Jesus My Lord and Savior
Jesus has changed my life and I want the world to know how much he loves them.
Surrender and Trust in God
We all have things that we are dealing with. Some of those things are small and then some of them are large. But those struggles can be a little easier when we just stop and take some simple steps. I would like to say that I discovered these a couple of weeks ago, but the truth is that the bible points out time and again these are steps that we should be taking.
You say WHAT there are steps that can help in the struggles of life? Yes there are steps that can bring peace and comfort in the middle of the struggle. I am in the middle of a struggle to get guardianship of my Mother that has Alzheimer’s but I have had roadblock, after roadblock because of her boyfriend. Just to understand he has been living with her for 15 years for free, so he is afraid he will lose a place to live. So because of his fear he has not been willing to work with my sister and I on appointments that we needed our Mother to go to.
My Mother is at a point where she is very confused and does not understand things, so someone has to make appointments and take her to all of them. It took 2 months before I was able to get her to a lawyer appointment, but I really just want you to understand some of the ongoing struggle. Two weeks ago my husband so kindly called to talk to her boyfriend and to see if he had made a doctor appointment for her that we needed, so that we could go to court for Guardianship. He said No, and she is not ready for that, and I am not going to do that to help you out.
When my husband got off the phone he looked at me and said he is not going to do anything to help you in this process. I looked at my husband and said we need to pray. He looked at me and said yes, like OK we will later on tonight. I again looked at him and said we need to stop and pray. My husband looks at me and said “Oh you mean now”. I said yes NOW, God knows our hearts and God knows the situation. This is something that we are unable to change, but God can change this situation. I said this needs to be Gods will not our will, even though we want the best for my Mother.
At that moment we stopped everything we were doing and got down on our knees. I prayed fervently and called out the truths of what God had shown me. But I said I surrender this to you Lord and I trust that you will take care of everything. I said Lord you know our hearts and I know you will do what is best in your plan for this situation.
The next day I was at a Youth Conference and the first speaker has a message about when Jesus walked on the water and Peter stepped out of the boat. Now I have heard these verses discussed in many different ways, but that night it was different. Jesus told the disciples to get in the boat and that he would meet them on the other side. Even though he was not in the boat he never said that he would not be with them. Suddenly I had an aha moment. You might say WHAT!!! Jesus had told me to get in the boat on this journey with my Mother, and he said that he had laid my path to walk. But he never said that it was all going to be easy, in fact the BIBLE says we will face trials and tribulations. But that does not mean that Jesus is not walking with us and it surely does not mean that he won’t be on the other side of the lake.
The rest of the weekend and into the next week I kept thinking about these things and I would continue to talk to God and reaffirm that I trusted that God had this situation with my Mother taken care of. Then less than 5 days later I get a message from my Mother’s boyfriend. He is being driven by fear which I know is not of God, but I know God allows confusion just like what God did with the Egyptians when the Israelite’s were fleeing Egypt. Suddenly he has made a doctor appointment for my Mother and he is desperate for me to go to court to get Guardianship for my Mother. In fact he was telling me I needed to go to court as soon as possible.
The hardest thing for many of us to do is to stop and surrender what ever is going on in our life. We want to help our kids find salvation, we want to see our families do better, the struggles of life are many. But what if you stop struggling and stressing about those things, you start getting on your knees and surrendering them to God. God knows your struggles, but if you are anything like me you want to fix things yourself. It can seem really hard to just stop and surrender. But I think that if we would all stop trying to fix things ourselves and instead we would get on our knees and surrender things to God we will see change. Stop trying to make everything our will and instead ask God to interject his will into our struggles. We may start to find peace and comfort. We may start to find out that life is not as much of a struggle. We may really discover what it means to rest in the Lord.
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Did God Create Evil?
I had a young student ask me that question the other day at our youth group. She was being honest when she asked me “Did God create evil”. It caused me to pause and to think carefully about how to respond so that she would understand. God is a good and loving father. God did not create evil and sin, those are something that our enemy Satan is responsible for. She was trying to process when sin was introduced through the Serpent because God created everything.
This made me think about giving her a good response so that she could understand but this morning it made me think that others may be just as confused. No God did not create evil or sin. Evil and sin were introduced in that moment when Eve ate from the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. But it was Satan that brought sin and evil into the world.
