food for thought

And the devil said to him, "I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whom I wish. Therefore if you worship me it shall be yours." Jesus answered him, "It is written, You Shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only." Luke 4:6-8

So, the Questions are: what are we wishing for?, what or whom are we worshipping?, and whom are we serving? Self is probably a correct answer to each question for a great number of us. Let's face it, we do not enjoy being uncomfortable, we are always looking for bigger, better, and easier. Most of our homes are filled to the brim with so much stuff we can't find anything, so we think we need bigger houses to store all our stuff. The lure is intoxicating and the weight is crushing to our very souls. The irony here is that someone must labor to pay for all these things; and yet we wonder why we are so busy and miserable. To quote Shakespeare we have become like Lady Macbeth " out, out, you damned spot", stained in the consequences of our own sins. We have dug this hole and how do we climb out? Seem impossible? it is! We have no strength, no wisdom, no common sense of our own. We cannot will ourselves to climb out, but that is just what we try to do. Like mice we jump right back on that treadmill working as hard as we can to end up nowhere except exhausted! Sounds like the life I work so hard to live, yet I somehow find it the greatest challenge to surrender, give it ALL up, to admit I cannot manage; that I have failed. I must be joking here, or I must be mad to do such a thing. The rich man asked Jesus, what shall I do to receive eternal life? When Jesus told him and he said "I do these", Jesus said "you lack one thing. Go sell all you have and come and follow after Me." The rich man was heartbroken and turned and walked away. We are that rich man. Failure is never something we want others to see in us and yet we are here to learn. We must learn to invert the paradigm. If we indeed are saved by the blood of the Lamb, then we indeed have spiritual eyes to see. We do not want to see our reflection because... well it's not so pretty for any of us. We must be willing to open our spiritual eyes and see through the eyes of Christ, having great joy in being a failure, letting the world see us with all our imperfections. The world is great at producing masks for us to wear so we don't have to come to grips with our true image. "Every knee shall bow..." We must die to ourselves now to live. Like jumping off the high dive for the first time, we must take the leap not turning back. We will discover the exhilaration of a selfless us, filled with the joy we have been searching for in this materialistic world. We will lose our appetite for possessions because we will have found a much greater joy in the presence of our Lord. Sound tempting , it should because it is the very life Christ Jesus died to give us my friend. Let the devil give all these worldly things to whomever he pleases for it is written " Greater love has no man, than to lie down his life for a friend, and Jesus said " I call you friend." "You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only." Our part is to jump off that high dive each and every day and walk in the presence of the Lord and "He shall direct our path." That's it we must surrender all and not be the sad rich man who walked away.
Are ye able said the Master to be crucified with Me? " Are we willing to put ourselves in the arms of Galilee ? This is the only way my friend to invert the paradigm.
"I surrender all, all to Him I owe , sin has left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow!"

Heavenly Father I pray you will forgive us, you will walk with us and talk with us, grant us favor in your eyes for your Glory alone, may we have the grace to stay centered in You. Grab us when our minds wonder, so we may joyfully acknowledge we are yours in all things. In you Son's Jesus Christ name I pray Amen

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

food for thought

"When He had heard therefore that he was sick, He abode two days in the same place where he was." John 11:6

The sounds of silence. Silence is golden unless... we are desperately needing to hear... test results, the safety of a loved one, and most of all - what God's will is for your life. In case you need that answer, His will is for you to be in His presence, totally abandoned to Him. "He shall direct your paths." Too simple? Need detailed instructions? Sorry, that's all you get, that's all any of us get and yet it is everything, for it is the very presence of God. We all deal with complete surrender each and every day and we either do or we don't. When I am faced with a concerning situation, I may at once pray about it, but rarely does it end there. We pray, then we do every thing humanly possible to find an answer. That doesn't mean we are not to act, there are times we must. You cannot say, "I saw my little one running toward the street, I prayed you would stop him, so I'm done here, right?" We all know that is absurd and we would instinctively save our child from harm. God gave us those instincts for our good and the good of others. We do things instinctively all the time, and God is the director of those instincts if we are walking in His presence and so much of the time, through His grace and mercy for us, when we are not. Where we have a spiritual check here is our worry and impatience for a result. We cannot have peace that surpasses all understanding if we cannot be content without knowing the outcome. The sounds of silence, we must all walk through the deafening sounds of silence without fainting, and we will continue to faint away until we surrender all. Is it well with our soul, when sorrows like sea billows roll? It can be, but the choice is up to us each and every day. Are we willing to step out into the darkness of our faith, lay down our lives and surrender all so indeed it is well with our soul? Does that mean we will not grieve, that we will not experience heartache? No. We all will and have had those experiences, but those who walk in the presence of the Lord have a healer, and a revealer of all things worked out to the glory of God for those who trust and walk with Him. Is it well with our soul? That is the question we all will answer one way or another. You don't get to skip it. And if you ignore it, your answer is no. Let us rise to the occasion of the question with total surrender and we will know what it is to be in the presence of the Lord.

Heavenly Father envelop us, may we be caught up in Your Spirit, being poured out for your glory. Ah, the sounds of silence, may they be music to our ears and peace that surpasses all understanding to our souls. In Jesus name Amen

" Turn your eyes upon Jesus , Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace"

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

I thank God each and every day for the truth He reveals to me for there is no greater joy than to be in the presence of my Lord.

Tolerance or love? You cannot have both!
My Lord is the Lord of love, not love and tolerance. One is life, the other is death. Strong words, I know. Read on.

"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." James 2:10

This verse brings a drowning feeling of helplessness, and it should, for we are the ones drowning. It is a narrow gate that leads to air and it is a breath of Heaven indeed that we so desperately need to live. In our society, in our own lifespan, up to now, we have watched life's moral "bar" lowered. Those who have spoken in defense have been called every name in the book. No wonder very little revival of the heart has come. The water is very deep, and we are drowning in the water of tolerance. Our language and understanding is drowning with our society as well. We have been led to believe that tolerance and love have the same definition. Webster's Dictionary defines tolerance as "the act or practice of tolerating; sympathy or indulgence of beliefs or practices differing from one's own, capacity for enduring or adapting, the allowable deviation from a standard."
Love is defined as "strong affection, warm attachments, attraction based on sexual desire, a beloved person."
God's ways are not our ways. Tolerance and love are not one and the same. America needs to wake up, step up as a nation under God, and with great sacrifice, follow after Christ. It takes great faith in God and we are drowning as a nation. When push comes to shove (which it has), the line is drawn. Which side are we choosing? The world's definition of love as tolerance? Or God's Holy Word as our definition of love? "Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his friend" and Jesus also said, "I call you friend".
By our tolerance, we are not a friend, but by our willingness to lay our lives down. Down to what? I believe many of us stumble here and fall into stressful traps of others' expectations of us. Jesus came only to do the will of His Father, not to live up to someone else's ideas of Him. Jesus did not tolerate sin at all, He came to abolish sin, so "whoever believes in Him shall not die but have eternal life"..."I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me".
I cannot even begin to tell you how many conversations come up in the name of tolerance. I believe it is because that is the question. It is the very line drawn in the sand. Are we going to compromise to give the false impression of love? Are we so brainwashed (deceived) that we believe this lie as a truth? If so, we have decided to drown, not to run the race of a good saint. We have chosen this life over eternal life. Tolerance is not love, it is death. Death to our beliefs and our faith in Christ Jesus.
We all must choose. Either we adapt to this world, or we choose God, there is no two way street here. We choose life or we choose death. Love is sacrifice, it is the laying down of one's life. It is not an ooey gooey feeling of giddy happiness or a puffed up feeling of our acceptance. Jesus did not tolerate sin, but He loved the sinner! Yes, we are to come as we are, so we may lay down our lives. Demanding our own rights is and never was an option. People will always demand and "we are never going to win the war if belief is what we're fighting for" to quote John Mayer. Why? Because it has already been won! "No one comes to the Father except through Me".
Are we living what we profess to believe or are we trying to find a solution in our human mind of reasoning, playing into the hand of the traitor by buying into acceptance and lowering the bar. This is not love, you cannot love as Christ has loved if you tolerate any thing other than Christ. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me", it doesn't get any plainer than that. Now, what is the question? We are to love as Christ has loved, and dying to ourselves is the only way we can experience true love for others. Tolerance or love? You decide. But they will remain on the opposite sides of the great divide.
"I have decided to follow Jesus, I have decided to follow Jesus, I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back."
Heavenly Father, burn these words upon our hearts. Kindle the flame within us so that we may share eternal life by the dying of our selves for You alone. Let us know the incredible joy of the laying down of our life for a friend. In Christ Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Love to all in Christ Jesus. C:)

Food for thought

All I want...

