2 Corinthians 12:7-10. What is satan's "purpose" in tormenting us? Revelations 33:55: Under God's control.
Notice as you rad 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 how Paul's attitude changed from one of being down on himself for a weakness that he saw. One I believe he thought, based on his old teaching as a Jew, kept him from God and relationship with Him. By his own writings on grace, the old is gone, behold the new. God was reassuring him, that no matter what weakness he saw in himself, God had put it under Grace! So that rather than keep him from God, the weakness he saw in himself actually God had turned to a good thing, a blessing that allowed Christ's power to rest on him. God's grace, unmerited love, favor, acceptance, cleansing.
It seems the more we see and accept our weakness, the more we have God's grace illuminated to us. There is no place for the dreaded pride of self. There is no place for the anger, the bitterness, the judgement. I can now, as Paul did for Christ's sake, delight in weakness, in insults, hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. I can allow myself to take my rightful place before God. Who wouldn't be weak and embrace it before Our Lord and God?
He was crucified in weakness, yet He lived by God's power. He had accepted His weakness in Him and would now live by His power, not his own. When I am weak, then I am strong! There was no longer a need for the thorn in his flesh. It had done what it was there for. Satan had lost his power over Paul. Now Paul fully understood God's Grace. What rest and peace! He was loved and accepted just as he was. He had to learn and grow right before our eyes. Perfect love casts out fear. Paul had to learn that too. It was God's gift to us.
2 Timothy 1:7-21 2 Timothy 2:22
I surrender all!
In His Love, a work in progress
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
GOD HAS A HEART
John 17. How long I have desired to gather you to me and you would not.
Father, I want them to know what I know. Share the love and joy that we share. I want them to be with me. I want them to know you. Eternal life Jesus wept. Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do. Wipe the slate clean.
The life was not taken, it was given from a heart full of love. How can words ever express that love, that heart desire. Psalm 91:1 He wants us. He loves us. He has chosen us to be His children. He has set us on the same footing with His only begotten Son. We are so special--to be adopted is very special! Wanted. Accepted. Loved. Chosen with the same inheritance. Seated at the right hand of the Father.
Have you put on your righteousness today? I hope we all took off the old stuff and put it in the dumpster. Who would choose to put on the rags again? Donald Trump, you have nothing over on us! Glory to God in the Highest!
This truth is for everyone to take or to leave. His great love has given us the choice and explained precisely what the choices are.
Thank you, Lord, for your love that will not let us go. The naked heart of God! Hebrews 13:5
In His Love, a work in progress
Father, I want them to know what I know. Share the love and joy that we share. I want them to be with me. I want them to know you. Eternal life Jesus wept. Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do. Wipe the slate clean.
The life was not taken, it was given from a heart full of love. How can words ever express that love, that heart desire. Psalm 91:1 He wants us. He loves us. He has chosen us to be His children. He has set us on the same footing with His only begotten Son. We are so special--to be adopted is very special! Wanted. Accepted. Loved. Chosen with the same inheritance. Seated at the right hand of the Father.
Have you put on your righteousness today? I hope we all took off the old stuff and put it in the dumpster. Who would choose to put on the rags again? Donald Trump, you have nothing over on us! Glory to God in the Highest!
This truth is for everyone to take or to leave. His great love has given us the choice and explained precisely what the choices are.
Thank you, Lord, for your love that will not let us go. The naked heart of God! Hebrews 13:5
In His Love, a work in progress
WE ALL BLEED RED
Our hearts are all the same color! The heart may be hardened. I may have heart ache. You can love deeply from the heart. It can be refreshed in Christ. It may be purified. It can be set to work with all your heart. Let it be sincere. It may be encouraged. You can make music in your heart. You can lose heart or not. Be glad, and rejoice with all your heart. You can believe from your heart. Your heart can be troubled., It is with your heart you believe. God knows the heart. He knows when it is not right. The Great Physician goes to work. Heart surgery is called for. Circumcision of the heart.
You know the heart. That organ that is in the middle of your chest. That organ that is surrounded by ribs and muscle and tissue. We take it for granted until something goes wrong with it. When something is wrong, and it's not doing its job right, we can feel it even in our arms, head and legs, liver and kidney. Need I go on? It's trying to show us something through pain. We can no longer take it for granted. We hate even the thought of the pain, and if we don't pay attention to the pain deep in that secret place. Then the pain gets worse and we slowly die. God knows our hearts. The pain has purpose. We must not let our hearts become hardened.