Yes God created everything including the angels. Yes Satan was an angel that was cast out of heaven. But this I know God is good and loving. God is constantly fighting to win us back into relationship with him. Just as Jesus said “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed.” The same would be true for the Kingdom of Heaven as for the Kingdom of Darkness. God did not create sin and evil just so that his glory could be shown when it was overcome. No just as Jesus says “For who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man like Satan and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger – someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house.”
Our strong and mighty God is more powerful than Satan, and it is because of this that sin and evil can be overcome. It is the light of our powerful and mighty God that puts out the darkness that sin and evil linger in. It was pride and a desire for power that caused Satan to be cast out of heaven. It was not because God created evil or sin.
I may not have all the answers and the only one that does is the Holy Spirit. But this I do know, God is Good and loving. God created man so that he could have a relationship with us. That relationship was broken with sin. But ever since sin entered the world God has been trying to bring his children back into right standing with himself. God introduced the law and the 10 commandments after rescuing the people of Israel from Egypt. This was done to bring freedom, but as it says in Romans 8:3-4 “The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.”
Yes the law of Moses was unable to bring the salvation we needed because of our sinful nature. But when we allow the Holy Spirit to guide our lives it leads us to life and peace. The control of sin is broken, and we change our thinking not because we are forced to but because we are children of God, and we desire to walk in right standing with the Father. I don’t know about you, but I know that this is true. When I was allowing my sinful nature to control my life it brought so much suffering into my life. But when I started a relationship with Jesus that all started to change. It was not anything that was forced, but a gradual change from within. I stopped thinking about sinful things and my thoughts changed to Godly things.
I also know that God does not desire for us to be punished for doing things that are wrong or sinful, rather that is the consequence of our own actions. God does always give us the option that will provide a better outcome and keep us in right standing but it always really comes down to our free will. How will I handle my free will? Will I allow the Holy Spirit to guide me in making good and wise decisions with my free will, or will I allow the enemy to guide me in making poor choices and unwise decisions with my free will? I once was a slave to sin, but now I am a child of God. That is my declaration that I make over myself.
When you choose to follow Jesus then you have become a child of God. Yes you are no longer a slave to fear or sin. But you are now an heir of God’s glory. When you choose to follow Jesus you start to change, you find that shift in your thoughts. It is a gradual change but it can be a radical change as well. We have a powerful and mighty Father in Heaven. He is the God that makes impossible suddenly become possible. He is the God of miracles. He is a loving and caring Father that chose you and I long before anything was even created. Yes you were chosen before creation.
Ask Holy Spirit to help you have a deeper understanding of the goodness of Father God, and the truth will be revealed to you. Holy Spirit will take you through the word and will reveal the truth to you. Remember those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. But those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things. “For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.” But if you belong to Christ then you have the Spirit of God living in you. The Spirit gives you life and freedom. It is the power of Christ that helps you to overcome your sinful nature and to put your sinful nature to death.
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Jesus has changed my life
Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog. My life changed in 2008 because I found that there is a difference in being a believer and actually having a relationship with Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.
It has been through my realtionship with Jesus and God that my life has been transformed and I have found peace and freedom that I never had before. My bible has become a voice from God, as well as the Christian music that I listen to. As my life has been transformed, it has opened my heart to share with others so that they can find the freedom that I found.
When you walk with Christ, you start to change from the inside out. Actually it happens and you might not even see the changes happening, but they are. I was someone that lived life in fear of judgement from others and so I shut myself off from people. I was not a hermit, but I was extremely shy, and I found it hard to trust people. But I am no longer that person, I no longer walk in fear of judgement from the people around me. Now I walk bold and confident because I have discovered a new freedom, and that is when I live my life for God, I don’t have to worry about what people think, but I focus on what God would think.
I hope that you find this site as a way to learn more about the Jesus that I have found and love. For Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice to save man kind. Jesus is not just a prophet, or a good person. Jesus was both a son of man and a son of God. Jesus suffered and was sacrificed on the cross so that we can be made righteous by the blood that was shed. Jesus bore all of your sin and my sin, so that we could be seen as righteous in the eyes of God, when we belive in Jesus. Jesus died, but rose on the third day and is now seated at the right hand of God, my Heavenly Father.
