a bumpy ride with a stable partner

Well, it has been a while since I've been here. Didn't realize it had been so long. 

Quite the title don't you think? On March 12 my mom had a stroke and fell down 13 steps, head first face down. Quite the wake up call from my dad that morning. When EMS arrived, they suspected a stroke. When we got to the ER, this was confirmed and appropriate actions we taking place. As awful as it was for my dad to find my mom at the bottom of the stairs thinking she had died, it was a blessing because we called 911 right away and she was able to receive the "stroke reversing" medication in time (TPA - needs to be given within four hours of last "normal"). The effects of the stroke were reversing within 30 mins of her getting the medication.

This journey has definitely been bumpy for all of us and a bit frustrating for my mom. But from that very day this all happened we had a partner, a Partner that never left her side and sustained us all through a horrific experience. That night or the next morning, can't remember, the Lord popped a verse and three chapters of scripture into my head. I had learned many years ago to always grab a Bible or write the verses down because I know God is trying to tell me something. Well, that morning the "something" He was trying to tell me has brought hope and encouragement to all of us since we read it and as we continue to read it and remind each other of it. The verse was

Isaiah 40:20

"so that people may see and know,

may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
    that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

I felt sure God was trying to tell us all that my mom’s recovery would be so amazing that people who learned of her stroke would only see God. So far that has definitely been true. All of the medical personnel involved with my mom’s care are amazed at how quickly she is progressing given the location of her stroke and the deficits she has faced and continues to face.

Along with this verse, I was led to read Psalms 91-93. There is too much in those chapters to quote everything but needless to say we found much comfort in them. I hope I don’t forget how my mom laid in her ICU bed, closed her eyes and soaked in the words as my Bible app read those passages to her. The voice was deep and the words soothing as we both listened to the comforting balm of God’s holy words as we held each other’s hands.

God does not always choose to rescue us from disaster or heartache, but He promises to be there for us and with always. He promises to be our ever present help in time of need. We must not become so overwhelmed by the circumstances that we are going through that we do not hear or listen to the whispers of the Holy Spirit, as He tries to bring comfort, hope and direction in our time of need.

WHOOSH! into the wilderness with you!

I would love to have a conversation with someone about the verses I’m going to share. My mind has been spinning in a good way since reading it this morning. I have this app for my phone from YouVersion named the Bible. It is one of my favorite apps – I have many apps. What I love about this app is

•  It has the Bible if you want to look something up
• It has reading plans
• It has the ability to read the verse or chapter to you,  perfect for driving
• Verse of the day
•  Bookmarks
•  Notes
•  A notification prompt so you don’t forget to read your Bible

It’s probably not attractive to advertise on your blog but this app has helped my family and friends remain in the Word daily and to also begin an important habit of being in God’s Word. There is no better or more helpful habit than to be in the Word of God and to learn about our Lord Jesus Christ and His love for each of us. Commercial over J

My reading today comes from the reading plan – Devotions for Lent from the Holy Bible. I began today reading in Mark 1. One of the things I love about reading the Bible – God’s living Word – is I can read a passage I have read before and have something from it strike me as something profound and new. What struck me this morning in my reading was Mark 1:11-13:

“And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’  The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.  And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan.”

Here Jesus, in an act of obedience and example to the people He came to rescue, gets baptized by John the Baptist. God the Father publically pronounces His blessing and love for Jesus and

 WHOOSHH!

The Spirit drives Him out to the wilderness for forty days to be tempted by Satan, himself. Not exactly the response many of us would expect after such an act of obedience and blessing from the Father himself. After this intense time of temptation, Jesus was ministered to by the angels and His ministry began.

We have no idea what plans Christ has for us. But we do know that His Word promises His presence (Hebrews 13:5), His help (Psalm 46:1), His strength (Philippians 4:13), and His love (Psalm 103:17). I can’t get the  verse from Jeremiah out of my head, I hesitated to use it because it is often misused but I do believe there is comfort here -  Jeremiah 29:11 “I know the plans I have for you… plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

When your life turns in a direction you were not expecting, a direction that is bringing hardship and /or heartache, do not fear. Christ is with you. He has promised to finish the work He has started in you (Philippians 1:6) and we can NOT know how He will bring about that completion. Hang onto His Word and love. He will not fail you! He may confuse you (Isaiah 55:8-9) but remain faithful and true to the One who remains faithful and true to you.

GOING TO BATTLE

Paul describes to us in Ephesians 6 the armor of God. He takes us through each piece of armor that we have at our disposal as believers in Christ. These pieces of armor are strong and powerful making us ready for any attack of the enemy. You get pumped reading this and even studying it as you learn more about the Roman army which he gets his example from. God’s army is powerful and mighty! Let’s go!

