Joy! The Wonder of our Strength.

Gentle Rain

Be Joyful!  Dance or Skip!

“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” Is. 55:11-12 KJV

Though trials come up, not one has my permission to steal my faith or rob my joy. Joy bubbles up from deep inside of you where the Holy Spirit lives. When I meditate upon God’s unmatchable love and how there is not one single thing on earth, or in the heavens that can separate us from His supernatural love; His gift of joy starts to bubble up again.

Can someone have joy and be unthankful? I do not think so because thankfulness produces joy. Every time we think of how blessed we are, we increase a heart full of thankfulness for God’s presence in our life. Instead of a mere walk, we begin to skip and then dance with the joy of the Lord. A true heart pregnant with thankfulness is going to give birth to joy!

If we are pregnant with un-thankfulness we will give birth to pity, remorse and sometimes those lead to anger. Triplets!

There is a difference between being happy and having joy. We are happy when we are with those whom we love; we get all warm and fuzzy inside. We get happy over a raise, losing that pound, receiving that gift and how can we resist our pets when they are so happy to see us? Joy is completely different because when you have The Joy of the Lord it is your strength. You develop spiritual muscles and learn how to fight the enemy invisibly. His Joy enables you to resist the tempter. God’s word is declared from your mouth as you pray and like the first verse above says “it shall not return unto me void, but will accomplish that which I please.” The word goes out and it comes back bearing much fruit.

We shout!  We are forgiven!! From all those rebel rousing days of carelessness. Those days that produced anguish, hurts and pain. Gone!

Just as sure as the Tennessee River faithfully flows into the mighty Mississippi, does God’s love pour over those who invite Him into their lives.

We used to sing the second verse, literally full of joy! Every time I sang that verse I could picture God’s people singing as they went out to give the truth to listening hearts. They are led by peace! The mountains and hills sing and the trees clap their hands. Does it sound too far-fetched for you? If we have a God who created the Sun, moon and stars and everything inside of them and who created man and beasts and all the creepy crawling things, with all the plumbing needed; what is so far-fetched about the mountains and hills breaking out In song? When a breeze flows among the leaves in the trees, do they not clap their hands?

Surely, all will someday say; “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.”

Being a Salty Character is a Good Thing!

Gentle Rain

Salt and Light

 “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.” Mt. 5:13 msg.

Jesus could have said, “let me tell you why you have been placed here on earth, you are here to be salty, to bring spice to my Father’s words, enthusiasm and understanding in love.” He could have further said, “I want people to see my father’s love in you and I want them to see that it is a victorious and exciting life!”

Isn’t this the season to be merry? Better still, salty? Aren’t we supposed to get excited and let our light shine like a city upon a hill that cannot be hid? I say most definitely yes!

If you think you’ve lost your saltiness, think slowly back a little:

Can you think back to the first time you thought about the love of Jesus?

Can you remember how you felt?

Can you think how He literally took your hand and led you into His Kingdom of Love?

Can you think about the peace you experienced?  

Remember my friend, how miraculous it all was? He is still the same and His arms are still holding out to you.

Think about His dynamic resurrection and how He was seen by over 500 people?  You know HE is real and He is our hope.

Remember the old adages, why are we here? What are we supposed to be doing? And of course, I need to FIND myself. The latter was very big in my hey day. Everyone was out to FIND themselves. We went to great extremes “to find ourselves” back then. The Beatles went to India but those of us who were at home ate beans and rice, mostly did drugs, alcohol and of course that led to other self destructive behaviors. But, we were all searching to find ourselves. 

What we were really searching for was the love of Jesus. Then, we found HIM! The media broadcasted loud and clear about the “Jesus Movement.” They did not realize, that we had found the real thing! To them it was a big story, to us it was LIFE every lasting!

We became real salty people. We had spice! We wanted to change the world! I would not change my love experience with the Lord for all gold in Ft. Knox.  

Born again believers should to be a wild and crazy motley crew continually shaking up the world, no matter what your age is and today, you can travel around the globe talking about the wonders of God’s love from your arm chair at home. Never before did we ever think such a thing would be achievable.

Renew your mind, renew your life and add some of God's salt into your world today. Nothing is impossible with God.

The Waterloo of your Soul

Lately I have been reminded that one of the most excruciating battles that we fight is the conflict of our own Waterloo within our souls. 

Finalizing the nod, as we repeat the same conquest in our past, we sign and seal a deal for futuristic torment of agonizing memories. We literally feel like we have abandoned our soul. Just one unthinking erratic decision can change our whole life. In one big swoop, we can go from happy to hell when we choose not to walk away from the temptation of a seducing spirit. Weeping, our hearts become filled with remorse and throb with uncontrollable pain as we find ourselves once again driving desperately around that mountain. 

