Hello God! It’s Me.

In the times in which I have been most distressed, the Holy Spirit reminds me that all is well because our great God, the Creator is still in control. It is He who made the heavens and the earth; indeed, all of the universe—and beyond; it is He who filled the vast spaces of nothingness with great wonders and it is He in whom we may seek comfort at any time.

To our finite minds the magnitude and elements of creation are limitless. Yet the Creator chose to love us…”What is man that thou art mindful of him?” God created man to fellowship with Him and He promised man that those who would seek Him would find Him.

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory
above the heavens.

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.

You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet... Psalm 8:1,3-6 (NIV)

How will you seek God today? Will it be through His word, through prayer, through song or other verse? There are so many ways in which we may seek God, but the end results of the search are all the same…we will find Him. Why? He is always watching and waiting for us.

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD,…Jeremiah 29:12-14a (NIV)

And not only that but this also:

Blessed are the people of whom this is true;
blessed are the people whose God is the LORD. Psalm 144:15 (NIV)

God Bless!

If not now, then when?

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

When the Israelites were about to enter into the “promised land” they were told the land was being given to them, not because they were such a righteous and deserving people, but because the nations which inhabited the land were so wicked (Deuteronomy 9:4-5)…these nations were idol worshipers, they murdered their children, they were sexually immoral…just to name a few of their many sins. Those ancient nations bare a great deal of resemblance to our country today.

It is certainly easy to point fingers and blame others for our country’s indiscretions, but haven’t we, as Christians, been totally complacent as these things have come to pass? Isn’t it true that what one generation tolerates, the next generation embraces?

I am convinced our country will not escape the wrath of God. Sin is an abomination to God; it sickens and disgusts Him. All throughout the Bible we are told, “the wicked will not stand”. Is there any reason this should NOT apply to us?

Our only hope is repentance. Repentance is a two-step process. We must not only stop our evil ways but we must also give them up all together. Humbling ourselves is not enough; prayer is not enough; seeking God’s face is not enough…we must do ALL of this PLUS turn from our wicked ways. THEN God will hear us, forgive us, and heal our land.

As an American you have a voice; as a Christian you should be using your voice for God's purpose. If you won't speak up now; then when will you?

Never Alone

I was touched this morning by an e-devotional I received. It was a reminder that we are not alone in the journey of life. Certainly we are never alone as believers because the Holy Spirit is constantly with us and we are also never alone because of the kinship we share with other believers.

The e-devotional used the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer as its text: “Our Father who art in heaven…”, Matthew 6:9. This great prayer begins with the plural pronoun, “our”. Even though we may feel lonely, in reality, we are never alone because we are members of the family of God.

Even the best of us have sometimes felt lonely. Remember when Elijah was hiding from Queen Jezebel? Elijah feared for his life and was running away but the Lord stopped him asked him what he was doing.

“He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." I Kings 19:14

But then the Lord reminded Elijah that he was not alone.

“Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.", v. 18.

God ALWAYS provides for those who love Him and are obedient to His word. We are never alone. Just as the Holy Spirit ministers to us and comforts us we are to minister to and be a comfort to others.

Be on the lookout for that person the Holy Spirit is sending your way today. Perhaps all they need is a friendly smile and a word of encouragement. Do your part to spread the love of Jesus today.

God Bless!

Action!

As I was finished reading my Bible this morning I thought about how the word of God always seems to require action. Even when we “wait upon the Lord” we are to wait actively; and when the Lord says, “be still and know that I AM GOD” it means we are to “be still” from our own thoughts and actions (in other words, stop trying to do everything on your own).

Speaking concerning the crucifixion and resurrection, the last chapter of Mark records; “Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.” Mark 16:14

The disciples were stymied by their grief and they were afraid. Because of this they seemingly had forgotten what they had been told about the resurrection. But Christ appeared to them and set them straight; “He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” Mark 16:15

Jesus told them to “Get busy!” This is exactly what they did; verse 20, the last verse of the chapter tells us, “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.”

