GOD'S WORD

"The way we treat the Word of God is the way we treat the God of the Word." Warren Weirsbe

This was a quote from our sermon notes yesterday. It reminded me of my great-aunt's Bible. As you can see, it's very well worn and very much written in. One can see her Bible was a very good friend as was the Author of the Bible. She knew the God of the Word well. He was, is, and will be the one true God. Most of all, He was her Best Friend.

In this age of electronics we are able to have the Bible with us no matter where we go. How worn is your Bible? Do you have verses highlighted, favorite verses you pray everyday, notes electronically notated? Most of all, is the God of the Word your personal Friend, Savior, Counselor, Prince of Peace, Almighty One, Mighty King, Lord of lords. He is trustworthy. He is love. He is Truth. My great-aunt knew her eternity was secure. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last.

Please allow the Word of God become the God of Word in your heart. He is the Best Friend you will ever have in this sin-filled world and in the sin-less world to come.

MOUNTAINTOPS VS. VALLEYS

We as Christ-followers love our mountaintop experiences!! However, sitting in church yesterday the Lord impressed upon me mountaintops  are barren of vegetation, difficult to traverse, and more often than not immersed in the clouds making it difficult to see great distances. On the other hand, valleys are where the food for surviving is found; there are rivers, lakes and streams to give us the necessary water to sustain life; the terrain is easier to traverse; and, usually easier to see greater distances. It is where our living happens. While mountaintop experiences are nice for short-term experiences, the valleys are where we spend the majority of our time. The same is true with our walks with Christ--we learn more in our valley time; we receive our life in the valley times. Even people who live in the mountains don't live on the mountaintops. They are usually places viewed from afar. Hopefully, this gives another perspective on valley-living. Whether you are in your valley-time or mountaintop-time, may you feel God's love surround you, His peace permeate you, and His food sustain you.

GOD'S DIFFICULT LESSONS

First of all, I'd like to apologize for not posting for a very long time. In truth, it seems like forever but it has only been five weeks. I'm not trying to minimize my misdeed at all. I ask for your forgiveness. I'll not promise this won't happen again but I'll try my very best to be regular.
There are ones reading this post who have had loved ones die or injured in bombings, injured or killed in senseless shootings, injured or died in earthquakes and mudslides, raped and murdered senselessly by terrorists, had their homes destroyed by floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, and mudslides.  The largest followers after the United States are countries who have been affected by each of these disasters in the last three months. To the ones who have found comfort here may God be praised. They are not my words but His. The path I have walked these past few weeks in no way compares to what you have endured; however, please let me share a few things He has taught me--especially this past week.
As I've shared with you in previous posts,  in the summer of 2003 God gave me the gift of evangelism. Before I could utilize this gift God had to heal my heart of many areas the Enemy had used to  impriston me.  The prison doors were unlocked the winter of 2004-5 by the Great Healer Himself through the Bible study by Beth Moore, BREAKING FREE. Through the years He has continued to unlock the doors of those cells caused by abuse, death, divorce, and life using words of pastors, friends, Bible studies, and most importantly His Word. This past week, I've learned where God has healed the only person who can take that healing away is ME. He has reminded me, "...the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." Am I completely healed? NO. That will not happen until I see Him face to face. Am I discounting doctors, Christian counselors, pastors, psychologists, or psychiatrists? NO. All of these people have been gifted by God for His purposes.
This picture was taken outside a friend's house this week. When I showed her and two other friends who had walked by them on there way into the house for dinner none of them could tell me where these flowers were located. All week I prayed for answers and all week in my quiet place was a journal He was prompting me to pick up and read. Several times I glanced at it and quickly dismissed it. Finally, last night, I picked it up. In the journal was the answers to the prayers I had been desparately praying all week. Sometimes His beauty is hidden in plain sight...sometimes right under our noses...
NOW TO HIM WHO IS ABLE TO DO IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN ALL WE ASK OR IMAGINE, ACCORDING TO HIS POWER THAT IS AT WORK WITHIN US, TO HIM BE GLORY IN THE CHURCH AND IN CHRIST JESUS THROUGHOUT ALL GENERATIONS FOREVER AND EVER! AMEN. (Ephesians 3:20-21, NIV)

YOUR NEW LIFE

In these times of such unspeakable violence, let us stop and listen to what God's Word says to his followers regarding our behavior. Before you stop reading thinking you know, listen to Paul:

“So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.