We have all felt hopelessly rejected and out of control and unable to change the direction we are heading at times. We feel helpless.  

Unknowingly tormented, we do not realize nor think how that simple decision destroys ourselves and others:

Mentally: to the point where clear thinking is muddied and perverted. Humiliated, we ask ourselves, “Oh, Why did I do that again? Why did I say that again? Why did I say yes again?” Torment knows no mercy!

Physically: Because the exterior of our body reveals our wear and tear and begins to show the hard evidence of our sins. Do not be deceived, there are those who can see this confirmation in your eyes and your stature. Everything is manifested from the inner eventually into the outer form. This is why we age. 

There becomes a spiritual void within our heart that cannot be denied or escaped, all because of the unwise schooling or choices we have either learned from childhood, self learned lies of survivor ship mentality and for some; greed.

What is the name of your Waterloo?

Every single thing we do has a conditional price tag attached.  If you find yourself with a drinking problem, the best drink will be your last one. Do you know why I say that? Almost every 90 seconds a person is injured in a drunk driving accident. A drinking and driving accident can paralyze or kill someone on the highway. The Waterloo of that earth-shattering reality will have to be walked out for the rest of our lives. We bring torment on ourselves.

Meth? Coke? What else? The best high is the one that handcuffs us and throws us into prison. It is better to be in a physical prison than behind bars in an invisible one. I say this because some of us need to be saved from ourselves, whatever the cost. We do not seem to learn life’s lessons unless it is slung by a baseball bat. Think of the alternatives. In reality, this is merciful. 

The best sexual quest will be the one who clandestinely gives back to us, what we have so generously given to so many others. An over confident behavior of scoring sexual pursuits not only wounds but abuses trusting hearts who cared for us. Because we receive the heart ache that we sow in our life, sooner or later, our lives will become like a boom-a-rang upon every door we open. A diluted conscience that becomes dulled, brings in a spirit of fear and we begin to look at every turn, if someone is chasing us; when they are not. When we hurt and lie to such loving hearts our reward is lived as a self-defeated victim.  We are ignorant to the depth of damage to everyone involved. 

And, if we have rebelliously lost respect for those who love us and have cared for us, and have mistreated and abused them; there will come a day when we will experience the very things we have so selfishly prearranged for the demise of those who cared for us. In other words, we will reap what we have sowed.

Summary: We may think we get away with our thoughts and actions, but the truth is; it is only a matter of time before all those selfish seeds we planted in our garden of life comes up and becomes ripe.

Solution: It is only when we finally become at the end of ourselves, there is one way to look and that is up. When we can finally admit that we have messed up our lives doing things selfishly our way and have been wrong and want to change; there is where you will meet hope. Hope only meets those who are at the bottom of the rope and admits there is no place to go. 

Acknowledge that you seem unable to climb up out of your self made pit. Humble yourself. True humility will usher in God's grace when you reach out towards His love. No longer will you be held in a spirit of bondage or torment, but God will set you free from yourself. He will draw closer and begin to plant your feet on solid ground.  

We do not have a instant God who works by our timeline or standards. But when you humbly and truthfully surrender your life into His hands, He will begin to guide you into the direction that is the best path for your life. Can you trust Him today? I can personally attest that accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior will be the best decision you will have make in your life.

  

   

Jesus the King of Kings really is coming back.

Gentle Rain

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” Mat. 24:36,37. NIV

JESUS WILL BE COMING BACK

Bam! Those two verses sure have bought a lot of controversy down through the ages. We know a few things that are for certain.

1. Jesus is coming back.

2. No one knows when except the Father God.

3. The time will be like as it was in the days of Noah.

Jesus really is coming back.  He inherited everything from His Holy Father and He will rule this earth like iron. We just do not know when. The only one who knows the exact timing of this grand event is our Holy Father. One of the hints that Jesus gave to us in these verses is that the times on the earth would be “as it was in the days of Noah.”  Before the great flood, it was party time all of the time right up to the day the flood came and took them all away. Jesus said, “that is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”

It will be business as usual for most people. Coffee and breakfast in the mornings, then off to work. There will continue to be weddings, divorces, children will continue to be born and wars will continue to happen while the same crime scene continues to worsen at the home front.  We will continue to have new mega amounts of scientific knowledge of “spirituality” for new answers to water our anti-Christian belief system. Christianity will seem as old fashioned and even twisted to some minds.  There are already those who are completely astounded that there are still those who believe in the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

What else was it like before the great flood?

In Genesis 6:5-6 we read, “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that EVERY INCLINATION (imaginations) OF THE THOUGHTS OF HIS HEART WAS ONLY EVIL ALL OF THE TIME.  The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.”

