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:)