Trust in God's Grace -- He Will Provide the Ticket

Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 NLT

We can’t begin to understand how God will supply all our needs until we are actually in need. We must not expect to live today by using tomorrow’s resources. We should learn to live just one day at a time. God’s grace is sufficient and His blessings are bountiful. God’s supernatural grace comes at a time when you are ready to receive it and not before. God’s grace will come at the perfect season in your life!

I read a story about Corrie Ten Boom where she was asked how she could continue her strong faith in God with all the sadness and loss that she had experienced in her lifetime. She told the story of how at an early age she learned to depend on her earthly father to provide her with all her needs at the time she needed them. As a young child, she used to travel the railways of Europe with her father. Her father would hold onto her rail ticket until the day of their adventure; even waiting until he saw the lights of the train coming before he would hand her the ticket. There was no need to give Corrie the ticket early because it might get lost. She faithfully waited until the time she needed the ticket, knowing that her father had never failed her. Just as she trusted her earthly father for all the little things, she grew to trust her heavenly Father for the bigger things even more. Corrie Ten Boom reached up for and received her ticket only when her father saw that the train was coming.

Sometimes in life we are asked to carry a burden that seems too heavy to bear. Remember that God’s grace is sufficient enough for everything that comes our way. God will never leave you or forsake you. His grace will always be sufficient in every season of our life; it will come the moment we need it.

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 NLT

Have a cup of coffee and listen to the song I have included here by Fee, “Glory to God Forever.” The words he penned remind us that God is our creator, our father, our savior – “Shout and Sing the Greatness of our King… Take my life and let it be all for your glory…” Love this song! Enjoy.

Glory to God Forever

I'm Not There Yet -- When Will 'IT' Happen

“…teach the older women to live in a way that honors God… teach others what is good… train the younger to love their husbands and children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands.” Titus 2:3-5 NLT

So many times I have set goals for myself and then I would sit back and seemingly just wait for the “IT” to happen. I never meant to do that, but it does seem to have been my life’s pattern. Is it any wonder that the “IT” never happened?

When will I ever become a Titus woman the bible talks about? I did promise myself that would be my goal, especially now that I am a senior citizen and am widowed. I thought this would be a good way to spend my final days – living for the Lord and helping other women know the perfect peace of God. Perhaps that was my problem, I made it a goal and I wasn’t doing any training.

I remember reading messages from my niece about how she was training to run a marathon. I believe it was a 25k run, or something of that nature. As far as I am concerned, once you get past the 1k mark it might as well be a 50k run for me because I was never cut out to run marathons. Back to my point… the point is she began to train for her goal just weeks after giving birth to her fourth child. Every day she began to nourish her body with the proper diet and she began to increase her stamina by running a bit further each day. It didn’t happen overnight, but within months she was prepared and ready to run. She reached her goal and ran the race. She prepared daily and shared with all of us her progress. We were all cheering her on during her training and celebrated her completion. Now she is known as a marathon runner and her next goal will only be another race. She will never have to earn the title of marathon runner again because we all know who she is and that she will continue to strive for more. It has become a way of life for her.

Perhaps that is where I have been missing the boat, waiting for the goal! I need to begin training each and every day to be the woman God has placed on my heart to be. I will begin feeding my mind with the things of God. I will continue to share the truth of God and share my shortcomings so that others can see how God made it right. It is about me, not the other person. I need to change my focus and not allow my world to be conditional on the people – my life; my goal is not dependent on the circumstances that surround me. My foundation, my life, my goal needs to be built on the solid rock of Christ. I need to keep on pressing on for the prize!

“I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus is calling us (me).” Philippians 3:14

I will continue to sing the song of hope…

Lost Your Way? – Get It Back!

Lost Your Way? – Get It Back!

“For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” – 2 Corinthians 3:17

How many times have you found yourself in the blahs or the doldrums?

Today I wanted to talk about getting back the joy, getting back to the dance, getting back to laughter and the preciousness of life. So many times we find ourselves bound by our own thoughts, in slavery to the things of this world and to our own sinful desires.

“Familiarity breeds contempt!” Have you ever heard that saying? I lived it with my entire life. I learned to live a life of secrets – to not share with others – that no one really cares about your problems – that God helps those who help themselves and the list goes on and on. Perhaps you could add your own thoughts in here; thoughts that might keep you bound in your own spiritual quietness.

