Tag Archives: God’s Love

My Inspiration to Blog

19 Jan

I have been working toward writing more. In that regard, I was “studying” about blogging at The Daily Post – Blogging 101. They requested we submit an article to them as to our inspiration for blogging. Following was my response. Thought I might as well share it with my followers.

What inspires me as a blogger: People – All people, everywhere inspire me to blog. I want all people to know God in heaven, like I do. Not that I’m special. I certainly am not. I’m just the opposite. I’m ordinary. Probably not even ordinary; below ordinary. But, I serve a God who loves me just like I am, warts and all. Really. How do I know this? Because day after day, no matter what goes on in my life, He is there to encourage me and lift me up. He is there to let me know I am special – special to Him. That’s all that really matters to me. It’s all that matters because I’ve tasted so many other things that don’t satisfy.

The one constant in my life, the one person who is always there with an open hand for me to come and sit a while, is Jesus Christ, my Lord. He’s not only my Lord, He’s my friend. It’s not as quirky as it might sound. It is so real. That’s the reason I’m inspired to blog. I want everyone to know that God loves them just exactly as they are and has open arms to welcome them – no requirements other than to acknowledge Him, ask His forgiveness of sins, and accept Him. It’s that simple.

There aren’t a list of rules to follow after that. Simply be. One day at a time. Listen with your heart and your spirit. Listen to your conscience. His burden is easy, His yoke is light. I blog to give hope to everyone who might not have any, and acceptance to those who don’t feel accepted by anyone. This inspiration is constant – never-ending.

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There Are Two Sides of the Spiritual Realm

16 Oct

Paul says in the 12th Chapter of I Cor. That the church, as the body of Christ, are believers, exercising various gifts, even as the human body have different functions and purposes. Paul describes how these members working harmoniously together, become the mystical Body of Christ on earth. Without the Gifts of the Spirit, the Church becomes something quite different from that which God intended. Instead of being a supernatural organism, the Church is then only another human organization.

  • There is no evidence whatever that the Gifts ceased because the Lord withdrew them. (Gordon Lindsay, All About the Gifts of the Spirit)

    A Scripture that has been commonly used by those who hold the position that the Gifts of the Spirit have ceased is I Cor. 13:8-10. Here we are told that prophecies, and tongues, and knowledge shall cease, or pass away. Just one glance at the Scripture shows however, that the period referred to is not this age at all, but the perfect age which is yet to come! (Lindsay)

    • 8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
    • 9  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
    • 10  But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. (KJV)

    Many hold back in seeking the Gifts or even the knowledge of them. Some have decided (without Scriptural confirmation) that  the manifestations of the Spirit they see couldn’t possibly be “holy”, so they mistakenly decide that it must be from the devil himself.  We all have a little fear of the unknown but without knowing the facts it is like watching a football game without knowing there is a football on the field! We would just see big men, dressed kind of strangely, running around and knocking each other down! We would see part of it but not understand what it was all about because we didn’t know what the object of the “game” was.

  • We actually need the Spiritual Gifts to give us power in the battle – in our spiritual warfare. Scriptures give us means to test the spirits and discern which is not from God. Keep in mind that satan always attempts to counterfeit what God does. There will always be people in the world who prefer to believe in the evil side of the spiritual realm than the godly side. Why is that? If we can believe the things we read in God’s Word it should be evident that God doesn’t do things like man does. There is a touch of the supernatural in so many of the Biblical testimonies. God has not ceased to do His mighty works. The Scripture above does not mean that after Jesus came all the other miracles of God ceased! Just the opposite – Jesus came to fulfill those promises and magnify those gifts. If you read the verses again you will see that “when that which is perfect is come” — that means when Jesus comes to take us all home — He will take the place of everything we have known – He IS love and love (charity) NEVER fails.

  • Regular Bible reading is so vital to our spiritual growth! If we don’t study God’s Word for ourselves we will listen to so many untruths about God and His ways, including the gifts He has so freely given us to live in a world full of hate and evil. It seems obvious that we need His gifts in order to help us overcome our obstacles, as Jesus promised. Jesus also told us (in Scripture) that we would do GREATER things than He did (provided we are born-again believers).  We really need to relax a little about God’s spiritual gifts.

  • I heard a story about a man being given a tour of heaven after having just arrived. During the tour, he was shown many beautiful things. The angel  guiding him passed up one particularly large room with a beautiful door. The new resident of heaven asked why they passed it by without looking in. He was told that if he were to look inside the room he would become very sad. But, the new resident pleaded until he was granted permission. When the door was opened he saw a room full of unopened gifts – all sizes and shapes – beautifully wrapped. He asked the angel what all the gifts were for. He was told by the angel that they were gifts from God, intended for him while we was on earth but that they were never accepted.

