A Beautiful Illusion

Our greatest dreams and desires can be forthcoming blessings or they can be trouble going somewhere to happen! I want to explain what I mean by this in sharing with you what was recently revealed to me while on a cruise with my daughter in the Caribbean.  First of all, anyone who knows me very well, knows that going somewhere in the Caribbean is always a thrill for me.  I love swimming in the beautifully colored water!  As I stood on my balcony one evening, our ship swiftly cruising to our first destination, I noticed the beautiful water churning below.  It was a combination of deep sapphire blue and a luminous turquoise.  My first thought was how delightful the water looked!  I would've jumped into those luscious waters had I not rationalized the horrible consequences of that choice!  I chose to stay on board, understanding and accepting the fact that jumping into the water at this time, in this place, and in this way would prove to be dangerous and most likely fatal! (Good thing I did! Ha! I ended up having a dream vacation!  Thanks Lord!!)  Was swimming in these waters my heart's desire?  Yes. Was swimming in the beautiful Caribbean part of the plan? Yes. Then what's wrong with this picture?  I submit to you that it was the wrong time, wrong place, and wrong way to go about it!  I believe that as we adhere to these following three keys, God's good plans and dreams for us will be activated and trouble will be evaded. In order for everything to go as God has planned, we must consider and infuse these very important keys continually into our life:  #1-WE MUST PATIENTLY WAIT ON GOD'S TIME>RIGHT TIMING (Phil. 4:6 "...be anxious for nothing..");  #2-WE NEED TO POSITION OURSELF IN THE PLAN OF GOD BY OBEDIENTLY STAYING WHERE HE WANTS US TO STAY AND BY FOLLOWING HIM TO WHERE HE WANTS US TO GO (Jn 10:1-14) THE RIGHT PLACE;  #3-WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE LIVING WITHIN THE PERIMETERS OF A GODLY LIFESTYLE (Ps. 25:20-21) THE RIGHT WAY.  The children of Israel saw God's miraculous favor and blessing as they obediently exited Egypt (symbol of misery and lack) to go into the PROMISED LAND (symbol of abundance and blessing) that He had for them.  Did they all make it to the Promised Land?  No!  In the Exodus account, we find that many suffered and even died horrible deaths due to their disobedience and discontent. I have seen so many people come short of realizing their blessed destiny because of poor choices they've made. The Bible makes it very clear that our choices dictate our destiny>Deuteronomy 28-30. I believe God's grace and mercy carry us in our ignorance and imperfect faith, but intentional resistance and self-will gets us into trouble. Granted, this world is not perfect and there are many obstacles that we must overcome, but with total trust in and whole hearted  dependence on God, we can experience His good plan for our life!  There are countless beautiful illusions in this world that entice many wonderful and godly people down the hellish path of misery and disappointment.  To name a few illusions: vanity, greed, lust, self-sufficiency, bitterness, and pride.  They appear to be amazing and some are so convincing, but they all  leave their victims in a state of disillusionment and confusion.  I believe that this is why so many people question God's goodness. When we read in the Bible that God's plan is good and that He loves us,  but then we see so many people living a sad and bad life, we might be tempted to question the validity of this belief.  Humbling ourself and trusting God (James 4:10) is the only way to find out just how much He does love us! We must seek Him and stay with Him through the difficult times.  If we do, we will see the goodness of our God! Be encouraged with this verse>(Amp) Psalms 27:11-14 "Teach me Your way, O Lord and lead me in a plain path...what would have become of me had I not believed that I would see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living...WAIT AND HOPE FOR AND EXPECT THE LORD, BE BRAVE AND LET YOUR HEART BE STOUT AND ENDURING.  YES, WAIT FOR, HOPE FOR AND EXPECT THE LORD."  I want to end with this declaration:  Ephesians 3:20-21 (Amp. version)  "Now to Him Who, by the power that is at work within us, is able to do superabundantly, far over and above all that we ask or think (infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hope, or dreams)-TO HIM BE GLORY IN THE CHURCH AND IN CHRIST JESUS THROUGHOUT ALL GENERATIONS FOR EVER. AMEN."

Who do you want to look like?

