Words Given

I love hearing the voice of God. Learning more and more to wait upon His voice. Impatience doesn't cut it when you need to hear from Him.

This morning while driving back home after dropping my grand daughters off at school; I was thinking of how often times I become crabby. I don't like being that way. Getting upset with drivers that take chances drives me nuts. Why? So I started to pray. During that time, I said, "Lord, I want so much to be more Christ Like." I got the image that I often do of Christ walking among the people filled with the Fruit of the Spirit. How loving and caring He was. How gentle He was.

Then I said, "It's so hard being a human at times." He spoke to me and said, "It wasn't meant to be easy for you. You have to be strong and fight."

I contemplated those words then it hit me. If it was easy for us, we would become weak. If we become weak, we are sitting ducks for the enemy to come in and steal our souls. We were meant to be warriors, not weaklings letting life take control of us. We need to stand strong and fight for what we believe in.

How do we gather more strength? By reading the Word daily. Believing what it says, and speaking it out. By praying daily. If we ignore the message that He gave us through the prophets, if we don't pray, we are missing out on what God has planned for us. We can't grow in strength if we don't get filled with His Word. We can't expect help if we don't cry out to Him.

Yes, He knows our every need, but He wants us to have a close relationship with Him. He wants us to come to Him with our needs. Cry out to Jesus. Let Him know what is on your mind, what is on your heart and let Him be your guide.

I've learnt over and over again, that we "cannot" do it on our own. When we let God, life is so much better. When we try to do it on our own, life becomes a mess. I've caught myself thinking, "why is everything so chaotic again. Good grief, isn't this enough?" Then I stop and realize, I've been trying to do it all on my own. I've been trying to fix all the problems and not handing it up to Him. When I let go of the mess and say, "Lord, I thank You that You have a hand in this situation. I thank You that You are in control, for I am unable to deal with this," everything starts to settle down. The stress level lessens greatly, I can think again, and can function as one should.

So with all that said, I'll leave you with some Scriptures.

2 Chronicles 7:13-14: If I close the sky so there is no rain, or if I command the grasshopper to consume the land, or if I send pestilence on My people, 14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

Psalm 121: I raise my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber. 4 Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep. 5 The Lord protects you; the Lord is a shelter right by your side. 6 The sun will not strike you by day, or the moon by night. 7 The Lord will protect you from all harm; He will protect your life. 8 The Lord will protect your coming and going both now and forever.

Psalm 6:9-10: The Lord has heard my plea for help; the Lord accepts my prayer. 10 All my enemies will be ashamed and shake with terror; they will turn back and suddenly be disgraced.

Matthew 10: 32-39: "Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven. 34 Don't assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to turn a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and a man's enemies will be the members of his household. 37 The person who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; the person who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And whoever doesn't take up hos cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. 39 Anyone finding his life will lose it, and anyone losing his life because of Me will find it.

Matthew 17:20-21: "Because of your little faith," He told them. "For I assure you: If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting."

Luke 11:1-4: He was praying in a certain place, and when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples." 2 He said to them, "Whenever you pray, say:

Father,

Your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come.

3 Give us this day our daily bread. 4 Forgive us our sins,

for we ourselves also forgive everyone in dept to us.

And do not bring us into temptation. (CBSV) (Remember, Luke was different with the Lords prayer than Matthew.)

Luke 22:32: But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. and you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.

Romans 8:26: In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groaning's.

Romans 12:12: Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-22: Rejoice always!

17 Pray constantly.

18 Given thanks in everything.

19 Don't stifle the Spirit.

20 Don't despise prophecies,

21 but test all things. Hold on to what is good.

22 Stay away from every form of evil.

Isaiah 56:7: I will bring them to My holy mountain and let them rejoice in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.

Philippians 4:6-7: Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Encouragement

Well there is no doubt that we are going through a recession. Many are feeling it. Many are suffering. This morning our gracious Father led me to Nehemiah. There we can find encouragement.
It all starts with Nehemiah getting word that Jerusalem's wall had been broken down and the gates burned down. Nehemiah prayed to God:
Nehemiah 1:4-11

4When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned
for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
5 I said, Lord God of heaven, the great and awe inspiring God who
keeps His gracious covenant with those who love Him and keep His commands,
6 let Your eyes be open and Your ears be attentive to hear Your
servant's prayer that I now pray to You day and night for Your servants, the
Israelites. I confess the sins we have committed against You. Bot I and my
father's house have sinned.
7 We have acted corruptly
toward You and have not kept the commands, statutes, and ordinances You gave
Your servant Moses.
8 Please remember what You commanded
Your servant Moses: "[if] you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the
peoples.
9 But if you return to Me and carefully observe My commands, even
though your exiles were banished to the ends of the earth, I will gather them
from there and bring them to the place where I chose to have My name dwell."
10 They are Your servants and Your people. You redeemed [them]
by Your great power and strong hand.
11 Please, Lord, let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of
Your servant and to that of Your servants who delight to revere Your name. Give
Your servants success today, and have compassion on him in the presence of this
man.
[At the time,] I was the kings cupbearer.

Nehemiah was then sent to Jerusalem and started the rebuilding of the walls and gates. When Sanballat got word of the walls being built, he mocked their attempts saying that there was no way the walls would stand, that the people were incapable of doing such a thing.
But the people of Jerusalem continued to build and finally built it up to half of what it had been.
Sanballat was furious and decided to attack the people and break the walls back down.
Nehemiah received word of this and set up guards at the gates to make sure that Sanballat could bring no harm to the people and the walls.
The prayed.
Nehemiah 4:10
In Judah it was said:
The strength of the laborer fails,
since there is so much rubble,
We will never be able
to rebuild the wall.