  • Wouldn’t you just be heart-broken if you knew you were refusing to accept amazing gifts from your Heavenly Father? He won’t force them on us. He loves us enough that He gave us His only Son. Why in the world would He then offer us something that would hurt us in any way? God loves us so much. Think of how you have felt at a time when you wanted to give something special to someone you love and it was rejected. Remember how it felt. You were probably hurt and/or disappointed. But, you can’t force someone to accept a gift. A gift is just that – a gift. A gift is something given to someone to express love or appreciation.  It is usually something special, out of the ordinary.

  • What better way for God to express His love and appreciation for us and to reveal more of Himself to us than to give us Spiritual Gifts? God IS Spiritual – His gifts should be supernatural. He does give us all kinds of gifts in the natural – some we don’t even realize are gifts. God IS love – He desires to bless us. His spiritual gifts are one of the ways He does that. It is one of the ways He shows His love.

  • This is the season for Halloween – spooky – strange things. It is one of the largest holidays celebrated – bigger than Christmas to some merchants. People are curious about the supernatural – more so the evil side. They aren’t so willing to accept the godly side. Please understand that the spiritual realm is very real – both sides. We know plenty of the world’s carnal side – we need to desire more of God’s supernatural side. Our pride is usually what keeps us from it.

  • Pray about it. Study the Scriptures and ask God to open your heart to His truth. He won’t embarrass you. He won’t force anything on you. He wants you to have everything you need to fight the spiritual battle you face every day of your life. Trust Him.

    In addition to my own material I have included quotes from the following:

    • C. Peter Wagner “Your Spiritural Gifts”
    • Gordon Lindsay “All About the Gifts of the Spirit”
    • Adult Education and Discipleship Ministries – FBC – Garland “Gifts are for Giving”
    • Biblesoft Libraries
    • Sandy Trice
    • David Francis
    • KJV

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    • God Turns Evil to Good

    27 May

    The story of Ruth is a wonderful story of how our God turns what the enemy means for evil into good if we belong to Him.

    Back to our story of Ruth . . .

    Naomi begged Ruth, for her own good and her safety, to stay in Moab. Remember, Naomi was grieving great losses in her life. She wasn’t taking into consideration that leaving the girls behind would be causing them to remain in an ungodly place. But, in the end, it was not up to Naomi. She was persuasive; she did not mean it for harm. She felt responsible and did not want to lead the women into harm. Nevertheless, the final decision was up to Orpah and Ruth, as it should have been.

    It is the same with us today – the familiarity of our world and all we know – the comfort of our lives as they are – we like it. We don’t like change. We like the unknown even less. To think of giving up what we want for what God wants – well, that’s a hard choice. But, it could be a choice that will change our destiny.

    Ruth remained constant in her decision to go with Naomi. She was determined not to let go of the love of God that she had come to know in Naomi. She entreated Naomi to stop asking her to stay. Ruth was committed. She was ready and even desiring to give up everything to follow Naomi, who was providentially following God.

    What Ruth may have not realized at this time was that she was doing what we all must do in order to have God’s best in our lives. We all have to give up everything – lay it all at the feet of Jesus in order to inherit God’s best for our lives. We won’t know what is ahead. We won’t know what trials we will face along the way. Our future will be a mystery to us but not to God. But God’s love is strong enough and sure enough to sustain us. It is that love which will continue to sustain us and give us what we need to face whatever might come, knowing God is responsible for the outcome and we can trust Him to see us through anything.

    Ruth was on God’s path and didn’t realize it. She became adamant with Naomi. She promised her that she would go wherever Naomi went. Ruth was willing for Naomi’s people to become her people. She would not be just a sojourner in Naomi’s land she would become one of Naomi’s people. She wanted Naomi’s God to become her God. She wanted to live where Naomi lived and to die where Naomi died. What devotion! What courage and tenacity! Ruth wanted to give up all she knew to follow Naomi all because she loved her and because she knew in her heart there was more – she wasn’t sure what it was. It was the Spirit of God wooing her, drawing her to Himself.