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth. If we grew up celebrating Christmas we have heard and probably sung that song. All I want for Christmas? We are probably asked what we want and yet few ever give the answer God is waiting to hear. Not because we don't desire it but because our focus has shifted. God desired a relationship with us so much He gave us His Son! " For unto us in the city of David a Savior is born."
The world has taken over the Holy celebration of the birth of Christ our Savior, and if you think that's a pretty picture, go out and fight traffic and crowds for a day. Just live up to the legalistic expectations we have let Christmas become. The hustle and bustle has nothing to do with our Savior's birth and the word 'Christmas' is being pushed out by a money hungry, materialistic society to 'Happy Holidays it's all about you!" Today we are so busy buying things to show people we love them, we lose our focus. We should do all things in love, including gift- giving and celebrating Christmas, yet it has lost its joy and has become a stressful time of year for most. How sad is that? Satan can only rob your joy if you let him. One more bit of info: those sales you are willing to throw your back out over standing in lines for hours are not sales! The price tag is much, much higher, it is just not written on the price tag. We ask for so many things, even spiritual things like wisdom, strength, discernment, ... yet we want them on our own time. If we are honest, we know this to be true, and we miss the one thing that Jesus, God's son, lived and died to show us- His relationship to His Father and that alone. He came to do the will of His Father and only God His Father was the focus of our Savior! "I have not come to judge the world but to save it, so whoever shall believe in me shall not perish but have eternal life." Every thing He said and did was blameless and Holy; His focus never left His Father even into His darkest hour! " Father Father, why has Thou forsaken Me? God never left His Son. On the contrary, God allowed Jesus alone to die for our sins so it could be said " It is finished". There are times we too feel like our Father has forsaken us, He has not, nor will He! Our concentration has slipped and we must put it back on the the cross. That is where our strength is to sustain this life. All we want for Christmas is to stay centered on Jesus, whether we realize it or not. God's heartbreak is our life! Let me say that again. God's heartbreak is our life! Sobering thought, so let it sink in. "Jesus be my center..." He cannot be if we are not willing to come to Him always. Walk with Him, talk with Him always, leave all else up to Him. He came to die for us so that we could be with Him always! Our Father sacrificed His Son! That is God s heartbreak and our lives would be dead in sin without Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb of God. Only our unconditional love and devotion will do. The choice is up to you. Christmas is a time we celebrate God's greatest gift to us, in the birth of His only begotten Son. There are many feasts and festivals celebrated in the word of God, but this one trumps them all! Refuse to let it turn into "what did you get for Christmas?" We got Jesus! May our hearts be filled with the true meaning of Christmas this year, for unto to us a Savior is born!

Heavenly Father You are our creator and even though we could never be worthy You sent Your Son to live and die so we might know You. All we want for Christmas is to stay centered in Your Son.May we partake in the body of Christ now and always. To God be the Glory forever and ever. In Jesus name we pray Amen. Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

"Where He leads I will follow." R E A L L Y ?... let's look where He leads.
"God is love." We all know this to be true. I'm going to touch on a subject with which all at times struggle, and the holidays are one of those times- Loving our personal lepers. It's depicted in the Bible by casting out the lepers, mainly out of fear and not wanting the spread of leprosy. Fear is totally understandable here but fear and lack of faith walk hand in hand. Jesus loved the lepers and healed them. We all have people in our lives we would like to put on the outskirts of our lives and just pretend they are not there and in the same vein, like it or not, I guarantee we are that person to others. So are we willing to love and heal their hearts? Usually the person we find it hard to be around finds it hard to be around us. Great examples here are in-laws and outlaws, and I never knew there were such things until I got married. The in-laws are the husband or wife's family and the outlaw is the one who married into the family uninvited by anyone except the spouse. The unwelcome guest. As that guest, which we all at some time will experience in one way or another, we are in good company. Even the company of Christ, though that is probably the last thing on our mind when we find ourselves the recipient of the role of the unwanted guest. It is the very nail being driven into our hands and all we can think about is the injustice of it all. We are all who believe "crucified with Christ and yet we live." Now some spouses may be blessed on one side of the family or the other with love and acceptance but in general that is the exception and not the rule. Acceptance and not the rule! That's it! That's what? That's it. Let's see if we can turn on a light bulb here and shed some understanding. Legalism is all rules. We know it is by faith- not works-that we are saved, but the outcome of faith is love and you do not have the one without the other. You cannot have good works without faith, for it will fall short because it is not grounded in the love of God ... God is love! We all desire this unconditional love and yet we are rarely, if ever, filled with it . I believe you cannot get what you do not freely give. We look everywhere to quench this desire for unconditional love and do not even stop to think that unless we are willing to give it, we may not receive it. We expect to receive it from other human beings, and bitterness towards those who hurt us takes root. We must be obedient to the path Christ walked and determinedly root out our bitterness by loving others unconditionally and expecting nothing; only then in return will our wounded hearts start to heal and be filled with joy! Jesus did not keep His Holy Father to Himself, and we are to walk where He leads. Jesus freely gave His very life while we were yet sinners. He was mocked, spit on, whipped, and crucified so we might be partakers with Christ as God's children. Hard to imagine, and worse yet we cannot even seem to accept one another as believers in our own families, how petty is that? Yep, we should all be feeling really good about ourselves right now. Jesus sweat blood but did not hesitate in doing the will of His Father, He loved Him and us that much! How much do you love your family? Enough to make the outlaws in-laws? You cannot love your brother or sister and not love their wife or husband and here's why, "... and the two shall become one flesh." So when we are rude, causing pain to one, we do so to the other. In the same vein if we become bitter against those who do not accept us we are not following where Christ leads. Let the past be the past and not matter in how we treat those who are against us? That's it. It must start somewhere and that somewhere can only be with you. Look with new eyes, spiritual eyes, as family gathers to celebrate the birth of our Savior. Let the past stay where it belongs- at the foot of the cross. Dare to freely give the most precious gift you can ever give, unconditional love. Let love and acceptance shine, give this to Jesus as your gift to celebrate His birth. "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." This is between you and God alone. God will guard your heart, your mind and your tongue in Christ Jesus, but you must desire to let Him. Where He leads will you follow?
Wishing you the gift of unconditional love this Christmas and always, love to all in Christ Jesus. C:)

Food for thought

"By Myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing... that in blessing I will bless thee..." Genesis 22:16-17

"... that in blessing I will bless thee..." " Abraham had reached the place where he was in touch with the very nature of God." O.C. If we are not walking in the fruit of the spirit it is evident we have not reached that place. The fruits of the spirit will be ours only when we take on the very nature of God. God sent His Son, so we might know the way; and we are completely lost without that light. In the old testament the spirit of God was with them but with us through faith in Christ Jesus He is in us. We have God's Son's very nature in us. The Holy Spirit is there to guide and teach us in all righteousness. We know that we know when we are surrendered to the very nature of God. We look with new eyes at this world , we cannot see it the way we used to "... old things have passed away..." We have new desires and new joy. For example let's take Christmas. As a child many of us have wonderful memories of excitement mixed with love and anticipation. As children we were the recipients of this awesome time and place. All was perfect at least for awhile. We were out of school, eating wonderful food, receiving gifts, no wonder it was so magical. You know what comes right after Christmas for parents? Tax season. And the magic of Christmas is gone even for the children. Parents must pay for all the gifts and up coming taxes, it is no wonder Christmas is a stressful time of year for adults. We have commercialized and spent money we didn't have until Christmas has become a burden. Children know when parents are stretched thin by money or time and so does our Father. " I have come so you may have life and have it more abundantly." If Christmas has become a burden, it is because we do not have the very nature of God in us or at least we are ignoring it. I personally love Christmas but last Christmas was exhausting and I must admit it lacked joy . I was so busy with all my ideas and all my plans that I wore myself out. The problem was the nature of myself plain and simple.I do not believe I am alone on this, there is too much evidence to the contrary. The Joy of Christmas is love, but where is it? Certainly not in the consumer madness of the malls and traffic jams. What would you have to do to put on the very nature of God this Christmas? Pray, ask your Father, then submit and be obedient, for I know Christmas would look very different. We will look with spiritual eyes, we will love our families , friends, and strangers in the nature of Christ's love for us. God can love through the body of Christ in so many ways, so turn off or throw away whatever sidetracks you from Jesus and watch as the world grows strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. When the business and stresses creep up on you just stop, be obedient to the true meaning of Christmas, do not let Satan rob you. " For God so loved the world..." God is love, it is about the greatest gift. Let our hearts be filled with the humbling joy and gratitude God so richly deserves as we celebrate the eternal gift of the birth of His Son. I believe as in Genesis 22:16-17 "...because thou hast done the thing...that in blessing I will bless thee." We, like Abraham, are to walk in the very nature of God. Jesus gave His life to show us how. Look forward to celebrating His birth, my friend, it is a Divine miracle indeed!