We now walk in a new covenant with God, and we have been given direct access to the Father through Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross the veil was torn in the temple that separated the most Heavenly place where God was and opened up a way for us to talk directly with the Father through Jesus Christ. Think about what this really means, it was the hand of God that tore the veil. The veil that hung in the temple was 4 inches thick, and I read that it was 60 ft long, and it tore from the top to the bottom. This helps you to understand the magnitude of what really happened when Jesus died, but he rose 3 days later. Jesus has won the battle and taken the keys away from Satan.
So what does that mean! Well it means that I don’t have to talk to a priest, who then talks to God, but rather I can talk directly to Father God. Jesus has given us the ability to talk directly to God. Jesus has made it so that we are washed clean and when God looks at us we are righteous. Not because of things that we do, but because of the realtionship that we have with Jesus. When we believe in Jesus that he was a sacrifice for our sins, that he was resurrected and now sits at the right hand of God, we get freedom.
I hope that you will enjoy my insights to living with God.
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The Complexity of God
As I was sitting in the office of an Orthopedic Doctor looking at the posters of muscles and bones and the joints, I found myself in conversation with God. As I looked at the image of a knee joint, I thought of all the details that God thought about before we were created. When you stop and think about the true makeup of the human body you realize that only a divine and powerful God could create something so complex and detailed.
When you take time to think about it, the human body is so complex and profound. There is cartilage, tendons, ligaments that hold the bones together as they anchor the muscle to the bone. Then it caused me to think about how our brain tells our eyes what to do, powers our joints without any thought. When you want to reach for something, you just automatically reach without any real thought about what the body must do. The heart beats because of the superhighway of signals that the brain sends out.
You might think that you don’t matter or feel unloved. But I want to tell you that you do matter to the Creator himself, our Almighty God. The bible tells us that we are formed in the womb by his hands. A few years ago, I saw this beautiful picture that God revealed to me. It was a craftsman that loved what he created and was singing as he worked. The Craftsman was God at work creating that beautiful life in the womb. There was thought put into the color your hair would be, the color of your eyes, how tall you would be. The bones were formed and then the connective tissue of muscle, tendons and ligaments was added. Thought was put into your future and the plans that God has for you.
Then take it a step further as you look at the rest of creation. I find it fascinating when I learn new details about the animal kingdom, for I see a creator that cares about every aspect of creation. I listened to someone explain how a deer sees, and I was in awe of all that God does and thinks about as I listened. For just as much detail was put into creating a deer as to create human life. God thought of how to help animals blend with their environment to hide. Or to help a new fawn live, they have no scent for 10 days.
So, when you start looking at how much God cares about all creation, and how he takes care of the details for the birds of the air, the fish in the sea, or the wildlife we co-exist with. They do not worry about shelter for God provides them what they need, they do not worry about food for God takes care of it for them. They do not worry about tomorrow for God has them focus on today.
Our God is a God that cares about the details as well as the big picture. He looks at things from a different perspective than we do as humans. For God sees beauty in all creation. God is creativity that is fun and complex. I know God must have a sense of humor for some of the interesting animals that he created, yet he has an eye for color and detail.
As you take in the full grasp of how God placed the stars in the sky, the perfect tilt of the Earth, the sun and moon exactly where they needed to be. It shows the intent and love for creation that God has. We do not have a God that hates us, instead we have a God that wants to call us his children. We have a Heavenly Father that is so much better than many earthly Fathers. He wants to know how your day went good or bad. He cares about the moments you are frustrated or just feel beaten down. The beauty is that even when we feel the worst God is there to hold us close and give us comfort, to pick us up and share wisdom so we can do better tomorrow. God doesn’t care whether you have makeup on, or your hair is perfect. He just cares about you.
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Spirit of Oppression
The spirit of oppression is what was upon Israel as Moses was leading them out of Egypt. They had lived for 400 years under the oppression of Egypt, and when God set them free they struggled with the stronghold of oppression and slavery. They had come to know nothing else, but the lack and cruelity that came from living in Egypt.
