Hid In My Heart

I have difficulty finishing one thing before starting another. This is not multitasking, this is a lack of focus and being able to accomplish the objective(s) I set for myself every day.

I can read a portion of Scripture and still must read it over again several times. It has helped to read my Bible out loud, but I can only do that outside.

While I have never been super focused, I used to be better at it than this. I comprehend what I am reading, but I do not retain what I have read. Understand?

I know that God is helping me every step of the way we are walking together. So, when I am able to quote Scripture, it is not from memory, but from reading The Word into heart, where The Holy Spirit can draw it up, like from a well, and quench the thirsty, feed the hungry.

I have both a large print Bible, which I take outside and read, and giant print Bible, which remains on my desk in plain sight. When these both become just blurs, I also have the whole Bible on cassette. Old school, yes; but I can stop when and where I need to to get what I need when I need it.

How we get God's Word into our hearts is not as important as the fact that we get it in there. It helps to know that God's Word is Jesus Christ. John 1:1, 14 (1) "In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God....(14) And The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of The Father,) full of grace and truth."

In order to get The Word into our hearts we need to acknowledge that we have sinned against God. We need to repent, turn away from doing such sins, and ask God to forgive us. And He will. Now The Word is in our hearts, But it is up to us to maintain it. The engine of that beautiful automobile will break down and refuse to run smoothly, if we do not take care of it, right? But we need help.
That is why God sent The Holy Spirit: to help us maintain The Word which is living in our hearts. 
I need my Jesus. I need God's Holy Spirit. It is He who guides me, teaches me, helps me, reminds me. It is God's Holy Spirit who called me to salvation through God's only begotten Son Jesus Christ. It is how I am able to accomplish my purpose in life. 
When I surrendered all, I always kept back a part of me. Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was anxiety Whatever it was, I never really surrendered ALL OF ME to God. I must take the next step and be fully committed to what God wants me to do. 
His Word is in me, His Spirit is on me, and I will go where He wants me to go.

Shut Up In My Bones

02172013

Shut Up In My Bones

Jeremiah 20:7-13

This section of Scriptures tells of Jeremiahs travails, when he has brought God's Word to God's People.

Not everyone who says “I am a Christian” really is a Christian. There are many out in the world that claim to be something they are not in order to draw people who are looking for the Savior away from the truth. Some people just want to hear the fluff and not the stuff. We cannot follow God halfway.

To follow in Jesus' footsteps I must be willing to follow Him everywhere.

Jeremiah was young and inexperienced when God called him to preach. He had difficulty speaking clearly, and had to choose his words carefully in order to speak at all. But God told Jeremiah that it was for this purpose He created Jeremiah; God knew him before He formed him. Jeremiah was sanctified within his mother's womb and ordained by God to be a prophet to the nations (Jer. 1:5).

It is Jeremiah's job, as God's chosen servant, to preach repentance and deliverance to the nations to whom God has sent him (Jer. 3:22). But the people said chose not to fear The Lord and went about their own ways, continuing in their sins against God. They prefer to believe the lies coming out of the mouths of those who lead them by their own understanding and not by God's Word (Jer. 5:31; 6:8).

As it was in the days of Joshua, the command was given to choose whom they would obey and serve. Joshua 24:14, 15 “Now therefore fear The Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye The Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve The Lord, choose ye this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve The Lord. And the people answered and said, 'God forbid that we should forsake The Lord, to serve other gods.' “

There are times in the Bible where the people say “we will serve The Lord” and times where their response is “we will not”. This, in Jeremiah, is of the second. God tells Jeremiah that the people will not listen and their hearts will only become harder. As Jeremiah continues to preach regardless of their attitudes towards God and God's Word, he feels weak and alone and begins to have another conversation with God, here in chapter 20 verses 7-13.

He acknowledges that God is stronger than he is. He feels he has been deceived. He states that he is held in derision and mocked by every one. When he speaks, when he cries out, when he tells of the violence and the spoil that is to come because of their unwillingness to repent of their wickedness, he is made a reproach and a derision, on a daily basis. Now, remember, this is Jeremiah being honest with God when he is praying, speaking to God.

Jeremiah says, 'I will not speak of Him, nor speak any more in His Name.' BUT God's Word was shut up in Jeremiah's bones. Though he tried not to speak The Word, The Holy Spirit of God was upon him to speak It and when he opened his mouth, God's Word came out of it. He heard the Word of God defamed, and felt fear on every side; not for the Word of God but because of The Word that was spoken. And still they did not repent. Those who had heard the message many times had hopes that now they could turn Jeremiah to their ways and then take him down.