But wait. That is not what he instructs us to do. After he has so greatly described this armor, he tells us to STAND FIRM. We aren’t going into battle in the way we are thinking or have watched in movies. We STAND FIRM and then in verse 18

“…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints…” (emphasis mine)

We are to put on our armor, stand firm holding the ground God gave us and we are to pray. He tells us earlier in verse 12 that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

We go to battle with our spiritual armor, fighting a spiritual battle

• ARE YOU READY'!
• STAND FIRM
• PRAY
• KEEP ALERT
• PERSEVERE
• PRAY

Pray without ceasing

As I’ve been reading and going about my day, the verse 1 Thessalonians 5:17 keeps popping into my mind :

 “pray without ceasing.”

Also I have been following the YouVersion phone app using the prayer plan and in that reading I read through the verses that encourage us to come to the Lord over and over again with our requests and remembering that if a father will give his son a loaf of bread when he asks how much more will our heavenly Father give us.

Remember these things as you pray over our requests. Do not get discouraged when you pray the same thing over and over again for the same person. Jesus honors persistence. His timing is not our timing. What is timely and quick for Him may not be quick for us. Ours prayers are precious to Him, even when He hears them over and over again.

Know to whom you pray

When we come boldly and confidently to the Throne Room with our requests, know to whom we pray. We know we are welcome. We know through the invitation and blood of Christ we are allowed there. We know that Jesus loves us and those we pray for. He promises to never leave us nor abandon us. He is all powerful, all knowing and there is no where we can go where He is not already there (Psalm 139); so when we pray confidently, remember who He is.  Do not pray, “Lord, be with him/her,” “Lord love him/her.” Come with thanksgiving,  praying that those you pray for will know Him and see Him; recognize Him and what He is trying to do for each of them.

                “Lord Jesus, thank you for never abandoning us. Thank you, for being with this person. Help this person to see You, to feel Your presence and know and believe that You are there with them always. Thank You for Your enduring love, help this person to receive Your love and know it is from You.”

Don’t pray that Jesus would be who He already is – He is unchanging. Pray that those who you are praying for will see Him, know Him and believe Him.

“Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before”

The trekkie in me couldn’t resist this line. Now I don’t know Klingon nor do I dress up as Star Trek characters but I love all the Star Trek movies and most of the TV shows. I couldn’t resist J

I know that when thinking of the Throne Room of the Most High God and Jesus Christ the King, other men and women have come to both in prayer, so the “no man has gone before,” isn’t accurate. However, it is an inspiring line. Boldly go to the Lord in prayer, enter His Throne Room and make your requests known to Him. We can boldly and confidently come before the Throne in prayer because we know that we have been invited.

Our pastor recently explained to us that Jesus is so passionate about being in a relationship with us, that He has turned over heaven and earth to make a way for us; much like a child, with the help of parents, will turn over the entire house, car and relatives' houses to find a prized blanket. We are important to Jesus. He has invited us to the Throne Room to be in relationship with Him and to talk to Him; so come boldly. Do not come cowering, afraid and shaking, unable to look Him in the eyes. You have been invited. Jesus has died on the cross and shed His blood so that you and I may be clean and able to enter into the presence of the Most High God. He has made a way. Come!

Some may come with timidity, with a slow pace and bowed head. The Bible says Jesus is the lifter of my head (Psalm 3:3). We come with reverence, humility and/or timidity, heads bowed. Jesus meets us and lifts our chins to look us right in the eye. What do we see in His eyes? We see kindness, love and joy. We have come. We have accepted His invitation not just for salvation and forgiveness from sin but also for relationship. Jesus has offered salvation but also relationship. He loves us and He wants to spend time with us. In His eyes we find “welcome, I am so glad you have come.”

Come boldly to the place where you have been invited by the Father and the Son.

Where was Jesus during the Sandy Hook shootings?

“Where was Jesus during the Sandy Hook shootings?”

I believe that Jesus was right there, at the school and in each classroom of Sandy Hook on that day. Why do I believe that? The Bible says that our Father holds the world in His hand; Psalm 139 tells us there is no where we can go where the Spirit of the Lord is not already there. Hebrews 13:5 tells us that Jesus promises to never leave us or abandon us. Where was Jesus that day? Right there in the middle of it.

Why didn’t Jesus stop the shooter from doing those horrific things that day? Why didn’t He prevent that young man from shooting those children and staff at Sandy Hook? I can’t answer that question completely but I can give some thoughts.

·         How often does Jesus make each of us pick up the Bible and read about Him and find the peace and direction that we so often seek?

·         How often does Jesus make us pull into the church parking lot instead of the running errands or sleeping in?

·         How often does Jesus make us stop swearing and using His precious and powerful Name in vain?

·         How often does Jesus make us stop watching, reading and participating in things that do not bring Him honor or do anything good for our own lives or the lives of those we influence?

·          How often doe Jesus make us love Him and follow Him and bring Him honor?