This is a spirit that works to destroy hope, and prosperity, instead it convinces you that you will never be anything else, that you will never get out of bondage. You begin to believe the lies that you deserve slavitude and brutality. It works to destroy your identity, speaking death over you and your future. This same spirit is still at work here in the United States and other places of the world. Fear partners with this and it is fear that drives the ones that are the oppressors.
In Exodus 1:11-14 So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king. But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became. So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy. They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands.
The same thing that happened to the Israelites thousands of years ago is still happening now it may try to look different, but it really isn’t. This spirit of oppression lies and convinces you that there is no hope or future. When God sent Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, they complained and continually said they would be better off going back to Egypt rather than following God into the promised land. They had God right there with them and yet the stronghold was holding them back from the promises of God. This is a generational stronghold as well.
God is calling you out into the freedom that he has promised. God wants to lead you into the promised land flowing with milk and honey. There will be battles but none of them will overcome God, when you are walking with him. Jesus was sent to bring us into freedom. Jesus is the name above all names, there is nothing greater than the name of Jesus. So who are you going to believe? The lies of the enemy that say you are nothing, that you can’t get ahead, that you need someone to give you things, because you don’t deserve anything else. Or are you going to believe what Jesus and Holy Spirit have to say! You are chosen, this is the time that I am calling you into your promises, I am your provider and your salvation.
The whole time that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness they kept looking back at Egypt, when God was right there with them. There was no denying the presence of God was with them for there was a cloud by day and fire by night. There was a covering of protection upon the people, but when they complained and worshiped pagan idols the covering of protection was removed and they were struct by snake bites, and sickness. Yet they still failed to recognize the protection that God was providing due to the stronghold on their lives. It actually took a generation being raised in the wilderness where they did not have oppression for them to be able to trust God and walk into the promised land.
We are again in a time where God wants to lead us into the promised land. But are you looking back and believing lies or walking forward and trusting God? God is good and he only wants the best for us. Remember the enemy (Satan) is like a thief in the night wanting to kill, steal and destroy. Jesus has already defeated the devil, and he has ripped the keys away from that sniveling little, puny devil. For Jesus is the Lion of Judah and he is mighty and powerful. He walks with authority and power and he has released his spirit upon the land in a gift to believers. The Holy Spirit has the power and you have the power through Christ who strengthens you to break off the lies of the spirit of oppression.
Let today be the start to you walking in a new found freedom.
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Your Perspective on God
Last night I had an epiphany about how the perspective or beliefs that people have about God determines whether they recognize the blessings around them no matter how small, or whether they think that only others receive blessings from God. Let me break this down further for you.
If you know the truth of what the Bible says then you know that we have a good God, that is loving. In fact God is love and love is God. 1 John 4:8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God is not hateful and angry, just waiting to take you out or cause something bad to happen. No, God as modeled by our beloved Jesus is compassion, empathy and unconditional love. God loves you, even when you don’t love God. Think about it, God the creator, our beloved Father in Heaven, loves you and he wants you to be blessed and to live a blessed life.
If you love someone you want only the best for them, you would not give them something terrible as a gift and you would not purposely bring disaster and harm to them. No you would give them good things, make sure that their needs were met, that they did not go hungry, that they had shelter, you would make sure they had nice things. This can even be reflected in how some people care for their pets, lavishing the pets with toys, and all kinds of things that the pet doesn’t really need. So, if God is love, why would you think God would not do the same for you?
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 NKJV) Yes, God loves the world and we were created for his enjoyment, for God to have great pleasure in sharing in our lives. It does not say God so hated the world!!!! So just think for a moment, God loves the world and we are part of the world, we were created in his image. Yes, every one of us are a creation from God. This loving Father, and Creator just wants to have a relationship with you, and to shower you in his love and adoration. He is like a jealous lover that does not want to share you with another. But even in jealousy God does not stop loving us.
So God loves us and he created us. What in this makes you think that God would then cause terrible things to happen to you? For every parent must discipline their children, but that discipline is done with love, so that the child comes to know what is right and wrong. God is no different, there are times that we may have to be corrected, but God is sweet and kind as the Holy Spirit highlights in our hearts the things that have grieved the Father. In the act of repentance we admit our guilt, we take accountability and we get restored in our relationship with the Father.