Everything these people thought about was evil and they were proud of it. Today, we actually celebrate over serial killers, psychopaths and sociopaths. We cannot seem to get enough bloodshed and gore in our living rooms as we click the remote to pick the killing for the night. It is almost like the days in Rome when they would throw the saints to the lions while others watched and roared.  It is trendy to have the DNA of a sociopath. They even chuckle over it. It is trendy to choose an alternative lifestyle rather than a conventional way of life. It is trendy to worship Idols instead of the Son of God who was sacrificed for your sins.  

Rev. Billy Graham once said, “America needs to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” If we are honest with ourselves and what we see out there, we know it is true.

Did we ever think we’d see the day when an elementary school was shot up killing our children? We are living “as in the days of Noah.” Make no mistake about it. Unfortunately, it isn't over yet.

But what can we do? If you already have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, you need to re-examine your heart and remember to stay confessed up. Be watchful and ready praying always for those who need prayer. Keep a clean heart it is the wellspring of your life. Be sure to watch what you put inside of it and remember to tell others about God’s great love.

If you do not know Jesus as your Savior, there is no better time than to accept Him as your Lord and Savior than right now. Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Pray and confess your sins to Him and ask forgiveness. He was a perfect and complete sacrifice shedding his blood for you. You will be set free from your sins, your fears and eventually your habits. Surrender and repent. Give Him your whole life and turn deliberately away from your former life. God will help you and be with you the whole way.  Buy a good Bible and find a good Bible believing Church to help you grow and gain strength.  Be patient, God wants to do a big work inside of you, so you can be a shining star in His family and help others who need help.

John 3:16-17

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

¹⁷ For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Do Away With That Bondage of Fear

Gentle Rain

“I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know--God knows.”2Co.12:21 NIV

We have nothing to fear

St. Paul had many supernatural experiences  and revelations given to him when he walked the earth and one of them was when he was caught up to the third heaven. He heard things that he said were inexpressible and that he was not permitted to tell.   He further talks about whether he was in the body or out, he could not tell.

Last night on CNN there was a special program about “Life After Death Experiences.”  One lady kayaking got caught between some rocks, she turned upside down and had drowned. She had been dead for 30 minutes, she was bloated and blue and gone! Her spirit left her body and she spoke of seeing her friends and talking to Jesus. She is a Doctor, she knows all about what happens when the body shuts down and she spoke about the glorious peace and love on the other side. She came back because Jesus told her that it wasn’t her time, yet.  She no longer has any doubts or fears and she knows there is work to do while she is here.

If you are interested you can go to CNN online of course and hopefully watch the special. It would be well worth your effort.

We have nothing to fear. Remember when Job said in 3:25 “What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.?” Although, he was a good and perfect man, he still wrestled with things; like a spirit of fear. Everyone does from time to time.

Fear is the opposite of love and faith. Everyone of us believe for something in our lives, either in fear or faith. In fact, sometimes it is fear in faith. Fearing in faith?  That is a total waste of the energy that God has given to you.  God has not given you that spirit of fear, but power and love and a sound mind. If He did not give the spirit of fear to you, who did?

The antidote for fear is to prayerfully read Bible verses about God’s love. Once you meditate on this mind staggering heart uplifter, all fear will leave Can you believe and accept this?. One of my favorites is:

38And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^p neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ro. 8: 38,39 NLT

Being Thankful after Thanksgiving 360 Days a Year

The Day after Thanksgiving and I’m still Thankful.

At times I become overwhelmed over the love that I receive from my family and friends. I have learned not to take anyone for granted. Our lives are so fragile. One day you are here like the grass, and then they are gone. Not one person can be compared to the other, as each one is so precious like the different unique diamonds we see in a jewelry store.  We honestly appreciate one another and all we want to do, is simply bath in one another’s affection and love. We see the best in each other and thoroughly enjoy each other’s company. I am convinced that Heaven could be compared to the love we receive from each other, while we are wrestling with our earthly trials. Just a smile, a hug and a warm nod of love assures me they pray for us too.

Yup, no doubt about it; I am blessed.     

The Kingdom of our Lord will become the Kingdom of our World

The Earth is Changing

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. 18 The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great– and for destroying those who destroy the earth.” 19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm. Revelation 11:15 

Think about this mind staggering experience! “THE KINGDOM OF THE WORLD HAS BECOME THE KINGDOM OF OUR LORD AND OF HIS CHRIST AND HE WILL REIGN FOR EVER AND EVER.”

Think about what those verses are saying! I lay upon my bed at times and think about how the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and I can see it! I’ve seen it for years now.