If we enjoy the freedom to choose Jesus or ignore Him or believe that He is not really a part of this world, why do we question His lack of involvement during tragic times like this? The same Jesus, who does not make you or me love Him and follow, did not make Adam Lanza choose Him. Why didn’t Jesus intervene? I cannot answer that question but I can say with confidence that Jesus did many things that day that we will never know this side of Heaven.

So where was Jesus during the Sandy Hook shootings? He was with the teachers and staff of Sandy Hook as they had the presence of mind to hide those children and in some cases stand in the way for those children. He was with those same teachers and staff as they spoke words of encouragement, love and instructions as shots were heard. He gave those teachers and staff strength, wisdom and courage. He brought peace to those children. Where there should have been chaos, crying and screaming there was quiet, love and peace. I will never forget the words of that young teacher interviewed by Diane Sawyer that thought that the last things these children should hear was that they were loved. So she told each of them, “I love you and I am very proud of you.” Jesus was there.

Jesus was there when the father of Emily stood up in front of reporters probably from around the world and proclaimed forgiveness for Adam Lanza and stated that he and his family were praying for Adam’s family because he couldn’t imagine what they were feeling. That father was Jesus in front of all those reporters and in front of the world. I hope that I would be able to so quickly display love, grace and forgiveness so soon after such a horrific time in my life. He was Jesus in that moment.

Do I wish that horrific day had not happened? MOST DEFINITELY!

But I know Jesus was there.

using the Sword of the Spirit

Over the past few weeks we have looked at the verses in Philippians 4:4-7 in terms of your own heart as you pray for others. Today I want to flip that around a bit and give an example of how to pray these same scriptures over someone or yourself in times of need. What does it mean to pray over someone? Prayer in my mind is a way of bringing Christ and His Spirit into a situation, an invitation into someone’s life and even your own life. Our prayer is like a spiritual covering, blanketing that person or yourself with peace, love and power through the prayers you pray.

Our prayers are also a spiritual battle. When we confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, we will saved (Romans 10:9). At this very time of confession and belief, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us. Therefore, we have a battle between what we would naturally do in our lives and what the Holy Spirit would like us to do. As we fight this battle every day we need weapons. Ephesians 6 speaks of the armor of God. In that armor there is one weapon and it is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. When we go to pray for ourselves or those that requested our prayers, we are going to battle. What better weapon than the Word of God, our powerful sword!

“Lord Jesus, You ask us to rejoice in You and again rejoice. I pray, Lord, that _______ would be able to rejoice at this time. Remind him of Your character and truths he has learned while reading and hearing Your Word. You are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Help him to remember this and rejoice in this truth and other truths he has learned, even if he cannot at this time rejoice in his current situation. Help me to be gentle and loving towards _______ when we meet. Give me Your understanding and love so I might be a help to him, when he seeks it. Thank You, Lord, that You are near and that You are willing and able to help in this situation. Help ______ to know and believe that You are near to him. Open his eyes that he may see evidence of You, his ears that he may hear You and his heart that he may receive the truths and comforts You are sending him and know and believe that You are near. Help him to surrender his anxiety about this situation to You. Remind of Your faithfulness to him in the past, answers to prayers and provisions, so that he may come to You with a heart of thankfulness as he seeks Your help. Right now in the days to come may he be blanketed by Your peace. Peace that he cannot explain that covers him completely. Help ______ to recognize that this peace comes from You, so that once again he may recognize Your provision, even as he waits for You to take care of this problem for him. Help him not to just come to You for a resolution of this problem but to come to You for help, peace, power and comfort during this time. Give him the strength he needs to wait on You during this time.”

Notice that I did not address the prayer request but prayed for the person using this passage of scripture. Many times during our trials Jesus is working on our hearts to perfect us as the Bible explains in many places but also in Philippians 1:6. After you have prayed for the person and his/her heart and ability to receive from Christ what He is trying to send to this person, most definitely pray for the situation or incorporate the request in the prayer as you pray for the person’s heart.

The Word of God is powerful and sharper than a two edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). Use it in strength and power as you pray for yourself and others.

Peace that transcends all understanding

In the past weeks we have been looking closely at each verse in the passage of Philippians 4:4-7. I think that at times it is good to go through passages slowly for better understanding and meditation. The final verse in this passage is something that I believe is accomplished after the previous recommendations have been followed.

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

This is not to say that the peace of God will not find you unless you follow “x,y, and z.” However, in regard to this passage Paul is telling us that as we come to the Lord in prayer in the way he has instructed the result will be a peace that we cannot explain that will guard our hearts and minds.