We do everything we can to keep our physical hearts healthy. We take fish oil, we walk, run, etc. We eat lots of greens. There is a heart of man that God works from, and the meds He prescribes are a little different.
Let God fill your heart. Don't let your hearts be troubled. Let your desires line up with God's. Love with all your hearts. Let the Word be written on your hearts. Protect your heart. It's your lifeline to God. It affects all of the body. Don't wait until you have so much pain that there is no turning back. That's the place that God wants for His temple to live in you. Run to the Great Physician with your pain. Let it be a signal there is something wrong that only He can fix. Pain has a purpose. We all share it. This heart is within me. It's my heart. I have the key. Matthew 11:28
I choose to have a heart transplant. My mind also needs some work. Some renewing. Go for it! Lord, I love you and trust you with all my heart.
You know the heart. That organ that is in the middle of your chest. That organ that is surrounded by ribs and muscle and tissue. We take it for granted until something goes wrong with it. When something is wrong, and it's not doing its job right, we can feel it even in our arms, head and legs, liver and kidney. Need I go on? It's trying to show us something through pain. We can no longer take it for granted. We hate even the thought of the pain, and if we don't pay attention to the pain deep in that secret place. Then the pain gets worse and we slowly die. God knows our hearts. The pain has purpose. We must not let our hearts become hardened.
We do everything we can to keep our physical hearts healthy. We take fish oil, we walk, run, etc. We eat lots of greens. There is a heart of man that God works from, and the meds He prescribes are a little different.
Let God fill your heart. Don't let your hearts be troubled. Let your desires line up with God's. Love with all your hearts. Let the Word be written on your hearts. Protect your heart. It's your lifeline to God. It affects all of the body. Don't wait until you have so much pain that there is no turning back. That's the place that God wants for His temple to live in you. Run to the Great Physician with your pain. Let it be a signal there is something wrong that only He can fix. Pain has a purpose. We all share it. This heart is within me. It's my heart. I have the key. Matthew 11:28
I choose to have a heart transplant. My mind also needs some work. Some renewing. Go for it! Lord, I love you and trust you with all my heart.
WHAT WE LEARN BECOMES OUR LIFE .
John 17 Romans 5
Who of us in this world hasn't suffered? Congratulations. Join the crowd. Paul gives us a wonderful answer. But it takes work and dedication. It's like learning your ABC's all over again. My little 5-year-old great granddaughter just started kindergarten. What an exciting day, but also a little scary! She had to push off on her own, but she put on her best clothes, had her hair done like a movie star. She was ready! Mom and Dad had prepared her for this day. This first day counts a lot toward her attitude to learning-- the excitement of learning new things!
Jesus said for us to become as little children (Romans 5:3). Suffering produces perseverance. What if we decided at 5 years old that we didn't want to learn anymore? My little girl doesn't know that this day, this year, will be the easiest day in her learning adventure. When we were born again we started a whole new learning adventure.
"The old is gone, behold the new!" Kindergarten all over again! How do we greet it? With the excitement of a child going on a new adventure? With our new clothes on? The helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, new shoes for my feet, and anointed with the shield of faith. I'm shining like a new penny! I look like a star! And I have someone to go with me--the Spirit! Wow! What a day!
But I started out with suffering, didn't I? (I never know where He's going to take me, I just write it down). Why does He put together suffering and a little 5-year-old starting school? Because He wants us to know that learning is life changing, and it's not always easy. He said the way is narrow and hard. He never lies to us.
Listen to what Paul wrote in Romans, all through Romans. This man never stopped learning, and he passed it on to us. He went through suffering that hopefully we won't have to go through, but if and when we do, we can have HOPE. He turned every bit of suffering into a positive. Did he feel the pain? You bet! Do you feel the pain? You bet! In John 17, He said to the Father, "I don't ask that you take them out of the world, but keep them from the evil one."
Listen to Paul in Romans 5....and we rejoice in the hope of the Glory of God! What was he looking at? Where was his hope? What gave him hope for tomorrow? Not only so, but we also rejoice in our suffering. Why rejoice in sufferings? Remember negative into positive! Why? Because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hears by His Holy Spirit, which He has given us. Christ died for us! Can we learn something from a 5-year-old kindergartener? And, yes, she has suffered already. And yes, she is a little spunky character. God bless her!
Bless God. He has a plan not to harm us, but to give us a hope and future. He's turned the curse into blessing. The negative into positive. Hate into love! Anger into forgiveness. Love, joy. It takes taking off the old and putting on the new! Learning to dress ourselves. I see a glimmer of light and hope. A rainbow! Peace and joy in the midst of our suffering.
