"Ouch" moments

 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'~ Matthew 22:37

Have you ever experienced an "ouch" moment with God?  You know when you think every thing is on track and then you hit a bump that causes you to examine yourself.  They are not the best moments to have the, but definitely needed ones.  

This morning I experienced an "ouch" moment with God.  One that caused me to wail on the inside.  I was listening to praise and worship music and the song was talking about desiring Jesus more than silver than gold.  Rather than just sing along with the song, I had to ask myself is this true.  Do I desire Jesus more than silver and gold?  My first thought was surely my answer is yes, but I started thinking about my life in this season.  I am blessed.  God has been seeing me and my family through this pandemic.  I have a good job.  Family is doing well.  I have become comfortable.  These blessings have become my silver and gold.  Do I really want to give that up?

Ashamedly, I had to admit that I have let my comforts come before Jesus.  My blessings have become idols.  So I confessed and am full of gratitude that I serve a God who sees me, knows me and loves me anyway.  I serve a God whom I only need ask for forgiveness and I can receive it ( 1 John 1:9).

It is imperative that I (we) desire Jesus rather than the things He gives us and does for us.  Those things are just icing on the cake,  Jesus is the substance.  Jesus is what it is all about and I ( we) must love Him with everything I (we) have.  I must desire Jesus more than life itself because He is the only way that I have my being (Acts 17:28).

Life will not always be this rosy.  Storms will come as they have been here before and Jesus was the one who saw me through and will see me through.  He is my anchor, not the stuff.  I would hate to go through life without Him being the priority.  For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? _Mark 8:36 (KJV)

Now you know Satan tried to step in have me remain in the "ouch' rather than move forward to repentance and healing, but God would have none of that.  I love the Lord and there is nothing or no one I rather have than Him because He is my everything.  If I didn't have Jesus  I would not be redeemed.  If I did not have Jesus I would have no hope.  It is He who causes me to walk in the light so that I can see the shadows that lurk in my heart and deal with them 1 John 1:7).  So I thank Him for the "ouch" moments.  I thank Him for helping me to guard my heart (Proverbs 4:23)

Lord, you revealed an area of my life where I was lacking and You filled it.  Thank You.  Thank You for being God and thank You for your Son Jesus.  Help us to come to you with the good, bad, and ugly knowing that we can find mercy in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).  Thank you for your grace.  Forgive me of my sins and help me to turn away from them.  In Jesus name.  Amen

PS.  As I ponder over this post, Job came to mind. and how the enemy was saying that Job was just good with God because He had so much ( paraphrase).  I want to respond like Job and worship the Giver and not the gifts.  Thank You Jesus.

Rest in His Shadow

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 

2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”  Psalm 91:1-2

 God is good and perfect in all His ways.  He is my provider, my shelter and my comfort.  His word tells me that I can dwell in His shelter, His love, and find rest in His shadow.  He is where I can go to find solace when my world seems so full of distress.  It is He who will guard me from the enemy and protect me for He is my fortress.  He is my God.  He is the One I trust.

God never fails me.  He never leaves my side.  He is faithful and trustworthy and true.  He is God and He loves me, He is with me in every struggle and gives me the strength to overcome,  He quiets my soul. He gives me a peace that is matchless and surpasses all understanding.  He is my portion and my Rock,  He is my Redeemer, my everything.

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. ( Psalm 34:8)  I am blessed because of God  and because He is my refuge.   Try Him and see for yourself.

Father, I love You.  Thank you for Your Spirit that allows me to continue taking steps forward.  It is You who allows me to overcome obstacles.  It is You who gives me grace upon grace.  You, Lord, are my lifeline and I thank You. I thank You that I rest in You. I can breathe and draw in Your strength.  Watch over my family and be a hedge of protection around them.  Let us all draw closer to You and worship You for Who You are.  Forgive us when seek to find shelter in temporary things rather than looking to You our eternal Father.  Forgive us of our sins and let us be quick to go to You in confession with a repentant heart.  Draw us close Lord and be our guide.  In Jesus name.  Amen

Longing for God- with open arms

 As the deer pants for streams of water,  so my soul pants for you, my God. ~Psalms 42:1

My soul longed for an experience with God.  To experience His Spirit flowing through me and in me.  I ached for Him and longed to worship Him.  My gracious Father did not leave me panting.  He allowed me to feel His presence and worship Him in all His glory 

 As I drove to work this morning,  song after song spoke the words of my heart as tears streamed down my face.  Tears of joy and gratitude because God heard my cry for Him,  Not for what He could do for me, but just Him.  His word tells us that we will find Him when we seek Him with our whole heart (Jeremiah 29:13) and His word never fails ( Isaiah 55:11).

Father thank You for hearing the cry of my heart and focusing my day on You and your goodness,  Thank You for your joy and peace.  Thank You for Your Spirit.  You are my sanctuary and I love you.  Bless the people of this earth and may we turn away from sin and look to You for You are our healer.  May we humble ourselves so that our land might be healed as we live in communion with You.  In Jesus name.  Amen

Our Good, Good Father

 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ~Matthew 7:9-11

Like any mother, I want the best for my children.  If their is a problem, I want to jump in and fix it or find solutions.  Every day I pray for God to guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  I want them to have good days and a good life.  An issue arose with my eldest son yesterday and "supermom" wanted to fix it. It was nothing major, but I wanted to make it better for him.  He is a adult, but being a mother never stops. I immediately started praying about the problem.  I went to the Supreme God, my Father.

