I Am Free

Hebrews 2:14,15 "Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
    He has overcome even death! What a peace! What a relief! What freedom!!! God is in control and His love for us is great! May we trust him... even in death.

Hebrews 2:17,18 "Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."   
       He has been where we are.  He has suffered, became sin who knew no sin.  He has seen and tasted and had victory over it!  We need Him and His power or Satan will destroy us in our sin.  May we go to Him today for strength to turn and run from temptation.

 Hebrews 3:5,6 "Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son.  And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope."
    What do I hope in? What is my confidence in? What do I hold fast to?  My spouse, my doctor, my medicine, my body image, my things, my bank account...   All these will let me down and then will I search for greener grass on the other side?  May I hold on to Jesus Christ, who reigns forever!!!  In him is true joy and hope!  We can have life abundantly and eternally with him.  Thank you Father for sending your Son to be the Savior of the world!!!!!

Restored!!!!

Over the last week I have been battling a great force, an evil within me.  I praise God and His Spirit for helping me come to realization and the opening of my eyes...process of sanctification.  Learning to love as Christ loves is very hard, and that's an understatement!  Just when we think we did something right, God says uh, uh, uh, and puts us right back under His mighty wing for another beautiful journey into the depths of His Love.  I love it there. 

Confession time...I was having trouble loving my own church family.  That was hard to type. But it is very true.  I did not extend a heart of grace and forgiveness. They were suppose to know better, love better, and  act better.  And instead of loving them right where they were, like Christ loves, I made judgments in my heart.  Right or wrong judgements I will never know,  but as I heard stories of some I began to believe that my thoughts of them were right.  And that is WRONG.   My heart was flooding over with sorrow as I thought of what my church was going through;  people feeling unaccepted, unloved, uncared for.  Satan is real and attacking our hearts even now.  My own feelings are at stake;  he was trying to destroy relationships and my views of  God's bride, His church.  Oh, that saddens my soul because it was happening and I wasn't aware that it was my heart, my sin. 

BUT GOD came as He always does.  He is my help and deliverer!  And He restored my joy with him!  "He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon the rock, making my steps secure.  He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD." Psalm 40:2,3  "But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, "Great is the LORD"! As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me.  You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God."  Psalm 40:16,17  Through repentance, trust, and obedience to God....He restored me. 

He wants more of me.  He will allow Satan to attack, but as a Child of God, Satan does not defeat me.  God chose me and is drawing me closer with each battle as He turns my face to look and stay focused on Him.  He conquers!!!

Thank you Lord, for your hand on my life and how you are pursuing me, and changing my heart.  I am poor and unable to do any good at all apart from you. 

Grace

In my reading of the parable of the unforgiving servant found in Matt. 18:21-35, God once again reminded me of His greatness and my dark and hopeless state apart from Him.   The fact that Peter had to ask such a question reveals our tendency to sin, or in this case hold grudges against people.  He asks, 'Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?' Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seven times seventy."   That means stop counting and always forgive. 

As I seek the Lord, the Spirit enables me to see more and more of my gracious Father. And peels back the layers of my own heart revealing how sinful I trully am. I am learning a new closeness to God.  Life is hard and in those hard times was the closest I have ever been with my Lord.  But He is showing me himself  differently as I am reminded every moment of who I am apart from Him.  Sinner....one who sees fullfillment in the things of this world, like happiness in other peoples misery, thriving on stife and the condemnation of others,  loving only when I get my way,  making judgments on others in some attempt to make me look or feel better,  or seeking after everything with selfish motives.  And that's just the tip of it!  Apart from Jesus and his redemption, the forgiveness of my sin by his death on the cross,  I am not capable of living any other way.  I am doomed, blind, and lost until GOD, my Father, comes to get me.  It is He who saves, and gives us so graciously, so freely, so lovingly, His Son and then His Spirit, to help us see our great need of Him.  I am so grateful He doesn't stop at ABC with us, He keeps pursuing us all the way to Z.  I  have to confess, as a Christian, satan knows where to attack. And one area with me is reading and feasting on the Word of God.  It is so easy to just read it, but to feast on it and live it out is something my flesh doesn't want to do.  I miss the whole point of the gospel.  I fearfully want to live my life for the Lord.  He made me and wants me... that is great motive to not want to live a life in vain.  Thank you Lord for your presence in my life.

How do we always forgive?  In verse 33 Jesus says,"And should not you have mercy on your fellow servant, as I have had mercy on you?"   The bible also says God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  And we should love because he first loved us.  We forgive , we love, we have mercy and grace on others because God has awakened mine and your souls to grasp his love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. His Spirit is with us to guide us and remind us and keep us on our knees wanting and needing our hearts to keep turning in such a way, a perfect way, we can see Him more.

God, Thank you for your amazing grace. And may it continue to flood our souls, transforming our hearts to be more like yours. Help us! We need you desparately to come!

Something Beautiful

I love that song by Need To Breathe!!! The chorus says "This is my desire; consume me like a fire 'cause I just want something beautiful to touch me. I know I'm in reach. I am down on my knees, and waiting for Something Beautiful."