Wow! Our God is certainly amazing! He asks us to intercede on behalf of others. He tells us how to do it. Then He tells us that He will give us a peace that is indescribable and will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Again I must reiterate here that whatever Christ requires or asks, He also provides the means to do. Remember there was a “disturbance” in their church because of two women fighting. Paul instructs the body to pray. After this church prays in the way Paul suggests, he informs them that they will find peace and protection. And all of this comes from Jesus Christ Himself!

The cares and prayer requests of those we love and serve can, at times, be heavy to bear. We have the possibility of becoming vulnerable to agitation, fear, overwhelming sadness or worry, when we are given prayer requests. We must remember that we come on behalf of others out of love for them and for our Lord. We boldly come before the Throne of God with these precious requests and we leave them right there, at His feet. We are making a deposit, so to speak. We come and give Him the concern and request and leave it at His feet to handle the result. We come concerned and sometimes heavy or even weeping for those we pray for and then how to we leave His Throne Room? We leave with a peace that transcends all understanding that also gives our hearts and our minds protection.

It strikes me that as I read this last paragraph over again, it clearly comes from a woman's heart or at least this woman's heart that so easily empathizes with others. But as I think how my husband may come (I have not asked him if this is accurate), I could see him coming in strength and protection for those he is praying for. He would not come necessarily weeping but ready to do battle. I also can see him leaving still ready for battle and trying to figure out how best to conquer this battle. This person too must leave with peace and protection. The battle is the Lord's. You come in strength ready to go to battle for others, leave the quest at His feet and leave in peace knowing that this General is mighty and strong and will care for His people. When and if He asks for your assistance, you will know it. But your part in the battle at this time is done. You have left the concern at His feet, leave in peace.

"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." Isaiah 26:3

Our prayers are precious to Jesus

Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

There are times when we come to the Lord with prayers and intercessions that we find ourselves anxious about the situation or person we are praying for especially if it involves us and/or someone we care about. Here Paul instructs us to be anxious for no thing.

There is nothing too big for our God, nothing our God cannot handle. He has promised to never leave or abandon us (Hebrews 13:5). He says in His Word in many places that He does listen to us and hear our prayers. Revelations 5:8 and 8:3-4 speak of the prayers of the saints being presented to God in His throne room in a golden bowl as incense. God not only hears our prayers, they are placed in a golden bowl (a place of honor) as incense next to Him for Him to breathe them in and make them a part of who He is. Our prayers are precious to Him. We have nothing to be anxious for because our God cares for us and loves us (1 Peter 5:7). We and our requests are important to Him.

Paul also instructs us to come with thanksgiving. Over the years this part of intercession has become easier for me but when I first started coming to the Lord in the way Paul is instructing us, this part was difficult. I couldn't and still am not always able to come with a heart thankful for the prayer requests I am praying about. Some requests are too painful to be thankful for at the initial time of intercession. But as I prayed through this verse and asked God for clarification it became clear to me that God understood my pain and difficulty in not always being thankful for the trials and tribulations I was praying for. What then started to roll through my mind was the many blessings, times of faithfulness, and answers to prayer God had given to me in the past. These things I could be thankful for. If I could remember and be thankful for past answers and evidences of His faithfulness to me and those I prayed for, I could now come to Him with these current requests with a thankful heart.  

Come to the Throne Room with confidence, hope, gentleness, without anxiety and present your requests to Jesus with a thankful heart knowing and remembering His faithfulness and love for you and those you pray for today.

praying with a spirit of gentleness

Well the next verse in Philippians 4 is vs 5 but I wasn't sure how this might apply to us so I was going to skip it…it didn't feel right. So I looked at this verse a little closer and realized as people committed to pray for others especially if we are part of a prayer team, this verse can definitely apply to us. Prayer requests come from people and people can sometimes get on our nerves especially if they have the same prayer requests over and over again and appear to make no changes. We can very easily get annoyed and impatient with people and  their requests for help. We can even fall into comparing their lives and requests to our own. We are not immune to troubles and needs in our own lives and if someone is struggling with a situation that you would be blessed to have to deal with compared to your own struggles, we can develop the wrong attitude. So are you getting this or am I just rambling?

Remember that Paul started this chapter encouraging the Philippians to pray for two women that were arguing. Okay I’m a woman so I have a bit more freedom here but some women can always be arguing and being unkind to each other! Can you imagine the chaos these women were causing and now Paul was asking the church to pray for them and the situation? Now…

Philippians 4:5 “Let your gentleness (moderation, restraint, or patience) be evident to all. The Lord is near.”

We have just entered the throne room of the Most High God on behave of those who have asked us to pray. We have rejoiced over who He is. Now we come with those requests. We must come with gentleness of spirit, restraint of personal feelings and patience that Jesus Himself has generously bestowed on us. These character traits must be evident to all as we pray and minister to others.

