His love, His glorious and amazing love

Upon awakening this morning the Spirit guided me to read Psalm 65. Specifically starting in verse 7 - confirmation and an interesting follow-up to yesterdays post.  Read it all if you have a chance and praise Him, He is so worthy!

Just a little while ago while I sat to spend time with Him and hear from Him, He showed me something.  Yes, maybe something you know or have heard before but it so resonated with my heart today.  I was thanking Him for my children and telling Him that though they each have their "issues" I wouldn't trade them for anything, I love them so! They are my beloved, little ones, precious in my sight and no matter what they may do or say, I will always love them. 

And here it comes - He loves me & you like that!  Steeped in sin, failing, falling, lazy, anxious, sick, you name it - whatever, we come with - He takes us as we are and He loves us.  No, because He loves us so much He will not leave us that way... He will in every way possible seek to teach us; guide us to live righteously; to make right choices; to be and live healthily; to love - Him & others; to care for others and their needs; to be healthy in every way.  That is His desire and heart for us and for any good parent - right!?!

He loves us. He loves YOU, let that sink in. He loves us so much that He planned from before time a way to have me and you with Him forever.  He came to the cross knowing my sin and your sin.  Having that sin laid upon Him, He took it and then carried it away - away, as in as far as the east is to the west.  As my Pastor once pointed out... You can travel north and at some point you start going south or the other way around BUT if you travel east you will always be heading east, it does not become the west.  You can not do it! Our sins are so far away we will not even have a chance of running into it again!  Amazing is it not!!!  Back to what I was saying - He loved me and you there in our sin, He didn't love us only after He removed our sin and carried it away - the bible says that while we were STILL in our sin He died for us.  Think about it... while in our sin we are separated from God, enemies - and yet, He chose to come and die for us that we might be with Him forever, that He might save and redeem us, ransom us from the captivity we were in... THAT IS LOVE! 

He did all of that to call us beloved, the apple of His eye, His child, precious, wanted, accepted, embraced, forgiven, cared for ... He will NEVER leave me (or you), nor forsake me.  His Word tells us that as a nursing mother cannot forget the child at her breast nor can He forget us.  When I think of the amazing love and bond between a mother and child - wow! YET it PAILS in comparison to the love He has for us!!!

How can you not sing His praises, love Him, worship Him - our Redeemer, Creator, Provider, our ABBA!?!  How can you not want to please Him?  Young children seek and long for their parents praise and approval, should we and do we not also want to hear that from Him?!  Affirmation, well done... What great, amazing, unfailing, faithful, never ending, hard to fully fathom love He has for us, His children!

Run to Him today - cry out to Him, Abba! Fall into His open arms and love Him.  Sit with Him and listen to Him, lean on Him and obey Him.  Bask in the glow of His love and affection for you, His grace, mercy, peace and joy!  He shines so much brighter than the sun... true warmth that fills and transforms and saves!

May He be your first love and may you love Him with the child like faith and love that children have... How wonderful and precious that is. 

Riding out the storms

Earlier, there came a sudden storm.  The wind was blowing & some rain was splattering about and I felt God was speaking to me through it.  There is no storm now.  It is as if God whipped up one to teach me something and then once I got the gist of it the storm stopped.  However, He kept right on showing me things... and I just kept writing it all down. And at the end the tug came on my heart to write it out for you here. 

First off let me ask - when the storms of life hit you, where do you seek shelter?  Are you already sheltered under His wings or are you running in the opposite direction hoping you can ride this one out on your own?

I love storms... that was my first thought strange as it may seem but I do.  There is something about sitting safe and sheltered inside and watching a storm (rain, snow, wind, whatever it may be) raging outside.  Storms can be beautiful and tragic.  But what came to my heart was the beauty of watching a storm while safe & secure, with peace & calm surrounding and filling me.  It is a poetic example of our spiritual life in and apart from God.  With God we are sheltered under His wings, safe, secure, at peace, calm in the midst of a storm raging around us.  Whatever those storms may be (uncertainty, loss, confusion, etc.).  Whatever comes against us we are sheltered, shielded, safe and surrounded by Him who loves us, who is faithful, sure, true, strong - Mighty is my God to save!

Now without Him, you are out in the storm... needless to say let your imagination run with what all that means.  It brings to mind the story of Jonah who instead of obeying God ran in the opposite direction and well a big storm came a brewing!  (Just read through Jonah ch. 1-2).  It is amazing to me that even when we have deliberately disobeyed Him, He still will look after us.  Yes, there may be consequences - being thrown over board into a raging storm, that suddenly stops and being caught safe in the belly of a fish.  Um consequence - your in a fishes belly surrounded by stomach acid, stink and ... ugh!  But you are still alive and once repentant and willing to obey you are spit up safely on land back where you need to be to get going in the right direction!  How awesome is our God! 

