What Is Beneath Your Surface?

22 Apr

Every morning is another opportunity to greet our God and see what wonders He will perform. Sometimes they seem barely noticeable. Sometimes they are very obvious. It’s up to us to remain sensitive to everything around us. In order to see the wonders of our God, we have to realize that He is everywhere. Nothing happens by chance. We can’t fathom the depths of His understanding or of His love for us. But, if we pay close attention, we can see it in the world around us.

Spring is a wonderful season to see the freshness of new beginnings. Plants that have been dormant begin to wake up and put on new growth.  Some of them produce beautiful life on their old branches that look dead in the winter. Some plants die back completely to the ground. But, when the time is right, they look new all over again. Throughout the winter they may have looked dead, but their roots were alive all along. They were in a season of preparation – a season of growing deep and sturdy roots so they could later spring forth with verdant growth.

We can identify with the dormant plants. Inside of each of us are roots that have been growing deep. They have been receiving nourishment and becoming strong so that when the time comes for us to flourish, we will have been prepared to face life as it comes at us.

God always allows a time of preparation for each of us. He knows life is difficult at times and in His wisdom and His love for us, He takes us through a dormant period of preparation. We are not who we are because we decided to be. We belong to God and He knew us while we were yet in our Mother’s wombs. He had a plan for each one of us and a purpose for our lives.

We may not have been aware of it. We may not consider ourselves worthy. We may think it’s too late for us. But, stop! Think of the root system. It has been through the winter – it may have been a long, rough winter. God knows just when to wake up those roots and give them the nourishment they need to produce the lush, healthy growth that has been there all along.

None of our time has been truly wasted, though it may appear that way to us. The rough, hard times in our lives are not wasted. God turns everything around for our good, if we love Him and acknowledge Him as Lord of our lives. We can’t just give in to defeat.

God sent His son, Jesus, to die for us. We may not have looked so beautiful as some on the outside. But, on the inside, God has been working. He knows what our lives will produce if we will yield to Him. After all, He had a plan from the beginning for us. He knew us before we took our first breath. He knew each step we would take, each mistake we would make, every word we would speak – before any of it happened. His plans for us are good and not evil.

God is calling us to give Him control. Let Him be the loving, forgiving Father we need Him to be. He can make us beautiful. He can take all the unseen root system and make it flourish as He intended from the beginning. We will all be amazed at what God can do with our root system, if we will just let Him. Today is the day!

Jer 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
NIV

Ps 139:13-16
3 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
NIV

 

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Where ARE You, God? How You Can Be Certain God Is Listening.

10 Apr

I have published an eBook which you can find at the following link or you can click on the book cover at the right.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J1906PK.

Where ARE You, God? – is the testimony of a few of the struggles and tragedies that God has walked me through. It also contains documentation of a great many amazing miracles God did for me during this time.

This booklet will encourage anyone who is struggling and questioning God. It will also testify to the fact that even as Christians we are not exempt from adversity. But, if we let Him, God will walk us through the fire and direct every step we take to an outcome that is best for us.

An Excerpt:  At 60 years old, I was taking care of my mother who had advanced Alzheimer’s disease. I was doing all I could to keep my head above water. My financial situation began to fail despite my best efforts to keep things in check. Eventually, I exhausted all possibilities to work things out on my own.

I saw the storm clouds gathering, again. Disaster darkened the horizon. I tried to prepare myself, but there was nothing I could do to stop the disaster from crashing in on me. I faced bankruptcy and foreclosure on the home that God had so miraculously provided for me. 

Nothing in my past struggles prepared me for the frightening ordeal that God was about to walk me through. I had to learn to listen hard to God’s leading—step by step—trusting Him to save me at the very brink of disaster. 

After crying uncontrollably one day, I picked up my Bible and God spoke to me out of I Samuel 12:16 (NIV) “Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes!”

I felt as though He had seen my tears and my breaking heart and was now telling me He had a great future for me. Yet, here I am at what seems to be one of the most frightening events of my life. And, now, I wasn’t sure what was happening to me.

 

 

 

 

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Faith vs. Doubt

24 Mar

I want to have strong faith. I know I have the faith of a mustard seed, but I want never to doubt! I don’t know if that is possible.

I have lived the majority of my life as a child of God. So, I have had many opportunities to trust God. Sometimes, I didn’t trust Him at all. At other times, my trust was limited.  It was easy to have “faith” when I was fairly certain of the outcome.

Earlier in my walk with God, I knew about doubt and faith and being double minded. I found that I wavered a lot, just not intentionally. I wanted to believe. I knew, in theory, that I could trust God and that He could do anything.  I also knew from sitting under many years of teaching from the Word of God, what faith was all about. But, it took years for me to really get it.

