Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord

Bragging is not proof of a persons confidence but a symptom of insecurity.

Let someone else praise you and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.
Proverbs 27:2

The fear of death

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to life long slavery.  Hebrews 2:14-15
Everybody wants to go to heaven but no body wants to die.  Are you familiar with that song?   Have you ever feared death?  I did for many years after my sister Kimla's tragic death just two days after her first birthday.  I was five years old when she died and had a fear that I would stop breathing while in my sleep. The fear of dieing continued on into adulthood. It wasn't until my early thirty's when I began to absorb God's word into my life and trust His promises that I was set free from this fear......

  In Jon Piper's book~ Fifty Reasons Why Jesus came to die, he lists #39 reason for why Jesus came to die and that was to free us from the bondage to the fear of death.  Satan is a murderer and a liar. But his main interest is not to kill.  It is to damn us.  His power to damn human beings lies not in himself, but in the sins he inspires and the lies that he tells.  The only thing that sends anybody to hell is unforgiven sin.  The one lethal weapon he has is the power to deceive us.  His chief lie is that self-exaltion is more to be desired than Christ's exaltation, and that sin is preferred more than Christ's righeousness.  If that weapon could be taken out of his hand, he would no longer have the power of eternal death.  That is what Christ came to do-take that weapon out of Satan's hand.  To do this, Christ took our sins upon himself and suffered for them. When that happened they could be used no more by the devil to destroy us.  He can Taunt us, yes.  Mock us, yes.  But damn us?  No.  Christ bore the curse in our place.  He can try all he wants but satan cannot destroy us.  The wrath of God is removed.  His mercy is our shield.  Do I hear an Amen!!!!! To accomplish this deiverancce, Christ had to take on a human nature, because without it he could not experience death.  Only the death of the Son Of God could destroy the one who had the power of death.  Since...the children share in flesh and blood. he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil.  Hebrews 2:14
When Christ died for sins, he took from the devil his one lethal weapon: unforgiven sin.  Freedom from fear was the aim of Christ in doing this.  The fear of death enslaves.  Christ died to set us free.  When the fear of death is destroyed by an act of self-sacrificing love, the bondage of bigheaded self-preservation is broken. We are freed to love like Christ.  We are the freest of all people.

Starting something new

A man's heart makes his plans but God directs his steps.   Proverbs 16:9

 Are you having trouble sticking to a goal?  The best way to (not) do something is talking about it.  When starting something new~ don't tell anyone.    

Picture this

Every summer for as long as I can remember I have organized my photographs, putting them in photo albums or decorative boxes.  On the backs of each picture I write a date and the person, place or thing.  This became important to me because when I was a small girl I remember my mother and her sisters looking through my grandmother's photographs and wondering "who these people were" or "I wonder what year this was taken"  Well, its summer and it's time again to get those photographs put in a photo album or decorative box.  Whilst  ( I like saying that word) I was thinking on  these things,  I had a thought.  Something has changed that has made it easier to procrastinate doing that and it is the digital camera.  I know a second after the picture is taken if it turned out or not and I can view them on the screen so need to hurry to get them developed.  You see, not so long ago we didn't have digital cameras and we had to actually take the film into our favorite photo center to get them developed.  I loved the anticipation of waiting for the pictures and wondering how they would turn out.  It encouraged me to get them developed sooner.  Now the pix stay in my camera for mooooooonths!  Am I the only one who has this problem?  So my goal this summer is to work on getting all my pictures developed so that I can write on the backs of them and put them in those pretty decorative boxes.  I recently developed pictures of family (in-laws from Oregon and Aunt and Uncle from Texas) that came for a visit..  I received so much joy looking though all the pictures and the memories that were made.  With the help of pictures these memories can be for a life time.  It's the simple things in life that can bring so much joy.  God is so good.