It also brings to mind other stories of storms raging & Jesus calming them.  Check out Matt. 8:23-27, 14:23-33. It even reminded me of Elijah when all the "storms" came by but God was not in them... He was in the gentle blowing. (1 Kings 19)  God made sure Elijah was cared for, He came and spoke to Him and told Him what to do... He provided.  God is near, are you listening expectantly?  Do you believe He cares about you and will take care of you? In Christ we are His beloved, cherished, the apple of His eye... How amazing is His love!  How great is His faithfulness!  How tenderly He deals with us... we who are not deserving are chosen, blessed, redeemed, forgiven, adopted, accepted and continually being transformed to be more like Christ Jesus! Amazing! Inspiring!

But will this do more? Will it... Not only amaze and inspire you but also provoke you to action?! To love? To faithfulness? To obedience? To not stand still in complacency? Will it get you moving, going forward to walk with Him, follow Him, obey Him?!  There is so much more - are you ready?!  Can YOU wait EXPECTANTLY on Him?  Will YOU CHOOSE TO OBEY?  When all is said and done and you leave this earth what will be said of you? What will be remembered? What is your legacy?  Where did you invest your heart, time and giving...?  Was it in the eternal, the lasting? Was it in doing Kingdom living? Was it for Him? Loving and serving others? I am not by any means where I would like to be or think I have attained it... oh no, but God is working on me!  And what I cannot do, what you cannot do on your own - we have a God who can!  He can do anything! And we can do anything through Christ who strengthens us!

Jesus - God made flesh, came to earth - amazing in itself is that fact, but even more He came for us! To serve us. He lived for us. He came to teach us, to save us, to heal us, to help us, to redeem/ransom us.  He literally gave His life while living and in death and in rising again to life for us.  What is my response to that?  How will I live? Love? Serve?  Where is my treasure?  Is my greatest treasure Him or in earthly things?  I know and you should know that He is our greatest treasure!  Will I, will you - choose Him? My portion and inheritance - all I ever want and need... all you could ever want and need too!

He who paid so great a price to ransom us all - to call us His children, His beloved, to take away our sin and make us pure, holy and right before God.  In Christ we are a royal priesthood, given power and authority to bind up the enemy, to tear down strongholds, to fight the good fight (that is not against flesh and blood), to stand firm and be equipped with every offensive and defensive weapon and shield we need - we are victorious!!!  We can be strong and courageous because God is for us, so therefore who can stand against us!  Certainly not the defeated enemy... Think about it!  Believe it and live it out!  Through Him we can do the impossible because we are not doing it, He is!  We are partnered with Him and a vessel used to do the miraculous!  What is more, He does the miraculous in us... making us a new creation in Christ Jesus... free from sins hold and alive, victorious - free! Wow!  How much better can it get!

In this world let me not cling to old ways, thoughts or be held back from full out victorious, abundant living!  Not because I can do it but because He who is in me is greater & HE CAN!  Let's do it - no holding back, but holding on to Him as we take the most exciting and wildest, most wonderful ride of our lives!  And the thing we cannot even imagine or fathom is there is soooo much more ahead.  When we see Him face to face, when we are with Him in His kingdom - everything we now know or see pales in comparison!  Are you ready - grab on and hold on tight to Him, cling to the Rock and follow Him for the greatest adventure and more to come!  To His glory and for His name and His purpose and plan and Kingdom...  Come Lord Jesus, come!

Give me Ears to hear, Give me Eyes to see - Truth

As I sat down today and opened up my quiet time with prayer the LORD laid upon my heart to read the first portion of Isaiah 59 and then blew me away. What He spoke to my heart is not something new to me however; it is very pertinent to what is going on in our Nation. I am here LORD, I am listening, I will obey… Here is what He shared with me:

(During the time of Isaiah the prophet there were parents sacrificing their children to idols. Today our Nation condones the sacrifice of the unborn to the idol called Choice. It is an industry that is full of lies and greed, it is corrupt and it leads the people astray – in its wake follows desolation, destruction and certainly not peace. –This is my side note).

Isaiah 59:3 – For your hands are defiled with blood
And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken falsehood,
Your tongue mutters wickedness. (NASB)

I have seen in our Nation a great evil called Choice (i.e. Abortion). It covers our Nation’s hands in blood. It is corrupt, this industry that tells falsehoods and lies (“it is not a baby”, “it feels nothing”) to make money never mind the destruction in its wake... The hurt, desolation, grief, guilt, and shame it reaps upon our Nation’s men and women. It tells them lies that they will be fine – that everything will be normal again (as it was before this choice) once this procedure is done. An untrue statement if I have ever heard one. This choice ends a life – no one in the Choice camp wants to admit this but it is true. And even if you don’t want to admit it somewhere deep inside you know it is true. This choice will often leave in its wake physical, emotional, and spiritual damage. It manifests itself in the lives of men and women in different ways… none the less the damage is there.