After a somewhat grueling effort, I am back to writing my blogs. My blog account got hacked somehow and I'm bursting at the seams! I'm so excited to share with you some of the encouraging and amazing things the Lord has been speaking to me recently. Some girlfriends and I have decided to do a study on the book of James. So, I turned to James this morning to get the gist of the book again. I love this book!! The main thing that stood out to me in chapter 1 was the fact that if we Christians don't watch it, we can delude our heart into thinking that our relationship with God is just "hunky-dory" (just fine), when in actuality it isn't. James 1:22-26 says that we need to carefully look into the faultless law of liberty (the Bible), be faithful to it, persevere looking into it, and be an active doer of it. Otherwise we are like someone who looks into a mirror, walks away from it, and then forgets what he was like. When I'm going somewhere in my car, I catch myself checking my make-up and hair over and over before I arrive at my destination. (I sometimes need to tweak it!) When I arrive, I feel confident that I am presentable. This is how we should care for ourselves spiritually. We should examine our heart and life continually by comparing our thoughts and behaviors with what God's word says is acceptable and tweak as needed. THEN, we will see God's blessings in our life of obedience (vs 25 Amplified version). Every morning I lift up my day to the Lord. I ask Him to lead me in His path. Most mornings I spend some time reading the Bible and I pray about how the passage I read applies to me. I also try to spend the day thinking about it. I then consider and include Him in everything I do. I can truly say that this is why I'm so blessed! I know that as I emulate Him through His word and personal direction, I can enjoy my life. Who do I look like? I want to look like Jesus! I want to look like my Father in heaven! I want to be presentable to Him and I want Him to recognize me as His child when I come before Him in heaven someday. How about you? Who do you want to look like?

THE BOLD VENTURE

I just came back from Lee Grady's Bold Venture women's conference and I want to share with you the fact that my life has been transformed! I don't say this lightly. This conference was probably the most effective and productive conference that I have ever been to. The reason I believe this is because I saw with my own eyes a transformation, not only in myself, but in every one of those women. I saw a purity of transparency. I saw a hunger for God like never before. I saw godly humility. And most of all, we experienced the presence of God in such a magnificent way that I will never be the same again! I will never again be satisfied with the status quo. It truly was heavenly! I hope that I will be able to impart to you, in some way, this power of God that makes a person become radically and totally committed to His purposes for their life, less likely ever again to be discouraged, disheartened, or doubtful of God's amazing love and power! It's so easy to get caught up in the mundane things of life and forget what Christianity is all about. It's about having a relationship with God. It's about KNOWING GOD and getting close to Him. It's about developing the intimacy He so desires to have with His children. One of the speakers at the conference talked about having intimacy with Christ. She mentioned an old hymn that gives us a picture of what it can be like to be close to the Lord. It's called, "In The Garden" and it was written by a man named C. Austin Miles. He had a photographic dark room and would go in there to spend time with the Lord in prayer. One day, he had a vision of Mary Magdalene going to the garden with Jesus after leaving His tomb. Mr. Miles said that he was deeply and physically shaken. He immediately began writing down the lyrics as quickly as he could. The song goes like this: "I come to the garden alone; and the dew is still on the roses. And the voice I hear, falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses. And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share, as we tarry there, none other has ever known..." (google "hymn history" for more info.) Our walk with Jesus is acknowledging His presence in the everyday things that we do. It's in the place of desperation for intimacy with Him, that we find Him. It's when we spend time seeking the face of the Almighty, searching out His Word for truth, and clinging to Him for life, that we come into the fulness of His power to overcome in this world. We will then experience His presence and proceed in grace to fulfill His great plan for our life. The conference speaker emphasized the need for not only walking in an awareness of His presence all day long, but having a designated place to seek Him daily. We must wait faithfully on Him in expectation. I pray that this blog will help stir you up to press on and press deeper into intimacy with our creator, Father, and lover of our soul. I want to leave you with the lyrics of another old hymn that touches my heart and I pray will touch yours too! "Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace." Oh for more of the light of His glory and grace in my life! Have fun on your BOLD VENTURE! It will be the journey of a lifetime! I love you all and He does too!