    . . . . This story to be continued

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    God’s Plans For Those Who Don’t Know Him

    26 May

    Ruth didn’t know the God of Abraham or that she needed Him. God was working on other situations in the background that would eventually involve Ruth. She was completely unaware that God even existed and certainly didn’t know of God’s plans for her future. She was born into a pagan family, raised to worship idols. Ruth was doomed to a life headed for eternal destruction – unknown to her. A man named Elimelech came into Ruth’s life, by God’s providential will.

    Elimelech lived in the promised land of God. A drought caused him to mortgage his land, leave his kinsmen, his friends and his country and move with his wife, Naomi and their two sons from Bethlehem to Moab. He was trying to provide for and protect them, but shortly after Elimelech moved his family to Moab he died, leaving Naomi and her sons alone in a strange land.

    Naomi should have taken her sons and gone back to their homeland at that time. Instead she stayed in Moab and eventually her sons disobeyed God’s commands and married pagan women named Ruth and Orpah, who served idols. After only a few years of marriage, both young men died, leaving their mother, Naomi, and their heathen wives, Ruth and Orpah alone.

    Naomi had lost everything except her two daughters-in-law. Since she had nothing left and did not know what difficulties she might face when she returned to her homeland of Judah, she prepared to leave Moab. Naomi called Ruth and Orpah to her side and encouraged them to return to their families. She was trying to protect the young women, but neither of them wanted to leave her. It was evident that Naomi was very loving and kind and that Ruth and Orpah must have experienced and learned of the love of God through her and through their husbands.

    It’s hard to imagine a daughter-in-law loving her mother-in-law so much that she would be willing to leave all she knew, including her own mother and other family members. Ruth was so drawn by God’s love through Naomi that she hungered for more. She knew that she would not find that same love from her people.

    This is a beautiful portrayal about how the love of God draws men to Himself. The love of Jesus shines through God’s children and draws others to Him. Their hearts begin to yearn for Him. They want to give up everything else to follow Him.

    Ruth had experienced a taste of God’s love through Naomi and did not want to go back to her old life. On the other hand, Orpah had the same opportunity. She loved Naomi. She struggled with letting go, but Orpah wasn’t willing to give up her old life or leave her idols and the sinful ways of her people. She could not let go. Her flesh had a strong hold on her.

    We can identify with Orpah. She was not unlike us. She loved her family – Moab was all she knew. It was comfortable to Orpah. It was familiar. Although she was torn in her decision, she was unable to let go of her past. She couldn’t step into the unknown. Orpah made a wrong choice. It was a choice that more than likely condemned her. But the choice was hers. We can identify with why she did it. We face hard decisions every day. Will we go with God or go back to what is comfortable?

    Letting go of all we are familiar with – stepping into the unknown – that is what faith is.

    • Heb 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. NIV

    This story is continued – Check back in a few days to see what God had in store for Ruth. Remember, she doesn’t yet know God – she doesn’t know she is actually right in the middle of His will for her life.

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    What Does Acknowledge God Mean?

    4 Jan

    Acknowledge God in all you do and He will direct your path. What does that mean exactly?

    To me acknowledging God means to keep Him in mind with everything you do. Make it a habit to think of Him often. A conversation with God does not have to be a formal, lengthy discussion each time you pray. Simply keeping Him in the loop is what is important. He cares about everything in our lives. If you don’t think God is concerned with details, take a few minutes to read Exodus 25 & 26. God instructs Moses to have the Israelites bring offerings to Him and to make a sanctuary for Him. He describes in detail, down to the color of yarn for embroidery, and the kind of wood to use, how He wants this accomplished.

    I remember long ago when I first read these Scriptures. I actually questioned God about why all the detail was necessary. I was young in the Lord and hadn’t read the Bible much yet. I was truly kind of bored about what I was reading and wanting to get to some more interesting things. As I asked God about this He plainly spoke to my heart that He wanted me to know that He is concerned about the smallest details of my life. Wow! How many times do we neglect to go to God with something because it seems too small?

    God is the Master of the Universe, King of Kings, Lord or Lords, yet He cares about me – even the small things that are important to me are important to Him. That is true, unconditional love. God wants us to know that everything about us is important to Him. We can go to Him with anything and everything. We may not have anyone else we can feel that safe with – but we have God.

    If you don’t have one, find a place where you can kneel when you need to and just “be” with God. I don’t mean for a formal time of prayer. I mean just a place where you can go, sit or kneel, just feel His presence. Know He is there. Feel safe. Feel loved.

    Of course, God is with us everywhere. But, sometimes, I need to stop everything and go to my special place, and just acknowledge that He is there and that I trust Him and love Him and that I need to feel His presence. He is faithful. He always meets me there.

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