Now that I am a senior citizen, I can say that although I would like to have learned about the subject of God and His ways quickly and then “graduated,” that just isn’t God’s way.  If that were the case, I wouldn’t have need of a day-to-day relationship with Him. My relationship with Him wouldn’t  grow, nor would I have learned what it means to really trust Him – following the Holy Spirit as He leads me through life.

Scripture says that I must pick up my cross daily, and follow Him. I can relate it to a relationship with a significant other. As we grow old together, we continue to learn new things about each other as we face life’s challenges. As I walk daily with Jesus Christ, my Lord, my relationship grows deeper and I come to know Him more as I walk in obedience to Him – I even learn about His ways when I don’t walk in obedience.

With each trial I face, I have the opportunity to either trust Him and follow Him in obedience, or not. Either way, if I am sensitive to the Holy Spirit, I can get to know Him and even myself, better. Trials aren’t sent as punishment or because God doesn’t care. Trials come for many reasons. Possibly, I act in disobedience – maybe not even on purpose. Or, something happens beyond my control. What is important is that I take everything to Him in prayer.

With each step that I take in my daily walk with God, I learn to trust Him more and more. I find contentment and peace as my relationship with Him deepens.

I have reached a place that I know, without any doubt at all, that God knows what is best for me. He will not fail me. Even when I make mistakes, He is there to help me. I have no doubt – none – about that. It doesn’t mean that I won’t have trouble, disappointment, or even sorrow, in my life. It means that God is with me every step of every day. If I allow Him to, He will teach me by His Holy Spirit, to rest in peace and trust Him with the outcome.

Don’t get me wrong, I still have doubts about circumstances and whether I am doing what is right.  And, I even doubt sometimes if God is going to do what I ask – the way I ask – when I ask. But, the bottom line is that I do not doubt that He will do what is best for me in His time, not mine.  My part is to yield to Him, trust Him and know that His ways are higher and better than mine.

What I can’t do is get upset and rebellious when things don’t go the way I want them to.  If I really want God’s best, I have to follow Him and trust Him. Otherwise, I get into trouble and have to humbly ask Him to forgive me and then to show me the way back.

God has proven Himself faithful to me again and again. He knows me so much better than I know myself. He knows what I like and what will make me happy. So, I can trust Him and not doubt that His ways are truly the best for me.

I have witnessed God’s miracles again and again, in the worst of circumstances.  God is so amazing – there aren’t words to express how good He is. Not because of what He can do for me, but because He loves me so much. His love is the same for everyone – we just have to receive it.

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Your Purpose

27 Feb

I’ve been reading in the Book of Acts this month. I read a passage in Acts 11:21, 23, 29  (NKJ) The Scriptures have stayed with me so I want to share them with you.

Acts 11:21 says, “And the hand of the Lord was with them . . .” – Just think about it. The hand of the Almighty God is with me and you as well! An awesome thought. We are never alone. If we belong to Him, His hand is always with us. The hand of God can move mountains – heal the sick – part the Red Sea – Stop the Sun ! Any struggle we have – any doubt we have about our own ability should be put to rest, knowing the hand of God is with us. On our own we can’t do a lot, but with the hand of God, we can do anything!

The next verse that grabbed my heart was Acts 11:23 – This Scripture is talking about Barnabas when he saw the grace of God. The Scripture says “He was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart, they should continue with the Lord.” The phrase “purpose of heart” was what touched my heart. It tells me that we have to be deliberate in our devotion to God. We have to make it a purpose of our  heart. The dictionary’s definition of “purpose” is “the reason for existence”!! Oh my –  this means that the reason for our existence is that we continue with the Lord. The meaning of “continue” is “throughout a period of  time”. For us, as Christians, that means throughout all of time.

Then, Acts 11:29 – hits home again, “Then, the disciples each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling Judea.” Let this take root in your heart. Each of us has different abilities. We don’t need to look at others and wish we were like them. Our purpose is gifted to us individually. God knew us before we took our first breath. He formed us in His image. His image is greater than we can know – containing many attributes. He imparts particular characteristics to each of us, according to His will.  He made us, breathed life into us, knew everything there about us before we were born. He planted abilities within us for His purposes, custom-made to fit our personalities. If we look to another wanting to be like them, then we are fighting against who God made us to be and the purpose He created us for.