BUT The Lord is with Jeremiah. For now that Jeremiah has again spoken The Word of God and been made known clearly that God is with him and that The Spirit of God is with him, he is not afraid of the ones who have mocked him or held The Word of God in such low regard. “But The Lord is with me as a MIGHTY TERRIBLE ONE”. Romans 8:31 “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” Those who have come against the preaching of The Word will not prevail. They will stumble, they will be greatly ashamed and they will not prosper; they will have everlasting confusion. God will have His vengeance on them.

And now we are called to worship The Lord, to praise The Lord. Why? Because He has delivered our souls from the hands of the evildoers. Those who would do evil against God and God's people.

So I say to you who preach the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ, continue in your work. Let no one say that you do not have the right to speak thus. For when God calls a person to preach The Word, to evangelize, to teach, to proclaim, to pastor, to sing, to help, to build churches, God also anoints and equips people whom He has called. He will not leave us nor forsake us; God is ever with the people who choose to remain in His service.

God hears the prayers of the righteous, the 'once-I-was-a-sinner-but-now-I'm-saved-by-grace saint. He cannot hear the prayers of those who refuse to obey His Word. Do you want God to hear the prayers of your heart? Then you need to repent of your disobedient ways and receive the forgiveness which God has in store for you. I can pray for you, but only you can repent on your own behalf. You need to humble yourself before God and ask Him to forgive you. Tell Jesus you want Him to be Lord of your life; no longer do you want to do things your way, but now you want to do things God's way. Tell Him in your own words, from your heart. Because God knows your heart. If the words in your mouth are not matching the thoughts of your heart, then you are a liar, and God knows the truth is not really in you, that you are not ready to repent and turn away from your sins.

Now is the time to repent of your sins. Turn your back on sin and turn your heart to God. There is no other way to please God and have Him hear your prayers. This is the truth of God's Word, of God's heart. For it is God's desire that all mankind be saved. But it must be done on an individual basis. I can't do it for you, but I can pray that you make this decision.

I Like To Sing New Songs

04112013

I like to sing a new song

Everyday

to the King

I like to sing

new songs

new songs

to The King

The sun rises in the east

and travels across the skies..

My sights awaken and I begin

to sing His praises again.

Songs that have never been sung

Songs that have yet to be heard

Songs that bring joy to the heart

Songs that sing His Word..

I hear the sounds of life

I breathe the air anew

I see the sunlit sky

I smell life renewed

And it's God who created all this

Every single day'

For His glory and pleasure

It's God whose praise I sing!

I like to sing new songs

you see

I like to sing to The King

I like to sing for His pleasure

Songs that are pleasant to sing!

I sing the song of Redemption

How Jesus died for me!I sing the song of Salvation

How His blood washes me clean.

I sing the song of the ages:

A love story that seldom is told.

How The King of Heaven left His glory

For to save my wretched soul.

And it's God who created

A way for this story to be:

He sent His Only Begotten Son

To die on Calvary!

I like to sing a new song

Everyday

to the King!

Everyday a new song

Is sung to King Jesus

you see

We sing the song of Redemption For the One whose praises we sing..

la la lalalala la la la lala la

(as you see, God has been with me, all this day long. as for seeing the sun rise, it sure was not today as the skies have been overcast and the backyard is flooded. but the hope of tomorrow is always there. and if we do not see tomorrow, then we will see Jesus sooner than we expected. i am glad my papers are in order and my passport to heaven has been approved.)

Kindle Me

KINDLE ME (12302012)

I I I

won't live my life without You

and

I I I

can't take a single breath

without

U U U

moving right through me

and

U U U

take away my breath

You leave me breathless

for

more of You!

Kindle me!

Build me higher!

Burn in me!

Holy Fire!

Consume I

leaving only U

to burn in me

Broken and kindled

then broken again

Breath of God

blow gently on me

Burn away

Leaving ashes

Molding these into

A beautiful we.

U U U

You take me higher

and

U U UYou set my heart on fire

You are my one desire

Glory is Yours

all the glory is Yours

ignited by passion

tendered by mercy

blown away by the breath of God

Kindle me!

Build me higher.

Burn in me!

Holy Fire!

Consume I

leaving only U

to burn in me

From out of the darkness

You saw right through me

From out of the mire

You draw clay

From out of the ashes

You bring beauty

Into the morning

in the Light of Day

Kindle me!

Build me higher.

Burn in me!

Holy Fire.

Consume I !

leaving only U

to

burn

in

me

that the world may see

only

You

burning in me

The Planting of The Lord

     I am the captive of The Lord. When He has performed that which He says He will do in me, then I will be set free in Him. For whom The Lord sets free is free indeed as stated in John 8:36. I am free to do that which I have been given the privilege to do in Jesus' Name. You know, I will forever have those studies in my mind and my heart now. Every time I say or hear someone say "in Jesus' Name", a smile lights across my face and I remember Jesus' Names. Before I became aware of who I am in Jesus' Name, I would hear myself be referred to as 'just a mom' or 'just Steve's wife', as if I was a second class person. But whom God calls to serve in whatever capacity He puts them in to serve, is not a less than person to any degree. We are all the planting of The Lord, when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior; when we believe that He is the only begotten Son of God; when we call on Jesus' Name to be freed from the bondages of our sins and enslavement.

     We have become new people. You know us by our names. God knows us by the names which He has given us. You know us by our previous histories. God has washed away those histories and completely forgotten them. You know us by the things we used to do and the words we used to say. God knows us by our words and our actions. It is in His sight that I pray to remain blameless and without blemish. GOD is GOOD.

My House, My Rules

      Do you remember hearing those words come out of your Mother's mouth? Have you said them to your children? "My house, my rules. You don't like it, then you can live somewhere else." You ever wonder where that originated? I used to wonder about that, too. But now I know: it came from The Bible, from God.

     In the second half of The Book of Exodus God gives Moses the details on how to build God's house not only from an architectural standpoint, but from an interior designer's viewpoint as well. But this house that will be built for God is not a permanent living arrangement; while it may be mobile, it is but a foreshadow of the house God wants to truly be allowed to live in: us.

     The foundational structure of God's house is The Chief Cornerstone, our beloved Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Upon this Cornerstone, this Rock, is built the church. The church is not a meeting place for Christians, it is built of Christians. We worship God in Spirit and in Truth, as His desire indicates. We do not meet in buildings made by hand, but in the unity of Spirit. Neither time nor space prevent God's people from assembling themselves in His presence to seek His face, honor His Name and give Him glory and praise. Our worship is from the heart and rightly so: for "God inhabits the praises of His people." Psalm 22:3. It is a dwelling place not made by hand (Acts 17:24).

      Born-again Christians are people who believe that Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of God; that He died on the cross for us, paying the death penalty for sins we could never pay for; that God raised Him from the dead and He walked out of the grave. Born-again Christians are Jesus Freaks. We will tell anyone and everyone about our Savior and how He can be your Savior, too. We want to share God's love with everyone we meet. This is how the church grows. Proclaiming the Name of Jesus to anyone who will take the time to hear about our wonderful Lord and His saving grace: He forgives sinners who repent and forgets all the sins He has forgiven.   Who wouldn't love a Man like that? Who wouldn't serve a King like that?

      We are called to follow Jesus for this same reason: "Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men," is what Jesus told the fishermen who listened to Him, in Matthew 4:19. Jesus informs us that in order to walk in power, boldness and fearlessness, we need The Comforter that God will send when we fast and pray together. And He, The Comforter, the One who will guide us in Truth with Love, is The Holy Ghost (as named in The OT) or The Holy Spirit (as named in The NT). He is the third Person in the Trinity of God. He has a Name, too. He is not an 'it' or a 'that'. He is holy because He, also, is God. And this Person must be with us when we tell people about Jesus. The Holy Spirit is persistent but gentle, just like God. And The Holy Spirit is with me now as I tell you about Jesus.

       There is a right way and a wrong way to preach The Name of Jesus. The right way is in God's agape love. The wrong way is any other way than God's agape love. This agape love is unconditional love. It is a no-frills, no strings attached, self-sacrificing love. It is the love which God has for the whole world (John 3:16).  It is pure. It is holy. It is life-changing. God's agape love is not exclusive: God loves EVERYONE. Regardless of class, status, gender, politics, religion, race, ethnicity, age. God's love does not discriminate; rather, it embraces all people. Anyone can receive salvation and become a part of God's family, God adopts us through the blood of His only Begotten Son Jesus Christ. There is only one Name under heaven by which all can be saved (Acts 4:12) and that Name is JESUS.

      In God's house, Jesus rules. For God has set His Son on His right hand, His rightful place being by His Father's side, interceding for God's people on our behalf, because He loves us (Hebrews 1 and Hebrews 7:25; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1). In God's house, Love lives. "Love one another as I have loved you." John 15:10-12. Again, this is the agape love referred to previously. We who live in God's house love each other with a sacrificial love, preferring to give honor and show/share God's love than receive it. It is a humbling to receive pure love from God's family. This act of love is not meant to elevate us, but to encourage us, to walk and live in God's Word because God's Word lives in us. "In Him we live and move and have our being." Acts 17:28; Hebrews 2:11; Matthew 25:40(the least of these).

      In God's house, Mercy runs. ... . Hope springs. ... .  Joy is a verb. ... . Faith is evidence. ... . Love measures. ... . Jesus saves. "I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of The Lord." Psalm 122:1. "The Spirit and The Bride, they say, 'Come.'" Revelation 22:1. "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." Matthew 5:6.

Labeled

Labeled

For God so loved the world

He gave His only Son,

To save a wretch like me
And die on Calvary.
All that I can do
Is give Him my life, too;
I surrender all,
So to my knees I fall.

I did a 180.
I walked away.
Turned my back on the things of this world
Today!

You call me a Jesus freak,
Hate me and mock me;
I'll turn the other cheek.
You label me crazy,
I'm just peculiar and strange.
I'm not of this world any more
By the blood of The Lamb of God:
My soul has been saved!

I did a 180

Praying The WORD Over Our Children

Regardless of age, our children will always be our children. Just like we are our parents' children; no matter howl we get we still call them Mother and Daddy or Mom and Dad; never by their first names. It's a respect thing. 

Fruits of Stewardship

I like Joyce Meyers. I enjoy listening to her preaching and teaching what she has studied. One time she talked about the Fruits of Stewardship and suggested making a list of Scriptures that we would want prayed over our children. So I did. 


Our children can PHILIPPIANS 4:13  **************** Our children do all things through Christ who gives them strength

Our children are DANIEL 1:17, 20  ******************Our children are full of wisdom, knowledge and understanding

Our children  MATTHEW 4:19 ********************** Our children are fishers of men

Our children MARK 16:15 ************************** Our children preach the gospel (with their actions and by their words)

Our children ACTS 2:4 ***************************** Our children are baptized in The Holy Spirit     

Our children live ROMANS 12 ************************  Our children live uncompromising lives

Our children know 1 CORINTHIANS 6:19, 20 *********** Our children know they are bought by God and glorify God        

Our children walk 2 CORINTHIANS 5:7 **************** Our children walk by faith, not by what they can see

Our children GALATIANS 6:2 ************************ Our children pray for each other and together

Our children EPHESIANS 5:17 *********************** Our children understand God's will

Our children COLOSSIANS 3:17 ********************** Our children are known by their actions/words and are men and women of integrity with thankful hearts

And that's how I pray for our children. But not just the children of my body, the children of my heart, as well. I am a stepmom twice over: those are my kids, too. Some of my children's friends call me Mom, I get respect. Those are our children, too. I was a Sunday School teacher, a nursery worker and a Youth Night Bible Study Leader. Those are the children I pray for, too. Our grandchildren are our children's children. They get covered in prayer as well. 
As I see how many children have made this list, I realize that I have been a fruitful vine. God is gracious to me and I give Him all the glory for what He has done in me, through me and to me.

Early Will I Seek Thee

I used to be a morning person. I loved being awake before the sun rose, sitting on the back porch and watching the sun come up over the trees, sipping my coffee.
Now, even though my eyes are open, and I can semi-function, I am not really awake until 10 A.M. And then I eat. I try not to make any important decisions before I am fully awake, either. Regrets are for the impatient. Patience is waiting until the perfect time arrives to do the right thing, regardless of what I am contemplating doing.

But, did you know that God is a morning God? He created the mornings, when He created the daytime and the night time - Genesis 1:1-5 1. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5. And God called the light Day and the darkness he called Night And the evening and the morning were the first day."

The psalmist reminds us in Psalm 63:1 that seeking God early is beneficial to the body and the soul - "O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee: my soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh longs for Thee, In a dry and thirsty land, where no water is."

Knowing this, I must begin to embrace the morning again. That God might be glorified in my life, through my words and my actions. Knowing this, I must trust that Father knows best for me. Knowing this, I must surrender daily to His perfect will for my life. For I am one of them. One of them who is called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28), not my own purpose nor my own will/wants.

Knowing this, I must seek Jesus while He may be found. For some day, The Holy Spirit will take the Bride of Christ, His Church, out of this concept of time: Day and Night, and bring her to His side. You think the world is changing now? Just wait.

Or don't wait. Let Jesus into your hearts, and ask The Holy Spirit to start changing you now. Before it's too late.

Humble Servants

This pride thing in God's kingdom needs to stop. Where are the humble servants? The field hands?

Stop being a 'proud member' in the kingdom. Start being a hands on family member in the kingdom of God: it's about doing God's work according to God's plan, God's blueprint for seeing His kingdom grow.

It's about loving each other with the love of Christ. Let God judge the heart and get out of the way. "Love one another the way I have loved you." is what Jesus tells us in John 15:12. This section of John tells us how to love like Jesus loves us. Expect to be hated, but do not hate in return. 

If you read something that claims to be Christian, but does not line up with the full gospel Truth of God's Word, then that post is a lie, a false teaching by a false prophet or false teacher. It is the wolf in sheep's clothing that seeks to deceive and bring about your downfall. You can't let that happen. I can't let that happen. As individuals, we are responsible for what we read, what we learn, what we see. 

Be informed: read your Bible. Study it using accurate study tools. In my little office here I am surrounded by beloved authors of well-known study guides. To my left I have a Who's Who in the Bible, maps, and histories. To my left sits my Vine's, my Nave's; Matthew Henry's Commentary and an illustrated Bible dictionary. My Strong's Exhaustive Concordance is on my side table, within arm's reach. 

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance contains every single word in the Bible, even "the" "and" "a"; how many and what a particular word means in the context of the passage of Scripture. 

Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary is a Scriptural archaeological book: it gives us visual aids, which is helpful for me, as I am a visual learner. When I am shown how to do something, whether work related or hobby related, then I am more capable of completing the objective than if I had simply read the How To Manual. 

 Nave's Topical Bible compartments Scriptures relating to one topic, whereas Vine's Complete Expository Bible sorts Scriptures according to catch words or phrases. While each does not contain the whole of Scripture, they are excellent helpers in digging deeper into God's Word. 

And while reading your Bible and studying it will help you know more of God's Word, it will still not be enough to guide you in God's ways. We need God's Holy Spirit to reveal God to us in God's Word. We read in Psalm 119 that God's Word is a light to our path and a lamp to our feet, but unless the switch is flipped, the light won't shine. Not only will we stumble and fall, but we may not even be aware that we have left God's pathway. We need The Holy Spirit to guide us every step of the Way in God's Will. 

I want the whole Bread of Life, not just a slice here or a crumb there. I thirst for The Living Water that is Jesus Christ. In God's Word my hunger and thirst are quenched. Do you know that I can sit for hours reading and studying God's Word and not even be aware that that much time has passed? 

We read in 2 Timothy 2:15 "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." I want to be a workman approved by God. With the aid of The Holy Spirit of God I will rightly divide the word of truth and seek God with my whole heart, not just my head. 

No more wading pools or shallow end for me: I'm swimming out int deeper waters, where, like Ezekiel, I will be carried when my feet no longer touch ground. 

In the Garden

Our new backyard summer garden and my favorite landscaper: my husband.

As much as many of us admire beautiful gardens, we must remember that not everything in the garden is good or beneficial.

 For example, this is our Rose bush:

And this Japanese Lady Beetle will destroy our roses unless we destroy it and her kind first.








And, while I think bunnies are cute, they don't belong in our garden, either. This one, fortunately, was in the neighbor's yard:

Not every wildflower is a weed. Clover is beneficial and attracts bees, as does the wild violet and dandelion: 

But left untended all will eventually overrun the yard and gardens, choking out every other flower or herb we plant. Bees are both beneficial and dangerous; dangerous because of the venom in their stingers, which could either leave welts when stung, or cause a person to go into anaphylactic shock if severely allergic. 

Worry not about the storms in your garden: every planting needs rain. 

Otherwise, we all, like our gardens, would just dry up and blow away like chaff at the first whisper of wind. Can't have that now, can we? 

In the Bible the garden is where we could always find Jesus. He prayed in gardens. He was buried in a garden tomb. He was in the garden when Mary arrived with His burial spices, only to find Jesus alive! And walking in the garden! 

In the garden with Jesus is a good place to be.