Rejoice

I rejoice for my God reigns and He lives in me. God on high has set me free and He is worthy to be worshiped, praised and honoured always. 

His love is peace to the broken, faith for the widow and hope for the orphan. If He can control the sun, the moon, the stars and the sea then He can take care of you and provide for all of your needs.

Seek God and I promise you will find Him.

I'm linking up with Barbie for The Weekend Brew

Blessings,

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Sustainer

People will fail us but God never does. He is our Helper, Sustainer and Friend. Trust Him to work things out, He will. 

I'm linking up with Barbie for The Weekend Brew

Blessings,
<><

No Situation Is Impossible For God

I have often wondered what it would have been like living back in the days of Acts, when the disciples were so loyal to Jesus and the way He told them to live. This verse says every day they preached Jesus Christ. The wording here implies in every waking moment they were about the Lord's work spreading the Good News. 

We can do this today and we will see people changed, healed from physical and spiritual ailments and impossible situations made right. Just on Wednesday I heard about a 60 year old hell's angel giving his life to Jesus. The glory of the Lord rested in the room and this man was changed in less then five minutes. 

Nothing is impossible for our mighty God!

I'm linking with Barbie for The Weekend Brew.

Blessings,

<><

 

Grace And Grace Alone

Does our salvation come through love? 

No. 

This is something people just don't understand. It is through grace and grace alone that we find eternal life. 

Ephesians 2:8 ESV

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,"

God saves by grace and He demonstrated His love for us by giving His Son, Jesus, to die for us. God will save us BUT only if we come to Him by belief in Jesus Christ.

It is a leap of faith and only when this leap is taken will the understanding come in. 

Praise GOD!

I'm linking up with Barbie for The Weekend Brew.

Blessings,

<>< 

Run to YOU

Run to You ~Pentatonix~

Hebrews 12:1 ESV
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

Verse 1

A light in the room
It was you who was standing there
Tried, it was true
As your glance met my stare
But your heart drifted off
Like the land split by sea
I tried to go, to follow
To kneel down at your feet

Chorus

I'll run, I'll run, I'll run, run to you
I'll run, I'll run, I'll run, run to you

Verse 2

I've been settling scores
I've been fighting so long
But I've lost your war
And our kingdom is gone
How shall I win back your heart
Which was mine
I have broken bones
And tattered clothes
I've run out of time

Chorus

I'll run, I'll run, I'll run, run to you
I'll run, I'll run, I'll run, run to you

Bridge

Oh, I will break down the gates of heaven
A thousand angels stand waiting for me
Oh take my heart and I'll lay down my weapons
Break my shackles to set me free

Chorus

I'll run, I'll run, I'll run, run to you
I'll run, (I'll run) I'll run, (I'll Run) I'll run, run to you
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm

This is not a Christian song nor is this a Christian band but these guys are talented and this song, if you think about Jesus, is so beautiful. 

It makes me think of and pray for those Christians who have walked away from their first love; Jesus Christ. 

Hebrews 6:1 ESV

“Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up."

Linking up with Barbie for The Weekend Brew

Blessings,

<><

One, Two, Three... GO!

Just look at those verses!

This morning for my Scripture reading for the day these verses jumped off the page at me and made me stop and look up and think, 'Okay Father, You have my full attention.' 

God has said it and He will do it so I am claiming it and preparing to run full tilt to the edge of that cliff and jump. He's there ready to catch me.

One.

Two.

Three...

GO!

New here and have no idea what I am talking about? Read Obedience, then Hitting The Wall and then A Puddle of Tears. That should catch you up to speed and have an idea of what this whole post means. :)

Blessings,

<><

I'm linking this post with Barbie, The Weekend Brew

 

Hitting The Wall

James 1:12 ESV

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

It occurred to me this morning while running on the treadmill that hitting the physical wall in training can be compared to hitting the spiritual wall in following Jesus.  

The natural reflects the supernatural.

While my heart rate was rising and the sweat was pouring down my face, my legs started to scream, “Slow down!” I was coming to the wall of my endurance and the temptation of slowing down my run won. 

Yesterday I failed.

Once more Father led me into temptation and instead of obeying Him I slipped into my fleshy way and failed the test. Guilt overpowered me and oppression set in. I hit the spiritual wall of endurance. I didn’t realize that yesterday but today, while running, I saw and understood.

As we physically train our bodies for endurance we do so slowly and steadily increase our distance and speed, in the case of running, biking or walking, or weights and repetition, in the case of weight lifting. Sooner or later we will hit the wall, where we cannot go past it. No matter how hard we try it seems we cannot go any faster, longer or lift anymore.

What Father showed me was this spiritual walk of ours is like endurance training and sooner or later we will hit the spiritual wall. In my case it was obedience. I learned the more I obey Him the better I will be at it and when the testing comes I will pass.

