Independence! Really?

Look where our “independence” has gotten us. Our nation is in debt. No economist or printing press will deliver us. "There is a way that seems right unto a person but the ends thereof are the ways of death. "Thinking we are too smart for the need of Divine direction has put us into a place that we cannot get ourselves out of without Divine intervention."The modern metaphors of independence: “If you want it done right, do it yourself,” “Pick yourself up by your own bootstraps,” “I am a self-made man,” etc., were not the attitude of our Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. We knew we were doomed without Divine intervention. "The government publicly declared days of prayer and fasting. "They had the "Thursday Lectures in Boston, where the local clergy was called to exhort and teach those elected “ministers of God for justice” how to govern according to the principles of Almighty God as found in His Word. "This was not a nation with a theme song, “I’ll do it my way.” Where did we go..what happened...we evidently have dropped the ball somewhere. "The Biblical mandate to provide for your own, to be diligent, self-governing and assume personal responsibility made Americans willing to take chances, work hard and reap the fruits of their labor. Self-government is impossible without dependence upon Holy Spirit. We cannot even live up to our own standards, let alone those of God, without the Holy Spirit. Biblical self-government is not self-discipline, time management or success skills. Christian self-government is allowing the Fruit of the Spirit to manifest in our lives. As a nation we have walked in the flesh too long and that has attracted a spirit of mammon. Not walking in the Spirit has resulted in a nation of wounded and damaged people. When they say that they cannot work, do not condemn them. Even though they appear able-bodied, they are not able because they have so many soul wounds. "The spiritual battle has left many marred who don’t even know that they are in a spiritual war. "They are literally “the walking wounded.” It is easy to blame these social problems on civil government, on the system, on the politicians, on the rich, the poor, the immigrants, the education system, the bankers, the legal system, global warming or whatever is in fashion. As long as we look outside of ourselves for someone to blame, we live in victim mode and are part of the problem, not part of the solution.

 

Mirror Mirror On The Wall

God Has an awesome plan to radically and outrageously bless us, but to fully enjoy His plan we must radically and outrageously obey. We need god's help to stay on the pathway to His blessings. Ask Him to deal with you firmly if there are any areas in your life that are displeasing with Him, and when He does, respond with prompt and complete obedience. God puts His Holy Spirit in us to lead us to perfect peace. If we are listening to Him, we will make wise decisions and enjoy His peace. Many things are permissible, but not necessarily good for us, and that it is unwise for us to allow anything to become a controlling factor in our lives. There are many things we can do, but they would not be the best choice nor would they produce the best result. Paul said that we should choose and prize the most excellent of things (Philippians 1:10) God isn't going to give us a divine word about every single move we make. but he does give us His word and His wisdom and He expects us to live by it. Excellent choices produce excellent rewards.. Don't settle for anything less!! "Just because something is technically legal doesn't mean that it's spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I'd be a slave to my whims." "didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don't you see that you can't live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body." (1Corinthians 6)

 

Thirsty?

Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.

But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.

Therefore with joy will you draw water from the wells of salvation.

Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make me stumble.

Now to Him who is able to protect me from stumbling and

to make me stand in the presence of His glory, blameless and with great joy.

So I’ll go out in joy, I’ll be led into a whole and complete life.

You who seek God, let your hearts revive.

 

I have a heart condition!