TODAY IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE

"The Best Day of My Life" is the title for a little poem I found on a piece of paper on my desk this morning. I don't remember where it came from. I love it and this is the state of my heart today! "Today, when I awoke, I suddenly realized that this is the best day of my life, ever! There were times when I wondered if I would make it to today; but I did! And because I did I'm going to celebrate what an unbelievable life I've had so far: the accomplishments, the many blessings, and, yes, even the hardships because they have served to make me stronger. I will go throughout this day with my head held high, and a happy heart. I will marvel at God's seemingly simple gifts: the morning dew, the sun, the clouds, the trees, the flowers, the birds. Today, none of these miraculous creations will escape my notice. Today, I will share my excitement for life with other people. I'll make someone smile, I'll go out of my way to perform an unexpected act of kindness for someone I don't even know. Today, I'll give a sincere compliment to someone who seems down. I'll tell a child how special he is, and I'll tell someone I love just how deeply I care for them and how much they mean to me. Today is the day I quit worrying about what I don't have and start being grateful for all the wonderful things God has already given me. I'll remember that to worry is jut a waste of time because my faith in God and His divine plan ensures everything will be just fine. Tonight, before I got to bed , I'll go outside and raise my eyes to the heavens. I will stand in awe at the beauty of the stars and the moon , and I will praise God for the these magnificent treasures. As the day ends and I lay my head down on my pillow, I will thank the Almighty for the best day of my life. And I will sleep the sleep of a contented child, excited with expectation because I know tomorrow is going to be....the best day of my life!" Author unknown

GIVING UP?

On the Christian journey you can bet that there are going to be times of testings and trials. These are to prove you, to see whether or not you're genuine (1 Pet.1:7; 4:12). If you've done every thing you know how to, to be faithful, and yet you feel that it has been somewhat inconsequential, what then? One common temptation is to get discouraged. Another might be to question your convictions or even question God. The end result of unrestrained negative thoughts when in this "proving process" will always cause one to GIVE UP!!! Give up what? Give up the challenge that Jesus has given to follow Him at all costs. To follow Christ is to forget the path we want to take in life and take the path that He wants us to take (Matt 10:38; 16:34). He didn't say it would be easy. He likened it to our DEATH. We must know God's word and His specific will for our lives. We then commit ourselves to obey Him at some point in time and then retain that commitment forever. It's a daily decision (. This is what I call CHRISTIANITY 101.) When facing difficult circumstances, we all get attacked emotionally. It's what we do with those thoughts that matter. (Joyce Meyer's book called "The Battlefield of the Mind" is a good read to help you understand this). It is a great teaching on the fact that our thoughts are what make or break us. Agreement with and action on the thoughts that take us from the center of God's will, take us from Him. When we face what SEEMS to be overwhelming circumstances, do we question our previous stance? Do we instead STAND on the promises of God and stay on His path? Hebrews 13:5-6 says that God will never leave us without support. It says that we should be encouraged knowing this and boldly say, "The Lord is my Helper!" There is ALWAYS a breakthrough for the person that cries out to God from their heart for Him to help, waiting expectantly for Him. We may need to humble ourselves at that point and ask God to forgive us of our doubts, fears, anger, etc. Always remember Psalms 103:8, "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving kindness." Since this is the case, I am counting on His love and shed blood for forgiveness and renewal (Rev. 1:5). When we cry out for His help, He will hear and deliver us from all of our distress and troubles; He is close to those who are of a broken heart and saves those who are crushed with sorrow for sin and thoroughly repentant; many evils confront the righteous, BUT the Lord delivers him out of them all (Ps. 34:17-19).

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS (the "today principle")