This should take a lot of stress from us. God just wants us to be free – from guilt, condemnation, worry, and anything else that takes our attention away from Him and His purpose for our lives. God knows us better than we know ourselves. He is indescribable.  Be at peace in your own skin. Let your light shine through your own personality. God made you who you are. Don’t change anything He doesn’t tell you to change. Rest in His arms and quit struggling. He made you. He likes you just the way you are. He will train you up in the way you should go. No one else can do that.

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Which Way?

24 Feb

In Seeking God’s Will – Paul was an apostle, yet he did not always know the direction God wanted him to take. He took steps, God closed doors, so he waited; and then God showed him the way.  Acts: 6-10 (Everyday Essential Bible Commentary)

We can all relate to this. The problem is sometimes we don’t take steps and/or we don’t wait. I heard our Pastor say “Don’t kick in a door that God may not want opened.”  Some doors need to remain closed. It’s hard for us not to go by what we see. And, in today’s world, we are accustomed to “instant everything”.

God is definitely not behind the times. Yet, He still doesn’t get in a hurry. Some things just cannot be rushed. God’s will should always be foremost in our hearts. That being said, let us not get ahead of God and take matters into our own hands. If we do, we may then be praying for God to rescue us!

Waiting is not easy for most of us. We have so many resources at our fingertips that we sometimes jump off the cliff and then scream out for God to save us on the way down. Selah, pause and calmly think of that.

As hard as it may be to accept, God isn’t as interested in our happiness as He is in our spiritual growth and relationship with  Him. Waiting is a virtue that we may as well adjust to if we truly want God’s best in our lives. God gives the very best to those who wait for Him! If you don’t wait for a cake to be baked – well, you get the picture.

The world moves so quickly around us. At times it just seems like God takes too long! But, friends, God is smarter than we are. He has the advantage of knowing what is ahead of us. He knows just the very moment we should take our next step.

Don’t settle for second best.  His timing is not always the same as yours.  Trust God and follow peace. If a deadline comes and goes, God has a better way. Wait until you have peace within – then take the step God has ordained.  That is the way to walk in God’s perfect will for your life.

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More Month Than Money

31 Jan

Following is my latest writing challenge entry for the FaithWriters group I belong to at http://www.FaithWriters.com.

I was really scared. So many thoughts were racing through my mind, “How in the world am I going to make it? I don’t have gas for my car. I can’t buy groceries. My lights are about to be turned off. I haven’t been able to pay my rent. What if I am evicted?”

Without fail there are daily concerns that we cannot ignore. We can turn away from some things, making them go away for the moment, but not financial necessities.

“Oh Ye of little faith” – I was tormenting myself with these words. I never paid much attention to them before. Anyway, it was just a lighthearted remark used when someone was worried about something and didn’t want to make an issue of it.

I spent so much time looking back at my failures or looking forward to problems that “might” occur that I wasn’t even living in the present. Then, I remembered reading the Bible in Matthew 6:31-34 (NIV), “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and these things will be given to you as well. Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Money is a very sensitive subject. Most of us have more month than we do money. We can pray, of course. (Usually we get pretty serious with God when we can’t make ends meet.) But before we start whining and telling God how awful things are, we need to take a good look at how we got there.

We may be facing circumstances too serious to ignore. That’s when we begin to question our behavior and our actions. We look deep inside and, if we are honest with ourselves, it becomes clear – somewhere along the way we made some unwise decisions, resulting in our current circumstances.

Money issues never go away. Our faith is tested over and over because decisions must be made concerning how we manage every dollar we spend. We can’t ignore the consequences when our electricity is about to be cut off and freezing rain is in the forecast. Or, we may be too embarrassed to admit to our friends we can’t attend their wedding because we don’t have gas money.

God knew, long ago, the challenges we would face today and inspired His chosen men to record, in the Bible, the answers we need. But we treat God’s Word like we do the instructions that are included when we purchase something needing assembly. We don’t take time to read the instructions and when we run into trouble, we blame it on the “piece of junk” we purchased instead of our avoidance of reading the directions.

We can’t get angry or blame God when we choose to ignore His written instructions. When we get to the end of our money before we get to the end of the month, it isn’t God’s fault.

The answer is easy – the solution is another choice. God leaves the decision with us. We get to use the free will He has given us.

* Malachi 3:8-10 New Living Translation (NLT) “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. 9 You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! 11 Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease.[a] Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

“It is finished” (John 19:30 NIV) Jesus took care of it all when He bowed His head and freely gave up His Spirit on the Old Rugged Cross – “It” being everything – past, present and future.

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A Done Deal

24 Jan

Following is my latest entry to a weekly writing challenge at FaithWriters.com:

Pat Robertson said, “The Bible is not only a book about an ancient people but also a book as current as today’s newspaper headlines.” I would add that the same goes for God. He is not ancient. He is just as relevant today as He was when the Bible was written.