This loving Father that lavishes good things upon us. Why, every day we get on earth is a blessing from the Lord. Every breath in our lungs, as you stop and think about it there are a lot of things in life that we take for granted, yet in actuality, they are little blessings from God. My husband and I thank God every morning when we awake, for we are allowed another day to bless others and to see the love of God in creation.
Yet there are those that have never known a good earthly Father, and so they think that God is mean, angry and out to get them at every step, they are constantly on guard, just waiting for the hammer of justice to come crashing down upon them. They have a perception and belief that all Fathers are bad and evil. Why did I get this evil person for a Father, if God is good. Well there is this thing called free will and it all comes down to choices that we make. Yes it always comes back to us and the choices that we make. Sometimes we are born out of the choices that our parents made. It has never been the heart of God the Father for any of us to be beaten, abused, molested or anything else that is not good from our earthly Parents, however, we live in a fallen world, filled with choices that people have made. They can be misguided choices filled with hate and anger, or you just may be walking around with a victim spirit. What words are you speaking over yourself or have others spoken over you? What beliefs are guiding your thoughts?
You see, Satan is the Prince of deception and lies. Satan is an expert at twisting our thoughts, and our beliefs because he is jealous that God is more powerful. The Prince of lies and deception is wanting you to worship him rather than God the Father and creator. Satan likes to get us to believe that we are powerless, that there is no hope, that everyone is against us, the longer this goes on the more powerless and hopeless we can feel. We start to feel overwhelmed and things like depression and anxiety come over us. Some people may even begin to think that nothing good happens for them, that they don’t deserve anything good. Or that voice I deserve this because I am such a bad person. That is a lie that plagued me for years, until I discovered that it was a lie, and that I did not deserve punishment like a terrible illness, or loss of a marriage.
If we had a parent that was not good, we may start to believe, oh well if there is a God, he just hates me and wants to destroy my life. But these are all lies. Our perceptions and beliefs are what determine how we see God and whether we see blessings around us or punishment around us. If we don’t know the truth of what the Bible says and we only go based upon what others say, we may not even know the truth. For I discovered that many things that I was told were in the bible are not there at all, yet for centuries things have been said or spoken as being biblical. It is just another deception from Satan. When you start to read the bible and to seek wisdom from God, then the lies start to be revealed. It can be like ripping a bandaid off a wound and ugly truth is revealed. Yet, as the blinders are taken off our eyes, we begin to see hope in the middle of the disaster. Even in the hardest times of our life we can find hope. I found hope and restoration in the middle of caring for a Mother with dementia, yet God showed me the hope in restoring a relationship with her as I cared lovingly for her. My husband found blessing in the midst of pain, thanking God that he could actually feel the pain, and was not numb to it. If we look for bad things we will find them and if we look for good things we will find those. Our perceptions and beliefs drive what we are looking for. Is there going to be a scorpion ready to strike under the rock, or a beautiful gem that has been hidden just for me.
My prayer is that everyone that reads this takes a moment and starts to seek truth and wisdom from God. For all believers that have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, have received the Holy Spirit that resides in their heart. The Holy Spirit is our direct connection to God through Jesus, and is our comforter, our teacher, and gives all wisdom and knowledge. The sacrifice that was made on the cross was not just for your salvation, it was to also bring you back into restoration with the Father, it was to rescue us from our tormentor and enemy, “Satan”. We have been set free by Jesus, and we have been restored. Let today be the first day of you living your life filled with hope and truth.
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Does the Old Testament Apply
I have heard many people make statements that they do not feel that the old testament of the bible applies to what is going on today, or that we are under the new covenant and so why do we need to read it. But let me explain the importance of the old testament in our lives even now in 2020.
First and foremost the bible is the truth and every book of the bible is ordained by the Spirit of God. We are not to remove or add to what is in the bible. Which brings us to one important truth. If we are not to remove what is in the bible then that means that the old testament is just as important as the new testament. Yes we are under the new covenant, yet when we except Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are now included in the promises that were made to the Israelites. Failure to read the old testament would cheat you out of promises that God has made for us to obtain as well as the Israelites.
The next importance is that there is history and every time you read through the old testament you see patterns that start to be revealed. You see Gods promise if his chosen people will worship only the One True God and no other gods. You see how much God loves his chosen people, yet we see the Israelites continue to rebel against God and we see what eventually happens as God brings correction just as a loving Father would do.