Become as a little child. Love learning. Don't expect it to be easy. What we learn becomes our life!
In His Love, a work in progress
Who of us in this world hasn't suffered? Congratulations. Join the crowd. Paul gives us a wonderful answer. But it takes work and dedication. It's like learning your ABC's all over again. My little 5-year-old great granddaughter just started kindergarten. What an exciting day, but also a little scary! She had to push off on her own, but she put on her best clothes, had her hair done like a movie star. She was ready! Mom and Dad had prepared her for this day. This first day counts a lot toward her attitude to learning-- the excitement of learning new things!
Jesus said for us to become as little children (Romans 5:3). Suffering produces perseverance. What if we decided at 5 years old that we didn't want to learn anymore? My little girl doesn't know that this day, this year, will be the easiest day in her learning adventure. When we were born again we started a whole new learning adventure.
"The old is gone, behold the new!" Kindergarten all over again! How do we greet it? With the excitement of a child going on a new adventure? With our new clothes on? The helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, new shoes for my feet, and anointed with the shield of faith. I'm shining like a new penny! I look like a star! And I have someone to go with me--the Spirit! Wow! What a day!
But I started out with suffering, didn't I? (I never know where He's going to take me, I just write it down). Why does He put together suffering and a little 5-year-old starting school? Because He wants us to know that learning is life changing, and it's not always easy. He said the way is narrow and hard. He never lies to us.
Listen to what Paul wrote in Romans, all through Romans. This man never stopped learning, and he passed it on to us. He went through suffering that hopefully we won't have to go through, but if and when we do, we can have HOPE. He turned every bit of suffering into a positive. Did he feel the pain? You bet! Do you feel the pain? You bet! In John 17, He said to the Father, "I don't ask that you take them out of the world, but keep them from the evil one."
Listen to Paul in Romans 5....and we rejoice in the hope of the Glory of God! What was he looking at? Where was his hope? What gave him hope for tomorrow? Not only so, but we also rejoice in our suffering. Why rejoice in sufferings? Remember negative into positive! Why? Because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hears by His Holy Spirit, which He has given us. Christ died for us! Can we learn something from a 5-year-old kindergartener? And, yes, she has suffered already. And yes, she is a little spunky character. God bless her!
Bless God. He has a plan not to harm us, but to give us a hope and future. He's turned the curse into blessing. The negative into positive. Hate into love! Anger into forgiveness. Love, joy. It takes taking off the old and putting on the new! Learning to dress ourselves. I see a glimmer of light and hope. A rainbow! Peace and joy in the midst of our suffering.
Become as a little child. Love learning. Don't expect it to be easy. What we learn becomes our life!
In His Love, a work in progress
Sunday, August 17, 2014
RENEW US, LORD!
Wars and rumors of wars. Hatred. Darkness. The Cross! Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do. His last words to us. In His darkest moment, He gave us light to live by. They lashed Him until His flesh hung in strips. They spit on Him. They abused Him. They dragged Him bleeding through the streets to be mocked. They nailed Him to a cross, and He looked at us and said with His last breath, "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do!"
He knew that He could have called down an army of angels and wiped them all out. But He also knew that to return hate for hate and violence for violence only fed the darkness. More hate, more violence, more hurt, more death. Pass it on to our children. Why not give our children light, love, forgiveness to feed on? Jesus cried from a hill, "How long I have desired to gather you to me, and you would not!"
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave us His only Son that whosoever believes in Him would have eternal life. Life is this: To know Him who is love! If we would saturate ourselves with that knowledge, then maybe in times of loss, instead of lashing out, we could say along with Him, "forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do." and it would set us free from darkness as well as the perpetrator. We could try to love as He has loved us.
We who have His Spirit could try. Maybe we won't do it perfectly, but a little may go a long way. Feel His heart. Lord, reach deep within us and set us free from any darkness that we may be coming from. Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our heart and mind be pleasing to you,. Only You make this possible. Jesus is Lord!
Psalm 100:3 Psalm 55:22
Stop expecting it to be easy. He said the road was narrow and hard. Who knew better than Jesus?
In His Love, a work in progress
He knew that He could have called down an army of angels and wiped them all out. But He also knew that to return hate for hate and violence for violence only fed the darkness. More hate, more violence, more hurt, more death. Pass it on to our children. Why not give our children light, love, forgiveness to feed on? Jesus cried from a hill, "How long I have desired to gather you to me, and you would not!"