The best part of this sometimes difficult instruction is the last part of the verse – “the Lord is near.” As always Jesus never asks us to do anything that He does not already provide the power to do. Gentleness, moderation, restraint and patience are not always easy but fear not, worry not, despair not! Jesus is near. He is our ever present help in time of need, even if the help needed is in praying for others in a way that brings Him honor and is a blessing to those near us and those needing prayer.

What a wonderful God we serve! Thank You Jesus for Your never ending grace and love towards us. We are a blessed people!

Praying with true hope

Where does our help come from? Our help comes from the Lord the Maker of Heaven and Earth! Praise be to our God, who was and is and is to come!

These are some of the truths we must remember as we bring our prayer requests to the throne room of God, our Savior and King. Through the blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord, we may enter the Holy of Holies, the throne room of the Almighty God with confidence (Hebrews 4:16). We also enter with hope. Hope that comes from the truth that we believe in:

·         We will be heard

·         He will remember our prayers and those we pray for

·         He has our best interest in mind even though His thoughts and ways our greater than ours and beyond our understanding, He has our best interest in mind

·         He brings all things together for good to those who love Him

·         His love never fails

·         He has not nor will He ever forget us or abandon us

The list could go on and on for all eternity. Praise God that He is indescribable.

Our hope does not lie in our ability to understand our God and His ways completely but our hope lies in His Word and His character. Remember this as you pray for yourself and others in your life. Pray hope over yourself and them. Pray that each recognizes, sees, hears and believes in that hope! Difficult times can cloud our hearts and minds and prevent us from remembering to whom we put our trust and why; leaving us feeling hopeless and afraid and angry. Allow God to pour out His hope over you as you pray so that you may pray hope over the people that are having difficulty tapping into hope.

Remember that our hope does not lie in the answer to the prayer and the timing of that answer. Our hope lies in Christ and His power to sustain us and help in our time of need. We have no idea how God will answer our prayers. We have no idea what His exact plans are for those wer pray for. We pray for answers and miracles where these reqests are concerned because we pray to a God of miracles that are alive and strong today! We must, however, remember that our hope does not lie in those answers, miracles and solutions and our ideas of the timing of these things.

          Our hope lies in the God of Creation, the everlasting Father, the One who is enthroned and will remain enthroned forever, Christ who died for us and shed His blood for us that we may live with Him forever in glory! Amen!

Psalm 33

²⁰ We wait in hope for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.
²¹ In him our hearts rejoice,
    for we trust in his holy name.
²² May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
    even as we put our hope in you.

Rejoice

Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, 'Rejoice!'"

Paul is teaching the Philippians to pray for each other, specifically a conflict between two women in their fellowship. This passage, Philippians 4:4-9 has been used many times in the teaching about interceding for each other and also for ourselves. I would like to spend some time here over the next few weeks, as we take the requests to the Lord in our prayer times .

As we pray, it is sometimes difficult to rejoice. The requests and situations are sometimes overwhelming and heartbreaking. We may find ourselves going naturally to how can I hep? Can this situation be solved? We empathize with the person or sympathize with each of them. But rejoice? No, sometimes that never comes until the prayer is answered in some way and some measure of victory is had. Yet, Paul tells us to start out rejoicing. In what are we to rejoice?

                                                   "Rejoice in the LORD... 
                                                                             ALWAYS
                                                                        and AGAIN I say: 
                                                                                 REJOICE!"

Most situations are difficult to rejoice over. But we can and are instructed to rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice over the character and promises of Jesus.

Begin your prayer time rejoicing over who you know Jesus to be. He is our Lord and Savior. He is and will forever be our King. He is enthroned over all the universe - chaos and all. He will be forever enthroned. Nothing and no one can shake that power and authority!

His is a loving, kind, gentle and the bringer of peace. He promises to never leave us (Hebrews 13:5); to be our ever present help in time of need (Psalm 46:1). So as you pray, start out rejoicing in the Lord. Who He is and what He will do these situations!

How to Pray

Excerpt from A Taste of Joy written by Daphne DeMaris and Renee Richter

How to Pray 

Approach with hearts of humility…
How do we come before the throne of grace speaking to a God who is so holy we can’t be in His presence?

We come before Him with humble hearts seeking help from Him who is able to help us in our time of need. Some may say that having humility is not always required to pray but even the decision to pray represents the fact that we realize we can’t do it on our own and we need His help. This is humility in its simplest form.

“Lord, I need you.”
“Lord, this person needs you and I don’t know how to help.”

Even thanking Him for something and recognizing His glory, as when you see nature in all of its splendor. You are realizing in your own heart that this beautiful scene before you is no accident, it required something much bigger. In humility you are admitting there is a higher being, God, responsible for all of this.