There are fathers who grieve the loss who had no choice. There are fathers who come to grieve who did. There are mothers who are led astray, who are fed lies and platitudes and who then are the ones who have to deal with the aftermath. The child is not the only victim in this sin we call Choice. Now our Nation wants to call this Healthcare!

LORD how far we have fallen from You! How can Your eyes bear to look upon this Nation steeped in sin, covered in the blood of babies?!

Verse 4 – No one sues righteously and no one pleads honestly. They trust in confusion and speak lies; They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.

How true are these words for the abortion industry. Show us LORD the truth, open our eyes to see – our ears to hear – LORD forgive us, may this Nation return to YOU in repentance. I grieve… As I know You must grieve too.

Verse 6b – 8. Their works are works of iniquity, And an act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, And they hasten to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, Devastation and destruction are in their highways. They do not know the way of peace, And there is not justice in their tracks; They have made their paths crooked, Whoever treads on them does not know peace.

WOW! LORD wow – it is so true. Why can people not see? Are their hearts so hardened and their eyes blinded to the truth!?! Let them SEE, HEAR and KNOW – Make them understand LORD please!

This is not what I expected to hear from you today LORD – yet I know it is right and it is exactly what needed to be read and heard. As our Nation’s elected leaders refuse to listen to the voice of the people and are pushing through their agenda. It seems the abortion industry and many in D.C. are walking hand in hand – their plan – their profit. The profit of the wicked made upon the blood of the unborn. It is wickedness!

How? How can this be?! How is this healthcare? How is this even allowed? Condoned? We are speaking of lives here – babies – humans! And yet it is as if they cannot see – they are blinded to this truth…hearts hardened and peace will not be found in this. How can it, when the cries of the unborn are heard by You LORD?! You hear, You know… Just as Abel’s blood cried out to you (Gen. 4:10) so does the blood of the millions of unborn sacrificed to the idol of Choice. You see … nothing is hidden from You. LORD I cannot get over it – and nor should I be able to.

O LORD if only we would turn to You in repentance, if only we would seek redemption and You would roll away the reproach of this Nation (Joshua 5:9)! LORD if we would repent and come to You there is forgiveness without measure and redemption. There is healing to be found under Your wings… Healing for men and women who are desolate and in pain… Healing for this Nation gone astray. You offer healing to hearts, minds and more… If we would but turn to You.

Forgive us and lead us in the ways and paths of righteousness. LORD make our paths straight and light the way before us that we may not stumble and fall. If we do, You are faithful and You are there to lift us up and set our feet again on solid ground.

(Isaiah 6:9-10).

LORD awaken this Nation. Bring healing to our land. Great are our trespasses but they cannot surpass Your grace and Your unfailing love to those who call on Your Name. Call on Him!

He Reigns

This morning my thoughts turned to the LORD and thinking upon His Sovereignty... He is sovereign - over all things - they rest (we rest) in His hands. He knows every hair upon your head; the number of stars in the sky; the sand upon the shore... There is nothing that He does not know and He is always in control.

Nothing happens by chance, luck or fate... God is working out His plan (not to say that He in any way promotes the evil in this world... that is not of God because He is light and no darkness resides in Him). What I am trying to say is that even the Enemy (Satan) has to ask for permission to sift Job, to which God allowed but commanded that Satan could not lay a finger upon Job, himself. And no the sifting was not fun but Job was faithful and he was blessed.

I guess what I am trying to say is that in all the turmoil in this world... many people are afraid. However, for those of us in Christ, what have we to fear? Yes, we should have a holy, godly, reverent fear of God... but if God is for us, what have we to fear?!

May the God of all Creation, the One who knows your name and has it engraved upon His hand, the Prince of Peace let peace reign in your hearts and minds today and always as you trust and walk with Him! Amen!

On a separate note I heard a great message this morning - The Glory of the Lord, check it out! If you prefer to read the transcript click here.

Storms in our lives - Part 2

I read Matthew 8 again today on Jesus calming the storm and what stood out to me this time was in v.26b "and suddenly there was a great calm" (NLT). And it hit me ... how just as suddenly as the storms can come upon us in our lives, Christ can just as suddenly bring calm and peace to us in our circumstances. Oh, sure we may still be sitting in the water out on a boat (your circumstance) but there is now calm/peace.
Oh Lord you do that for us, time and time again... You amaze us & awe us (v.27)! Why do we have so little faith... to not fully see you for who you are? Calm me now Lord Jesus... help me to trust, rest & abide in you. Thank you Lord, thank you for all you do and even more praise you for who you are!