I love this verse for it tells us the disciples not only got up and went but also tells us, “the Lord worked with them”. It can be easy to feel stymied by the stress of everyday life, but let us remember that God’s word tells us to be active; to “go”; and it also tells us that HE is working along with us. Praise God!

God Bless!

Say What?

I spent today sitting in a hospital. My husband had surgery this morning and as we were waiting in the holding room for him to be taken into surgery I picked up a New Testament which had been placed in the room by Gideon’s International. I began to flip through it reading various passages, but quickly found myself in 1 Corinthians 14. In this chapter, Paul is writing to the church at Corinth concerning speaking in tongues and the gift of prophecy. This is significant for me because my younger daughter and I have been recently discussing speaking in tongues.

Paul tells us the better gift is the gift of prophecy. He says the person who speaks in tongues, speaks to God because no one else understands him and thereby edifies himself while the person who prophesies edifies the church. The person who prophesies speaks to men for their “strengthening, encouragement and comfort”, v.3.

In verse 6, Paul asks, “Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction?” Paul equates the speaking of tongues without interpretation as someone playing random notes on a musical instrument; it is not music but noise. In verse 19, Paul says, “But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.”

Further, Paul says tongues are a sign for unbelievers but prophecy is for believers.

“So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!" v. 23-25.

Paul completes his message about the speaking of tongues in verses 26-28 but he finishes the chapter by speaking on of the importance of orderly worship, proclaiming God a God of peace, not of disorder. I challenge you to read the entire chapter. It is enlightening and you’ll discover the church at Corinth must have had some rowdy church services to have drawn so much attention on the subject from Paul.

God Bless!

Thou Shalt Not!

I do not now nor have I ever considered myself a political person. However, I believe it is time (in fact, well past the time) for me and other Christian-Americans like me to stand up and cry out (or even better, as my grandchildren say, shout out) about laws  passed in our country today which are an abomination to God.

We murder the unborn and call it, "pro-choice" and a "woman's right to choose" even though God told us, you “shall not murder”, (Exodus 20:13 : Gen 9:6; Ex 21:12; Lev 24:17; Matt 5:21; 19:18; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20; Rom 13:9; James 2:11). Because the murder of children in the form of child sacrifices were common among the pagan nations, God warns against this very early in Biblical text: “You shall not behave thus toward the LORD your God, for every abominable act which the LORD hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.” –Deuteronomy 12:31; further Ezekiel 20:26 records, “and I pronounced them unclean because of their gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might know that I am the LORD.”

As Americans, we are on a slippery slope. It is time for Christian-Americans to stand up, be heard and be counted. It is time for us to be a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves; to be known as a God-fearing-Christian-nation once again. We have been complacent for far too long.

Don’t delay! Make your voice known: vote, contact those in power who represent you and express your opinion, PRAY for those in power and support organizations such as the Alliance Defense Fund or ADF, (http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/) who fight daily for religious freedom, sanctity of human life, and family values.

The voices of the unborn are crying out to us:

Plead my cause, O LORD, with those who strive with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.

Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonor
Who seek after my life;

Let those be turned back and brought to confusion
Who plot my hurt. Psalm 35:1, 4 

God Bless.

Serve the Lord with Gladness

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the LORD Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100 (NASB)

Have you been presented with an opportunity to serve the Lord and you quickly dismissed the idea without giving it any thought at all? Yes, I realize we all live very busy lives. What I want to bring to your attention for just a moment is the thought that when you dismiss an opportunity to serve the Lord you are missing out on a blessing God has prepared just for you.

As a child you were taught to STOP! LOOK! LISTEN! That lesson still applies today. As a Christian, the Holy Spirit is working within you to prepare you for greater things. Yield yourself fully to His direction. Stop, look, and listen for opportunities to serve the Lord and then serve Him gladly. There is no retirement plan for Christians but the rewards are out of this world!

“Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.” Psalm 34:3 (NKJV)

God Bless!