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave us His only Son that whosoever believes in Him would have eternal life. Life is this: To know Him who is love! If we would saturate ourselves with that knowledge, then maybe in times of loss, instead of lashing out, we could say along with Him, "forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do." and it would set us free from darkness as well as the perpetrator. We could try to love as He has loved us.
We who have His Spirit could try. Maybe we won't do it perfectly, but a little may go a long way. Feel His heart. Lord, reach deep within us and set us free from any darkness that we may be coming from. Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our heart and mind be pleasing to you,. Only You make this possible. Jesus is Lord!
Psalm 100:3 Psalm 55:22
Stop expecting it to be easy. He said the road was narrow and hard. Who knew better than Jesus?
In His Love, a work in progress
THE WORLD: LOVE & HATE, BUT LOVE OVERCOMES
John 3:16. The whole world is in deep depression, and yet it keeps on laughing! That's what God calls sin. I wish I could paint a picture of You holding Your arms out to the world. I guess that's what the cross is. God holding His arms out to a hurting world that thinks this is the way it's supposed to be.
The worst of the worst
The best of the best
What do you choose to see in the cross? Love or hate? They are both there. But love overcomes the world!
In His Love, a work in progress
The worst of the worst
The best of the best
What do you choose to see in the cross? Love or hate? They are both there. But love overcomes the world!
In His Love, a work in progress
KNOW WHO YOU ARE
"I am the light of the world"- Jesus. The more you are in the light, the more you will be aware of the darkness that surrounds you. Light exposes darkness. Good exposes evil. Be consumed by the light. Stand in the light. Jesus said that He is the light of the world. He also said that we are the light of the world. We don't have to go any farther than ourselves to find that light. When I am in the dark, I am blind. I can't see. God said in Genesis "Let there be light and there was light."
Darkness had covered the surface of the deep. The earth was empty and formless. God separated light from darkness. When light is introduced, the darkness fades. If darkness remains, there is no life. It's as simple as that. What do we do to dispel darkness? What did God do? What did Jesus do? He spoke!
"I am" the light of the world. Now He still speaks! Through us. We are the light of the world. Even a little light can show us the way. Speak every day, "let there be light. I am the light of the world." If we don't bring light into the world, how can we blame others for choosing darkness? When it's all they have to refer to. If you live in darkness long enough, how do you know what the word "light" even means? There is no frame of reference until you experience light.
Knowing who you are may be painful: Luke 8:16 2 Samuel 22:29 Psalm 18:28, 27:1, 36:9, 76:4, 89:15, 119:105; Matthew 5:14-16; Matthew 6:22-23
Praise God for the Light of the world. He has not only given light, He is the light. He reveals to us what this world is supposed to be again. When He comes again, Light, Love, Joy, Peace, Faithfulness, Goodness. We are the runners, the foretaste of glory. Live in the light, as He is in the light!
What hope He is! Faith, hope, love, and the greatest of these is love. God is love. Pray for our enemies. Live in the light you have. "Fear not. I will go before you and in you. You are not alone." Psalm 73:26
In His Love, a work in progress
Darkness had covered the surface of the deep. The earth was empty and formless. God separated light from darkness. When light is introduced, the darkness fades. If darkness remains, there is no life. It's as simple as that. What do we do to dispel darkness? What did God do? What did Jesus do? He spoke!
"I am" the light of the world. Now He still speaks! Through us. We are the light of the world. Even a little light can show us the way. Speak every day, "let there be light. I am the light of the world." If we don't bring light into the world, how can we blame others for choosing darkness? When it's all they have to refer to. If you live in darkness long enough, how do you know what the word "light" even means? There is no frame of reference until you experience light.
Knowing who you are may be painful: Luke 8:16 2 Samuel 22:29 Psalm 18:28, 27:1, 36:9, 76:4, 89:15, 119:105; Matthew 5:14-16; Matthew 6:22-23
Praise God for the Light of the world. He has not only given light, He is the light. He reveals to us what this world is supposed to be again. When He comes again, Light, Love, Joy, Peace, Faithfulness, Goodness. We are the runners, the foretaste of glory. Live in the light, as He is in the light!
What hope He is! Faith, hope, love, and the greatest of these is love. God is love. Pray for our enemies. Live in the light you have. "Fear not. I will go before you and in you. You are not alone." Psalm 73:26
In His Love, a work in progress
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