Dry Seasons

So................. I was thinking about my blog the other morning and realizing that I hadn't written anything for awhile.  I then asked the Lord if He wanted me to continue on with it and would He some how just let me know.  Well,  about 2 1/2 seconds later the phone rings!  It's my friend Carole asking me if I'm still writing my blog and hoping that I haven't quit because she enjoys reading it.  God seemed so near ;~)
Have you had times when you don't feel God is near?  You seem to be doing all the right things~reading His word daily, praying,confessing sin,serving.  Yet you don't feel as close to the Lord and your heart isn't as tender towards Him.  I call these times~ dry seasons.  I believe it is God's grace that we don't always feel His nearness.  If we could always feel then we wouldn't be walking by faith. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen.  Heb 11:1.   We all know that we can't trust our feelings because feelings come and go.  Feelings can be deceptive.  How many times would we just stay in bed because we didn't "feel" like getting up. 
Dry seasons can be a way of God wanting to cause more of a hunger and thirst for Him and His word.  Just like He did when the Israelites were in the wilderness.  God wanted His children to look for the manna everyday.  To look to Him to sustain them.  IT WAS A TIME OF TESTING.  A time to grow us spiritually.  When I realize in the midst of a dry season that this could be a time of testing it strangely gives me strength.  The dry seasons have a purpose.  Something good is happening, there is good in my future.  The Holy Spirit gives us that hope. (hope is something good will happen in the future)  I'm so thankful for times when my heart is tender and warm towards the Lord but also thankful for His grace when He sometimes doesn't allow me to feel His nearness.

Forgiveness

That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.  Philippians 3:10
Not forgiving someone and harboring bitterness in your heart towards them is like you drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.  Forgiveness is hard and especially when you have been painfully sinned against.  I heard a power sermon last week on forgiveness and I would like to share some of those truths with you.  If you are struggling with forgiving someone I hope what I am about to share will help and that you will allow God to get you to the place of grace.  We need Gods grace in order to forgive.  There are three main reasons why forgiveness is so difficult:
1. forgiveness is SUFFERING
2. forgiveness is DEATH
3. forgiveness is CRUCIFIXION
When I first heard this I wasn't sure what that meant.  You see, everyone who forgives goes through a death and experiences blood, sweat and tears.  Forgiveness hurts and will feel worse at first because it is death and crucifixion.  It is an act of absorbing the retaliation onto myself instead of lashing out. We don't want to experience that first step because it is painful and costly but that death is the precursor to life.   Sometimes God will allow those He loves to be painfully sinned against.  Christ suffered and was sinned against so we are not alone in our suffering.  Christ absorbed our debt, He took our sins upon Himself and experienced crucifixion and death on the cross.  This was a debt we could not pay, but He paid it for us.  The debt didn't disappear it was absorbed.  We have been purchased by the blood of Christ, and now we are owned by God and we are to serve Him.  We are called according to His purpose and not our own . We no longer belong to our self. We have committed greater sins against God than any person has ever committed against us.   God is calling us to forgive.  He is calling us to die but it won't be the end but the beginning. 

Satan meant it for evil but God meant it for good.

The injustice of Joseph's suffering in the book of Genesis is a story that grips my heart every time I read it.  It's nothing short of astounding how he didn't become bitter after 13 years of undeserved suffering.  I can't wait to meet Joseph.  I have always been drawn to him because he reminds me of Jesus. So many parallels, both humiliated but later exalted.  Joseph had this unique attitude during his suffering that things were not happening (to) him but (for) him.  He trusted the character of God and remembered His promises. He knew some how all things would work together for good. I believe that is the secret to not becoming resentful or depressed during trials and suffering.  Joseph didn't waste his suffering by complaining and asking "why me God"  He had a choice how to respond to his circumstances.  He didn't choose to whine but to worship.  When the circumstances don't change then we need to trust God will change us.  The enemy wants us defeated but the Lord wants us to prosper. Here are some encouraging words from the Matthew Henry commentary: Our enemies may strip us of outward distinctions and ornaments; but wisdom and grace cannot be taken from us.  They may separate us from friends, family,relatives, and country; but they can not take from us the presence of the Lord.  They may shut us from outside blessings, rob us of liberty. and confine us in dungeons; but they can not shut us out from communion with God, from the throne of grace, or take from us the blessings of salvation.