Proverbs 3:34 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

With a spirit of humility comes relaxation. Why relaxation? Because as we grow in our walk with Jesus we realize how little we can do for ourselves. When we attempt to care for ourselves and those we are responsible for by ourselves without Jesus and the help He offers us, we get STRESSED. There is no relaxation because we have a job to do and it’s hard. But when we come to the Lord for help in our time of need, every day and every minute of the day at times, we are coming in humility. We are admitting that we need Him and we can’t do it on our own. This humility can lead us to relaxation, if we go to Him and lay it in His more than capable hands. We are no longer facing the demands of this life on our own but with His help and guidance. This dear brother and sister will lead us to peace, glorious peace.

Isaiah 66:12 For this is what the Lord says: “I will extend peace to her like a river.”

How does God represent peace? __________________________

Better: What does peace look like for you? _________________

Doesn’t that sound glorious? We don’t get a little taste of peace to whet our appetite, we get the whole river! So the next time you think you can handle this life and its demands on your own, do a peace check and remember to come to the throne of God with humility. Then turn around and dive into your river of peace. It’s been waiting for you.

so where is the hope?

Looking at the news and the circumstances of our lives can be overwhelming and devastating. But the news or our circumstances is not where our hope lies. Our hope comes from the Lord, the maker of Heaven and earth. We must look to scripture and the Lord Jesus Christ or we miss finding peace and hope in a dismissal world.

This world is like a storm twirling out of control and never ending. It’s one thing after another with no end in sight. We can become hopeless in our helplessness or we can bury our heads in the sand or try to focus on our own lives especially, if our circumstances are currently manageable and maybe even good. Eventually, the circumstances of current events will affect you and your head will have to come out of the sand…what will you do? Where will your hope come from?

Our only hope rests with Jesus and the scripture He has given us and the Spirit He has provided to lead us to the hope we so desperately need and seek.

What does scripture say...

"nothing can separate (the children) of God from the love of God" Romans 8:35-39

"I will never leave you or abandon you" Hebrews 13:5

"I can endure all things through the power of the one who gives my strength." Philippians 4:13

We may never understand why the Lord allows tragedies and trials in our lives but we can be assured that in the midst of them He is always with us; and through Him and in Him there is always hope and love.

Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

He is our hope and miraculously we can also have joy and peace in the midst of our storms/trials. He promises this for us. We just have to choose to believe. But what if we cannot believe? What then?

You ask for help. The father in the New Testament went to Jesus when his son was sick. He had heard that Jesus could help and had helped others but he had doubts. He asked Jesus to heal his son and then he asked Jesus to help his unbelief. What happened? His son was healed. (Mark 9:24)

What can we take away from this? Will Jesus always heal our sick loved ones? Not always but belief is needed when asking Jesus for help, but even in our unbelief and doubting, Jesus meets us there. (the father mentioned earlier and even Thomas after the resurrection was not rejected but met by Jesus with love and understanding, NOT shame.)

Christ and His Word is our only hope in these times and the times to come. Seek Him and His scriptures, you will find it.

Deuteronomy 4:29 “you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

So where does that leave us?

Will you believe the scriptures?

Will you trust in the Lord?

In the midst of our storms both personal and social, He can bring hope; not the hope that things will change, necessarily, but the hope that He will be there with each of us in the midst of it - loving us and giving us the strength we need to get through it. In that strength and hope, we find peace and joy.

Joy is in the Lord Jesus Christ and who He is.

Praise You in the Storm - Casting Crowns

Does mercy expire?

How long do the mercies of our Lord last before giving way to disciple and justice?

He is the Lord God Almighty, who is and was and is to come. He is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega. He deserves our respect, our reverence and our love – John 14 tells us to love Him is to obey Him. It is not enough to simply say,

“Yeah, I believe in God, a higher power.”

“Yes, I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins
and I accept His gift of salvation.”

He calls us to more than that. Yes, believing in a higher power can lead to a knowing of Jesus and eventually a belief that He is the only way to heaven and that He died on the cross for our sins to save us from sin. This is a foundational belief of evangelical Christians and the message of the Word of God. But as you read on in the Bible and grow in your knowledge of God and who He is and what His Word says, that belief is only the beginning. His character, who He is, demands respect, love and obedience.
Thank God there is mercy and grace to save us from our treacherous hearts that deceive us into disobedience against our Lord. Thank You, Lord, for the blood of Jesus that covers all of our sins forever more. What a truth to hold unto but….

How long will the mercies and grace of the Lord last before He determines that judgment and discipline are needed? He is the Almighty God and He does not tolerate disobedience. He tells us over and over again that to love Him is to obey Him. He speaks of it in the histories of the Bible. We are reminded of it in the songs of the book of Psalms. We see the justice and discipline of the Lord in the prophetic books of the Bible and Jesus Himself teaches us this in the New Testament Gospels and then the apostles themselves remind us over and over again, that our proclaimed love for Jesus must lead us to obedience – an acting out of our faith.
How long can we as a nation, as a people, as a world ignore the messages of Truth that the Lord has for so long been telling us? He loves us. He planned to send His Son to die for us while we were yet marinating in our sin. Jesus Himself tells us that following noble laws and a good way of life is not enough we must believe in Him and be willing to sacrifice our precious things to Him. He requires that He be number one in our lives and all else comes after Him and our love and obedience to Him. Have we done this? Can we do this?

