What’s next?

Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.~Ecclesiastes 5:2

Boy, oh boy! Do I have some things to work on and some “new clothes” to put on.  Yesterday, God revealed to me just how naked I am before Him.  I laugh at how I was viewing myself, only just yesterday.  I felt put together and sharp.  I was moving with a confidence and then my “happy got bumped”.  The enemy decided to shoot a few arrows my way and he used my children to do it.  And just that quickly, it seems that all I have been learning and applying about the Word of God just went poof!  I was a hot Momma and the filter on my mouth was turned off and my heart revealed, frankly, some ugly and harsh realities about me and my thinking bubbles up.  

Sure once the explosion of my mouth occurred, I was able to see all the error of my ways.  You would have thought the first eruption was enough, but Satan has found a new button to press and so he played with me and I let him.  But God!  God is my grace, my saving grace.  

I laugh at the irony of the things that I was trying to get through to my adult children.  Here I was thinking that they are stubborn and unwilling to listen, but the one who really needed to hear and receive was me.   The real lesson was for me and  my Heavenly Father is the Master Teacher.

So now that my sins have been revealed and lesson is at my feet, what’s next? Do I crawl into a corner and cover my head in shame?  Do I accept the condemnation that enemy is seeking to dump on me after I have allowed him to toy with me? Nope, absolutely not!

What’s next is that I go to my Father and confess my sins.  I receive His grace and mercy as He cleanses me from all unrighteousness.  I rejoice in knowing that God has allowed me to a “blind spot” in my life and a root of bitterness that needs to be dug up and destroyed.  I rejoice in knowing that I once was naked, but now I am clothed in His love and forgiveness.  I steady my hands and strengthen my knees and ankles and I keep running this race.  I become even more intentional about the words I speak and thoughts I think.  I bring into captivity those things that seek to rise up against the truth of God. 

Oh, and that button, I am going to through the power of God render it ineffective.  I am going to place my confidence in God and understand that a pruning in my life is taking place.  I had some dirt on my face that I did not see and now I do.  I surrender my children into His loving care and pray before I speak.  I trust Him for the wisdom needed to help be a guide to them. What’s next is that my next step is in Him.

Father, I thank You for the conviction of your Spirit.  I thank You for your mercy and your grace and I ask for strength and wisdom as I deal with and turn away from the sins revealed.  May my regret be more than an emotional response, but of action as I apply the truth to my life.  You have broken the chain Lord, so now let me throw it off of me. And Father, may my words be few abs seasoned with your grace.  In Jesus name. Amen

How to do life

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.~John 15:4

Father, I thank You for your Word and your truth that lights my path and orders my steps.  I thank You for the peace and assurance that it brings.  I thank You for the invitation to abide in You and I thank You for your Spirit that abides in me for it is only when I abide in You that I have the strength, the self-control, to do those things that honor You.  

Father, it is only when I abide in You that my thoughts are directed to those things that are good and re-directed away from attitudes and mindsets that are destructive.  Father, it is only when I abide in You, the living Vine, that I have the life and the nourishment that sustains life.

Father, I am merely the branch that You have allowed to extend from yourself.  It is only through the yielding and obedience to Your Spirit and Your Word that I am able to bear fruit.  Lord, I am humbled that You would bless me and my brothers and sisters this way.  Father, I know that I am not the producer of anything and it is only by your grace, by the power of Your Spirit working in me, abiding in me as I abide in You that these blessing come forth.

Lord, the fruit of peace that manifest in my life is because I abide in You.  The fruit of love, love of You and my neighbor, is because of You.  The fruit of joy that allows me to rejoice in all circumstances only yields itself because I abide in You and You abide me. Lord, it is You alone that gives me forbearance, kindness, and gentleness.  

So Lord, help me to to waiver or get complacent in my thinking and actions.  May I continually and daily accept the invitation to abide in You and remain in You.  May stay hidden in You so that I do what You have called me to do.  In Jesus name I pray. Amen

I love my quiet time with God.  Being in His presence is a healing balm to my soul.   He clears and removes all confusion.  He provides the wisdom and clarity needed to deal with the issues and struggles of life. This same peace that I have with Him now, must be with me when I walk out the door.  How, by remaining in Him.