Heavenly Father give us spiritual eyes to see, and spiritual ears to here, so we may give our gifts of love to the new born King. In Jesus name amen.

"Shall I play for you pa rump a pum pum."

May the simplicity of love be yours, love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

food for thought

"If any man be in Christ he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17

To be honest here I have always struggled with this verse. I still make so many daft decisions. I pop off, react out of my emotions, embarrass myself and others, when I should be silent. I don't mind admitting this because I know for a fact most people can relate. If I were asked what my most embarrassing moment would be, I would be hard pressed to find just one. The same goes for my deepest regret. Now this being said, am I a new creature? The fact I get embarrassed and I have heartfelt regrets is a big indicator. Only you and God know your heart. Paul said" I do the things I know I shouldn't, and fail to do the things I know I should. " Jesus said " You can not love both God and money, for you will love the one and hate the other." Now read these two verses again. We do the things we hate. We do ,we do, and that is the realization we have to come to. We will not will ourselves to change without it. It is an act of will, obedience , sacrifice and love, but here's the best part, when we accepted Jesus as our savior we were given a new heart and we are no longer satisfied with doing the things we hate. We never were, and that is why in this life we have much tribulation. We busy ourselves with things we hate, thinking it is fulfilling and that we like it. We, like Eve, have all been deceived and are guilty. We have all heard sin is fun for a time but it leads to death. Jesus said "I have come so you may have life and have it more abundantly ." It is a free gift yet we choose to be miserable most of the time. As Katherine Hepburn said in On Golden Pond, "Bore, bore, bore, life marches on, Chelsea, and I suggest you get on with it." We are saved by the shedding of the blood of God's only begotten Son, so when the sting of embarrassment or the crush of remorse comes as it will, remember Katherine's words here, acknowledge, repent and get on with walking with Christ. Remorse of the heart, not remorse that we were caught in our actions of human nature is a good indicator "... you are become new." , not you are new but you are becoming new. Let your Father be there for you. I believe He is right there all the time to wrap His arms around us and tell us how much He loves us. Maybe this is what you needed from a parent and seldom got as a child, I don't know. I do believe discipline and love should always be sandwiched. We may suffer the consequences from a bad decision, but rest assured our Father loves us unconditionally and His desire is for us to walk, talk, sit, laugh, and even cry with Him. We could not do any of that had He not sent His Son to die for our sins (the things we hate). Guilt that does not produce heartfelt remorse prolongs our misery because it puts distance between us and God, whereas heartfelt remorse produces humility and the desire to walk in the spirit. If heartfelt remorse does not come easily for you remember "we have not because we ask not. "One must have the faith of a child to enter the Kingdom" "Ask and it shall be given unto you." God's mercy is that He allows our mistakes so in the end we will not miss Him; He loves us that much. God pursues us, not the other way around.
"He lives, He lives, salvation to impart. You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my Heart."
So yes for all who believe we are a new creature, and yes we do mess up but the tell all is this my friend IT IS NOT WELL WITH OUR SOUL! Practice the presence of God, Dad is right there and He is not leaving those who love Him.

Dad please let us be more and more attentive to your presence with us always. Thank You for loving us so much You gave Your precious Son so we might come to You and know You as our Abba Father. May our hearts be lifted and Your Spirit be so evident others will see You. Help us to walk and see, may we have a spiritual life in Thee. In Christ Jesus your Son's name we pray amen.
Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

"Take now thy son..." Gen 22:2

Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for a friend ... and I call you friend." "God's command is take now , not presently. It is extraordinary how we debate! We know a thing is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it at once." O.C. Ouch ouch ouch! It is an act of will and even a greater act of faith , we cannot take now without it. Look at this information-overloaded world, the more we know the more miserable we become. Seriously, how much time do we waste everyday getting informed about the trivial things of life and how much good comes of it? If we are honest and take time to assess the time we waste we might just be tempted to adjust our priorities. "Come to me all who are weary and heavy burdened and I shall give Thee rest." Oh sure God, and I could really use it , just let me take care of a few things first. Heaven help us ; What are we teaching our children by the way we live? What if we walked a humble surrendered life with Christ, you think our children may in fact be able to see what it did for us? Our actions speak louder than words my friends . Being a good debater has always been part of human nature; it is only spiritual when it is surrendered. One might consider Paul the ultimate debater, when he was Saul he debated on his own reasoning he only became great when as Paul he debated with the truth to back him up and not of his own ability. If we are debating with God we do not have truth on our side to back us up. We live in information overload and are very easily led astray, tossed about on the waves of whims,not even realizing our incessant need to be right, so we may justify our lives and the way we live. The saddest words I could ever hear are "I knew you not." I personally debate with God everyday and if the realization of that isn't crushing then I have debated my father right out of my life. "Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel." Paul did not write those words to pertain to him only! Those words were written for us, yet we reason them away. God is talking to us, we are ignoring Him. Just like when you tell a child it is time to come in for dinner and he keeps right on playing. Only you and God can really know what He is saying to you. The question is - do we have what it takes to surrender all right here right now? If you wait and think it is mission work in a far off land, you will be of no use to God there, because you refused God here and now. "Take now thy son..." God's words, not mine. Think about the opportunities God in His amazing grace sets before you every single day and you reason it away by one excuse or another; then thank God for the crushing sting of remorse it produces in the realization. If we do not realize what we are debating, we just might hear the most crushing words of all, "I knew you not." What are you debating about today? Run to Jesus and live and God, not us, shall direct our paths. If we let God drive there is no room for debate with Him. God will lift that crushing chain of debate and our strength will be renewed; we will be free to soar for His glory! The stinging crush goes deep to all who believe, and we are blessed to the uttermost by it. "I have been crucified with Christ and yet I live." We have a choice every moment of everyday. I love the hymn that goes " And He walks with me and He talks with me. He tells me I am His own..." It keeps my focus where it belongs when I think upon it, and helps me from putting on a spirit of guilt and wearing myself out (as I do so often ) in the spirit of legalism. When we let the word (subconsciously even) enter our minds, we know deep down God's direction is clear, yet we do as we please, we my friend will wear ourselves out in legalism; just to try and ease our conscience, and the strength of bondage and death will tighten its grip until it snuffs us out! "... for My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Do we have the faith to run to Jesus and live?

Heavenly Father help us to see where we are so heavy burdened with the spirit of debate that is not grounded in You, let us have eyes to see the death it is causing in us. Let us grow with an unquenchable desire for you alone; to be still and know the great I AM. Refine us Lord so we may shine bright for You , for only then will it be well with our soul. In Jesus name amen.

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord , are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory." 2 Cor.3:18

" A servant of God must stand so much alone that he never knows he is alone." O.C.
I am never alone and I am almost always alone. We interact in this world moment by moment everyday, yet I would venture to say most of us amidst the chaos of busyness feel very alone with our own thoughts and perceptions. When our thoughts turn to ourselves it becomes a very lonely world. Except for the sake of Christ we will not conquer the aloneness of crossing the barren desert by ourselves. We are to make that trek, only as believers we are not alone. "Lo I am with you always." There is our hope and courage: in Christ alone. 2 Timothy 4 16-17 "At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion's mouth." We are every bit alone as Paul seemed to be here, yet Paul's focus was the focus of Christ. Paul writes for Timothy to come quickly, to be of service to him in time of need. Our race will come with many experiences where the coldness of feeling alone will be rushing in. We must run to Jesus and live! Jesus is our peace in the midst of trials. We need to keep our focus so intent on Him my friend that we never live for anything but the outcome of His glory. Do we really believe as Paul did that " The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen"? 2 Tim. 4:18.