We have seen and heard of tornados, tsunamis, earthquakes, fires, draughts, ripping winds, volcano eruptions, mud slides, floods, hurricanes, famine and disease plaguing our countries and our world. In the past we read that God used these disasters to get our attention to get us to return to Him, to obey and love Him as HE asks and as HE DESERVES. How long will we go on our merry way depending on His mercy and grace and thinking that these warnings aren’t for us?

In Revelations we hear from John that Jesus spits out the church that is lukewarm in its existence. We cannot amble by in life just believing in Jesus and not obeying and loving Him as HE deserves. Discipline will come. God tells us in Hebrews that the discipline comes to those that God loves. Those who believe in Jesus and His gift of salvation are called the children of God. What does the Bible teach us that God does for His children? HE never gives up on them. HE continually calls them to Himself and protects them, lavishes love and blessings on them in ways we can never imagine BUT He does not tolerate disobedience and disrespect of Himself. He will warn us and will call us back to Himself through prophets (speakers of the Word of the God), teachers of the Word of God and messages from His Spirit that lives inside the hearts of His children and hovers over the earth guiding people to Himself. If we continually ignore His messages and choose to live lives apart from Him and following Him in obedience. Justice and discipline will come. Mercy and grace is not gone, they can’t be gone because they are a part of His character but they will be set aside for a time while justice and discipline come to those who ignore Him and His ways. And after justice and discipline have had their time, mercy and grace return and we again have an opportunity to run to Him and be bathed in His love and once again feel the joy of His blessing and provision.

Children of God do not test His love and patience. Listen to the Words He is calling to you. Obey Him as He deserves. Mighty is our God and mighty is His love but He deserves our complete love and obedience and reverence.
Will you lay down your idols – those things that keep you or distract you from loving Him well, obeying Him as He requires? The greatest commandment according to Jesus is to love the Lord your God will ALL your heart, with ALL your soul, with ALL your mind and with ALL your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. Are you doing this? Am I doing this? This is what He requires.

So where is the hope? How can this be done? Might as well just give up after that impossible admonition…NEVER!!!

We do NOT live this life in our own strength.

What God requires He also PROVIDES.

We call upon the Name of the Lord and the power of His Spirit to help us in this path of obedience and love and

HE WILL PROVIDE!

We, the children of God have the same power in us through the Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead (Ephesians 1:19-20). Much is required of the children of God but much is waiting to be given to us as well. Rise up precious daughters and sons of the Holy God. Use the power that lives within you and that cannot be taken from you and love the Lord your God with everything you have and the strength that is given to you by the Sprit of Jesus that dwells in you. Our God is the God of the impossible, ask and watch the impossible lived out in your life.

NEXT!

“Yes, I can forgive you. Your sin isn’t so bad. NEXT!”

“Hmmm…yes, your sin is forgiven,” as He eyes another person down the line with a long stare. “NEXT!”

“Well, you…I remember you…hmmm…your sin is a tough one…” more long and thoughtful stares and contemplation. “Yes, your sin is forgiven. But it was close. NEXT!”

“Oh…,” big sigh, a long look at me, as He sizes me up and thinks hard. “Yes, yes, yes. You. I have been waiting for you…mmmm. What do I do about you? Your sin is a doozy! I’m just not sure about your sin.” More sighs as He says, “Well, well, well…I’ll get back to you… NEXT!”

Thankfully this is not the picture of how God hands out forgiveness! Jesus’ blood covers it all, past present and future sins. None is too great or horrible to cover. It’s done. The forgiveness has been issued. We just have to believe and receive. And our sin is covered forever from the moment we believe and receive the gift of forgiveness made possible by His death on the cross.

It’s like God has created this great coat that is already made perfectly and hanging on a hanger for each person to receive. This coat is awesome because it changes colors and designs based on our needs. It is light and insulated at different times depending on our location and need. This is the last coat you will ever need and suits you perfectly but not everyone believes in its value or knows it’s there. On the day that each person hears that it is available; they chose whether they will walk away with it. Some quickly take it realizing its value. Some contemplate its worth and choose to decide later. Some look at the coat they are already wearing or know they have one in their closet and think, “I’m doing fine. I don’t really need this.” Others think, “This coat is ugly or useless,” and turn their backs and never think about it again.

Nothing changes about the coat, itself. Once it was created, it was offered and will continue to be offered for a very long time; not indefinitely but nearly. It will always meet your need. It’s waiting; you just need to take it.

