began to have the deepest feeling of gratitude for what Jesus did for us by coming to this earth and dying for our sins. The Apostle Paul shares his heart on the mystery of Christ. This mystery is revealed and it is that all people can now be children of God through their acceptance of the glad tidings of the gospel of Jesus the Christ. Remember the angel that came to the shepherds at night, hailing the news of Christ's birth? He said that he was bringing good news of a great joy which will come to all people. (Luke 2) "For to you is born this day in the town of David a Savior, Who is Christ, the Messiah, the Lord! Back in Ephesians, Paul states, "...this grace (favor, privilege) was granted to proclaim to all people the riches of Christ. Also, to enlighten all men and make plain to them the plan of the mystery kept hidden through the ages and concealed until now in God Who created all things by CHRIST JESUS." Let us celebrate the fact that it's not hidden or a mystery anymore! JESUS CHRIST HAS COME AND WITH THE FATHER HE HAS MADE US ONE!

Am I godly or wicked?

In Psalms 37 I've found that there are only two kinds of people: godly or wicked. Which am I? Which are you? I'm sorry if this bothers you, but just being a "good" person is not enough to make one godly. There are definitely conditions that make one godly and there are definitely benefits that come with godliness. There are fifteen amazing promises in this chapter, but they all come with 15 conditions to fulfill. The subtitle of this psalm is "The happy state of the godly (those who do things God's way) and the short-lived prosperity of the wicked (those who do things their way).

The following are the conditions with the promise:

#1.) vs 1,3,7-I must not fret (be angry or frustrated) because of the wicked (those who work unrighteousness)>

*Jesus will then be my good Shepherd and will provide well for my every need.

#2.) (vs 3,4,5) I must rely on the Lord (trust and hope in Him)>

*God will grant me the desires and dreams of my heart.

#3.) (vs 3,6) I must know God's will (the Bible with His specific and personal guidance) and do things His way>

*I'll shine like a light and my justice will shine like the noon day.

#4.) (vs 11) I must be easy going and flexible (meek) with the Lord (delight MYSELF in Him)>

*I'll have an abundance of peace and will inherit the earth.

#5.) (vs 4,5) I must trust God by rolling and reposing each care of my load on Him>

*He will answer my prayers.

#6.) (vs 7,34) I must be still and rest in the Lord, waiting PATIENTLY for Him to do it>

*I'll not be shamed.

#7.) (vs 7) I must not fret because evil doers prospering>

*I'll be satisfied or taken care of by God, in the days of famine.

#8.) (vs 18) I must be upright and blameless (honest and respectable)>

*My inheritance will abide forever.

#9.) (vs 21,24) If I borrow, I must pay it back>

*If I fall, God will always grab my hand and pick me up.

#10) (vs 21,25,28) I must be kind and generous>

*Me nor my children will be forsaken by God or ever have to beg for food.

#11.) (vs 26,29,34) I must be merciful and graciously lend>

*I'll inherit my "promised land" and will be able to live in it and enjoy it.

#12.) (vs 31) I must allow the word of God to be in my heart and my way of life>

*I will not back slide into evil.

#13.) (vs 13,27,33,39,40) I must run from any evil>

*I won't fall into traps set by the wicked.

#14.) (vs 30,31) I must speak words of wisdom and justice>

*I'll be secure and my steps will be sure.

#15.) (vs 39) I must be blameless and upright or consistently righteous>

*I'll have a happy ending.

I will always meditate on these things that I MUST DO in order to be right with God. All of the benefits that come with obedience to Him will just be the icing on the cake. Hope to see you in our promised land for this life and for the life to come!

I feel like I'm going to drop!