When sorrows like sea billows roll Is it well, is it well with our soul?

Heavenly Father I pray that our focus may remain steadfast on Christ Jesus your Son so we may continue to bring you glory by running the good race of the saints, may we so focus on you that our standing alone is not of our concern or knowledge. Your glory alone Lord,Your glory alone. Amen

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

"And He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for our sins only , but also for the sins of the whole world."

Propitiation, of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Jesus is the payment, no more, no less but do we continually believe this? He paid the ultimate price for our wicked, deceitful hearts,so whosoever shall believe in Him, shall be saved. We shall be given a new heart . We live in the flesh and it is a thorn in our side, what we do with it is our part. The decision to live for Christ will look ludicrous to unbelievers and even some believers will not understand where we are coming from , for we are all as believers on the road to sanctification, but are at different places. Do we find ourselves judging others when they do not see what we see or do we keep our focus where it belongs. "What's between John and I is between John and I." None of us want to see the wickedness in our own heart but that, my friend, is exactly what we need to see. We must look straightforward into that crushing humbling mirror so as to root it out. We must realize when we are given a new heart of flesh we will detest our fallen nature. Liam Neeson in Schindler's List saw that reflection after saving many from the Holocaust, for he had a heart for the Jewish people and made a vast difference. So many gathered to thank him for what he had done but when he looked at the expensive car he owned ,he wept bitterly. " I could have done more, I could have done more." Are we willing my friend to see what obstacles are keeping us from doing our all in all for our Lord and Savior? May I challenge you to look deep inside and ask? How much does it mean to me? How much does it mean to me?

Heavenly Father we have but one job and focus , to be about our Father's business. We must preach the gospel in our actions and in our speech ,lest we feel the crushing sting of knowing we could have but didn't. Open our eyes ,ears, and heart so we may be all You designed us to be for Your glory for ever and ever , In Jesus your Son's name amen.

"Are ye able said the Master to be crucified with Me?..."

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

"For necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel. 1Corinthians 9:16

"We are apt to forget the mystical, supernatural touch of God. If you can tell where you got the call of God ... I question whether you have ever had a call." O.C. I don't know about you but whew that is a relief and a truth I think we need to desperately understand. " I have chosen you." "not of our own ability less anyone should boast." It is written , It is written, It is written. I often wonder if Christians don't cause one another to stumble more than those blatantly against Christ. I believe both sides do a great deal of damage. The sad thing is a Christian most likely didn't start out to make a brother or sister stumble. We receive a little understanding and then bam! we want to expand on it with our own rationale. Unless we are walking in the Holy Spirit and He chooses to teach through us I can guarantee we are wrong. If we are honest we have all been there many times. Jesus was tempted for 40 days and nights by satan and he answered him "For it is written." Do we spend so much time in the word my friend that we can answer like this. My children are grown but the most valuable thing I have learned in raising them is that "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching and reproof..." 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Are we not to live as Christ?, who came so we might know how. We discuss issues all the time in the name of being Christ followers, spurting out bits of truth many times with good intentions , but do we know without a doubt it is in the context in which God intended. Is it in the humble spirit of Christ in which we say these things or are we trying to get some one over to our point of view? If we can not say " for it is written" from the knowledge of the Holy Spirit then we may rest assured we need to be in the Word listening and seeking not boasting or discussing. Another avenue where we tend to drift is always listening to radio or t.v. preachers more than getting alone with God. It cannot be a substitute; for our Father desires a relationship with us. Now before you get too riled up I have many ministers I listen to in the car on the radio that have blessed me tremendously and my own pastor is a huge blessing. I want to learn and be taught the Word in the body and alone but the greatest gift we have is the Holy Spirit. For Jesus told His disciples " where I am going you cannot follow ,... I am sending a helper..." Do we access that spiritual door or do we depend on others to do that for us? We indeed are blessed like no other nation as far as I know with servants who walk with Christ and are here to teach us, but it is no substitute for your personal relationship to your Father and we have this through Jesus Christ alone. Let us always pray for discernment and seek the Holy Spirit's guidance. Don't let the spirit of busyness rob the most precious moments of your life. Your time on your Heavenly Fathers lap...priceless! Only then will we be able to start responding to the call, not really having any awareness that we are doing so, but simply delighting in being in the presence of God.

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

" One thing thou lackest...come, take up the cross and follow Me." Mark 10:21

One thing, One thing! less of me, more of you. one thing thou lackest...are stinging words and they are true but it never ceases to amaze me that well-meaning Christians, preachers, friends, parents, family, find it their responsibility to drive this home to us in a thundering,debilitating way. It only leaves the recipients downhearted and discouraged. You rarely see the recipient join in the bashing of themselves. We retreat to the corner to lick our wounds. Oswald Chambers said " If I feel I have done my duty and yet in the process I have hurt someone in doing so , you can be sure it was not my duty, for it did not foster the meek and quiet spirit but the spirit of self satisfaction." Oswald also said " If you are hard and vindictive, insistent on your own way, certain that the other person is more likely to be in the wrong than you are , it is an indication that there are whole tracts of your nature that have never been transformed by His gaze." 2 timothy 3:16&17 " All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequately equipped for every good work." My pastor doesn't insist or rant and rave, he teaches with a humble spirit for which I'm so thankful. And I find myself wanting to posses this humility also. What kind of example are we giving? Are we more concerned that we win people to our way of thinking or are we more concerned with following after Christ. One will shine a light and the other will not. It takes the discipline of taking all thoughts captive, which is conscious at first and one day becomes who we are. One thing thou lackest, we will indeed look like Christ when we lack no more. How can we so arrogantly condemn others when we ourselves are found lacking. It is intimate and between you and God alone. We all lack but in our humility we go to Christ Jesus to be transformed by the renewing of our mind in the word of God. A humbled soul never insists on people agreeing to his point of view, and people are drawn to a humble soul, hungry for the love of Christ. Thundering self righteousness is never right. Do they know we are Christians by our love?

Heavenly Father humble us in your mercy who love you, let us see with your eyes. Let us feel what you feel, root out the arrogance that seeks to destroy us. Let us walk as you walk. Your footsteps we pray to follow , In Jesus Christ our Savior's name, Amen.

Love to all in Christ Jesus. C:)

Food for thought

"If Thou canst do anything , have compassion on us, and help us." Mark 9:22

This little light of mine am I willing to let it shine?

Heads, tails, forward, backward, up, down, we have all heard that opposites attract in people. We see this in some couples we know and often find humor in it; but when it comes to living it out often it is not so funny. We work hard for good times, the parties of life, but if you know someone who truly has peace and joy he has mastered the down times. How do I know? I live with such a person. He has learned to live for them, they are exciting to him for they create a challenge for him to walk the walk of Christ. We have all heard people talk the talk but the walk comes with practice and great humility. We must practice the presence of God if we are ever going to walk triumphantly in adversity, only then will we become servants and blessings to be poured out. Instead of woe is me, we should challenge ourselves to try praising God for the valleys in our life, because if we walk surrendered we will become rivers of living water poured out for others. Jesus said "Love as I have loved." Are we willing to humble ourselves to the walk, or are we only willing to learn to talk?

Heavenly Father help us to walk the walk , please forgive us when we preach one thing and do another for this is not our heart's desire. We pray for the desire of our hearts, so we may live triumphantly with joy in the valleys of our lives. For it is not about us , it is all about You. In your Son Jesus' name Amen

" Turn your eyes upon Jesus , Look whole in His wonderful face, and the things of the world will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

" I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do." John 17:4

" Surrender is not the surrender of the external life, but of the will, when that is done all is done." Oswald Chambers
Not my will but Yours be done. We may say this but the struggle of abandonment is a thorn in our side. Paul said..." I do not do the things in which I want to do, and I do the things that I do not want to do." He understood the battle of the Heart of flesh and the battle of the flesh itself. When we cannot submit to the authorities God has placed over us here; how do we think we are fairing in our ability to surrender all to God? This is a mirror we do not wish to hold up! We desire to please ourselves and that is the very point we grow weary on. Pleasing ourselves takes on many materialistic,legalistic,and pleasure-is tic faces, and they do nothing but fill our bodies with aches, pains and stresses. Jesus said "Come to me all who are weary and I will give thee rest." That is proof that Jesus came for us! are we not heavy burdened with the knowledge that we want this but... but we hold onto our material , legalistic , pleasure-is tic ideas in the way we live. We all live with plenty but we work so hard for more or to keep what we have yet to pay for. James Taylor has a song which goes," more, more, more, give me some more. Some kind of funny look-in money machine I am ." As parents , as consumers , we can all relate. What are we teaching our children by the way we live? We want to think we set the best example we can and yet we are a country of consumers. I do not like that word, for the mirror it holds up does not lie. Oh that my desire would be for You alone oh God, then I would not be torn! but torn is what we have to be . You see we must choose to die so we may live. If only we could see clearly what it is to live! To live as Christ is a pain staking journey that we tarry with by our own disobedience . To surrender our rights to ourselves ( our will) is frightening indeed; but if we believe the word is sufficient for all our needs , it is the only conclusion we can come to. "Oh ye of little faith." These are stinging words and they should be.