As I sat down this morning to read my Bible and pray, I looked up at the flip chart that was sitting in my office and read these words that were written on it, "POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS". I was praying about what to write in my blog when I noticed this and I felt that this would be my title for today. I asked the Lord what He was trying to convey to me, then the word "HOPE" came to my mind. As I thought about HOPE, I began to tear up thinking about some of the things that are "on my plate" right now. As I prayed, peace came flooding into my soul. I realized that I need to trust the Lord to continue leading me forward and just take it one day at a time. I have recently become a meeting facilitator and one of my objectives is to encourage my clients that we can find answers for the issues they face by considering the options and having HOPE. I decided to use some of that methodology for myself. After considering the "POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS", I then proceeded to evaluate the issues and prioritize them. (It helps to realize what is important to deal with today.) Taking on the weight of the future is more than we are able to bear. I know people who are on the edge of their sanity, basically killing themselves trying to cram a million and one things into their day to "accomplish" something. This is easy to do when we think that it is all up to us! Jesus spoke about this in Matthew 6:34, "...so, don't worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble". I'm going to call this thought the "today principle". We should plan and have hope for a bright tomorrow, but the balance is putting into our day what is doable and still retain God's peace. It is God's perfect will that we have His peace, not the peace that the world gives (John 14:27). God cares and wants to help us work everything out. We just have to humble ourselves and depend on Him (1 Peter 5:7). My husband makes this statement quiet often, "Everything always works out for me". This declaration is based on Romans 8:28 with the premise that this one loves God and is in alignment with His plan for their life. My new year challenge to you and to myself, is to find our peace and rest in Christ through faith and hope in Him everyday! (Please read Hebrews chapters 3 & 4 AMP). This is pleasing to God and it is what God wants from us (Read this AWESOME passage: Romans 5:3-5). Following His will for our life in this world ensures our hope for an eternity in heaven with Him. I'm going to leave you with these great verses taken from 2 Peter 3, "So beloved, since you are expecting these things >(looking for new heavens and a new earth according to His promise in which righteousness is to abide), be eager to be found by Him without spot or blemish (sins) and at peace (in serene confidence, free from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts)...let me warn you...be on your guard, lest you fall from your present firm condition (your own steadfastness of mind). But grow in grace and recognition and knowledge and understanding of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory, both now and to the day of eternity. AMEN!"

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE

Since I was 22 years old (approx. 35 yrs. ago) I've tried my best to obey and follow the Lord in every way. I've been so very blessed! God has been amazingly wonderful to me and I will be forever grateful to Him! But, now I know that life in this world is not necessarily going to become progressively easier and perfect following Jesus. I'm embarrassed to admit that I've had that thought in the back of my mind. Yes, Jesus said that He came to give us life and life more abundantly and there are huge perks for obeying Him with a consecrated life style. But, sometimes in following His will for our life, we are asked of Him to live in a realm of faith that makes what He's asked of us seem impossible for us to do. I read in Luke 1 this morning about the angel Gabriel visiting Mary, the mother of Jesus. The angel was telling her that as a virgin, she was about to be impregnated by the Holy Spirit of God and would then deliver the Messiah, the Savior of the world. The implications of this is mind boggling and even astounding regarding the time period and society that she lived in. She didn't question the "why", but she did question the "how", denoting her acceptance of the mission. Mary's reply to Gabriel's declaration has certainly proved why God chose her to birth His Son. Her reply? "Behold, I am the handmaiden (servant) of the Lord; let it be done unto me according to what you have said." That's pure faith. It seems to me that when a mission from God seems impossible, pure faith is required. It could mean that we would encounter insufferable circumstances. My husband and I went to see the "Mission Impossible" movie the other night. It really was a great movie! The thing that always gets to me in these "Mission Impossible" movies is the commitment that Tom Cruise's character and his team have to their mission. The personal sacrifice, life endangerment, and passion. It puts most Christians to shame regarding their commitment to their calling from God. My friend, Sarah Fandler, her husband, and their three small children are going as missionaries to an impoverished city in South Africa, where HIV is epidemic and rape is rampant. I cried when I heard the news. Oh, but the whole family is eager to go! Even the little ones have enthusiastically stated themselves that they want to tell the little children about Jesus. Reminds me of the child like faith Jesus said that we must all have to enter into the Kingdom of God. This faith is pure. The Bible stresses over and over that we must have faith to do anything for God. I am challenged and I hope you are too. It's so easy to be spoiled in this country and complain about the "small" missions God asks of us on a daily basis. I'm ashamed to say that I've been guilty of self-centeredness, as many have. I pray that as I head into 2012, I will say from my heart everyday to God, "Be it done unto me as You have said. Look at me, I am Your servant." I challenge you to do the same and we will move forward in the Kingdom of our Lord and God, accomplishing His IMPOSSIBLE MISSIONS!