Having said that, let me introduce you to the God of the universe whose being is endless – whose love is endless – whose understanding is endless – and whose forgiveness is endless. He is my creator – my redeemer – my constant companion and my friend. You can have all of this – His love and His friendship, too. God made it simple. All you have to do is ask!

There is no form to fill out, no special requirements, no ceremony required. You don’t have to change anything to make yourself acceptable. Your invitation for Him to come into your heart, and your request for Him to forgive your sins, is all that is required. He loves you just as you are and wants you as His own. He won’t turn you away.

We were all born into a world full of sin and somehow inclined to discriminate about it. We have the idea that there are some sins that aren’t as bad as others. That is just not true. To God, sin is sin.

From the moment – the very moment – you invite Jesus into your heart and ask Him to forgive your sins, it is a done deal! You have a brand new, clean heart and are instantly a part of the family of God – His child. The simplicity of it may be hard to accept. He is, after all, the God of the universe and everything in it.

Jesus paid an enormous price so we wouldn’t have to. He died on the cross to make it happen. I can’t explain it. But, I experience His love, His guidance and His friendship every day.

When you invite Him into your life, you may not feel any different, but you will be. Your heart will be cleansed of all sin and the Holy Spirit of God enters into your clean heart. He then becomes your teacher, your helper and your counselor. He speaks to you by making an impression in your spirit (your heart) of what is true and what is false.

God is a Spirit. We relate to Him with our spirits (hearts), not our souls (emotions), or our bodies (flesh). Being a child of God is all about faith. Living by faith means we don’t make decisions by what we see or by circumstances that may pressure us. We go to God in prayer, and apply our faith. We believe that He hears us and will guide us into all truth by His Holy Spirit as He promised.

The next step is to become acquainted with God. You can get to know Him intimately by reading the Bible. The deep things of God can only be understood by those who have accepted Him.

God inspired men long ago to record the events that were taking place before and after Jesus was born, so we would have examples to follow and could learn about His ways. In Bible times people were ordinary, like us. They made mistakes, big ones. But God loved them enough to use many of them to do great things. We too, can learn how to know God’s will and how to avoid making bad choices as we study His Word and the Holy Spirit reveals truth to us.

You can also talk with God any time – He is always listening. He will communicate with you and He will make certain you recognize His voice in your spirit. As you make decisions, the Holy Spirit will guide you through a situation with peace in your heart or the absence of it, depending on the course of action He wants you to take.

Knowing and experiencing God is like nothing you have ever known. Your relationship with Him will be unique. He will make Himself known to you so that you will experience Him personally and learn just how much He loves you.

Becoming a child of God doesn’t mean that you will have no more adversity. Indeed, you will. But, He will be with you every step of the way. He will never leave you or forsake you. He is yours and you are His through all eternity.

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A Love Letter to My Lord

17 Jan

My Lord – My King – My Father and My Friend;

I cannot do anything without you. There is no one else like you. I just need to be in your presence. I need to be with you. I fall short in so many ways.

My frustration melts away when I come into your presence. I know that I don’t even have to speak a word – just sit at your feet and soak up your love. It is truly inexplicable!

When nothing feels right around me, I know you are there – loving me – touching my heart – looking into my inner most thoughts and fears – my doubts and hurts – all my concerns. I feel inadequate to put into words all the things that constantly fight for a place in my mind for attention – all to keep me from you and your presence.

Oh, how I love you. You have proved yourself strong in so many ways. You are such a personal friend. I wish with all my heart that all your people could give themselves fully to you and know your love.

Breathe upon me, Lord. Nothing satisfies like you, my God. Forgive me for the times I walk in rebellion to your instruction. It is so hard sometimes to yield to you. My flesh is so weak and wants gratification. Help me to see that gratification comes from you alone and nothing else will do.

June 24, 2009

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To The Care-Giver

16 Jan

This is an article I wrote several years ago. I was taking care of my Mother – my favorite person in the world. She had Alzheimer’s and I was doing all I could to keep her at home with me. I loved her with a love I can’t explain. I wanted so much to take care of her until her time came to leave this earth. Being a care-giver is the hardest thing I’ve had to endure in my lifetime.

My Mother was used by God on this earth to bless so many people – she was, and still is, my hero. She was the perfect example of what a disciple of Jesus should be. The love of God was with her every moment and drew everyone to her side. Taking care of her was the biggest gift God has given me.

As hard as the task was, God was with me every step of the way. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t hesitate. I cherished the time we had together. The biggest blessing of all was that my Mother remembered me on the day she died. What a gift from God!