And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It’s because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn’t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.

Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.

So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

Wives, understand and support your husbands by submitting to them in ways that honor the Master. Husbands, go all out in love for your wives. Don’t take advantage of them. Children, do what your parents tell you. This delights the Master no end. Parents, don’t come down too hard on your children or you’ll crush their spirits.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3:1-21‬ ‭MSG‬‬
http://bible.com/97/col.3.1-21.msg

Now, where do you require God's forgiveness? Where do you require the help of the Holy Spirit to change?

WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?

Jesus asked this question of his disciples after a confrontation with the Sadduces and Pharisees. Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
A few years ago, while traveling in northeastern Oklahoma in my motorhome some fellow RVer friends joined me for a visit. While visiting different towns in the area, the wife would see a street sign with a person's name and she would wonder aloud who the individual was or what he/she had accomplished to have the honor of a street being named for them. Sometimes I knew of the individual and knew why the street was named after this person but remained silent, fearful of providing the wrong information or appearing foolish.
This made me question, if the name "Jesus Christ" was on a street sign and someone asked who He was, what had He done to have a street named for Him, what would we answer? Would pride get in our way preventing us from providing any type of answer to the question. If Christ asked us, "Who do you say I am?" , what would we answer? Hopefully,  God will give each of us the confidence and boldness required so like Simon Peter we too will say, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

ARE YOU HUNGRY?

For several years I did cat-sitting for friends while they went on vacations. My friend once informed me,  “Sunny wouldn’t get any exercise if he didn’t have his canned food in the afternoon.” I quickly discovered what she meant. Starting around mid-morning, Sunny would begin gently asking for his canned food and he would progressively get more and more insistent the closer it came to his 3 p.m. feeding time.

At this time, my friends had two very comfortable leather easy chairs in their living room. When I wasn’t busy doing other things, I would sit in one as I worked on my computer or read.  As soon as I would sit, no matter what time in the morning it would be, Sunny would start his routine by jumping in my lap or in the chair beside me. In the early stages, Sunny would be satisfied with being petted and loved on. When he realized nothing was going to happen, he would jump down. A short time would pass and then, once again, Sunny would jump on my lap or beside me and again I would pet or love on him. When this method didn’t work, he would jump to the back of the chair and nudge me with his head. Next step was to sit beside me and lay his head on the side of my computer making it difficult to type. Seeing he was getting nowhere with that, he would move his head further onto the keyboard. Each time ended with him getting gently shooed away. The closer it was too feeding time, the more insistent his behavior until he was literally in my face.

I wonder what would happen if we were that insistent about asking God to feed us? How would it change our lives?  Psalm 42:1 tell us “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.” Psalm 81:10 says, "I am the Lord your God who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouths and I will fill it." 

ARE YOU HUNGRY?

For several years I did cat-sitting for friends while they went on vacations. My friend once informed me,  “Sunny wouldn’t get any exercise if he didn’t have his canned food in the afternoon.” I quickly discovered what she meant. Starting around mid-morning, Sunny would begin gently asking for his canned food and he would progressively get more and more insistent the closer it came to his 3 p.m. feeding time.

At this time, my friends had two very comfortable leather easy chairs in their living room. When I wasn’t busy doing other things, I would sit in one as I worked on my computer or read.  As soon as I would sit, no matter what time in the morning it would be, Sunny would start his routine by jumping in my lap or in the chair beside me. In the early stages, Sunny would be satisfied with being petted and loved on. When he realized nothing was going to happen, he would jump down. A short time would pass and then, once again, Sunny would jump on my lap or beside me and again I would pet or love on him. When this method didn’t work, he would jump to the back of the chair and nudge me with his head. Next step was to sit beside me and lay his head on the side of my computer making it difficult to type. Seeing he was getting nowhere with that, he would move his head further onto the keyboard. Each time ended with him getting gently shooed away. The closer it was too feeding time, the more insistent his behavior until he was literally in my face.

I wonder what would happen if we were that insistent about asking God to feed us? How would it change our lives?  Psalm 42:1 tell us “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.” Psalm 81:10 says, "I am the Lord your God who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouths and I will fill it."