This got me thinking about how good God is.  The problem at the time had not been resolved, but I thought about how much energy I was putting into trying to make things better for my son and then I thought about all the things that God does daily to make life better for me, His child (1 John 3:1).  The thought brings tears to my eyes because He has already done so much.  He gave His Son for me so that I can have life (John 3:16) and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

I serve a good, good Father.  He is matchless.  There is none like Him.  He sees every need and He responds.  He gives good gifts and all we have to do is ask ( Matthew 7:11).  I am grateful to report that my son's issue has been resolved.  God answers prayer.  It was just another example of how God the Father is always behind the scenes putting things into place.  Life is not always easy and circumstances are not always smooth, but God is always good.  I have to stand on that truth so that the enemy can't creep in an attempt to rob me of my joy.  I have a good, good Father and I loved by Him.

Good Good Father-Chris Tomlin

Lord, thank You for your love and being a God who cares for Your children.  You are a good, good Father and I praise your Holy name,  Bless your children and help us to look to You. In Jesus name.  Amen

Trust God

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.~Proverbs 3:5-6

Today I was reading about God’s instructions to Moses in Exodus 3:16-22.  God told Moses everything to do.  He told him what to say. He also told Him what the response would be from the elders of Israel and Pharaoh. He told Moses that He would perform wonders and then Pharaoh would let them go.  And when they went they would leave with favor from the Egyptian people. God had laid everything out for Moses.  All Moses had to do was to trust and obey.

God lays things out for us too.  He tells us in His word to trust Him with all our heart and to lean not to our own understanding(Proverbs 3:5). We must trust Him to do what He says He is going to do.  We must believe that His way is best.  His thoughts are far better.  

We must also acknowledge Him in all our ways (Proverbs 3:6) In the NIV translation it says submit.  We must yield our will to His and acknowledge that He is Lord in every area of our lives. When we do that He will direct our path.  He will make our path straight.  He will lay it all out.  We won’t have to worry about the obstacles because God’s got that.  We won’t have to worry about favor because God’s got that too.  We just have to trust and believe and walk in the instructions that gives us remembering it’s for His purpose and glory.  He will accomplish His Word(Isaiah 55:11).

Father, there is peace in trusting You.  Guide out steps and order our thoughts.  Help us to follow the instructions that you have given for our lives daily.  Let us walk in agreement with You.  We love You and honor You for goodness and grace.  There is none like You.  Thank You for being God and a good Father.  In Jesus name. Amen

After Easter

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.~2 Corinthians 5:14-15

What is often referred to as Holy Week has ended, but living a life holy unto God has not.  This morning I found myself asking the question “What comes after Easter?  What comes after Resurrection Sunday?”  Life comes!  He lives so now I can live and I live this life for Him.  His love for me demonstrated on the Cross and my love for Him compels me to do so.

It’s the daily living by faith that matters( 2 Corinthians 5:7).  Walking it out.  God has given us everything that we need for a godly life (2 Peter 1:3).  We just have to receive and walk in it.  After Easter also comes the work of sharing the gospel, the good news, of Jesus Christ with others.   The world needs to know what God has done for us.  He has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)  We don’t have to be at odds or separated from His love.  We are forgiven.  We are loved.  We just need to accept His gift.

Easter is not just one day out of the year.  It’s every day.  Our Savior, my Savior lives!

Lord,  thank You for what comes next.  Thank You for life.  Thank You for you banner of love.  Thank You for reconciliation.  Thank You for peace.  May I ( we) live each day with the full knowledge of You and your love for us and may we share it with others.  In Jesus name.  Amen

God's gift

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  ~John 3:16

Tomorrow is Good Friday.  The day that Jesus laid it all on the line for me and the world.  He shed His blood and gave His life that I might be saved; that I might live in the freedom of His love.  I was looking for scriptures that I could share with others to mark this day, but they all seemed so cumbersome.  This is the one God laid on my heart.  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16) 

God loves us.  As messed up as we are God loved us enough to sacrifice His one and only son that we might live and not die,  Jesus took on our sins ( 1 John 2:2) so that we might be reconciled to God (Romans 5:10).  He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. ( 1 John 2:2)

He gave His Son so we can live.  As I think of Good Friday and what it meant for Jesus it sobers me.  Jesus suffered for me and the world.  He died an agonizing death.  He was mocked and beaten.  He hung on a cross.  Yet, even then He asked God to forgive us (Luke 23:34)  That's love.

 Easter is not about Spring Break or Easter Eggs or bunnies. It not about sleeping in late, but it is about restoration.  The restoration I receive because of the gift God gave to me, to all of us.  Christ had to die in order for me to live, but the truth doesn't end there.  I live because He didn't stay in that tomb.  He got up on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:4)  with all power in His hand (Mathew 28:18). I live because my Savior lives. I have a home in heaven because of the love God and His precious gift.  The world does not have to perish, we can choose life by believing in Jesus and accepting His love.

Father, thank You for loving us.  Thank You for looking past our faults and seeing our need.  Our need for You.  Thank You for sacrificing your Son so that we might live.  May we think on the real meaning of this season and give You praise.  In Jesus name.  Amen