Walking

This week I went walking in a beautiful neighborhood with a good friend and I plan on doing that more because scriptures says "He who walks with the wise will become wise.  Proverbs 13:20

QUOTE

If you can't pray a blessing over what you are doing in life, maybe you shouldn't be doing it.

QUOTE

Truth becomes hard if it isn't softened by love, love becomes soft if it isn't strengthened by truth.

Holiness in body

Eating healthy and staying healthy is hard work!  It's a battle and a daily one at that.  I know the Lord wants me to take care of my body because it is the temple of the Holy Spirit and I am to glorify Him  with it.  I must then realize that true holiness includes control over my physical body and its appetite. With menopause, health issues and just plain lack of self-control, I have not been at my healthiest the last few years.  In February 2012, I made a commitment to give up soda and cut way down on my consumption of sugar and starches.  A year and minus 25 lbs. later I am feeling much better.  Unfortunately  because of my illness I wasn't able to exercise and lost muscle tone.  So at the beginning of March I began an exercise routine of walking ( power walk at home DVD)  This is a wonderful christian DVD by Leslie Sansone that my sweet friend gave to me. ( thank you Kathy Smith) It's a 3 mile weight loss walk done to fun music that keeps you walking at just the right fat burning speed.  I have also added bike riding to my fitness routine now that the weather has been so beautiful.  I love being out doors riding my bike while taking in all the colorful spring blooms!  Speaking of spring blooms, gardening is also a great way of getting some exercise in and I am loving my herb garden.  Last year I planted basil, sage, thyme, mint, rosemary, cilantro and fever few and more to be added this week.  An increase in herbs, veggies, fruit and nuts are a part of my new health routine as well.  With prayer and the Lords help I am establishing a healthy eating pattern and changing my taste and cravings from unhealthy foods to healthy whole foods.  Susannah Wesley wrote over 200 years ago, "Whatever increases the strength and the authority of your body over your mind- that thing is sin to you." Here is a prayer and a scripture I will close with.  Oh Lord let us present our bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to you, which is our reasonable service and not to be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  Romans 12:1-2

QUOTE

People have no power over you that you yourself do not give them.

Passion week

 The son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.  Luke 24:7

I tend to get a little emotional during passion week.  Contemplating the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.  He was innocent and the only one whose blood could cover our sins.  Only Christ's sacrificial death on the cross could satisfy Gods wrath against sinful man.  As soon as Christ was nailed to the cross, he began to pray for those who crucified him.  His prayer softened the heart of one of the two thieves that were on each side of him.  The one knew he himself deserved to be on that cross and he saw that Jesus was innocent.  The one prayed with humility asking Jesus to remember him.  The thief, now a forgiven child of God!  The other one's heart remained hardened and died in his sins while the very Savior of the world was right next to him.  If you seek Christ you will find him and he will show himself to you.   On the same day Christ rose from the dead, he appeared to the two disciples that were on their way to Emmaus.  Christ brings comfort to them as he explains his death on the cross was not a mistake.  That his suffering and death on the cross was God's divine plan from the very beginning.  This wasn't an accident, where an ambulance had to be rush to the scene.  No, this was the appointed way to the Glory of God! 
Have a Happy Resurrection Day!

QUOTE

Change is inevitable, growth is optional.
John Maxwell

Spring Cleaning

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.  Colossians 3:23

Now that Spring is just around the corner I've been itching ( and sneezing ) to clean, clean and clean some more!  Spring time always motivates me to organize my home and to clean up my garden, removing dead plants and flowers and replacing them with new colorful and healthy ones.  Well,
if you are in the spring cleaning mood, there is one area in our homes that should be cleaned at least once a month and it can't wait till springtime.   Can you guess what that is?  It's in your kitchen, bigger than a bread box and most are white or stainless steal.  It's the Fridge.  The refrigerator can often be neglected.  Some spills don't get cleaned up as quickly as they should and some items are passed the expiration date or get placed on shelves where they don't belong.  So, what's in your refrigerator? Are there any science projects growing in yours?  Lets do some spring cleaning in our fridges!
1) Take everything out of the fridge, but clean one shelf at a time to avoid spoilage.