Heavenly Father Jesus said "if only we had the faith of a mustard seed, we could move mountains." Reveal our little faith and give us the strength and courage through your Son to go on the path He has walked with renewed faith for Your glory alone . In Jesus name amen.

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 11 Timothy 1:7


"The stamp of a saint is that he can waive his own rights and obey the Lord Jesus." O.C.

Overcoming triumphantly in the midst of persecution is easier said than done...that is if you take your gaze off Jesus at any given moment . Once we take into consideration the unfairness of persecution, our focus has left . You see it is all about the unfairness, and we were chosen by God to be partakers in the crucifixion. We must learn not to crawl down off the cross. Jesus said "Father forgive them for they no not what they do." " While yet we were still sinners , He died for us." "Love as I have loved." I believe Paul could rejoice in persecution because he understood it was all about Jesus and there was nothing he wouldn't do for Him. We can relate on some level when it comes to our own loved ones. Everything that comes against us that is not pure and holy is why our Savior had to come and die; even for our focus that shifts from Him to the unfairness of what we are having to endure. " Father forgive them for they no not what they do." Can we say this and mean it? Open our eyes so we might see Lord." In this world you will have trouble,so my peace I leave with you , so where I' am you might also be" sung by Rich Mullins. We have to choose to be where He is. We must do whatever it takes to know Him well. Our thoughts can not be what is written if we do not know what that is. The Holy Spirit is our best friend and all understanding is His to Give. We must quit thinking as the world thinks. Surrender all , no turning back, no turning back and I promise you satan will attack, let your focus remain and watch as your joy becomes full in the midst of persecution. We will have trouble , for believers we know that the word is true, lets take Paul's example and run the good race of the saints. To God be the glory forever and ever Amen.

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain." Matthew:5:41

We must understand the trials we face have already been won, the outcome that we must deal with here and now is not the final one. It is simply the repercussions of a fallen world in which we are not (as saints) accepted. The problem is that we do not recognize that the battle is Christ's in our personal dilemmas. We want control, we want to win and we want to do it in the name of Christ Jesus. This is blasphemy and yet we cannot see it. I think an example here would help us to see and...it just so happens that I'm living one now. No doubt you are, too. Since i do not know yours I will tell you mine.
I have bee dealing with two companies who have both made statements knowing loopholes have been created for their financial gain or protection, against the consumer. Neither party is willing to claim responsibility...the trial of "he said/she said" or "whodunit". As frustration mounts looking at a real probability of getting taken advantage of, the stress on my loved ones around me, it became clear to me that the outcome is not the issue at hand, there is a much bigger picture. The picture of Christ. How do I let Christ shine? Will I look like a doormat? Will I be let down? Jesus was... I most likely will be, too. You see the outcome is now not the issue, but my nerves, my reactions, how I handle it can either glorify God or tell Him to move over and let me handle things. The latter, my friends, is disastrous, and honestly my nerves have been showing me how little faith I have. One company suggests I sue the other, the other wants to do whatever it takes to make the other company responsible. I realized, walking out of meetings with both that I just felt sick at their ways of deceiving (in my opinion) each other. Fear and doubt began to consume me. I know at times we must present our case but here's the clincher: Did you go to your Father in heaven for advice? Or did you get caught up in the emotions? If Christ lives in us let us focus on that life and we will know how to handle adversity. We may very well look as if we lost the battle, but did Christ not appear that way to those who crucified Him? And yet He lives! As believers our security is not in this world but in Jesus our Lord and Savior. It is by God's grace and mercy that we live and we should walk what we believe, my friends. Watch your nerves settle and your joy return. For our joy is in Christ Jesus alone and to our eyes is being revealed the real picture, the one of sacrifice for the glory of God alone. So let the world do as it may, for it is not our treasure. Trust Jesus and be one with Him at all costs now. When the world turns against you, what will others see...Jesus? Peace, patience, kindness, wisdom, love, understanding.
Jesus is the only one who can fulfill these; we must constantly examine what is in the way so we may determinedly root out anything that is not of Him.
"Never expect justice in this world, but never cease to give it." O.C.

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

" Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there thou rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way first be reconciled to thy brother , and then come and offer thy gift." Matthew 5:23-24

Preparation to be emptied out, so that we may be useful to our Father, through Christ Jesus His Son, takes decisive action on our part, but we will not ever know what that is if we are not willing to stay still and know Him. For most of us we get restless, and we have an epidemic of spiritual ADD in our society. We long to know yet we do not take time to know. We try but soon grow weary and decide for ourselves how we can be of value to God. WE are His value, but we don't get it. If we do hear Him the small thing that irritates us like a grain of sand is the very thing He has to show us. It must be made right or we will be of no use..."but God, I will do this and that, just do not take me to that one issue, not now!" "That is the central citadel of obstinacy: I will not give up my right to myself." We must be willing to get down into the mud of things. Our own humiliation attracts others to Christ. My pastor exudes humility and reverence for Christ and I realize I'm starving for that very thing. For believers, there is no brighter light than the light of a saint willing to come clean with all the personal humiliation of the flesh so others may have the courage to follow. I need courage, my friends, do you? "we have not because we ask not". "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." "Ask and it shall be given unto you." As believers we know the Word is true and sufficient for all our needs. We must decide to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.

Lord, our Father in Heaven, search our hearts, we so desperately long to give up daily anything that would hinder our life with You. Give to us a renewed strength each day and may our lights shine brightly for others to see You. In Jesus my Savior's name we pray, Amen.

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

food for thought

"Behold, we go up to Jerusalem". Luke 18:31
Jesus said "I am not here to do My will, but only the will of the One who sent Me."
Are we ready? Alistair Begg recently said that any person we consider a fanatic is someone who loves Jesus more than we do. "There will be works of God manifested through us, people will get blessed, and one or two will show gratitude and the rest will show gross ingratitude, but nothing must deflect us from going up to our Jerusalem". (Oswald Chambers) Are we ready for gross ingratitude? Can we see the blessing in that or are we too busy feeling sorry for ourselves when we don't get gratitude or even recognition of what we are doing? We make it about us and it is not! Are we really ready to be mocked and criticized by those who seem to find themselves far superior? Is our love so steadfast with Christ that we have but ONE goal? Or do we somewhere inside know the truth that Jesus never put His trust in man but only in His Father? He knew how wicked the heart of man could be. We work so hard to please others because...? Because no one wants to be mocked and criticized by others. We strive to meet the standards of this society. When we truly surrender ourselves, our allegiance will be about ONE thing only, our joy will be contingent on ONE thing only. We will be crucified with Christ and yet we will live.
That is our goal, my friends. The assault that comes against us will only serve to draw us closer to Jesus. Remember, it is not us, but Jesus who is being assaulted. And we thought it was us...Hello! It is about becoming one with Christ, and that life should be no different for us than when our Lord took on His body of flesh for us. Jesus did this so that we might know how to live; are we ready or are we refusing to jump off the high dive out of fear? Honestly, I am a huge scaredy cat. My friends, this is a leap of faith. We will never know what it is to live if we never leap!
"I surrender all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow." "Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord to the Cross where Thou hast died".
Precious Lord, give us the tunnel vision we need to take that leap of faith and never look back. Let us know what it is to be alive in Christ Jesus our Savior and Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Another thought: Dare to look at your earthly possessions as dirty rags! Are we so surrendered that whatever our Lord has for us today is the greatest joy we could ever have? The things of this world we blindly believe will make us happy are in reality filthy rags! Or do we smother ourselves in legalism with this fast paced world? I need to do this...it would be wrong for me to not show up to that...The only place that is wrong is when we are not with God. His ways are not ours - remember? Be so in love with your Father that as long as you are with Him nothing else really matters. That feeling you had when you first fell in love is for you to keep always. And for your spouse as well. "the two shall become one and their love will be for their Father", how great is that? Give us eyes to see, Lord. Give us eyes to see! Oh, that our hearts never stop longing for Thee.