My goodness the idolatry, adultery, murder, etc. happened all through the time of creation. The people making it all about what they wanted, and chasing after the things of this world, rather than chasing after God. These are the same things that are happening now in 2020, it is no different. People were sacrificing their children to the God Molach, which is no different than what is happening now. We just call it abortion in this modern time. So you can see that yes the old testament does apply to 2020 just as it did thousands of years ago.
We can see the heart of God, when a King repents for the sins they have committed and God shows grace and mercy upon the people withholding punish at that time. If you don’t read about it in the old testament it would be lost forever.
There is a reason that God gave us the old testament for we can see the way that the prophets, and psalms point to Jesus as the Messiah, the Savior of the world. Just the other day I was struggling with some things and I was talking to the Lord and asking to hear from him. I then hear Isaiah 45 and I find new revelation as I read through the whole chapter, looking for treasure under the rocks. God has so much that he wants to reveal to many.
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Veil of Separation
In 2 Corinthisans 3: 7-18 we are reminded of the glory of God and how the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. During that time when they had God right there before them they were afraid in all the wrong ways. They had been delivered from the oppression of slavery in Egypt, however, they quickly were afraid of the unknown and wanted to keep going back to the life they had come from.
The people of Israel had their hearts hardened and to this day their minds are still covered with a veil as the old covenant is being read. This same hardened heart is in many Christians and non-christians alike, as they allow sin and other things to come into their hearts that cause separation from God.
This veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes when you believe and trust in Christ Jesus the veil is removed, just as the veil in the temple tore from top to bottom when Jesus died on the cross. However, Jesus rose on the 3rd day and brought an even greater freedom to believers than in the old covenant of Moses. For now we walk with the Holy Spirit residing in our hearts. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
We now are able to walk in the full glory of God, we carry that glory with us. But I have seen first hand how the enemy can come in and start to cloud thinking of someone, and how a veil can start to form over the eyes of the believer. It is so subtle that they don’t even realize it is happening and then suddenly one day they have a thick veil covering their eyes. That veil can cause them to have misguided thoughts that do not line up with God’s word.
Just recently I actually had this happen to myself. My husband and I were late for something at church and I was upset because the worship had already started and I could not find a seat. Then I start to worship the Lord, yet I felt like there was separation between me and God. I had this replay in my head, “now look my worship is being ruined because he made us late, now my whole night is ruined.” As the voices repeated in my head I felt more and more distant from God. Suddenly I repented for being angry and upset with my husband, yet I still felt separation. I could see my husband worshipping and I knew I needed to ask for forgiveness, yet the voice said no don’t bother him. I went over and asked for his forgiveness and as soon as I did that the veil was lifted and there was no longer separation from God.
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IDENTITY
Our identity is one of the single things that all the world is trying to figure out. I believe that when we are created it is built into us to seek our identity. But what I also see is that many are searching for identity in many ways. The very first thing that Satan did was focus on identity when Eve was led into sin. When Jesus was taken to the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, again Satan focused on identity to tempt Jesus.
These things have helped me realize how important our identity is and I have been seeking answers on this. I now realize that our identity is the most vulnerable way that Satan can shift our thinking about anything. Jesus was strong in knowing his identity was in the Father God, knowing the authority that the Father had given to him. When Jesus was baptized he heard the Father’s words “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”
Many of us can one minute be strong in knowing our identity in Christ. That we are chosen and adopted into God’s family as his children. (Romans 8:15) We are wrapped in royal robes with sandals on our feet and a signet ring on our finger for we have been received into the royal family of priests. (1 Peter 2:9) We are a holy nation, God’s very own possession.
However, in the snap of your fingers that identity can change and we are believing the false, counterfeit names that we are worthless, unimportant, unwanted, etc. That is when we are our weakest for we have taken our eyes off Jesus. We have let Satan drown out the voice of God. These are the moments when depression, fear, anxiety will try to take a hold of you.
As you can see our identity can make us strong or weak, it really depends on how you see yourself. When you see yourself as God does you are strong and powerful against the evil forces of the enemy. You are able to stop Satan in his tracks and speak out as a bold and mighty warrior. But when you see yourself as broken and worthless you then feel powerless to stop anything that comes against you. In these weak moments doorways are opened even just a crack that can allow spirits of darkness to attach to us. They are the chinks in the armor.