2) Throw out anything you don't use regularly.  Discard any moldy, aged food. Check expiration dates.  When in doubt throw it out.

3) Wipe inside with warm soapy water or baking soda and water mixture.  Rinse well with water.

4) Keep food organized with lunch meat and cheese together.  Keep vegetables in the crisper (veggie drawer)  Put milk, juices and other drinks on one shelf.  Salad dressings, sauces and condiments can be kept in the shelves on the door.

5) Don't forget the UFO'S (unidentified frozen objects)in your freezer.

6) Use an open jar of baking soda to keep out odors and excess moisture.

There you go.   This shouldn't take too long.  If you don't feel you have enough time then just spend 15 mins. cleaning just one shelf and come back another day to clean one or two more.

Happy cleaning!

QUOTE

The best things in life aren't things.

Waiting on God

We all are waiting on God at different times in our lives.  Are you waiting on God right now?  For you it could be a healing, a baby that you long to have, a job, buying a home or praying for the salvation of a loved one.  We can grow weary in waiting.  What is the purpose in waiting?  God tells us in His word that it is good for us to wait on Him.   Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.  They will fly high on wings as eagles.  They will run and not grow weary.  They will walk and not faint.  Is. 40:31  Here is an illustration I recently read of how the Lord strengthens us during trials.
"Did you know that an eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks?  The eagle will fly to a high spot and wait for the winds to come.  When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm.  While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it.  The eagle does not escape the storm, it simply uses the storm to lift it higher.  It rises on the winds that bring the storms.  When the storm of life come upon us, we can rise above them by setting our minds and our belief toward God.  The storms do not have to overcome us; we can allow God's power to lift us above them.  God enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure, and disappointment into our lives.  We can soar above the storm.  Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us down, it is how we handle them."  Some purposes in waiting can be-
1) God producing humility in us 2) God teaching us to trust Him more 3) purifying us 4)  protecting us 5) strengthening us 6)  maturing us 7) God allowing the excitement of anticipation.  Oh, there are so many more purposes that I could go on and on!  Has this ever happened to you?  While you are praying for a particular situation, your prayer begins to take a turn and you begin to pray with new insight. your prayer goes in a different direction then it did at the start.   It could be that the Holy Spirit began to give you a different perspective than the one you had at first. While we are in that waiting room our perspective can change even though the circumstances don't!

QUOTE

The height of our joy depends on the depth of our thankfulness. 
John Piper 

QUOTE

It is never too late to be what you might have been.
George Eliot

An Unexpected Gift

God is our refuge and strength an ever-present help in times of trouble
Ps.46:1
I was given an unexpected gift.  Something the Lord wanted me to have during a time in my life that probably would rank very high on my list as the most challenging and sometimes frightening time of my life.  But God's love never fails and He is an ever present- help in times of trouble...............

Several months back, my friend Cheri gave me a book to read.  Little did she know that unexpected gift would bring me great comfort week after week, month after month of many hours sitting in a waiting room for my Drs. appointments.  This endearing book is titled Stepping Heavenward by Mrs. E. Prentiss.  Written like a journal, it's a young woman's personal journey to godliness.  The young woman, Katherine begins her journal on January 15. 1831 at the age of sixteen and continues to her grown-up years.  Her words are heartfelt as she learns a great lesson that true happiness is found in giving of your time and yourself to others.  She learns humility, godliness and how to have hope in what seems to be a hopeless situation.  You see her mature through all her failures with a deep desire to know God and to be more dependent on him.
Is the Lord using difficulties in your life to cause you to be more dependent on Him?  That's what He was doing in my life and in the midst of my difficulty the Lord gave me an unexpected gift from a friend ;~)