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

Ye are they who have continued with Me in My temptations." Luke 22:28

The older I get the more black and white issues become. The world today is obsessed with reasoning ; just look at the law. " Oh what a tangled web we weave when once but aghast we were deceived. To us it looks a tangled mess but to our Father this is no test. He has worked it for our good , so at last in peace our hearts they stood." C:) Today we live in a state of information overload! Where is the Word on our reading list? Do we even know what Jesus' temptations are? Are you ever put in a situation that we want desperately to run from? We must not! I'm not talking about using common sense to stay out of danger here, we all know common sense is for our own protection, but there will always be shifts in our circumstances we wish didn't exist, shifts that put us in uncomfortable situations. Standing up for Christ in a truthful and compassionate way when well-meaning people have justified their actions. Or worse yet, someone coming at us with indignation on a spiritual issue, or just everyday uncomfortable situations we would rather not deal with. If we are honest we have been the ones justifying our actions, or filled with indignation but somewhere on the road to sanctification we are allowed- by the grace of God- to see a shift, from our temptations, to those that are not about just us. Example ... I remember a particular movie i saw in my 20's that my friends and I thought was so funny. Then... my dad watched it. OK, now the funny was gone. I remember his reaction, and that he couldn't see the humor in it. I remember thinking , you're just old and you don't get it, now I know it was the other way around. He was older and wiser, I was young and trying to change truth to my liking, to my comfort zone! My father, however, knew it wasn't about me or what I wanted. I still find myself wanting to do that today. It's just at some point I'm more spiritually aware that's what happened. I also find myself wondering how youth at times can be so blind! Oh, do I not get it? We were not born wise, but we are separated from God by the fall . We all have this cross to carry, and great intellect or not, spiritually most, if not all, are slow learners. Once we start to see the light we tend to want to get puffed up and come down on the youth like they should know better... s l o w l e a r n e r s ! Oswald Chambers said " If I feel I have done my duty and yet have hurt Him in doing it, I may be sure it was not my duty because it has not fostered the meek and quiet spirit, but the spirit of self satisfaction." If we are to continue with Christ in His temptations the only way is to be one with Christ. We must lay down our lives for His. We are either for Him or against Him; the shade of gray- no matter where on the scale- is still gray. We cannot continue with Him unless we know Him. " Know Him well , Know Him well."

Heavenly Father teach us your ways oh Lord so we may walk in your truths , give us an undivided heart. In Jesus name amen.

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

" And if thy right eye shall cause thee to sin, pluck it out..." Matthew 5:29


Sometimes the most drastic of measures must be taken. What is keeping us from God? If you say "nothing", I wouldn't answer so quickly. Unless you live a life where you are anxious for nothing , you must acknowledge that there is something hindering your walk with God. For most of us it may be many things , but there is usually a central force or core that must be acknowledged and rooted out at all cost! For example, a big one today is ambition. I know, I know, we have all been taught it is good and we must work hard to succeed but you must search your heart; to succeed at what? What does succeeding at life mean to you? Making a name for yourself? I guarantee everyone knows the name Mother Teresa but her name was of no importance to her. Her heart was focused on God. What a blessing that we had a living example of a surrendered life. You may want to argue:" we can't all be Mother Teresa !" Do not even go there. Jesus said "I have come so you may have life and have life more abundantly."`Can we not see how we have abandoned ship only to drown in the stress of materialism? The loss may very well be our own soul. If it is at the cost of my own children then it is too high! If we are too busy to lay down our lives for those we love , then we do not understand why Jesus came in the first place. How long are we willing to be ignorant? "If the right eye sins, pluck it out..."! Pretty graphic and harsh words. It's a wake up call, my friends, and we had best pay attention. Are you confronted with a crisis? Then you need to get alone with God and ask Him to search your heart. We must admit we are all afraid of the dark but that is exactly where God has put us, we are to be the salt and light! And that takes a life devoted to only one thing and that is being about our Father's business. God does not have us serve all in the same way but we are all called. "Greater love hath no man than this,that a man lay down his life for his friends "John 15:13" For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8." If relationships within our own families are a mess , you think just maybe we should start there? And sometimes drastic measures must be taken. Quit a job , downsize a home, many will not understand, but "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain". Once you receive your moving papers there is no choice but to step out into the darkness. The longer you procrastinate the more you increase your suffering and trial. What good is it to you if you gain the world but in the process lose a child, and the very life Christ died to give you?

Lord give us the courage and strength we need day by day to lay our lives down for you. In Jesus name amen

let us wake up Lord ,let us wake up!

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

"If I then your Lord and Master have washed your feet ye also ought to wash one an other's feet." John 13:14

Are we a living example of a servant to those closest to us? The mission field starts at home. My husband has a saying he tells parents and friends . " the face your children show to other people is the face they will grow to become." As Christian parents we often become discouraged; It appears our children are going the exact opposite way we tried so hard to guide them. When we are so focused on the outcome we lose focus on the income. The outcome is God's tapestry and remember we can only see the underside. The income is our own personal relationship and we must remain focused there in order to become salt and light. When for example we are so focused on riding our child , out of our own fear for their future we may just have messed up what God had intended to teach them. The story of the prodigal son was not one of a helicopter parent. Yet this father grieved as much as any parent, the difference is ... he kept his focus where it belonged. Better yet his son was free to learn from God, remember " Gods ways are not our ways." God was there for the father and the son, the question is do we really believe He is there for us, for our children? Are we so focused on our child's faults we don't see where we ourselves are falling short? What kind of example are we showing them and others? One of devotion and reverence to God our Father? We reap what we sow! (not something we want to scrutinize). How we handle stress, our need for control, our social habits. Well I'm older and wiser so its OK for me I can handle it ... Maybe our child's behavior is an indication of just how well we are handling life. We are often about removing the speck from someone else's eye than the log from our own. Most people listen a lot more with their eyes than their ears... hey dad. YOU did it. Do as I say not as I do never works!!! Do others see our focus remaining where it belongs? Do they see the washing of feet or just hear about it? " It takes God Almighty Incarnate in us to do the meanest duty as it ought to be done." Oswald Chambers. Jesus said "I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you." If that statement doesn't humble us I don't know what will. Our focus so easily slides to knowing the outcome for our children and others we fail to see what they are really seeing in us by our lack of faith and fear. Is it a spirit of fear we wish to instill in others by the way we handle life? And yet we all have been there. It is indeed one of the toughest trials we face , keeping our focus on the income and yet it is the very point of where God teaches us so much if we will seek Him.

Lord I pray that you will open our spiritual eyes to see where we fall short, give us a humble and repentive heart, so we may strive to keep our focus on You alone. In Jesus name amen.

" Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey"

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

"When thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee." John 1:48


"The private relationship of worshipping God is the great essential of fitness." Oswald Chambers

" I got the music in me" , what about the spirit?