We live in a world that is contrary to God, but we can overcome all of it if we remain in Jesus.  Jesus is the answer for every situation and circumstance.  The enemy would have us think otherwise.  The enemy would have us spin our wheels and try rely on our own abilities, abilities that come from God I might add.  But we must cast down our own thinking and judgements and always look to Jesus.  He will supply us with every answer as we abide in Him. We will reject gossip and backstabbing when we abide in Him.  We will reject spending money we don’t have when we abide in Jesus.  We will reject fear and the comparison games when we abide in Jesus. We will reject all sources of bitterness and strife when we abide in Jesus.  We can reject everything that is not like Him when we abide in Him, remain in Him and allow Him to abide in us.  Yes, we can do all things through Him!

Father, may we abide in You.

Choose this day

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.~Joshua 24:15

Each morning I awake with a choice.  A choice to to choose whom I am going to serve.  Will it be the Lord or will it be my selfish ambitions or flesh?  I am a Christian.  I believe that Christ died for my sins and arose on the third day conquering death.  I believe that my salvation comes only through Him. I believe that He is Lord   I believe in God and His Word. (Romans 10:9)  I have confessed all of these things, but I must go beyond my confession and daily do those things that I believe and know to be true.

My beautiful and gracious Lord and Savior has given me free will.  He doesn’t make me do anything.  He allows me to choose.  There really should be no choice because with Jesus, following and serving Him, is life. Everything else leads to death and heartache.  Yet, I do.  I have a choice to do my reasonable service ( Romans 12:1-2).  I have a choice to not just be a hearer of His Word, but a doer of His Word ( James 1:22).  God has blessed me with the choice of being able to stand of His word and not be shaken by the things in this fallen world.By the grace of God,  I have a choice to have success as I obey the Word that He has given me ( Joshua 1:8). 

So  I choose not to serve false gods like material possessions, wealth, intellectual ability, popularity, people, power or self-adulation.  I choose to serve God because He is God and He is Lord.  I choose to serve Him because He loves me like no one ever could.  I choose to go beyond my words of my belief because He has equipped me to do this. Yes, our loving Father gives us a choice and also equips us with everything we need to do them. Isn’t He great!  God has given every Believer a great gift-His Spirit it is His power that works in me to is not just to will but to also act in order to fulfill His good purpose (Philippians 2:13).  A purpose to be one with Him ( John 17:21).

Lord I thank You for even giving me a choice and a path to life.  Death could have been my only option, but your love me showed me another way.  Lord, on this day and every day, empower me with your Spirit to be doer of your Word-To take up my cross daily and follow You.  In Jesus name I pray. Amen

Keep asking, seeking, and knocking

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.~Matthew 7:7-8

What do you do when it feels like your prayers are not being answered?  You do what He tells us to do .  Keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking because His word tells us that we will receive what we ask for.  He tells us that those who seek shall find and that the door will opened for those who knock.

I know what it feels like to pray and beg God to give you the desires of your heart.   I also know what it feels like when you think the answer is afar or not coming at all.  It’s a struggle and it’s own kind of suffering. I will not sugarcoat the reality of the heartache that can come in the waiting, but of this I am confident - the Lord is near to broken-hearted.  He hears our prayers and His silence does not mean an absence of good on our behalf.

So we keep asking, seeking, and knocking because what we really desire is Him.  You see He is the answer to every prayer.  He alone can direct our steps in the way that we should go.  He alone is the one who opens doors that man tries to shut.  He alone closes those same doors that the thief tries to enter in and destroy.  The answer we seek is not the outcome of our request.  The answer we seek is Jesus who makes every outcome for our good according to His purpose.  

We can trust that God is true to His word.  Be persistent in your prayers.  Ask God, seek God, and knock on His door.  He will answer, be found, and open up the door of blessings beyond measure to you.

Lord, sometimes I get discouraged because I have not learned to wait on You the answer for every situation and circumstance.  But Lord, let no my heart be troubled.  May I run to you asking, seeking, and knocking knowing that You will hear me and provide  exactly what I need.  Let me not waiver in hope and expectation because You are my hope.  Let me remember that the outcomes of my request are safely in your care because You alone know what is best for me.  So may we all be encouraged by your Word and love for us.  In Jesus name. Amen

Dealing with change

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”~Joshua 1:9

Change is not always easy because the prerequisite for change requires that a difference is made or that something different will occur. This difference might show up in our thinking, our actions, our words or possibly the course of direction we take.  Change is often easier when the choice to be different or do something different is ours, but if we are honest even then change can present challenges because we are embarking on something that is new.  We are in some way going to be doing something different.  