When Christ died on the cross, our sin was taken care of. Forgiveness was available and complete, no matter when the sin or what the sin. It was finished. The only thing remaining is your choice to take what is being offered.

Have you? Will you?

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not die but have everlasting life.”

Romans 10:9 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

OUCH!

A dear friend responded to my last post “OUCH! Thanks for the reminder!”

That’s a bit how I felt when writing that post and reading that portion of my Bible study – Discerning the Voice of God. I don’t remember all I have written over the last year and half but it is pretty safe to say that what I have posted has been messages I felt God was teaching me at the same time I was writing them. I too felt an "ouch" when first thinking of that last post. But ouches can be good. Sometimes we need something prickly to get us out of our rut of habits and misdirection.

I opened up my Bible study again this morning and read a quote by Jim Cymbala, pastor at Brooklyn Tabernacle of New York:
"Our spiritual ear will never be sensitive to His voice if we have a personal agenda to which we are already committed. God leads and speaks to the humble who have surrendered their plans and want to do His will. With an ‘open heaven’ and a surrendered will, we will be able to clearly hear God’s voice in our hearts.”

According to Pastor Cymbala's quote, to hear the voice of God in our hearts we must be more dedicated to God's plans in our lives and live a life surrendered to Him.

A verse has been popping up in my head for the last week or more and even more since writing that post. James 5:16 “the prayers of a righteous man availeth much.” A reminder of righteous living from Beth Moore, a righteous person does not willing or purposefully sin against God. We cannot ever call ourselves sinless but we can be living in such a way we where we are not purposely ignoring the leading and directions of Jesus, His Word and His Spirit.

I have also been praying for quite sometime to “hear” Jesus’ voice as I once did and to be able to pray effectively for others as I once did. These are some of the answers I have been getting: hear My voice, obey My voice immediately and listen some more. Basically it comes back to John 14:23
“…if anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching…”

I say I love Him, I must obey like I’m supposed to – immediately and completely. I want to hear Jesus' voice, so I must live a life surrendered to Him and His plans. I want my prayers to be effective and powerful for Jesus and His people, so I must live a righteous life.

What about you? Do you want to recognize the voice of Jesus in your life? Do you want your prayers to avail much?

“We must trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus.” (A quote from an old hymn.)

Thanks for being on this journey with me!

I said, “Do it NOW!”

Wow does that phrase bring back some memories…cringes…sassiness….LOL! It also brings back some memories of what I have had to say to my own children now that I’m the parent. Quite a phrase huh?

Although, I believe Jesus does not speak to us in this way and definitely has more patience with us than I do with my kids, I wonder if sometimes He knows my stubborn heart so well, this exclamation is required to get my attention; just as my parents did.

I have been doing a Bible study by Priscilla Shirer titled Discerning the Voice of God. This week’s study is about responding to God’s voice and today was about responding immediately. She shares a story of being in a relationship in college and seminary that God had clearly told both to end. Neither wanted the relationship to end despite God’s clear direction. The gentleman in the relationship eventually listened to God’s leading and ended the relationship. Priscilla shares how much heartache she suffered by not obeying God immediately and how much regret she had when she realized that the man she is now married to was going to her church while she was resisting God in her previous relationship. She potentially lost precious time with her husband because of her unwillingness to obey God immediately.

She followed up this story with an example from the Bible (Abraham and Isaac – Genesis 22:2-3) and a question for her readers: Has the Lord given you instructions this week to which you have taken too much time to respond? Let’s just say that my instructions were not this week and I had a couple that I could have listed. But the one I thought of almost immediately was this blog.

Last week I received a comment on my email from someone who had read my last blog. It was posted so long ago I’m not sure of the date off the top of my head. The comment was positive and this anonymous reader had been sent to my blog by a friend. I had also received a comment on the same blog post maybe two or three weeks ago. These comments pleasantly surprised me and encouraged me. Maybe I shouldn’t have stop posting.... I had allowed my schedule to keep me from posting regularly and then allowed some discouragement about lack of comments and visits to my blog to keep me from doing what I know God wanted me to do. I had not responded immediately like He wanted three weeks ago and not last week, so when reading this chapter in my study I decided that it required immediate attention. Hopefully by being so honest with you, my readers and those trying to be or thinking about being in relationship with Jesus, I will be held accountable to posting like God has asked me to do. We don’t know the plans He has for us, nor do we always know the plans He has for our required obedience. I have to remember that my obedience or disobedience effects more than just me. Selfishness…maybe a topic for another post, I guess I don’t realize how selfish I can be with my time and my decisions.

Priscilla made another very good point that actually prompted me to write this blog. “God speaks with perfect timing. Our response should be immediate obedience.” (pg 114)

As we complain and cry over God and His plans and awful timing, could it be that the poor timing is due to our poor response time? Something to think about...

Has the Lord given you instructions this week to which you have taken too much time to respond?