QUOTE

Recession is when a neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours.
Ronald Reagan 

Put on Love

With Valentine's Day coming I have been thinking a lot about love and how it can be best expressed.  In God's word we have a picture of how it's lived out practically in our lives.              
1 Cor. 13:4-7
1. "Love is patient."  By an act of our will we can be patient even when things don't go the way we plan.
2. "Love is kind." Kindness will draw people to us.  Sets the atmosphere in our homes.
3. "Love is not jealous."  Isn't afraid of the loss of someone's affection.
4. "Love does not brag."  It doesn't try to make things look better than they really are.
5. "Love is not arrogant."  Considers the possibility that we could be wrong and isn't defensive.
6. "Love does not act unbecomingly."  Does nothing out of place.
7. "Love does not seek its own."  Consider others as more important than themselves.
8. "Love is not provoked."  Is not easily irritated.
9. "Love does not take in account a wrong suffered."  Does not bring up the past and replay bitter thoughts in their mind.
10. "Love does not rejoice in iniquity but in the truth,"  Doesn't provoke anyone to sin but encourages others to do good.
11. "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." Doesn't give up easily, isn't suspicious of others,is optimistic, remains strong through trials.

Quote

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less.
C.S. Lewis 

Doing less is sometimes more

But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.  Luke 10:42
 
 Some of you are aware that I have been out of sorts lately. The flu turned into a bronchial infection, which then caused my ear drum to rupture etc.  Being sick in bed for 2 weeks has taught me a few things.  First lesson~ God is my sustainer.  I truly can find strength under His wings.  Second lesson~ When my body is doing less, God can be doing more.  Every ministry opportunity I had was canceled due to my being too ill to physically carry them out.  These were ministries near and dear to my heart.  But the Lord began to open my eyes and give me a glimpse into His perspective.  What if I stopped focusing on what wasn't taking place instead of what was.  So, what was taking place?  Intercessory prayer.  This is the ministry the Lord has ordained for me these past few weeks.  He is taking the Martha things away and asking me to do the better things like Mary did.  Not to say those things Martha did were not good, but we tend to do the Martha things because we have the physical ability to do them.  There comes a time when physically we can't do it all and slowly our ministries get taken away so that we have time for the greater things ~ prayer.  Can a bronchial infection be God's grace?  Yes, we can spend a significant amount of time with the Lord when we are ill because we will find ourselves in a place where there are no distractions.  Are you in a place where you feel hindered in doing ministry?  The Lord may be preparing you for the greater things, wanting you to dig deeper into His word so that He can show you things of Himself that you have never seen before.  Wanting you to do intercessory prayer in these last days where the spirit of the age is growing darker and darker.  So, let's not focus on what isn't taking place- but what is.

QUOTE

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him~ Jon Piper

A New Song In MY Heart

One remark that is often said to Christians from a non-believer is " you Christians can't do anything"  Your life is too restricted you can't even drink.  It's not that a Christian can't drink but it's that we don't want to drink.  I don't drink because I have a new song in my heart, a new life in Christ  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new. 2 Cor.5:17   The price for our salvation, paid by the Lord Jesus Christ. was the greatest ever paid for anyone.  My new life now consist of wanting to please him and not myself.  Why put old wine into new wine skins.  We have liberty in Christ- the liberty not to drink.  Now if a Christian were to have a drink with friends one night it doesn't mean the next morning they would have their name written out the book of life.  What I'm saying is, for me it's worth giving up the things of this world because Christ has given me so much.  A Christians mind set should be how can I give the most glory to God.  How can I build up others and not be a stumbling block.  We have liberty in Christ- but it is limited by love.