Once upon a time there were two sisters, they both loved Jesus, and were good friends with Him. The Bible says that one day, one sister was favored by the Lord and the other He corrected. The sister's names were Martha and Mary. On a certain day at their home, Jesus told Martha that Mary was doing what pleased Him, but she was not. Well, Martha was probably shaken and disillusioned since what she wasn't supposed to be doing, was the very thing that she thought Jesus wanted her to do. What Mary did right was sit at Jesus' feet in the midst of the chaos and she was listening to Him talk. Mean while, Martha was BUSY trying to take care of all the people coming into their home. As the old saying goes, she was running around "like a chicken with it's head cut off". (*Note: when one cuts off a chicken's head to prepare it for a meal, the body runs and runs around until it eventually drops dead!). Martha then took Jesus aside and in no uncertain terms told Him to make her sister Mary help her. That's when Jesus said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. There is NEED of only one or but for a few things. Mary has chosen the good portion which shall not be taken away from her (Luke 10:38-42). What is my most recent revelation? "Help me Lord, I'm Martha's twin!" God knows or at least He's finding out I hope, that I love Him more than anything!! My weakness is that of Martha's. I find myself crying out to God in a tizzy and a wave of frustration asking the Lord this question, "Lord! You need to help me!! I need help!!" That's when I come to the point of where I feel like I'm going to drop! It's because I get too busy and neglect the more important thing: taking some quality time to sit at His feet. I simply need to stop what I'm trying so hard to accomplish and make some time for "us". I believe that this is where we choose to do things in our own strength or get down at His feet in prayer. Don't get me wrong, I do believe that there is a time to work and work hard. But, the first thing we must do is choose to go to Him, sit at His feet in His presence, and spend some quality time with Him each day and at the times we sense stress. The challenge is having the faith that if we make time with Him always our priority, He'll actually help us with the things in our life that we are working so hard for. We can accomplish everything we need to in His strength>Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us then fearlessly draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in good time for every need." I pray that this blog will encourage you to run to Him when life gets overwhelming and you feel like you're going to just drop! He's waiting. He's patient and forgiving. He loves us and just wants the best for us!!

Deliver Us From Evil

My husband was teaching last Sunday on the fact that there is evil in this world. There is a devil. There are demons also, and the Bible speaks of this. The state of this world today confirms it. Even in the lives of many friends and acqaintances just this past week, I've noticed so much trouble and evil all around them. As I was reading in Matt. 6:9-13, I began to think about some things Jesus mentioned with regards to prayer and how we must pray to be spared. This passage is what is known as the Lord's prayer. He was telling some people how to pray. First of all, the prayer is directed to our Father in heaven. He mentions how His name is holy. He prays for God's kingdom to come to earth as it is in heaven. He then asks for daily provision and the forgiveness of sins as we forgive others. Then, I read verse 13 and it stood out to me like never before! Jesus makes it a point to ask God to not bring us into temptation, but to DELIVER US FROM EVIL. Sometimes I feel that evil is all around me. What am I supposed to do? Jesus told me what to do in this passage and now I find myself doing it everyday. I've been praying for God to DELIVER ME (and my loved ones) FROM EVIL. Jesus asked the Father to deliver Him from evil in His "sample" prayer, and I'm going to also! I do feel as though I've been sort of floating in a bubble as I've asked Him daily for deliverance. I also make every effort to be led by the Lord in all my ways. I really believe that in these days of danger, God will deliver us miraculously as we pray this prayer and depend on Him, as Jesus instructed. I'm so glad that we do have a heavenly Father that is willing and well able to care for us. I'll leave you with a portion of my favorite chapter in the Bible, Psalms 91:14-16, "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him...he shall call upon Me and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With a long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation."

Playing the blame game?

A few years ago I got a painful revelation of something that I was doing. I suddenly saw that I was blaming others for my problems! Ouch! Why is it that my first inclination was to blame somebody else for my difficult situations? Don't look at me like that! YOU DO IT TOO sometimes! I believe it is part of the creepy side of human nature. We all take one of these two perspectives in life, the "I'm responsible" perspective or the "it's your fault" perspective. It's a fact that we cannot always control others or circumstances, but we can control our own choices. The Bible makes it very clear that we will all stand before God someday all by ourselves. We will not be able to hold on to any "apron strings". Nor will we be able to point our finger at anyone. Not even God! Romans 14:12-13 says that each of us will give an account of ourself before God and that we should no longer criticize, judge, or blame. We are, however, not to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of someone else. Philippians 2:14-15 says, "Do all things without faultfinding or complaining...THAT you may show yourselves to be blameless...". It all boils down to the fact that God will help us IF we rely upon Him in every situation and do things His way. As we call upon Him, trust Him, and wait for Him to work everything out, we will get His help just in time>Hebrews 4:16. We all need wisdom for every situation and God says that IF we ask it of Him, He will give it to us>James 1:5. For an amazing read, Proverbs 3 (Amplified version) reveals how one gets wisdom from God and how valuable it is. Our life can always take a turn for the worse, or for the better. Make your decision with me today, and every day, to go for the better! I'm reading a great book by Ivanka Trump, "Playing to Win in Work and Life". She shares a truth that I love and I want to share it with you, "We've all been dealt a winning hand, and it is up to each of us to play it right and smart." Since I surrendered my "right" to blame, and started doing things His way like never before, I've seen Him come through for me in remarkable ways! I'm so excited to see what He has for me everyday! Seek His wisdom and you'll be amazed at how God will bless you, now and throughout eternity!