When training to increase say speed, you do it slowly adding in speed drills to increase endurance. As you continue to train eventually your body and mind become conditioned and soon that wall you were hitting before comes crashing down and you find you are steadily increasing in speed and endurance until you hit the next wall.

I see that I was wrong in being frustrated with myself for failing and I now see that these tests are Father increasing my endurance. Focusing on Scripture, praying and obeying Him are the training tools I need to run past the wall in my spiritual walk.

As I was running and coming up to my physical wall it all came together and I saw the training process.

Romans 5:3-4 ESV

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.

Yesterday’s trial was very painful and I hit the wall and couldn’t do it anymore, yet I picked myself up, repented of my sin and continue to obey Father knowing that the more I practice this obedience the sooner this wall will come down and I will move ahead full tilt until I hit the next spiritual wall.

Blessings,

<><

 

Linking up with Barbie for The Weekend Brew

God Is Logical

Make Known Your Ways LORD

The Christians worldview, beginning with creation, is the only rational, possible explanation to how our world began and how we came into being. Any alternative to this is self-refuting. Our God is logical and His way makes sense

Titus 1:9 NIV

He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

 

Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry, CARM

How does a Christian account for the laws of logic?

• The Christian worldview states that God is absolute and the standard of truth.
• Therefore, the absolute laws of logic exist because they reflect the nature of an absolute God.
• God did not create the laws of logic. They were not brought into existence, since they reflect God's thinking. Since God is eternal, the laws of logic are too.
• Man, being made in God's image, is capable of discovering these laws of logic. He does not invent them.
• Therefore, the Christian can account for the existence of the laws of logic by acknowledging they originate from God and that Man is only discovering them.
• Nevertheless, the atheist might say this answer is too simplistic and too convenient. It might be, but at least the Christian worldview can account for the existence of logic itself. 

Colossians 2:2-4 NIV

My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.

Seeking the truth can only be found in the Christian God, Jesus Christ, and only through the reading of Scripture will bring about wisdom, knowledge and understanding. 

I'm linking up with Barbie for, The Weekend Brew

Blessings,

<><

Anger or Love

This past week I found myself in a couple of situations that rose up in me some angry feelings. After examining myself closer I noticed these feelings of anger were rooted in pride. I was prideful that these people who were the cause of this anger didn't understand me and were judging me wrongly. I am thankful I curbed my tongue before I said something wrong and spent time in prayer with Father allowing Him to show me the cause of the anger. 

Even when Jesus was being tortured for us He never complained or became angry. No, as He hung on the cross He said instead, 

Luke 23:34

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

  Friends, I encourage you when someone misunderstands you or mistreats you do not become angry but love them and pray for them. That is what Jesus did and we are to follow in His footsteps not the footsteps of the world. 

I'm linking up with Barbie for The Weekend Brew

Blessings,
<><

Spirit and Life

To really live we need to be whole and the only way we will be complete is to live in the 

Spirit of God.

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Blessings,

<><

Labour Of Love

HAPPY THANKSGIVING !

It is the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and there is nothing I am more thankful for than Jesus Christ and His gift to us. 

This past spring, my husband planted 12, 60 ft rows of potatoes. It was supposed to be a youth/young adults endeavor that didn't work out because of time schedules. These past few weeks the family and I have been trying to harvest these potatoes before the snow comes. What I am finding is that the work is time consuming and tough and the workers are very few, which made me think about Matthew 9:37 ..."The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few;". 

Our time is running short folks and we need to be those labourers spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and Him risen. 

Jesus Christ is coming again soon! Praise GOD!

 

I'm linking up with Barbie from The Weekend Brew.

Blessings,
<><

He Will Deliver Us

Part of my Scripture reading today covered 2 Corinthians 1 and verses 8-11 really stood out to me. I wanted to share with you my thoughts on this passage and would love to hear what you have gleaned from this part of Scripture that is full of wisdom.

2 Corinthians 1:8-11 NIV

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

While Paul and his companions were in Asia they underwent trauma that was outside of their ability to withstand. Father had the squeeze on them so much that they were afraid they were at the point of death. I wonder what that looked like. What did they go through that made them believe they were going to die?  And, what did they do when they chose

I have been in some pretty intense spiritual warfare where I feel like I am about to die. It is when I come to the end of self and cry out to God, seeking Him and His will that the intensity is lessen, self is broken and I learn and grow in Him trusting that His Word is Truth and He will do as He says if I obey Him. If Father never sent trials into my life I know that I wouldn’t grow in Him. Who needs God when you have everything you want? It is during these tough times when our world is rocked that we look for Him or to Him.

Paul mentions in verse 11 that it is the prayers of those covering him and his companions that helped them get through the trials. If you are in a trial be it financial, marital, physical or spiritual you need to be covered in prayer. Prayer works! This is a very precious tool that we are given and it is so easy to do. I encourage you to seek prayer covering and often. Don’t be ashamed to ask for someone to pray for you or to offer to pray for someone.