The building of the wall and gates continue on becoming stronger and connected. The men all worked with swords attached to their wastes. Some worked with one hand and held a spear in the other. These people never gave up and continued on despite the threat of Sanballat and his people.

Chapter 5 talks of social injustice to the people. Nehemiah talked to those that were charging the people interest and owned the people's lands. He asked them to stop charging interest and restore the homes and fields to the people that they belonged to. The group agreed, took an oath with the priests and shook on it with Nehemiah.

And it goes on with problems arising, but through faith, and never giving up; they still pulled through it all. We all need to be praying to the Lord our God for repair of our countries finances, that our government officials are righteous people and are led by the Lord not by the enemy. For we are under attack by the enemy. Should our government continue to take the path it is on, we will only dig ourselves a deeper whole.
Let's stand together and tell the enemy that it can not and will not be taken from us. Our God is much stronger than the enemy, and we shall prevail with the Lord in us. Remember when praying for someone outside of your family, friends, and church, you need to have at least one other person praying with you. Start prayer vigils where and when possible. Pray with your spouse, a friend, a family member, any one that is in agreement with you.

Just in Nehemiah, so shall we overcome. We must hold onto faith. Continue to pray. Continue to get in the Word daily. To believe in our Lord, and repent of all our sins. For when we do not repent, our prayers go unanswered.

You all are amazing brothers and sisters. I love you all so. May the Blessings of the Father be showered upon you. Love, Blessings, and Hugs to all! Have a beautiful, God filled week!

The Crucifixion

What meaning does the cross hold for you? The Bible tells the story so clearly, yet it is hard to picture and to understand by just reading. The Passion of the Christ is a movie that really gets one to feel what Jesus must have gone through. But have you really asked yourself just what he must have endured. Have you thought of it in total physical respect? I never did fully look at it until listening to Pastor Krist and his description. He's a man that reads theology to learn as much as he possibly can. Then shares with us. This is some of the description that really took hold to many of us and gave us a whole new perspective on what the crucifixion really meant.

The Romans were well trained on how to inflict pain and make it last. They knew the physical endurance of a human body. Imagine being flogged by short whips that had metal balls on the end. The bruising that one would endure during the beatings. They knew just how far to carry it out. Where to hit so that it would hurt but not kill. Eventually the skin tears. How much can a body take?

The heart rate is already raised, the pain intense, the skin is breaking and bleeding. A ring of thorns was placed on your head and you are bleeding from those as well. It's hot, you've had nothing to drink. The pain is intense, you're bleeding, no water to replenish what you've lost. Sweating is a given from the pain and the heat.

Now that your heart rate is raised, you're parched, you're bleeding, you are required to pick up a heavy cross and carry it through the streets. By now your mind is not able to focus, your body is working over time. Imagine the pain you are in by this time. The achiness, the pain, the muscles contracting from need of water. In other words, there must be muscles spasms going on. The mind must be a haze from the heart working over time. Your organs are most likely not functioning properly.

After carrying the cross, dehydrated, beaten, bleeding, you are laid upon that cross and nails are driven into your wrists and then your feet. By now the pain is so intense. Then you are raised up to hang from those nails driven into your wrists and feet. Imagine hanging like this not able to breath due to the position you are in. Still bleeding, parched, immense pain taking over. The only way to get air is to raise yourself up. So you have to rely on your arms and feet to raise your body to get the necessary air.

Can you even fathom the pain of just raising yourself up nailed to that cross? Can you imagine what the brain is doing at this point? Can you imagine the pain from the beatings, the open wounds, the ring of thorns on your head? The cramping of the muscles going on in the whole body. The feeling of not being able to breathe? It really makes one stop and think, doesn't it?

This is what Jesus endured to save us from our sins. He took all our sins upon Him, all our diseases. All to save us so that we could meet our Creator. Jesus, our sweet and wonderful Savior. And yet we continue to sin.

Now I didn't tell the specifics as Pastor Krist did as to the better medical description he gave. To hear it was unbelievable. That was a life changing experience for me. I've watched the Passion of the Christ and it hurt to watch what Jesus endured then, but now, I don't know if I could watch it again with the new view of what He endured for us. But it is a great reminder of how much we have to be thankful for. Of how we really need to try hard to show our appreciation. Of how important it is to be a good Christian.

Imagine being a parent allowing your son to endure something like that to save the human race. What a great sacrifice and a show of love for a sinful nation. What sacrifices are you willing to make for our Father God and Jesus Christ the Savior? This month is a perfect month for fasting something. Be thankful. Show your love for Him. Show your gratefulness for what was sacrificed for you. Our God is a loving God. God is Love. Be a loving soul to all.

Take time out each day to thank Him, to show your gratitude, to show your love as He has shown His love for us. Thank you Lord for each day you have provided for us. For every second of every day we have to spend with our earth family and friends. Thank you Lord for your great sacrifice so that I may be saved. Thank you for the gifts you continue to pour upon us. Thank you for leading us, teaching us, guiding us. Thank you for carrying us in our times of trials and weaknesses. Oh Lord, we could never thank you enough for all that you do for us. We are not worthy of your love. We humble ourselves before you and give thanks. All the praise goes to you. You are an awesome God. We love you Jesus with all our heart. In Jesus Holy Name, Amen.

May the Lord continue to pour His blessings upon each of you today, tomorrow until eternity. Allow Him to lead you. Open your hearts, your eyes, and your ears to Him and follow. He will not lead you astray. Keep a discerning heart. Love your neighbors. Pick up your cross and carry it!Love and Blessings to all!