QUOTE

If you ask God to use you mightily, you're asking God to injure you profoundly~ A.W.Tozer

We all have a cross we must bear

And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27

How do you handle it when God does not answer your prayer in the timing you think He should?  In Genesis 16, Abram and Sarai mixed faith with unbelief in their attempt to hurry along the promise from God of a son.  Because Sarai was still barren at the age of 75 she persuaded Abram to take her maid servant Hagar as his wife.  When Hagar conceived, Sarai was despised in Hagar's eyes.  Now lets stop there.  What was Abram and Sarai thinking??!!!  Well, it was a custom in that day to have your maid servants bear children for you if you were barren.  So they went along with the customs of their culture.  Abram and Sarai bought into the lie that because something worked it means it must be true or because it was accepted it must be right.  Wrong thinking leads to wrong actions.  As believers we face the same temptations today in waiting for God to answer our prayer or the fulfillment of a promise.  We all have a cross to bear and barrenness was one of Abrams and Sarai's.  Abram believed the promise of God to give him offspring but came up with a worldly solution.  We are guilty of that as well because, lets face it, sometimes we just don't want to bear our cross any more.  We become weary, impatient, frustrated. We stop praying and start justifying, manipulating and we try to remove our cross our selves.  It was a surprise to me when I first realized that it's not up to me to remove my cross.  In God's perfect timing He will remove it.  A part of our exercise of faith is to submit, wait and surrender our will in order for His will to be accomplished in our lives.  When we are confused about a situation or in need of wisdom the Lord is gracious to give us assurance when we ask in faith.  "If any of you lacks wisdom,let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him"  James 1:5 

Friday's Quote

The happiest people aren't those who have the most, but those who need the least.

Porches

When we purchased our home in 1989 it wasn't the recent updated new floor tiles in the foyer, kitchen and bathrooms, the ceramic counter tops or the spacious recreation room that I fell in love with.  Nor was it the walnut kitchen cabinets or the built in vacuum system.  Not so desirable today because you see everything eventually gets outdated.  But there is one thing in my house that I was smitten by and that I will never find out dated and that is my front porch. I love sitting along with my hubby in the Adirondack chairs he surprised me with on our wedding anniversary a few years ago.  Many times we have sat in those chairs on our porch during a summer evening sipping iced tea in a mason jar.  (tea seems to taste better in a mason jar) I read an article that said in the late 1800's, front porches of all sizes graced the majority of houses built in the U.S.  Don't see as many today.  Porches are so charming aren't they?  Southern hospitable, inviting. welcoming are words that come to mind.  It's the first thing a guest will see when walking up to your door and makes the first impression about your home.  When we walk up to a clean and inviting porch or front door area it can be so uplifting.

At the start of every new year my porch is always in need of a good cleaning and sprucing up.  How is your porch or front door area looking?  It only takes about 15 minutes to tidy up your porch and make it more welcoming.  Step outside with me and lets survey our porches to see what we need to do to tidy them up and make them more inviting.  Here's a list of things we can do:
1. sweep porch
2. clean cobwebs
3. clean door and windows
4. prune back bushes and plants.  pinch off any dead leaves or flowers in potted plants.  Replace if needed.
5. clean porch light and touch up with paint if needed.
6. wipe down hand rails
7. wipe down furniture,  tables and chairs
8. remove cobwebs off door wreath
9. sweep off door mat
10. remove any items that don't belong

If you need to make your porch more welcoming maybe you could add a wreath on the door, a new welcome mat, buy a new porch light or place a potted plant or flowers next to the door.  Just a little effort can make a huge difference, it can make something ordinary into something extraordinary!

Quotes

I have been collecting quotes for over 25 years.  Notebooks filled with quotes from pastors to favorite authors. I have two chalkboards in my kitchen, one is for the weekly menu and the other is for pearls of wisdom.  So I thought it would be fun to share some of those quotes with you on Fridays post.
 

 I used to pray for God to give me lighter burdens
 I now pray that God give me stronger shoulders

Happy New Year!

So, what do you think about New Years Resolutions?  Do you make one each year only to find just days later you have already failed at keeping it?  My guess would be that happens to pretty much everyone.  It's good not to give up hope.  Hope is looking forward to something good happening in the future.   Also it pays to plan ahead.  It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark!