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Weak and Strong

Posted on May 19, 2014 ·

blog picture strong weak But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and [b]show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may [c]pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!

10 So for the sake of Christ, I am well pleased and take pleasure in infirmities, insults, hardships, persecutions, perplexities and distresses; for when I am weak [[d]in human strength], then am I [truly] strong (able, powerful [e]in divine strength).2 Corinthians12:9-10.

 

We are constantly bombarded with human messages on TV, music , movies etc. that we can fight our own fights and be strong in ourselves. But united to Christ we are told something altogether different.

In the reading above Paul discloses that he had been harassed by a “thorn in the flesh”.  I have had a rose thorn get stuck in my finger when picking roses and it can really hurt. I wanted that thing out of my finger! The Lord used that experience to teach Paul a critical lesson about our relationship with the Lord; “for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and [b]show themselves most effective in [your] weakness.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Faith and Trust, prayer, Uncategorized ·
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God’s Timetable

Posted on April 21, 2014 ·

picture blog joseph wheat dreamNow Joseph had a dream and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him still more.6 And he said to them, Listen now and hear, I pray you, this dream that I have dreamed:7 We [brothers] were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright, and behold, your sheaves stood round about my sheaf and bowed down!8 His brothers said to him, Shall you indeed reign over us? Or are you going to have us as your subjects and dominate us? And they hated him all the more for his dreams and for what he said.

I was reading the story of Joseph and how the Lord used him. Although he was only a teenager, the Lord gave him a prophetic dream. He showed him that his family would  bow down to him. But when did that dream finally manifest itself in the natural?  -Years later.

Joseph had to be prepared for that final position. But as you recall his jealous brothers decided to get rid of him, selling him to a passing caravan of traders. Then he was sold to Potiphar, did a great job managing his household, and was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife of trying to molest her. He wound up in jail where he learned to manage the needs of the prisoners. Later he met two of Pharaohs’ workers and interpreted their dreams. Later he was called to appear to Pharaoh where he correctly interpreted his dream and was appointed to rule as next in command to Pharaoh. Joseph’s position as second in command allowed him to provide for his family in the time of famine.

Joseph was given a prophecy. But it was years before he saw it come to fruition.

Maybe someone has given you a prophecy. Relax and let the Lord plan out how things will go.

Our problem is that we are the Burger King generation. We want things now and we want it our way. But that is not how the Lord works. He prepared Joseph step by step for his final destination – second in command to Pharaoh. It took years.

Joseph knew the Lord was with him. He knew that he would be a leader. He just did not know when. The Lord was the one planning and bringing things into being.

We are on God’s timetable

The Lord has plans for your life too. I have noticed that I have learned and grown from every job I have had. Some of those jobs were difficult. Some good and some bad.  But I have learned from each and every one of them.

So we learn to get on the Lord’s timetable – not ours.

We learn to be patient. The Lord is in charge of our lives.

Jesus is Lord!

 

 

Filed Under: Faith and Trust, Uncategorized ·
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Encouraging Ourselves

Posted on April 7, 2014 · 
picture encouraging ourselves

 

David was greatly distressed, for the men spoke of stoning him because the souls of them all were bitterly grieved each man for his sons and daughters. But David encouraged and strengthened  himself in  the Lord 1 Samuel 30:6.

You have probably read about the time when David and his men came home one day to Ziklag to find  that everything and everybody had been carried away by their enemies. David’s men were a mess. They blamed David and wanted to stone him. But David did something different. He encouraged  and strengthened himself in the Lord. Then he went out and the Lord gave him victory. The Lord restored.

How did he do that?

He began to remind himself of all the times the Lord had shone Himself strong on his behalf. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Faith and Trust, Uncategorized, Victory, wisdom ·
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Going Through

Posted on March 17, 2014 ·

blog picture water isrealitesFear not, for I have redeemed you [ransomed you by paying a price instead of leaving you captives]; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.

2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned or scorched, nor will the flame kindle upon you.  For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; Isaiah 43:1-3

I have been through a fire. Our house caught fire while I was out with my husband one evening. Our three children were asleep in their beds and the baby sitter was downstairs practicing guitar. Thanks to a miracle from the Lord ( you can read more about it in my book WALKING WITH JESUS)  all the children and the sitter were saved. Later I remembered this scripture- “when you walk through the fire you will not be burned.” Now it had a personal meaning for me. The Lord was with us through it all. He kept us all safe and restored our home. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Faith and Trust · Tagged: ,
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A Strong Anchor

Posted on March 10, 2014 ·

PICTURE BLOG ANCHOR TWO

Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have a great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal high priest in the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6: 18 – 20

When Paul wrote these words he was using an example from real life. When fishermen are on the water in their boat they throw their anchor overboard. It is no longer visible being many feet below snugly holding onto the ocean bottom. There is a chain connecting the boat to the anchor. The anchor keeps the boat from drifting, going in the wrong direction and decreases the effect of wind and tides on the boat. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Faith and Trust, Hope · Tagged:
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It’s All Under the Blood

Posted on March 3, 2014 ·

1blog picture ledger blank2 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. Hebrews 9:12

Once we have made Jesus our Lord and Savior a wonderful thing happens. All the sins we committed past present and future are cleansed by the blood of Jesus. The Lord never thinks about them again. He doesn’t sit in heaven thinking, “Well I forgave so – and – so but I’ll never forget it.” No, He forgives and forgets. As far as He is concerned all He sees is the blood His Son Jesus shed on the cross for us. The only one who remembers those sins is us.

Satan loves to bug us with the memories of those past offences. But the good news is that we can take action through the Word of God and say “Those sins and mistakes I made are under the blood of Jesus Christ and I call them no more to mind”. In other words “I don’t think about them anymore”. What happens when we do think about them? We feel guilty, sad, and remorseful. Rather than praising the Lord and loving Him, we feel dejected. Jesus gave His life and shed His blood to free us from our sins. We don’t want to be like Lot’s wife – looking back. There was nothing back there worth looking at.

If we could see God’s ledger of our sins, it would be blank. No record of our sins at all! Gone! I am so grateful to the Lord for His wonderful plan that included freeing us from guilt and sin and filling our hearts with peace so we could be free to go boldly to His throne.

Jesus is Lord!

Filed Under: Faith and Trust, Forgiveness ·
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“Tug of War”

Posted on February 17, 2014 · 
blog picture tug of war

 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7.

I prayed to the Lord to day to ask Him what we need to hear. We have touched on what to do with worries, but He wants us to learn a bit more.

One thing we have all done is play “tug of war” with the Lord. We pray “Lord, I give you all my problems.” Then the next day we take back the worry and worry about it again. We say “Here Lord, I know you can take care of this” but a few minutes later we try to figure out what to do ourselves. We go back and forth with the Lord. This should not be!

It is better to see the problem solved by the Lord in our mind. If praying for a loved one who is unsaved, picture them lifting their hands in worship to the Lord. I did this for years for my Dad. I stopped thinking of how he was not saved, and started thinking how great it was going to be when he was saved. He did get saved after many years and it was a terrific miracle by the Lord. During those years before he made Jesus his Lord I did not feel any anguish over my Dad’s spiritual condition. I kept picturing him saved. I had prayed that the Lord not let him die unless he was saved.

It finances are a problem ask the Lord to pay all your bills and then picture all your bills “Paid in Full”. If you are sick pray for healing then picture yourself well – maybe dancing before the Lord. He is able. Leave it to Him.

Jesus is Lord!

Filed Under: Faith and Trust ·
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Look Behind You

Posted on January 20, 2014 ·

blog picture runnersIf you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: Deuteronomy 28:1-2.

 29 “And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things.30 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs.31 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need. Luke 12:29-31

 

The people of the world spend a great deal of time thinking about their needs and how they will be fulfilled. They chase after the things of this world. They worry about so many things.

 But when we obey the Lord and put Him first in our lives blessings chase after us.

Picture a race. We are running as fast as we can toward the Lord and coming up fast behind us and catching up with us are blessings. Take a moment and have a look at Deuteronomy 28:1-14. I call it the blessing scripture because there are so many blessings in it.

 So we as faithful followers of Jesus take our eyes off the things of this world. We follow the Lord and blessings will catch up with us.

 Jesus is Lord!

Filed Under: Faith and Trust, Obedience ·
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God’s Perfect Plan

Posted on December 30, 2013 ·

blog picture perfect planFor 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

Have you ever wondered why you were going through something? I have. Sometimes it doesn’t seem to make sense. Why would the Lord let someone lose a job, let a house burn, let a divorce happen, let someone young get a serious disease?

I remember when I had to take my children for their immunizations. They could not understand why they had to get a needle in their arm. I could not explain it to them. It was too complicated: immunity, vaccine, eventual protection from a disease and antibodies. They were just too little to understand. Later when they were older they had enough understanding of the world for me to explain. But it still hurt to get a shot! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Faith and Trust ·
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Light of the World

Posted on December 23, 2013 ·

picture blog candle shining light 

 12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12

14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. Matthew 5:14-15

One of my friends came to me and said she had a new job but she was very unhappy there. She said she was the only Christian in the whole department. She did not feel any blessing in this.

I have had a similar experience and it is so much nicer to have many Christians working with you but Jesus has a reason for putting us with non Christians. We are to be a light in a dark place. Before my friend arrived at her new job there was no light in the place. Now there is. I think it is a great honor to be in the position of bringing the light of Jesus to our work place. The Lord trusts my friend to be that light and bring the Gospel with her. Even if we can not evangelize just showing the love of Jesus to people shines our light. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Faith and Trust, Obedience · Tagged: , ,
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