In my life I know the way I have handled some situations and well, let's just say it wasn't pretty. If we are followers of Jesus we can all look back and have regrets and that's not a bad thing necessarily . We cannot regret if we have not grown. If we do not take care of our physical bodies when we look in the mirror our reflection will not lie. The rare times I set foot in a gym , I'm amazed at the effort put out by so many at all hours of the day and night. Now don't get me wrong I could definitely benefit from even a small part of their incentive physically, and I know our bodies are to be a holy temple. We should take the best care of them we can. What I don't see is spiritual evidence of why so many work so hard at being fit. Could it be that when the spiritual crises comes, the workouts that we are so diligent about will prove no help at all? There are many good reasons for exercising , I know I feel better and have more energy but I also find it easy to slack off and stop, why?...because I get lazy! We live in the spirit of busyness and our excuses for not doing the things we feel we should boil down to time. Everyone seems to be in agreement that there isn't enough time . Time my friends is not the issue or the problem. If your life is hectic try stepping outside the time table of your circumstances. Look at your life as if you were observing someone else. Don't let your mind start making excuses, take your thoughts captive. Make an inventory of your priorities and don't put in "because". Because I have children I must...or because I have bills to pay... I'm not saying throw all your responsibilities to the wind. What I am saying is " God's ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts." "Teach me your ways oh Lord so I may walk in your truth." time is not the issue to God but our heart is. We will never be able to be fit spiritually if we do not spend our time with God.If we were to hold up a mirror to see our spiritual reflection would we like what we see? It's hard to imagine that if we determine to surrender all, God will take care of the rest. We will indeed still be responsible but to a whole new level. Our attitude and priorities will be adjusted in a major way. Determine to be obedient when you would rather... We all have mountain tops and valleys in our lives but Jesus is beside us every step of the way, "Lo I am with you always, even till the end of the age" We are the ones that get distracted and wander off and those are the very times we need Him most. " The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." Do we really believe this? When life gets or stays out of control try praying the 23 Psalm. refocus refocus refocus! love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:15


"Determinedly Discipline Other Things..." Oswald Chambers.

We often do things in haste. We live in an immediate society. We want fast food that's healthy and tastes homemade. We even want to genetically alter our food so it stays fresh longer, with what ramifications I might ask? Good luck with that one. We have tons of restaurants catering to our out of control lives. No time to do things like they used to, it's a different world now. Every generation has used that one. If you ever notice the families who don't jump into the mad pace of this life you will most likely hear put-downs from yourself or others about their choices . Man, am I ever punching myself in the stomach today.
We work hard and go hard all our lives. It takes so much to keep up in this world, to provide for our families and yet I believe most of us are missing the boat completely. When our children and others look at our lives are they seeing a life of reverence, humility and devotion to Christ? OK OK I can hear it , we're not perfect , we're saved! We are on the road to sanctification. Are we? Let's start by taking that thought captive before the Lord . Anyone want to go first? I didn't think so. Most of us want to go make some adjustments in our priorities first. Jesus said "In that day they will say Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name, did we not .... and I will say I knew you not." I believe the words of the song that say " People get ready Jesus is coming soon we'll be going home." I also believe as believers in Christ we desire reverence, humility , and devotion and I know we cannot have those things without taking every thought captive before the Lord. Remember my friends "We have not because we ask not." " Teach me your ways O Lord so I may walk in your truth. Give me an undivided heart" " In our Lord's life every project was disciplined to the will of His Father...then take ourselves- a vivid religious experience, and every project born of impulse putting into action immediately, instead of being imprisoned and disciplined to obey Christ." O.C. The world cannot understand this and it screams for immediate action and results. Where is God's peace in that? If we choose to continue down the impulse/immediate path, when we are old there will be no wisdom to give except the wisdom of our regrets and then it will be too late; they will not listen. The time when others are listening is now and they listen more with their eyes than with their ears. The question is: what are they hearing? We cannot live a humble obedient life in Christ if we are too busy to renew our minds in the word of God. Start today putting your priorities where they must be and I promise you that others will not understand and they will mock and criticize you. Do it anyway. Practice the presence of God and watch as your thoughts become captive and all those projects that are not in line with God's timing or maybe even His will will go by the wayside, the burdens will lift and your joy will return.

Lord I pray in Jesus your Holy Son's name that You would give us eyes to see visions of eternity. Amen

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

" Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God" 2 Corinthians 10:5



Do we have the courage to come clean before God and forgive ourselves, God forgives, but do we? Regret is one of the worst feelings and yet one of the riches blessings from God we could have in this life. Without regret there is no humility and with no humility we cannot live a life devoted to God.

We have all done things on impulse , or reacted to an emotion that was stirred up, only to regret it. Sometimes its immediate and sometimes it takes a while to sink in. This seems to be a never ending story in my life. Just when I think I have made real progress in my attitude and character ( which is spiritual pride because I do nothing except for the grace of God.) Bam! out of nowhere I do or say something that sends me reeling into despair. Usually I am talking way to much and find no one had to embarrass me, I did just fine all by myself , thank you very much. "Take every thought captive.", "Think before you speak" much easier to say than do. We try and teach this to our children but do we practice what we preach? Personally I would rather just crawl up on my Fathers' lap and stay there where I am safe and shut out the world, but alas it is written " We are to be in the world, not of the world." We are to be salt and light and this takes courage and strength which comes from Christ Jesus alone. To be humbled by something we brought on ourselves is never a joyful experience , but the tears we weep in humility allows Gods love to transcend our hearts and our minds . It gives us the strength and courage we need to forgive ourselves and the determination of mind to change, by humbly seeing who we are and the love , forgiveness, and Holiness of our Father, which produces in us undying devotion to God our Father. So the next time you realize you have done the very thing you despise , go at once in humble repentance to your Father. Don't try and reason it into lesser guilt, or wallow in pity, acknowledge it at once. We do not like these things in which we do and the remorse we feel is indeed God's awesome grace . He shows His mercy in letting us see and feel the sting of where we fall short. He is in fact destroying all that is not Holy in all of us who believe.

" Great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me"

Lord I lift up my bothers and sisters in Christ Jesus your Son that we may rejoice with great humility in all that you do in our lives to make us holy in Your image, that we would see the true meaning of Your mercy and grace. To be humbled is a blessing , so it may be well with our soul. I love and thank you for the awesome gift of humility , refine us oh Lord so we may shine for Your glory! In Jesus name amen.

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

" The water I shall give him shall be in him a well of water." John 4:14


" Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain" Wizard of Oz"
This is a pretty profound statement. Ah but we do pay attention and we tell others what we think of the man behind the curtain and the downward spiral continues.
God does not give us all the same approach to feeding His sheep or the same timing . As the body of Christ we have different approaches just as our hands do not do what our mouths do and vise verse , however our hand needs our mouth and our mouth needs our hand.
We are often jealous of someone who becomes a fountain of living water. Its true, we don't want to admit it, but some where down deep we know . We find fault, something to criticize no matter how mi.nute. Churches split, relationships disintegrate, and if we are honest much of it boils down to jealousy. We read about this jealous heart of ours in the bible. Cain and Able, Sara and Hagar, Joesph and his bothers...When we read these stories it is easy to imagine we would react differently , we would do what is right, right? wrong!!! We were not born saints, we were born separated by the fall from God. " I once was lost but now am found , twas blind but now I see." We must run the race of the good saints and we cannot if we are not willing to die to ourselves. We must realize who we are , who God is and what His Son's life living through us means. I don't know about you but as for me finding fault in others is a very dark ugly feeling and one I could do without. When we focus on Jesus, to live as He lived we will be about our Fathers business. There will always be hecklers, but I know far to well what a heckler feels like on the inside, so I must make it my goal to personally strive to keep my focus because as believers in Christ we desire the joy of our life in Christ alone and finding fault in someones personal walk and servant hood zaps the joy instantly. When we start feeling uneasy by who's doing this or that for God , or how they do it. we have lost our focus and put it back on ourselves. Ourselves because they are serving the Lord but not as we think they should. Jesus said " Whats between John and I is between John and I ..., what is between you and I is between you and I." God will take care of the rest.
If we do not spend time being filled we will never be in shape to run the race. We must do what ever it takes to devote ourselves to our Fathers business so out of us may flow rivers of living water.
Teach me your ways Oh Lord so I may walk in your truth , give me an undivided heart." " Oh how I want to be in that number , When the saints go marching in."

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

"Rivers of living water" John 7:38

God alone is the blessing that is worked out through us; we are the vessel.