What is our heart? Our heart is that mysterious, wonderful, confusing part of us that enables us to love, laugh, fear, and experience life. It's the sphere in which relationships happen. And it's the sphere in which relationships are broken. Life can be hard on the heart. This world is full of outside influences that have the power to disrupt the rhythm of our hearts. Most are subtle. Some may even appear to be necessary as protection from further disruptions. Over time we develop habits that slowly erode our heart's sensitivity. The inevitable pain and disappointment of life has caused us to set up walls around our hearts. Much of this is understandable. But at the end of the day, there's no way around the truth; Our hearts become out of sync with the rhythm it was created to maintain.Those things that disrupt the rhythms of the invisible heart linger. If left alone, some will linger for a lifetime. After a while we come to accept these disrupters as part of us, part of our personality. And so we catch ourselves saying, "That's just the way that I am." But we weren't always that way. And those closest to us know it. So let me ask you, how are things with your heart? Not your career, your family, or your finances. Your heart. Chances are, you've never stopped to consider your heart. And why should you? There are meals to fix, calls to return, bills to pay, baths to give. If at the end of the day you're all caught up with these things and someone ask, "How are things?" you can smile and sigh and say, "Fine." But this is a different question. It's a more important question. And yes, it's and awkward question!

 

Colorful Leaves

I had a dream a few weeks ago...tell me what you guys think it may mean.

Beautiful fall day, leaves on the trees just beginning to fall for the winter, gold, orange, yellow, and red decorated my path as a walked through a neighborhood. A lady working in her yard begins to sweep all the pretty leaves that had fallen to the ground onto her sidewalk...I stop and watch wondering why she is sweeping them onto the walk instead of into a pile to be picked up...as I approach her to ask this question of her, a man steps out from behind a tree. He asks, "Do you need me to help you gather the leaves?" The tiny lady turns around and with a sweet smile on her face she replies, " no, but thank you for asking." He stands there and watches her for a few more minutes, as she turns back and again begins to sweep the leaves onto her sidewalk. The question I wanted to ask her, he asks with a little giggle...."why are you sweeping the leaves onto the sidewalk?" She turns again with a smile with such grace on her face, "I am adding more color to my path." He stands in wonder and then he says, "But the wind will only blow them away!" Eyes gleaming, she smiles and says, "It's okay, So Be It, the wind will take them where they need to go."

At that point I awoke..for weeks I have been pondering this dream and it was to beautiful of a dream to keep to myself.  What is your interpretation of this dream?

Daily Thought

"When I was young I was sure of everything; in a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of most things as I was before; at present, I am hardly sure of anything but what God has revealed to me."

He is my All in All!

Jesus is my everything and what i love most about him is in my deepest darkest moments he lifts me up and lets me know that he is still there with me . We cannot get from another human being what God can do for us. He is my best friend , my family, the very air that i breathe. He's perfect, without flaw or sin.He knows everything about me, every sin I've ever done & every sin I will fall to in the future, yet He loves me still! He gave me life & promised me eternal life with Him in Heaven.He promises me He'll never leave me or forsake me.He knew how awful a person I would become & still loved me so much to die a cruel suffering death to save me."What does Jesus mean to me? There's no words to explain the depth of my love for Him!!"What's the best thing I like about Him?" ALL OF THE ABOVE & SO MUCH MORE!!! He is my Lord, my King, my friend. He is my comfort and my salvation. He is my strength, my light, and my help...He is my husband and I am his bride!! He is my greatest treasure.

God Hears Us!!

“If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and
turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”-II Chronicles 7:14
 

This verse is often quoted tritely but its impact could be profound if we stop and focus on its precepts: “If ” is conditional but not automatic. “My people who are called by My name”–not everyone who calls upon “God” is actually called by His name. "The ones with the responsibility and authority to bring healing to their land are those who know the name of Yahweh and are willing to be called by His name. “will humble themselves”–an admission that what we have been doing is not working, who we have been looking to for answers don’t have any, and that Yahweh is the only answer and it is against Him only that we have sinned.
“and pray”–there is no political solution to a spiritual problem. Prayer sees the frivolity of the world system. In prayer Hope is found. “and seek My face”–not “seek God for stuff,” not “want what He can do for me” but rather seek to know Him and His ways.“and turn from their wicked ways”–to turn from a wicked way, you have to know what wickedness is. Repentance requires coming into agreement with God. It requires seeing sin as God sees it and then renouncing the old ways of thinking in order to come into the new. A nation of brokenhearted people is evidence that wickedness is in operation.
“then will I hear from Heaven”–once the conditions have been met, God will hear. Yes,
God “hears” everything, even the thoughts of our hearts. Just like people speak different languages and only understand the languages they know, Yahweh hears His language of love, repentance, total reliance on Him, humility, purity, praise, trust, Fruit of the Spirit, etc. “and will forgive their sin”–we cannot save ourselves. Our sins must be forgiven. A nation sins in the same way that an individual sins. “and will heal their land”–the healing is a result of humbling ourselves, coming into agreement with God and seeking His face. A sick and broken nation is a nation of sick and broken individuals. Many of these individuals have never heard of the Father’s love, of His provision, of Jesus Christ coming to wash away their sin and heal their broken hearts. "they have no way of repenting for the nation because they do not know how to repent for themselves. The time for that to change is now.