Our Father will send tough, hard times into our lives. Like Paul mentioned these are not to harm us but to help us grow in Him.

Blessings in Christ,

<>< 

Linking this post with Barbie, The Weekend Brew

 

Not Hate But Love

Not Hate But Love

At the cross Jesus defeated Satan. He was broken and He surrendered to Father's will in order to rid us of the curse. It was His love for us, His deep, sweet love for us that broke Satan in two. Love is powerful and this verse 1 Corinthians 16:14 Let all that you do be done in love has a deeper meaning then we understand. Love undoes hate. Love conquers all evil.

Linking up with Barbie for The Weekend Brew.

Blessings,

<><

Hope

Where is our hope? Our hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Without Jesus we have nothing, nothing at all. 

No future, no peace, no forgiveness, no chance for eternal life with God.

Put your hope in the only one who can fill that empty place inside.

Jesus, You reign!!

I'm linking up with Barbie for The Weekend Brew

For those of you who are praying for Phoebe, there hasn't been a lot of news. The last I heard was she was in the hospital and they assumed her headaches were caused by an infection of some sort. I will let you know the latest when I find out how she is doing. Thanks for praying!!

Blessings,

<><

Baptize My Heart

Matthew 3:11 ESV

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Misty Edwards, 'Baptize My Heart'

Ephesians 4:5 ESV
One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

 I'm linking this post with Barbie, The Weekend Brew

Blessings,

<><

Love Conquers Hate

Matthew 5:43-48 NIV

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Linking up with Barbie from The Weekend Brew

Blessings,

<><

Living in the Realm of the Spirit

Romans 8:5-8 NIV

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

Romans 8:9-11 NIV

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

I'm linking up with Barbie for The Weekend Brew. 

Please keep Easton in your prayers as he has a lot of fluid around his lungs that the doctors have been removing with a water pill. He is scheduled to have a tracheotomy on Monday, please keep him in your prayers. Thanks!!

Blessings,

<><

Rend Your Heart

Joel 2:12-17 NIV

Rend Your Heart

“Even now,” declares the Lord,

“return to me with all your heart,

with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

Rend your heart

and not your garments.

Return to the Lord your God,

for he is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and abounding in love,

and he relents from sending calamity.

Who knows? He may turn and relent

and leave behind a blessing—

grain offerings and drink offerings

for the Lord your God.

Blow the trumpet in Zion,

declare a holy fast,

call a sacred assembly.

Gather the people,

consecrate the assembly;

bring together the elders,

gather the children,

those nursing at the breast.

Let the bridegroom leave his room

and the bride her chamber.

Let the priests, who minister before the Lord,

weep between the portico and the altar.

Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord.

Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,

a byword among the nations.

Why should they say among the peoples,

‘Where is their God?’ ”

Every year as we near Resurrection Sunday, I feel called into fasting. I am not Catholic and do not follow Lent, but the 40 days of Lent come right before Good Friday and it is a perfect reminder to me that it is the time of year to really focus in on just what Jesus did for us on the cross. 

Actually, this is my favourite time of the year. I love everything there is about Jesus and His death and sacrifice on the cross totally humbles me and awakens in my a very deep love for Him. I love Him because He loves me. If it wasn't for His reaching out to me and showing me His love, I would never know Him. It is Jesus who has stirred my soul and my first desire is to honour Him and love Him the next desire is for me to share His love with you and all those I meet.

I am a believer of fasting and over the past few years, as I dive into fasting, I am being led to believe that fasting material goods is not Biblical. I cannot find any references in Scripture to this type of fast. I have found fasting of food, a fasting of marriage relations, there is the reference of when John the Baptist's father had lost his voice for a period of time, and then there is wearing sack cloth. Animals fast, children fast but from my searching I can find no reference to fasting of material goods. 

I am being led to believe that giving up something material is like removing an idol. Something that has taken the place of God and this is not a fast. This is good, please don't misunderstand me, this just isn't a fast. 

A fast is a time to mourn and seek our Father's heart. A time to feed our soul on His Word and to deny our physical body substance so self is weakened and His Spirit becomes stronger in us. I don't see how self can be weakened by giving up say your computer for a time. Your physical body is still very strong therefore holding onto self and not being filled with the Holy Spirit. 

I do believe giving up material goods is beneficial to removing idols in your life and replacing God back into His proper place of being number one. I think this is healthy and valuable to our walk with Father. 

Yesterday on Twitter I took part of a chat that was focused on Lent and fasting. It was then that Father really spoke to my heart and made me to say that a material fast is not an acceptable fast in Father's eyes. My sharing of this brought in some opposition but it seems that more people agreed with me than those who did not. 

What are your thoughts? I'd love to hear them and if you have some Biblical reference to a material fast please share!!

Blessings and Happy Valentine's Day!

<><

I'm linking this post up with Barbie for the The Weekend Brew.