Grace Happens!

I was at the prison a few months ago and was getting to know some of the inmates. Some of the women were beautiful, and young. Some were old and seemed so humble. (This was in the Faith Based program). I heard about how some of the crimes had been committed once and were things that I had done as a young person and never got caught! I felt so sorry for them because for one wrong moment they chose to do something wrong and illegal and were now imprisoned and being punished. Thankfully, I freely drove away from the prison. I thought, "But for the grace of God, there go I." Thank the Lord for the prayers of my loved ones. The grace of God came into my life. He now keeps me as I yield to Him everyday and allow Him to create in me a clean heart, He gives me the ability and desire to do His will. (Grace-(Greek)-the divine influence upon the heart and it's reflection in life; thankworthy joy.) Ephesians 2:8-13 says, For it is by grace that we are saved, through our faith...remember we were once separated from God but now are saved and brought near to Him through the blood of Christ. The Father in heaven chose to reveal the path to becoming His child to me and I took Him up on it! I am forever grateful and hope to abide in His grace through my faith in Him. He is trustworthy! I began this journey approx. 30 years ago. I can hardly believe that it has been that long! I've found so much joy and fulfillment. Without Him I could do nothing! Grace happens!

Do I know Him?

The trend to believe that any and all people are saved and going to heaven throughout the whole world is a fallacy (mistaken idea or error). I hear this philosophy often. Even many believe that if one tries to do what is right or follows another well meaning religion besides Christianity, it is alright. Even in Christianity many believe that once a person has accepted Christ into their heart and "walked the aisle", they are saved. I beg to differ with this belief based on many passages from the Bible of which I will mention a few. #1. Romans 8:1-14 says that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus WHO: don't live after the flesh, but live according to the Spirit; you will be spiritually minded and will desire to please God; You MUST have the Spirit of Christ or else you are not His, and you will be led by the Spirit of God. #2. 1 John 4:7-15 A believer MUST love others and confess or believe (trust in, adhere to and be loyal to) God. #3. 1 John 2:15-17 A Christian must not love (affection in a social or moral sense) the world or the things in the world, but must desire to do the will of God first and foremost. #4. Matthew 7:21-27 Jesus said that even if you call Him Lord and do not do what He says or know Him personally, you will be asked to depart from Him and will not enter into Heaven. Having a relationship with Christ takes daily effort. I was thinking this AM about dieting and exercise. If I let a day or two slip by not making an effort to stick with my plan, then before long I have gotten back into my undesireable behaviors. I love to know that the Holy Spirit is my best friend. Only when I make spending time with Him and communicating with Him on a regular basis do I show Him that our relationship is my priority! I want to stay close to Him, then I know that I am not condemned and alienated from the One for Whom I live and love, and Who first loved me! I love being a child of God! He's more desireable than anything this world offers! He's more beautiful than diamonds, more precious than silver, and more costly than gold. Give Him your all and you will then know for yourself!

Master Evil with Good

How can we master evil in the world? Rom 12:21(1-20) "Do not let yourself be overcome with evil, but overcome or master evil with good." What is good? Looking at the preceeding verses, we can see what is contained in good. Each one of these are deep, rich and worthy of study and meditation! #1-vs1-Make a decisive dedication of your body to be holy and well pleasing to God; #2-vs 2-Do not adapt yourself to the external and superficial customs of this world, BUT transform your mind (attitude and ideas) by renewing it, and prove what is good, acceptable and the perfect will of God; #3-vs3-Don't be proud and arrogant>be humble and realistic; #4-vs9-let your love be sincere; #5-vs 9-hate evil and turn from it, hold on to what is good; #6-vs10-love on another with brotherly affection, show honor and preference; #7-vs11-be zealous and "on fire" for God, serve the Lord; #8-vs12-rejoice in hope; #9-vs12-be steadfast; #10-vs12-be patient in tribulation; #11-vs13-constant in prayer; #13-vs13-contribute to the needs of God's people; #13-vs13-be hospitable; #14-vs14-bless your persecutors; #15-vs15-rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep; #16-vs16-don't be a snob, do humble tasks and adjust yourself to things and people; #17-vs17-be above reproach and don't repay evil for evil, consider what is honest and noble; #18-vs18-as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone;#19-vs19-don't be vengeful; #20-vs20-give your enemy a drink if he's thirsty or food if hungry. How can good overcome evil? My husband has been making a point in his recent series that I believe these verses speak to. He asks, "What's wrong with the world? ME! Say it...ME!" It starts with me! We can't change the world without changing ourselves first. This is how we will master evil!

Be Strong and of Good Courage

God is good all the time!! This is one of my husband's favorite quotes. We quote this alot in our church, but I wonder how many of us truly believe it! I wonder how much I truly believe it! I am asking God to continue to reveal to me how to fully trust and hope in Him and His goodness that He has laid up for me. (Ps. 27:13-114) "What would have become of me had I not believed that I would see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living!" Even in the wilderness experiences of life, we must know that He is good! We must remember how good He has been to us and how wonderful He has been in our life! I believe we must hold on to Him, with hope and faith in what appears to be a difficult journey at the moment and an abandonment of God in the midst of our following Him. The Israelite's faith in God was tested while roaming through the wilderness, heading to the "Promised Land". This was to be a "land of milk and honey", God's goodness in every form! Many suffered tragedy and failure before entering the promised land. According to God's word, their problems boiled down to disobedience, (Ps 106). This included: mistrust in God , lust, and pride. These things keep God's children out of our promised land! Instead of entertaining these sins, which keep us from intmacy with Him, and from our receiving the promises of God, we need to focus on these things:#1. Ps 131:1-3 Stop fretting, calm down and hope in God. #2. Ps 31:19 Revere, worship, and trust God in your heart and before all! #3. Ps 27:13-14 Be strong and endure! Wait for, hope in, and expect the Lord goodness! Yes! Wait for, hope in Him, be strong and courageous! Guaranteed, we will see the Lord's goodness in our life!

Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord

Have you heard these words before? This is a line from a song that we sing at church and it is very popular on Christian radio. Do you think most people know what this means? I believe that it is a prayer for understanding more of what God wants to do in me, in my personal life and realationship with Him. I went to Atlanta to the Joyce Meyers Conference this past weekend. Israel Houghton led the worship and the whole thing was phenomenal. It was a life changing experience! The messages were about things I've heard many times before, yet the Holy Spirit brought a deeper understanding and revelation to me personally. Her main point was the fact that we Christians can know the will of God and word of God, but until we are actually applying it to our life, we aren't experiencing a life change, and that's His objective. Then on to Surfside Beach, SC to visit my sister. We went to her wonderful church Sunday am and the Lord continued to deepen my understanding of what He is doing in my life. Now more than ever, I realize that He is continually working in me and will continue to throughout my life, transforming me into the image of His son Jesus. I know that sometimes I feel God has done so much work in me, that He can't have that much more to do! Ha! (He has His hands full!) I love this verse in Ephesians and this is my prayer. (Eph.1:16-20 ) "...I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened , that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power...". Praise the Lord! He's patiently working in us to get us to where He wants us! Father, help us understand what You are doing in us so that we can fully understand and see who you want us to be in Christ!

IF we endure...

The Bible describes what is required for God's servants who are set apart and useful for God's noble and honorable service. To these are promised the honor of reigning with Him forever. (Revelation 22:1-5 ). It would be smart for us to apply these values and requirements to our own life. Let's look at these conditions given in 2 Timothy 2:1-26. Starting in verse 1, Apostle Paul exhorts Timothy to be strong and to work with men who are faithful, competent, reliable, and able to teach the gospel. In vs 4 he encourages Tim not to be half-hearted but to be like a soldier enlisted to serve the commander. In vs 5 Paul encourages him to be like an athlete who plays fair and yet competes to win. Finally in vs 6 Tim is told to be like a farmer who works hard to receive the fruitful reward of his labor. Paul shares that his suffering in prison with chains was because of his sharing the gospel and his imprisonment would not chain the gospel! He knew that it would provide salvation and eternal glory for himself and others. As our example, Paul was prepared to persevere and stand his ground (vs10). He instructed Tim to tell people to (1) vs 15-study the Word and be eager to present themself to God avoiding shame and error.2)vs16 avoid empty talk 3)vs21-Cleanse themself from corrupting influences. (4)vs22- Shun youthful lusts and pursue all that is good, virtuous, right living and conformity to the will of God.(5)vs22- aim at and pursue faith, love, peace in fellowship with all Christians who call upon the name of the Lord from a pure heart.(6)vs23Have nothing to do with unedifying controversial questions that foster strife and breed quarrels.(7)vs24-25-Finally, don't be argumentative, but be kind, mild tempered, a skilled teacher, willing to suffer wrongfully so that others may come to their senses out of the devil's grip into God's will for their life. This is our plumbline. Help me Lord to measure up and glorify You!!

Pour your heart out like water before the Lord

I have found that receiving something from the Lord sometimes takes a "crying out" to Him. Just about anything I have really wanted or needed from the Lord required persistence, perseverance, and a good old fashioned, "Lord! I am expecting you to do something!! Lord, I'm desperate!!". I read a scripture today that touched my heart in Lamentations 2:19, "Arise (from your bed), cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches; pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord...". How can we pour out our heart like water? If I pour a pitcher of water onto the ground, it's just all out there, running everywhere. It's spent. I feel that sometimes in my prayer for God's intervention in a situation, I am spent. I am completely focusing on the prayer need, desparate for a response from Him. Every time, God has been faithful to answer me. He is always there for me as He will be for you when you are desparate for Him. My dad calls it, "getting down to business with God". It reminds me of two stories out of the New Testament. One, (Matt. 9:20-22) a woman pushed through the masses to get to Jesus for healing. She was healed. Another story (Mark 2:1-5) some friends put their paralytic friend through a hole in the ceiling of a house that they made where Jesus was speaking. They lowered the man down to Jesus and he received his healing. There are many other instances of persistent faith being met with the love and power God. Jesus said in Luke 11:5-10) that he who asks, seeks, knocks and keeps on asking, seeking, and knocking will receive. Luke 18:1-8 Jesus tells a story of persistent faith. The story is about an unjust judge that a woman pursues incessently to defend her until he gave in and decided to because of her persistence. Jesus asked in that passage if when He returns will He find this kind of faith on the earth? He said in essence that this kind of faith gets God's attention and that He will answer it, and He loves it! Press in to God, pour out your heart to Him and don't give up! He's faithful!! He will hear you! He will be there for you!