 

Worth It!!

A well-known speaker started off his seminar holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this. He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, "Who still wants it...?" Still the hands were up in the air. Well, he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air. My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE. You are special- Don't EVER forget it." If you do not pass this on, you may never know the lives it touches, the hurting hearts it speaks to, or the hope that it can bring. Count your blessings, not your problems. And remember: amateurs built the ark ... professionals built the Titanic. If God brings you to it - God will bring you through it.

 

Happy New Year!! The Year Of Divine Rule

You ought to be quiet (keep yourselves in check) and to do nothing rashly. Acts 19:36

Committing to do something without asking God about it and waiting for Him to speak to us is not wise; nor is it wise to jump into things without thinking first about what we are getting ready to do. We often obligate ourselves to too many things and end up weary and worn out. God certainly strengthens us through His Spirit, but He won't strengthen us to do things that are outside of His will for us. He won't strengthen us to be foolish! Once we commit to do something, God expects us to keep our word and be people of integrity, so His advice to us in the verse above is to "think before we speak," In our thinking, we ought to ask God what He thinks about the matter we have under consideration. In 2012, we should all decide to let God lead us in every aspect of our lives. After all, the number 12 means= Twelve is a perfect number, signifying perfection of government, or of governmental perfection. It is found as a multiple in all that has to do with rule. Let His designed divine rule have predominance in our lives and we will be doing nothing less than walking on our paths of destiny. Happy & Blessed we all shall be in the year 2012 and the remaining years after...in Jesus name!! So Be It!!

Take Every Thought....

Have you ever felt condemned because of the bad thoughts you have had? You could be in the middle of a prayer meeting when suddenly a dirty thought enters your mind. Actually, it is the devil who puts such thoughts in your mind. Then, he steps back, looks at you and knocks you on your head, saying, “How can you call yourself a Christian and still think such thoughts?”
I used to be in bondage over the bad thoughts I had because I felt that I had to confess every one of them and seek God’s forgiveness. But that is not what God’s Word exhorts us to do. You see, God wants us to bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”. Now, whose obedience are we to focus on? Christ’s obedience and not our own obedience!
But what is “the obedience of Christ”? It is His obedience at the cross, where “by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous”. (Romans 5:19) Jesus shed His blood for us at the cross. This means that when our thoughts condemn us, we are to focus our thoughts on Jesus’ obedience at the cross.
My friend, the devil can only make inroads into our minds when he gets us to focus on our obedience instead of Christ’s obedience. His strategy is to point us to our obedience or the lack of it to determine our standing before God. But just as our position as sinners is not based on what we do, but what the first Adam did, in the same way, we are forever righteous today not because of what we do, but because of what Christ, the last Adam, did on the cross.
So the next time your thoughts seem to condemn you, say, “I am righteous whether I have good or bad thoughts. My righteousness has nothing to do with my obedience. Jesus’ obedience at the cross made me righteous.” Then, go ahead and pray, knowing that you have access to God and His favor, and that He hears the prayer of the righteous. (Proverbs 15:29)