My Loss Was Really My Gain

I want to share with you a very significant and personal dream that I had the other night. The next morning I awoke weeping with a strong sense of loss and fear. I'll tell you the dream, the meaning of it, and then the loss for me that was really gain. I dreamt that my family and I were at a beach resort enjoying life. All of a sudden we hear a community siren and it was announced that there had been a terrorist attack and a foreign army invasion. The attack caused panic and a frenzy all around the community. In the frenzy of my gathering some of our basic necessities and gas masks for myself and my family, I got separated from them. I remember being ushered into a place that was considered a safe area, but my family was out of my sight. I was crying uncontrollably because I wasn't sure that they were ok. Once I arrived at the safe area, there were some people from my church trying to comfort me. Then a friend's son, Michael Krames, said to me, "Put them into the hands of the Lord". I instantly awoke crying and sad, yet praying for the meaning. Here is what the Lord showed me the meaning is and maybe it will help you as it did me. First of all, everything seems great and then comes what appears to be difficult times. My first inclination is to be the protector and provider for my family. But, in the effort of trying to be "all that" for my family, I got separated from them. And because I couldn't take care (or control the circumstances) of my loved ones, my thoughts gravitated to worry and fear. Then, in the safe zone where faith is, Michael said. "Put them into the hands of the Lord". I have been convicted of the fact that I have tried to control the lives of my family from day one. Not for the reason that I'm on a power trip, or that I want things my way, but because I love them dearly and want only the best for them. But, for them to have what's best, I've got to have FAITH and TRUST God with their outcome. The fact of the matter is that God loves them more than I do and He is in the position of doing a better job of caring for them than I am. He wants to be their provider and caretaker and they must rely upon Him! In fact, I have tried to put myself in God's place. When I saw what the Lord was requiring of me, I decided then and there not to worry and be anxious, but to repent or change my ways. I've got to put my faith and trust in God Almighty, our creator, the all powerful King of the Universe, all knowing, wise, and loving heavenly Father. No, I GET to put my trust in Him and I KNOW that He will take care of us. My gain is peace that passes all understanding (1 Peter 5:7 -cast ALL your care on the Lord and you'll have peace). I'll also have what is called the full and complete Sabbath rest of God (Hebrews 4). God isn't happy with us when we aren't trusting Him or resting in His care. It's because resting in His care proves His Lordship in our lives and opens doors for the blessings of God. Resting in Him gets us out of His way so His work isn't hindered. The loss that I was mourning was my ability to try and control circumstances. In my mind, all I want is the best for our family, but my efforts to take control over a situation actually works against my good intentions. Romans 8 says that God works everything together for good for me because I'm hoping in Him and I'm trusting that He is working it all out according to His good plan and purpose. My gain is a peaceful and blessed life. Problem free? No, but as my husband says, "Everything always works out for me!" I love what Joyce Meyer says, "Rest is freedom from excessive reasoning, struggle, fear, inner turmoil, worry, and frustration, which develop because of our working to do what only God can do. Being in God's rest isn't necessarily resting from physical activity, but resting in confidence in the midst of everything that goes on in life. It is a rest of the soul where the mind, will, and emotions are at peace...If you are worn out, I urge you to enter into God's rest. I encourage you to quit trying to control everyone and everything around you and simply allow God to do for you what only He can do. No matter what you face, God wants to help you and give you rest."