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Sets a Table in The Presence of our Enemies
In Psalm 23:5 it reads You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. This verse is just part of a beautiful Psalm that is one of my favorites. In fact it is my go to Psalm when I need to remind myself of The Good Shepherd.
A week ago I had just come home from a great conference and as I was worshipping the Lord I got such a beautiful picture of what this really looks like. Jesus our beloved King of Kings was sitting on a throne looking out upon millions of people that were singing praises such as Holy, Holy, Holy or We Exalt Thee. As I was looking at Jesus I commented that he does not Lord over his people. He then stood up and walked down among the people that were worshipping him. He was hugging and embracing them and was prepared to eat the feast amongst his people not sitting above his people.
There were tables that were 100-200 ft long and 4-6 ft wide, lavished with so much food. I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful and bountiful it was. Way off in the far distance you could see the enemy watching but unable to advance upon us as we were going to be feasting with our King Jesus.
So when you feel like the enemy has the upper hand I pray that you can remember this. Walk in the knowledge that when we call on Jesus we get him and heaven’s armies to fight the battles for us. Remember we do not fight against flesh and blood. Take time and enjoy the table that Jesus has prepared for you to feast in the presence of your enemies. Relax and trust in Jesus, enjoy the bountiful feast and just worship Jesus and watch it all change.
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Moral Compass
I have a moral compass as I walk with my best friend Jesus. The path with Jesus is narrow and the doorway is narrow. When we keep our eyes on the compass we don’t venture off the path. However, there are pitfalls that the world tries to call us into that can detour us off the righteous and moral path with Jesus. Yet Jesus is always close by with his hand extended just waiting for you to reach out to him.
Yet my life was not always on the narrow path of walking with Jesus. I spent over 40 years walking a path of just living life, with no real compass guiding me. I did have one advantage over many of the younger generations today, even though I was not brought up in a Christian household. Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s my parents had a good sense of right and wrong, of moral issues raising a daughter in a college town that was flooded with hippies and free love.
My parents tried to be good guides for my sister and I, trying to guide us to a good and moral life. But as the bible tells us we don’t reach heaven and righteousness by our good works, but instead by faith. Even though they taught me well, it was very easy in the early 80’s as a young adult to follow things going on in the world. Not being raised around people to really teach me of the bible I made many wrong choices and at times I would have an internal struggle as I was doing things that I knew were not right but I would still do them, but with a deep fear I did not understand.
I struggled with a fear of man, so I found myself doing things trying to be accepted by others. I had sex outside of marriage, lived with men that I was not married to, lived out of a car in a homeless situation because I could not afford rent, even while working a job. I even used drugs trying to fit in. But looking back I can see where God was trying to gently direct me back to where I was supposed to be. When I was the most lost I heard a voice say this is not you, and this is not the life you are to be living. I instantly walked away from the life of drugs and the bad situation I was in.
That was one turning point early in my life. It was a partial start at directing me to a better life and one that would eventually be with Jesus. I wish I could say I was instantly transformed, but I had many influences that were not from God. But I was walking in a belief that we have a God and that Jesus died for me, just not understanding of that.
Jump forward to 2008 when I found out I had Hepatitis C and that it was because of bad choices I made when I was 18 and 19. A life changer as I researched and find out how this would forever change my life. However, in the darkest part of my life Jesus showed up. I discovered what relationship with Jesus really is. I would cry and pour out my fears and concerns as I was facing expensive treatments, fear of not having a job and the fact that I was single and did not know how I would survive.
As I dug in I started to watch my life change. I stopped living in fear of the unknown as God gave me strength. God healed me in the first, 6 weeks of my treatment but I still had to continue the full treatment for 6 months. But I was blessed for I was able to work a regular 8 hour day, but would come home drained from the drugs I was taking.
Then in 2009 God brought a wonderful man in my life and we continued a journey of growing with the Lord. We had both had failed marriages and so there was a fear of getting married again. He had been raised a Christian, but was living in the world and I was not raised a Christian, but I was seeking a deeper relationship with the Lord. We actually helped each other to grow as I got him to church and we would discuss things I was reading in the bible.