Do you know the old hymn that goes;" I have peace like a river, I have peace like a river , I have peace like a river in my soul ..." I remember Elizabeth Elliott saying how important and ministering old hymns are to one's spirit. It has stuck with me because I love old hymns and I now know why: they feed me. Many of today's Christian groups have put out the old hymns, (Selah is one I know of) and they feed your spirit in glorious ways; and if we don't feed our spirit the rivers of living water will start to dry up. Life is all about choices, what matters most to you will be evident by the choices you make. Jesus said " You can not love both God and money ...for you will end up loving one and despising the other." I believe it goes for all other things as well. What counts as an idol , John Wesley's mom told him, is anything you put before God . If we want or desire attention for our good deeds, did we not receive our reward by that attention here on earth; which by the way was not ours to have in the first place? Jesus said " do not store up your treasures on earth , instead store up your treasures in heaven." That treasure my friend is Christ alone. Jesus also said " Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing." We all understand what this says and probably agree, but being put to the test of things is a whole different story .
When my mother was a young girl she was with her father after church, not realizing she was listening, she overheard him talking with the preacher. There was a retreat or camp coming up and he knew of someone who could not afford to go, when he paid their way he told the preacher there was only one condition, no one was to ever know who paid. You see my grandfather got it, the only one he wanted to receive the glory was the true recipient, the one who had already paid, it was His glory alone and it was to stay that way. My mom said no one ever knew and when I heard the story my grandfather had gone to be with Jesus many years before. What a legacy to leave behind, he touched the very core of my heart with this small selfless act of love; yet while on this earth he would never know . My Grandfather died before I was born but I couldn't love him more.
This world in which we live has it all backwards. Just turn on the t.v. and watch Cribs, or Pimp my Ride, or any other show, Extravagant homes and cars, we all crave it to some degree, it's called our flesh. Maybe it's traveling or being a big fish in a small or big pond. Make no mistake: we who love the Lord will be refined like silver and we are not ready to be taken out of the fire until God can see His reflection in us.
My daughter once posed the question to someone who said rather defensively;" Well, I'm a Christian!", and she simply said "Yes but do you Love Jesus?" It's the heart that matters and my daughter gets it, and she has taught me so much. As a parent we can not be blessed more.
As our love grows for Jesus our need to be recognized diminishes. The need to see if we made a difference becomes of no account to us because our focus has finally found what it was looking for all the time... Jesus. Our rivers of living water will come up against many obstacles, but like the river, pay it no mind; keep your focus on Jesus, and He will direct your paths. "A river touches places of which its source knows nothing, and Jesus says if we have received of His fullness, however small the visible measure of our lives, out of us will flow rivers that will bless to the uttermost parts of the earth." Oswald Chambers.

Heavenly Father your Son said "my peace I leave with you." I pray whatever obstacles our rivers come against, we may find our peace in you alone, knowing you alone direct our paths. In Jesus name I pray amen. Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

"... never the less he would not drink there of but poured it out unto the Lord" 2 Samuel 23:16

Jesus said "Peter do you love me? ... Feed my sheep."

What are we spending our time on? Most of us are extremely busy in this day and age , but with what?, and more important with what kind of spirit? Is it a restless spirit of being overwhelmed with too much to do? When we long to accomplish things so we can mark them off our list,are we not longing to satisfy ourselves? Jesus said " my peace I leave with you" and I bet if we were honest many days if not all we would say OK where the heck is it? " You can never sanctify to God that which you long to satisfy yourself." Oswald Chambers . Man there's that sting again!,but seriously what can we do about all the obligations we stress over? I believe it is not all the obligations but our attitudes in which we approach them that needs adjusting . It is human nature to bite off more than we can chew, God knows we will and He has plenty to teach us. It is not what we are doing that is so important, God doesn't need us! He loves us,and desires us. Therefore the importance of anything we do is not the thing but the spirit in which we do it.
I started making two ,to do lists. One was more of a deadline list...appointments etc... and the other I did not write down until I did it. I prayerfully would give my day over to the Lord and I am completely amazed at how much He allows me to do and even more the spirit in which it gets done,I watched as the interruptions became opportunities. Now before you think I'm tooting my own horn let me burst this bubble of mine just a bit. For me personally this is an extremely slow learning process. The least little thing seems to throw it all out of whack. It takes determination of mind! But the few glimpses I have had of peace in the midst my circumstances makes me desire more. One thing I am learning , out of desire comes determination of mind. " we have not because we ask not" Have you asked God to deepen your desire? We can not pour out what we do not have. Heavenly Father Jesus said " Love as I have loved." I pray we may learn to be poured out wine in all our circumstances and our lives a sweet aroma for You Glory. In Jesus name amen. Love to all in Christ Jesus. C:)

Food for thought

" He that believeth in Me...out of him shall flow..." John 7:38

The Sacrament of Sacrifice
Are we ready to be poured out at any moment ? If we believe in Christ we must be still and learn to listen . Just this weekend I was brought spiritually aware if I'm going to walk with Christ, I must always be listening. We get into our daily routines and our to do list and for many of us and this is when subconsciously we turn off our listening ears and jump into the drivers seat. I was getting ready for church on Sunday, in a hurry as usual when the Holy Spirit's nudging was so evident that I just stopped what I was doing and listened. Yes my blood pressure was up and stress had escalated ; I did not want to be late! There were several things I felt a need to do and they were all for people I love and I didn't see how I would accomplish it all. I had spent a wonderful time just before with my Father in quiet time,and now He wanted to know why I was letting go of His peace ? Did I want to be in church ? yes. Did I want to keep my promises to loved ones ? yes ; but how would I ever be able to do this without losing the peace of my Fathers presence. I some what sad and bewildered knew the truth. Jesus would love those in front of Him, for He was never in a hurry and was always about His Fathers business. For me it was a six year old neighbor up the street and my son home from college . I walked in the kitchen hardly believing my own ears and said to my husband , " honey I won't be going to church today, instead I know for this day God has given me the peace to walk with Him even though my common sense side says,You should be in church! My spiritual sense told me "my peace I leave with you."
Going to church is an awesome privilege to be in a family of believers ,to serve, and to be fed.I am thankful to have that and the freedom to go. God let me see where I had become legalistic , church was not just a privilege but also a duty . My duty , my all in all is to Christ alone. I often have the joy of serving Him in and through the church but am I willing to listen if He has somewhere else for me to be? I must desire to hear more than anything His will or I can not be His hands and feet. When we assume we must do this that is when as Christians we have turned off our ears and entered into legalism. When we hear we must be obedient , knowing many will not understand. Our joy however remains full because our focus is on Jesus and not what others think. "It is time now to break the life , to cease craving for satisfaction and to spill the thing out. Our Lord is asking who of us will do it for Him ?" Oswald Chambers

Lord I pray that you would give us ears to hear, so we may pour out rivers of living water and your peace and joy may remain full in us so others may see You. In your son's Jesus name amen. Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

Food for thought

" Not withstanding in this rejoice not..., but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." Luke 10:19-20

" Jesus Christ says , in effect , don't rejoice in successful service, but rejoice because you are rightly related to me." Oswald Chambers

When we are walking with the Lord in spirit we experience His joy . Serving Him is a joy ; however when we are alive in Christ Jesus do you think satan will be content to leave us alone? Look at Job, are we really prepared for the testing ? Many of us fall or faint away at this point,when the trials and temptations come, try rejoicing instead that you are God's child. Sounds much easier to say than do , do it anyway, feelings will catch up later, this takes an act of faith. Learn to pay no mind to feelings and see what God allows to roll off your back. There is no part of you that satan can have unless you're willing to give it over. It is an awesome privilege God gives His children in letting them serve , HE LETS US! We can do nothing except through Him. Mother Teresa must again be quoted here " We can no great things, only small things with great love." and who is love? ;" God is love! " For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16. We have the ultimate example of a humble servant, the question is are we letting Him live through us fully; or do we continue to slip up and start to become puffed up on our own ability?, which by the way is a lie straight from the pit of hell! and a very scary one at that. Pride , self -righteousness, and haughtiness ... are very slippery slopes that we must intentionally and prayerfully stay away from and the only way to do this is to walk in the presence of the Lord continually. Do not be dismayed but rejoice , for if your heart desires it , it can be done through the strength of Christ who lives in us. Brother Lawrence has been a huge blessing on this very point . We can not be our" Utmost for His Highest " if we do not "Practice the Presence of God". Remember we are His children whom He deeply loves so when a distraction comes as it does to a child, you can imagine the joy we give our Father when we look up and acknowledge our distraction and say OK Dad now where were we ? ( paraphrased from Brother Lawrence.) Our Father never leaves His children, but as children we do become distracted. Pray for the nudging , so you become keenly aware when this distraction comes. " We have not because we ask not." The saddest thing I could ever imagine is to know what it feels like to be alive in Christ Jesus only to slide down the slope of self indulgence. To die to ourselves is the only way we may know what it is to live. Lord I pray that your Son's humble example for you alone may shine through your children bringing much glory to the Lord for all to see. In Jesus Christ our Lord and saviors name Amen. Love to all in Christ C:)