I can see it! I do not believe the completion will happen in a split second, nor will it take an hour, day or year. But the Kingdom of God is a gradual thing. Those who have ears can hear it and those who have spiritual eyes can see it. Why is our wildlife making strange friendships now? A deer chooses a Labrador as his best buddy and runs around the whole yard to play with him and eventually brings his family to meet his buddy. A goose chooses to come out of the lake and befriends a man with a heart condition who has to walk every day. The gander has chosen to be a best friend to this man, to walk beside him, protect him and be exactly what he needs during this time of his life. He is a widower and lives in an apartment, therefore cannot take the gander home. They actually have to hold the gander back to keep her from following the car in flight back to his apartment. There are so many odd relationships going on and one of the strangest is when a tiger relinquishes his fresh meat to allow a mouse have a bite to eat. I believe, that is part of the Kingdom of our Lord. When a goat befriends a blind old horse and guides him to the pasture every day until the horse passes over, THAT is the Kingdom of our Lord coming upon the earth. Look to God’s creation and you will see the Kingdom of God coming upon the kingdom of our world.

When you see the large movement of organic growing upon our earth, THAT is all a part of the Kingdom of our Lord. No chemicals that kill, but natural herbicides instead.

When a dragonfly lands upon your hand or arm and cocks its big gorgeous blue green eyes up at you, That is all a part of the movement. Why do hummingbirds land upon your arms, happy that you have given them their sweet treat that lasts them throughout the seasons?

I believe every time you hear of a miraculous breakthrough in the medical community of fingers or arms regrowing THAT is a part of the Kingdom of our Lord http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEnLK0oJCa8 

The teenage genius Jack Andraka invented the detection of pancreatic cancer!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq4x8C6Dcf8  My mother died from such a horrific disease!  God is using whom He chooses to continue to bring the Kingdom of our Lord upon our earth.

Do not fear! The Kingdom of God is coming upon here!

It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not, it is coming. It is slowly moving and developing upon the face of the earth and every knee is really going to bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  

We have both sides: The Kingdom of darkness that magnifies everything that is negative and wrong with today and that includes politics, crime etc. With every Spiritual rule and aspect that God presents with the Kingdom of God, the dark kingdom gives you a counterfeit that will never satisfy your soul.  You will always thirst and reach for the truth, but not able to obtain this precious gift unless you humble yourself and accept Jesus as your Lord.

It is easy to dwell upon the works of darkness and their manipulation of fear through bad news. Just turn on the television and continue to watch and hear them politically lambast the left and right and how bad each side is until they all churn into buttermilk. Thick as it is!

You might think about the ongoing tragic weather changes we have had? What does that have to do with the Kingdom of our Lord? If we refuse to recycle plastics, keep dumping our toxic wastes under Yucca mountain and elsewhere like in our rivers and creeks, chopping trees down and not replacing them (because of men’s greed), say in the Amazon; what do you think is going to happen to our planet? We learned early on in school that with every action there is a cause. Biblically it is called sowing and reaping. Do not blame God for something that we have done to ourselves. Nor give credit to the devil, when it is our own greedy flesh.

Everyone has heard about the butterfly affect. Does a flap of a butterfly wings send a tornado in Texas? http://plus.maths.org/content/butterfly-flap-felt-across-world  What I do here can affect someone completely on the other side of the world. Everything we do, say and think has substance and counts for something. Nothing is wasted. That is the power of God’s mighty creation and so much more powerful than you can ever imagine.

In realizing this, our planet is rebelling and trying to heal itself, after all that is the way our God created it, but we with all of our precious electronic  junkyards (and I really do like my computer), toxins, nuclear plants,  chemicals; well we just won’t let it happen. We think of other options that would not allow us to sacrifice the comfortable life we have, but we haven’t come up with any solutions yet.  Through greed and disrespect, we have upset our eco system. If we already know chemicals are bad for us, why are we still buying them and using them? If we know it is bad to cut down the Amazon Rain Forest and not replace it, why are we doing it? If we know that when we have an abortion we are taking a life, why are we still doing it? If we know we are in debt and cannot pay what we have borrowed why do we continue to follow this path? If we have kicked our dog, why do we have that dog?

Yet, 

Every time someone says no to stealing, cheating and lying

and

If they bend over to be kind to one another.......

When you see someone rescue a bird, dog or cat, hugs a child or gives to those who in need; you are seeing the Kingdom of our Lord coming upon our world and you are being a part of this Kingdom.

There you have my take of the Kingdom of our Lord coming upon our earth, yet we still see and experience the Kingdom of Darkness in full bloom.  I have news for the darkness. Light will continue to expose what is in the darkness and wins!