We made the decision to live together and I struggled with conviction as my relationship with the Lord continued. My moral compass was changing. I was no longer content wearing low cut shirts and clothing that was clingy and provocative. I became aware of looking at things I put on and thinking about how it could make others view me. Finally my husband and I got married to make that part right in our lives. We watched God change the desires that we had as we prayed and read the bible.
Now 11 years later and I am a different person then I was in 2008. I have watched walking in relationship with Jesus transform me from the inside out. My desires changed without even thinking about them. I can truly testify that relationship with Jesus is what has changed my life and Jesus is my moral compass. Even now I continue to be transformed as the rotten dead vine is removed and replaced with a living and healthy vine.
I know that just as Jesus has been the moral compass that has transformed and changed my life, he is the moral compass for the world. The only way to find hope in the middle of struggles, or just even hopelessness of things happening in the world, is Jesus. Jesus did not just come to give us only salvation when he died on the cross. No he came to transform the world into a world that does not walk encumbered by the trap of comparison to others, or by feelings of insignificance, jealousy, envy, vanity or pride. Jesus came to teach us and gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit that lives in us, to transform our lives. We have a spiritual compass that keeps us on the path of righteousness all we have to do is surrender our will and walk under the direction and guiding of the Holy Spirit.
It does not happen by us trying, it just gradually happens and then you look back and see where you came from. The pull of drugs, pornography, alcohol addiction, fears, etc. start to disappear. As we realize our identity in Christ we walk in a new place. Walking in and listening to the moral compass of Jesus is part of the walk of obedience to the Lord.
As John 3:36 says when we don’t walk in obedience with the son we don’t experience eternal life but remain under God’s judgment. I prefer to listen to my moral compass and to walk in a different life, one that is not only of salvation but also eternal life with my loving God and Jesus.
John 3:36 And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.” NLT
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Awaken Dry Bones
Father God is calling on the dry bones to awaken. New life is being spoken over them and they are starting to stir. I can see them coming together to form skeletons and new Godly flesh will start to replace the rotting flesh of the world. The prodigals are coming home, they hear the Father calling. They are tired of running and struggling under their own will, they are ready to surrender to the will of God.
Dry Bones, Dry Bones come alive, listen for the voice of the Lord. He is calling out to you. Muscle, sinew and flesh will start to cover the dry bones and they will start to come alive. As a new breath of God is blown into their lungs they will begin to rejoice and dance singing praises to the Lord their God.
The hardened hearts are being stirred, the walls are starting to come down as a song awakens and quickens the beating of the heart. Soon there will be a new song and the walls will fall just as the walls of Jericho.
There will be rejoicing and singing in the streets as a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit falls upon the hungry. For they will thirst no more as they drink in the living water, and eat the nourishing manna from God. The word will come alive and people will walk in the freedom that only Jesus can bring.
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Chosen
I was reading my bible and I have read Psalm 139:13-14 many times but today these words caused me to stop and think about them deeply. You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous — how well I know it.
After reading those words and really just thinking on that I began to realize how much Yahweh loves me and knows me. I even suddenly looked at myself through eyes other than my own. We all know how truly complex the human body is. There are so many complex functions and things that the human body does, that I am in awe again of the works of our Heavenly Father and Creator.
As I thought of how a master craftsman works I suddenly visualized Abba creating us in our mother’s womb. I could see Papa detailing the way our brain works, so that things we take for granted just work perfectly. How Father God thought about how my eyes should look, how to make them work without me having to think about making them move or to see color. Our Creator, our Heavenly Father took time and thought so well about all kinds of details to make me and you.
I could see our Heavenly Father singing and thoughtfully knitting us together to make each of us a perfect creation. I realized that thought is put into what our personalities are going to be and we know he even thinks about how many hairs are on our heads. Yes God’s word tells us that he knows how many hairs are on our heads. Father God our creator loves us and adores us, for you don’t put thought into something if you don’t care about it.
In this I realized that I need to start looking deeply at myself through different lenses. For I am a beautiful creation made in the Fathers image, just as each and every one of you are. Take a few minutes and really think about how perfect you are. For God loved you and sang over you as you were created. You were wanted and you were chosen.
Jesus My Lord and Savior 