For some, people like me, change can be unsettling because there is a decrease in control.  What is familiar is passing and you are no longer able to rest in the comfortable routines of knowing or at least having an idea of what comes next.  I am that type of girl who likes to adventures to the Amusement Parks and movies because, again, I have a choice to get on the ride or close my eyes at the scenes that I can’t bear to watch.  

I will acknowledge that I am that plain Neapolitan Ice Cream girl. I like change on my terms, but life doesn’t work like that. God uses change to grow me, to help me become even more likened to the image that He created me to be (Genesis 1:27).  He uses change to develop the character that reflects my Father.  He uses change to bless us in ways that we can not even imagine (1 Corinthians 2:9) because His ways are not like ours (Isaiah 55:8).   

So, while I may not always welcome change, I can face it.  I can go to Nineveh ( Jonah 1:1-2) if need be or enter a land that was promised ( still having to face the things that will need to removed to possess it -Joshua 1;6,11  with hope because God has shown me (us) how to meet the challenge of change.

1. Follow His command to be strong and courageous.  God did not create in us a spirit of fear ( 1 Timothy 1:7). The NIV translation says that He does not make us timid. “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”  No, we are not people designed to cower from the shadows of this life.  We are people of power because our power comes from the Lord our God, Creator, and Father.  We have His love and self-discipline to stand firm because He is our hope and strength. 

2. Be courageous and not discouraged because we are a people who are prepared to meet the challenge. Why?  Because God is with us. Sure we might be small in stature, but God is Mighty.  He is standing right there with us. He has every square inch of our back.  In fact, we are covered at every angle because He goes before us ( Deuteronomy 31:8) and surrounds us with His hedge of protection ( Psalm 91).  What are we to fear if God be for us? ( Romans 8:31) Absolutely nothing!

3. He is with us wherever we go.  Nothing can separate us from His love ( Romans 8:5-39).  He will never leave us or forsake us ( Deuteronomy 31:6).  He will give us the wisdom we need (James 1:5).  We only need to trust Him.  

Father, change comes but You are the same.  We can trust You.  Help us to remember your promise to be with us.  Infuse is with your strength and cover us in your love.  May we lean not to our understanding, but look to You. May we be led by your Spirit and may we trust in your plan for our life.  Help us to conquer the challenge of change with your grace.  We will give you all the glory and honor. In Jesus name. Amen

You are Lord

But You, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. ~Psalm 86:15

You Lord are compassionate.  You care about me.  You care about what I go through and what I experience.  I matter to You.  My success matters to You.  Even my failures matter to You and because of your compassion You pick me up every time I fall.  I am your child and I am loved by You.

You Lord are gracious. You grant me favor.  You don’t give me what I deserve, but quite the opposite.  You give me life where I deserve death.  I earn nothing.  All that I have an am is because of your blessing.  It is a a gracious gift from You.  You, Lord,  give me gifts that enable me to serve and worship You.  You give me gifts that allow me to know you and receive your love.  You give me everything I need to live a godly life; a life that reflect You, my Lord and my Savior.

You Lord are slow to anger. You are so patient with me,  I mess up over and over again.  Yet, you show me mercy.  You extend your grace to me.  You forgive me and cleanse me with your blood.  You give me the time to learn from my mistakes and repent of my sins.  You restore me and give me hope. You could have taken me out years ago, but You knew the days You had planned just for me.  You let me see this life that You have planned just for me.

You, Lord, abound in love.  You are love.  Your love is pure and righteous.  It feeds my soul.  It covers me and brings me joy.  Your love is humble.  Your love covers a multitude of sins.  Your love sustains me.

You Lord are faithful.  You keep your promises.  Your promise to never leave me nor forsake me.  Your promise to heal me.  Your promise to provide for me and comfort me.  Your promise to hear my prayers and answer them.  Your promise to reward those who diligently seek You and believe in You.  Your promise of an abundant life and life eternal.

You are Lord and You alone are good.  I love you and I thank You for being God.