The picture above actually came from my neighbor, the next blog.  A Norwegian who loves posting pictures, and they are really beautiful and interesting.  Anyway, this picture reminded me of the scripture found in Hebrews 4:12,  'For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.'  Icesicles are beautiful, but to be touch by one sends discomfort and could lead to piercing pain by its sharpness.  It also transforms with every lost drop as the sun shines upon it.  May the word of God humble us, revealing our Lord in all His Majesty and Wonder. May it cause us to get excited about the work He is doing in our hearts to be made like Him.  Looking at the icesicles and singing the words of Something Beautiful causes me to want more of God.  Let the waters rise so I won't leave Your side.

God, consume me with your refining fire today.  Cause me to fall before in praise.  Help me to step outside myself and rely on You.  I would drown in this big ocean if you weren't by my side. Thank YOU for loving me and holding me up.  I pray that each time I open your word your Spirit floods my soul and changes my heart; reminding me I am no longer a slave to sin, but righteousness through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Come Lord, Speak Lord, Make me into Something Beautiful!

At His Feet

I don't want to be like the Pharisee, and not see.  So many times in my life I am trying to soothe the symptoms(acts of sin) of my condition(sin) instead of falling on my face before a Holy God. My only hope of redemption and life.  We are dying and think that a dose of bible study, Sunday school, church revival, or good deeds will cure us.  I want to be the like the sinful woman healed because of her faith in a merciful God.  The story is found in Luke 7. The sin of the woman who washed Jesus' feet moved her to humble herself before the religious leaders. Yet they were the very ones in most need; Simon didn't even believe that Jesus was a prophet, much less God.  Luke 7:39 says, 'If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is touching him, for she is a sinner.' Therefore, Simon didn't look at himself as a sinner. He certainly felt no need to fall down at the feet of Jesus. His faith was put in the things he does and the religious rules he keeps. 
Faith in God is our only hope because of our hopeless condition(John 15:5) and his mercy(Titus:3:5).

What am I trusting in?  Am I walking hand in hand with a Big God in faith?  Will I believe His ways are best and perfect though I can't take anything with me and the passage is narrow and very uncomfortable?

I need help, I need God!  I want my stuff, I want to look like I got it all together.  BUT I don't!!!!!!!!!!!

My God, keep me in need of you. May I never be satisfied except at your feet. I surrender...all.

By His wounds we are healed

Japan needs healing. I cant imagine the pain they are experiencing today after so much loss.  In this life we need something super, something supernatural to come and reveal to us, WHY?

We are born, dying of a fatal disease, with a heart condition. It's called sin. But there is a cure!!!
God. He sent His blameless and Holy Son to take our place and the punishment we all deserve.  God's Word says "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved".  The problem is that we are so blinded with our sin, we do not see we need help. We think we can save ourselves by our own, small ways.  God has to change our ways, and that is where suffering comes in the picture. We must become poor, hungry, sad, or even deserate to see we need a Savior(Luke 6:20-23).   Because of our sin we need intervention to help us.  1 Peter 2:24 says, 'He himself(Jesus) bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live in righteousness. By his wounds you are healed.'  God came and He works in many ways to soften and change the hearts of His people.  Trials in our lives cause us to need, and the Spirit of God enables us turn to Him. Giving us life abundantly and eternally! Because of Jesus death on the cross we are healed. Our heart is cured!!! We will live!!!! And that is why God allows suffering. It's because He loves us and wants us to live with Him forever! God will do anything, even sentence His only Son to his death for us, to get us.  Thank you Lord for not giving up on me.

I am praying today that God would use this tragedy in Japan and the many more that have and will occur to soften and turn hearts to Him. I am thanking Him for the times in my own life that I can look back on and know His presence and hand redeeming me, guiding me, keeping me, growing me, loving me, sustaining me, holding me.... I am overwhelmed by His grace.

Waiting...

We are always waiting on or for something. Whether it's for a Doctor visit or to pick the kids up from school, or for God to make sense of our lives and answer our prayers. Most of us would agree that it takes an intervention of the Divine and Holy Spirit for us to see that our own agenda is not what is best for us.  Isaiah 55:8,9 says, "For my thought are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." The very reason you wait is because of the block in the road designed by God Himself.  So why does He stop what seems to us to be His will. I believe it's because God is bigger than your plan and wants us all to see it!!!! God uses small and large obstacles to draw hearts to Him.

When these obstacles come my way I want to ask God why?  I recently read the book, You Were Made For More by Jim Cymbala. He gave 3 very practical reasons: Hardships produce iron in the soul, Romans 5:3 says "We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
Second is that hardships drive us to pray. Exodus 2:23-25 says, "During that LONG period... the Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help BECAUSE of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned for them."
Last he said hardships give us a story to tell. Deut. 6:20,21 says, "When your son asks in time to come,  'What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?'  then you shall say to your son,'We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt, And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a MIGHTY Hand. He closes the chapter with this sentence,  'Our struggles are simply a sign that we, like the ancient Israelites, were made for more.

I want to know God more, serve God more, love God more, need God more, praise God more, pray to God more, give God more... Whatever the means of getting there are, however long it takes; I will trust God.  When are hearts turn worrisome, it can be turned into a time to trust and live by faith.