We can become a slave to our own inner thoughts, not just the obvious sins that one can fall prey too. God sent His son to set us free! I believe that it is within our own minds, our own thoughts that we are bound the most. I know I fall prey to things like:
• What would other people think
• My childhood has many buried secrets
• I must meet the expectations of others
• Strive to perform or obsession to meet a specific goal
• Need for an authority figure to say they are “finally” proud of me
• Being an enabler so as not to hurt someone’s feelings
• Exhausting and putting myself last

I am learning to recognize the blahs, the depression, and the grayness as just that – a mood that I have created in my own mind. Jesus did come to set me free; He came to set us all free from whatever it is that separates us from Him and robs us of our joy. Now, when these feelings try to take hold I immediately stop, confess the sin and move on! I get over it and start to dance again. I have learned to replace in my mind the thoughts I know to be false with the things I know to be true. I find these truths in God’s word. There is nothing like the Psalms to always find something to lift my spirits and show me the truth. David was a real person with real problems, yet he loved God wholeheartedly – He was a man after God’s own heart. Lord Jesus, give me a heart like David.

David also knew how to surround himself with people he could share with – David has his Jonathon. I, too, am learning to share with others. Because in sharing with people of like mindness, they help keep me focused on the truth. My friends remind me of the forgiveness of God, they point me to the scriptures that help to bring reconciliation.

“Familiarity breeds contempt”? – Never, I find that with sharing my problems together we find solutions. God tells us in Matthew 18:19-20 that “…if two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” Isn’t that beautiful? God did not intend for us to carry our burdens alone!

Let me end by sharing with you a sweet song by MercyMe, “I Can Only Imagine.” I hope you take an extra minute or two and listen to the beautiful words. I can only imagine what it will be like when I see the Lord face to face and surrounded by His glory – I hope I dance!

I Can Only Imagine

If The Mountain Was Smooth You Couldn't Climb It

Dear God, please untie the knots that are in my mind, my heart and my life. Remove the have nots, the can nots and the do nots that I have in my mind. Erase the will nots, may nots, might nots that may find a home in my heart. Release me from the could nots, would nots and should nots that obstruct my life. And most of all dear God, I ask that you remove from my mind, my heart and my life all the 'am nots', that I have allowed to hold me back, especially the thought that I am not good enough. Amen

This prose is titled simply "The Knots Prayer" and was signed "Author known to God". I received it in my email one day and decided to save it for a possible entry in my blog... so here we are today and I am sharing my thoughts with you.

Have you ever found yourself in a place where you felt you couldn’t get out, or move forward or just defeated and didn’t know which way to turn? Your life, your thoughts, your desires were all tied up in knots. I know I have! It is those times were I find myself crying out to the Lord, “things are a mess and I don’t know where to begin.” That is when the Lord speaks to me and lets me know I have come to the right place – at the foot of the cross.

Sometimes the Lord tells us to simply “wait”, wait for the answer, wait for the healing, wait for the solution, but be still and wait. The title of my blog today is “If the Mountain Was Smooth You Couldn’t Climb it…” It was posted on my friends web chat page as her thought for the day and she in turn got it from someone else and so on. I found those seemingly simple words to be so profoundly true. It is through those crevices in the rocks that allow us to grab hold and eventually climb the mountain. That is how I am going to begin to look at my “knots” in life, just as crevices to let me catch hold and wait on the Lord for my next step. I am going to eventually climb that mountain of life with God’s help each step of the way.

I would like to share a passage from the Bible as written in “The Message” (a contemporary rendering of the Bible), but please feel free to look in up in any of your translations. Beginning with about the 24th verse of Romans 8,

“We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy. Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us…”

Lord Jesus, thank you that the mountain is not smooth. Thank you for teaching me to wait. Thank you for helping me to be the person you designed me to be. Thank you for making me who I am today!

Don't Think Too Much -- Have Faith and Believe

Today, I was reflecting on the many times where God has never failed me – NEVER! God has always provided what I needed just when I needed it. The essential that God supplied never came too early where I had to store it away for another time. The restoration never came in overabundance where I would waste it or throw it away. My story, my life, can easily be translated into the story from the bible where God provides manna to the Israelites for their daily food and nourishment. (You can refresh your memory of that story in Exodus chapter 16.)

I can testify with all degree of certainty that God gives me the strength each day to face or endure as I need it, as I call on Him in faith. Except for my increased faith, there is no overabundance to save up for the future, yet there is enough for the day. In that way, my faith continues to grow! I need to call on Him – to depend on Him daily. Just as the Israelites learned to trust in God every morning for their daily nourishment, I too trust in God daily to supply my needs. Lord Jesus, I hunger for you. Your love – there is nothing that fills and restores me more.

God also brings people into my life to help encourage me when I need them the most. One of these occasions happened recently, when He sent Jan to me with an exercise to help me rest on the Lord. She told me to review what I knew to be true about God, to list His attributes and how they specifically applied to me. I loved the questions that she listed because in answering them, in direct correlation to how God has worked in my life, it was so revealing. It was better than any “aha” moment that the world could ever conjure up.

As I began to list God’s attributes (saving, worthy of praise, hearing, rescuing, rewarding, seeing, merciful, revealing, powerful, perfect, pure, giving, gentle, refuge, light, truth, all-knowing) – I could go on and on, but you get the picture – He revealed to me what I already knew to be true. God never fails! Reading through Psalms is a good way to develop your own list of God’s attributes. Remembering that God does not change, you have to ask yourself:

--When have I experienced God’s…? (list an attribute)
--Will I trust in that aspect of God (who He is) in my present and in my future?