If you are a care-giver – please know that God knew you would be the one He could trust with the care of the one He loves so much. He sees all you have to endure – Lean heavily on Him. Don’t fret over any guilt about how you feel. Take good care of yourself and don’t let the enemy make accusations that take away your joy. This, too, shall pass, and, when it does, you have fulfilled the Scripture as follows:

John 15:13

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

NIV

 

 If all that a man has he will give for his life, he that gives this for his friend gives all, and can give no more; this may sometimes be our duty, 1 John 3:16.

(from Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)

 

I like what Matthew Henry’s Commentary has to say about these words that Jesus spoke in the book of John. Somehow it gives me great satisfaction to know that as I give my life to take care of my loved one, I give all that I am and can give no more. My own interpretation of this would be that God sees the sacrifices that I am making for my loved one and He knows I am doing my best. It also makes me feel better to know that it is okay if I am doing this as a duty and not because I think I am qualified or even good at it! This takes some of the pressure and guilt from me, since I don’t always perform my care-giving with the right attitude.

Some of the pressure I place on myself comes from my own idea that I should like what I am doing – but I don’t.  Most of the time, I feel angry that I have no choice.  Because this is one of those things I do as a duty and not necessarily because I want to, it doesn’t take away from what Jesus said in this Scripture from the Book of John. Duty is a good thing – it comes from internal integrity.

I am grateful that God’s Word ( John 15) it  doesn’t say I have to feel a certain way in order to demonstrate my love. It is the act of providing daily care for my loved one that God wants from me. I’m not saying that my attitude shouldn’t be right. I know it should. But, at least God knows my heart and He knows what a struggle this is. I have to seek God continually to help me correct my attitude as I am doing things I would rather not be doing.  This brings a greater peace to my heart and helps me feel less stressful.

As I write about my care-giving experience, I notice how many times I use the word “feel”. Truthfully, I’ve never been so aware of my feelings – possibly because I’ve never walked through such agonizing pain, or experienced such intense emotions.

As care-givers, we find ourselves so entangled with our loved one that we can’t deny the heaviness of it.  Therefore, we are forced to deal with our feelings and emotions. And there are soooo many!

President Reagan’s wife, Nancy,  put it this way,  “. . . it is like saying a long goodbye”.

The good news is that we will meet again in Heaven one day.

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At The End Of The Day

10 Jan

As a project oriented person, I get up early and sometimes decide there isn’t enough time in the day to meet all my deadlines. That “feeling” gets the best of me and I start the day all wrong.

I have answered a call from God to lead a prayer team ministry for my church and have committed to spend time with Him each morning in intercession. I am usually excited about it.

Some days my workload is so heavy that it is difficult to sit still and focus on prayer. So, I decide to skip my appointment with God and go right to work. That decision is based on a thought placed in my mind by Satan who comes to kill, steal, and destroy.

When I listen to the thoughts in my mind, rather than to the Holy Spirit, my days are usually filled with confusion, turmoil, and frustration. When the day is gone I have accomplished very little. I realize that my precious time, with the one I love the most and the one who trusted me enough to call me to the ministry of prayer, was stolen. He called me to stand in the gap for His people. Instead, I let inner turmoil and unrest get the best of me. I yielded to the deceitful lure of the clock not giving me enough time to meet deadlines in my work-day. I should have kept my appointment with the one who promised to direct my steps.

At the day’s end I look back at the time I wasted. At first, guilt creeps in because I knew better. The enemy managed to gain control of my first thoughts that morning. And at the end of the day, he tried to condemn me for listening to him. At the same time, he whispered in my ear just how little I must love God not to spend time with Him as I had promised. The enemy was attempting to steal my peace again. Quickly, I shut him down. Then, the conviction of the Holy Spirit turned my heart to God to ask for forgiveness, which was immediate. The Holy Spirit gently instructed me that if I had spent time with Him first, my day would have been much better.

God is the one who makes all things work together for good and blesses the work of my hand. He is the one who tells me I can make my plans but He will direct my path. He is the one who gives me the wisdom and knowledge I need to make my day successful. God is the one who rebukes the devourer for my sake. And, with His help, I can successfully finish my daily race.

The day’s end is determined by the day’s beginning. The choice I make at the beginning of each day to spend those first moments with my Lord or to proceed without His direction will determine what I accomplish and how emotionally, physically and spiritually spent I become. I want my day, every day, to begin with Him, remain in Him, and finish with Him. At the end of the day I want to hear Him say, “Well done my good and faithful servant“. I want to feel His peace in my spirit, knowing I have given everything to Him.

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