I found this simple exercise fun and rewarding. I learned a lot about myself, how God was always there with me, is always there beside me, and will never leave or forsake me in the days to come. Thank you, Jan, for this exercise to help me put things into perspective. Thank you for helping me shift the focus off myself and onto my Lord -- He gave me the rest I needed; He gave me the peace I longed for; He gave me His unconditional love and understanding; He helped me with my priorities; He fully restored me for another day.

I am reminded that things in this life are not in my control. I can only control how I react to them. God, give me your control today – restore my peace I find in You alone. Friends, don’t let doubt and unbelief rob you of your joy and hope! Amen?

Romans 15:13, “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Chris Tomlin - Overflow

God's Love -- Our Homing Device

Did you know that the homing pigeon has been selectively bred to be able to find its way home over extremely long distances? They are not satisfied until they find their way home to roost time and time again.

I believe that God has made us with a homing device in our hearts that can only be satisfied by the LORD Himself. No matter how much money you make, how many homes you own, how great your success in life is, or how many lovers you take -- your inner most desires will never be filled. You will continue to search for that “something”. You will begin to wonder “is that all there is?” Just take a look around at the world today and all the people in the news. There is scandal everywhere you look. It seems that the more affluent one is, the more that corruption envelopes them as they try to find what they are searching for.
-- How much stuff is enough?
-- When will I have finally made it?
-- If I have it all, what happens when I am gone?

Jesus shared a story with His disciples in Luke 12:28-34 where He said “What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, and God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.” Now if that doesn’t say relax and focus on the things of God, I don’t know what does. I quoted this scripture from The Message; go ahead and read it from your own bible and remind yourself of the wonderful story that Jesus told. Verse 34, “For where our treasure is, there will your heart be also.” – KJV – I love that reminder!

There is nothing that will satisfy our heart except for the Lord Jesus Himself. God will continue to speak to your heart; he will call out your name; he will continually send out a signal to help you find your way home. I don’t believe that He will call indefinitely, but He is long-suffering and doesn’t want to lose one child. “This is what the Lord God says: I, myself, will search for my sheep and take care of them.” Ezekiel 34:11

It is comforting to know that there is no greater love than what God has for me, for all of us – his children. There is nothing I can do, nothing I can buy, nothing I can desire that will fulfill that longing inside of me except for the love of Jesus Christ. Don’t wait until you can no longer hear His calling; don’t wait until your homing beacon dies out. Turn to the one who satisfies today. Fulfill that extra something that is missing in your life; fulfill it with the one who knows you. Wherever we go, wherever we are God knows and sees. God fulfills the longing in our hearts where no person, place or thing can. Psalm 139 reassures us of these facts. Include God’s plan for your life when you dream your dreams; then and only then will you be truly satisfied.

The Climb -- Change Your Perspective!

Recently there was a Disney movie where Miley Cyrus was featured and also sang the title song “The Climb”. I would like to take from that today and expound of the fact that we will constantly be climbing that mountain, yet we don’t climb it alone.

From the song, “The Climb”:

‘I can almost see it
that dream I am dreaming
but there's a voice inside my head saying
"You'll never reach it"
Every step I'm taking
every move I make feels
lost with no direction
My faith is shaking
But I gotta keep trying…’

God gives us mountains to climb so that when we reach the top we can see Him. It is about knowing that when we come to the next mountain to climb that He is climbing with us. It is also about the times He carries us when we can no longer climb on our own. God moves mountains, not us. Our job is to believe, to listen to His voice, to take His direction, to learn what we can and to climb!

In the Bible, God has promised us that He will never give us more than we can bear without providing an avenue of escape. Our trials make it so we will come to Him with our problems. I have found that nowhere in scripture is there a verse that says we won’t have climbs in life. I believe whole-heartedly that God allows us to go through trials and causes us to climb mountains so that we will turn to Him for solutions to our problems.

I like the way it is written in the NIV version of scripture; “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” – 1 Corinthians 10:13.

The victory is always the Lords. Always! It is through His grace that we will shine from the top of the mountain. It has nothing to do with our success of climbing that mountain, but what God’s grace has done through us to reach that summit.

I end my writing today by providing you with a quote I found in one of my daily readings (see below in quotes.) Sometimes I get so bogged down in the details that I forget the joy! It is about the faith in the climb, not the climb. It is about my faith in the Lord! Have a great day, friends.

“You must not overlook the details of life's requirements by focusing on the big picture and the goal. By the same token, you cannot lose vision and purpose by paying too much attention to the details. It is like looking at an entire landscape, seeing both near and far. You can see where you are going, but you have to ...walk the path step by step to get there."